最新美国发明专利第2016-06-14期 - 专利汇|PatentHub专利检索|专利查询网|发明专利查询分析

Document	Document Title
US09368675B2	Method of manufacturing light-emitting device and wiring substrate for light-emitting element A method of manufacturing a light-emitting device includes flattening top portions of solder bumps disposed on a wiring substrate, disposing a light-emitting element on the solder bumps whose top portions are flattened, and heating the solder bumps to be melt and to be fused so as to provide an adhesive with which the light-emitting element is secured on the wiring substrate.
US09368673B2	Method for manufacturing light emitting diode package A method for manufacturing a light emitting diode (LED) package, the method includes providing an LED chip and forming electrodes on a top surface of the LED chip; forming a first electric insulation layer on the top surface of the LED chip, the first electric insulation layer adapted to enclose the electrodes therein; etching the first electric insulation layer to define a plurality of second through holes; forming a substrate on a top surface of the first electric insulation layer, the substrate adapted to fill in the plurality of second through holes, the substrate directly contacting the electrodes; dividing the substrate into a plurality of spaced heat dissipation parts; and forming a packaging layer on a bottom surface of the substrate, the packaging layer adapted to enclose the LED chip therein.
US09368670B2	GaAs thin films and methods of making and using the same Disclosed herein are embodiments of methods for making GaAs thin films, such as photovoltaic GaAs thin films. The methods disclosed herein utilize sources, precursors, and reagents that do not produce (or require) toxic gas and that are readily available and relatively low in cost. In some embodiments, the methods are readily scalable for industrial applications and can provide GaAs thin films having properties that are at least comparable to or potentially superior to GaAs films obtained from conventional methods.
US09368661B2	Photodetector A photodetector 1A comprises a multilayer structure 3 having a first layer 4 constituted by first metal or first semiconductor, a semiconductor structure layer 5 mounted on the first layer 4 and adapted to excite an electron by plasmon resonance, and a second layer 6 mounted on the semiconductor structure layer 5 and constituted by second metal or second semiconductor.
US09368657B2	Solar cell A solar cell and a method of fabricating a solar cell. A solar cell including a substrate; a first electrode layer on the substrate; a light absorbing layer on the first electrode layer; an alloy layer between the first electrode layer and the light absorbing layer; a buffer layer on the light absorbing layer; a first through-hole formed through the buffer layer, the light absorbing layer, the alloy layer, and the first electrode layer to the substrate; and an insulating barrier in at least one portion of the first through-hole.
US09368656B2	Back contacted photovoltaic cell with an improved shunt resistance The invention relates to a photovoltaic cell, comprising a plate shaped substrate of a semiconductor material with a solar face and a connection face, a first volume of the substrate adjacent to the solar face is doped with a first polarity, the second volume is doped with a second polarity and the volumes are separated by a pn-junction, a number of apertures in the substrate extending between both faces and in which a plug has been positioned of which a part is conducting, contact tracks at the solar face of the substrate connected with the first volume and the conducting part of the plug, first contacts at the connection face of the substrate connected with the conducting part of the plug and second contacts located at the connection face of the substrate connected with the second volume, wherein the specific electrical conductivity of the plug decreases from its centre to the contact face with the substrate.
US09368655B2	Solar cell and method for manufacturing the same A solar cell includes a substrate, an emitter region which is positioned at the substrate and having a first sheet resistance, a first highly doped region which is positioned at the substrate and having a second sheet resistance less than the first sheet resistance, a first electrode positioned at the substrate and connected to the emitter region and the first highly doped region, and a second electrode positioned at the substrate and connected to the substrate, wherein the first highly doped region crosses the first electrode and is connected to the first electrode, an upper surface of the first highly doped region is projected from an upper surface of the emitter region toward a light incident surface of the substrate, and a lower surface of the first highly doped region has the same height as a lower surface of the emitter region.
US09368654B2	Photodetector and method for manufacturing the same A photodetector includes a substrate and an insulating arrangement formed in the substrate. The insulating arrangement electrically insulates a confined region of the substrate. The confined region is configured to generate free charge carriers in response to an irradiation. The photodetector further includes a read-out electrode arrangement configured to provide a photocurrent formed by at least a portion of the free charge carriers that are generated in response to the irradiation. The photodetector also includes a biasing electrode arrangement that is electrically insulated against the confined region by means of the insulating arrangement. The biasing electrode arrangement is configured to cause an influence on a spatial charge carrier distribution within the confined region so that fewer of the free charge carriers recombine at boundaries of the confined region compared to an unbiased state.
US09368653B1	Silicon photonics integration method and structure Approaches for silicon photonics integration are provided. A method includes: forming at least one encapsulating layer over and around a photodetector; thermally crystallizing the photodetector material after the forming the at least one encapsulating layer; and after the thermally crystallizing the photodetector material, forming a conformal sealing layer on the at least one encapsulating layer and over at least one device. The conformal sealing layer is configured to seal a crack in the at least one encapsulating layer. The photodetector and the at least one device are on a same substrate. The at least one device includes a complementary metal oxide semiconductor device or a passive photonics device.
US09368652B2	Controlling the direct current flow in a photovoltaic system The present invention relates to a control device for controlling a direct current generated in a photovoltaic system. The control device is configured to alternately enable a current flow through the photovoltaic system for a first time interval and at least to reduce the current flow for a second time interval. The invention further relates to a photovoltaic system comprising such a control device as well as to a method for controlling a direct current generated in a photovoltaic system.
US09368647B2	Compositions for etching Etching compositions are provided. The etching composition includes a phosphoric acid, ammonium ions and a silicon compound material. The silicon compound material includes a silicon atom, at least one selected from the group of a nitrogen atom, a phosphorus atom and a sulfur atom combined with the silicon atom, and at least two oxygen atoms combined with the silicon atom. Methods utilizing the etching compositions are also provided.
US09368646B2	Memory devices and methods of manufacturing the same A vertical memory device includes a channel array, a charge storage layer structure, multiple gate electrodes and a dummy pattern array. The channel array includes multiple channels, each of which is formed on a first region of a substrate and is formed to extend in a first direction substantially perpendicular to a top surface of the substrate. The charge storage layer structure includes a tunnel insulation layer pattern, a charge storage layer pattern and a blocking layer pattern, which are sequentially formed on a sidewall of each channel in the second direction substantially parallel to the top surface of the substrate. The gate electrodes arranged on a sidewall of the charge storage layer structure and spaced apart from each other in the first direction. The dummy pattern array includes multiple dummy patterns, each of which is formed on a second region adjacent the first region of the substrate and is formed to extend in the first direction.
US09368639B2	Oxide semiconductor thin film, production method thereof, and thin film transistor An oxide crystalline thin film is used to provide an oxide semiconductor thin film that has comparatively high carrier mobility and is suitable as TFT channel layer material. Oxide semiconductor thin film is obtained by performing an annealing process on an amorphous oxide semiconductor thin film comprising an oxide including indium and titanium where the titanium content is 0.005 to 0.12 by a Ti/In atomic ratio at a heating temperature of 250° C. or greater and processing time of 1 minute to 120 minutes. The oxide semiconductor thin film is crystalline and comprises only the In2O3 phase of bixbyite type structure, and has carrier density that is 1×1019 cm−3, and carrier mobility that is 1 cm2/Vsec or greater.
US09368628B2	FinFET with high mobility and strain channel An integrated circuit device includes a fin having a gate area beneath a gate electrode structure, a source/drain region disposed beyond ends of the fin, and a first conformal layer formed around an embedded portion of the source/drain region. A vertical sidewall of the first conformal layer is oriented parallel to the gate area.
