最新美国发明专利第2016-03-29期 - 专利汇|PatentHub专利检索|专利查询网|发明专利查询分析

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US09300115B2	Quantum cascade laser A quantum cascade laser includes a semiconductor region having a main surface including first and second regions arranged in a first axis direction; a stacked semiconductor layer disposed on the second region, the stacked semiconductor layer including a core layer and an upper cladding layer disposed on the core layer; and a distributed Bragg reflector disposed on the first region, the distributed Bragg reflector including at least one semiconductor wall having a side surface extending in a second axis direction perpendicular to the main surface of the semiconductor region, the semiconductor wall including the core layer and the upper cladding layer. The side surface of the semiconductor wall is optically coupled to an end facet of the stacked semiconductor layer. The side surface of the semiconductor wall includes a side surface of the core layer having a recess portion depressed from a side surface of the upper cladding layer in the semiconductor wall.
US09300109B2	Serial servo system and method for controlling an optical path length and a repetition frequency of a mode-locked laser A servo system includes multiple servo channels being driven by a common error signal. Each channel has a controller that receives an error signal and provides a drive signal to a driver. The servo channels are arranged serially, with a drive signal from one controller forming the error signal for a downstream controller. As a result, the downstream controller does not attempt to correct for phase error directly, but instead attempts to keep the upstream driver at or near its operational midpoint. The servo channels can be arranged in order of decreasing controller bandwidth, from fastest to slowest. In contrast with a parallel configuration, in which servo channels all simultaneously receive a common error signal, the serial configuration can allow each controller to use its full bandwidth, can eliminate crosstalk between servo channels, and can prevent saturation of upstream drive signals.
US09300108B2	High power fiber pump source with high brightness, low-noise output in about 974-1030 nm wavelength A high power pump ultra bright low-noise source is configured with a multimode (“MM”) seed source outputting a MM smooth, low-noise signal light at a desired wavelength in a wavelength range between about 974 and 1030 nm, a MM Yb fiber wavelength converter operative to convert emission of a plurality of high power (“HP”) semiconductor laser diodes at a sub-pump wavelength λsp to a pump output at the desired wavelength λρ, wherein Δλ=λρ−λsp<0/1λsp. The Yb-doped MM wavelength converter is configured with noise levels substantially identical to those of the low-noise signal light, brightness (“B”) substantially equal to Π×B, wherein n is a number HP semiconductor laser diodes, and B is brightness of each HP laser diode, and output power (“Po”) substantially equal to nPd, wherein Pd is a power of each HP laser diode, and n is the number thereof.
US09300103B2	Electrical connector Electrical connectors that are mating compatible with the MicroTCA® standard and configured to be mounted to an underlying substrate are provided. Certain of the electrical connectors can be configured to be mounted to a substrate configured in accordance with the MicroTCA® press fit footprint. Additionally, electrical connectors that are mating compatible with the MicroTCA® standard and configured to be mounted to respective alternative footprints, and substrates configured in accordance with the respective alternative footprints are provided. The disclosed electrical connectors and corresponding substrate footprints can operate to transmit data at speed up to and in excess of 25 Gigabits per second.
US09300096B1	Power connector A power connector includes a conductive module and an insulating member. The conductive module includes a metal seat and a conductive pin at least partially protruding from the metal seat. The metal seat is configured to be installed on a first electronic device. The conductive pin is configured to insertably connect to a second electronic device. The insulating member covers part of the outer surface of the conductive module, and the conductive module has a contact portion exposed from the insulating member. The contact portion and the conductive pin are provided with electrical connection. The contact portion is configured to electrically connect to the first electronic device when the metal seat is installed on the first electronic device. The conductive pin is configured to electrically connect to the second electronic device when inserting into the second electronic device.
US09300094B2	Coaxial cable connector having a pawl preventing removal of a cable A coaxial cable connector for connecting to a coaxial cable, the connector including a body having a longitudinal axis, a front end, an opposed rear end, and an interior. The connector also includes an inner post extending through the body and a coupling nut carried on the inner post. A pawl is carried in the interior of the body for engaging with a cable applied to the interior and preventing removal of the cable after being so applied to the interior. The pawl moves out of and into interference with the cable in response to the application of the cable into the interior of the retraction of the cable off the inner post, respectively.
US09300093B2	Ground connection fitting and ground connection device using same It is aimed to provide a ground connection fitting capable of enhancing the reliability of connection of a ground wire to ground sections and a ground connection device using the same. A first ground connection fitting (1) connects a ground wire (E1) to a first bolt (B1) and a second bolt (B2), which a plurality of ground sections provided on a wall surface of a vehicle. The first ground connection fitting (1) includes a wire connecting portion formed by a wire-side terminal portion (4) to be mounted on an end of the ground wire (E1), and a ground-side terminal portion (5) formed with a first bolt connection hole (6) connectable to the first bolt (B1) and a second bolt connection hole (7) connectable to the second bolt (B2).
US09300083B2	Stackable magnetically-retained connector interface A stackable connector interface with magnetic retention for electronic devices and accessories can allow power and data to be transferred between one or more stacked connectors. Each interconnected stackable connector may include one or more magnetic elements, which magnetic elements may have poles arranged to facilitate mating with other stackable connectors. The magnetic elements may also provide a magnetic retention force that holds mated connectors in contact with each other. The connectors can also include connection detection circuitry for determining whether the connectors are mated with other connectors, thereby allowing the connectors to prevent live contacts from being exposed at an unmated surface of the connectors. In addition to connection detection circuitry, routing circuitry may also be included to determine how signals should be transferred between the interconnected stackable connectors and/or corresponding devices.
US09300082B2	Electrical connectors A plug (1) for electrical equipment comprising a housing and a plurality of projections (2, 4, 5) extending from the housing, wherein first and second projections are larger than a third projection, and the projections are arranged so as to facilitate disengagement of the plug from the socket.
US09300078B2	Waterproof housing for mobile electronic device and waterproof adapter for accessory device A waterproof adapter can provide a liquid-tight seal between a waterproof housing for a mobile electronic device and an accessory connector extending from an accessory device, such as a jack plug extending from a pair of headphones. The waterproof adapter can be an integral part of the accessory connector or can be installed on the accessory connector using, for example, a threaded or bayonet-style connection. In one example, the waterproof adapter can include an exterior gasket channel circumscribing an exterior surface of its body, an exterior gasket disposed at least partially within the exterior gasket channel, thereby permitting the waterproof adapter to provide a liquid-tight seal between a connector aperture in the waterproof housing and the accessory connector. When the accessory device is disconnected from the mobile electronic device, a port-sealing bung can be inserted into the connector aperture of the waterproof housing and can provide a liquid-tight seal therewith.
US09300074B2	High speed, high density electrical connector An electrical connector with electrically lossy materials bridging ground members. The lossy conductive members may be formed by filling a settable binder with conductive particles, allowing the partially conductive members to be formed through an insert molding process. Connectors assembled from wafers that contain signal conductors held within an insulative housing may incorporate lossy conductive members by having filled thermal plastic molded onto the insulative housing. The lossy conductive members may be used in conjunction with magnetically lossy materials. The lossy conductive members reduce ground system do resonance within the connector, thereby increasing the high frequency performance of the connector.
US09300073B2	Electrical connector having a fixing piece attached to a conducting terminal An electrical connector used for electrically connecting a first electronic element and a second electronic element opposite to each other, includes an insulating body and multiple conducting terminals. The insulating body has multiple receiving spaces, and the conducting terminals are correspondingly accommodated in the receiving spaces. At least one fixing piece is connected to one of the conducting terminals through at least one insulation piece, and the fixing piece fixes the conducting terminal to the corresponding receiving space.
US09300069B2	Electrical terminal with enhanced clamping force An electrical connector having one or more pairs of opposing contact arms extending from a body portion and configured to receive a mating connector. A spring clamp member is positioned over the opposing contact arms to increase a compressive force of the contact arms on the mating connector. The contact arms include stabilizing features to limit lateral, longitudinal, and/or rotational movement of the spring clamp member relative to the contact arms. The contact arms may be formed of a material having a high electrical connectivity and the spring clamp member may be formed of a different material having a higher relaxation temperature than the contact arm material. The mating connector may include be a male blade type terminal.
US09300067B2	Connector A connector has a receiving portion which is receivable a connection member inserted rearward in a front-rear direction. The connection member has a plate-like or sheet-like shape and has terminals and a ground pattern. The connector comprises a plurality of contacts, a holding member and a conductive member. The contacts have contact points, respectively. The contact points are to be in contact with the terminals, respectively. The holding member holds the contacts. The conductive member is attached to the holding member. The conductive member has a shield connection portion which is to be in contact with the ground pattern. The shield connection portion is positioned frontward of the contact points of the contacts in the front-rear direction and is positioned outward of the contact points in a width direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction.
US09300066B2	High-voltage resistance and retention of printed flex circuits A device includes an electrical connector coupled to the end of a flex circuit. The connector includes interior ribs that engage slots in the flex circuit, with the ribs and slots separating adjacent contact pads on the flex circuit. The contact pads are exposed portions of conductive traces on the flex circuit. Other portions of the conductive traces may be covered by a dielectric material, such as a non-conductive ink. The ribs provide an increased isolation path between the contact pads.
US09300065B2	Electrical connector assembly having combination interface An electrical connector includes an insulative housing defining a base portion, a mating port extending along a front-to-rear direction and a pair of guiding posts disposed at two opposite sides of the base portion, the mating port defining a front face perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction, the guiding post extending beyond the front face and defining upper and lower faces opposite in a vertical direction and an outer connecting face connecting the upper and lower faces. A plurality of conductive terminals are retained in the insulative housing and arrange in a longitudinal direction, and a shield shell enclosing the insulative housing. Each guiding slot defines a first guiding slot selectively disposed on at least one face of the upper and lower faces and the connecting face, and the first guiding slot is U-shaped and forwardly runs through a free end of the guiding post in the front-to-rear direction.
US09300056B2	Array antenna optimized for a base station communication system Disclosed is an antenna in which certain radiators are shared for multiple frequency bands. The antenna may include at least one first radiator for a first frequency band; one or more second radiator for a second frequency band; and a third radiator. Here, the third radiator may be used when realizing the first frequency band and may also be used when realizing the second frequency band.
US09300052B2	Adjustable antenna system An adjustable antenna system for transmission and/or reception of electromagnetic waves enables adjustment of the length of an antenna cable for adjustably tuning one or more operating parameters of the antenna. The antenna system can include a spindle frame that can support a first spool and a second spool that are rotatably mountable on the spindle frame. Wrapped around the first spool can be a length of antenna cable and wrapped around the second spool can be a length of non-conducting line. The distal ends of the cable and line can be connected so that as spools are selectively rotated independently or dependently, the relative lengths of the cable and line are changed. The antenna system can further include a transmission bus partially disposed along the spindle frame to establish communication between the antenna cable and a connector for connecting to a transmitter/receiver associated with the antenna system.
US09300050B2	Multiband RF antenna This invention relates to a miniature multiband antenna, in which a substrate being the carrier of a conductive element, and the conductive element configured as a layer onto the substrate and being the radiator in form of a slot, and a conductive layer configured onto the substrate and being the antenna feed line in form of a polygon patch area. Alternative embodiments illustrate use of slot type—and meander type antennas. The invention may be applied in any kind of electronic equipment, where a high capacity wireless system is required and within a very small physical embodiment.
US09300049B2	Antenna and portable device having the same An antenna and a portable device having the same are provided. The antenna provided in a portable device includes: a radiator unit housed at one surface of the portable device; and a resonant frequency compensation unit housed at another surface of the portable device facing the one surface and adjusting a resonant frequency of the radiator unit changed by an environment change to a preset resonant frequency. Examples of the environment change include a device color change, and a battery size change.
US09300046B2	Method for manufacture of multi-layer-multi-turn high efficiency inductors A multi-layer, multi-turn structure for an inductor having a plurality of conductor layers separated by layers of insulator is described. The inductor further comprises a connector electrically connected between the conductor layers. The structure of the inductor may comprise a cavity therewithin. The structure of the inductor constructed such that electrical resistance is reduced therewithin, thus increasing the efficiency of the inductor. The inductor is particularly useful at operating within the radio frequency range and greater.
US09300045B2	Communication device with antenna element A communication device including a ground element and an antenna element is provided. The antenna element includes a metal element. The metal element is disposed adjacent to an edge of the ground element. The metal element has a first connection point and a second connection point. A feeding point of the antenna element is coupled through an inductive element to the first connection point. A first feeding path is formed from the feeding point through the inductive element to the first connection point. The feeding point of the antenna element is further coupled through a capacitive element to the second connection point. A second feeding path is formed from the feeding point through the capacitive element to the second connection point. The feeding point of the antenna element is further coupled through a matching circuit to a signal source.
US09300043B2	Multiple frequency range antenna A multiple frequency range antenna may include a plurality of printed conductive arrays and a plurality of printed layers alternately placed together in a printed circuit board sandwich. A connection component may be attached to the printed an exposed section of the printed circuit board sandwich. A first end of an electrical cable may be attached to the connection component. The electrical cable may attach to the printed circuit board sandwich. In certain embodiments, an electrical connector component may be attached to a second end of the electrical cable. The multiple frequency range antenna may be used with an RF device.
US09300041B2	Multimode broadband antenna module and wireless terminal A multimode broadband antenna module and a wireless terminal are provided. The multimode broadband antenna module includes a printed circuit board and an antenna body, where the antenna body includes a first radiator and a second radiator that are electrically connected to the printed circuit board, where the first radiator includes a connection portion, a low frequency portion, and a high frequency portion, the second radiator includes a grounding portion, a low frequency portion, and a high frequency portion, and a first predetermined distance exists between the low frequency portion of the first radiator and the low frequency portion of the second radiator, and a second predetermined distance exists between the high frequency portion of the first radiator and the high frequency portion of the second radiator, so as to form a coupling capacitance effect between the first radiator and the second radiator.
US09300033B2	Wireless communication device with an antenna adjacent to an edge of the device A wireless communication device comprising a housing comprising a plurality of edges and configured to serve as an external surface for the wireless communication device, and an antenna adjacent to at least a first edge of the housing, wherein the antenna comprises at least a conductive strip and at least one slot and wherein the antenna is configured to receive and transmit wireless signals, wherein the first edge of the housing is one of an edge of the housing nearest an ear piece and an edge of the housing that is opposite the edge of the housing nearest the ear piece, and wherein the conductive strip and the slot are adjacent to at least the first edge of the housing.
US09300032B2	RFID antenna system and method The present invention provides an RFID device having a substrate body, and an IC component and antenna disposed thereon. The RFID device may further include one or more spacing elements, wherein at least a portion of the substrate body is adapted to be disposed around at least a portion the spacing element, thus reducing the overall size of the substrate body with proper impedance matching. The RFID device may further include an EAS element coupled to the substrate body and/or the spacing element in order to create a combination RFID/EAS device with the ability to reduce its overall footprint without sacrificing the ability to provide both identification and article surveillance functions.
US09300027B2	Directional coupler A directional coupler has a first line capable of transmitting a high-frequency signal therethrough and a second line arranged for electromagnetic coupling with the first line in a laminated board. The first line and the second line are routed on a first conductor layer to extend in close proximity to and in parallel with each other, to form an intra-layer coupling zone for developing electromagnetic coupling between the first line and the second line. The second line is routed on a second conductor layer such that the second line partially overlaps with the first line disposed on the first conductor layer with respect to a length-wise direction, when viewed in plan, to form an inter-layer coupling space for developing electromagnetic coupling between the second line on the second conductor layer and the first line on the first conductor layer.
US09300023B2	Thin film balun A thin film balun that can be made smaller and thinner while maintaining required balun characteristics is provided. A thin film balun 1 includes: an unbalanced transmission line UL including a first coil portion C1 and a second coil portion C2; a balanced transmission line BL including a third coil portion C3 and a fourth coil portion C4 that are positioned facing and magnetically coupled to the first coil portion C1 and the second coil portion C2 respectively; an unbalanced terminal UT connected to the first coil portion C1; a ground terminal G connected to the second coil portion C2 via a C component D; and an electrode D2 connected to the ground terminal G and facing a part of the second coil portion C2. The C component D is formed by the electrode D2 and the part D1 of the second coil portion C2.
US09300017B2	Detecting blockage of air flow through vehicle traction battery Air is supplied from a passenger cabin of a vehicle to an intake passage between the passenger cabin and a battery of the vehicle. The vehicle may be an electric vehicle such as a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) or a battery-only electric vehicle (BEV). A signal indicating a blockage of air flow through the battery is generated in response to a difference in temperature exceeding a predetermined magnitude. The difference in temperature is between (i) the intake passage and (ii) the passenger cabin.
US09300016B2	Battery system and energy storage system A battery system includes a master rack that has a first battery pack and a master battery management system, which master battery management system controls the first battery pack, and includes a slave rack that has a second battery pack and a slave battery management system, which the slave battery management system controls the second battery pack in response to a command from the master battery management system. The slave battery management system reports information as to a state of the second battery pack, and the master battery management system controls the first battery pack after the master battery management system receives the information from the slave battery management system.
US09300010B2	Solid lithium electrolyte via addition of lithium salts to metal-organic frameworks Various embodiments of the invention disclose that the uptake of LiOiPr in Mg2(dobdc) (dobdc4−=1,4-dioxido-2,5-benzenedicarboxylate) followed by soaking in a typical electrolyte solution leads to a new solid lithium electrolyte Mg2(dobdc).0.35LiOiPr.0.25LiBF4.EC.DEC. Two-point ac impedance data show a pressed pellet of this material to have a conductivity of 3.1×10−4 S/cm at 300 K. In addition, the results from variable-temperature measurements reveal an activation energy of approximately 0.15 eV, while single-particle data suggest that intraparticle transport dominates conduction.
US09300008B2	Solid electrolyte material, lithium battery, and method of producing solid electrolyte material A main object of the present invention is to provide a Li—La—Ti—O based solid electrolyte material having high Li ion conductivity in the crystal grain boundary. The present invention attains the object by providing solid electrolyte material represented by a general formula: Li3x(La(2/3−x)−aM1a) (Ti1−bM2b)O3, wherein “x” is 0
US09300004B2	Integral battery tab One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a wound electromechanical storage device assembly including a negative electrode sheet, a plurality of negative electrode tabs which are integral to and extend from the negative electrode sheet, a positive electrode sheet, a plurality of positive electrode tabs which are integral to and extend from the positive electrode sheet, and a separator sheet disposed between the negative and positive electrode sheets, wherein the negative electrode sheet, positive electrode sheet, and separator sheet are wound around a common axis to form a plurality of windings, and wherein each winding includes one negative electrode tab and one positive electrode tab.
US09300003B2	Meandering correction apparatus for electrode assembly Provided is a meandering correction apparatus for an electrode assembly. The meandering correction apparatus for the electrode assembly, which corrects a position of a second unit cell to align a first unit cell with the second unit cell in the electrode assembly in which the first and second unit cells having sizes different from each other are folded through a separator, includes a main body on which the electrode assembly is disposed, a movable jig unit disposed on one side of the main body to press one side surface of the electrode assembly, thereby moving the electrode assembly toward the other side of the main body, and a correction jig unit disposed on the other side of the main body to support the other side surface of the electrode assembly that moves by the movable jig unit, thereby correcting the position of the second unit cell.
US09300000B2	Organic non-aqueous cation-based redox flow batteries The present invention provides a non-aqueous redox flow battery comprising a negative electrode immersed in a non-aqueous liquid negative electrolyte, a positive electrode immersed in a non-aqueous liquid positive electrolyte, and a cation-permeable separator (e.g., a porous membrane, film, sheet, or panel) between the negative electrolyte from the positive electrolyte. During charging and discharging, the electrolytes are circulated over their respective electrodes. The electrolytes each comprise an electrolyte salt (e.g., a lithium or sodium salt), a transition-metal free redox reactant, and optionally an electrochemically stable organic solvent. Each redox reactant is selected from an organic compound comprising a conjugated unsaturated moiety, a boron cluster compound, and a combination thereof. The organic redox reactant of the positive electrolyte is selected to have a higher redox potential than the redox reactant of the negative electrolyte.
US09299998B2	Fuel cell management method A fuel cell management method includes removing droplets remaining in a fuel cell stack using air supplied to a cathode and hydrogen supplied to an anode. Hydrogen and oxygen remaining are removed in the fuel cell stack by stopping the supply of the hydrogen and the air, and the hydrogen and the oxygen in the fuel cell stack are chemically reacted to remove residual hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is generated in the cathode of the fuel cell stack after removing the residual hydrogen and oxygen. The residual oxygen is additionally removed using the generated hydrogen, the generated hydrogen is absorbed on a surface of a catalyst layer formed on the anode and cathode and accelerating the chemical reaction of hydrogen and air.
US09299996B2	Fuel cell system A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a reactant gas supply device, a voltage adjusting device, a load, and a control device. The control device executes a fixed voltage/variable output control where, in a state where an output voltage of the fuel cell is fixed to a voltage value outside of a redox advancing voltage range using the voltage adjusting device, a supply amount of reactant gas supplied from the reactant gas supply device to the fuel cell is changed so as to track a request output of the load. The control device restricts a change rate of the supply amount of the reactant gas supplied from the reactant gas supply device to the fuel cell if there is change in the request output of the load while the fixed voltage/variable output control is being executed.
US09299995B2	Manifold block for fuel cell stack The present invention provides a manifold block for a fuel cell stack, coupled to a fuel cell stack module and having a gas passage and a cooling water passage. The manifold block includes an insulating member and an insulating cover. The insulating member is inserted into the cooling water passage and contacts an inner surface of the cooling water passage. The insulating member has a tube-like shape and electrically insulates the inner surface of the cooling water passage. The insulating cover is inserted into the cooling water passage and contacts an inner surface of the insulating member. The insulating cover fixes and protects the insulating member.
US09299991B2	Electrochemical deposition of nanoscale catalyst particles A process for the electrochemical deposition of nanoscale catalyst particles using a sacrificial hydrogen anode as counter electrode for the working electrode is disclosed, whereby a concurrent development of hydrogen at the working electrode is mostly or completely avoided.
US09299983B2	Sn—Sb—Ni ternary compound and method for forming the same The invention discloses a novel method to prepare the Ni(Sn, Sb)3 skutterudite compound. Skutterudite compounds are thermoelectric materials, which can transform heat into electric energy. Besides, the Ni(Sn, Sb)3 compound is also an anode material of Li ion battery. The solid state diffusion method is used to prepare the Ni(Sn1-x, Sbx)3 compound. Compared to traditional physical or chemical processes, the method disclosed in the invention is simpler and operates at a lower temperature. By the method according to the invention, the composition of the Ni(Sn, Sb)3 compound can be adjusted to fulfill variety requirements for different applications. It is noteworthy that the invention can prepare ternary compounds. In comparison with the frequently used binary compounds such as Ni3Sn4 or Cu6Sn5, the invention can produce materials with better performance.
US09299982B2	Positive electrode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, method for producing the same, positive electrode for nonaqueous electolyte An object of the present invention is to provide a positive electrode active material for a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery etc. which are capable of suppressing the generation of gas during charge by suppressing a reaction between a positive electrode and an electrolyte decomposition product moved from a negative electrode and a reaction between the positive electrode and the electrolyte, and which are thereby capable of significantly improving battery characteristics such as cycling characteristics. The positive electrode active material includes a compound composed of sodium, fluorine, and erbium and adhered to a surface of lithium cobalt oxide, and can be produced by adding, while adjusting pH, an aqueous solution prepared by dissolving erbium nitrate pentahydrate to a suspension containing lithium cobalt oxide and sodium fluoride.
US09299980B2	Electrodes, batteries, electrode production methods, and production methods Battery electrodes are provided that can include a conductive core supported by a polymeric frame. Methods for manufacturing battery electrodes are provided that can include: providing a sheet of conductive material; and framing the sheet of conductive material with a polymeric material. Batteries are provided that can include a plurality of electrodes, with individual ones of the electrodes comprising a conductive core supported by a polymeric frame.
US09299979B2	Method for producing a storage structure of an electrical energy storage cell A method for producing a storage structure of an electrical metal-air energy storage cell is provided, having an active storage material and an inert material, the method including the following steps: producing a porous green body, which includes the active storage material, infiltration of the porous green body with an infiltration medium, which contains the inert material, and heat treatment of the infiltrated green body to produce an inert enveloping structure, which at least partially envelops grains of the active storage material.
US09299977B2	Manufacturing method of electrode material A method of manufacturing a composite materials in which a carbon material and a metal compound can maintain a nanosized form as a final product is realized, and a method for manufacturing a superior electrode material is provided. A metal compound precursor is formed from a metal compound material source, and a mixture of the metal compound precursor and a carbon material is calcinated. In the treatment to form the precursor, a treatment of absorbing one of the metal compound material sources to the functional group of the carbon material and a treatment of producing on the carbon material a treatment of reacting the remaining material source of the adsorbed metal compound material source on the carbon material to produce a metal compound precursor are performed in separate steps.
US09299975B2	Structure for attaching service plug A structure for attaching a service plug includes an insulating substrate that has openings facing electrodes of a pair of adjacent batteries among a plurality of batteries in a battery module, a pair of connection terminals that are respectively connected to electrodes of the pair of adjacent batteries through the insulating substrate by bolting with nuts, a pair of electric wires whose one ends are connected to the connection terminals respectively, and a connector that is connected to the other ends of the pair of electric wires, and detachably connected with the service plug. The insulating substrate has protrusions which are abutted against the connection terminals respectively, and regulate movement of the connection terminals which simultaneously rotate with rotation of the nuts respectively when being bolted with the nuts.
US09299973B2	Battery module, assembled battery, and vehicle including these batteries A battery module 11 is structured to include a flat-type battery 40 in which current can be taken out from both faces of an electric generation element 20 in a layered direction, flat-plate-type electrode tabs 50 and 60 having a face contact with a current-taking-out plane of the flat-type battery to take out current, and a packaging case 100 covering the flat-type battery and the electrode tab. The inner face of the packaging case and the electrode tab have therebetween an elastic member 120.
US09299972B2	Rechargeable battery with separating member between current collector and battery case A battery includes an electrode assembly, the electrode assembly including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, a current collector, the current collector being electrically and mechanically coupled to one of the electrodes, a case, the electrode assembly and the current collector being disposed within the case, a cap plate, the cap plate having a terminal protruding therefrom, the terminal being electrically coupled to the current collector, and a separating member, the separating member having a protrusion portion and a body portion, the protrusion portion being fixed to the cap plate, and the body portion extending along a length of the current collector and being interposed between the current collector and an inner wall of the case.
US09299971B2	Common carrier for the integrated mandrel battery assembly A system for the automated coiling of a jelly roll electrode assembly for controlled assembly and tensioning of jelly roll assembly is provided. The system includes: a shuttle, and a mandrel to which electrodes are welded; a base, mateable with the shuttle and on which the battery head assembly is mounted for welding to the mandrel; and a coiling device. The coiling device has an upper spool, a lower spool, holding a separator strip and a platform between the two holding the base. The separator strip is threaded through a passage in the mandrel separating positive and negative portions. Rotating the mandrel coils the positive electrode, the separator strip and the negative electrode to coil around the mandrel. The coiling device may include a feedback loop braking one or both spools and allowing the coiling tension to be programmed to a desired level.
US09299967B2	Secondary battery comprising insulator Disclosed is a secondary battery having a structure in which a jelly-roll having a cathode/separator/anode structure is mounted in a cylindrical battery case, wherein a plate-shaped insulator mounted on top of the jelly-roll includes a perforated inlet enabling gas discharge and penetration of electrode terminals, a plurality of fine pores having a size that allows permeation of an electrolyte solution, but does not allow permeation of foreign materials, and a plurality of strip or bead shaped protrusions disposed in transverse and/or longitudinal directions on one or both surfaces of the insulator.
US09299966B2	High energy high power electrodes and batteries Subassemblies for use in an electrochemical device are provided, as are processes for preparing the subassemblies and electrochemical cells incorporating the subassemblies. In some embodiments, the subassemblies include (a) a first electrode and (b) a separator or a first current collector or both. The first electrode is bonded to the separator or the first current collector or both. In some embodiments, the subassemblies further include a second electrode and a second current collector. In some embodiments, the electrodes or separators are sintered. Bipolar cells are also provided, including a plurality of stacked electrochemical cells that are joined in series. The positive electrode and the negative electrode of each stack include a sintered electrode.
US09299963B2	Case for valve-regulated lead-acid batteries A case for valve-regulated lead-acid battery comprising an olefin polymer composition comprising: A) From 60 wt % to 95 wt %, of a propylene homopolymer, or a copolymer of propylene containing 3% or less of ethylene, said homopolymer or copolymer having a Polydispersity Index (P.I.) value of from 4.6 to 10 and a fraction insoluble in xylene at 25° C., higher than 98 molar %; and B) from 5 wt % to 40 wt %, of a copolymer of propylene and ethylene containing from 30 wt % to 65 wt % of ethylene derived units; the sum A)+B) being 100.
US09299959B2	Inkjet device and manufacturing method for organic el device An ink jet device includes: an ink jet head including a nozzle through which ink droplet is ejected by applying voltage to piezoelectric element; and an ejection control unit controlling ink droplet ejection amount by varying voltage, voltage waveform of the voltage includes: preliminary vibration wave form part for preliminary drive operation of pushing ink toward outer edge of the nozzle to the extent that the droplet is not ejected; and main vibration waveform part for main drive operation of ejecting the droplet through the nozzle after the preliminary drive operation, the ejection control unit performs the preliminary and main drive operations according to the preliminary vibration waveform part and the main vibration waveform part, respectively, and proportion of displacement amount X of the voltage for the preliminary drive operation to displacement amount Y of the voltage for the main drive operation is set to 20%≦X/Y≦40%.
US09299958B2	Device for detecting evaporation source and method for applying the same The present disclosure relates to a process for manufacturing Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display panel, and in particular to a device and a method for detecting evaporation source. Through installing a mobile detector above a linear evaporation source, the vapor-deposition rate of the whole linear can be timely and effectively detected. The feedback of uniformity of vapor-deposition can be effectively given, and at the same time the abnormity of the vapor-deposition can be found. Meanwhile, in order to increase the yield and quality of product as well as prevent the evaporation source pollution caused by the dropping of some defects such as organic material or dust, the mobile detector is locked in one side of the evaporation source when it does not work.
US09299956B2	Method for deposition of high-performance coatings and encapsulated electronic devices A method is disclosed for forming leak-free coatings on polymeric or other surfaces that provide optical functions or protect underlying layers from exposure to oxygen and water vapor and do not crack or peel in outdoor environments. This method may include both cleaning and surface modification steps preceding coating. The combined method greatly reduces defects in any barrier layer and provides weatherability of coatings. Specific commercial applications that benefit from this include manufacturing of photovoltaic devices or organic light emitting diode (OLED) devices including lighting and displays.
US09299952B2	Organic light emitting diode device fabrication method and organic light emitting diode device fabricated thereby Disclosed is an organic light emitting diode device fabrication method that includes: preparing a substrate which is defined into a display area and a non-display area; forming a light emission portion, which includes a thin film transistor and an organic light emission layer in the display area, and a pad portion in a part of the non-display area; sequentially forming a sacrificial layer and an encapsulation passivation film throughout the display and non-display areas; and separating the sacrificial layer and the encapsulation passivation film from the pad portion through an irradiation of laser light.
US09299949B2	Display panel and display device A display panel and a display device, such as an organic light emitting panel that includes a spacer. The display panel and the display device include a semiconductor element including a first electrode; a passivation layer arranged on the semiconductor element and including a via hole exposing the first electrode; a second electrode arranged on the passivation layer and connected to the first electrode through the via hole; and a spacer arranged on the second electrode and adjacent to the via hole, wherein the spacer exposes at least a portion of a region where the via hole is formed.
US09299948B2	Organic light emitting display device An organic light emitting display device includes an organic light emitting display panel including first to third pixels that emit light of different colors, a wavelength of a color light emitted from the third pixel being shorter than wavelengths of color lights emitted from the first and second pixels, a window on an upper portion of the display panel, and a light shielding pattern on the window, the light shielding pattern being adjacent to an outline of the third pixel.
US09299946B2	Display substrate, organic electroluminescent display device, and manufacturing method for display substrate and organic electroluminescent display device TFT substrate (10) includes a plurality of pixel regions each including light emitting regions of at least three colors, which light emitting regions include light emitting layers (23R(1), 23G, 23R(2), and 23B), respectively, and two adjacent ones of the light emitting regions are a combination other than a combination of (i) a light emitting region included in a light emitting layer (23G) of a color having a highest current efficiency in a case where the light emitting layers of the light emitting regions of the at least three colors emit light having an identical luminance and (ii) a light emitting region included in a light emitting layer (23B) of a color having a lowest current efficiency in a case where the light emitting layers of the light emitting regions of the at least three colors emit light having an identical luminance.
US09299944B2	Light-emitting element, light-emitting device, electronic device, and lighting device A light-emitting layer, which is a stack of a first light-emitting layer and a second light-emitting layer, is provided between an anode and a cathode. The first light-emitting layer is formed on the anode side and contains a first light-emitting substance converting triplet excitation energy into light emission, a first organic compound having an electron-transport property, and a second organic compound having a hole-transport property. The second light-emitting layer contains a second light-emitting substance converting triplet excitation energy into light emission, the second organic compound, and a third organic compound having an electron-transport property. The first organic compound has a higher LUMO level than the third organic compound. The first light-emitting substance emits light with a wavelength shorter than that of light emitted from the second light-emitting substance. The first and the second organic compounds form an exciplex. The second and the third organic compounds form an exciplex.