US09368625B2	NAND string utilizing floating body memory cell NAND string configurations and semiconductor memory arrays that include such NAND string configurations are provided. Methods of making semiconductor memory cells used in NAND string configurations are also described.
US09368622B1	Stitched gate GaN HEMTs Principles of the present invention reduces the maximum electric field strength between a gate and a source or drain in a FET by breaking up the usually monolithic gate into a plurality of physically separate subgates that are electrically connected into one or more groups.
US09368619B2	Method for inducing strain in vertical semiconductor columns A vertical Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) transistor includes a substrate and a nano-wire over the substrate. The nano-wire comprises a semiconductor material. An oxide ring extends from an outer sidewall of the nano-wire into the nano-wire, with a center portion of the nano-wire encircled by the oxide ring. The vertical MOS transistor further includes a gate dielectric encircling a portion of the nano-wire, a gate electrode encircling the gate dielectric, a first source/drain region underlying the gate electrode, and a second source/drain region overlying the gate electrode. The second source/drain region extends into the center portion of the nano-wire. Localized oxidation produces a local swelling in the structure that generates a tensile or compressive strain in the nano-wire.
US09368615B2	Trench power field effect transistor device and method In one embodiment, a structure for a trench power field effect transistor device with controlled, shallow, abrupt, body contact regions.
US09368612B2	Semiconductor device with diode trench and schottky electrode Provided is a semiconductor device that can be manufactured at low cost and that can reduce a reverse leak current, and a manufacturing method thereof. A semiconductor device has: a source region and a drain region having a body region therebetween; a source trench that reaches the body region, penetrating the source region; a body contact region formed at the bottom of the source trench; a source electrode embedded in the source trench; and a gate electrode that faces the body region. The semiconductor device also has: an n-type region for a diode; a diode trench formed reaching the n-type region for a diode; a p+ region for a diode that forms a pn junction with the n-type region for a diode at the bottom of the diode trench; and a schottky electrode that forms a schottky junction with the n-type region for a diode at side walls of the diode trench.
US09368609B2	Semiconductor device including a trench with a corner having plural tapered portions A semiconductor device has a channel layer formed above a substrate, a barrier layer formed over the channel layer and having a band gap larger than that of the channel layer, a trench passing through the barrier layer as far as a midway of the channel layer, and a gate electrode disposed byway of a gate insulation film in the inside of the trench. Then, the end of the bottom of the trench is in a rounded shape and the gate insulation film in contact with the end of the bottom of the trench is in a rounded shape. By providing the end of the bottom of the trench with a roundness as described above, a thickness of the gate insulation film situated between the end of the bottom of the gate electrode and the end of the bottom of the trench can be decreased. Thus, the channel is formed also at the end of the bottom of the trench to reduce the resistance of the channel.
US09368607B2	Semiconductor device To provide a semiconductor device having a structure capable of suppressing deterioration of its electrical characteristics which becomes apparent with miniaturization. The semiconductor device includes a first oxide semiconductor film over an insulating surface; a second oxide semiconductor film over the first oxide semiconductor film; a source electrode and a drain electrode in contact with the second oxide semiconductor film; a third oxide semiconductor film over the second oxide semiconductor film, the source electrode, and the drain electrode; a gate insulating film over the third oxide semiconductor film; and a gate electrode over the gate insulating film. A first interface between the gate electrode and the gate insulating film has a region closer to the insulating surface than a second interface between the first oxide semiconductor film and the second oxide semiconductor film.
US09368605B2	Semiconductor structure including a split gate nonvolatile memory cell and a high voltage transistor, and method for the formation thereof A semiconductor structure includes a split gate nonvolatile memory cell and a high voltage transistor. The nonvolatile memory cell includes an active region, a nonvolatile memory stack provided above the active region, a control gate electrode provided above the memory stack, a select gate electrode at least partially provided above the active region adjacent to the memory stack and a select gate insulation layer. The high voltage transistor includes an active region, a gate electrode and a gate insulation layer provided between the active region and the gate electrode. The select gate insulation layer of the nonvolatile memory device and the gate insulation layer of the high voltage transistor are at least partially formed of a same high-k dielectric material. The select gate electrode of the nonvolatile memory device and the gate electrode of the high voltage transistor are at least partially formed of a same metal.
US09368600B2	Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device is provided. The method includes forming a plurality of trenches in a semiconductor substrate, on opposite sides of a gate electrode of a P-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (PMOS) disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The method further includes forming an embedded silicon germanium layer inside the trenches, and forming a capping layer on the embedded silicon germanium layer, wherein the embedded silicon germanium layer and the capping layer are doped with boron (B).
US09368599B2	Graphene/nanostructure FET with self-aligned contact and gate A method for forming a field effect transistor (FET) includes depositing a channel material on a substrate, the channel material comprising one of graphene or a nanostructure; forming a gate over a first portion of the channel material; forming spacers adjacent to the gate; depositing a contact material over the channel material, gate, and spacers; depositing a dielectric material over the contact material; removing a portion of the dielectric material and a portion of the contact material to expose the top of the gate; recessing the contact material; removing the dielectric material; and patterning the contact material to form a self-aligned contact for the FET, the self-aligned contact being located over a source region and a drain region of the FET, the source region and the drain region comprising a second portion of the channel material.
US09368594B2	Method of forming a fin-like BJT A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) formed using a fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process flow is provided. The BJT includes an emitter fin, a base fin, and a collector fin formed on a substrate. The base fin encloses the emitter fin and collector fin encloses the emitter fin. In some embodiments, the emitter fin, base fin, and collector fin have a square shape when viewed from above and are concentric with each other.
US09368593B2	Multiple thickness gate dielectrics for replacement gate field effect transistors After removal of the disposable gate structures to form gate cavities in a planarization dielectric layer, a silicon oxide layer is conformally deposited on silicon-oxide-based gate dielectric portions in the gate cavities. A portion of the silicon oxide layer can be nitridated to form a silicon oxynitride layer. A patterned masking material layer can be employed to physically expose a semiconductor surface from a first-type gate cavity. The silicon oxide layer can be removed while preserving an underlying silicon-oxide-based gate dielectric portion in a second-type gate cavity. A stack of a silicon oxynitride layer and an underlying silicon-oxide-based gate dielectric can be protected by a patterned masking material layer in a third-type gate cavity during removal of the silicon oxide layer in the second-type gate cavity. A high dielectric constant gate dielectric layer can be formed in the gate cavities to provide gate dielectrics of different types.
US09368592B2	Metal gate structure The present disclosure provides a semiconductor structure, including a substrate, a metal gate, a dielectric layer, and an etch stop layer. The metal gate is positioned on the substrate and possesses a first surface. The dielectric layer surrounds the metal gate and possesses a second surface. The etch stop layer is in contact with both the first surface and the second surface. The first surface is higher than the second surface. The present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure, including forming a dummy gate on a substrate; forming a second etch stop layer over the dummy gate; forming a dielectric layer over the dummy gate; replacing the dummy gate with a metal gate; etching back the dielectric layer to form a second surface of the dielectric layer lower than a first surface of the metal gate; and forming a first etch stop layer over the metal gate and the dielectric layer.
US09368591B2	Transistors comprising doped region-gap-doped region structures and methods of fabrication Embodiments of the present invention provide transistors with controlled junctions and methods of fabrication. A dummy spacer is used during the majority of front end of line (FEOL) processing. Towards the end of the FEOL processing, the dummy spacers are removed and replaced with a final spacer material. Embodiments of the present invention allow the use of a very low-k material, which is highly thermally-sensitive, by depositing it late in the flow. Additionally, the position of the gate with respect to the doped regions is highly controllable, while dopant diffusion is minimized through reduced thermal budgets. This allows the creation of extremely abrupt junctions whose surface position is defined using a sacrificial spacer. This spacer is then removed prior to final gate deposition, allowing a fixed gate overlap that is defined by the spacer thickness and any diffusion of the dopant species.
US09368589B2	Semiconductor device and semiconductor module A semiconductor device includes a first source/drain region and a second source/drain region disposed in an active region of a semiconductor substrate, and a gate structure crossing the active region and disposed between the first and second source/drain regions, the gate structure including a gate electrode having a first part and a second part on the first part, the gate electrode being at a lower level than an upper surface of the active region, an insulating capping pattern on the gate electrode, a gate dielectric between the gate electrode and the active region, and an empty space between the active region and the second part of the gate electrode.
US09368587B2	Accumulation-mode field effect transistor with improved current capability An accumulation-mode field effect transistor including a plurality of gates. The accumulation-mode field effect transistor including a semiconductor region including a channel region adjacent to but insulated from each of the plurality of gates.
US09368582B2	High power gallium nitride electronics using miscut substrates An electronic device includes a III-V substrate having a hexagonal crystal structure and a normal to a growth surface characterized by a misorientation from the <0001> direction of between 0.15° and 0.65°. The electronic device also includes a first epitaxial layer coupled to the III-V substrate and a second epitaxial layer coupled to the first epitaxial layer. The electronic device further includes a first contact in electrical contact with the substrate and a second contact in electrical contact with the second epitaxial layer.
US09368578B2	Methods of forming substrates comprised of different semiconductor materials and the resulting device Obtaining a structure comprised of first and second layers of a first semiconductor materials and a strain relief buffer (SRB) layer between the first and second layers, forming a sidewall spacer on the sidewalls of an opening in the second layer, and forming a third semiconductor material in the opening, wherein the first, second and third semiconductor materials are different. A device includes first and second layers of first and second semiconductor materials and an SRB layer positioned above the first layer. The second layer is positioned above a first portion of the SRB layer, a region of a third semiconductor material is in an opening in the second layer and above a second portion of the SRB layer, and an insulating material is positioned between the region comprised of the third semiconductor material and the second layer.
US09368571B2	Trench isolation structure having isolating trench elements A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, an element isolating trench structure that includes an element isolating trench formed in one main surface of the semiconductor substrate, an insulating material that is formed within the element isolating trench, element formation regions that are surrounded by the element isolating trench, and semiconductor elements that are respectively formed in the element formation regions. The element isolating trench includes first element isolating trenches extending in a first direction, second element isolating trenches extending in a second direction that are at a right angle to the first direction, and third element isolating trenches extending in a third direction inclined at an angle θ (0°<θ<90°) from the first direction.
US09368569B1	Punch through stopper for semiconductor device A method for forming a semiconductor device comprises, forming a fin on a semiconductor substrate, forming spacers adjacent to the fin, etching to remove exposed portions of the semiconductor substrate adjacent to the spacers to form a trench adjacent to the spacers, removing the spacers, implanting dopants in the semiconductor substrate adjacent to the fin and in the trench, and performing an annealing process to diffuse the dopants in the semiconductor substrate and form a punch through stopper region below the fin that includes the dopants.
US09368568B2	Group III nitride crystal substrates and group III nitride crystal Group III nitride crystal produced by cutting, from III nitride bulk crystal, a plurality of Group III nitride crystal substrates with major-surface plane orientation misoriented five degrees or less with respect to a crystal-geometrically equivalent plane orientation selected from the group consisting of {20-21}, {20-2-1}, {22-41}, and {22-4-1}, transversely arranging the substrates adjacent to each other such that their major surfaces are parallel to each other and such that their [0001] directions coincide with each other, and growing a Group III nitride crystal on the major surfaces. The Group III nitride crystal substrates are further characterized by satisfying at least either an oxygen-atom concentration of 1×1016 cm−3 to 4×1019 cm−3 or a silicon-atom concentration of 6×1014 cm−3 to 5×1018 cm−3, and by having a carrier concentration of 1×1016 cm−3 to 6×1019 cm−3.
US09368567B2	Semiconductor devices, methods of manufacture thereof, and methods of manufacturing capacitors Semiconductor devices, methods of manufacture thereof, and methods of manufacturing capacitors are disclosed. In an embodiment, a method of manufacturing a capacitor includes: etching a trench in a workpiece. The trench may extend into the workpiece from a major surface of the workpiece. The method further includes lining the trench with a bottom electrode material and lining the bottom electrode material in the trench with a dielectric material. The dielectric material may have edges proximate the major surface of the workpiece. The method further includes forming a top electrode material over the dielectric material in the trench, and etching away a portion of the bottom electrode material and a portion of the top electrode material proximate the edges of the dielectric material.
US09368564B2	3D pillar inductor Base pads are spaced by a pitch on a support surface. Conducting members, optionally Cu or other metal pillars, extend up from the base pads to top pads. A top pad interconnector connects the top pads in a configuration establishing an inductor current path between the base pads.
US09368560B2	Organic light emitting display devices and methods of fabricating the same An organic light emitting display device includes a thin film transistor on a substrate, a first protection layer covering the thin film transistor, a conductive organic layer on the first protection layer and coupled to the thin film transistor, and an organic light emitting device on the conductive organic layer and coupled to the conductive organic layer.
US09368559B2	Organic light emitting display device having signal lines and electrode on the same layer and method of manufacturing the same Provided is an organic light emitting display device. The device includes an organic electroluminescence element in which a pixel electrode, an intermediate layer including a light emitting layer, and a cathode electrode are successively stacked, a cathode contact including an upper electrode contacting the cathode electrode and a lower electrode disposed on the same layer as the pixel electrode to contact the upper electrode, and a line disposed on the same layer as the lower electrode. At least three cathode contacts are disposed in a direction crossing the line, and the line is disposed between the cathode contacts.
US09368558B2	Organic light emitting element and method of manufacturing the same An organic light emitting element includes an organic light emitting diode formed on a substrate, coupled to a transistor including a gate, a source and a drain and including a first electrode, an organic thin film layer and a second electrode; a photo diode formed on the substrate and having a semiconductor layer including a high-concentration P doping region, a low-concentration P doping region, an intrinsic region and a high-concentration N doping region; and a controller that controls luminance of light emitted from the organic light emitting diode, to a constant level by controlling a voltage applied to the first electrode and the second electrode according to the voltage outputted from the photo diode.
US09368557B2	Display device and electronic device There is provided a display device including a light-emitting element corresponding to a pixel for a color, and a white color filter corresponding to a white pixel. Transmittance of the white color filter is based on neutral density (ND) transmittance that is uniform throughout an entire wavelength band of visible light, and transmittance in a particular wavelength band in the entire wavelength band of the visible light is decreased to be lower than the ND transmittance.
US09368553B2	Memory device According to one embodiment, a memory device includes a first active area, formed on the substrate, which extends in a third direction. The memory device also includes three gate electrodes, provided on the first active area, which extend in a second direction intersecting the third direction. The memory device also includes at least two or more upper-layer interconnects and at least two or more lower-layer interconnects, provided on the first active area, which extend in a first direction intersecting the second direction and the third direction. The memory device also includes first transistors of three, each of them is provided at the intersection point between the first active area and the three gate electrodes. The memory device also includes the first transistors of three are one device isolation transistor and two cell transistors.