US09299942B2	Light-emitting element, light-emitting device, display device, electronic appliance, and lighting device Provided is a light-emitting element with a small degree of luminance degradation with accumulation of driving time (a long-lifetime light-emitting element). Provided is a light-emitting element in which a light-emitting layer with an electron-transport property is formed with a plurality of layers containing different host materials. Further, the LUMO level of a host material on an anode side is higher than the LUMO level of a host material on a cathode side. With such a structure, it is possible to provide a long-lifetime light-emitting element with little degradation in luminance with accumulation of driving time.
US09299940B2	Carbon nanotube network thin-film transistors on flexible/stretchable substrates This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus for flexible thin-film transistors. In one aspect, a device includes a polymer substrate, a gate electrode disposed on the polymer substrate, a dielectric layer disposed on the gate electrode and on exposed portions of the polymer substrate, a carbon nanotube network disposed on the dielectric layer, and a source electrode and a drain electrode disposed on the carbon nanotube network.
US09299939B1	Formation of CMOS device using carbon nanotubes A method, and the resulting structure, of making a CMOS device from carbon nanotube substrate, where a carbide contact is formed in a source drain region. The carbide is formed prior to the gate structure by reacting a glassy carbon and a metal.
US09299936B2	Organic light-emitting diode including multi-layered hole transporting layer, and flat display device including the organic light-emitting diode An organic light-emitting diode including: a first mixed layer between an emission layer and a first electrode and including first and second compounds; a second mixed layer between the emission layer and the first mixed layer and including third and fourth compounds; a first charge generation layer between the first mixed layer and the first electrode and including the first and second compounds and a first charge generation material; a second charge generation layer between the first mixed layer and the second mixed layer and including the third and fourth compounds and a second charge generation material; and a buffer layer between the emission layer and the second mixed layer, the first and the third compounds are each independently a compound represented by Formula 1 below, and the second compound and fourth compounds are each independently a compound represented by Formula 2 below:
US09299935B2	Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds and organic electronic device comprising the same The present disclosure provides a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound and an organic electronic device comprising the same.
US09299933B2	Polymer and organic electroluminescent element The present invention relates to a polymer comprising a repeating unit containing a specific partial structure and a repeating unit containing a crosslinking group, a composition for an organic electroluminescent element comprising the polymer, and an organic electroluminescent element comprising an organic layer formed using the composition for an organic electroluminescent element by a wet film formation method.
US09299930B2	Memory cells, integrated devices, and methods of forming memory cells Some embodiments include integrated devices, such as memory cells. The devices may include chalcogenide material, an electrically conductive material over the chalcogenide material, and a thermal sink between the electrically conductive material and the chalcogenide material. The thermal sink may be of a composition that includes an element in common with the electrically conductive material and includes an element in common with the chalcogenide material. Some embodiments include a method of forming a memory cell. Chalcogenide material may be formed over heater material. Electrically conductive material may be formed over the chalcogenide material. A thermal sink may be formed between the electrically conductive material and the chalcogenide material. The thermal sink may be of a composition that includes an element in common with the electrically conductive material and includes an element in common with the chalcogenide material.
US09299925B2	Multi-purpose sensor A three-dimensional sensor system made from an assembly of three either semi- or fully independently oriented sensors, each of which has a working principle based on detecting the movement of a floating magnet supported by magnetic levitation. The sensor system can be used for fall detecting, tilting monitoring and vibration tracking. The volume fabrication method of making individual sensor for such as system is also given.
US09299923B2	Magnetic devices having perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction Provided are magnetic memory devices with a perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction. The device includes a magnetic tunnel junction including a free layer structure, a pinned layer structure, and a tunnel barrier therebetween. The pinned layer structure may include a first magnetic layer having an intrinsic perpendicular magnetization property, a second magnetic layer having an intrinsic in-plane magnetization property, and an exchange coupling layer interposed between the first and second magnetic layers. The exchange coupling layer may have a thickness maximizing an antiferromagnetic exchange coupling between the first and second magnetic layers, and the second magnetic layer may exhibit a perpendicular magnetization direction, due at least in part to the antiferromagnetic exchange coupling with the first magnetic layer.
US09299920B2	Magnetic memory devices with magnetic tunnel junctions Provided is a magnetic memory device with a magnetic tunnel junction on a substrate. The magnetic tunnel junction may include a first magnetic structure and a second magnetic structure spaced apart from each other with a tunnel barrier interposed therebetween. When viewed in a cross-sectional view, a width of the tunnel barrier may be larger at an upper level thereof than at a lower level thereof.
US09299919B1	Hall sensor with improved doping profile A Hall sensor with improved doping profile is disclosed. The Hall sensor includes a semiconductor substrate, a sensing region formed on the substrate, an isolation region formed on the sensing region, and a high concentration doping region formed on an upper portion of the sensing region.
US09299915B2	Methods and apparatus for magnetic sensor having non-conductive die paddle Methods and apparatus to provide an integrated circuit package having a conductive leadframe, a non-conductive die paddle mechanically coupled to the leadframe, and a die disposed on the die paddle and electrically connected to the leadframe. With this arrangement, eddy currents are reduced near the magnetic field transducer to reduce interference with magnetic fields.
US09299911B2	Piezoelectric thin-film multilayer body A piezoelectric thin-film multilayer body includes a substrate, an adhesive layer on the substrate, a lower electrode layer on the adhesive layer, and a lead-free piezoelectric thin-film layer on the lower electrode layer. The lead-free piezoelectric thin-film layer is composed of lithium potassium sodium niobate (composition formula (NaxKyLiz)NbO3, 0
US09299910B1	Resonator anchors and related apparatus and methods Micromechanical resonators having stub anchors are described. The micromechanical resonators may be suspended, being connected to a substrate or support by one or more anchors. The anchor(s) may include one or more stubs which can impact the acoustic impedance of the anchor(s). The stub(s) may have various shapes and sizes. In some instances, multiple resonators may be coupled together by a connector having one or more stubs.
US09299909B2	Piezoelectric multilayer component and method for producing the same The piezoelectric multilayer component includes a piezo stack having an alternating sequence of piezoelectric ceramic layers and inner electrodes, and a passivation on an outer side. The passivation is produced from a piezoelectric ceramic material which is different from the material of the ceramic layers. In the production method, the passivation is polarized together with the ceramic layers.
US09299908B2	Piezoelectric actuator and drive device A piezoelectric actuator that includes a piezoelectric substrate, first and second electrodes, and a conductive layer. The first and second electrodes are configured to apply a voltage to the piezoelectric substrate. The conductive layer is formed on the first electrode. The conductive layer is made of a metal or an alloy different in color from the second electrode.
US09299907B2	Thin-film thermo-electric generator and fabrication method thereof For the thin-film thermo-electric generator and fabrication method of this invention, a P-type thermo-electric thin-film layer, an insulating thin-film layer and a N-type thermo-electric thin-film layer is deposited on a substrate to form a three-layer PN junction, multiple three-layer PN junctions in series are available, an insulating thin-film layer is provided between every to serial three-layer PN junctions, and electrodes are extracted from the substrate and the outermost thin-film layer of the last three-layer thin-film PN junctions. The present invention applies the deposition of P-type thermo-electric thin-film layer, an insulating thin-film layer and a N-type thereto-electric thin-film layer to form a three-layer PN junction, thus a thermo-electric generator is formed, during the deposition of the insulating thin-film layer, intentionally sheltering the substrate and one end of the deposited thin-film layer and depositing the P-type or N-type materials on the substrate and one end of the deposited thin-film layer directly, to form a connection of PN junction or a serial connection between two PN junction, the separate connection of the P-type or N-type materials is not required, simplifying the fabrication processes of the thin-film thermo-electric generator, owning to the function of the thin-film thermo-electric materials and serial connection structure of multiple three-layer PN junctions, the performance of the thin-film thermo-electric generator is greatly improved.
US09299901B2	Semiconductor light emitting device According to one embodiment, a semiconductor light emitting device includes a metal layer, a stacked structural body, a first electrode, a pad electrode, a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer and an insulating layer. The metal layer includes a major surface having a first region, a second region, a third region and a fourth region. The stacked structural body includes a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer and a light emitting layer. The first semiconductor layer includes a first portion and a second portion. The second semiconductor layer is provided between the first region and the first portion. The first electrode is provided between the second region and the second portion. The pad electrode is provided on the third region. The first conductive layer is provided between the second region and the first electrode and between the third region and the pad electrode.
US09299897B2	Optoelectronic semiconductor chip having a plurality of active regions arranged alongside one another An optoelectronic semiconductor chip is disclosed. The optoelectronic semiconductor chip includes a semiconductor layer sequence having an active zone suitable for emitting radiation, a carrier substrate, and a mirror layer, the mirror layer being arranged between the semiconductor layer sequence and the carrier substrate, wherein the semiconductor layer sequence is subdivided into a plurality of active regions arranged alongside one another, wherein the plurality of active regions are separated from one another in each case by a trench in the semiconductor layer sequence, wherein the trench in each case severs the semiconductor layer sequence and the mirror layer, wherein the mirror layer has side surfaces facing a trench and side surfaces facing an outer side of the semiconductor chip, wherein the side surfaces of the mirror layer that face an outer side of the semiconductor chip have a metallic encapsulation layer.
US09299895B1	Package structure of enhanced lumen light emitting diode A light emitting diode is provided. The light emitting diode comprises a lead frame, a resin base, an emitting chip and a glue. The lead frame has a plurality of electrode portions thereon. The resin base is provided on the lead frame, the resin base having an outer wall thereon and around an edge to form an opening, and the opening exposing the electrode portions; and an inner wall extending from the outer wall, and the inner side of the inner wall has a slope to decrease the inner diameter of the opening gradually. The emitting chip is attached on the top surface(s) of one or two the electrode portion(s). The glue is filled into a space between the emitting chip and the inner wall to expose the top surface of the emitting chip. Therefore, the illumination of the light emitting diode can be enhanced.
US09299893B2	Light-emitting device that provides efficient and bright luminescence A light-emitting device comprises: a light-emitting semiconductor stack comprising a recess and a mesa, wherein the recess comprises a bottom and the mesa comprises an upper surface; a first insulating layer in the recess and on a part of the upper surface of the mesa; and a first electrode comprising a first layer and a second layer, wherein the first layer comprises a first conductive material and is on another part of the upper surface of the mesa, and the second layer comprises a second conductive material and is on the first layer.
US09299889B2	Semiconductor light emitting device According to one embodiment, a semiconductor light emitting device includes a stacked structure body, a first electrode, a second electrode, and a dielectric body part. The stacked structure body includes a first semiconductor layer, having a first portion and a second portion juxtaposed with the first portion, a light emitting layer provided on the second portion, a second semiconductor layer provided on the light emitting layer. The first electrode includes a contact part provided on the first portion and contacting the first layer. The second electrode includes a first part provided on the second semiconductor layer and contacting the second layer, and a second part electrically connected with the first part and including a portion overlapping with the contact part when viewed from the first layer toward the second layer. The dielectric body part is provided between the contact part and the second part.
US09299887B2	Ultra-thin printed LED layer removed from substrate Ultra-thin flexible LED lamp layers are formed over a release layer on a substrate. The LED lamp layers include a first conductor layer overlying the release layer, an array of vertical light emitting diodes (VLEDs) printed over the first conductor layer, where the VLEDs have a bottom electrode electrically contacting the first conductor layer, and a second conductor layer overlying the VLEDs and contacting a top electrode of the VLEDs. Other layers may be formed, such as protective layers, reflective layers, and phosphor layers. The LED lamp layers are then peeled off the substrate, wherein the release layer provides a weak adherence between the substrate and the LED lamp layers to allow the LED lamp layers to be separated from the substrate without damage. The resulting LED lamp layers are extremely flexible, enabling the LED lamp layers to be adhered to flexible target surfaces including clothing.
US09299882B2	Optimised method for producing electroluminescent nanowires A process for fabricating an array of nanowires on the surface of a substrate, the nanowires comprising a portion capable of emitting radiation under action of an electrical or optical control and at least partially connected to one another electrically via a conductive upper layer, comprises steps allowing a subset of defective nanowires to be identified among active nanowires, the steps comprising: producing a layer of negative photoresist sensitive to the emission wavelength, covering the array of the nanowires; activating the array of the nanowires under electrical control or optical control so the active nanowires emit the radiation, the radiation decreasing the solubility of the negative resist; developing the resist level with the defective nanowires, leaving zones made less soluble and encircling the active nanowires; and removing the conductive layer above the defective nanowires. A process for fabricating one or more light-emitting diodes using the process is provided.
US09299876B2	Light emitting and lasing semiconductor methods and devices A method for producing light emission from a semiconductor structure, including the following steps: providing a semiconductor structure that includes a semiconductor base region of a first conductivity type and having a relatively long minority carrier diffusion length characteristic, between a semiconductor emitter region of a second conductivity type opposite to that of the first conductivity type, and a semiconductor drain region of the second conductivity type; providing, between the base region and the drain region, a semiconductor auxiliary region of the first conductivity type and having a relatively short minority carrier diffusion length characteristic; providing, within the base region, a region exhibiting quantum size effects; providing an emitter electrode coupled with the emitter region; providing a base/drain electrode coupled with the base region and the drain region; and applying signals with respect to the emitter and base/drain electrodes to obtain light emission from the semiconductor structure.
US09299875B2	Manufacture of solar cell module A solar cell module is manufactured by encapsulating a solar cell matrix comprising a plurality of electrically connected solar cell components between a transparent panel and a backsheet with a resin. The method involves (i) embossing opposite surfaces of a green silicone rubber sheet, (ii) arranging a transparent panel (13a), silicone rubber sheet (11), solar cell matrix (14), silicone rubber sheet (11), and backsheet (13b) to form a multilayer assembly, and (iii) heating and compressing the assembly for vacuum lamination for establishing a seal around the solar cell matrix.
US09299872B2	System and method for reducing dark current drift in a photodiode based electron detector A sensing element that may include (a) a PIN diode that may include an anode that is coupled to an anode contact; a cathode that is coupled to a cathode contact; a semiconductor portion that has a sensing region; and an insulator that is positioned between the cathode contact and the anode contact; and (b) a shielding element. The insulator, the cathode contact and the anode contact are positioned between the shielding element and the semiconductor portion. The shielding element is shaped and positioned to facilitate radiation to impinge onto the sensing region of the semiconductor portion while at least partially shielding the insulator from electrons that are emitted from the sensing region.
US09299868B2	Solar panel mounting and installation A solar panel mounting system may include a solar panel mounting assembly for mounting to a support structure. The solar panel mounting assembly may include a restraining element, a retaining element and a biasing assembly that supports the restraining and retaining elements. The support structure may include an upper surface and a lower surface spaced from the upper surface. The biasing assembly may further include a biasing element that resiliently urges the retaining element toward a securing element for supporting a solar panel that is positioned between the retaining element and the upper surface of the support structure, and resiliently urges the restraining element toward the lower surface of the support structure. A retention device may resiliently bias the solar panels of a solar panel assembly together on a support structure.
US09299866B2	Nanowire array based solar energy harvesting device A photovoltaic device operable to convert light to electricity, comprising a substrate, a plurality of structures essentially perpendicular to the substrate, one or more recesses between the structures, each recess having a planar mirror on a bottom wall thereof and each recess filled with a transparent material. The structures have p-n or p-i-n junctions for converting light into electricity. The planar mirrors function as an electrode and can reflect light incident thereon back to the structures to be converted into electricity.
US09299864B2	Ge/Si avalanche photodiode with integrated heater and fabrication thereof Various embodiments of a novel structure of a Ge/Si avalanche photodiode with an integrated heater, as well as a fabrication method thereof, are provided. In one aspect, a doped region is formed either on the top silicon layer or the silicon substrate layer to function as a resistor. When the environmental temperature decreases to a certain point, a temperature control loop will be automatically triggered and a proper bias is applied along the heater, thus the temperature of the junction region of a Ge/Si avalanche photodiode is kept within an optimized range to maintain high sensitivity of the avalanche photodiode and low bit-error rate level.
US09299856B2	Selective gate oxide properties adjustment using fluorine Fluorine is located in selective portions of a gate oxide to adjust characteristics of the gate oxide. In some embodiments, the fluorine promotes oxidation which increases the thickness of the selective portion of the gate oxide. In some embodiments, the fluorine lowers the dielectric constant of the oxide at the selective portion. In some examples, having fluorine at selective portions of a select gate oxide of a non volatile memory may reduce program disturb of the memory.
US09299855B2	Semiconductor device having dual gate insulating layers A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer, a gate electrode overlapping with the semiconductor layer, a first gate insulating layer between the semiconductor layer and the gate electrode, and a second gate insulating layer between the first gate insulating layer and the gate electrode. The first gate insulating layer includes an oxide in which the nitrogen content is lower than or equal to 5 at. %, and the second gate insulating layer includes charge trap states.
US09299853B1	Bottom gate TFT with multilayer passivation A transistor includes a gate in contact with a substrate. A gate insulating layer is in contact with at least the gate. An inorganic semiconductor layer is in contact with the gate insulating layer. There is a source electrode in contact with a first portion of the inorganic semiconductor layer and a drain electrode in contact with a second portion of the inorganic semiconductor layer, and the source electrode and the drain electrode are separated by a gap. There is a multilayer insulating structure in contact with at least the inorganic semiconductor layer in the gap. The multilayer structure includes an inorganic dielectric layer having a first pattern defining a first area; and a polymer structure having a second pattern defining a second area. The second area is located within the first area and the polymer structure is in contact with the semiconductor layer in the gap.
US09299845B2	Diffusion barrier coated substrates and methods of making the same Semiconductor devices on a diffusion barrier coated metal substrates, and methods of making the same are disclosed. The semiconductor devices include a metal substrate, a diffusion barrier layer on the metal substrate, an insulator layer on the diffusion barrier layer, and a semiconductor layer on the insulator layer. The method includes forming a diffusion barrier layer on the metal substrate, forming an insulator layer on the diffusion barrier layer; and forming a semiconductor layer on the insulator layer. Such diffusion barrier coated substrates prevent diffusion of metal atoms from the metal substrate into a semiconductor device formed thereon.
US09299843B2	Semiconductor structure and manufacturing method thereof A semiconductor structure comprises a substrate, a plurality of fins, an oxide layer and a gate structure. The fins protrude from the substrate and are separated from each other by the oxide layer. The surface of the oxide layer is uniform and even plane. The gate structure is disposed on the fins. The fin height is distance between the top of the fins and the oxide layer, and at least two of the fins have different fin heights.
US09299841B2	Semiconductor devices and methods of manufacture Semiconductor devices with reduced substrate defects and methods of manufacture are disclosed. The method includes forming at least one gate structure over a plurality of fin structures. The method further includes removing dielectric material adjacent to the at least one gate structure using a maskless process, thereby exposing an underlying epitaxial layer formed adjacent to the at least one gate structure. The method further includes depositing metal material on the exposed underlying epitaxial layer to form contact metal in electrical contact with source and drain regions, adjacent to the at least one gate structure. The method further includes forming active areas and device isolation after the formation of the contact metal, including the at least one gate structure. The active areas and the contact metal are self-aligned with each other in a direction parallel to the at least one gate structure.
US09299839B2	PFET and CMOS containing same A P-type field effect transistor includes: a gate area; an insulated area, adjacent to the gate area; a source region and a drain region made by silicon germanium, respectively, adjacent to the second side of the insulated area; a channel area, adjacent to the insulated area and formed between the source region and the drain region; a conductive layer, electrically connected to the source region and the drain region, respectively; and a plurality of capping layers, connected between the conductive layer and the source/drain regions, wherein the silicon layer(s) and the silicon germanium layer(s) are stacked alternately, and of which a silicon layer contacts the source/drain silicon germanium regions, while a silicon germanium layer contacts the conductive layer. The present invention also provides a complementary metal oxide semiconductor transistor including the P-type field effect transistor mentioned above.
US09299833B2	Lateral double diffused MOSFET device A semiconductor device according to the present invention includes: an insulating layer; a semiconductor layer of a first conductive type laminated on the insulating layer; an annular deep trench having a thickness reaching the insulating layer from a top surface of the semiconductor layer; a body region of a second conductive type formed across an entire thickness of the semiconductor layer along a side surface of the deep trench in an element forming region surrounded by the deep trench; a drift region of the first conductive type constituted of a remainder region besides the body region in the element forming region; a source region of the first conductive type formed in a top layer portion of the body region; a drain region of the first conductive type formed in a top layer portion of the drift region; and a first conductive type region formed in the drift region, having a deepest portion reaching a position deeper than the drain region, and having a first conductive type impurity concentration higher than the first conductive type impurity concentration of the semiconductor layer and lower than the first conductive type impurity concentration of the drain region.
US09299831B2	Field effect transistor and semiconductor device A field effect transistor and a semiconductor device are provided which enable a drain breakdown voltage in an off state and a drain breakdown voltage in an on state to be improved respectively. There are provided therein a field oxide film disposed on an N-type drift region positioned between a channel region of a silicon substrate and an N-type drain, an N-type drift layer disposed beneath the drift region of the silicon substrate and the drain, and an embedded layer higher in P-type impurity concentration than the silicon substrate. The embedded layer is disposed beneath the drift layer except for below at least a portion of the drain in the silicon substrate.
US09299829B2	Vertical transistor component A vertical transistor component includes a semiconductor body with first and second surfaces, a drift region, and a source region and body region arranged between the drift region and the first surface. The body region is also arranged between the source region and the drift region. The vertical transistor component further includes a gate electrode arranged adjacent to the body zone, a gate dielectric arranged between the gate electrode and the body region, and a drain region arranged between the drift region and the second surface. A source electrode electrically contacts the source region, is electrically insulated from the gate electrode and arranged on the first surface. A drain electrode electrically contacts the drain region and is arranged on the second surface. A gate contact electrode is electrically insulated from the semiconductor body, extends in the semiconductor body to the second surface, and is electrically connected with the gate electrode.
US09299817B2	Bipolar junction transistor and method of manufacturing the same A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is provided. The BJT can include a semiconductor substrate, a first well disposed in the substrate and implanted with a first impurity, a second well disposed at one side of the first well and implanted with a second impurity, a first device isolation layer disposed in the first well and defining an emitter area, and a second device isolation layer disposed in the second well and defining a collector area, The BJT can also include an emitter having a second impurity, a base having a first impurity, a collector having a second impurity, and a high concentration doping area having a second impurity at high concentration. The high concentration doping area can be provided at one side of the collector in the second well.
US09299814B2	Manufacturing method of the semiconductor device The semiconductor device is manufactured through the following steps: after first heat treatment is performed on an oxide semiconductor film, the oxide semiconductor film is processed to form an oxide semiconductor layer; immediately after that, side walls of the oxide semiconductor layer are covered with an insulating oxide; and in second heat treatment, the side surfaces of the oxide semiconductor layer are prevented from being exposed to a vacuum and defects (oxygen deficiency) in the oxide semiconductor layer are reduced.
US09299811B2	Methods of fabricating semiconductor devices Semiconductor devices may include first and second fins that protrude from a substrate, extend in a first direction, and are separated from each other in the first direction. Semiconductor devices may also include a field insulating layer that is disposed between the first and second fins to extend in a second direction intersecting the first direction, an etch-stop layer pattern that is formed on the field insulating layer and a dummy gate structure that is formed on the etch-stop layer pattern.
US09299810B2	Fin-type field effect transistor and method of fabricating the same A fin-type field effect transistor includes a first fin including a first source, a first drain, and a first channel. The fin-type field effect transistor includes a second fin including a second source, a second drain, and a second channel. The fin-type field effect transistor includes a first semiconductor region under the first fin and a second semiconductor region under the second fin. A first reacted region is adjacent the first semiconductor region while a second reacted region is adjacent the second semiconductor region. The first reacted region has a first dimension causing a first strain in the first channel. The second reacted region has a second dimension causing a second strain in the second channel. The first strain and second strain are substantially equal to one another. A method of fabricating an example fin-type field effect transistor is provided.
US09299801B1	Method for fabricating a transistor device with a tuned dopant profile A transistor device with a tuned dopant profile is fabricated by implanting one or more dopant migrating mitigating material such as carbon. The process conditions for the carbon implant are selected to achieve a desired peak location and height of the dopant profile for each dopant implant, such as boron. Different transistor devices with similar boron implants may be fabricated with different peak locations and heights for their respective dopant profiles by tailoring the carbon implant energy to effect tuned dopant profiles for the boron.
US09299800B2	Methods of manufacturing high electron mobility transistors The methods may include forming a first material layer on a substrate, increasing electric resistance of the first material layer, and forming a source pattern and a drain pattern, which are spaced apart from each other, on the first material layer, a band gap of the source and drain patterns greater than a band gap of a first material layer.
US09299797B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit device A semiconductor memory device includes a pair of bit lines connected to a plurality of memory cells, a first transistor connected between the pair of bit lines, a second transistor between at least one of the pair of bit lines and a first power supply voltage line, and a diffusion layer region shared between the first transistor and the second transistor, and connected to the one of the pair of bit lines. A gate of the first transistor and a gate of the second transistor are connected to each other. A gate of the first transistor is provided such that both a direction of a gate width of the first transistor and a direction of a gate width of second transistor are on one identical extension line.
US09299795B2	Partial sacrificial dummy gate with CMOS device with high-k metal gate A gate structure in a semiconductor device includes: a gate stack formed on a substrate with three sections, a bottom portion, a top portion, and a sacrificial cap layer over the top portion; gate spacers, source and drain regions, a nitride encapsulation over top and sidewalls of the gate stack after removal of the sacrificial cap layer, an organic planarizing layer over the nitride encapsulation, planarizing the encapsulation, and silicidation performed over the source and drain regions and the bottom portion after removal of the nitride encapsulation, the organic planarizing layer, and the top portion of the gate stack.
US09299791B2	Oxide semiconductor thin film and thin film transistor An oxide crystalline thin film having a comparatively high carrier mobility and suitable as TFT channel layer material is provided. The oxide semiconductor thin film of the present invention comprises an oxide that includes indium and tungsten, with the tungsten content in the W/In atomic ratio being 0.005 to 0.12, is crystalline, comprises only the In2O3 phase of bixbyite structure, and has a carrier density of 1×1018 cm−3 or less and a carrier mobility of higher than 1 cm2/Vsec. The oxide is able to include zinc further with the zinc content in the Z/In atomic ratio of 0.05 or less.
US09299788B2	Multi-gate VDMOS transistor Various embodiments provide multi-gate VDMOS transistors. The transistor can include a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a drift layer on the first surface of the substrate, and an epitaxial layer on the drift layer. The transistor can further include a plurality of trenches. Each trench can pass through the epitaxial layer and a thickness portion of the drift layer. The transistor can further include a plurality of gate structures. Each gate structure can fill the each trench. The transistor can further include a plurality of doped regions in the epitaxial layer. Each doped region can surround a sidewall of the each gate structure. The transistor can further include a source metal layer on the epitaxial layer to electrically connecting the plurality of doped regions, and a drain metal layer on the second surface of the substrate.
US09299787B1	Forming IV fins and III-V fins on insulator A method of forming a semiconductor structure. The method may include; forming first fins in a pFET region and an nFET region using epitaxial growth, the first fins are a group IV semiconductor; forming a spacer layer on the first fins; removing the spacer layer from a top surface and a first side of the first fins in the nFET region, a portion of the first fins are exposed on the top surface and the first side of the first fins in the nFET region; and forming second fins on the exposed portion of the first fins using epitaxial growth, the second fins are a group IV semiconductor, the second fins have a second pitch between adjacent second fins, the first pitch is equal to the second pitch, the first fins and the second fins have a shared bottom surface.
US09299781B2	Semiconductor devices with contact structures and a gate structure positioned in trenches formed in a layer of material One illustrative device disclosed herein includes, among other things, an active region defined in a semiconductor substrate, a layer of material positioned above the substrate, a plurality of laterally spaced-apart source/drain trenches formed in the layer of material above the active region, a conductive source/drain contact structure formed within each of the source/drain trenches, a gate trench formed at least partially in the layer of material between the spaced-apart source/drain trenches in the layer of material, wherein portions of the layer of material remain positioned between the source/drain trenches and the gate trench, a gate structure positioned within the gate trench, and a gate cap layer positioned above the gate structure.
US09299779B2	Semiconductor substrate and method of fabricating the same Disclosed are a flat and thin semiconductor substrate, which is formed on a heterogeneous substrate to be easily lifted-off from the heterogeneous substrate, a semiconductor device including the same, and a method of fabricating the same. The semiconductor substrate includes a substrate having a plurality of semispherical protrusions arranged at a predetermined interval on a first plane, and a first semiconductor layer formed on the first plane of the substrate.
US09299777B2	Gate-all-around nanowire MOSFET and method of formation A method for fabricating a semiconductor device comprises forming a nanowire on an insulator layer at a surface of a substrate; forming a dummy gate over a portion of the nanowire and a portion of the insulator layer; forming recesses in the insulator layer on opposing sides of the dummy gate; forming spacers on opposing sides of the dummy gate; forming source regions and drain regions in the recesses in the insulator layer on opposing sides of the dummy gate; depositing an interlayer dielectric on the source regions and the drain regions; removing the dummy gate to form a trench; removing the insulator layer under the nanowire such that a width of the trench underneath the nanowire is equal to or less than a distance between the spacers; and forming a replacement gate in the trench.
US09299774B2	Device structure and methods of forming superjunction lateral power MOSFET with surrounding LDD A semiconductor device has a substrate and a gate formed over the substrate. An LDD region is formed in the substrate adjacent to the gate. A superjunction is formed in the LDD region while a portion of the LDD region remains between the superjunction and gate. A mask is formed over the substrate. A first region is doped with a first type of dopant using the mask. A stripe is doped with a second type of dopant using a portion of the mask. A drain contact region is formed in the substrate. The first region extends to the drain contact region. The first region and stripe are formed using chain implants. A source field plate and drain field plate are formed over the substrate. A trench is formed in the substrate. A source contact region is formed in the trench.
US09299773B2	Semiconductor structure and method for forming the same A semiconductor structure and a method for forming the same are provided. The semiconductor structure comprises a first semiconductor region, a second semiconductor region, a dielectric structure and a gate electrode layer. The first semiconductor region has a first type conductivity. The second semiconductor region has a second type conductivity opposite to the first type conductivity. The first semiconductor region is adjoined to the second semiconductor region. The dielectric structure is on the first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region. The gate electrode layer is on the dielectric structure.
US09299770B2	Method for manufacturing semiconductor device A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: forming a first active region, a second active region, an inactive region located between the first active region and the second active region, and a third active region, which crosses the inactive region to electrically connect the first active region to the second active region, in a semiconductor layer; forming an insulating layer on the semiconductor layer; and forming an opening selectively in the insulating layer by dry etching.
US09299765B2	Altering capacitance of MIM capacitor having reactive layer therein Embodiments include a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor having: a first electrode; a second electrode disposed proximate the first electrode; an insulator layer between the first and second electrodes; and a reactive layer positioned proximate the insulator layer and configured to allow altering of the reactive layer to change a capacitive value of the MIM capacitor, the reactive layer including a reactive conductor.
US09299761B2	Organic light emitting display device and method of manufacturing the same Disclosed is an organic light emitting display device. The organic light emitting display device includes a switching thin film transistor (TFT) that includes a lower gate, a source, and a drain formed on a substrate and on the same layer, a first gate insulating layer formed to cover the lower gate, the source, and the drain, an active layer formed on the first gate insulating layer, a conductive line formed to contact the source and the drain, a second gate insulating layer formed on the active layer, and an upper gate formed on the second gate insulating layer. The lower gate of the switching TFT is a light shield that blocks light from being irradiated onto the active layer.
US09299758B2	Dual display device with vertical structure Disclosed is a dual display device having a vertical structure, in which a reflective display device and a self-emissive display device are formed on one substrate in a vertical structure so as to enable a reflective display or a self-emissive display according to a situation and provide a high resolution display. The dual display device having a vertical structure includes: a thin film transistor formed on a substrate; a white light emitting device formed on the thin film transistor: a reflection adjusting layer formed on the white light emitting device; and a color converting layer formed on the reflection adjusting layer.
US09299754B2	Organic light emitting display and manufacturing method thereof An organic light emitting display includes a substrate, a thin film transistor disposed on the substrate, an overcoat layer having a first thru-hole formed therethrough to expose a portion of the thin film transistor and inclined at an angle with respect to the substrate, an upper passivation layer disposed on the overcoat layer and having a second thru-hole formed threrethrough to expose the portion of the thin film transistor, a first electrode connected to the thin film transistor through the second thru-hole, a light emitting layer disposed on the first electrode, and a second electrode disposed on the light emitting layer.
US09299753B2	Organic light-emitting display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same An organic light-emitting display apparatus in which damages or defects are decreased when forming an emission layer, and a method of manufacturing the organic light-emitting display apparatus includes: a pixel electrode; an emission layer disposed on the pixel electrode and is capable of emitting light; a pixel defining layer that covers at least a portion of an edge of the emission layer such that a center portion of the emission layer is exposed; and an opposite electrode continuously formed over and across the pixel defining layer and the emission layer.