US09368551B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a first fin-shaped semiconductor layer on a semiconductor substrate, a first insulating film around the first fin-shaped semiconductor layer, a first pillar-shaped semiconductor layer on the first fin-shaped semiconductor layer, a first gate insulating film around the first pillar-shaped semiconductor layer, a first gate line formed around the first gate insulating film and extending in a direction perpendicular to the first fin-shaped semiconductor layer, a second diffusion layer disposed in a lower portion of the first pillar-shaped semiconductor layer, a third gate insulating film surrounding an upper portion of the first pillar-shaped semiconductor layer, a first contact electrode surrounding the third gate insulating film, a second contact electrode that connects an upper portion of the first contact electrode to an upper portion of the first pillar-shaped semiconductor layer, and a first magnetic tunnel junction memory element on the second contact electrode.
US09368550B2	Application specific integrated circuit with integrated magnetic sensor A method and system for a device with a magnetic sensor element and magnetic storage elements is disclosed. The device includes an integrated circuit substrate. At least a magnetic sensor with a magnetic sensor element with a permanent magnet is disposed over the integrated circuit substrate. A plurality of magnetic storage elements, each with at least one permanent magnet is disposed over the integrated circuit substrate.
US09368546B2	Imaging structure with embedded light sources In embodiments of an imaging structure with embedded light sources, an imaging structure includes a silicon backplane with a driver pad array. The embedded light sources are formed on the driver pad array in an emitter material layer, and the embedded light sources can be individually controlled at the driver pad array to generate and emit light. A conductive material layer over the embedded light sources forms a p-n junction between the emitter material layer and the conductive material layer. Micro lens optics can be positioned over the conductive material layer to direct the light that is emitted from the embedded light sources. Further, the micro lens optics may be implemented as parabolic optics to concentrate the light that is emitted from the embedded light sources.
US09368545B2	Elevated photodiodes with crosstalk isolation A device includes a plurality of isolation spacers, and a plurality of bottom electrodes, wherein adjacent ones of the plurality of bottom electrodes are insulated from each other by respective ones of the plurality of isolation spacers. A plurality of photoelectrical conversion regions overlaps the plurality of bottom electrodes, wherein adjacent ones of the plurality of photoelectrical conversion regions are insulated from each other by respective ones of the plurality of isolation spacers. A top electrode overlies the plurality of photoelectrical conversion regions and the plurality of isolation spacers.
US09368543B2	Image sensor device An image sensor device includes a silicon-based substrate, a silicon-germanium epitaxy layer, an isolation feature, an active pixel cell and a logic circuit. The silicon-germanium epitaxy layer is on the silicon-based substrate, in which the silicon-germanium epitaxy layer has a composition of Si1-xGex, where 0
US09368541B2	Display device The display device has a display panel where a photosensor and a transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer are arranged. The display device detects a shadow of the object, which is projected on the display panel when the object approaches the display panel and blocks ambient light, with a photosensor, whereby a position or motion of the object is detected. Even when the object is not in contact with the display panel, the object can be detected.
US09368539B2	Semiconductor device with atom diffusion barrier layer and method of manufacturing semiconductor device with atom diffusion barrier layer Disclosed is a semiconductor device including a first semiconductor substrate and a first atom diffusion prevention portion, the first atom diffusion prevention portion being arranged at a part on the first semiconductor substrate and configured to prevent diffusion of an atom having a dangling bond terminating effect.
US09368537B1	Integrated silicon carbide ultraviolet sensors and methods A silicon carbide transistor used as an ultraviolet light sensor. The light sensor is mounted inside a probe for detecting ultraviolet light generated by combustion inside an engine. The silicon carbide transistor generates a light voltage that is converted to a digital signal. The digital signal is used in a feedback loop for an engine control module for real time engine control in operating environments. The silicon carbide transistor is mounted inside a glow plug sized engine probe mounted in the cylinder head and the probe includes a quartz window allowing ultraviolet light access between the combustion chamber and the silicon carbide transistor so that the silicon carbide transistor can be mounted proximate the combustion chamber but behind the cooling jackets inside the engine head.
US09368534B2	Image sensor with hybrid heterostructure An image sensor architecture provides an SNR in excess of 100 dB, without requiring the use of a mechanical shutter. The circuit components for an active pixel sensor array are separated and arranged vertically in at least two different layers in a hybrid chip structure. The top layer is preferably manufactured using a low-noise PMOS manufacturing process, and includes the photodiode and amplifier circuitry for each pixel. A bottom layer is preferably manufactured using a standard CMOS process, and includes the NMOS pixel circuit components and any digital circuitry required for signal processing. By forming the top layer in a PMOS process optimized for forming low-noise pixels, the pixel performance can be greatly improved, compared to using CMOS. In addition, since the digital circuitry is now separated from the imaging circuitry, it can be formed using a standard CMOS process, which has been optimized for circuit speed and manufacturing cost. By combining the two layers into a stacked structure, the top layer (and any intermediate layer(s)) acts to optically shield the lower layer, thereby allowing charge to be stored and shielded without the need for a mechanical shutter.
US09368527B2	Light emitting device, driving method of light emitting device and electronic device By controlling the luminance of light emitting element not by means of a voltage to be impressed to the TFT but by means of controlling a current that flows to the TFT in a signal line drive circuit, the current that flows to the light emitting element is held to a desired value without depending on the characteristics of the TFT. Further, a voltage of inverted bias is impressed to the light emitting element every predetermined period. Since a multiplier effect is given by the two configurations described above, it is possible to prevent the luminance from deteriorating due to a deterioration of the organic luminescent layer, and further, it is possible to maintain the current that flows to the light emitting element to a desired value without depending on the characteristics of the TFT.
US09368526B2	Digital circuit having correcting circuit and electronic apparatus thereof Provided is a digital circuit (30) that comprises: a switching circuit (31) having first transistors (32, 33) supplied with power supply potentials (VDD, VSS); correcting circuits (34, 36) connected between an input terminal (IN) inputted with an input signal and control terminals (gates) of the first transistors; capacitors (C2, C3) connected between the control terminals and the input terminal; diode-connected second transistors (35, 37) that are provided between nodes (N5, N6) between the capacitors and the control terminals and the power supply potentials and have the substantially same threshold voltage as the first transistors; and switches (SW2, SW3) connected in series with the second transistors.
US09368524B2	Thin film transistor array substrate and method for fabricating the same A thin film transistor array substrate including a substrate, a gate line intersecting a data line to define a pixel region on the substrate, a switching element disposed at an intersection of the gate line and the data line, a plurality of pixel electrodes and a plurality of first common electrodes alternately arranged on a protective film in the pixel region, a second common electrode overlapping the data line, a first storage electrode on the substrate, a second storage electrode overlapping the first storage electrode, and an organic insulation film on the switching element, the second storage electrode, the data line, a gate pad, and a data pad, wherein the second common electrode covers the data line, the protective film and the organic insulation film, and has inclined surfaces connected to the protective film within the pixel region.
US09368521B2	TFT substrate A TFT substrate (100) includes a gate line (2) and a source line (4), a TFT (6), a transparent pixel electrode (30) electrically coupled with the TFT, a transparent electrically-conductive layer (34) including a transparent connecting portion (34A) connected with the drain electrode (15) of the TFT and the transparent pixel electrode, and a transparent insulating layer (28) provided between the transparent pixel electrode and the transparent electrically-conductive layer. The transparent connecting portion (34A) includes a first connecting portion (C1) which is a portion connected with the drain electrode and a second connecting portion (C2) which is a portion connected with the transparent pixel electrode. At least part of the second connecting portion (C2) is present in a region enclosed by the gate line and the source line. In the second connecting portion, a portion ranging from the transparent connecting portion to the transparent pixel electrode is configured to allow transmission of light.