US09299749B2	Organic light-emitting display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same An organic light-emitting display apparatus includes a display substrate, a display panel on the display substrate and including a pixel region including an organic light-emitting device (OLED), and a non-pixel region, and an encapsulation substrate for encapsulating the display panel, wherein the encapsulation substrate defines at least one groove therein in which a color filer is located.
US09299748B2	Organic optoelectronic component An organic optoelectronic component includes a substrate embodied in a light-transmissive fashion, an organic light-emitting element having an organic light-emitting layer between two electrodes, and an organic light-detecting element having an organic light-detecting layer. The organic light-emitting element and the organic light-detecting element are arranged on the substrate. Part of the light generated by the organic light-emitting element during operation enters into the substrate, emerges from the substrate and is detected by the organic light-detecting element.
US09299747B1	Electrode configurations to increase electro-thermal isolation of phase-change memory elements and associated techniques Embodiments of the present disclosure describe electrode configurations to increase electro-thermal isolation of phase-change memory elements and associated techniques. In an embodiment, an apparatus includes a plurality of phase-change memory (PCM) elements, wherein individual PCM elements of the plurality of PCM elements include a phase-change material layer, a first electrode layer disposed on the phase-change material layer and in direct contact with the phase-change material layer, and a second electrode layer disposed on the first electrode layer and in direct contact with the first electrode layer. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
US09299741B2	Solid-state imaging device and line sensor Certain embodiments provide a solid-state imaging device including a pixel portion including a first light receiving layer, a charge accumulation portion including a first charge accumulation layer which accumulates a charge, a first transfer gate portion, a charge detection portion and a second transfer gate portion. The first transfer gate portion transfers the charge from the pixel portion to the charge accumulation portion, and the second transfer gate portion transfers the charge from the charge accumulation portion to the charge detection portion. The charge detection portion causes a voltage drop corresponding to an amount of the charge transferred to this region. An impurity layer of a ring shape which includes an opening portion is provided on a surface of at least one of the first light reception layer of the pixel portion and the first charge accumulation layer of the charge accumulation portion.
US09299739B2	Image pickup apparatus and image pickup system In a photoelectric conversion apparatus that adds signals of a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements included in photoelectric conversion units, each of the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements includes a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type that collects signal carriers. The first semiconductor regions included in photoelectric conversion elements that are included in each of the photoelectric conversion units and that are arranged adjacent to each other sandwich a second semiconductor region of a second conductivity type. A height of a potential barrier for the signal carriers generated in a certain region of the second semiconductor region is smaller than a height of a potential barrier for the signal carriers generated in a third semiconductor region between each of the first semiconductor regions and an overflow drain region of the first conductivity type.
US09299738B1	Interposer based imaging sensor for high-speed image acquisition and inspection systems The present invention includes an interposer disposed on a surface of a substrate, a light sensing array sensor disposed on the interposer, the light sensing array sensor being back-thinned and configured for back illumination, the light sensing array sensor including columns of pixels, one or more amplification circuitry elements configured to amplify an output of the light sensing array sensor, the amplification circuits being operatively connected to the interposer, one or more analog-to-digital conversion circuitry elements configured to convert an output of the light sensing array sensor to a digital signal, the ADC circuitry elements being operatively connected to the interposer, one or more driver circuitry elements configured to drive a clock or control signal of the array sensor, the interposer configured to electrically couple at least two of the light sensing array sensor, the amplification circuits, the conversion circuits, the driver circuits, or one or more additional circuits.
US09299736B2	Hybrid bonding with uniform pattern density A chip includes a semiconductor substrate, integrated circuits with at least portions in the semiconductor substrate, and a surface dielectric layer over the integrated circuits. A plurality of metal pads is distributed substantially uniformly throughout substantially an entirety of a surface of the chip. The plurality of metal pads has top surfaces level with a top surface of the surface dielectric layer. The plurality of metal pads includes active metal pads and dummy metal pads. The active metal pads are electrically coupled to the integrated circuits. The dummy metal pads are electrically decoupled from the integrated circuits.
US09299731B1	Systems and methods for selectable photodiode circuits Example systems and methods include a receiving circuit and selectable photodiode circuits. Each selectable photodiode circuit includes (i) a photodiode having a photodiode anode and a photodiode cathode, where the photodiode is configured to generate a selectable input, (ii) a bias voltage source connected to the photodiode cathode, (iii) a connecting resistor connected to the photodiode anode, (iv) a switchable power supply connected to the connecting resistor, where the switchable power supply is configured to operate in a high state and a low state, and (v) a PIN diode having a PIN anode and a PIN cathode, where the PIN cathode is connected to the photodiode anode and the connecting resistor, and the PIN anode is connected to the receiving circuit. The selectable photodiode circuit is configured to provide the selectable input to the receiving circuit only when the switchable power supply operates in the low state.
US09299724B2	Analog circuit and semiconductor device An object is to obtain a semiconductor device having a high sensitivity in detecting signals and a wide dynamic range, using a thin film transistor in which an oxide semiconductor layer is used. An analog circuit is formed with the use of a thin film transistor including an oxide semiconductor which has a function as a channel formation layer, has a hydrogen concentration of 5×1019 atoms/cm3 or lower, and substantially functions as an insulator in the state where no electric field is generated. Thus, a semiconductor device having a high sensitivity in detecting signals and a wide dynamic range can be obtained.
US09299723B2	Semiconductor device with light-blocking layers One object is to propose a memory device in which a period in which data is held can be ensured and memory capacity per unit area can be increased. The memory device includes a memory element, a transistor including an oxide semiconductor in an active layer for control of accumulating, holding, and discharging charge in the memory element, and a capacitor connected to the memory element. At least one of a pair of electrodes of the capacitor has a light-blocking property. Further, the memory device includes a light-blocking conductive film or a light-blocking insulating film. The active layer is positioned between the electrode having a light-blocking property and the light-blocking conductive film or the light-blocking insulating film.
US09299722B2	Display panel and active device thereof A display panel and an active device thereof are provided. The active device includes a gate, a semiconductor layer, a first source and a plurality of first drains. The first source includes a first side and a second side opposite to each other, the first side has a plurality of first recesses, and the second side has a plurality of second recesses. Each of the first recesses and a corresponding second recess are disposed opposite to each other to constitute a recess-pair. A minimum distance between the first recess and the second recess of each recess-pair is A, a minimum distance between two neighboring recess-pairs is B, wherein A is greater than B. The first drains are electrically connected to each other, and each of the first drains is respectively disposed in one of the recesses of the first source.
US09299721B2	Method for making semiconductor device with different fin sets A method for making a semiconductor device may include forming, above a substrate, first and second semiconductor regions laterally adjacent one another and each including a first semiconductor material. The first semiconductor region may have a greater vertical thickness than the second semiconductor region and define a sidewall with the second semiconductor region. The method may further include forming a spacer above the second semiconductor region and adjacent the sidewall, and forming a third semiconductor region above the second semiconductor region and adjacent the spacer, with the second semiconductor region including a second semiconductor material different than the first semiconductor material. The method may also include removing the spacer and portions of the first semiconductor material beneath the spacer, forming a first set of fins from the first semiconductor region, and forming a second set of fins from the second and third semiconductor regions.
US09299720B2	Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof When VC inspection for a TEG is performed, it is easily detected whether any failure of a contact plug occurs or not by increasing an emission intensity of a contact plug, so that reliability of a semiconductor device is improved. An element structure of an SRAM is formed on an SOI substrate in a chip region. Also, in a TEG region, an element structure of an SRAM in which a contact plug is connected to a semiconductor substrate is formed on the semiconductor substrate exposed from an SOI layer and a BOX film as a TEG used for the VC inspection.
US09299719B2	CMOS with dual raised source and drain for NMOS and PMOS An apparatus and a method for creating a CMOS with a dual raised source and drain for NMOS and PMOS. The spacers on both stack gates are of equal thickness. In this method, a first insulating layer is formed on the surface. The first region is then masked while the other region has the first layer etched away and has an epitaxial source and drain grown on the region. A second layer is formed to all exposed surfaces. The second region is then masked while the first region is etched away. The epitaxial source and drain is formed on the first region. The second region can also be masked by adding a thin layer of undoped silicon and then oxidize it. Another way to mask the second region is to use a hard mask. Another way to form the second source and drain is to use amorphous material.
US09299715B2	Fabrication method and structure of semiconductor non-volatile memory device A non-volatile semiconductor memory device with good write/erase characteristics is provided. A selection gate is formed on a p-type well of a semiconductor substrate via a gate insulator, and a memory gate is formed on the p-type well via a laminated film composed of a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, and a silicon oxide film. The memory gate is adjacent to the selection gate via the laminated film. In the regions on both sides of the selection gate and the memory gate in the p-type well, n-type impurity diffusion layers serving as the source and drain are formed. The region controlled by the selection gate and the region controlled by the memory gate located in the channel region between said impurity diffusion layers have the different charge densities of the impurity from each other.
US09299714B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same A semiconductor device includes a channel layer protruding from a substrate and having protrusions extending from a sidewall thereof. Floating gates surrounding the channel layer are provided between the protrusions. Control gates surrounding the floating gates are stacked along the channel layer. Interlayer insulating layers are interposed between the control gates stacked along the channel layer. A level difference exists between a lateral surface of each of the floating gates, and a lateral surface of each of the protrusions.
US09299713B2	Three-dimensional nonvolatile memory device A semiconductor device includes word lines stacked in a cell region of a substrate and each of the word lines includes a first conductive layer. At least one selection line is stacked on top of the word lines and includes a second conductive layer. At least one gate line is formed in a peripheral region of the substrate and includes the second conductive layer.
US09299712B2	Semiconductor device and method of making same A semiconductor device and method of making a semiconductor device are disclosed. A semiconductor body, a floating gate poly and a source/drain region are provided. A metal interconnect region with a control gate node is provided that capacitively couples to the floating gate poly.
US09299707B2	Three-dimensional semiconductor devices with current path selection structure Provided are three-dimensional semiconductor devices and methods of operating the same. The three-dimensional semiconductor devices may include active patterns arranged on a substrate to have a multi-layered and multi-column structure and drain patterns connected to respective columns of the active patterns. The methods may include a layer-selection step connecting a selected one of layers of the active patterns selectively to the drain patterns. For example, the layer-selection step may be performed in such a way that widths of depletion regions to be formed in end-portions of the active patterns are differently controlled depending on to a height from the substrate.
US09299705B2	Method of forming semiconductor fins and insulating fence fins on a same substrate A semiconductor structure may be formed by forming a first semiconductor fin and a second inactive semiconductor fin above a substrate; depositing a masking layer above the first semiconductor fin and the second semiconductor fin; etching a trench in the masking layer exposing the second semiconductor fin while the first semiconductor fin remains covered by the masking layer; removing the second semiconductor fin to form a fin recess beneath the trench; filling the fin recess with an insulating material to form an insulating fence fin; and removing the masking layer to expose the first semiconductor fin and the insulating fence fin. A third semiconductor fin separating the first semiconductor fin from the second semiconductor fin may also be formed prior to depositing the masking layer and covered by the masking layer. The first semiconductor fin may be a pFET fin and the third semiconductor fin may be an nFET fin.
US09299703B2	CMOS transistors with identical active semiconductor region shapes A disposable semiconductor material is deposited to form disposable semiconductor material portions on semiconductor fins. A first dielectric liner is deposited and patterned to form openings above a first set of disposable semiconductor material portions on a first semiconductor fin. The first set of disposable semiconductor material portions is replaced with a first set of active semiconductor regions by a combination of an etch and a selective epitaxy process that deposits a first semiconductor material. A second dielectric liner is deposited and patterned to form openings above the second set of disposable semiconductor material portions. The second set of disposable semiconductor material portions is replaced with a second set of active semiconductor regions employing another epitaxy process that deposits a second semiconductor material. The active semiconductor regions can have the same faceting profile irrespective of the semiconductor materials therein.
US09299687B2	Light-emitting assemblies comprising an array of light-emitting diodes having an optimized lens configuration Light emitting assemblies comprise a plurality of Light Emitting Diode (LED) dies arranged and attached to common substrate to form an LED array having a desired optimum packing density. The LED dies are wired to one another and are attached to landing pads on the substrate for receiving power from an external electrical source via an interconnect device. The assembly comprises a lens structure, wherein each LED die comprises an optical lens disposed thereover that is configured to promote optimal light transmission. Each optical lens has a diameter that is between about 1.5 to 3 times the size of a respective LED die, and is shaped in the form of a hemisphere. Fillet segments are integral with and interposed between the adjacent optical lenses, and provide sufficient space between adjacent optical lenses so that the diameters of adjacent optical lenses do not intersect with one another.
US09299686B1	Implementing integrated circuit chip attach in three dimensional stack using vapor deposited solder Cu pillars A method and structures are provided for implementing individual integrated circuit chip attach in a three dimensional (3D) stack. A plurality of hollow copper pillars is formed, and the hollow copper pillars are coated with lead free solder using vapor deposition.
US09299684B2	Microelectronic device packages, stacked microelectronic device packages, and methods for manufacturing microelectronic devices A stackable microelectronic package includes a first microelectronic die attached to and electrically connecting with a first substrate. A second microelectronic die is attached to the first die on one side, and to a second substrate on the other side. Electrical connections are made between the first die and the first substrate, between the second die and the second substrate, and between the first and second substrates, e.g., via wire bonding. The electrical connecting elements are advantageously encased in a molding compound. Exposed contacts on the first and/or second substrates, not covered by the molding compound, provide for electrical connections between the package, and another package stacked onto the package. The package may avoid coplanarity factors, can be manufactured using existing equipment, allows for intermediate testing, and can also offer a thinner package height.
US09299681B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing Even when a stiffener is omitted, the semiconductor device which can prevent the generation of twist and distortion of a wiring substrate is obtained.As for a semiconductor device which has a wiring substrate, a semiconductor chip by which the flip chip bond was made to the wiring substrate, and a heat spreader adhered to the back surface of the semiconductor chip, and which omitted the stiffener for reinforcing a wiring substrate and maintaining the surface smoothness of a heat spreader, a wiring substrate has a plurality of insulating substrates in which a through hole whose diameter differs, respectively was formed, and each insulating substrate contains a glass cloth.
US09299677B2	Package with multiple plane I/O structure A embodiment package includes a three dimensional integrated circuit (3D IC) with first input/output pads on a first side and second input/output pads on a second side, a first fan out structure electrically coupled to the first input/output pads on the first side of the three dimensional integrated circuit, and a second fan out structure electrically coupled to the second input/output pads on the second side of the three dimensional integrated circuit.
US09299675B2	Embedded die ball grid array package A method of assembling a semiconductor package includes attaching a semiconductor die to a frame having a strip or panel form. The semiconductor die has at least one stud bump. The die and the stud bump are covered with a first encapsulation material, and then at least a portion of the stud bump is exposed. At least one die conductive member is formed on the first encapsulation material and electrically coupled to the stud bump. The die conductive member is covered with a second encapsulation material, and then at least a portion of the die conductive member is exposed. At least one grid array conductive member is formed on the second encapsulation material and electrically coupled to the die conductive member. Finally, at least one solder ball is attached to the at least one grid array conductive member.
US09299674B2	Bump-on-trace interconnect Disclosed herein is a bump-on-trace interconnect with a wetted trace sidewall and a method for fabricating the same. A first substrate having conductive bump with solder applied is mounted to a second substrate with a trace disposed thereon by reflowing the solder on the bump so that the solder wets at least one sidewall of the trace, with the solder optionally wetting between at least half and all of the height of the trace sidewall. A plurality of traces and bumps may also be disposed on the first substrate and second substrate with a bump pitch of less than about 100 μm, and volume of solder for application to the bump calculated based on at least one of a joint gap distance, desired solder joint width, predetermined solder joint separation, bump geometry, trace geometry, minimum trace sidewall wetting region height and trace separation distance.
US09299673B2	Method for manufacturing a semiconductor chip with each contact pad having a pad cell associated therewith Embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductor chip comprising a plurality of contact pads, which are arranged in an edge area on a surface of the semiconductor chip. In a semiconductor area of the semiconductor chip, every contact pad of the plurality of contact pads has an associated pad cell provided, which includes at least one of a driver or a receiver and is configured to drive output signals or receive input signals on its associated contact pad, if the driver or receiver is connected to the contact pad. Additionally, for a contact pad which is used as a supply contact pad, the driver or receiver of the associated pad cell is not connected to the contact pad or any other contact pad for driving output signals or receiving input signals on the same.
US09299672B2	Contact pads for integrated circuit packages Disclosed herein are contact pads for use with integrated circuit (IC) packages. In some embodiments, a contact pad disclosed herein may be disposed on a substrate of an IC package, and may include a metal projection portion and a metal recess portion. Each of the metal projection portion and the metal recess portion may have a solder contact surface. The solder contact surface of the metal recess portion may be spaced away from the solder contact surface of the metal projection portion. Related devices and techniques are also disclosed herein, and other embodiments may be claimed.
US09299669B2	Electrostatic discharge device gate biasing for a transmitter A transmitter, comprises: a first branch for providing a positive output having a first set of serially-connected transistors; a second branch for providing a negative output having a second set of serially-connected transistors; and a biasing circuit, wherein the biasing circuit generates a first biasing voltage and a second biasing voltage as a function of the positive output, the negative output, and a predefined threshold voltage, and wherein the first biasing voltage, the second biasing voltage, and a differential input signal drive the first set of serially-connected transistors and the second set of serially-connected transistors.
US09299668B2	Compact electronic device for protecting from electrostatic discharge A device for protecting a set of N nodes from electrostatic discharges, wherein N is greater than or equal to three, includes a set of N units respectively possessing N first terminals respectively connected to the N nodes and N second terminals connected together to form a common terminal. Each unit includes at least one MOS transistor including a parasitic transistor connected between a pair of the N nodes and configured, in the presence of a current pulse between the pair of nodes, to operate, at least temporarily, in a hybrid mode including MOS-type operation in a sub-threshold mode and operation of the bipolar transistor.
US09299665B2	Formation of alpha particle shields in chip packaging A structure fabrication method. An integrated circuit that includes N chip electric pads is bonded to a top side of an interposing shield that includes N electric conductors. N is at least 2. The interposing shield includes a shield material that includes a first semiconductor material. A bottom side of the interposing shield is polished, which exposes the N electric conductors to a surrounding ambient. The bonding includes bonding the integrated circuit to the top side of the interposing shield such that the N chip electric pads are in electrical contact and direct physical contact with corresponding electrical pads of the N electric conductors. The shield material covers the N electric conductors in a manner that the N electric conductors are not exposed to the surrounding ambient. The polishing removes a sufficient amount of the shield material to expose the N electric conductors to the surrounding ambient.
US09299662B2	Semiconductor device and display device having alignment mark An exemplary display device includes a transparent substrate and a semiconductor device bonded to the transparent substrate. The transparent substrate includes a first alignment mark. The semiconductor device includes a substrate and a second alignment mark positioned on the substrate. The second alignment mark includes a first pattern structure positioned on the substrate and a second pattern structure positioned on the first pattern structure. The first pattern structure includes a plurality of first non-transparent marks. The second pattern structure includes a second pattern surrounded by the first non-transparent marks. The second pattern is an alignable shape that corresponds to a shape of the first alignment mark on the transparent substrate.
US09299661B2	Integrated circuit package and method of making same An integrated circuit package includes a first dielectric layer comprising a dielectric film having a first side and a second side. The package also includes a die having an active surface affixed to a contact location of the first side of the dielectric film. A die stud is affixed to the active surface of the die and extends through the dielectric film to an interconnect location of the second side of the dielectric film.
US09299658B2	Semiconductor device with self-protecting fuse and method of fabricating the same A semiconductor device with the metal fuse and a fabricating method thereof are provided. The metal fuse connects an electronic component (e.g., a transistor) and a existing dummy feature which is grounded. The protection of the metal fuse can be designed to start at the beginning of the metallization formation processes. The grounded dummy feature provides a path for the plasma charging to the ground during the entire back end of the line process. The metal fuse is a process level protection as opposed to the diode, which is a circuit level protection. As a process level protection, the metal fuse protects subsequently-formed circuitry. In addition, no additional active area is required for the metal fuse in the chip other than internal dummy patterns that are already implemented.
US09299653B2	Electronic component and method for producing same This electronic component is provided with an inorganic substrate, a conductor film formed on a surface of the substrate, and bonding wires bonded to a part of said conductor film, and wire bonding sections are formed on at least a part of the electronic component. The part of the conductor film at least forming the aforementioned wire bonding sections contains an Ag-based metal formed of Ag or an alloy having Ag as the main constituent and a metal oxide which coats said Ag-based metal and which has, as a constituent element, any of the elements selected from the group consisting of Al, Zr, Ti, Y, Ca, Mg, and Zn. The coating quantity of the metal oxide is a quantity corresponding to 0.02 to 0.1 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the aforementioned Ag-based metal.
US09299650B1	Integrated circuit packaging system with single metal layer interposer and method of manufacture thereof An integrated circuit packaging system and method of manufacture thereof including: a base substrate; an integrated circuit die on the base substrate; vertical interconnects attached to the base substrate around the integrated circuit die; and a single metal layer interposer mounted on the vertical interconnects, the single metal layer interposer including: a routing pattern having interposer contacts and traces, and a dielectric layer on the interposer contacts and traces, a top surface of the interposer contacts coplanar with a top surface of the dielectric layer.
US09299649B2	3D packages and methods for forming the same Embodiments of the present disclosure include a semiconductor device and methods of forming a semiconductor device. An embodiment is a semiconductor device comprising an interconnecting structure consisting of a plurality of thin film layers and a plurality of metal layers disposed therein, each of the plurality of metal layers having substantially a same top surface area, and a die comprising an active surface and a backside surface opposite the active surface, the active surface being directly coupled to a first side of the interconnecting structure. The semiconductor device further comprises a first connector directly coupled to a second side of the interconnecting structure, the second side being opposite the first side.
US09299648B2	Integrated circuit packaging system with patterned substrate and method of manufacture thereof A method of manufacture of an integrated circuit packaging system includes: providing a package substrate having a component side and a system side; depositing a solder resist layer on the component side of the package substrate; patterning groups of access openings and a die mount opening in the solder resist layer; attaching an integrated circuit die in the die mount opening; forming conductive contacts in the access openings; and attaching system interconnects to the system side of the package substrate including controlling a coplanarity of the system interconnects by the solder resist layer.
US09299637B2	Semiconductor module The semiconductor module includes a pin that is connected to a semiconductor element; a pin wiring substrate that has a second metal film and a first metal film on the upper and lower surfaces, the first metal film and the second metal film being electrically bonded to the pin; solder that bonds the pin and the semiconductor element; a DCB substrate that has a third metal film and a fourth metal film on the upper and lower surfaces, the third metal film being bonded to a lower surface of the semiconductor element; and a first cooler that is connected to the fourth metal film. The ratio H/T of a height H of the solder to a distance T from the semiconductor element to the first metal film is equal to or greater than 0.2 and equal to or less than 0.7.
US09299636B2	Heat sink for electronic device and process for production thereof A heat sink for an electronic device includes a Cr—Cu alloy layer including a Cu matrix and more than 30 mass % and not more than 80 mass % of Cr; and Cu layers provided on top and rear surfaces of the Cr—Cu alloy layer.
US09299634B2	Method and apparatus for cooling semiconductor device hot blocks and large scale integrated circuit (IC) using integrated interposer for IC packages A method, system, and apparatus for improved IC device packaging is described. In an aspect, an (IC) device package includes an IC die having at one or more contact pads, each contact pad located at a corresponding hotspot on a surface of the IC die. The package also includes a thermally conductive interposer which is thermally coupled to the IC die at the contact pads. In another aspect, an underfill material fills a space between the IC die and the interposer. The interposer may also be electrically coupled to the IC die. In an aspect, the interposer and the IC die are coupled through thermal interconnects or “nodules.”
US09299631B2	Stack-type semiconductor package According to example embodiments, a stack-type semiconductor package includes a lower semiconductor package, an upper semiconductor package, connection pads, and a metal layer pattern. The lower semiconductor package includes a lower semiconductor chip on a top surface of a lower package substrate, lower lands on the lower package substrate, and an encapsulant on the top surface of the lower package substrate. The encapsulant defines via holes that expose the lower lands. The upper semiconductor package is on the encapsulant. Upper solder balls are connected to a bottom surface of the upper semiconductor package. The connection pads are on the via holes and the encapsulant. The connection pads electrically connect the lower semiconductor package to the upper semiconductor package. The metal layer pattern is between the lower package substrate and the upper semiconductor package. The metal layer pattern surrounds the connection pads and is isolated from the connection pads.
US09299626B2	Die package structure A die packaged structure includes a pad on the central region of the die. A packaged substrate with an opening disposed in the central region, and a connecting terminal is passed through the packaged substrate and disposed around the opening. An external connecting terminal is disposed on the four sides of the packaged substrate. A first metal wire is electrically connected the connecting terminal with the external connecting terminal, and the back of the packaged substrate is fixed on the die, such that the pad is exposed on the opening. A second metal wire is electrically connected the pad with the connecting terminal. A packaged body is encapsulated the packaged substrate, the die and the second metal wire, and the external connecting terminal is exposed. A conductive component is electrically connected with the external connecting terminal and is arranged on the four sides of the die packaged structure.
US09299621B2	Smart measurement techniques to enhance inline process control stability An integrated circuit includes a number of lateral diffusion measurement structures arranged on a silicon substrate. A lateral diffusion measurement structure includes a p-type region and an n-type region which cooperatively span a predetermined initial distance between opposing outer edges of the lateral diffusion measurement structure. The p-type and n-type regions meet at a p-n junction expected to be positioned at a target junction location after dopant diffusion has occurred.
US09299620B2	Substrate bonding apparatus and substrate bonding method A substrate bonding apparatus is equipped with a first table that holds one wafer of two wafers, a stage device that holds the other wafer in an orientation capable of opposing to the one wafer and that is movable at least within an XY plane, an interferometer system that measures positional information of the stage device within the XY plane, a first mark detection system that can detect subject marks including alignment marks on the other wafer held by the stage device, and a second mark detection system fixed to a part (the second table) of the stage device that can detect subject marks including alignment marks on the one wafer held by the first table.
US09299618B1	Structure and method for advanced bulk fin isolation A non-planar semiconductor structure containing semiconductor fins that are isolated from an underlying bulk silicon substrate by an epitaxial semiconductor stack is provided. The epitaxial semiconductor material stack that provides the isolation includes, from bottom to top, a semiconductor punch through stop containing at least one dopant of a conductivity type which differs from the conductivity type of the particular device region that the semiconductor fin is formed in, and a semiconductor diffusion barrier layer containing no n- or p-type dopant.
US09299615B1	Multiple VT in III-V FETs In one aspect, a method of forming a multiple VT device structure includes the steps of: forming an alternating series of channel and barrier layers as a stack having at least one first channel layer, at least one first barrier layer, and at least one second channel layer; defining at least one first and at least one second active area in the stack; selectively removing the at least one first channel/barrier layers from the at least one second active area, such that the at least one first channel layer and the at least one second channel layer are the top-most layers in the stack in the at least one first and the at least one second active areas, respectively, wherein the at least one first barrier layer is configured to confine charge carriers to the at least one first channel layer in the first active area.
US09299613B2	Method for cutting substrate A method for cutting a substrate includes: radiating, as part of a first laser radiating process, a laser towards a surface of the substrate to form a first groove in a substrate. Radiating the laser towards the surface includes radiating, in sequence, the laser towards a first outer point (FOP), a second outer point (SOP), a first intermediate point (FIP), a second intermediate point (SIP), and a first cut point (FCP) of the surface, each of the points being spaced apart from one another by one or more distances. The FCP corresponds to a cut line of the substrate. The FOP and the SOP are respectively disposed at lateral sides of the FCP. The FIP is disposed between the FCP and the FOP. The SIP is disposed between the FCP and the SOP. The same kind and intensity of laser is radiated towards each of the points.
US09299612B2	Stacked structures and methods of forming stacked structures A stacked structure includes a first die bonded over a second die. The first die has a first die area defined over a first surface. At least one first protective structure is formed over the first surface, around the first die area. At least one side of the first protective structure has at least one first extrusion part extending across a first scribe line around the protective structure. The second die has a second die area defined over a second surface. At least one second protective structure is formed over the second surface, around the second die area. At least one side of the second protective structure has at least one second extrusion part extending across a second scribe line around the protective structure, wherein the first extrusion part is connected with the second extrusion part.
US09299605B2	Methods for forming passivation protection for an interconnection structure Methods for forming a passivation protection structure on a metal line layer formed in an insulating material in an interconnection structure are provided. In one embodiment, a method for forming passivation protection on a metal line in an interconnection structure for semiconductor devices includes selectively forming a metal capping layer on a metal line bounded by a dielectric bulk insulating layer in an interconnection structure formed on a substrate in a processing chamber incorporated in a multi-chamber processing system, in-situ forming a barrier layer on the substrate in the processing chamber; wherein the barrier layer is a metal dielectric layer, and forming a dielectric capping layer on the barrier layer in the multi-chamber processing system.
US09299602B2	Enabling package-on-package (PoP) pad surface finishes on bumpless build-up layer (BBUL) package A bumpless build-up layer (BBUL) integrated circuit package and method of manufacturing are presented. In some embodiments, the package-on-package (PoP) pads of the BBUL integrated circuit package has a surface finish that can be palladium, nickel-palladium, nickel-gold, nickel-palladium-gold, or palladium-nickel-palladium-gold. In some embodiments, the PoP pad surface finish can be formed using either an electroless or electrolytic process.
US09299600B2	Method for repairing an oxide layer and method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure applying the same A method for repairing an oxide layer and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure applying the same are provided. The method for repairing an oxide layer comprises following steps. First, a carrier having a first area and a second area is provided, wherein a repairing oxide layer is formed on the second area. Then, the carrier is attached to a substrate with an oxide layer to be repaired formed thereon, wherein the carrier and the substrate are attached to each other through the repairing oxide layer and the oxide layer to be repaired. Thereafter, the oxide layer to be repaired is bonded with the repairing oxide layer.
US09299595B2	Susceptor heater and method of heating a substrate A wafer processing apparatus may include a susceptor having a top side and a backside, a susceptor heater having a spacing member and a heating member, a shim removably mounted between the susceptor and the susceptor heater, a cavity formed by the susceptor backside, the susceptor heater, and the shim, a fluid inlet communicating with the cavity, and a plurality of fluid outlets communicating with the cavity.
US09299592B2	Package structure and packaging method of wafer level chip scale package A package structure and a packaging method of wafer level chip scale package are provided. The packaging method includes: providing a carrier, and disposing a plurality of chips on the carrier; forming a plurality of adhesive layers on a surface of the corresponding chips; covering a conductive cover plate, bonding the conductive cover plate with the chips through the adhesive layers, and dividing out a plurality of packaging spaces by the conductive cover plate for disposing the chips respectively; and providing an insulation material to fill the packaging spaces through via holes on the conductive cover plate to form a first insulation structure; finally, removing the carrier.
US09299591B1	Implementing integrated circuit chip attach in three dimensional stack using vapor deposited solder Cu pillars A method and structures are provided for implementing individual integrated circuit chip attach in a three dimensional (3D) stack. A plurality of hollow copper pillars is formed, and the hollow copper pillars are coated with lead free solder using vapor deposition.
US09299584B2	Methods of forming integrated circuits with a planarized permanent layer and methods for forming FinFET devices with a planarized permanent layer Devices and methods of forming an integrated circuit and a FinFET device with a planarized permanent layer are provided. In an embodiment, a method of forming a planarized permanent layer includes providing a base substrate that has an uneven surface topography. A permanent layer is conformally formed over the base substrate. The permanent layer includes raised portions and sunken portions that correspond to the surface topography of the base substrate. A sacrificial layer is conformally formed over the permanent layer. The sacrificial layer and the raised portions of the permanent layer are chemical-mechanical planarized to provide the planarized permanent layer. The sacrificial layer is substantially completely removed after chemical-mechanical planarizing.
US09299582B2	Selective etch for metal-containing materials Methods of selectively etching metal-containing materials from the surface of a substrate are described. The etch selectively removes metal-containing materials relative to silicon-containing films such as silicon, polysilicon, silicon oxide, silicon germanium and/or silicon nitride. The methods include exposing metal-containing materials to halogen containing species in a substrate processing region. A remote plasma is used to excite the halogen-containing precursor and a local plasma may be used in embodiments. Metal-containing materials on the substrate may be pretreated using moisture or another OH-containing precursor before exposing the resulting surface to remote plasma excited halogen effluents in embodiments.
US09299581B2	Methods of dry stripping boron-carbon films Embodiments of the invention generally relate to methods of dry stripping boron-carbon films. In one embodiment, alternating plasmas of hydrogen and oxygen are used to remove a boron-carbon film. In another embodiment, co-flowed oxygen and hydrogen plasma is used to remove a boron-carbon containing film. A nitrous oxide plasma may be used in addition to or as an alternative to either of the above oxygen plasmas. In another embodiment, a plasma generated from water vapor is used to remove a boron-carbon film. The boron-carbon removal processes may also include an optional polymer removal process prior to removal of the boron-carbon films. The polymer removal process includes exposing the boron-carbon film to NF3 to remove from the surface of the boron-carbon film any carbon-based polymers generated during a substrate etching process.