US09368519B2	Semiconductor device and electronic appliance The amplitude voltage of a signal input to a level shifter can be increased and then output by the level shifter circuit. Specifically, the amplitude voltage of the signal input to the level shifter can be increased to be output. This decreases the amplitude voltage of a circuit (a shift register circuit, a decoder circuit, or the like) which outputs the signal input to the level shifter. Consequently, power consumption of the circuit can be reduced. Alternatively, a voltage applied to a transistor included in the circuit can be reduced. This can suppress degradation of the transistor or damage to the transistor.
US09368516B2	Display device and electronic appliance A display device with low manufacturing cost, a display device with low power consumption, a display device capable of being formed over a large substrate, a display device with a high aperture ratio of a pixel, and a display device with high reliability are provided. The display device includes a transistor electrically connected to a light-transmitting pixel electrode and a capacitor. The transistor includes a gate electrode, a gate insulating film, and a first multilayer film including an oxide semiconductor layer. The capacitor includes the pixel electrode and a second multilayer film overlapping with the pixel electrode, positioned at a predetermined distance from the pixel electrode, and having the same layer structure as the first multilayer film. A channel formation region of the transistor is at least one layer, which is not in contact with the gate insulating film, of the first multilayer film.
US09368515B2	Thin film transistor array panel and method of manufacturing the same A thin film transistor array panel may include a channel layer including an oxide semiconductor and formed in a semiconductor layer, a source electrode formed in the semiconductor layer and connected to the channel layer at a first side, a drain electrode formed in the semiconductor layer and connected to the channel layer at an opposing second side, a pixel electrode formed in the semiconductor layer in a same portion of the semiconductor layer as the drain electrode, an insulating layer disposed on the channel layer, a gate line including a gate electrode disposed on the insulating layer, a passivation layer disposed on the source and drain electrodes, the pixel electrode, and the gate line, and a data line disposed on the passivation layer. A width of the channel layer may be substantially equal to a width of the pixel electrode in a direction parallel to the gate line.
US09368512B1	Double diamond shaped unmerged epitaxy for tall fins in tight pitch A semiconductor structure is provided that includes a semiconductor fin extending upwards from a surface of a substrate. A source/drain structure is located on each side of the semiconductor fin. The source/drain structure comprises an upper source/drain portion having a faceted topmost surface and located on an upper portion of the semiconductor fin, and a lower source/drain portion having a faceted topmost surface and located on a lower portion of the semiconductor fin. In accordance with the present application, upper source/drain portion of the source/drain structure is spaced apart from the lower source/drain portion of the source/drain structure by a dielectric spacer portion.
US09368509B2	Three-dimensional memory structure having self-aligned drain regions and methods of making thereof A memory stack structure can be formed through a stack of an alternating plurality of first material layers and second material layers and through an overlying temporary material layer having a different composition than the first and second material layers. The memory stack structure can include a memory film and a semiconductor channel layer. The overlying temporary material layer is removed selective to the stack to form a lateral recess. Portions of the memory film are removed around the lateral recess, and dopants are laterally introduced into an upper portion of the semiconductor channel to form a self-aligned drain region.
US09368508B2	Memory device There is provided a peripheral circuit region including a plurality of circuit elements disposed on a first substrate; and a cell region including at least one channel region extending from an upper surface of a second substrate disposed on the first substrate in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the second substrate, and a plurality of gate electrode layers and a plurality of insulating layers stacked on the second substrate to be adjacent to the at least one channel region, wherein at least a portion of the first substrate contacts the second substrate, and the first substrate and the second substrate provide a single substrate.
US09368505B2	Read-only memory and its manufacturing method A read-only memory includes a plurality of storage units arranged in an array. The read-only memory includes two kinds of storage units with different structures, the two kinds of storage units with different structures are a first MOS transistor and a second MOS transistor. A source and a drain of the first MOS transistor have the same type, a source and a drain of the second MOS transistor have inverse type. These two kinds of MOS transistors can be used to store binary 0 and 1 respectively. In the manufacturing method of the read-only memory, the same type of drain and source can be manufactured simultaneously, no extra mask plate is needed, so the extra mask plate of a conventional read-only memory can be saved.
US09368502B2	Replacement gate multigate transistor for embedded DRAM A memory cell, an array of memory cells, and a method for fabricating a memory cell with multigate transistors such as fully depleted finFET or nano-wire transistors in embedded DRAM. The memory cell includes a trench capacitor, a non-planar transistor, and a self-aligned silicide interconnect electrically coupling the trench capacitor to the non-planar transistor.
US09368501B2	Semiconductor memory device including stacked sub memory cells A semiconductor memory device which includes a memory cell including two or more sub memory cells is provided. The sub memory cells each including a word line, a bit line, a first capacitor, a second capacitor, and a transistor. In the semiconductor device, the sub memory cells are stacked in the memory cell; a first gate and a second gate are formed with a semiconductor film provided therebetween in the transistor; the first gate and the second gate are connected to the word line; one of a source and a drain of the transistor is connected to the bit line; the other of the source and the drain of the transistor is connected to the first capacitor and the second capacitor; and the first gate and the second gate of the transistor in each sub memory cell overlap with each other and are connected to each other.
US09368497B2	Fin field-effect transistors and fabrication method thereof A method for fabricating fin field-effect transistors includes providing a semiconductor substrate; and forming a plurality of fins on a surface of the semiconductor substrate. The method also includes forming dummy gates formed over side and top surfaces of the fins; forming a precursor material layer with a surface higher than top surfaces of the fins to cover the dummy gates and the semiconductor substrate; performing a thermal annealing process to convert the precursor material layer into a dielectric layer having a plurality of voids; and planarizing the dielectric layer to expose the top surfaces of the dummy gates. Further, the method also includes performing a post-treatment process using oxygen-contained de-ionized water on the planarized dielectric layer to eliminate the plurality of voids formed in the dielectric layer; removing the dummy gates to form trenches; and forming a high-K metal gate structure in each of the trenches.
US09368494B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same A semiconductor device with neck fins comprises a substrate, a plurality of fins having a lower portion and a neck upper portion on the substrate, and insulators disposed between each fin and flush with the lower portion of the fins.
US09368487B1	Semiconductor device with dynamic low voltage triggering mechanism An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device is disclosed, which includes a substrate of a positive dopant type; a p-well defined in the substrate; a depletion inducing structure of a negative dopant type having a gap defined in a bottom portion thereof disposed in the p-well, and a n-channel device disposed in a planar encircled region defined by the depletion inducing structure. The well region is in connection with the substrate through the depletion inducing structure. Upon an ESD stress, the depletion inducing structure induces an expanded depletion region in the substrate under the well region, thus providing a substrate trigger mechanism that reduces the triggering voltage of the ESD protection device.
US09368481B2	Semiconductor devices and packages having through electrodes A semiconductor device includes a substrate having a first surface and a second surface that are opposite to each other, a plurality of through electrodes penetrating the substrate and extending from the first surface to the second surface, front-side bumps disposed on the first surface and connected to odd-numbered through electrodes among the plurality of through electrodes, and backside bumps disposed on the second surface and connected to even-numbered through electrodes among the plurality of through electrodes. Related semiconductor packages, fabrication methods, electronic systems and memory cards are also provided.
US09368478B2	Microelectronic package and method of manufacture thereof A microelectronic assembly may include a substrate having an opening extending between first and second oppositely facing surfaces of the substrate, the opening elongated in a first direction; and at least one microelectronic element having a front face facing and attached to the first surface of the substrate and a plurality of contacts at the front face overlying the opening, the microelectronic element having first and second opposite peripheral edges extending away from the front face. The first peripheral edge extends beyond, or is aligned in the first direction with, an inner edge of the opening, and the opening extends beyond the second peripheral edge.