US09299577B2	Methods for etching a dielectric barrier layer in a dual damascene structure Methods for eliminating early exposure of a conductive layer in a dual damascene structure and for etching a dielectric barrier layer in the dual damascene structure are provided. In one embodiment, a method for etching a dielectric barrier layer disposed on a substrate includes patterning a substrate having a dielectric bulk insulating layer disposed on a dielectric barrier layer using a hardmask layer disposed on the dielectric bulk insulating layer as an etching mask, exposing a portion of the dielectric barrier layer after removing the dielectric bulk insulating layer uncovered by the dielectric bulk insulating layer, removing the hardmask layer from the substrate, and subsequently etching the dielectric barrier layer exposed by the dielectric bulk insulating layer.
US09299576B2	Method of plasma etching a trench in a semiconductor substrate A trench is etched in a semiconductor wafer by turning a first introduced gas introduced into a reaction chamber into plasma. A protection film is formed on a wall surface of the trench by turning a second introduced gas introduced into the reaction chamber into plasma. The protection film formed on a bottom surface of the trench is removed by turning a third introduced gas introduced into the reaction chamber into plasma. The reaction chamber is evacuated after the protection film formed on the bottom surface of the trench is removed.
US09299573B2	Polishing method Provided is a polishing method that polishes a substrate having (1) silicon nitride as a stopper, and, on the stopper, (2) at least a portion of a wiring metal, and (3) at least a portion of an insulating material. The method includes a step of supplying a CMP slurry, and thereby polishing the (2) wiring metal and (3) insulating material. The CMP slurry contains (A) a copolymer of (a) a monomer that is anionic and does not contain a hydrophobic substituent and (b) a monomer containing a hydrophobic substituent; (B) an abrasive grain; (C) an acid; (D) an oxidizing agent; and (E) a liquid medium, the component (B) has a zeta potential of +10 mV or more in the CMP slurry, and the copolymerization ratio (a):(b) of the component (A) is 25:75 to 75:25 as a molar ratio, with the pH being 5.0 or less.
US09299571B2	Compositional graded IGZO thin film transistor A gradient in the composition of at least one of the elements of a metal-based semiconductor layer is introduced as a function of depth through the layer. The gradient(s) influence the current density response of the device at different gate voltages. In some embodiments, the composition of an element (e.g. Ga) is greater at the interface between the metal-based semiconductor layer and the source/drain layers. The shape of the gradient profile is one of linear, stepped, parabolic, exponential, and the like.
US09299562B2	Devices formed from a non-polar plane of a crystalline material and method of making the same Materials, methods, structures and device including the same can provide a semiconductor device such as an LED using an active region corresponding to a non-polar face or surface of III-V semiconductor crystalline material. In some embodiments, an active diode region contains more non-polar III-V material oriented to a non-polar plane than III-V material oriented to a polar plane. In other embodiments, a bottom region contains more non-polar m-plane or a-plane surface area GaN than polar c-plane surface area GaN facing an active region.
US09299559B2	Flowable oxide film with tunable wet etch rate Provided herein are integration-compatible dielectric films and methods of depositing and modifying them. According to various embodiments, the methods can include deposition of flowable dielectric films targeting specific film properties and/or modification of those properties with an integration-compatible treatment process. In certain embodiments, methods of depositing and modifying flowable dielectric films having tunable wet etch rates and other properties are provided. Wet etch rates can be tuned during integration through am integration-compatible treatment process. Examples of treatment processes include plasma exposure and ultraviolet radiation exposure.
US09299553B2	Atmospheric pressure ion source for mass spectrometry A multiple function atmospheric pressure ion source interfaced to a mass spectrometer comprises multiple liquid inlet probes configured such that the sprays from two or more probes intersect in a mixing region. Gas phase sample ions or neutral species generated in the spray of one probe can react with reagent gas ions generated from one or more other probes by such ionization methods as Electrospray, photoionization, corona discharge and glow discharge ionization. Reagent ions may be optimally selected to promote such processes as Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization of neutral sample molecules, or charge reduction or electron transfer dissociation of multiply charged sample ions. Selected neutral reagent species can also be introduced into the mixing region to promote charge reduction of multiply charged sample ions through ion-neutral reactions. Different operating modes can be performed alternately or simultaneously, and can be rapidly turned on and off under manual or software control.
US09299551B2	Mass spectrometer with soft ionizing glow discharge and conditioner An ion detection system including an ion source and at least one ion detector is disclosed. The ion source includes a source housing, a reactor, first and second ionizers and a sampling channel. The first ionizer is a glow discharge ionizer. The ion detector communicates with the sampling channel. A conditioner, which is sized to remove fast diffusing electrons, connects the first glow discharge ionizer to the reactor. A corresponding method of ionization is also disclosed. The method includes ionizing and conditioning an ionizer gas, receiving the ionizer gas and analyte molecule ions into a reactor, and delivering a flow from the reactor. The conditioning of the ionizer gas removes fast diffusing electrons from the gas flow.
US09299549B2	Generation of reagent ions for ion-ion reactions An apparatus, system and method of providing that allow for the generation of reagent ions within an inner region of a mass spectrometer for use in ion-ion reactions such as PTRs and ETD using a reagent ion generator. The location where these reagent ions are generated can be as close as possible to the point of action, or the reaction zone where the reagent ion and analyte ions will interact via ion-ion reactions to cause, e.g., PTRs and/or ETD.
US09299548B2	Method for mass spectrometry A method is provided for mass spectrometry. The method includes generating precursor ions from a sample; transmitting the precursor ions into a collision cell; generating product ions in the collision cell; detecting the precursor and product ions; applying modulation to one or more of the precursor ion intensity and the product ion intensity; and identifying precursor ion and product ion relationships by analyzing intensity profiles defined by the modulation.
US09299546B2	Methods for acquiring and evaluating mass spectra in fourier transform mass spectrometers The invention provides a method for acquiring a mass spectrum with a Fourier transform mass spectrometer, wherein analyte ions and additional reporter ions oscillate at mass specific frequencies in a measuring cell of the frequency mass spectrometer and interact by Coulomb forces; the image current signal induced by the reporter ion is measured; and mass signals of the analyte ions are determined from a sideband signal of the reporter ions in the frequency domain or from the instantaneous frequency of the reporter ions in the time domain.
US09299543B2	Target of sintered compact, and method of producing the sintered compact Provided is a target of sintered compact essentially consisting of an element of (A), an element of (B) and an element of (C) below, wherein the thermal conductivity is 2.5 W/mK or more and the oxygen concentration is 5000 ppm or more: (A) one or more chalcogenide elements selected from S, Se, and Te; (B) one or more Vb-group elements selected from Bi, Sb, As, P, and N; and (C) one or more IVb-group elements or IIIb-group elements selected from Ge, Si, C, Ga, and In. Also provided is a technology enabling stable DC sputtering, and stable and high-speed sputtering by applying high electric power, by improving heat accumulation and diffusion of volatile components due to the sputtering target having high thermal conductivity and low electric resistivity.
US09299539B2	Method and apparatus for measuring wafer bias potential A device for use in a wafer processing chamber having a plasma forming volume and a hot edge ring. The hot edge ring has a first surface and a second surface. The first surface is in contact with the plasma forming volume. The second surface is not in contact with the plasma forming volume. The device includes a detector operable to contact the second surface of the hot edge ring. The detector can detect a parameter of the hot edge ring and can provide a detected signal based on the detected parameter.
US09299536B2	Wide metal-free plasma flood gun In one embodiment an apparatus to provide electrons to a substrate includes a plurality of helicon plasma sources arranged in a helicon source array, wherein each helicon plasma source comprises a helical antenna configured to generate a wave vector parallel to a first axis; and a magnet configured to generate a magnetic field vector parallel to the first axis, wherein each helicon plasma source is further configured to generate a respective magnetic field vector that is opposite that of a magnetic field vector of an adjacent helicon plasma source.
US09299532B2	Low-interference sensor head for a radiation detector, as well as a radiation detector which contains this low-interference sensor head The invention relates to a low interference sensor head for a radiation detector and a radiation detector containing said low interference sensor head. Preferably, the radiation detector according to the invention is an X-ray detector. The invention further relates to the use of the low interference sensor head or the radiation detector, in particular of the X-ray detector for radiation analysis, in particular for (energy dispersive) X-ray analysis in microscopy using optics for charged particles.
US09299527B2	Gas discharge tubes for surcharge suppression An novelly designed gas discharge tube (GDT) comprising at least two electrodes and at least one hollow insulating ring fastened to at least one of the electrodes, wherein the hollow insulating ring has an inductive property or a variable resistance property, thereby the new gas discharge tube can provide another possibility of a circuit design.
US09299526B2	Method to fabricate portable electron source based on nitrogen incorporated ultrananocrystalline diamond (N-UNCD) A source cold cathode field emission array (FEA) source based on ultra-nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) field emitters. This system was constructed as an alternative for detection of obscured objects and material. Depending on the geometry of the given situation a flat-panel source can be used in tomography, radiography, or tomosynthesis. Furthermore, the unit can be used as a portable electron or X-ray scanner or an integral part of an existing detection system. UNCD field emitters show great field emission output and can be deposited over large areas as the case with carbon nanotube “forest” (CNT) cathodes. Furthermore, UNCDs have better mechanical and thermal properties as compared to CNT tips which further extend the lifetime of UNCD based FEA.
US09299523B1	Switching device assembly and adapter assembly therefor An adapter assembly is for a switching device assembly of an electrical system. The electrical system includes a bus assembly. The switching device assembly includes at least one cable and at least one electrical switching apparatus. The cable is electrically connected to the bus assembly. The electrical switching apparatus has a switching device lug member, a switching device lug fastener, and a load terminal. The switching device lug fastener connects the load terminal to the switching device lug member. The adapter assembly includes: a housing assembly having a base member; and at least one interconnect assembly including: an adapter lug member coupled to the base member, the adapter lug member receiving the cable, an adapter fastener securing the cable to the adapter lug member, and an adapter terminal coupled to the adapter lug member and the switching device lug member in order to provide an electrical pathway therebetween.
US09299522B2	Shutter locking mechanism for circuit breaker assembly In one embodiment, a shutter lock assembly for a circuit breaker cassette having a shutter coupled to a shutter rod is provided. The shutter lock assembly includes a lock plate assembly configured to couple to the circuit breaker cassette and an actuation mechanism having a first end coupled the lock plate assembly. The actuation mechanism is configured to actuate the lock plate assembly to lock the shutter of the circuit breaker cassette in a closed position.
US09299520B2	Electromagnetic relay An electromagnetic relay includes a contact part including a fixed contact and a movable contact, and a drive part including a fixed core and a movable core. The movable core is connected to the movable contact via an axial core. The fixed core includes a plate member, which is positioned between the contact part and the drive part and includes a through hole through which the axial core is inserted. The movable core includes a convex part protruding in a direction opposing the plate member. The plate member includes a concave part opposing the convex part and having a shape corresponding to the convex part.
US09299518B2	Rotor for an electric switch A rotor for an electric switch is disclosed. In an embodiment, the rotor includes a rotor housing and a rotatably mounted contact bridge, which exhibits two movable contacts, wherein, by the rotation of the rotor, the two movable contacts can interact with two fixed contacts of an electric switch for closing or opening a circuit. The rotatably mounted contact bridge in the rotor housing is movably mounted in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the contact bridge in its closed position.
US09299513B2	Thin keyboard A thin keyboard having multiple keys is disclosed. At least one of the keys includes a key magnet, and a holding magnet is mounted on a transverse slider. The key is located in a ready position by a magnetic attraction of the holding magnet to the key magnet. When the transverse slider is slid, a separating protrusion pushes a chamfer to widen the distance between the holding magnet and the key magnet. The distance between both magnets is also widened in a right and left direction, and when the magnetic attraction drops, the key is located by gravity in a release position.
US09299512B2	Device for switching and controlling electrical apparatuses A device for switching and controlling electrical apparatus, has a guide bearing for creating haptics indicating the position of the device. The guide bearing has one bearing part constructed as a switch housing and one bearing part constructed as an actuating element. The guide bearing has a control path formed on one of the bearing parts and a rolling-body mount constructed on the other bearing part. A rolling body is held in the rolling-body mount. A haptic spring presses the rolling body onto the control path. The structure of this device is suitable for creating haptics, without the operational reliability and service life of the guide bearing being appreciably impaired.
US09299509B2	Electrical switching device, notably for direct current, equipped with a magnetic module for blowing the electric arc An electrical switching device (1) which comprises at least one double breaking pole provided with two fixed contacts (3, 4) that cooperate with two moving contacts (5, 6) arranged so as to move in a breaking plane (P) and define, with every fixed contact, a breaking zone. The device comprises a permanent magnet (11, 12) housed in an insulating holder arranged in the immediate environment, next to each breaking zone, symmetrically with respect to the breaking plane and oriented so as to generate a magnetic excitation vector parallel to the breaking plane (P) so that the induced electromagnetic force (FE) moves and stretches every electric arc (E1, E2), generated when opening the electrical circuit, in a direction perpendicular to the breaking plane (P), leading to the extinction of the electric arc regardless of the polarity of the magnet and/or of the current.
US09299507B2	Gas circuit breaker A mechanical-puffer-type arc-extinguishing chamber includes a fixed main contact, a movable main contact that moves on an opening-and-closing axis in a connectable and disconnectable manner to and from the fixed main contact, and a mechanical puffer chamber that is provided in the movable main contact and blows compressed insulation gas to an arc. A thermal-puffer-type arc-extinguishing chamber includes a fixed contact, a movable contact that moves on the opening-and-closing axis in a connectable and disconnectable manner to and from the fixed contact, and a thermal puffer chamber in which compressed insulation gas is blown to the arc. The mechanical-puffer-type arc-extinguishing chamber and the thermal-puffer-type arc-extinguishing chamber are arranged in series on the opening-and-closing axis, and two breaking portions are electrically connected in series.
US09299502B2	Pressure valve for electrolytic capacitor, and electrolytic capacitor using same A pressure valve is made of gas-permeable flexible material, and an actuation portion and a supporter are formed integrally with each other. The actuation portion includes a thin portion and a thick portion provided in an outer region of the thin portion and having a thickness greater than that of the thin portion. When viewed from the direction of the thickness of the actuation portion, the thin portion has a cross-like shape, and the outer edge of the thin portion is shaped to include a plurality of first arcs each protruding toward the inside of the thin portion, and a plurality of second arcs each protruding toward the outside of the thin portion.
US09299495B2	Capacitor A capacitor includes a dielectric layer having a first plane, a second plane opposite to the first plane, and a plurality of through-holes communicated with the first and second planes; a first external electrode layer disposed on the first plane; a second external electrode layer disposed on the second plane; a first internal electrode having first and second electrode portions, the first and second electrode portions being formed of a first conductive material, and a second conductive material, respectively, the second electrode material connecting the first electrode portion with the first external electrode layer, the second conductive material having a smaller Young's modulus than the first conductive material, the first internal electrode being formed in a part of the plurality of through-holes; and a second internal electrode formed in another part of the plurality of through-holes, the second internal electrode being connected to the second external electrode layer.
US09299493B2	Inductively coupled ballast circuit A ballast circuit is disclosed for inductively providing power to a load. The ballast circuit includes an oscillator, a driver, a switching circuit, a resonant tank circuit and a current sensing circuit. The current sensing circuit provides a current feedback signal to the oscillator that is representative of the current in the resonant tank circuit. The current feedback signal drives the frequency of the ballast circuit causing the ballast circuit to seek resonance. The ballast circuit preferably includes a current limit circuit that is inductively coupled to the resonant tank circuit. The current limit circuit disables the ballast circuit when the current in the ballast circuit exceeds a predetermined threshold or falls outside a predetermined range.
US09299485B1	Micro and nanoscale magnetoelectric multiferroic lead iron tantalate-lead zirconate titanate The invention is a novel class of materials made by combining the best qualities of both lead iron tantalate (PFT) and lead iron titanate (PZT) to synthesize (PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3)(1-x)—(PbFe0.5Ta0.5O3)x (PZTFT) (0.1≦x≦0.9) compositions that have multiferroic (ferroelectric and ferromagnetic) and magnetoelectric properties.
US09299484B2	Resistive structure and resistive voltage divider arrangement A resistive structure has an improved electric field profile deposited on the surface of a cylindrical insulating substrate. At least one resistive path or trace is provided with a helix-looking shape and is directly printed on the surface of the insulating substrate. A resistive voltage divider includes first and second resistors electrically connected in series, where each resistor is made of one or more traces of electrically resistive film material applied onto a cylindrical insulating substrate. At least one of the traces is shaped like a helix and is applied onto the substrate by direct printing.
US09299481B2	Differential signal cable and production method therefor A differential signal cable is composed of two inner conductors, an insulator, which covers the two inner conductors separately or together, and an outer conductor, which covers a circumference of the insulator. When measured in a cable length of 1 m, an effective capacitance difference ΔX represented by Formula (1) below is not greater than 0.2 percent of an average value C of capacitances of the two inner conductors, ΔX=ΔC+ΔL/Z02 (1), where ΔC is a difference in capacitance between the two inner conductors, ΔL is a difference in inductance between the two inner conductors, and Z0 is a reference impedance (50 ohms).
US09299477B2	Electrically conductive film An electrically conductive film has an electrically conductive layer on at least one side, which is a thermoplastic resin film in which the electrically conductive layer contains a carbon nanotube (A), a carbon nanotube dispersant (B) and a binder resin (C), the total of contents of (A), (B) and (C) in the electrically conductive layer is 90% by weight or more relative to the entire electrically conductive layer, and weight rates of (A), (B) and (C) satisfy the following, and a weight ratio of (B) and (A) ((B)/(A)) is 0.5 or more and 15.0 or less: (A) 1.0 to 40.0% by weight, (B) 0.5 to 90.0% by weight, and (C) 4.0 to 98.5% by weight (provided that the total of contents of (A), (B) and (C) is let to be 100% by weight).
US09299473B2	Composite electrically conductive structures An electrically conductive structure including a substrate material and graphene. A first cross-section taken along an axial direction of the electrically conductive structure includes a plurality of layers of the substrate material and at least one internal layer of the graphene alternatingly disposed between the plurality of layers of the substrate material. A method of tailoring an amount of graphene in an electrically conductive structure is also included.
US09299472B2	Copper-alloy barrier layers for metallization in thin-film transistors and flat panel displays In various embodiments, electronic devices such as thin-film transistors incorporate electrodes featuring a conductor layer and, disposed below the conductor layer, a barrier layer comprising an alloy of Cu and one or more refractory metal elements selected from the group consisting of Ta, Nb, Mo, W, Zr, Hf, Re, Os, Ru, Rh, Ti, V, Cr, and Ni.
US09299466B2	System for processing and tracking radionuclides An apparatus for processing a radionuclide including a parent radionuclide that decays over time into a daughter radionuclide, a separation column that separates the daughter radionuclide from the parent radionuclide, a plurality of valves and at least one pump that operate to separate the daughter radionuclide from the parent radionuclide and deliver the daughter radionuclide into the daughter radionuclide container by alternately connecting at least two of the parent radionuclide container, the daughter radionuclide container, the separation column container and the plurality of processing containers, a plurality of RFID tags including an RFID tag of the plurality of RFID tags affixed to each of the daughter radionuclide container and the separation column and a programmed processor that reads an identifier of each of the plurality of RFID tags, an identifier and position of each of the plurality of valves and pump and saves the identifiers, positions and operations into a tracking file.
US09299465B1	Electron beam system Apparatus for electron beam treatment of three-dimensional parts that includes cavities in a shielded rotating drum that preferably includes additional rotation mechanism for rotating parts within cavities in said drum. Radiation associated with the electron beam emitter is substantially shielded by the combination of the drum and the additional radiation shielding. The rotating drum is preferably made of at least four sections axially stacked, and its shielding properties are enhanced by including lead filled holes drilled in the sections.
US09299463B2	Method of depositing noble metal on structure member of nuclear plant A noble metal injection apparatus is connected to a piping of a nuclear plant at the time of stop of the nuclear plant before start of the nuclear plant. In chemical decontamination, oxidation decontamination agent decomposition, and reduction decontamination on an inner surface of the pipe system are executed. After reduction decontamination, a part of an oxalic acid included in a reduction decontamination solution is decomposed and platinum is injected into the reduction decontamination solution of pH 3.5 or higher. When the platinum concentration becomes a preset concentration, a reduction agent is injected and the reduction decontamination solution including the platinum and reduction agent is brought into contact with the inner surface of the piping. The platinum is deposited on the inner surface of the piping. The injection of the platinum and reduction agent is stopped and the platinum and reduction agent are decomposed.
US09299461B2	Single pass, heavy ion systems for large-scale neutron source applications A single-pass heavy-ion fusion system for power production from fusion reactions alone, power production that uses additional energy of fission reactions obtained by driving a sub-critical fission pile with the neutrons from fusion reactions, destroying high-level and/or long-lived radioactive waste by intense bombardment with fusion neutrons, or for the production of neutron beams for various applications includes a new arrangement of current multiplying processes that employs a multiplicity of isotopes to achieve the desired effect of distributing the task of amplifying the current among all the various processes, to relieve stress on any one process, and to increase the design margin for assured ICF (inertial confinement fusion) ignition for applications including but not restricted to the above list. The energy content and power of the ignition-driver pulses are greatly increased, thus increasing intensity of target heating and rendering reliable ignition readily attainable.
US09299459B2	Method and apparatus of measuring error correction data for memory Multiple measurements are made with one memory sense operation having a first word line sensing voltage on a memory cell. The multiple measurements include a first measurement, of whether the memory cell stores either: (a) data corresponding to a first set of one or more threshold voltage ranges below the first word line sensing voltage of the one memory sense operation, or (b) data corresponding to a second set of one or more threshold voltage ranges above the first word line sensing voltage of the one memory sense operation. The multiple measurements include a second measurement, of error correction data of the memory cell indicating relative position within a particular threshold voltage range of a stored threshold voltage in the memory cell.
US09299458B1	Voltage comparator circuit and usage thereof A method for testing a circuit comprising a memory element, a voltage comparator and a supply selector, the circuit is configured to be connected to two power supplies, the voltage comparator is configured to provide an output indicative of a voltage difference between the two power supplies above a predetermined threshold, the supply selector is configured to select a power supply to feed power to the memory element in response to the output from the voltage comparator. The method comprises connecting the two power supplies to the circuit, wherein said connecting comprises causing the two power supplies to drive power to the memory element and to another element of the circuit, wherein the voltage different between the two power supplies is above the predetermined threshold. The method further comprises that in response to said connecting, the supply selector of the circuit is invoked and disconnects one power supply from the memory element; whereby stress testing the circuit, the stress testing tests the memory element without a voltage difference condition, the stress testing tests the another element with the voltage difference condition.
US09299456B2	Matrix and compression-based error detection Embodiments relate to matrix and compression-based error detection. An aspect includes summing, by each of a first plurality of summing modules of a first compressor, a respective row of a matrix, the matrix comprising a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns of output bits of a circuit under test wherein each output bit of the circuit under test comprises an element of the matrix, and is a member of a row of a column that is orthogonal to the row. Another aspect includes summing, by each of a second plurality of summing modules of a second compressor, a respective column of output bits of the matrix. Yet another aspect includes determining a presence of an error in the circuit under test based at least one of an output of the first compressor and an output of the second compressor.
US09299453B2	Shift register and voltage adjusting circuit and voltage adjusting method thereof A shift register and a voltage adjusting circuit and method thereof are disclosed. The voltage adjusting circuit includes a first input terminal, a second input terminal, a transistor, a first capacitor, a second capacitor, and an output terminal. The first input terminal receives a second clock signal. The second input terminal receives a fourth clock signal. The transistor has a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a gate electrode. The source electrode is coupled to ground and the gate electrode is coupled to the second input terminal. The first capacitor is coupled between the drain electrode and the first input terminal. One end of second capacitor is coupled between the first capacitor and drain electrode, and the other end of second capacitor is coupled between the second input terminal and gate electrode. The output terminal is coupled between the first capacitor and drain electrode to output an adjusted voltage.
US09299450B1	Adaptive increase in control gate voltage of a dummy memory cell to compensate for inadvertent programming A NAND string includes dummy memory cells between data memory cells and source-side and drain-side select gates. A gradual increase in threshold voltage (Vth) for the dummy memory cells which occurs due to program-erase cycles is detected by read operations at an initial upper checkpoint voltage. If the Vth has increased beyond the checkpoint, the control gate voltage of the dummy memory cells is increased during subsequent programming operations. This maintains a relatively constant channel voltage in an unselected NAND string under the dummy memory cells during a program voltage. Disturbs which can be caused by an increase in a channel voltage gradient are therefore avoided. The dummy memory cells can be periodically read at successively higher checkpoint voltages and the control gate voltage repeatedly increased. If the control gate voltage reaches a maximum allowed level, the dummy memory cells can be erased and reprogrammed.
US09299445B2	Nonvolatile memory device and method of operating the same A method of operating a nonvolatile memory device may include applying a first voltage greater than a ground voltage to a selected word line during a first time period; applying a second voltage to an unselected word line during a second time period that is later than the first time period; and applying a third voltage greater than the first voltage and the second voltage to the selected word line during the second time period. The second time period includes a third time period during which a voltage level of the unselected word line increases to the second voltage from a fourth voltage that is less than the second voltage, and during which a voltage level of the selected word line increases to the third voltage from the first voltage.
US09299438B2	Semiconductor memory device According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a first string; a second string; and a controller. The first string is coupled with a first bit line and includes first memory cells. The second string is coupled with a second bit line and includes second memory cells. The controller executes writing first data into the first memory cells and writing second data into the second memory cells simultaneously. The controller reads data from the first and second strings after writing the first and second data.
US09299437B2	Apparatuses and methods including memory write operation Some embodiments include apparatuses and methods having memory cells and access lines coupled to the memory cells. In one such apparatus, the access lines include a first access line and a second access line. The first access line can be adjacent to the second access line. The memory cells include a memory cell associated with the second access line. A module can be configured to apply a voltage to the first access line during an operation of accessing the memory cell associated with the second access line, and to place the second access line in a floating state during at least a portion of a time interval within the operation. Other embodiments including additional apparatus and methods are described.
US09299436B2	Semiconductor memory device having a plurality of chips and capability of outputting a busy signal One package contains a plurality of memory chips. Each memory chip has an I/O terminal which generates a busy signal. The busy signal enables a busy state when a power supply voltage value reaches a specified and guaranteed range after a power-on sequence. The busy signal maintains the busy state until completion of initialization operations for the plurality of memory chips. The busy signal releases the busy state after completion of all initialization operations for the plurality of memory chips.
US09299433B1	Method and apparatus for multi-range look-up Aspects of the disclosure provide a circuit that includes a first memory, a second memory and a comparator. The first memory is configured to store a plurality of values corresponding to a first plurality of ranges and generate an output value in response to a lookup key. The output value is indicative of the lookup key matching a stored value corresponding to a first range in the first plurality of ranges. The second memory is configured to store limiting values of a second plurality of ranges, and output a set of limiting values for a second range in association with the first range based on the output value of the first memory. The comparator is configured to compare the input value with the set of limiting values to determine whether the second range is inclusive of the lookup key.
US09299432B2	Semiconductor device and driving method of semiconductor device To provide a semiconductor device including a volatile memory which achieves high speed operation and lower power consumption. For example, the semiconductor device includes an SRAM provided with first and second data holding portions and a non-volatile memory provided with third and fourth second data holding portions. The first data holding portion is electrically connected to the fourth data holding portion through a transistor. The second data holding portion is electrically connected to the third data holding portion through a transistor. While the SRAM holds data, the transistor is on so that both the SRAM and the non-volatile memory hold the data. Then, the transistor is turned off before supply of power is stopped, so that the data becomes non-volatile.
US09299431B2	Writing multiple levels in a phase change memory using a write/read reference voltage ramping up over a write/read period Structures and methods for a multi-bit phase change memory are disclosed herein. A method includes establishing a write-reference voltage that incrementally ramps over a write period. The increments of the write-reference voltage correspond to discrete resistance states of a storage cell of the multi-bit phase change memory.
US09299430B1	Methods for reading and programming 1-R resistive change element arrays Methods for reading and programming one or more resistive change elements within a 1-R resistive change element array are disclosed. These methods include using measurement and storage elements to measure the electrical response of one or more selected cells within an array and then comparing that stored electrical response to the electrical response of a reference element within the array to determine the resistive state of the one or more selected cells. These methods also include programming methods wherein selectable current limiting elements are used to permit or inhibit programming currents from flowing through selected and unselected cells, respectively. These methods further include programming methods that use specific biasing of array lines to provide sufficient programming currents through only selected cells.
US09299426B2	Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device comprises a cell array including a plurality of first lines, a plurality of second lines intersecting the plurality of first lines, and a plurality of memory cells arranged in matrix and connected at intersections of the first and second lines between both lines, each memory cell containing a serial circuit of an electrically erasable programmable variable resistive element of which resistance is nonvolatilely stored as data and a non-ohmic element; and a plurality of access circuits operative to simultaneously access the memory cells physically separated from each other in the cell array.
US09299425B2	System and a method for designing a hybrid memory cell with memristor and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor The embodiments herein relates to a hybrid non-volatile memory cell system and architecture for designing integrated circuits. The system comprises CMOS access transistor connected to a memristor which stores a data based on a resistance. The system has a word line for accessing the hybrid memory and two bit lines carrying data of mutually opposite values for transferring a data from the memory. The two terminals of the transistor are connected respectively to a first terminal of the memristor and to a first bit line. The gate terminals of the transistors are coupled together to form a word line. The access transistors control the two bit lines during a read and write operation. A control logic performs a read and write operation with the hybrid memory cells. The memory architecture prevents a power leakage during data storage and controls a drift in a state during a read process.
US09299422B1	6T static random access memory cell, array and memory thereof A 6T static random access memory cell, array, and memory thereof are provided, in which the memory cell includes a first inverter, a second inverter, a first access transistor, and a second access transistor. A first high supply voltage and a low supply voltage are coupled to the first inverter. A second high supply voltage and the low supply voltage are coupled to the second inverter. The first access transistor has a gate terminal coupled to a first word line. The first access transistor has a source terminal coupled to the first node. The second access transistor has a gate terminal coupled to a second word line, and the second access transistor has a source terminal coupled to the second node. The first word line provides ON signals to turn on the first access transistor, and the second high supply voltage provides a first differential voltage simultaneously.
US09299418B2	Semiconductor memory device for stably reading and writing data In a semiconductor memory device, static memory cells are arranged in rows and columns, word lines correspond to respective memory cell rows, and word line drivers drive correspond to word lines. Cell power supply lines correspond to respective memory cell columns and are coupled to cell power supply nodes of a memory cell in a corresponding column. Down power supply lines are arranged corresponding to respective memory cell columns, maintained at ground voltage in data reading and rendered electrically floating in data writing. Write assist elements are arranged corresponding to the cell power supply lines, and according to a write column instruction signal for stopping supply of a cell power supply voltage to the cell power supply line in a selected column, and for coupling the cell power supply line arranged corresponding to the selected column at least to the down power supply line on the corresponding column.
US09299417B2	DRAM security erase A memory includes a DRAM array having memory cells, wordlines and bitlines coupled to the memory cells, and sense amplifiers. The memory can be configured to perform a method in which a wordline of the DRAM array is set to an active state. While the wordline is active, signals develop on the respective bitlines according to the flows of charge between the memory cells coupled to the wordline and the respective bitlines. The sense amplifiers connected to the respective bitlines can remain inactive such that the sense amplifiers do not amplify the signals to storable signal levels. Then, when the wordline is set again to the inactive state, insufficient charge remains in the memory cells coupled to the wordline such that the data stored in memory cells coupled to the wordline are erased. These steps can be repeated using each of a remaining number of wordlines of all or a selected range of the DRAM array so as to erase the data stored in all of the DRAM array or a selected range.
US09299415B1	Method and apparatus for automatic transition of a volatile memory between low power states Some of the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system comprising a memory configured to operate in one of a plurality of states; a phase locked loop (PLL) configured to (i) receive a first clock signal, and (ii) based on the first clock signal and a state at which the memory operates, selectively generate a second clock signal; and a clock selection module configured to, based on the state at which the memory operates, selectively provide one of (i) the first clock signal and (ii) the second clock signal to the memory.
US09299414B1	Devices for self-refreshing memories, and methods thereof A self-refresh device, adopted in a memory array including a plurality of memory cells, includes a first word-line selecting module, which is enabled according to a first main-word-line signal, and a self-refresh controller. The first word-line selecting module includes a first selecting device, which selects a first word line according to a first word-line driving signal, and a second selecting device, which selects a second word line according to a second word-line driving signal. The self-refresh controller generates the first word-line driving signal, the second word-line driving signal, and the first main word-line signal to select one of the memory cells corresponding to the selected one of the first word line and the second word line for self-refreshing. When the first word line switches to the second word line, the self-refresh controller maintains the first main word-line signal at the same logic level.
US09299411B2	Hybrid read scheme for spin torque MRAM A method of reading data from a plurality of bits in a spin-torque magnetoresistive memory array includes performing one or more referenced read operations of the bits, and performing a self-referenced read operation, for example, a destructive self-referenced read operation, of any of the bits not successfully read by the referenced read operation. The referenced read operations can be initiated at the same time or prior to that of the destructive self-referenced read operation.