US09368470B2	Coated bonding wire and methods for bonding using same A semiconductor device includes a bond formed on a bond pad. The bond is formed of a wire that includes a central core of conductive metal, a first coating over the central core of conductive metal that is more chemically active than the conductive metal, and a second coating over the central core of conductive metal that is less chemically active than the central core of conductive metal.
US09368469B2	Electronic component package and method of manufacturing same There is provided a method for manufacturing an electronic component package. The method includes the steps: (i) disposing a metal pattern layer on an adhesive carrier; (ii) placing at least one kind of electronic component on the adhesive carrier, the placed electronic component being not overlapped with respect to the metal pattern layer; (iii) forming a sealing resin layer on the adhesive carrier, and thereby producing a precursor of the electronic component package; (iv) peeling off the adhesive carrier of the precursor, whereby the metal pattern layer and an electrode of the electronic component are exposed at the surface of the sealing resin layer; and (v) forming a metal plating layer such that the metal plating layer is in contact with the exposed surface of the metal pattern layer and the exposed surface of the electrode of the electronic component.
US09368465B2	Method of forming bump pad structure having buffer pattern The method includes forming an upper layer on a lower layer, forming a metal interconnection in the upper layer, forming a passivation layer exposing a center part of the metal interconnection on the upper layer, forming a buffer pattern exposing the center part of the metal interconnection, and selectively and asymmetrically covering a peripheral region of the metal interconnect and a part of the passivation layer, forming a wrapping pattern covering the buffer pattern and exposing the center part of the metal interconnection on the passivation layer, and forming a pad pattern on the center part of the metal interconnection.
US09368463B2	Semiconductor device Technique capable of achieving reliability improvement of a semiconductor device even if temperature rising of an operation guarantee temperature of the semiconductor device is performed is provided. Gap portions are provided among a plurality of pads, and a glass coat composed of, for example, a silicon oxide film or a silicon nitride film is embedded in the gap portions. The glass coat is provided in order to secure electrical insulation among the pads, and coats outer edge portions of the pads. Trenches are formed so as to be adjacent to regions, which are coated with the glass coat, of the outer edge portions of the pads.
US09368462B2	Methods and apparatus of packaging semiconductor devices Methods and apparatuses for wafer level packaging (WLP) of semiconductor devices are disclosed. A contact pad of a circuit may be connected to a solder bump by way of a post passivation interconnect (PPI) line and a PPI pad. The PPI pad may comprise a hollow part and an opening. The PPI pad may be formed together with the PPI line as one piece. The hollow part of the PPI pad can function to control the amount of solder flux used in the ball mounting process so that any extra amount of solder flux can escape from an opening of the solid part of the PPI pad. A solder ball can be mounted to the PPI pad directly without using any under bump metal (UBM) as a normal WLP package would need.
US09368459B2	Semiconductor chip with seal ring and sacrificial corner pattern A semiconductor device including a low dielectric constant film of which the relative dielectric constant is less than 3.5, is provided with one or more seal rings that are moisture blocking walls forming a closed loop in a plan view, and where at least one of the seal rings includes a seal ring protrusion portion in inward protruding form in the vicinity of a chip corner.
US09368456B2	Semiconductor package having EMI shielding and method of fabricating the same A semiconductor package includes a dielectric layer in which a chip is embedded, interconnection parts disposed on a first surface of the dielectric layer, through connectors each of which penetrates a portion of the dielectric layer over the chip to electrically couple the chip to a corresponding one of the interconnection parts, a shielding plate covering a second surface of the dielectric layer that is opposite to the first surface, and a shielding encapsulation part connected to one of the interconnection parts and covering sidewalls of the dielectric layer. The shielding encapsulation part includes a portion contacting the shielding plate.
US09368455B2	Electromagnetic interference shield for semiconductor chip packages An electromagnetic interference shield is described for semiconductor chip packages. In some embodiments, a package has a semiconductor die. a redistribution layer, a mold compound over the die, a plurality of vias through the mold compound and outside the die to form a shield, and a metal film over the vias. and over the mold compound.
US09368454B2	Semiconductor device with shielding layer in post-passivation interconnect structure A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a dielectric layer, a passivation layer, a protective layer, a post-passivation interconnect (PPI) structure, and a shielding layer. The semiconductor substrate has electrical circuitry. The dielectric layer is formed on the semiconductor substrate. The passivation layer is formed on the dielectric layer. The first protective layer is formed on the passivation layer. The PPI structure is disposed on the first protective layer and has a signal line and a ground line. The shielding layer is disposed over the semiconductor substrate and between the signal line and the electrical circuitry. The shielding layer is substantially equi-potentially connected to the ground line of the PPI structure.
US09368452B2	Metal conductor chemical mechanical polish The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor device, a semiconductor device fabricated by such a method, and a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) tool for performing such a method. In one embodiment, a method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes providing an integrated circuit (IC) wafer including a metal conductor in a trench of a dielectric layer over a substrate, and performing a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process to planarize the metal conductor and the dielectric layer. The method further includes cleaning the planarized metal conductor and dielectric layer to remove residue from the CMP process, rinsing the cleaned metal conductor and dielectric layer with an alcohol, and drying the rinsed metal conductor and dielectric layer in an inert gas environment.
US09368450B1	Integrated device package comprising bridge in litho-etchable layer An integrated device package includes a first die, a second die, an encapsulation portion coupled to the first die and the second die, and a redistribution portion coupled to the encapsulation portion. The encapsulation portion includes an encapsulation layer, a bridge, and a first via. The bridge is at least partially embedded in the encapsulation layer. The bridge is configured to provide a first electrical path for a first signal between the first die and the second die. The first via is in the encapsulation layer. The first via is coupled to the bridge. The first via and the bridge are configured to provide a second electrical path for a second signal to the first die. The redistribution portion includes at least one dielectric layer, and at least one interconnect, in the dielectric layer, coupled to the first via.
US09368447B2	Electronic device and method for production An electronic device and method for production is disclosed. One embodiment provides an integrated component having a first layer which is composed of copper or a copper alloy or which contains copper or a copper alloy, and having an electrically conductive second layer, whose material differs from the material of the first layer, and a connection apparatus which is arranged on the first layer and on the second layer.
US09368440B1	Embedded coaxial wire and method of manufacture A method of manufacturing an integrated circuit package substrate is disclosed. The method may include forming a hole through a substrate layer in the package substrate. The method also includes inserting a prefabricated coaxial wire segment into the hole. The prefabricated coaxial wire segment may include a signal conductor, a ground conductor that surrounds the signal conductor, and dielectric material interposed between the signal conductor and the ground conductor. Furthermore, an integrated circuit package is also disclosed.
US09368439B2	Substrate build up layer to achieve both finer design rule and better package coplanarity Embodiments of the invention generally relate to package substrates for integrated circuits. The package substrates each include a core having electrically conductive vias therethrough. Build-up layers formed from dielectric materials having different compositions are disposed around the core and include interconnects formed therein for facilitating electrical connections between integrated circuits coupled to the package substrate. The dielectric materials are selected to allow finer interconnect geometries where desired, and to increase the rigidity, and thus planarity, of the package substrate. Exemplary dielectric materials include pre-impregnated composite fibers for increasing the rigidity of a package substrate, and Ajinomoto Build-up Film for allowing the formation finer interconnect geometries.
US09368438B2	Package on package (PoP) bonding structures Various embodiments of mechanisms for forming through package vias (TPVs) with multiple conductive layers and/or recesses in a die package and a package on package (PoP) device with bonding structures utilizing the TPVs are provided. One of the multiple conductive layers acts as a protective layer of the main conductive layer of the TPVs. The protective layer is less likely to oxidize and also has a slower formation rate of intermetallic compound (IMC) when exposed to solder. The recesses in TPVs of a die package are filled by solder from the other die package and the IMC layer formed is below the surface of TPVs, which strengthen the bonding structures.
US09368436B2	Source down semiconductor devices and methods of formation thereof A method for forming a semiconductor device includes forming device regions in a semiconductor substrate having a first side and a second side. The device regions are formed adjacent the first side. The method further includes forming a seed layer over the first side of the semiconductor substrate, and forming a patterned resist layer over the seed layer. A contact pad is formed over the seed layer within the patterned resist layer. The method further includes removing the patterned resist layer after forming the contact pad to expose a portion of the seed layer underlying the patterned resist layer, and forming a protective layer over the exposed portion of the seed layer.
US09368430B2	Semiconductor device and semiconductor device fabrication method A multilayer wiring in a semiconductor device includes a first lower wiring formed in a first insulating layer, a via which is formed in a second insulating layer over the first insulating layer and which is connected to the first lower wiring, and an upper wiring connected to the via. The upper wiring has an outer edge at which a nick portion is formed beside a portion of the upper wiring to which the via is connected. The formation of the nick portion at the outer edge of the upper wiring prevents the via from enlarging.
US09368428B2	Dielectric wafer level bonding with conductive feed-throughs for electrical connection and thermal management A method for fabricating semiconductor and electronic devices at the wafer level is described. In this method, dielectric material is used to wafer bond a device wafer to a submount wafer, after which vias can be structured into the submount wafer and dielectric bonding material to access contact pads on the bonded surface of the device wafer. The vias may subsequently be filled with electrically and thermally conducting material to provide electrical contacts to the device and improve the thermal properties of the finished device, respectively. The post-bonding process described provides a method for fabricating a variety of electronic and semiconductor devices, particularly light emitting diodes with electrical contacts at the bottom of the chip.
US09368424B2	Method of fabricating a semiconductor device used in a stacked-type semiconductor device A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes the steps of providing a heat-resistant sheet on an interposer so as to cover electrode terminals provided on the interposer, and sealing a semiconductor chip on the interposer sandwiched between molds with a sealing material. The electrode terminals are covered by the heat-resistant resin for protection, and the semiconductor chip is then sealed with resin. It is thus possible to avoid the problem in which contaminations adhere to the electrode terminals. This makes it possible to prevent the occurrence of resin burrs on the interposer and contamination of the electrode pads and to improve the production yield.
US09368421B2	Under-fill material and method for producing semiconductor device The present invention provides an under-fill material with which a semiconductor device having a high connection reliability can be provided while securing a usable material by reducing a difference in thermal-responsive behavior between a semiconductor element and an adherend, and a method for producing a semiconductor device using the under-fill material. In the under-fill material of the present invention, a storage elastic modulus E′ [MPa] and a thermal expansion coefficient α [ppm/K] after carrying out a heat-curing treatment at 175° C. for an hour satisfy the following formula (1) at 25° C.: E′×α<250000 [Pa/K] (1).
US09368418B2	Copper wiring structure forming method In a Cu wiring structure forming method, a barrier film serving as a Cu diffusion barrier is formed at least on a surface of a recess in a first insulating film formed on a substrate, and the recess is filled with an Al-containing Cu film. A Cu wiring is formed from the Al-containing Cu film, and a cap layer including a Ru film is formed on the Cu wiring. Further, an interface layer containing a Ru—Al alloy is formed at an interface between the Cu wiring and the cap layer by heat generated in forming the cap layer or by a heat treatment performed after forming the cap layer. A second insulating film is formed on the cap layer.
US09368407B2	Crack control for substrate separation A method for separating a layer for transfer includes forming a crack guiding layer on a substrate and forming a device layer on the crack-guiding layer. The crack guiding layer is weakened by exposing the crack-guiding layer to a gas which reduces adherence at interfaces adjacent to the crack guiding layer. A stress inducing layer is formed on the device layer to assist in initiating a crack through the crack guiding layer and/or the interfaces. The device layer is removed from the substrate by propagating the crack.
US09368400B2	Formation of a masking layer on a dielectric region to facilitate formation of a capping layer on electrically conductive regions separated by the dielectric region A masking layer is formed on a dielectric region of an electronic device so that, during subsequent formation of a capping layer on electrically conductive regions of the electronic device that are separated by the dielectric region, the masking layer inhibits formation of capping layer material on or in the dielectric region. The capping layer can be formed selectively on the electrically conductive regions or non-selectively; in either case, capping layer material formed over the dielectric region can subsequently be removed, thus ensuring that capping layer material is formed only on the electrically conductive regions. Silane-based materials, can be used to form the masking layer. The capping layer can be formed of an conductive material, a semiconductor material, or an insulative material, and can be formed using any appropriate process, including conventional deposition processes such as electroless deposition, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition or atomic layer deposition.
US09368395B1	Self-aligned via and air gap Provided are approaches for forming a self-aligned via and an air gap within a semiconductor device. Specifically, one approach produces a device having: a first metal line beneath a second metal line within an ultra low-k (ULK) dielectric, the first metal line connected to the second metal line by a first via; a dielectric capping layer formed over the second metal line; a third metal line within first and second via openings formed within a ULK fill material formed over the dielectric capping layer, wherein the third metal line within the first via opening extends to a top surface of the dielectric capping layer, and wherein the third metal line within the second via opening is connected to the second metal by a second via passing through the dielectric capping layer; and an air gap formed between the third metal line within the first and seconds via openings.
US09368393B2	Line-edge roughness improvement for small pitches A method for mitigating line-edge roughness on a semiconductor device. The method includes line-edge roughness mitigation techniques in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The techniques include: reducing the SiON film thickness below a conventional thickness; increasing the photoresist thickness above a conventional thickness; etching the SiON film with an etch bias power less than a conventional wattage amount with an overetch percentage less than a conventional overetch percentage; removing the SiON film layer immediately after completion of the amorphous carbon film layer etching; and lowering the lower electrode temperature below a conventional temperature.
US09368389B2	Semiconductor device with voids within silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure and method of forming the semiconductor device A semiconductor device with voids within a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure and a method of forming the semiconductor device are provided. Voids are formed within a Buried Oxide layer (BOX layer) of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) semiconductor to enhance a performance index of an RF-SOI switch. The semiconductor device with voids within a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure includes a semiconductor substrate; an insulating layer disposed on the substrate; a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) layer disposed on the insulating layer; a device isolation layer and an active area disposed within the SOI layer; one or more voids disposed within the insulating layer; and a sealing insulating sealing an opening of the void.
US09368388B2	Apparatus for FinFETs A FinFET comprises an isolation region formed in a substrate, a reverse T-shaped fin formed in the substrate, wherein a bottom portion of the reverse T-shaped fin is enclosed by the isolation region and an upper portion of the reverse T-shaped fin protrudes above a top surface of the isolation region. The FinFET further comprises a gate electrode wrapping the reverse T-shaped fin.
US09368387B2	Method of forming shallow trench isolation structure A method of forming a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure in a substrate includes forming a pad oxide layer over the substrate. The method includes forming a nitride-containing layer over the pad oxide layer, wherein the nitride-containing layer has a first thickness. The method further includes forming the STI structure extending through the nitride-containing layer, into the substrate. The STI structure has a height above a top surface of the pad oxide layer. The method includes establishing a correlation between the first thickness, the height of the STI structure above the top surface of the pad oxide layer, and an offset between the first thickness and the height of the STI structure above the top surface of the pad oxide layer. The method includes calculating the height of the STI structure above the pad oxide layer based on the correlation, and selectively removing a determined thickness of the STI structure.