US09299410B2	Reading magnetic memory based on regions within a cell array According to one embodiment, a magnetic memory includes a cell array includes a plurality of memory cells, each memory cell including a magnetoresistive effect element; and a read circuit to read data from a memory cell selected based on an address signal from among the memory cells. The read circuit selects one determination level from among a plurality of determination levels corresponding to a position of a magnetoresistive effect element in the cell array and uses the selected determination level to perform reading of the data.
US09299406B2	Apparatuses and methods for providing word line voltages during standby Apparatuses and methods of providing word line voltages include an example apparatus including a voltage driver and a word line driver. The voltage driver is configured to provide a word line voltage, wherein the word line voltage is a pumped supply voltage responsive to an active mode and the word line voltage is a non-zero voltage less than the pumped supply voltage during a standby mode. The word line driver is coupled to the voltage driver and is configured to drive a respective word line to the word line voltage during the active and standby modes.
US09299403B2	Semiconductor devices and semiconductor systems including the same Semiconductor devices are provided. The semiconductor device includes a control signal generator and a first data input unit. The control signal generator generates an inverted control signal including a first bit and a second bit using a decoded signal in response to a test enable signal. The first data input unit inverts a first bit of input data in response to the first bit of the inverted control signal to generate a first bit of first internal data. Further, the first data input unit inverts a second bit of the input data in response to the second bit of the inverted control signal to generate a second bit of the first internal data.
US09299402B2	Mobile personalized boot data A system and associated method of using may generally have at least a mobile data storage device with a controller directing data to first and second tiers of memory. The first tier of memory can have at least boot data pre-fetched from the second tier of memory with the boot data including at least metadata and personalized user data.
US09299401B2	Driver for DDR2/3 memory interfaces An apparatus is described that includes a combined drive and termination circuit programmable to interface to DDR2 and DDR3 memory modules. In an exemplary embodiment the apparatus includes a combined output/termination driver, an input driver and a calibration subsystem. The combined output/termination driver includes a number of pull-up circuits and a number of pull-down circuits. One of the pull-up circuits presents a fixed output impedance. The rest of the pull-up circuits have an impedance programmable between two desired impedance values. One of the pull-down circuits presents a fixed output impedance. The rest of the pull-down circuits have an impedance programmable between two desired impedance values. The necessary number of pull-up circuits and pull-down circuits is activated in order to provide a desired driving and termination circuit such as to interface to specific impedance values as defined by the DDR2 and DDR3 interface protocol.
US09299400B2	Distributed row hammer tracking A memory controller issues a targeted refresh command in response to detection by a distributed detector. A memory device includes detection logic that monitors for a row hammer event, which is a threshold number of accesses to a row within a time threshold that can cause data corruption to a physically adjacent row (a “victim” row). The memory device sends an indication of the row hammer event to the memory controller. In response to the row hammer event indication, the memory controller sends one or more commands to the memory device to cause the memory device to perform a targeted refresh that will refresh the victim row.
US09299399B2	Semiconductor devices including pipe latch units and system including the same The semiconductor device includes a pre-signal generator and a data output portion. The pre-signal generator generates a pre-input control signal and a pre-output control signal. The pre-signal generator also generates a pre-latch pulse signal by detecting when the pre-input control signal and the pre-output control signal are generated. The data output portion receives an input control signal, a latch pulse signal, and a first output control signal. The data output portion receives an input clock signal in response to the input control signal and the latch pulse signal to generate a shift clock signal, and the data output portion also shifts the first output control signal in response to the shift clock signal to generate a second output control signal.
US09299396B1	Programmable integrated circuits with in-operation reconfiguration capability Integrated circuits may include partial reconfiguration (PR) circuitry for reconfiguring only a portion of a memory array. In some applications, partial reconfiguration may be performed during user mode. During partial reconfiguration, write assist techniques such as varying the power supply voltage may be applied to help increase write margin, but doing so can potentially affect the performance of in-operation pass gates that are being controlled by the memory array during user mode. In one suitable arrangement, ground power supply voltage write assist techniques may be implemented on memory cells that include p-channel access transistors and that are used to control n-channel pass transistors. In another suitable arrangement, positive power supply voltage write assist techniques may be implemented on memory cells that include n-channel access transistors and that are used to control p-channel pass transistors.
US09299395B2	Methods and systems to selectively boost an operating voltage of, and controls to an 8T bit-cell array and/or other logic blocks Methods and systems to provide a multi-Vcc environment, such as to selectively boost an operating voltage of a logic block and/or provide a level-shifted control to the logic block. A multi-Vcc environment may be implemented to isolate a Vmin-limiting logic block from a single-Vcc environment, such as to reduce Vmin and/or improve energy efficiency in the single-Vcc environment. The logic block may include bit cells of a register file, a low-level processor cache, and/or other memory system. A cell Vcc may be boosted during a read mode and/or write wordlines (WWLs) and/or read wordlines (RWLs) may be asserted with boost. A wordline decoder may include a voltage level shifter with differential split-level logic, and a dynamic NAND, which may include NAND logic, a keeper circuit, and logic to delay a keeper control based on a delay of the level shifter to reduce contention during an initial NAND evaluation phase.
US09299392B2	Semiconductor memory devices Semiconductor memory devices include unit cells two-dimensionally arranged along rows and columns in one cell array block. The unit cells are classified into a plurality of cell subgroups, and each of the cell subgroups includes the unit cells constituting a plurality of the rows. Each of the unit cells includes a selection element and a data storage part. A word line is connected to gate electrodes of selection elements of the unit cells constituting each column. Bit lines are connected to data storage parts of the unit cells constituting the rows. A source line, parallel to the bit line, is electrically connected to source terminals of the selection elements of the unit cells in each cell subgroup. The source line is parallel to the bit line. A distance between the source line and the select bit line is equal to a distance between the bit lines adjacent to each other.
US09299389B2	Interpretation of free-form timelines into compositing instructions A method, system, and computer-readable storage medium are disclosed for interpretation of free-form timelines into compositing instructions. An array comprising a plurality of items is generated. Each of the plurality of items comprises one or more instructions representing one or more operations occurring at a point in time in a video sequence. For each one of a plurality of patterns, the array is scanned to determine if one or more groups of items in the array match the pattern. For each group of items matching one of the plurality of patterns, the matching group of items is replaced in the array with a merged item. Each merged item comprises an ordered sequence of the one or more instructions in the corresponding matching group of items. A frame of the video sequence is composited dependent on the array comprising the one or more merged items.
US09299381B2	Solvent annealing block copolymers on patterned substrates Provided herein are block copolymer thin film structures and methods of fabrication. Aspects described herein include methods of directed self-assembly of block copolymers on patterns using solvent annealing, and the resulting thin films, structures, media or other compositions. According to various embodiments, solvent annealing is used direct the assembly of block copolymers on chemical patterns to achieve high degrees of pattern perfection, placement of features at the precision of the lithographic tool used to make the chemical pattern, improved dimensional control of features, improved line edge and line width roughness, and resolution enhancement by factors of two to four or greater.
US09299380B2	Apparatuses and methods including magnetic layer oxidation Provided herein is a method including oxidizing tops of features of a patterned magnetic layer to form oxidized tops of the features; removing an excess of an applied first protective material down to at least the oxidized tops of the features to form a planarized layer; and applying a second protective material over the planarized layer.
US09299377B2	Storage medium for storing data and servo information A storage medium including a servo layer, a data recording layer, a heat sink layer, and a diamond-like carbon layer with a lubricant covering. The servo layer is configured to store servo information on the storage medium. The servo information is used to position a read/write head over the storage medium during a read/write operation performed by the read/write head on the storage medium. The data recording layer is configured to store data on the storage medium during the read/write operation performed by the read/write head on the storage medium. The heat sink layer is disposed between the servo layer and the data recording layer. The diamond-like carbon layer with the lubricant covering is disposed above the data recording layer.
US09299374B2	Dynamically optimizing read performance by adjusting servo-based head location In one embodiment, a method includes determining a reading performance based on one or more metrics, adjusting a commanded lateral reading location of a head relative to a medium, determining the reading performance after the adjusting, comparing the reading performance after the adjusting relative to the reading performance before the adjusting for determining whether the reading performance has improved, and selecting a commanded lateral reading location based on the comparing. In another embodiment, a controller is configured to perform the foregoing method. In yet another embodiment, a computer program product includes a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions readable and/or executable by a controller configured to perform the foregoing method.
US09299373B2	Coarse actuator positioning algorithm A method according to one embodiment includes generating or receiving a value representative of a lateral position of a tape. The value is used to adjust a position of a coarse actuator in response to determining that the value is in a first range relative to a first threshold. An integrator center value is used to adjust the position of the coarse actuator in response to determining that the value is in a second range relative to the first threshold.
US09299371B1	Disk drive slider with sense amplifier for coupling to a preamp through a supply/bias line and a read signal line A disk drive slider is disclosed comprising a first read element for generating a first read signal, and a first sense amplifier comprising a first input terminal coupled to the first read element, a first output terminal coupled to a first output line, and a first supply terminal coupled to a supply line. The first sense amplifier is for amplifying the first read signal to generate a first amplified read signal, the first output line is for transmitting the first amplified read signal to a preamp, and the supply line is for coupling to the preamp in order to supply power to the first sense amplifier and supply a first bias to the first read element.
US09299366B2	Magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus A magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus includes a magnetic recording medium including a recording layer in which at least two magnetic layers are layered on a non-magnetic substrate; and a magnetic head including a main magnetic pole for applying a recording magnetic field in a direction substantially perpendicular to a recording face of the magnetic recording medium and a microwave generating element that generates a microwave magnetic field. The relationship between a thickness Ts of a magnetic layer having a lowest magnetic anisotropy energy among the at least two magnetic layers composing the recording layer of the magnetic recording medium, and a thickness Tt of the recording layer is Ts/Tt≦0.2. The microwave generating element applies the microwave magnetic field having a width broader than the width of the recording magnetic field generated by the main magnetic pole of the magnetic head to the magnetic recording medium.
US09299365B2	Miniskirt tape head having quasi-statically tilted transducer arrays In one general embodiment, an apparatus includes a magnetic head. The magnetic head has a first portion and a second portion, the first portion and the second portion together providing a tape bearing surface. The first portion has two pieces flanking the second portion in an intended direction of tape travel thereacross. The second portion has at least one array of transducers. A longitudinal axis of each of the at least one array is defined between opposite ends thereof. The longitudinal axis of each of the at least one array of transducers is oriented at an angle relative to the line oriented orthogonally to the intended direction of tape travel thereacross, the angle being between 0.2° and about 10°.
US09299352B2	Method and apparatus for generating side information bitstream of multi-object audio signal Provided is a method and apparatus for generating a side information bitstream of a multi-object audio signal. The apparatus for generating a side information bitstream of a multi-object audio signal includes a spatial cue information input unit configured to receive spatial cue information generated in an encoder of the multi-object audio signal, a preset information input unit configured to receive preset information for the multi-object audio signal, and a side information bitstream generator configured to generate the side information bitstream based on the spatial cue information and the preset information. The side information bitstream includes a header region and a frame region, and the preset information is included in the frame region.
US09299351B2	Method and apparatus of suppressing vocoder noise A method and apparatus of suppressing a vocoder noise are provided. The method includes receiving from a channel decoder a vocoder frame and first information, the first information indicating whether the vocoder frame has an error, generating speech data by performing voice decoding on the vocoder frame, determining whether a tonal noise has been detected in the speech data, if the first information indicates that the vocoder frame has an error, and attenuating the volume of the speech data and outputting the volume-attenuated speech data through a speaker, upon detection of the tonal noise in the speech data.
US09299350B1	Systems and methods for identifying users of devices and customizing devices to users A system and method for identifying a user of a device includes comparing audio received by a device with acoustic fingerprint information to identify a user of the device. Image data, video data and other data may also be used in the identification of the user. Once the user is identified, operation of the device may be customized based on the user. Further, once the user is identified, data can be associated with the user, for example, usage data, location data, gender data, age data, dominant hand data of the user, and other data. This data can then be used to further customize the operation of the device to the specific user.
US09299349B2	Voice control device, voice control method and program According to an illustrative embodiment, an information processing apparatus is provided. The information processing apparatus includes a communication device to receive plural pieces of tag information corresponding to respective positions within a target area, the target area having a position defined by the position of the apparatus; and an output device to output a plurality of sounds such that for each sound at least a portion of the sound overlaps with at least a portion of another of the sounds, each of the sounds being indicative of a respective piece of tag information.
US09299348B2	Method and apparatus for obtaining information from the web An intelligent conversation system augmenting a conversation between two or more individuals uses a speech to text block configured to convert voices of the conversation into text, a determination circuit configured to determine topics from the text of the conversation, search parameters determined by the determination circuit from the topics are sent to an Internet, search results corresponding to the search parameters are received from the Internet; and a memory configured to store the search results received from the Internet. The speech to text block is configured to convert the search results to speech. An earphone is configured to transmit the speech to one of the two or more individuals. The speech is used by one of the individuals to augment the conversation.
US09299347B1	Speech recognition using associative mapping Methods, systems, and apparatus are described that receive audio data for an utterance. Association data is accessed that indicates associations between data corresponding to uncorrupted audio segments, and data corresponding to corrupted versions of the uncorrupted audio segments, where the associations are determined before receiving the audio data for the utterance. Using the association data and the received audio data for the utterance, data corresponding to at least one uncorrupted audio segment is selected. A transcription of the utterance is determined based on the selected data corresponding to the at least one uncorrupted audio segment.
US09299346B1	Speech recognition platforms A speech recognition platform configured to receive an audio signal that includes speech from a user and perform automatic speech recognition (ASR) on the audio signal to identify ASR results. The platform may identify: (i) a domain of a voice command within the speech based on the ASR results and based on context information associated with the speech or the user, and (ii) an intent of the voice command. In response to identifying the intent, the platform may perform a corresponding action, such as streaming audio to the device, setting a reminder for the user, purchasing an item on behalf of the user, making a reservation for the user or launching an application for the user. The speech recognition platform, in combination with the device, may therefore facilitate efficient interactions between the user and a voice-controlled device.
US09299342B2	User query history expansion for improving language model adaptation Query history expansion may be provided. Upon receiving a spoken query from a user, an adapted language model may be applied to convert the spoken query to text. The adapted language model may comprise a plurality of queries interpolated from the user's previous queries and queries associated with other users. The spoken query may be executed and the results of the spoken query may be provided to the user.
US09299338B2	Feature sequence generating device, feature sequence generating method, and feature sequence generating program Spread level parameter correcting means 501 receives a contour parameter as information representing the contour of a feature sequence (a sequence of features of a signal considered as the object of generation) and a spread level parameter as information representing the level of a spread of the distribution of the features in the feature sequence. The spread level parameter correcting means 501 corrects the spread level parameter based on a variation of the contour parameter represented by a sequence of the contour parameters. Feature sequence generating means 502 generates the feature sequence based on the contour parameters and the corrected spread level parameters.
US09299334B2	Sound source detecting system and sound source detecting method A sound source detecting system that detects a predetermined sound source on the basis of sounds collected by sound collectors includes: a noise extracting unit that extracts a noise from signals of the collected sounds; and a noise suppressing unit that suppresses a signal component of the noise extracted by the noise extracting unit from the signals of the collected sounds. The sound source detecting unit detects a location of the predetermined sound source, such as an approaching vehicle, using information about the sounds having the signals of which the noise is suppressed.
US09299331B1	Techniques for selecting musical content for playback Techniques are described for automatically selecting musical content for playback based on an initial “seed” of music selected by a user in a way that seamlessly extends the user's listening experience. The initially selected seed music might be, for example, an album or a playlist. Music that follows the seed music is algorithmically selected to match the music selected by the user.
US09299328B2	Tilter for a stand, in particular a cymbal stand A tilter for a stand, in particular a cymbal stand, comprises two elements being movable relative to each other, a connecting means connecting the moveable elements to each other, a locking means for reversibly fixing the position of the movable elements with respect to each other, as well as at least one friction means arranged between the movable elements. In a fixed position of the locking means, the friction means is in frictional contact with a peripheral surface of at least one of the movable elements.
US09299326B1	Multiple string tremolo assembly A tremolo assembly for either a left handed as well as a right handed stringed instrument that sits wholly on top of the instrument. The tremolo assembly consists of in addition to the base mounting plate, an adjustable spring tension block, extension springs, a string anchor bar, a cross member attachment bar, eyebolts, hex nuts, flat head machine screws, shoulder screws, flat washers, set screws, adhesive backed felt, and a tremolo arm. The assembly pivots back and forth in relation to the base mounting plate. The extension springs and the adjustable spring anchor/tension block, hold the strings in a neutral (tuned) position. When the tremolo arm is pressed towards the instrument, the tension is decreased evenly across the plurality of strings. And when the tremolo arm is lifted away from the instrument, the tension is increased evenly across the plurality of strings.
US09299324B2	Tremolo assembly A bridge assembly having a saddle plate with a first aperture, and a tremolo block with a second aperture aligned with the first aperture. The tremolo block is attached to the saddle plate, and it has a plurality of arcuate string apertures therethrough configured to receive the strings therein while maintaining contact between the string and the tremolo block along substantially the entire length of the respective string aperture.
US09299318B2	Display device and image signal compensating method A display device includes a first pixel connected to a first gate line and a data line, a second pixel connected to a second gate line, different from the first gate line, and the data line, the second pixel being pre-charged when the first pixel is charged, a compensation LUT which stores LUT values for compensating a charging rate during a main charging of the second pixel; and an image signal processor which generates a compensated image signal for the main charging of the second pixel. The image signal processor may include a correction value calculating unit which calculates a correction value from the compensation LUT based on first and second input image signal of respective first and second pixels, and a compensated value generating unit which generates a compensated image signal for the second pixel based on the correction value and the second input image signal.
US09299317B2	Local multiscale tone-mapping operator In a method to generate a tone-mapped image from a high-dynamic range image (HDR), an input HDR image is converted into a logarithmic domain and a global tone-mapping operator generates a high-resolution gray scale ratio image from the input HDR image. Based at least in part on the high-resolution gray scale ratio image, at least two different gray scale ratio images are generated and are merged together to generate a local multiscale gray scale ratio image that represents a weighted combination of the at least two different gray scale ratio images, each being of a different spatial resolution level. An output tone-mapped image is generated based on the high-resolution gray scale image and the local multiscale gray scale ratio image.
US09299316B2	Display device and driving method The object of the present invention is to provide a display device and a driving method each of which is capable of displaying moving images without causing flicker and reducing power consumption. The display device (1) includes: a display panel (2) having a plurality of scanning signal lines (G) and a plurality of data signal lines (S); a scanning line drive circuit for scanning the plurality of scanning signal lines (G); and a signal line drive circuit (6) for supplying data signals, via the plurality of data signal lines, to pixels. In the display device 1, the plurality of scanning signal lines (G) includes a scanning signal line (Gb) for displaying a first certain color, scanning signal lines for displaying the other colors (Gr, Gg), among which the scanning signal line (Gb) is scanned least frequently than the scanning signal line (Gr) and the scanning signal line (Gg).
US09299312B2	Method and apparatus for generating images using a color field sequential display One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for generating and transmitting video frame data from a graphics processing unit (GPU) to a color field sequential display device capable of displaying an auto-stereoscopic image. A frame buffer image comprising per-pixel packed color channels is transformed to a frame buffer image comprising regions corresponding to the color channels with vertical blanking regions inserted between color sub-field regions. Each region of the transformed frame buffer image is sequentially transmitted to the color field sequential display device for display of the corresponding color channel. Backlight illumination for each color channel is controlled by the GPU for temporal alignment with display of each color channel during the vertical blanking interval. The technique is compatible with lenticular and parallax barrier displays.
US09299311B2	Disabling a display refresh process A method performed by a physical computing system, the method includes disabling a display refresh process of a video controller (202) of the physical computing system if no active display device is connected to the physical computing system. A physical computing system includes a video controller (202) comprising a rendering engine (204) and a display refresh controller (206); a memory controller (212) connected to a memory (214); and a display controller (310) to determine whether an active display device is connected to the physical computing system; in which a display refresh process performed by the display refresh controller (206) is disabled when no active display device is connected to the physical computing system.
US09299307B2	Image display devices, image display systems, and image signal processing methods Image display devices that can eliminate image deterioration that occurs due to a pixel scanning sequence are provided. A detection section identifies a moving region contained in an image corresponding to an input image signal composed of a plurality of frames and detects a moving distance and a moving direction for and in which the moving region moves. A correction section corrects the image signal based on a detected result of the detection section and the scanning sequence in which individual pixels in the moving region are scanned. A drive section scans the plurality of pixels in the scanning sequence based on a corrected image signal that is an image signal corrected by the correction section and draws a corrected image corresponding to the corrected image signal.
US09299305B2	Display device and drive method therefor A polarity inversion control section (9) supplies a polarity designation signal, which designates a polarity of a data signal, to a data line drive circuit (5) while reversing a polarity of the polarity designation signal every frame. Even in a case where a pause driving control section (8) receives a designation signal that designates a sum of the number of frames constituting a scanning period and the number of frames constituting a pause period to be an even number, the pause driving control section (8) maintains the sum of the number of frames constituting a scanning period and the number of frames constituting a pause period to be an odd number.
US09299303B2	Liquid crystal display device A display device includes a first gate signal line and a second gate signal line, and a first drain signal line, a second drain signal line, and a third drain signal line. A first pixel and a second pixel are surrounded by the first gate signal line, the second gate signal line, the first drain signal line, and the second drain signal line, and a third pixel and a fourth pixel are surrounded by the first gate signal line, the second gate signal line, the second drain signal line, and the third drain signal line. A first storage line and a second storage line are disposed between the first gate signal line and the second gate signal line, and the first pixel includes a first thin film transistor connected to the first gate signal line, the first drain signal line, and a first pixel electrode of the first pixel.
US09299302B2	Display device A normal display portion, in which image display is performed by typical active-matrix drive, and a memory display portion, in which image display is performed by memory drive are provided on a substrate which defines a liquid crystal panel. Each pixel in the memory display portion is shaped so as to include a curve or a side not parallel to either gate bus lines or source bus lines. A plurality of pixel memory units, each including a flip-flop, are provided so as to correspond to their respective pixels in the memory display portion. Display data is provided to the pixel memory unit that corresponds to the first stage of a shift register which is constituted by connecting the flip-flops in the plurality of pixel memory units in series.
US09299301B2	Display device and method for driving the display device A display device includes a display panel for displaying a still image and for displaying a motion picture. The display panel includes a gate line, a data line, a storage electrode line, a first switching element connected to the gate line and the date line, a storage connected to the switching element and the storage electrode line. The display device further includes a signal controller for providing controlling signals to drive the display panel. The display panel is driven at a first frequency when the motion picture is displayed. The display panel is driven at a second frequency lower than the first frequency when the still image is displayed. When the display panel is driven at the second frequency, a common voltage inputted to the storage electrode line changes.
US09299295B2	Display driving method A method of driving an electrowetting display device having at least one display element for displaying a display effect. The method determines a change in the display effect. Depending on the change the display element may be DC driven or AC driven.
US09299293B2	Methods and apparatus for backlighting dual modulation display devices Methods and apparatus are provided for backlighting a dual modulation display device. Each type of light source comprises a multi-primary light source having two or more primary color light emitters having different primary color characteristics from corresponding primary color emitters of other types of light source. Methods may comprise receiving illumination target values for a plurality of locations on the front modulator corresponding to the plurality of light sources, each of the locations on the front modulator configured to be illuminated by two or more of the plurality of light sources, determining primary color drive values source based on the primary color characteristics for that primary color and the illumination target value for the location corresponding to that light source, and driving the primary color light emitters or each type of light source based on the primary color drive values.
US09299292B2	Display device, electronic device comprising same, and drive method for display device Provided is a display device capable of suppressing reduction in display quality even when pause drive is performed, while allowing the intensity of a light source to be changed in accordance with images to be displayed.In a liquid crystal display device with the CABC function, 7.5-Hz pause drive is performed. A transition period is provided in which images to be displayed are changed gradually from bright image X to dark image Y. In the transition period, the duration of a sub-transition period is five frames. Once the transition period starts, the duration of a vertical display period changes from eight frames to one frame. That is, 7.5-Hz pause drive switches to 60-Hz normal drive. In this manner, the duration of the vertical display period is set to be less than or equal to the duration of the sub-transition period, so that screen refresh is always performed in each sub-transition period of the transition period.
US09299291B2	Display unit, driving method and electronic apparatus A display unit includes: a display section including a plurality of unit pixels; and a drive section configured to perform a first drive, a second drive, and a third drive on each of the unit pixels in this order, in which each of the first drive and the second drive includes an initialization drive, a writing drive of a pixel voltage, and a light emission drive based on the pixel voltage written by the writing drive, a part of a series of the initialization drive, the writing drive, and the light emission drive differs between the first drive and the second drive, and the third drive includes a light emission drive based on the pixel voltage written by the writing drive in the second drive.
US09299290B2	Display device and control method thereof Plural pixel circuits of a display device each include: a drive transistor having drain or source connected to a first power source voltage; a first capacitive element having a first electrode connected to a gate of the drive transistor and a second electrode connected to the source of the drive transistor; a second capacitive element having a first electrode connected to the second electrode of the first capacitive element and a second electrode directly connected to a data line that transmits a voltage corresponding to a light-emitting luminance; a first switching element that switches between conduction and non-conduction between the gate of the drive transistor and a fixed reference voltage; and a light-emitting device having a first electrode connected to source or drain of the drive transistor and a second electrode connected to a second power source voltage.
US09299289B2	Pixel and organic light emitting display device using the same An organic light emitting display device is capable of securing sufficient compensation period such that a threshold voltage of a driving transistor may be compensated. A pixel includes: an organic light emitting diode; a second transistor for controlling an amount of current supplied from a first power source to the organic light emitting diode; a first capacitor having a first terminal coupled to a gate electrode of the second transistor; a first transistor coupled between a second terminal of the first capacitor and a data line, and being configured to turn on when a scan signal is supplied to a scan line; and a third transistor coupled between a gate electrode and a second electrode of the second transistor and having a turning-on period that is not overlapped with that of the first transistor. The third transistor is configured to turn on for a longer time than the first transistor.
US09299288B2	Organic light emission diode display device driving circuit including a charging circuit A driving circuit includes a first transistor, a capacitor, a second transistor, and a charging circuit. The input terminal of the first transistor is electrically connected to a voltage source. The output terminal of the first transistor is electrically connected to an organic light-emitting diode. The first terminal of the capacitor is electrically connected to the control terminal of the first transistor. The input terminal of the second transistor is electrically connected to the second terminal of the capacitor. The control terminal of the second transistor is electrically connected to a scan line. The output terminal of the second transistor is electrically connected to the output terminal of the first transistor. The charging circuit is electrically connected to the first and second terminals of the capacitor, the scan line, and a current source.
US09299286B2	Display device and electronic appliance A display device includes: a plurality of arranged pixels, each of which includes an electro-optical component, a write-in transistor writing an image signal in a pixel, a maintenance capacity maintaining the image signal written by the write-in transistor, and a driving transistor driving the electro-optical component based on the image signal maintained by the maintenance capacity, wherein the write-in transistor has a plurality of gates, the gate of the driving transistor side among the plurality of gates has a structure in which a channel region is sandwiched between a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode, and the width of the channel region of the gate of the driving transistor side is narrower than the width of the channel region of other gates.
US09299284B2	System and method for dark noise reduction in pulse width modulated (PWM) displays In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a system and method for dark noise reduction in pulse width modulated (PWM) displays. The system includes means for determining bright corrected pixel values for dark portions of an image corresponding to a first subframe and means for determining dark corrected pixel values for dark image portions of an image corresponding to a second sub frame of the image frame.
US09299281B2	Display device including inspection pad having a resistor and manufacturing method thereof A display device and manufacturing method thereof are disclosed. In one aspect, the display device includes a substrate including a display area and a peripheral area surrounding the display area, wherein the display area includes a plurality of pixels configured to display images and a plurality of inspection pads formed in the peripheral area and configured to transmit a plurality of inspection signals to the pixels. Each of the inspection pads includes a poly resistor formed over the substrate, at least one insulating layer formed over the poly resistor, first and second conductive wires formed over the insulating layer and respectively connected to opposing ends of the poly resistor, and a protective layer formed over the insulating layer and substantially overlapping the poly resistor.
US09299275B2	Display apparatus incorporating corrugated beam actuators This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for shutter-based EMS light modulators controlled by electrode actuators that include complementary sets of corrugations or teeth along the opposing beams of the actuators. The complementary sets of corrugations substantially engage one another when drawn together via an actuation voltage. By applying the actuation voltage across the opposing beams of such an actuator, the beams are drawn together both by the electromotive force resulting from the electric field acting between the portions of the beams that are substantially perpendicular to the direction of actuation of the actuator, and by fringing fields between the sides of the corrugations, which are substantially parallel to the direction of actuation. The additional fringing fields provide for increased electromotive force for a given input voltage.
US09299272B2	Point of purchase display A point of purchase display for coupling to a commercial product on display at a retail store. The point of purchase display includes a flexible and wrinkle-resistant sheet material having indicia displayed thereon and at least one coupling member for coupling the sheet material to the commercial product. In example forms, the indicia being displayed on the sheet material is provided for advertisement or instructional purposes of the commercial product.
US09299270B2	Door vacancy indicator A stall structure includes a door mounted between two pilasters. The stall also includes an occupancy indicator. The occupancy indicator is engaged by the action of closing the door so that the occupancy indicator changes from indicating the stall as vacant to indicating the stall as occupied. The indicator may include a display having a VACANT indicator and an OCCUPIED indicator. An engagement element may engage the stall structure as the door is closed and move the display from the VACANT indicating position to the OCCUPIED indicating position.
US09299267B2	Resonance and articulation trainer A resonance and articulation training device that includes a body with an open end and a closed end. A vertical tube is attached to the body near the closed end, and a pellet is located within the vertical tube. One or more holes along the body may be used to adjust the amount of airflow needed to lift the pellet. A mouthpiece or head joint from a musical instrument may be attached to the open end. Generating a tone with the mouthpiece or head joint creates an airflow in the body. If the airflow is sufficient, it may lift the pellet.
US09299261B2	Device and process for determining a runway state, aircraft including such a device and piloting assistance system using said runway state This invention relates to a device and process for determining an airport runway state (12), as well as for using such data. The process includes: acquisition (A1) of measurement data pertaining to at least one physical size of an aircraft (10), during the take off or landing roll phase of the aircraft on said runway; obtaining (A2), using the data acquired, a plurality of estimated adhesion values “μ” of the runway, corresponding to a respective plurality of taxiing moments of the aircraft; obtaining (A3), using the data acquired, a slip ratio value “s” of at least one of the aircraft's wheels for each said taxiing moment, so as to obtain (A4) a plurality of coupled data points [s,μ]; and determination of a runway state by comparing (A5.2) the coupled data points [s,μ] profile with at least one predetermined profile.
US09299259B2	Multi-surface model-based tracking Systems and methods for detecting a vehicle. One system includes a controller. The controller is configured to receive images from a camera mounted on a first vehicle, identify a surface of a second vehicle located around the first vehicle based on the images, and generate a three-dimensional model associated with the second vehicle. The model includes a first plane and a second plane approximately perpendicular to the first plane. The first plane of the model is associated with the identified surface of the second vehicle. The controller is further configured to track a position of the second vehicle using the three-dimensional model after the identified surface falls at least partially outside of a field-of-view of the at least one camera.
US09299258B1	Systems and methods for providing navigational assistance to a parking facility A computer-implemented method that includes receiving a request for navigational assistance to a location, identifying a parking facility at or near the location, identifying a first section of the parking facility having parking availability, identifying a first entrance of the parking facility that corresponds to the first section of the parking facility, providing, via a mobile communications device, navigational assistance to the first entrance of the parking facility, monitoring parking availability at the parking facility, and, prior to receiving an indication that a vehicle associated with the mobile communications device has arrived at the first entrance of the parking facility, determining that a second section of the parking facility currently has a parking availability that exceeds the parking availability of the first section of the parking facility, and providing navigational assistance to a second entrance of the parking facility that corresponds to the second section of the parking facility.
US09299257B2	Method and apparatus for determining parking location based on departure time information An approach is provided for determining departure time information for at least one vehicle, wherein the departure time is determined prior to an arrival of the at least one vehicle at the at least one parking facility. The approach also involves determining other departure time information for one or more other vehicles parked at the at least one parking facility. The approach further involves processing and/or facilitating a processing of the departure time information and/or the other departure time information to determine at least one parking location for that at least one vehicle at the least one parking facility.
US09299248B2	Method and apparatus for analyzing capacitive EMG and IMU sensor signals for gesture control There is disclosed a muscle interface device for use with controllable connected devices. In an embodiment, the muscle interface device comprises a sensor worn on the forearm of a user, and the sensor is adapted to recognize a plurality of gestures made by a user to interact with a controllable connected device. The muscle interface device utilizes a plurality of sensors, including one or more of capacitive EMG sensors and an IMU sensor, to detect gestures made by a user. Other types of sensors including MMG sensors may also be used. The detected user gestures from the sensors are processed into a control signal for allowing the user to interact with content displayed on the controllable connected device.
US09299247B2	System and method for adjusting machine parameters A system for adjusting machine parameters based on a skill level of an operator comprises a personal area network (PAN)-compatible electronic control module (ECM) located on a machine. The system also includes a PAN-compatible communication device associated with an operator of the machine. The PAN-compatible communication device is configured to receive information indicative of the skill level of the operator. The PAN-compatible communication device is also configured to establish a wireless communication link with the PAN-compatible ECM and transmit the information indicative of the skill level of the operator to the PAN-compatible ECM. The PAN-compatible ECM is configured to adjust an operational aspect of the machine based on the information indicative of the skill level of the operator of the machine.
US09299246B2	Reporting results of processing of continuous event streams An aspect of the present disclosure facilitates reporting results of processing of continuous event streams. In one embodiment, a matching condition indicating a pattern of interest as a part of an alert definition in relation to a set of continuous event streams is received, with the occurrences of said pattern of interest being desirable to be reported as corresponding alert instances. Also, a suppression condition associated with the pattern of interest is received, with the suppression condition indicating the specific occurrences of the pattern of interest that are not to be reported as corresponding alert instances. Accordingly, a sequence of occurrences of the pattern of interest is determined in the set of continuous event streams. For each occurrence in the sequence of occurrences, an alert instance corresponding to the occurrence is generated only if the suppression condition is not satisfied for the occurrence.
US09299244B2	Self adapting alert device Methods and apparatuses are disclosed that allow an electronic device to autonomously adapt one or more user alerts to the current operating environment of the electronic device. For example, some embodiments may include a method comprising providing a plurality of alert devices in an electronic device, determining an operating environment of the electronic device using a sensor of the electronic device, and actuating at least one of the plurality of alert devices that corresponds to the determined operating environment.
US09299242B2	Distributed healthcare communication system A graphical audio station of a nurse call system is operable to permit a user to perform one or more of the following functions: establish a two-way voice communication link with another computer device in another patient and/or with a another computer device located in another staff work area and/or with a wireless communication device carried by caregiver and/or with a telephone of the healthcare facility; broadcast a voice page to a group of other selected computer devices; compose and send a text message to a portable device that is carried by a caregiver and that has wireless communication capability; browse web pages and/or view multimedia content, such as videos, hosted on servers of the healthcare facility and/or that are accessible via the Internet; view and/or acknowledge and/or answer and/or cancel alerts or nurse calls originating in a plurality of patient rooms.
US09299240B2	Anti-loss for medical devices A medical device system includes one or more anti-loss/anti-theft mechanisms. The medical device system comprises a wireless medical device and a docking station. An alarm is activated on one or more of the wireless medical device or the docking station when an alarm threshold is detected by one of the anti-loss/anti-theft mechanisms.
US09299237B2	Method and apparatus for early detection of dynamic attentive states for providing an inattentive warning A method and apparatus for determining an inattentive state of an operator of a vehicle and for providing information to the operator of the vehicle by obtaining face images of the operator of the vehicle, obtaining images of an environment of the vehicle, determining one or more areas of interest in the environment of the vehicle based on the images of the environment, obtaining, from a relevance and priority database, relevance and priority values corresponding to the one or more areas of interest, determining a probability of attention of the operator of the vehicle to the one or more areas of interest based on the images of the environment and the relevance and priority values, determining an attention deficiency based on the determined probability of attention and the face images, and providing the information to the operator of the vehicle based on the determined attention deficiency.
US09299233B2	Anti-crime system using RF dongle The present invention relates to an anti-crime system using an RF dongle. More particularly, the present invention relates to an anti-crime system using an RF dongle, in which a detection sensor is mounted on a security window, a window or a door of a balcony, and the sensed signal acquired from the detection sensor is transmitted to a server by an Internet sharer using RF communication so as to inform the relevant persons in charge about the current state via the terminals of the relevant persons.
US09299232B2	Security device with dual use transformer A security device may include an attachment assembly configured to affix the security device to an object, a locking assembly configured to lockably secure the attachment assembly and configured to transition between at least a locked state and an unlocked state, a transformer configured to drive an alarm assembly to generate an alarm, and processing circuitry. The transformer may be further configured to operate as a wireless receiver to receive a remotely transmitted wireless signal. The processing circuitry may be configured to monitor an output of the transformer to determine whether the wireless signal has been received via the transformer, and selectively activate the transformer to drive the alarm assembly to generate the alarm.
US09299231B2	Image processing sensor systems An image processing sensor system functions as a standalone unit to capture images and process the resulting signals to detect objects or events of interest. The processing significantly improves selectivity and specificity of detection objects and events.
US09299227B2	Automated banking machine that operates responsive to data read from data bearing records Automated banking machines operate to cause financial transfers responsive to data read from data bearing records. Each of the automated banking machines includes a card reader that is operative to read data from user cards corresponding to financial accounts. Transactions are authorized responsive at least in part to correspondence between card data and stored data corresponding to authorized users. Entities responsible for operating the automated banking machines receive messages that include information or update code items for software or firmware usable in the banking machines for which they have operational responsibility.
US09299221B2	System and method for allowing players to play matching games having paths formed between symbols A method for allowing players to play a bingo-type game with a gaming system is described herein. The method includes displaying the bingo-type game on the display device, randomly selecting a plurality of player symbols, randomly selecting a plurality of game symbols, determining if each one of the plurality of game symbols matches a corresponding one of the plurality of player symbols, and determining a game outcome of the bingo-type game as a function of the matched player symbols. The method also includes determining if a triggering condition occurs in the game outcome and responsively providing an award to the player if the triggering condition occurs. The triggering condition is defined as a path extending between the origin symbol and the destination symbol and including at least one matched player symbol.
US09299216B2	Method, system, and device for generating a current game display A method and system for generating a current game display includes receiving data indicating the commencement of a current game, receiving data representing a random event in the current game, determining a current game state at an intermediate point in the game prior to the end of the game, generate a current game display at the intermediate point, and display the current game display at the intermediate point. In an optional embodiment, wagers may be received prior to commencement of the game and/or at the intermediate point and resolved at the end of the game.
US09299207B2	Paper-currency dispensing box A banknote dispenser of a financial self-service device is provided for storing, separating and discharging banknotes. The banknote dispenser is provided with a housing, a banknote separating mechanism for separating a stack of banknotes piece by piece, a banknote pressing mechanism for pushing the stack of banknotes towards the banknote separating mechanism, and a limiting block for ensuring that the stack of banknotes are separated piece by piece and configured to allow the ends of the stack of banknotes to form an acute angle state when being separated. A banknote picking wheel and a banknote separating wheel assembly of the banknote separating mechanism are each provided with a one-way bearing, and at least one guide rib is arranged on the surface of the limiting block in the stacking direction of the banknotes, and the height of the guide rib reduces progressively in the direction towards the banknote outlet.
US09299205B2	Keyless entry system A keyless entry system including multiple portable devices and an in-vehicle device controlling smart lock and smart unlock of a vehicle door is disclosed. The in-vehicle device includes an vehicle-cabin-inside portable determination section, which when locking the vehicle door by the auto-lock function, determines whether or not there is the portable device located inside the vehicle cabin, and a disabled state release section that releases the disabled states of all of the portable devices when the vehicle-cabin-inside portable determination section determines that there is no portable device located inside the vehicle cabin.
US09299204B2	Locking system with infrared communications A locking system with infrared communications includes a lock (1) and a programming key (2). The lock (1) includes an interacting device (3) for interacting with the user, a first communications module (4) having an infrared sensor which receives and sends information when communications with the key (2) is established. A first control module (5) manages the received information and a mechanical device (6) opens and locks the locking system a first warning (7) and a first power supply (8). The programming key (2) includes a second communications module (10) including an infrared sensor for communicating with the lock (1), a second control module (11), a storage module (12), a second warning (13), a connector for connection externally (14) and a second power supply (15).
US09299203B2	Access level management techniques Access level management techniques which require less manual intervention. In one example, a registration system registers an individual for an access level and receives a mobile device identifier from the individual. The registration system generates an electronic pass, which may include a mobile barcode, granting the individual access at the requested access level, and provides the electronic pass to a mobile communication device of the individual using the mobile device identifier. In one application, an individual with a mobile barcode associated with priority access level privileges may be allowed to bypass a queue by using a priority lane.
US09299197B2	Graphical user interface with on board and off-board resources A graphical user interface is provided that can be used on a diagnostic tool. The graphical user interface allows a technician to operate various functions of the diagnostic tool including searching for additional information on the Internet, receiving weather information that is relevant to certain diagnostic tests, and displaying in certain formats the retrieved vehicle data and when certain vehicles were last scanned or diagnosed.
US09299196B2	Method and system for high speed printing using drop-on demand technology that compensates for droplet satellites Methods and systems for using ink-jet technology for high speed printing are provided. Print growth between pixels in an image is significantly reduced or eliminated by adjusting the printing of the pixels based on the status of the following pixel to be printed, i.e., whether the following pixel is either black or white. If a black pixel, formed by a plurality of columns of dots, is being followed by a white pixel, the column of dots closest to the white pixel will not be printed, and the column of dots in the black pixel next to the column of dots closest to the white pixel are staggered such that the pixel appears filled despite the absence of the column of dots closest to the white pixel and will still be properly read as a black pixel by a scanner reading the image.
US09299195B2	Scanning and tracking dynamic objects with depth cameras A video conference server receives a plurality of video frames including a current frame and at least one previous frame. Each of the video frames includes a corresponding image and a corresponding depth map. The server produces a directional distance function (DDF) field that represents an area surrounding a target surface of the object captured in the current frame. A forward transformation is generated that modifies the reference surface to align with the target surface. Using at least a portion of the forward transformation, a backward transformation is calculated that modifies the target surface of the current frame to align with the reference surface. The backward transformation is then applied to the DDF to generate a transformed DDF. The server updates the reference model with the transformed DDF and transmits data for the updated reference model to enable a representation of the object to be produced at a remote location.
US09299191B2	Adaptive artifact removal Aspects of the disclosure relate to generating a digital terrain model (“DTM”) from a digital surface model (“DSM”). For example, the DSM may include a plurality pixels associated with coordinate information and elevation information, including the elevation of features such as buildings and large vegetation. Initially, a set of vertices defining a polygon may be identified. A set of seed pixels, corresponding to points of the DSM of “bare” earth (without buildings or large vegetation) may also be identified. These may be the same or different from the set of vertices. An adaptive flood filler algorithm is used to evaluate the pixels of the polygon starting with the seed pixels. This process validates or invalidates the state of the pixels. The result is an approximation of a DTM for the polygon.
US09299190B2	Dental computed tomography apparatus The invention relates to a dental computed tomography apparatus which includes an x-ray imaging means and at least one color camera for photographing the face of a patient positioned at the imaging station of the apparatus from different directions and at least one laser or a corresponding lighting arrangement, which is fitted to direct a light pattern at different locations on the face of a patient positioned at the imaging station, and a means arranged into functional connection with said at least one color camera for creating a virtual three-dimensional surface model from the light-pattern information directed at different locations on the face of the patient positioned at the imaging station, and a means for combining said face image information detected by said at least color camera to said surface model of the patient's face to create a virtual three-dimensional texture model of the patient's face.
US09299189B1	Techniques for updating design file lighting values In one embodiment, a stack of individual images of a scene are created. Each individual image corresponds to a respective light source or light source group associated with the scene. The individual images are combined to produce a combined image. The combined image is displayed. In response to user input indicating adjustments to a light source or light source group, an operator is applied to a corresponding individual image of the stack of individual images. An updated combined image is displayed on the display screen. Values for light sources or light source groups are generated based on the applied operator. The generated values are provided to a design session in a modeling environment.
US09299188B2	Automatic geometry and lighting inference for realistic image editing Image editing techniques are disclosed that support a number of physically-based image editing tasks, including object insertion and relighting. The techniques can be implemented, for example in an image editing application that is executable on a computing system. In one such embodiment, the editing application is configured to compute a scene from a single image, by automatically estimating dense depth and diffuse reflectance, which respectively form the geometry and surface materials of the scene. Sources of illumination are then inferred, conditioned on the estimated scene geometry and surface materials and without any user input, to form a complete 3D physical scene model corresponding to the image. The scene model may include estimates of the geometry, illumination, and material properties represented in the scene, and various camera parameters. Using this scene model, objects can be readily inserted and composited into the input image with realistic lighting, shadowing, and perspective.
US09299186B2	Occlusion reduction and magnification for multidimensional data presentations A method in a computer system for generating a presentation of a region-of-interest in an original image for display on a display screen, the original image being a collection of polygons having polygons defined by three or more shared edges joined at vertex points, the method comprising: establishing a lens for the region-of-interest, the lens having a magnified focal region for the region-of-interest at least partially surrounded by a shoulder region across which the magnification decreases, the focal and shoulder regions having respective perimeters; subdividing polygons in the collection of polygons proximate to at least one of the perimeters, as projected with the polygons onto a base plane, by inserting one or more additional vertex points and additional edges into the polygons to be subdivided; and, applying the lens to the original image to produce the presentation by displacing the vertex points onto the lens and perspectively projecting the displacing onto a view plane in a direction aligned with a viewpoint for the region-of-interest.
US09299185B2	Enhanced system and method for rendering visual surface An enhanced system and method for rendering virtual surface is disclosed. A grid may be constructed in a world space to provide positions that facilitate the rendering of the virtual surface. The grid may be constructed by intersecting circular lines and radial lines. The distance of circular lines with respect to one another may be determined by intersecting tessellation level and binary tree. Motion caused by a viewpoint transformation may be compensated by adjusting the grid. Rotational change of the viewpoint may compensated by rotating the grid according a degree of grid edge. Translational change of the viewpoint may be compensated by moving or rotating the grid in a direction opposite to the translational change.
US09299180B2	Image creation method, image creation apparatus and recording medium An image creation method, includes: first obtaining a subject image including a subject region; second obtaining skeleton information related to a skeleton of a subject in the subject image obtained by the first obtaining; specifying, based on the skeleton information obtained by the second obtaining, color information of a contour portion of the subject region; and creating a back-side-image, based on the color information of the contour portion of the subject region specified by the specifying, by drawing a subject correspondent region of the back-side image showing a back side of the subject in a pseudo manner.
US09299178B2	Generation of animated gesture responses in a virtual world Responding to gestures made by third parties in a virtual world by receiving a gesture from a first avatar directed to at least one second avatar. For at least one second avatar, a reply gesture may be selected that corresponds to the received gesture. The reply gesture may be output for communication to the first avatar.
US09299170B1	Information environment map Information is presented on a map that resembles a city map, with related information grouped into distinct “neighborhoods.” Such a display scheme takes advantage of spatial cognition in order to provide an organizational and presentational scheme by which users can more easily remember where to look for and find the right information. Metadata, notifications, and/or other auxiliary information can be presented alongside or superimposed upon the data itself.
US09299168B2	Context aware user interface for image editing A non-transitory machine readable medium that has a computer program for adjusting color values of an image represented in a color space. The image includes several pixels. Each pixel includes a set of color values. The computer program receives a selection of a location on the image. The computer program determines a type of content that is associated with the selected location on the image. From several different image editing operations, the computer program selects a set of image editing operations based on the determined type of content. The computer program displays a set of user interface controls that is associated with the selected set of image editing operations.
US09299166B2	Image compression method and apparatus for bandwidth saving Described herein are methods and devices that employ parallel compression of image data using a lossless compressor and a quantization compressor. As described, the lossless compressor generates a variable length compressed bit stream and the quantization compressor generates a fixed length compressed bit stream. The fixed length bit stream is always equal in size to a size requirement of an output memory block. The variable length bit stream may be stored in the output memory block unless it exceeds the memory requirement in size, in which case the fixed length bit stream may be stored to the output memory block.
US09299165B2	Method and device for automatically determining the contours of heights of the relief of a geographical area A device for automatically determining the contours of heights of a relief includes an image receiving unit configured to receive an image of a predetermined geographical area. The image includes altimetric data. A background surface elimination unit eliminates the background surface of the relief. The background surface illustrates gradual variations in one or more altitudes of the geographical area. A top-hat algorithm having an adjustable structuring element can be used. A thresholding unit generates a binary image which only contains those reliefs having heights above a threshold value. An extracting unit extracts rough contours of heights of the relief from the binary image. A simplifying unit obtains a set of polygons by simplifying the rough contours. The polygons illustrate contours of the heights of the relief of the geographical area.
US09299164B2	Method and apparatus for using super resolution encoding to provide edge enhancements for non-saturated objects A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and apparatus for enhancing an edge of a non-saturated object are disclosed. For example, the method detects a plurality of transition pixels, determines a gray value for one or more of the plurality of transition pixels is greater than a threshold value, identifies one or more edge pixels from the one or more of the plurality of transition pixels that has the gray value greater than the threshold value when the one or more of the plurality of transition pixels is not within an input block of pixels having all of the pixels in the input block with a respective gray value greater than the threshold and applies an edge enhancement to each one of a plurality of input blocks containing the one or more edge pixels.
US09299158B2	Automated analysis of a motion Generating an analysis of a motion is disclosed. A first computing device receives image data that includes a set of user images. Each user image in the set corresponds to a stage of a plurality of consecutive stages of the motion and depicts a user at the corresponding stage. For each stage of the plurality of consecutive stages, a plurality of motion point locations in the corresponding user image is determined. Based on the plurality of motion point locations and reference motion data associated with a reference motion, a user motion report is generated.
US09299156B2	Structure-analysis system, method, software arrangement and computer-accessible medium for digital cleansing of computed tomography colonography images A system, method, software arrangement and computer-accessible medium for performing electronic cleansing of CT colonography images are provided. In this system, method, software arrangement and computer-accessible medium, the digital bowel cleansing can be performed to remove tagged bowel contents from the images. The digital bowel cleansing can apply a local shape analysis throughout the images and use a shape-based speed function to detect the folds and polyps structures while removing the tagged bowel contents region. The system, method, software arrangement and computer-accessible medium can enable a medical examiner to perform an accurate virtual colonoscopy on a patient, without the need for thorough patient preparation.
US09299154B2	Method and device for filtering a disparity map The invention relates to a method for filtering a disparity map associated with one of the views of a stereoscopic image comprising the steps of identifying the pixels (xn) with which is associated an erroneous disparity value (d(xn)) by comparison with the disparity values of the neighbouring pixels (xn−1, xn+1) and correcting the disparity values of the identified pixels.
US09299149B2	Image enhancement using modulation strength map and modulation kernel An image enhancement system may generate a net signed fractional modulation value at each location in an image using a modulation strength map (MSM) in combination with a modulation kernel F(θ). The system may scale an image value at each location using the net signed fractional modulation value at each location. Application of the algorithm may not result in systematic clipping of peri-edge locations to maximum or minimum brightness values, or any other form of systematic homogenization of values at peri-edge locations.
US09299148B2	Method and system for automatically determining a localizer in a scout image A method and system for automatically determining a localizer in a scout image. The method comprises obtaining a 3D model best matched to an object to be scanned and projecting a localizer in the best matched 3D model onto a scout image of the object to be scanned to obtain an optimal localizer. The system comprises an obtaining device for obtaining a 3D model best matched to an object to be scanned and a determining device for projecting a localizer in the best matched 3D model onto a scout image of the object to be scanned to obtain an optimal localizer.
US09299147B2	Image processing apparatus, image capturing apparatus, and image processing method An image processing apparatus comprises an acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of images captured under different exposure conditions, a detection unit configured to detect a position shift of an image to the reference image, wherein the reference image is an image serving as an alignment reference in processing for composing the plurality of images; and a composition unit configured to correct the position shift and compose the plurality of images in accordance with a composition ratio calculated based on brightness of a predetermined image, wherein the composition unit does not compose a plurality of images according to the composition ratio in a region of the reference image in which at least parts of the plurality of images do not overlap, and the composition unit composes images generated from the predetermined image.
US09299145B2	Image segmentation techniques Systems and articles of manufacture for image segmentation are provided herein, and include creating an anatomical model from training data comprising one or more imaging modalities, generating one or more simulated images in a target modality based on the anatomical model and one or more principles of physics pertaining to image contrast generation, and comparing the one or more simulated images to an unlabeled input image of a given imaging modality to determine a simulated image of the one or more simulated images to represent the unlabeled input image.
US09299124B2	Padding for multi-channel memory Techniques described in the disclosure are generally related to reserving padding bytes in system memory when storing data in the system memory. The reserving of padding bytes may allow a memory interface to efficiently utilize the channels to the system memory when storing or subsequently retrieving the data.
US09299123B2	Indexed streamout buffers for graphics processing A graphics processing unit (GPU) includes an indexed streamout buffer. The indexed streamout buffer is configured to: receive vertex data of a primitive, and determine if any entries in a reuse table of the indexed streamout buffer reference the vertex data. Responsive to determining that an entry of in the reuse table references the vertex data, the buffer is further configured to: generate an index that references the vertex data, store the index in the buffer, and store a reference to the index in the reuse table. Responsive to determining that an entry does not reference the vertex data, the indexed streamout buffer is configured to: store the vertex data in the buffer, generate an index that references the vertex data, store the index in the buffer, and store a reference to the index in the reuse table.
US09299115B2	Optimizing user selection for performing tasks in social networks Embodiments relate to optimizing user response rate in social media. One embodiment includes generating a model for modeling a likelihood of social media user response from data collected from social media based on social media user filtering criteria and historical information. Modeling the likelihood includes estimating ability of social media users to perform a particular task based on social media user information including tracking of the social media users, evaluating previous task responses and personality features. Social media users are selected based on estimated ability to perform the particular task for maximizing a response rate.
US09299114B2	Indexing a messaging session for business object integration into messaging Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to messaging and provide a method, system and computer program product for business object integration with messaging. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for messaging integration of a business object can be provided. The method can include embedding a business object in message text in a messaging session provided by a messenger, and applying an action to the business object from within the messaging session of the instant messenger. The method further can include indexing the messaging session with keywords in the message text and tags for the business object.
US09299107B2	System and method for managing the charging and discharging of an energy storage device Techniques for managing the charging and/or discharging of an energy storage device are disclosed. The techniques include obtaining clearing price data points spanning a plurality of dates and for each date: generating a distribution of the clearing price data points corresponding to the date; determining a lower quantile price point of the distribution based on a capacity of the device and a charge rate of the device; and determining an upper quantile price point of the distribution based on the capacity and a discharge rate of the device. The techniques include selecting a first set of the lower quantile price points from the lower quantiles and a second set of the upper quantile price points from the upper quantiles. The techniques include determining a buy bid based on the first set and a sell bid based on the second set and selectively transmitting the buy bid and/or the sell bid.
US09299104B2	Internet radio and broadcast method with selectable explicit lyrics filtering Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as the basis for feeding the data streams to the user. Each user is able to express his or her own preferences and receive music corresponding to those preferences on an on-going basis.
US09299102B1	Presence and proximity driven filtering of applications and media content Access to certain application programs and/or media content items at or from an online storefront are granted or denied for a requesting computing device based on whether a subject computing device is present at or within a threshold proximity to a reference computing device or a reference location. The requesting computing device may include the reference computing device or another computing device.
US09299101B2	Universal user interaction module for web transactions with user controlled conditions A universal user interaction module for web transactions with user controlled conditions. A request is received from a user to begin an order. User information is collected from one or more data repositories. The user information is consolidated and a determination is made as to what additional data is required to complete the order. The additional data is requested from the user and is received from the user. The additional data includes one or more user conditions for placing the order. The order is then stored. The order for the product includes the one or more user conditions, and the order is placed only after all of the one or more user conditions have been met.
US09299098B2	Systems for generating a global product taxonomy Techniques for generating a globally applicable taxonomy of e-commerce goods are described. According to various exemplary embodiments described herein, a taxonomy management system is configured to analyze item listing titles and user search queries in order to identify a set of globally applicable product types that serve as universal descriptors of the underlying things or objects that are the subject of an item listing or the likely user intended subject of a user search query. Such globally applicable product types are agnostic as to any specific product inventory or product category structure of an e-commerce website. After the taxonomy management system identifies product types, the taxonomy management system may incorporate the identified product types into a global product taxonomy that identifies the globally applicable product types.
US09299084B2	Detecting customer dissatisfaction using biometric data Systems and methods are disclosed herein for improving customer service. A video feed of a camera viewing a POS queue is analyzed to identify customers and measure customer biometric data. The biometric data is analyzed and used to generate customer service actions such as alerting a representative or calling in additional staff if the data indicates customer dissatisfaction. The biometric data of a customer may be correlated to transaction data of the customer in order to detect changes of the purchase habits of the customer due to dissatisfaction. Changes in purchase habits, such as a loss of a customer, may be used in combination with the biometric data to establish thresholds of biometric data used to generate customer service actions.
US09299083B2	Electronic data generation methods An electronic method for generating group data indicative of the collective response of at least a subset of respondents to at least one portion of a time-varying stimulus the method comprising: receiving responses to the time-varying stimulus from respective ones of a plurality of respondent devices, each response including data indicative of a response of a respondent associated with the respective respondent device to the time-varying stimulus; filtering the responses to generate a filtered response data set that excludes responses outside of a timing tolerance relative to a portion of the time-varying stimulus to which the group data is intended to relate; and processing at least a subset of the filtered response data set to generate the group data.
US09299080B2	Dynamic spawning of focal point objects within a virtual universe system In various embodiments, the number of virtual universe avatars within a predetermined proximity from a designated first object in a virtual universe is determined. A condition that affects a load on a server computer supporting the designated first object in the virtual universe is determined. A second object is dynamically spawned within the virtual universe in response to determining that the number of virtual universe avatars within the predetermined proximity from the designated first object is greater than a first predetermined threshold and that the determined condition on the server computer is greater than a second predetermined threshold. The second object is associated with transmissions of information within the virtual universe.
US09299073B1	Secure card Systems and methods for monetary cards are described. The cards are free from personally identifiable data, e.g., no name or embossment. In an example, the card includes a first number that activates the card and a second number written to the card at activation away from the card manufacturer. This helps prevent theft at the manufacturer. This second account is a bearer account where anyone who knows the account number can withdraw the funds from the account. The account may be funded with either the account number or the authentication number.
US09299071B1	System and method for processing a beacon based purchase transaction In a purchase transaction between a merchant and a customer, a merchant device sends transaction information to a payment gateway and sends a beacon signal containing a transaction identifier to a customer mobile device. The customer mobile device sends the transaction identifier and payment information corresponding to a customer payment account to the payment gateway. The payment gateway applies the transaction identifier to access the transaction information received from the merchant device and sends purchase information based on the transaction information to the customer mobile device. The customer mobile device displays the purchase information to the customer, obtains an indication of customer assent to pay for the item and sends a confirmation of customer assent to the payment gateway. Upon receiving the confirmation of customer assent from the customer mobile device, the payment gateway processes the purchase transaction based on the payment account information.
US09299070B2	Virtual receipts A device may obtain receipt data associated with a purchase of an item. The device may generate information for generating a virtual receipt based on the receipt data. The device may determine a user device associated with the receipt data. The device may send a text message, that includes the information for generating the virtual receipt, to the user device. The virtual receipt may be generated by the user device based on the information for generating the virtual receipt.
US09299066B2	Forwarding messages for meeting attendees to host computers at the meeting location A method and apparatus for managing messages is disclosed. A data processing system identifies a presence of a person in a meeting at a location using calendar information. The data processing system also identifies a computing device in the location having a connection to a network. The data processing system then sends a notification to the computing device identified in the location, responsive to the data processing system identifying a message for the person when the person is meeting in the location.
US09299055B2	Delegation of data entry tasks To avoid the need for off-line collaboration, a primary user who is attempting to enter data required for computer-based process may, as part of the data entry process, delegate data entry tasks for specific input fields to designated delegate users who are more likely to be knowledgeable about the data to be entered. Data entry operations performed by the primary user are recorded and used to build a transaction model which will enable a server to provide required data input screens to delegate users. Data entered by the delegate users is merged with data entered by the primary user to meet the requirements of the computer-based process.
US09299051B2	Methods and systems for evaluating the performance of building processes Systems and methods generate a business process control chart and process report card. A method includes generating process control chart data for a building process. The method further includes generating a summary record of sample data from the control chart data. The method includes determining a process grade for each process using the summary record. The method further includes generating a process report card including the determined process grade for each process.
US09299048B2	Apparatus and method for generating bill of materials for inspection An apparatus and a method for generating a bill of materials for inspection are disclosed. The apparatus for generating a bill of materials for inspection comprises a risk operation module, a data filtering module, and a data outputting module. The risk operation module selects a material risk index, a manufacturer risk index, a laboratory risk index corresponding to a material from the risk database, and decides the risk level according to the material risk index, the manufacturer risk index, and the laboratory risk index. The data filtering module determines whether a material needs to be inspected according to the risk level. The data outputting module selects a material sample from the material, and adds the material sample to the bill of materials for inspection.
US09299045B2	Determining software complexity Methods, apparatus, and computer program products for determining software complexity. A plurality of versions of a software module whose complexity is to be determined are compressed. Lengths of the compressed versions are compared, one with another, to provide complexity metrics.
US09299044B2	System and methods for management of mobile field assets via wireless handheld devices Communication from enterprise servers to handheld devices in the field supports dispatch, data synchronization, logistics and personnel. Bi-directional data delivery from enterprise-based servers over wireless data networks is enabled using wireless capabilities resident in handheld personal computing devices. Real time communications facilitates real-time access to remote programs, assistance and/or information related to the field operations and asset (personnel and inventory) resource management. Management is facilitated for at least one of: construction industry project analysis, HVAC system analysis, project management, equipment readiness inspection, troubleshooting, inventory tracking, inventory ordering, sales (e.g., providing cost estimates to customers), customer invoicing, conducting legal investigations, field data collection, and multi-user remote function coordination.
US09299042B2	Predicting edges in temporal network graphs described by near-bipartite data sets Embodiments of a system and method for predicting a future state of a set of data are generally described herein. In some embodiments, a set of data in a first domain is obtained. The set of data in the first domain may be represented as a network graph. The set of data in the first domain is mapped into a set of data in a second domain. A plurality of prediction models are applied to the set of data in the second domain to produce a plurality of predicted sets of data. The predicted sets of data are combined to generate a combined predicted set of data having a best match. The combined predicted sets of data having the best match are reverse mapped to the first domain.
US09299035B2	Iterative refinement of pathways correlated with outcomes A method for refining a process model includes mining a process model from a set of execution traces; determining whether the process model is too dense or too sparse; learning a predictive model from the execution traces to predict an outcome; modifying the predictive model; and mining a refined process model from updated traces based on attributes present in the modified predictive model. Modifying the predictive model includes making the predictive model more specific if it is determined that the process model is too dense; and making the predictive model more general if it is determined that the process model is too sparse.
US09299034B2	Predicting change-points in continuous time-series data using two classifier stages A method for predicting a change-point in continuous time-series data by computer includes accepting an input of continuous time-series data in past w periods; and determining whether or not a change-point in time-series appears in future k periods; wherein determining further includes determining, by a plurality of preliminary classifiers on the basis of the continuous time-series data in the past w periods and their respective preliminary classification rules, whether or not the change-point appears in future (k+i) periods, where i=0, 1, . . . , m; and determining, by a secondary classifier on the basis of determinations made by the plurality of preliminary classifiers and a secondary classification rule, whether or not the change-point appears in future c periods.
US09299033B2	Method and apparatus for detecting abnormal transition pattern A method for detecting an abnormal transition pattern from a transition pattern includes: first extracting an episode pattern with an appearance frequency greater than or equal to a first frequency from an episode pattern represented with a description form so as to include a first transition pattern and a second transition pattern differing in an order of a part of items from the first transition pattern to have a complementary relation thereto; second extracting a third transition pattern with an appearance frequency greater than or equal to a second frequency from the transition pattern; and specifying a transition pattern other than the third transition pattern from transition patterns included in the extracted episode pattern, and determining an abnormal transition pattern based on the transition pattern specified in the specifying when the third transition pattern includes a fourth transition pattern corresponding to the extracted episode pattern in the first extracting.
US09299032B2	Multi objective design selection A method of selecting a group from a plurality of multi objective designs which comply with a plurality of objectives. The method comprises providing a plurality of multi objective designs, each the multi objective design having a plurality of multi objective design objective values which comply with at least one constraint of a Pareto Frontier of an objective space of a plurality of objectives, selecting a group from the plurality of multi objective designs, each member of the group is selected according to a match between at least one objective of respective the plurality of objectives and at least one of a respective gain threshold and a respective loss threshold, and outputting the group.
US09299031B2	Active learning on statistical server name extraction from information technology (IT) service tickets Access is obtained to a plurality of information technology services problem tickets. At least a first subset of the tickets include free text tickets with server names embedded in unstructured text fields. The server names are extracted from the first subset of the tickets via a statistical machine learning technique. Using the extracted server names, those of the first subset of the tickets from which the server names have been extracted are linked to corresponding server entries in a configuration information database to facilitate resolution of problems associated with the first subset of the tickets from which the server names have been extracted; and/or at least one of the extracted server names is identified as missing from a list of known server names.
US09299026B2	Multipattern regular expression search systems and methods therefor This disclosure relates generally to a tool, system, and method for searching input data. The system may include a pattern input module, configured to receive regular expression patterns of symbols. An interpreter module may be configured to access individual ones of the symbols of the input data and upon accessing each symbol and compare a thread against the symbol. For each pattern, the thread corresponding to the pattern is compared against the symbol prior to the at least one thread being compared against a subsequent symbol of the input data. An output module may be configured to output an indication of ones of the patterns determined to be contained within the input data based on the comparison of the corresponding at least one thread to the symbols of the input data.
US09299025B1	Case-based reasoning system using case generalization method A method includes comparing a user-specified context having natural language contextual antecedents to cases stored in a case base. Each stored case includes case antecedents and case consequents. A matching case exists and is selected if the case antecedents exactly match the contextual antecedents. If no match exists, a best-matching case is determined and selected. The best-matching case may be determined by generalizing the situational part of a rule and comparing the user-specified context to the stored (generalized) cases. The best-matching case is the case having the highest ratio of matching generalized case antecedents to contextual antecedents and having a matching error ratio that does not exceed an error ratio threshold. The case consequents of the selected matching case or best matching case are then displayed to a user, with case base adjustment performed based upon feedback provided by the user in response to the displayed case consequents.
US09299024B2	Method of answering questions and scoring answers using structured knowledge mined from a corpus of data In a method of answering questions and scoring answers, a title and at least one topical field are identified for a document. A field name and field content associated with the topical field is identified, and a title-oriented document is created by combining the title, the field name, and the field content associated with the topical field. For each title-oriented document, a term in the title is matched to previously established categories to produce a title concept identifier. The topical field is synthesized to produce a field concept identifier and a field content concept identifier. A question is received. The question topic term and the question content identifier are used to identify at least one question-matching relation instance. The title concept identifier of each question-matching relation instance is identified as a candidate answer to the question. Each candidate answer and a corresponding answer score is output.
US09299023B2	Methods and systems for generating a horizon for use in an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) A method of generating a horizon for use by an ADAS of a vehicle involves using historical vehicle probe data to determine the likelihood that different outgoing paths are taken at a decision point along a currently traversed road segment, and deriving a probability that each path may be taken. The probability is based on historical paths taken by vehicles at the decision point as indicated by the vehicle probe data.
US09299021B2	RFID devices and methods for manufacturing A RFID device includes a substrate, a conductive element, and a RFID chip. The conductive element is coupled to the substrate and defines at least one pathway. The RFID chip includes an integrated circuit, a terminal, and an electrical lead connecting the integrated circuit and the terminal. The terminal is in electrical communication with the conductive element. The RFID chip is positioned so that a first portion of the RFID chip is positioned above the conductive element and a second portion of the RFID chip is positioned above the at least one pathway. Methods are also provided.
US09299020B2	Financial transaction card with cutout pattern representing symbolic information A financial transaction card includes a card substrate formed as a material sheet having first and second substantially planar card faces bounded by a peripheral edge. A machine-readable financial information storage device is on or within the material sheet. The storage device stores card specific data in digital machine readable form. Human readable symbolic information is viewable on the first and second card faces. At least one item of the symbolic information is formed as a cutout pattern of one or more light-transmitting apertures extending completely through the material sheet.
US09299017B2	Consumable management method and equipment thereof A consumable management method includes the following steps. A general consumable and an enabling key storage device are provided to a dealer. The general consumable includes an enabling chip. The enabling key storage device stores an exclusive enabling key. The dealer is instructed to use a burning tool to burn the exclusive enabling key into the enabling chip of the general consumable, so as to make the general consumable become an exclusive consumable, which is exclusively available to at least one first printing device that is only authenticated by the exclusive enabling key.
US09299014B2	Mobile terminal and code recognition method thereof A code recognition method for adjusting a User Interface (UI) rotation angle of a code recognition application depending on the direction of a recognition code or text entered through a camera is provided. The code recognition method includes detecting at least a portion of the recognition code from an image including the recognition code; determining a code rotation angle of the recognition code; and extracting the recognition code or a text from the image including the recognition code based on the code rotation angle of the recognition code.
US09299013B1	Visual task feedback for workstations in materials handling facilities Visual task feedback for workstations in a materials handling facility may be implemented. Image data of a workstation surface may be obtained from image sensors. The image data may be evaluated with regard to the performance of an item-handling task at the workstation. The evaluation of the image data may identify items located on the workstation surface, determine a current state of the item-handling task, or recognize an agent gesture at the workstation. Based, at least in part on the evaluation, one or more visual task cues may be selected to project onto the workstation surface. The projection of the selected visual task cues onto the workstation surface may then be directed.
US09299010B2	Data fusion analysis for maritime automatic target recognition A system and method for performing Automatic Target Recognition by combining the outputs of several classifiers. In one embodiment, feature vectors are extracted from radar images and fed to three classifiers. The classifiers include a Gaussian mixture model neural network, a radial basis function neural network, and a vector quantization classifier. The class designations generated by the classifiers are combined in a weighted voting system, i.e., the mode of the weighted classification decisions is selected as the overall class designation of the target. A confidence metric may be formed from the extent to which the class designations of the several classifiers are the same. This system is also designed to handle unknown target types and subsequent re-integration at a later time, effectively, artificially and automatically increasing the training database size.
US09299006B2	Authentication device and method An authentication device includes: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to: acquire a plurality of images with regard to a certain living body, extract first biometric information from each of the plurality of images, perform an alignment between the plurality of images, based on the first biometric information, calculate a coefficient based on feature of the certain living body, the feature being identified by a result of the alignment, and generate a normalized image by normalizing at least one image from among the plurality of images based on the coefficient.
US09299004B2	Image foreground detection In techniques for image foreground detection, a foreground detection module is implemented to generate varying levels of saliency thresholds from a saliency map of an image that includes foreground regions. The saliency thresholds can be generated based on an adaptive thresholding technique applied to the saliency map of the image and/or based on multi-level segmentation of the saliency map. The foreground detection module applies one or more constraints that distinguish the foreground regions in the image, and detects the foreground regions of the image based on the saliency thresholds and the constraints. Additionally, different ones of the constraints can be applied to detect different ones of the foreground regions, as well as to detect multi-level foreground regions based on the saliency thresholds and the constraints.
US09299001B2	Object identification using sparse spectral components One or more systems and/or techniques are provided to identify and/or classify objects of interest (e.g., potential granular objects) from a radiographic examination of the object. Image data of the object is transformed using a spectral transformation, such as a Fourier transformation, to generate image data in a spectral domain. Using the image data in the spectral domain, one or more one-dimensional spectral signatures can be generated and features of the signatures can be extracted and compared to features of one or more known objects. If one or more features of the signatures correspond (e.g., within a predetermined tolerance) to the features of a known object to which the feature(s) is compared, the object of interest may be identified and/or classified based upon the correspondence.
US09298999B2	Methods and systems for capturing biometric data A method of capturing biometric data is provided that includes activating a security application in a device. The security application is activated by an operator of the device and is configured to cause the device to display an outline image. Moreover, the method includes displaying the outline image in a stationary position on a display of the device, positioning desired biometric data proximate the device such that the desired biometric data appears as a biometric image on the device display, and monitoring the outline and biometric images shown on the device display. Furthermore, the method includes positioning the device and the desired biometric data to better align the outline and biometric images when the outline and biometric images do not align and capturing the desired biometric data from an individual after approximately aligning the outline image with the biometric image.
US09298993B2	On-street vehicle parking occupancy estimation via curb detection A method and system for on-street vehicle parking occupancy estimation via curb detection comprises training a computer system to identify a curb, evaluating image data of the region of interest to determine a region wherein a curb is visible in said region of interest, and estimating a parking occupancy of said region of interest according to said region where said curb is visible.
US09298989B2	Method and apparatus for recognizing actions An information processing apparatus obtains a picture containing an image of a person from an imaging device. Also obtained are first data indicating distance of the person and other subjects seen in the picture from the imaging device, second data indicating distance of a wrist of the person from the imaging device, and third data indicating a coordinate position of the wrist in the picture. The information processing apparatus extracts a set of pixels whose coordinates fall within a specified coordinate range defined around the coordinate position of the wrist and whose distances from the imaging device fall within a specified distance range defined around the distance of the wrist. Then based on a ratio representing how many of the extracted pixels have a distinctive color tone, the information processing apparatus determines whether the person has picked up an object.
US09298986B2	Systems and methods for video processing A system and method for processing video is disclosed. The method includes receiving video of an area; determining a movement profile for each of a plurality of movable objects in the video; determining an interest-rating for each movable object of the plurality of movable objects based on a correlation between the movement profile of that object and a template; and identifying a sub-portion of the video based upon the interest-ratings.
US09298985B2	Physiological biosensor system and method for controlling a vehicle or powered equipment A head-mounted video-camera-based eye sensor system and method for measuring palpebral movement is disclosed. The system and method comprise a display that includes at least one display element responsive to palpebral movement information from the eye sensor. The system and method also comprise an electronic interface to a vehicle or powered equipment to transmit the palpebral movement information to the vehicle or powered equipment. The system and method can be used to alert the user, the vehicle, and/or the powered equipment to the fact that a person might be experiencing vertigo, motion sickness, motion intolerance, and/or spatial disorientation.
US09298984B2	Object detection apparatus, method for controlling the object detection apparatus, and storage medium An object detection apparatus comprises a detection unit configured to calculate a detection likelihood from each of the plurality of frame images obtained by an image obtaining unit, and to detect a target object from each of the frame images based on the detection likelihood; and a tracking unit configured to calculate a tracking likelihood of the target object from each of the plurality of frame images, and to track the target object over the plurality of frame images based on the tracking likelihood, wherein the detection unit detects the target object from the frame images obtained by the image obtaining unit based on the tracking likelihood of the target object that is calculated by the tracking unit from the frame images, and the detection likelihood of the target object that is calculated by the detection unit from the frame images.
US09298983B2	System and method for document grouping and user interface Systems and methods for grouping documents and/or displaying groupings are described herein. Documents may be grouped by their document character features. Document character features may include distinct character types, character counts, common character counts, character difference counts, missing character counts, and any combination thereof. Document matches may be based on a threshold value compared to a score and/or indicator based on document character features. The computing devices described herein may generate user interfaces for displaying clusters of documents. The clusters of documents may indicate matches between documents based on the document character features.
US09298981B1	Categorizer assisted capture of customer documents using a mobile device A computer-implemented system and method for controlling document image capture are provided. The method includes identifying a categorization model for categorizing image frames and configuring an image capture device, based on the identified categorization model. A flow of frames of a same document captured with the configured image capture device is received and an image representation generated for each of a plurality of frames within the flow of frames. With the identified categorization model, for each of the plurality of frames, a confidence for at least one category is assigned to the frame based on the image representation. A category is assigned to the document when a threshold confidence for one of the at least one categories is assigned. An automatic capture of an image of the document is triggered based on the assigned category.
US09298980B1	Image preprocessing for character recognition Various embodiments provide an image pre-processing method to accelerate image computing tasks. For example, an image is obtained from a camera of a portable computing device. Salient features of the image are identified by a number of techniques, such as identifying feature points, identifying gradients within the image, and other techniques and methods discussed herein. Based at least in part on the identified salient features, a saliency map of the image is computed. The saliency map includes a saliency value for each of at least a portion of the plurality of pixels. In this example pixels above a threshold saliency value are processed with an optical character recognition engine.
US09298975B2	Method and system of creating a video sequence A method of creating a video sequence. The method comprises setting at least one repetitive reminder in a schedule managed by a handheld device having an image sensor, alarming a user according to the at least one repetitive reminder, capturing a sequence of images using the image sensor, automatically identifying a facial image depicting a face in a preset area in the sequence of images, automatically selecting the facial image, in response to the identification, and adding the facial image to a facial video sequence.
US09298974B1	Object identification through stereo association Various embodiments enable a primary user to be identified and tracked using stereo association and multiple tracking algorithms. For example, a face detection algorithm can be run on each image captured by a respective camera independently. Stereo association can be performed to match faces between cameras. If the faces are matched and a primary user is determined, a face pair is created and used as the first data point in memory for initializing object tracking. Further, features of a user's face can be extracted and the change in position of these features between images can determine what tracking method will be used for that particular frame.
US09298972B2	Image processing apparatus and image processing method In a case where detecting a face contained in an image, the face is detected in all directions of the image by combining the rotation of a detector in the face detecting direction, and the rotation of the image itself. If the angle made by the image direction and the detecting direction of the detector is an angle at which image deterioration readily occurs, the detection range of the detector is made narrower than that for an angle at which image deterioration hardly occurs.
US09298971B2	Method and apparatus for processing information of image including a face A method of processing an image is provided. The method includes obtaining an image including a face, obtaining information about whether a preset condition is satisfied after the image is obtained, obtaining location information of a face part in the image when the preset condition is satisfied, and obtaining a synthesis image by adding an image corresponding to the satisfied condition at a location of the face part to the image.
US09298969B2	Information processing device and storage medium, for replacing a face image There is provided an information processing device including a detection unit that detects a face image region in an image, a determination unit that determines a human attribute of at least one face image in the face image region detected by the detection unit, and a face image replacement unit that replaces the at least one face image with a natural face image of another person according to the human attribute determined by the determination unit.
US09298968B1	Digital image analysis of inflammatory cells and mediators of inflammation This disclosure concerns methods for evaluating inflammatory cells and modulators of the inflammatory response in tumor tissue and other relevant tissue types. The methods entail: obtaining a tissue sample and processing said tissue sample to produce histologic slides of tissue sections; staining of the tissue sections to identify inflammatory cells and modulators of the inflammatory response; digitizing slides to produce an image of the stained tissue sections; digitally stratifying the tissue sample into tumor and other relevant tissue compartments; and using digital image analysis to quantify cell-based and cell population-based features. The quantification of cell-based and cell population-based features within a tissue compartment of interest is used to develop a summary score of the immune system-tissue compartment of interest interaction. Patient stratification and selection as candidates for a therapeutic approach is ultimately based on the summary score value.
US09298967B2	Finger biometric sensing device including drive signal nulling circuitry and related methods A finger biometric sensing device may include drive circuitry capable of generating a drive signal and an array of finger biometric sensing pixel electrodes cooperating with the drive circuitry and capable of generating a detected signal based upon placement of a finger adjacent the array of finger biometric sensing pixel electrodes. The detected signal may include a relatively large drive signal component and a relatively small sense signal component superimposed thereon. The finger biometric sensing device may also include a gain stage coupled to the array of finger biometric sensing pixel electrodes, and drive signal nulling circuitry coupled to the gain stage capable of reducing the relatively large drive signal component from the detected signal.
US09298966B2	Electronic device including sub-array based deblurring of a blurred finger image and related methods An electronic device may include a finger biometric sensor that includes an array of electric field sensing pixels and image data output circuitry coupled thereto and capable of processing the image data from each of sub-arrays of the array of electric field sensing pixels. The electronic device may also include a dielectric layer over the array of electric field sensing pixels and causing electric field diffusion so that the image data output circuitry generates image data corresponding to a blurred finger image. The electronic device also includes deblurring circuitry coupled to the image data output circuitry and capable of processing the image data from each of the plurality of sub-arrays of the array of electric field sensing pixels to produce processed image data representative of a deblurred finger image.
US09298961B2	Optical code reader An apparatus for presentation reading of optical information with removable reader includes an optical information reader and a cradle or stand having a seat for seating the reader facing a predetermined optical information reading zone. The reader has an illuminator and the stand has an illuminator. A processor is configured to control a capture of an image of at least one portion of the reading zone, to analyze the image and, based on the analysis, to drive the switching on of either of the illuminator of the reader and/or the illuminator of the stand. The stand includes an optical component at the illuminator of the reader and/or at an aimer of the reader when seated in the seat, to define an aiming pattern and/or to modify the features of the illuminating beam of the reader.
US09298960B2	Method and apparatus for providing omnidirectional lighting in a scanning device Systems and methods are provided for selectively controlling the illumination, and particularly dark field illumination, applied to a symbol to be decoded, and for determining a suitable or optimized level of lighting for decoding the symbol. A method includes providing a light source comprising a plurality of individually-controllable lighting elements for providing low angle dark field illumination; activating an image sensor for detecting image data reflected from an encoded data symbol when the encoded data symbol is illuminated by the light source; and providing a controller connected to each of the individually-controllable lighting elements, the controller being programmed for: selectively activating the individually-controllable lighting elements to vary the direction of the low angle dark field illumination provided by the light source; and processing the image data detected by the image.
US09298956B2	Tamper protection mesh in an electronic device A technique for tamper protection in an electronic device is disclosed. A conductive mesh is affixed onto one or more interior surfaces of the outer housing of the device. The mesh includes one or more conductive traces coupled to one or more detectors within the device. The detector can detect an open-circuit or short-circuit condition resulting from an unauthorized attempt to open the housing, and output a signal to trigger an appropriate countermeasure. The electrical contacts along the trace that are monitored can be selected differently from one manufactured unit to the next, and can be selected based on a randomness function. The selection of contacts may be made during or after manufacturing of the device. The mesh can include multiple metal traces that run very close together, in parallel, across one or more interior surfaces of the housing, allowing detection of both open-circuit and short-circuit conditions.
US09298955B2	Proximity assurance for short-range communication channels A proximity check ensures that a card is physically close to the reader device in order to inhibit relay attacks. The proximity check makes relay attacks more difficult because an additional channel must be intercepted and/or spoofed or relayed. This solution can be used for any kind of short-range communication, including Near Field Communications (NFC).
US09298952B2	CMOS logarithmic current generator and method for generating a logarithmic current A CMOS logarithmic current generator includes current mode circuitry having a design principle based on a Taylor's series expansion that approximates an exponential function. A MOSFET circuit provides a function generator core cell having a biasing current Ib. The FETs of the circuit are matched and are biased in the weak inversion region. Additional transistors are used to convert a pair of input currents to a pair of voltages to provide an output current based upon a current mode logarithmic function. The biasing current Ib can be varied to provide a variable gain in the circuit.
US09298947B2	Method for protecting the integrity of a fixed-length data structure One feature pertains to a mechanism to secure a data structure by using a computationally efficient algorithm. A plurality of keys and/or masks may be pre-generated upon boot-up or initiation of a session. An authentication code may be computed for each data structure (e.g., memory block or header block) by selecting a subset of the plurality of pre-generated keys and/or a mask from the plurality of pre-generated masks. The authentication code may be stored within the data structure for future verification of the integrity of the data structure. The keys and/or masks used for all authentication codes (e.g., for other data structures) may be selected from the same plurality of keys and/or masks during the same cycle or session.
US09298945B2	Ad-hoc wireless sensor package Systems, methods, computer-readable storage mediums including computer-readable instructions and/or circuitry for control of transmission to a target device with communicating with one or more sensors in an ad-hoc sensor network may implement operations including, but not limited to: wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to one or more transmission authorization parameters; and powering one or more sensing operations of a sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.
US09298944B2	Confidential information delivery in a multi-device environment An automated technique for delivering confidential information in a multi-device environment may include receiving confidential information at a first computing device associated with a first user from a second computing device associated with a second user, masking the confidential information on the first computing device while displaying non-confidential information received from the second computing device (if any), and forwarding the confidential information for display on a third computing device that is capable of displaying the confidential information more securely than the first computing device, the third computing device being associated with the first user or a third party authorized to view the confidential information.
US09298941B2	Secure data copying A method, computer program product, and system for the anonymization of sensitive data from a plurality of selected business objects or tables stored in a plurality of data fields in at least one primary database included in an enterprise database system when copying portions of the at least one primary database to a secondary database or updating an existing database with anonymized values for the sensitive fields therein. A plurality of data fields is specified for copying from the at least one primary database. At least one integrity map is generated and populated for each data field in the primary database requiring anonymization before copying to the secondary database. The at least one integrity map is stored in a table associated with the primary database. An anonymized value is generated for each data field in the primary database requiring anonymization. Each data field in the primary database requiring anonymization is substituted with the anonymized value. The portions of the at least one primary database including anonymized values are copied to a secondary database.
US09298933B2	Autonomous role-based security for database management systems Embodiments described herein generally relate to creating an autonomous role-based security system for a database management system, wherein a super user may not always be required. A computer-implemented method is described. The method includes establishing one or more privileges in a database system, each privilege controlling access to an administrative function for the database system. Each privilege is assigned to one or more roles. Each role may always have a minimum set of users with only administrative rights over the role. A request is received from a first user to grant a role to a second user. A database management system determines whether the first user has administrative privileges over the role. If the first user has administrative privileges over the role, the role is granted to the second user. The database system may satisfy the principles of least privilege and separation of duties.
US09298931B2	Digital media privacy protection In one example of digital media privacy protection, a computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to execute operations including capturing at least one image file, obfuscating at least all facial images included in the captured image file, comparing all facial images included in the captured image file against a locally stored privacy policy, unobfuscating those of the facial images included in the captured image file for which the comparison against the locally stored privacy policy results in a positive match, and rendering the captured image file.
US09298927B2	Method and system for providing an efficient vulnerability management and verification service A virtual asset creation template associated with a class of virtual assets is identified and analyzed to identify any vulnerabilities in the virtual asset creation template. If one or more vulnerabilities are identified in the virtual asset creation template, an appropriate remedy for each identified vulnerability identified in the virtual asset creation template is applied. If no vulnerability is identified in the virtual asset creation template, or once each vulnerability identified in the virtual asset creation template is remedied, each virtual asset of the virtual asset class generated using the virtual asset creation template is assigned an initial status of verified virtual asset.
US09298923B2	Software revocation infrastructure In one implementation, software components include an identity of a revocation authority. Prior to loading of the software in a given platform, the revocation authority is checked for any revocation messages. The revocation authority creates software component specific messages for any software components to be revoked, rather than using certificate revocation or individual licenses. The messages include mitigation information, such as instructions for automatically configuring already installed software without requiring an update or change in code.
US09298922B2	Method, system, and program product for remotely attesting to a state of a computer system A method, system, and program product for remotely attesting to a state of computing system is provided. Specifically, the present invention allows a remote system to establish trust in the properties of the computer system. The properties to be trusted are expanded from the usual system software layers and related configuration files to novel types of data such as static data specific to the computer system, dynamic data determined at system startup, or dynamic data created as the computer system runs applications.
US09298920B1	Classifying computer files as malware or whiteware An improved approach for classifying computer files as malicious (malware) or benign (whiteware) is disclosed. The invention classifies any computer file as malware or whiteware after using Bayes Theorem to evaluate each observable feature of each file with respect to other observable features of the same computer file with reference to statistical information gathered from repositories of known whiteware and malware files.
US09298910B2	System and method for virtual partition monitoring A method is provided in one example embodiment that includes receiving in an external handler an event notification associated with an event in a virtual partition. A thread in the process in the virtual partition that caused the event can be parked. Other threads and processes may be allowed to resume while a security handler evaluates the event for potential threats. A helper agent within the virtual partition may be instructed to execute a task, such as collecting and assembling event context within the virtual partition, and results based on the task can be returned to the external handler. A policy action can be taken based on the results returned by the helper agent, which may include, for example, instructing the helper agent to terminate the process that caused the event.
US09298906B2	Analyzing apparatus validating system and program for the system In validation of an analyzing apparatus, in the case where the system configuration is not standard or where a reference value required for the validation is different from a standard value, the validation work cannot be automatically performed, which requires time and effort. For a validation target analyzing apparatus system, first, a parameter acquiring unit acquires parameters for qualification implementation of the analyzing apparatus system on a basis of an electronically supplied qualification plan document and an electronically supplied qualification implementation procedure manual. Then, a validation executing unit executes validation of the analyzing apparatus system using the acquired parameters for qualification implementation.
US09298903B2	Prevention of password leakage with single sign on in conjunction with command line interfaces Provided are techniques for transmitting a lightweight domain access protocol (LDAP) request from an user interface application (UIA) to a LDAP server, receiving, at the UIA, a LTPA token in response to the transmitting of the LDAP request; transmitting, from the UIA, to a command line interface associated with an application, the LTPA token in conjunction with a command to be executed by the application; verifying by the application the LTPA token; and in response to the verifying, executing, by the application the command. The techniques also include transmitting, from the application, to a second command line interface associated with a second application, the LTPA token in conjunction with a second command to be executed by the second application; verifying by the second application the LTPA token; and in response to the verifying by the second application, executing, by the second application the second command.
US09298898B2	Event-based security challenges Concepts and technologies are disclosed herein for event-based security challenges. A computer can execute a security application. The computer can receive a request for authentication information associated with a user device. The computer can access event data corresponding to the user device. The computer can generate, based upon the event data, a challenge question and a response to the challenge question. The computer can provide data indicating the challenge question and the response to a requestor associated with the request.
US09298896B2	Safe auto-login links in notification emails A web application user is authenticated directly upon selecting a link in a notification email. In this approach, the user's web browser stores a first data string provided by the web application (e.g., in a cookie) during a prior session. The first data string encodes first data about the user that can be verified by the application. Later, the user receives the notification email that includes the link. The link encodes a second data string from which second data about the user can be verified by the application. When the end user selects the link, an authentication request is transmitted to the application. The authentication request includes both the first and second data strings. If both the first data and the second data (as obtained from their respective data strings) can be verified, the user is authenticated without having to perform any additional steps (e.g., manual entry of credentials).
US09298895B2	Preventing conflicts of interests between two or more groups using applications To prevent conflicts of interest, an information management system is used to make sure two or more groups are kept apart so that information does not circulate freely between these groups. The system has policies to implement an “ethical wall” to separate users or groups of users. The user or groups of user may be organized in any arbitrary way, and may be in the same organization or different organizations. The two groups (or two or more users) will not be able to access information belonging to the other, and users in one group may not be able to pass information to the other group. The system may manage access to documents, e-mail, files, and other forms of information.
US09298892B2	Terminal apparatus and method for playing multimedia content encrypted based on DRM A method for playing multimedia content encrypted based on digital rights management (DRM) by a terminal apparatus having a web server module unit, the method comprising: receiving a request for playing the multimedia content encrypted based on DRM; converting a local file path via which the multimedia content encrypted based on DRM corresponding to the received play request is stored into a web server URL path for the web server module unit; providing the web server URL path to a multimedia device player for playing the multimedia content encrypted based on DRM; when the multimedia device player accesses the web server module unit by using the web server URL path, checking whether there is a session being connected to the web server URL; and controlling whether to decode the multimedia content encrypted based on DRM depending on the checking results.
US09298883B2	Capturing data for individual physiological monitoring A method for capturing images of an individual to determine wellness for such individual, including establishing baseline physiological data for the individual, and baseline capture condition data for the individual; detecting and identifying the presence of the individual in the image capture environment; providing semantic data associated with the individual; capturing one or more images of the individual during a capture event and determining the capture conditions present during the capture event; using the event capture conditions, the baseline physiological data for the individual and the baseline capture condition data to determine the acceptability of event captured images; and using the acceptable images and the semantic data in determining the wellness of the individual.
US09298875B2	Semiconductor circuit design method, memory compiler and computer program product A method of designing a semiconductor circuit includes generating a model of the semiconductor circuit. The model includes a functional area corresponding to a first block of the semiconductor circuit, and a loading area corresponding to a second block of the semiconductor circuit, wherein the first block is connected to the second block by a signal line. The method further includes extracting, in the functional area, parasitic parameters of the signal line and a device of the first block. The method further includes extracting, in the loading area, parasitic parameters of the signal line, without extracting parasitic parameters of a device of the second block.
US09298873B2	Method of designing impedance transformation circuit To design an impedance transformation circuit, a transformer ratio of a transformer circuit is determined according to an impedance ratio. A coupling coefficient between a first inductance element and a second inductance element, an inductance of the first inductance element, and an inductance of the second inductance element are determined. A shape of the second inductance element is determined. A shape of the first inductance element is determined such that the first inductance element includes at least two layers of loop conductors, and an interlayer distance between the loop conductors is determined such that an inductance value of the first inductance element is a desired value.
US09298869B2	Method for showing hierarchical structure for a given power intent described in a power intent description language with a design described in a hardware design description language, and associated apparatus and associated computer program product A method for showing hierarchical structure for a given power intent described in a power intent description language (e.g. a formal power intent description language) with a design described in a hardware design description language, an associated apparatus, and an associated computer program product are provided, where the method includes: retrieving hardware design description contents written in the hardware design description language from a hardware design description file, and retrieving power intent description contents written in the power intent description language from a power intent description file; and controlling a display module to display a power domain hierarchy associated with the power intent description contents and the hardware design description contents respectively retrieved from the power intent description file and the hardware design description file, wherein the power domain hierarchy includes at least one power domain. For example, the power intent description language is the unified power format (UPF) language.
US09298863B2	Method and apparatus for saving energy and reducing cycle time by using optimal robotic joint configurations Methods for saving energy and reducing cycle time of a complex operation by using optimal robotic joint configurations. A method includes receiving inputs including the complex operation, generating a plurality of joint configurations of a simulated robot for each one of a plurality of task locations based on the inputs of the complex operation, calculating an edge rating for each of a plurality of robotic movements, wherein a robotic movement accounts for movement between joint configurations of consecutive task locations, calculating a plurality of candidate ratings for each of a plurality of candidate configuration paths, wherein a candidate rating is a summation of edge ratings of robotic movements for a candidate configuration path, determining an optimal configuration path based the candidate configuration path with an optimal rating, wherein the optimal rating is determined by the lowest candidate rating, and return the optimal configuration path.
US09298861B1	System and method for designing irrigation systems A computing device is described that is configured to display a graphic visualization for modeling an irrigation system, such as a center pivot irrigation system. In an implementation, the computing device includes a memory and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory. The computing device also includes one or modules stored in memory and executable by the processor. The one or more modules are configured to instruct the processor to receive a command for placing one or more representations of a center pivot irrigation system within a graphical representation of a cultivation area and to receive one or more operational parameters of the center pivot irrigation system. The one or more modules are also configured to instruct the processor to model operation of the center pivot irrigation system based upon the one or more operational parameters.
US09298857B2	Information integrating apparatus, method, and computer product A processing system that implements physical integration, virtual integration, and stream integration by defining meta-information correlating a physical model on an information source side and a logical model on a user-side and by selectively executing push-type information integration of returning to the user-side, an integration result according to information input from the information source side and pull-type information integration of returning to the user-side, an integration result according a query from the user-side.
US09298856B2	Interactive data exploration and visualization tool A computer-implemented method for data visualization includes determining a query context for a user's search query, and retrieving relevant data for the query context. The method combines the relevant data with data that is filtered according to search parameters in the user's search query. The method further includes generating an interactive presentation to display the combined data from the perspective of the user's search query or from the perspectives of other entities.
US09298846B2	Systems and methods for efficient Xpath processing The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for efficient Xpath matching of a document comprising Extensible Markup Language (XML) or JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). A Xpath engine identifies an Xpath expression for processing values in the document, which is represented by a stack of nodes. The device may traverse the stack from top to bottom to match each step of the Xpath expression to a type and name of one or more nodes in the stack. The device may store a flag in each node that matches a step of the Xpath expression. Responsive to encountering a leaf node, the device may trace bottom to top from the leaf node to one or more flagged nodes in the stack and compare each flagged node against a corresponding step of the path expression. Responsive to the tracing of the flagged nodes, the device determines if the path expression is matched.
US09298843B1	User agent information management Systems and methods for the generation and management of content requests generated by client computing devices are provided. A client computing device initiates a browse session with a content provider. Based on specific network resources, the client computing device processes the content request to determine appropriate user agent information. In one embodiment, the processed content request can be transmitted directly to a content provider. In another embodiment, a remote browse session can be established between the client computing device and a network computing provider, and utilized in the transmission of browse session state data and client interaction data between the client computing device and the network computing provider.
US09298841B2	Method and system for adding combination fields to sharepoint (TM) Provided is a system, computer-readable medium controller, and methods for operating Microsoft Windows SHAREPOINT Services and its supportive operating system, network interface and related software and extending the SHAREPOINT Services to comprise combination fields.
US09298840B2	Video user interface elements on search engine homepages Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media exposing video user interface elements associated with search engine homepages are provided. Upon receiving a request for presentation of a search engine homepage, a video file is transmitted for presentation as the background for the search engine homepage. The video file includes a plurality of sequentially-arranged frames, a portion of which contain the same content, making such portion appear as a static image upon play of the video file, and a portion of which contain content which differs, such that such portion has visually discernable movement upon play of the video file. After a predetermined amount of time, play of the video file is initiated. As only portions of the background content include visually discernable movement, a user's attention is attracted to such portions of the background. Upon user interaction with such portions, additional information about the background content may be presented.
US09298839B2	Resolving a dead shortened uniform resource locator A method of resolving a dead shortened Uniform Resource Locator (URL) comprising, with a processor, recognizing that a shortened link is a dead link, gathering data associated with the dead link, comparing data associated with the dead link with a number of potential live links, and generating a ranked list of potential live links that have been compared with the associated data. A system for resolving a dead shortened Uniform Resource Locator (URL) posted within a status update of a social networking site, comprising, a processor and a discovery module, in which the discovery module, upon selection of a shortened URL by a user of the social networking site, recognizes that the shortened URL is a dead shortened URL, gathers data associated with the status update, and redirects the user to a live URL based on the data associated with the status update.
US09298836B1	Suppressing duplicate listings on multiple search engine web sites from a single source system given a synchronized listing is unknown A source system searches a provider system for one or more listings. The source system receives a plurality of potential matching listings. The source system designates a representative listing of the entity located on a provider system from among the plurality of potential matching listings. The source system designates one or more remaining potential matching listings of the plurality of potential matching listings as one or more duplicate listings. The source system transmits, to the provider system, a request to synchronize the representative listing as the only representative listing of the entity on the provider system, the request comprising a first provider-supplied external identifier of the representative listing. The source system transmits, to the provider system, a request to suppress the one or more remaining potential matching listings as one or more duplicate listings, the request to suppress comprising one or more provider-supplied external identifiers of the one or more remaining potential matching listings.
US09298835B2	Social static ranking for search In one embodiment, one or more computing devices receive, from a client device of a first user, a query from the first user. The computer devices search a social graph to identify one or more nodes of the social graph that are relevant to the query. The computer devices obtain a static rank for each identified node. The static rank is based at least in part on a number of edges of a particular edge type that are connected to the node in the graph or attributes of edges connected to the node in the graph. The computer devices send to the client device of the first user for display, a search-results page responsive to the received query. The search-results page includes reference to one or more nodes having a static rank greater than a threshold rank.
US09298832B2	Collaborative group search Collaborative group search is achieved by obtaining, over a wide area network, a plurality of search queries initiated by a plurality of client devices. A group of two or more client devices is identified from among the plurality of client devices. Each client device of the group exhibits a content relatedness of the search query relative to other search queries, a time proximity of the search query relative to other search queries, and/or a geographic proximity of the client device to other client devices. Search queries initiated by the group are processed via a search engine to obtain search results for the group having increased search result diversity relative to each other. Search results are returned to the client device of the group via the wide area network. Search result diversity may include different ordering of search results among client devices of group.
US09298825B2	Tagging entities with descriptive phrases A plurality of description phrases associated with a first domain may be determined, based on an analysis of a first plurality of documents to determine co-occurrences of the description phrases with one or more name labels associated with the first domain. An entity associated with the first domain may be obtained. An analysis of a second plurality of documents may be initiated to identify co-occurrences of mentions of the obtained entity and one or more of the plurality of description phrases, and contexts associated with each of the co-occurrences of the mentions and description phrases, in each one of the second plurality of documents. A description tag association between the obtained entity and one of the description phrases may be determined, based on an analysis of the identified contexts.
US09298823B2	Identifying core content based on citations Techniques for identifying and conveying core sections of a specified document. Reference documents are identified that each includes a respective citation to a distinct portion of the specified document. The core sections are determined based on the citations of the reference documents. The core sections are output in a manner that emphasizes the core sections over non-core sections of the specified document.
US09298822B2	Determining missing media control information based on previous media transmissions A processor receives a media rating associated with a first media program and metadata associated with the first media program. The processor stores the metadata and the media rating associated with the first media program in a local database. The processor receives a second media program absent a media rating. The processor determines metadata associated with the second media program absent the media rating. The processor searches the local database based on the metadata associated with the second media program absent the parental control rating. The processor matches the metadata associated with the second media program absent the media rating to the metadata of the first media program including the media rating, and the processor applies the media rating of the first media program to the second media program.
US09298818B1	Method and apparatus for performing semantic-based data analysis A computer implemented method and apparatus for analyzing content of a plurality of documents. The method extracts semantic information from content of a plurality of documents; assigns weights to the semantic information; assigns links between documents containing similar semantic information; assigns a weight to each link; extracts information about the content of the plurality of documents by using the weighted links and weighted semantics to cluster the documents, perform inferential analysis, or both.
US09298817B2	Building an ontology by transforming complex triples An approach for building an ontology is provided. Syntactically transformed complex triples whose core terms are identified are semantically transformed into simplified triples referring to new conceptualized core terms formed by user selections from a lexical database or by adding a suffix to core terms. The core terms are assigned to respective definitions and keys in a reference ontology, thereby retaining the semantics of the complex triples. Based on the reference ontology, an enrichment transformation of the simplified triples is performed to create simplified and enriched triples by adding relations derived from a correspondence each term in the simplified triples has with the reference ontology and by adding representations of semantics of reference ontology definitions of the terms. The simplified and enriched triples are stored as an ontology representing knowledge in an application providing the free-form text from which the complex triples were extracted.
US09298816B2	Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for semantically enriching content and for semantic navigation Methods, systems and computer-readable media enable various techniques related to semantic navigation. One aspect is a technique for displaying semantically derived facets in the search engine interface. Each of the facets comprises faceted search results. Each of the faceted search results is displayed in association with user interface elements for including or excluding the faceted search result as additional search terms to subsequently refine the search query. Another aspect automatically infers new metadata from the content and from existing metadata and then automatically annotates the content with the new metadata to improve recall and navigation. Another aspect identifies semantic annotations by determining semantic connections between the semantic annotations and then dynamically generating a topic page based on the semantic connections.
US09298810B2	Systems and methods for automatic program recommendations based on user interactions Methods and systems are provided for generating automatic program recommendations based on user interactions. In some embodiments, control circuitry processes verbal data received during an interaction between a user of a user device and a person with whom the user is interacting. The control circuitry analyzes the verbal data to automatically identify a media asset referred to during the interaction by at least one of the user and the person with whom the user is interacting. The control circuitry adds the identified media asset to a list of media assets associated with the user of the user device. The list of media assets is transmitted to a second user device of the user.
US09298806B1	System and method for analyzing transactions in a distributed ledger A system and method configured for analyzing transactions in a distributed ledger. The system may identify transactions where addresses and/or groupings of addresses are co-spent together and determine whether the addresses and/or groupings of addresses should be associated with each other. Addresses may be associated with each other in a grouping of addresses and/or potential grouping of addresses because they likely belong to the same entity. The system may identify different strengths and/or confidence levels of groupings of addresses and/or potential groupings of addresses. Strong groupings, relatively strong potential groupings, and/or other groupings of addresses, potential groupings of addresses, and/or groups may be grouped, associated, analyzed, and/or presented together. As such, the system may provide a comprehensive analysis of addresses associated with a given entity.
US09298804B2	Variant database The invention provides a system and method for describing polymorphisms or genetic variants based on information about mutations and relationships among them. The invention uses object-oriented concepts to describe variants as variant objects and relations among those variants as variant relation object, each object being an instance of an abstract class of genomic feature and able to contain any number of other objects. Information about genetic disorders is stored in association with the object that represents the pathogenic variant. Genetic test results are used to access corresponding objects to provide a report based on variants or polymorphisms in a patient's genetic material.
US09298798B2	Run-time engine implemented on a computing device allowing synchronization of records during application execution A first database implemented on a remote device such as a handheld computer may be reconciled with a corresponding second database implemented on a host computer during execution of an application program on the handheld device. In addition, the application program may be executed according to program instructions stored in an application program file located in the remote device. The databases may be reconciled by first commencing execution of the application program. Then, during the course of program execution, a synchronization instruction located in said application program file is retrieved. The synchronization instruction is executed by establishing a communications link between the handheld computer and the host computer. Subsequently, any difference between the first database and the second database are reconciled. Furthermore embodiments of the invention contemplate that in addition to reconciling all of the databases located on the handheld and host computers, less than all of the databases may be reconciled to reduce the amount of time required to execute the reconciliation process. In addition, after reconciliation control may be returned to the calling application program, or to another application, as determined by the application designer.
US09298792B2	Database synchronization Synchronization of data items between parties A and B. A maintains copies of data items and an A change count and a B change count for each data item. The A change count indicates the number of changes made by A, and the B change count indicates the number of changes made by B and known to A. After a synchronization trigger, A sends to B each data item that A has changed, plus the A change count and the B. change count for each sent data item. A receives from B each data item that B has changed, plus the A change count and the B change count for each received data item. A detects a conflict if the received A change count differs from the maintained A change count.
US09298791B2	Adding a key column to a table to be replicated Techniques are disclosed for adding a key column to a table to be replicated, where the key column stores key values for use in replication. In one embodiment, a request is received to add a table to a replication domain, such that the table is replicated from a first database server to at least a second database server. Key values are generated for both existing records and new records subsequently requested to be inserted into the table, respectively. Each generated key value is unique across the replication domain. Further, the key column may be added to the table without requiring exclusive access to the table.
US09298788B1	Checkpointing in distributed streaming platform for real-time applications Software for a distributed streaming platform receives a data stream for an application running on a distributed streaming platform over a networked cluster of servers. The software converts the data into a plurality of data tuples structured according to a schema. And the software repeatedly emits a specified number of the data tuples as a streaming window, which is separated from other streaming windows by a leading control tuple associated with an ordinal identifier for the streaming window and by a trailing control tuple associated with the same ordinal identifier. Then the software emits a checkpointing tuple following the trailing control tuple after a specified number of streaming windows. The checkpointing tuple causes checkpointing of an instance of an operator for the application when the checkpointing tuple is received by the instance.
US09298786B1	Deferred content presentation Methods, systems, and apparatus for presenting deferred content are presented. In one aspect, a method includes, after presentation of a content item on a first device, receiving an indication from a user to save the content item for re-presentation; storing an identifier associated with the content item with a first identifier associated with the first device; linking identifiers associated with plural devices, browsers, or applications that are accessed by the user; receiving a request for content from a device or application based on access by the user, including receiving either the first identifier or one of the identifiers that is linked to the first identifier; determining candidate content items responsive to the request including determining that the stored identifier is associated with a candidate content item; and providing the content item for re-presentation to the user based on information associated with the request and information associated with the content item.
US09298785B2	Methods, systems, and apparatus for generating search results Methods, systems, and apparatus to constrain a search are described. A selection of one or more items of a search result set by a user may be obtained. One or more attributes of the one or more selected items may be evaluated. One or more filters are identified based on the evaluated attributes.
US09298778B2	Presenting related content in a stream of content A system including a processor and a memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the system to: receive a stream of content including a plurality of content items; retrieve a plurality of related content items; identify a topic for at least one of the plurality of the related content items; rank the topics by relevance to the user and one of the plurality of items; associate the topic to the content item in the stream of content where the topic is ranked as being relevant to the content item; generate a marker for the topic; generate an interface including the marker associated with the content item in the stream of content; and provide the interface for display.
US09298771B2	Resource estimation for a query optimization process Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for performing resource estimation for query optimization. An embodiment operates by generating a subplan for which an optimization process may be invoked, predicting performance and resource consumption for optimizing the subplan by measuring similarity between a hypergraph of the subplan and one or more etalon queries having known performance and resource consumption properties, selecting an algorithm for optimizing the subplan from a plurality of optimization algorithms based on the performance and resource consumption properties, and generating an optimized access plan using the selected algorithm.
US09298765B2	Apparatus and method for handling partially inconsistent states among members of a cluster in an erratic storage network A method, for handling partially inconsistent states among members of a cluster in an erratic storage network that responds to requests from a client, includes assigning a unique commit identifier corresponding to each successive modification of state of the cluster when an update request has been successfully completed and correlating an incoming request to a given member of the cluster with any commit identifiers necessary to satisfy the request. The method further includes detecting, on the incoming request to the given member of the cluster, whether the commit identifiers necessary to satisfy the request have been applied to the given member, and processing the incoming request based on whether the commit identifiers necessary to satisfy the request have been applied to the given member. Operation of the members can be asynchronous.
US09298761B2	Adaptive merging in database indexes A method for implementing adaptive merging in database indexes includes selecting a key range from a database query having a range predicate and searching a database for data matching the key range. The data matching the key range is merged to form a collected dataset which is stored for future retrieval. A method for optimizing B-tree representation of a database using actual queries is also provided.
US09298760B1	Method for shard assignment in a large-scale data processing job A method for shard assignment in a large-scale data processing job is provided. Datasets are divided into a plurality of shards and the shards are indexed and aggregated into one or more groups. A worker process is initially assigned an indexed shard from a group. The initial assignment can assigned based on a simple algorithm. The worker's subsequent shard assignment is based on the index of the initially assigned shard.
US09298754B2	Query management system and engine allowing for efficient query execution on raw details A database system maintains a feature set of a modern database system while operating directly on raw data files. Systems may use an adaptive indexing mechanism that maintains positional information to provide efficient access to raw data files, a flexible caching structure, and techniques for selective parsing and selective tokenizing. In doing so, possible performance bottlenecks associated with repeated parsing, tokenizing, and expensive data type conversion costs can be overcome.
US09298751B2	Disposal of rarely used member variables via shadow structures A computer-controlled method can include determining at least one rarely-used field within a class, creating a shadow structure corresponding to the class, and moving the at least one rarely-used field from the class to the shadow structure. The method can also include adding a shadow reference to the class, the shadow reference corresponding to the shadow structure.
US09298748B2	Apparatus and method providing content service A method and apparatus for providing contents services. The method of using a contents service includes the operations of receiving a list of available contents services from a first server and displaying the list, transmitting, to the first server, a list of contents services selected from the displayed available contents service list, and updating service subscription data with reference to the selected contents service list. Accordingly, the subscription of contents services, such as a channel service that provides each user with different information according to subscription information, can be managed at any time and at any place without being dependent on a specific PC or a specific PC program. Even while moving without being connected with a PC, a mobile device can automatically update its contents.
US09298747B2	Deployable, consistent, and extensible computing environment platform The diverse objects comprising a computing environment may be represented together as a deployable object hierarchy, which may facilitate the deployment, as well as the consistency, of a computing environment rendered by a plurality of devices. The processes within the computing environment often operate on the objects of the object hierarchy in a variety of ways, including simple operations (creation, reading, updating, and deleting) and more sophisticated operations (synchronizing, paginating, and caching), as well as with the object hierarchy in general. A platform may be devised to facilitate the various operations of the processes on the object hierarchy. The platform may be embodied, such as in an application runtime, and deployed to a variety of platforms to facilitate an equivalent execution of the processes on any type of device and consistent interactions with the object hierarchy.
US09298740B2	System and method for enhancing the normalization of parcel data System and methods are disclosed that attempt to verify data related to a parcel against mapping and addressing data. If the data cannot be verified, then an enhanced normalization process may be performed. The enhanced normalization process may attempt to group the parcel with some other parcels based on parcel characteristics. If the grouping is successful, then normalization may be performed on the grouping. Normalization may involve checking whether the grouping satisfies a set of grouping criteria.
US09298739B2	Position information providing apparatus, position information providing system, position information providing method, program, and recording medium A position information providing apparatus includes a sensor data acquiring unit acquiring sensor data, a feature amount calculating unit calculating a feature amount from the sensor data, and a confidence level calculating unit calculating a confidence level using the feature amount, wherein the sensor data is more than one, and the feature amount includes a statistical amount of more than one piece of the sensor data and an amount showing a form of the sensor data.
US09298738B2	Web-based interactive geographic information systems mapping analysis and methods of using thereof A method, system, and computer-readable medium for providing geographic information systems (GIS) data is provided. The steps, functions, and instructions provided include receiving GIS data from a plurality of websites, populating a searchable database with the GIS data, and generating a search-specific electronic summary of GIS data. A method and system for networking users of a GIS data management system is also provided. The steps and functions provided by this method and system include populating a searchable database with GIS data received from a plurality of websites and providing a networking interface interoperable with the database such that users of the GIS data management system are networked according to GIS data queries.
US09298732B2	Searching cloud-based distributed storage resources using a set of expendable probes Embodiments relate to searching a cloud-based file storage system using a set of expandable probes. Platforms and techniques are provided to search for a file whose location in cloud storage resources is recorded in a consistent hash ring structure. In a hash ring, a file name can generate a hash output corresponding to a position around a circle. The closest clockwise node to that location can contain the file itself, or a link to another location containing or leading to the file. When a link has become obsolete and no longer points to the file, it may be necessary to search for that file. Embodiments perform a graduated search for the missing file, starting one node from the original node, then trying two adjacent nodes, then four adjacent nodes and so forth in expanding fashion, until the file is found or the hash structure is exhausted.
US09298731B2	Efficient file system for shared data blocks A technique for efficiently scanning various datasets in a storage system to generate metadata for shared data blocks is provided. In one embodiment, data containers in an active file system of a storage object are first scanned. Remaining images (e.g., snapshots of the file system) are arranged in a chronological order based on the age of such images in the storage object. In some instances, to perform a metadata scan of a given image, the storage server compares each data container in the given image to a corresponding data container in a prior image (from the chronological order) to identify any non-identical data blocks (i.e., blocks that are not common between the data containers of the two images) in each data container. The metadata scanner then generates metadata only for the non-identical data blocks in each data container and skips metadata generation for any remaining data blocks.
US09298728B2	Failover and recovery for replicated data instances Replicated instances in a database environment provide for automatic failover and recovery. A monitoring component can periodically communicate with a primary and a secondary replica for an instance, with each capable of residing in a separate data zone or geographic location to provide a level of reliability and availability. A database running on the primary instance can have information synchronously replicated to the secondary replica at a block level, such that the primary and secondary replicas are in sync. In the event that the monitoring component is not able to communicate with one of the replicas, the monitoring component can attempt to determine whether those replicas can communicate with each other, as well as whether the replicas have the same data generation version. Depending on the state information, the monitoring component can automatically perform a recovery operation, such as to failover to the secondary replica or perform secondary replica recovery.
US09298726B1	Techniques for using a bloom filter in a duplication operation Techniques for using a bloom filter in deduplication are described herein. A change log comprising a plurality of data blocks may be received. Values associated with the data blocks may be hashed and compared with a bloom filter. The comparison with the bloom filter identifies data blocks from the change log as unique data blocks or potential duplicate data blocks. A bit by bit comparison of the potential duplicate data blocks and previous data blocks may be performed to determine if any of the potential duplicate data blocks are identical to any of previous data blocks. Such data blocks of the change log that are identified as being identical may be deduplicated.
US09298724B1	Systems and methods for preserving deduplication efforts after backup-job failures A computer-implemented method for preserving deduplication efforts after backup-job failures may include (1) identifying a deduplicated data system that reduces redundant data storage by storing and referencing a plurality of deduplicated data segments and reclaims storage space by deleting unreferenced data segments from the deduplicated data system, (2) identifying a backup job that backs up data to the deduplicated data system, causes the deduplicated data system to store at least one new data segment available to be referenced within the deduplicated data system, and fails after the deduplicated data system stores the new data segment within the deduplicated data system causing the new data segment to be unreferenced within the deduplicated data system, and (3) causing the deduplicated data system to retain the new data segment until the backup job is retried despite the new data segment being unreferenced. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US09298722B2	Optimal sequential (de)compression of digital data Methods and apparatus involve an original data stream arranged as a plurality of symbols. Of those symbols, all possible tuples are identified and the highest or most frequently occurring tuple is determined. A new symbol is created and substituted for each instance of the highest occurring tuple, which results in a new data stream. The new data stream is encoded and its size determined. Also, a size of a dictionary carrying all the original and new symbols is determined. The encoding size, the size of the dictionary and sizes of any other attendant overhead is compared to a size of the original data to see if compression has occurred, and by how much. Upon reaching pre-defined objectives, compression ceases. Decompression occurs oppositely. Other features include resolving ties between equally occurring tuples, path weighted Huffman coding, storing files, decoding structures, and computing arrangements and program products, to name a few.
US09298718B2	Method and system to play linear video in variable time frames According to some embodiments, a method and apparatus are provided to receive a video media file, receive a chop file 200 and output a portion of the video media file based on the received chop file 200.
US09298710B2	Document search system which reflects the situation of using documents in the search results A document search system includes a plurality of computers in a network having a router, and an email software program on each of the computers. A database stores attachment files and email documents. A search program on at least one of the computers initiating storage of email documents and attachment files. A mail journal database stores email data extracted by the search program from the email. A message identification (ID) identifying the email document, and the ID being generated by the search program and associating an email document with corresponding email data, and the ID associating the email document with an attachment file when an attachment file is sent. A file loader replacing an attachment file with a file link and storing the attachment file in the database. The file link provides access to the attachment file in the database.
US09298709B2	Computer system to visualize data from an IP rights database A system (10) to visualize data from an IP rights database as a geographic map having a viewable area. A map display change monitor (23) receives a map change message in relation to a change in the viewable area of the geographic map and generates a display change notification, which includes the geographic coordinates of the current viewable area of the geographic map. An IP rights generator (37) generates a list of IP rights from the IP rights database, in which the geographic address of at least one owner of each IP right is within the geographic area defined by the current map coordinates and also restricts the list of IP rights based on one or more restriction criteria related to the IP rights to form a restricted list of IP rights. An information display generator (26) generates and displays one or more data visualizations derived from the restricted list of IP rights and updates data visualizations upon receiving each successive display change notification.
US09298707B1	Efficient data storage and retrieval for backup systems Systems and methods for providing efficient storage and retrieval of data are disclosed. A two-level segment labeling mechanism may be employed to ensure that unique data segments from particular backup data sets are stored together in a storage container. The two-level segment labeling may facilitate preservation of the relative positions of segments within the backup stream during compaction operations. Also, backup data restoration performance may be improved by use of multiple read threads that are localized to particular storage containers.
US09298702B1	Systems and methods for pairing of a semantic network and a natural language processing information extraction system Systems and methods for coupling a semantic network editing tool and a natural language processing (NLP) system are disclosed. In one embodiment, a network editing tool includes or is connected to an application module configured to facilitate queries to the NLP system and extraction of data from a collection of document by the NLP system for integration of contents with the semantic network.
US09298700B1	Determining similar phrases Techniques for determining phrases that are related or similar to a source phrase are described herein. These techniques may include analyzing a corpus of text to locate a first set of phrases that differ from a received source phrase by one word. The techniques may then combine these words of the first set of phrases that differ from the source phrase to create a second set of phrases. The techniques may then filter out a portion of the second set of phrases before outputting another portion for use as an identifier, for association with a user account or for any other use.
US09298696B2	Semantic application logging and analytics A system for managing dictionaries, such as an application dictionary and a domain dictionary, and for adding entries to a data log is described herein. The system may, in response to a determination that an event occurs at an application, determine that the application uses a first concept name from the application dictionary to describe the event. An entry for the event may be added to a data log for the application. The entry may also include the first concept name from the application dictionary. A mapping of the first concept name from the application dictionary to a second concept name from the domain dictionary may be generated. In some aspects, the data log may be sent to a data log analysis system capable of accessing the domain dictionary.
US09298692B2	Real time data tagging in text-based documents An aspect provides a method, including: receiving user input to an input component of an information handling device; generating a machine based representation of the user input; analyzing, using a processor, the representation of the user input; forming, using a processor, a tag based on contextual user data related to the user input; and providing, using a processor, an indication of the tag. Other aspects are described and claimed.
US09298690B2	Method for analyzing emotion based on messenger conversation A method for analyzing emotion based upon a messenger conversation is disclosed herein. The method may include the steps of storing survey information of a user respective to a specific counterpart with whom the user wishes to analyze emotion, opening a conversation history between the user and the specific counterpart, analyzing the survey information and the conversation history, thereby analyzing the emotion between the user and the specific counterpart, and showing the emotion analysis to the user.
US09298689B2	Multiple template based search function The computer transforms text by receiving a command to insert text into a user interface of an application. The computer extracts one or more words from the text, wherein each of the one or more words is associated with a category relevant to the application. The computer transforms the text to fit a template based on the respective associated categories of the one or more words. The computer inserts the transformed text into the user interface.
US09298688B1	Non-collaborative filters in a collaborative document Systems and methods for processing user actions on a collaborative spreadsheet include accessing an unfiltered sheet of a spreadsheet stored on a server to display on a client computer, where a plurality of filters is associated with the unfiltered sheet, and receiving a selection by a user of a first filter in the plurality of filters to be applied to the unfiltered sheet. A filtered sheet is displayed to the user, where the filtered sheet is obtained by applying the first filter to the unfiltered sheet. User actions inputted by a user on the client computer are received that reference cells of the unfiltered sheet. User actions are sent to the server and transformed against the first filter. The display of the filtered sheet is updated based on the transformed user action.
US09298687B2	Automatic spreadsheet formula output validation A spreadsheet validation method may provide a validation input value to an input field of a computer spreadsheet application and identify a calculated result from an output field of the computer spreadsheet application. The result is calculated based on a formula associated with the output field and the formula uses the validation input value as an input. Further, the calculated result may be compared to an expected validation output value.
US09298686B2	System and method for simulating discrete financial forecast calculations A method is provided for creating a simulated spreadsheet. The method includes receiving information from a simulated spreadsheet template, separating the simulated spreadsheet template from information within the simulated spreadsheet template, storing the simulated spreadsheet template and the corresponding information separately, calculating any calculable information within the information by using spreadsheet formula syntax, and presenting a simulated spreadsheet that includes the calculated information.
US09298685B2	Automatic creation of multiple rows in a table A system and method for creating a table including multiple rows to accommodate redundant field information is described. A table creation module receives a completed form, generates field images, determines a set of unique field images, redundant fields and associated fields in the completed form, populates a first row of the table in a first column with a first unique field image, adds remaining field images from the set of unique field images to the first row, populates the first row with a first redundant field image and remaining field images from a first set of associated fields. The tables can be used to create an organized report.
US09298682B2	Annotating images Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for generating data for annotating images automatically. In one aspect, a method includes receiving an input image, identifying one or more nearest neighbor images of the input image from among a collection of images, in which each of the one or more nearest neighbor images is associated with a respective one or more image labels, assigning a plurality of image labels to the input image, in which the plurality of image labels are selected from the image labels associated with the one or more nearest neighbor images, and storing in a data repository the input image having the assigned plurality of image labels. In another aspect, a method includes assigning a single image label to the input image, in which the single image label is selected from labels associated with multiple ranked nearest neighbor images.
US09298680B2	Display of hypertext documents grouped according to their affinity A mechanism is provided for accessing hypertext documents on a data processing system. A plurality of selected documents are opened. An affinity indicator is calculated for each pair of selected hypertext documents according to a comparison between semantic information of a content of each selected hypertext document of the pair. The selected hypertext documents are grouped into a set of groups by assigning each selected hypertext document to at least one group in the set of groups according to the affinity indicators. The selected hypertext documents are then displayed in an arrangement corresponding to the grouping thereof.
US09298675B2	Smart document import Legacy documents may be imported into online electronic document systems in a form in which the document is broken up into a collection discrete sub-documents. Styles are read from the legacy document and analyzed according to one or a number of factors, such as number of instances, combinations with other styles, and the like. Based on the analysis of the various styles, a set of styles is presented to a user to select style-based breakpoints to use in dividing the legacy document. As the system converts the legacy document from its source format into a designated target format, document managing functionality applies the selected breakpoints in the target formatted document according to the designated breakpoints. The system then generates a style sheet for the converted document including the style information for that document.
US09298672B2	3-D stacked multiprocessor structure with vertically aligned identical layout operating processors in independent mode or in sharing mode running faster components Three-dimensional (3-D) processor structures are provided which are constructed by connecting processors in a stacked configuration. For example, a processor system includes a first processor chip comprising a first processor, and a second processor chip comprising a second processor. The first and second processor chips are connected in a stacked configuration with the first and second processors connected through vertical connections between the first and second processor chips. The processor system further includes a mode control circuit to selectively configure the first and second processors of the first and second processor chips to operate in one of a plurality of operating modes, wherein the processors can be selectively configured to operate independently, to aggregate resources, to share resources, and/or be combined to form a single processor image.
US09298671B2	Learning rewrite rules for search database systems using query logs Methods and arrangements for conducting a search using query logs. A query log is consulted and query rewrite rules are learned automatically based on data in the query log. The learning includes obtaining click-through data present in the query log.
US09298669B2	Systems and methods for synchronizing content tables between routers System and method embodiments for exchanging information between a first and second content router enable the content routers to synchronize their caches with a minimal exchange of information. In an embodiment, the method includes creating a hash of contents of a cache in the first content router using a joint hash function shared with the second content router, encoding the hash of contents of the cache in the first content router with distributed source coding, and transmitting the encoded hash to the second content router.
US09298666B2	Data synchronization circuit The invention concerns a circuit comprising: a first circuit block (302) adapted to receive a first clock signal (CLK1) and to provide a first output data signal at a time determined by said first clock signal; a second circuit block (304) adapted to receive a second clock signal (CLK2) and to provide a second output data signal at a time determined by said second clock signal; a clock bus (314) coupled to corresponding outputs of said first and second circuit blocks for receiving a third clock signal (BCLK) based on said first and second clock signals; and a synchronization unit (312) coupled to said clock bus and adapted to sample said first and second output data signals based on said third clock signal.
US09298665B2	Multicore, multibank, fully concurrent coherence controller This invention optimizes non-shared accesses and avoids dependencies across coherent endpoints to ensure bandwidth across the system even when sharing. The coherence controller is distributed across all coherent endpoints. The coherence controller for each memory endpoint keeps a state around for each coherent access to ensure the proper ordering of events. The coherence controller of this invention uses First-In-First-Out allocation to ensure full utilization of the resources before stalling and simplicity of implementation. The coherence controller provides Snoop Command/Response ID Allocation per memory endpoint.
US09298664B2	Modular control apparatus A control apparatus has a number of modules arranged next to one another in a longitudinal direction. The modules each comprise at least one module part having a housing. Furthermore, the module part comprises a first electrical bus connector on a first side of the housing for electrical connection to a first neighboring module part adjacent in the longitudinal direction, and a second electrical bus connector on a second side, opposite the first side, of the housing for electrical connection to a second neighboring module part adjacent in the longitudinal direction. The module part further comprises at least one movable element, movable between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the movable element provides an electrical connection between the first bus connector and the second bus connector and, in the second position, provides an insulation point between the first bus connector and the second bus connector.
US09298663B2	Information processing apparatus and information processing method An information processing apparatus includes an interface configured to be connected with a connection apparatus, an acquisition unit configured to acquire apparatus information including a configuration or an operation specification of the connection apparatus connected with the interface, a determination unit configured to determine a control program to control the connection apparatus according to the apparatus information, and a control unit configured to use the determined control program to control the connection apparatus, wherein the connection apparatus includes an expansion connection unit and an expansion apparatus connected with the expansion connection unit, and the acquisition unit includes a first acquisition unit configured to acquire first information including a configuration or an operation specification of the expansion connection unit connected with the interface, and a second acquisition unit configured to acquire second information including a configuration or an operation specification of the expansion apparatus connected with the expansion connection unit.
US09298661B2	Docking assembly with a reciprocally movable handle for docking a handheld device A docking assembly for docking a handheld device thereto is provided. The docking assembly includes a cradle for receiving the handheld device, and a handle adjacent to the cradle and reciprocally movable inwardly and outwardly relative to the cradle between an open and a position. The handle has a handle interface facing a corresponding device interface of the handheld device when the handheld device is placed in the cradle. The handle interface has a pair of alignment projections and a handle data connector connectable to a device data connector of the handheld device, the alignment projections being engageable with complimentary alignment cavities of the handheld device. The docking assembly further includes a displacement mechanism configured such that, as the handle moves toward the closed position, the alignment projections progressively engage the alignment cavities and guide the handle and device data connectors toward each other for connection therebetween.
US09298659B2	Input/output (I/O) expansion response processing in a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIE) environment Embodiments of the invention relate to non-standard input/output (I/O) adapters in a standardized I/O architecture. An aspect of the invention includes implementing non-standard I/O adapters in a standardized I/O architecture. A request is received at an I/O adapter from a requester to perform an operation on one of the I/O adapters. It is determined that the request is in a format other than a format supported by an I/O bus and that the requester requires a completion response for the request. The request is transformed into the format supported by the I/O bus, and is transmitted to the I/O adapter. The completion response is received from the I/O adapter, and includes an indicator that the request has been completed. The completion response is in the format supported by the I/O bus. The completion response is transmitted to the requester.
US09298656B2	Data transferring apparatus and data transferring method A data transferring apparatus includes a receiving unit configured to receive, from a plurality of bus masters, a data transfer request including attribute information indicating a data transfer type and an address and a sending unit configured to determine, based on information included in the data transfer request, whether the data transfer request is a target to be compressed and to, based in the determination, transfer the data transfer request with or without the attribute information and address.
US09298655B2	Bus detection and control method and bus detection and control device and mobile industry processor interface system thereof A bus detection and control method for a mobile industry processor interface system is disclosed, wherein a host is coupled to a slave with a mobile industry processor interface bus. The bus detection and control method includes steps of detecting statuses of the mobile industry processor interface bus and the host, to output a control signal; and outputting one of a predefined signal corresponding to an initial state and a transmission signal outputted to the mobile industry processor interface bus by the host as a reception signal of the slave according to the control signal.
US09298652B2	Moderated completion signaling The moderation of event notifications from a network interface card. The network interface card has multiple completion queues that queue of completed work. The moderation batches up this completed work such that potentially multiple work requests are aggregated into a single event notification. This moderation reduces processing overhead since it spreads the overhead associated with a single interrupt to multiple event notifications The decision on moderation may be performed per connection, or even per constituent queue of the connection. The principles herein allow moderation to reduce overhead without slowing network throughput.
US09298649B2	Method and apparatus for dynamically updating a vehicle module configuration record A system includes a processor configured to detect that a vehicle module update has been performed. The processor is further configured to create an identifier associated with a module that indicates an updated status and for each module having an identifier indicating an updated status associated therewith, requesting subscription to a topic, corresponding to the updated module, and specific to an individual vehicle, from a remote server.
US09298644B2	Method and portable device for managing memory in a data stream management system using priority information Provided are method and device for managing a memory in a data stream management system (DSMS) of a portable device. The method includes moving data of a selected memory region that has a low priority to a secondary storage and storing a received data stream in the selected memory region.

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