US09368384B2	Substrate conveying method, recording medium in which program is recorded for causing substrate conveying method to be executed, and substrate conveyor A substrate conveying method conveying a layered body having first and second substrates stacked with a spacer member provided between their respective bottom surfaces facing each other includes receiving the first substrate by holding the first substrate from below its bottom surface using a first holding mechanism provided on a side of a first fork provided above a second fork, and turning the first fork upside down and placing the received first substrate on the second fork; receiving the spacer member held in a substrate holding part by holding the spacer member from above using a second holding mechanism provided on the same side of the first fork as the first holding mechanism, and placing the received spacer member on the first substrate; and holding the second substrate from above its top surface using the first holding mechanism, and placing the received second substrate on the spacer member.
US09368375B2	Apparatus and method for self-aligning chip placement and leveling An approach is provided for aligning and leveling a chip package portion. The approach involves filling, at least partially, a reservoir formed between a first sidewall portion having a first slanted surface and a second sidewall portion having a second slanted surface with a fluid. The approach also involves placing a chip package portion into the reservoir. The approach further involves draining the fluid from the reservoir to cause the chip package portion to align with respect to a center of the reservoir. The chip package portion aligns with respect to the center of the reservoir and levels based on a relationship between the chip package portion, an angle of the first slanted surface, an angle of the second slanted surface, and the fluid. The chip package portion is secured in the aligned and leveled state by a molding compound.
US09368374B2	Method of manufacturing semiconductor device A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device is provided. The method includes placing a semiconductor chip by flip-chip mounting on a substrate by using an insulating resin adhesive film (NCF) and preventing overflow of the NCF and the intervention of an insulating resin or an inorganic filler between a bump and an electrode during hot pressing. The method also includes temporarily affixing an NCF of a size that is substantially 60 to 100% the area of a region enclosed with a plurality of bumps of the semiconductor chip arranged in a peripheral alignment, and having a minimum melt viscosity of 2×102 to 1×105 Pa·s, to the region enclosed with a plurality of electrodes of the substrate corresponding to the bumps, and aligning the semiconductor chip and the substrate with each other such that the bumps and the electrodes corresponding thereto are opposed to each other.
US09368364B2	Silicon etch process with tunable selectivity to SiO2 and other materials A tunable plasma etch process includes generating a plasma in a controlled flow of a source gas including NH3 and NF3 to form a stream of plasma products, controlling a flow of un-activated NH3 that is added to the stream of plasma products to form an etch gas stream; and controlling pressure of the etch gas stream by adjusting at least one of the controlled flow of the source gas and the flow of un-activated NH3 until the pressure is within a tolerance of a desired pressure. An etch rate of at least one of polysilicon and silicon dioxide by the etch gas stream is adjustable by varying a ratio of the controlled flow of the source gas to the flow of un-activated NH3.
US09368361B2	Method of making a semiconductor device In one embodiment, a method for forming an electronic device includes providing a substrate having a plurality of electronic devices formed therein, forming a protective layer over a major surface of the substrate containing the plurality of electronic devices, forming a mold layer over the protective layer, thinning a major surface of the substrate opposite to the major surface containing the plurality of electronic devices, and removing the adhesive layer and the mold layer. In another embodiment, a zone coating layer can be included between the protective layer and the mold layer.
US09368356B2	Method for fabricating electronic devices having semiconductor memory unit Devices and methods based on disclosed technology include, among others, an electronic device including silicide layers capable of effectively reducing contact resistance in the electronic device including buried gates and a method for fabricating the electronic device. Specifically, an electronic device in one implementation includes a plurality of buried gates formed in a substrate and silicide layers formed over the substrate between the buried gates and protruding upwardly from the buried gates.
US09368355B2	System and method for mitigating oxide growth in a gate dielectric Oxide growth of a gate dielectric layer that occurs between processes used in the fabrication of a gate dielectric structure can be reduced. The reduction in oxide growth can be achieved by maintaining the gate dielectric layer in an ambient effective to mitigate oxide growth of the gate dielectric layer between at least two sequential process steps used in the fabrication the gate dielectric structure. Maintaining the gate dielectric layer in an ambient effective to mitigate oxide growth also improves the uniformity of nitrogen implanted in the gate dielectric.
US09368354B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same To improve the reliability of a semiconductor device. In particular, the reading of incorrect information from a memory cell is suppressed. A first low-concentration region is formed in a well, and is located under a side wall insulating film in a planar view. The first low-concentration region has a second conductivity type, and the second conductivity-type impurity concentration is lower than the impurity concentration in a drain. A second low-concentration region is formed in the well, and is located under a spacer insulating film in a planar view. In addition, a second conductivity type impurity concentration in the second low-concentration region is lower than the second conductivity-type impurity concentration in the first low-concentration region, and is higher than the second conductivity-type impurity concentration in a portion located under the insulating film of the well.
US09368346B2	Method of fabricating zinc oxide nanostructures using liquid masking layer A method of preparing zinc oxide nanostructures using a liquid masking layer is disclosed. The method includes preparing a substrate having a zinc oxide seed layer formed thereon; loading the substrate in a reactor in which a lower liquid masking layer, a precursor liquid layer for hydrothermal growth, and an upper liquid masking layer are disposed in order; and forming zinc oxide nanostructures in a pattern on the substrate through hydrothermal growth by heating the precursor liquid layer for hydrothermal growth.
US09368340B2	Metallization of the wafer edge for optimized electroplating performance on resistive substrates A method for electroplating a substrate is provided, including: providing a substrate having a conductive layer disposed on a top surface of the substrate, the top surface of the substrate having an edge exclusion region and a process region; directing a flow of an electroless deposition solution toward the edge exclusion region while the substrate is rotated, to plate metallic material over the conductive layer at the edge exclusion region; continuing the flow of the electroless deposition solution for a period of time to produce an increased thickness of the metallic material at the edge exclusion region, wherein the increased thickness of the metallic material reduces electrical resistance of the metallic material at the edge exclusion region; applying electrical contacts over the metallic material, and applying electrical current to the metallic material via the electrical contacts while an electroplating solution is applied over the process region of the substrate.
US09368338B2	Gas discharge lamp with an axially extending strip of getter and method of manufacture A gas discharge lamp, photoionization sensor employing the gas discharge lamp, and method of manufacturing the lamp. The lamp includes a longitudinally extending strip of getter within the housing.The method of manufacture includes the steps of (i) obtaining a glass tube, (ii) constricting the tube intermediate the longitudinal ends to divide the bore into first and second chambers in fluid communication with one another through a passageway in the constriction, (iii) attaching an ultraviolet transparent window over the open end of the first chamber, (iv) inserting a strip of getter into the first chamber through the passageway in the constriction, (v) purging the first chamber with a noble gas, and (vi) heating the tube at the constriction to detach the first chamber from the second chamber and seal the constricted end of the first chamber.
US09368334B2	Collision cells and methods of using them Certain embodiments described herein are directed to collision cells that comprise one or more integrated lenses. In some examples, a lens is coupled to two sections of a sectioned quadrature rod assembly, the lens comprising an aperture and a plurality of separate conductive elements disposed each one side of the lens, in which a respective disposed conductive element on one side of the lens is configured to electrically couple to a first, second, third, and fourth pole segments of the sectioned quadrature rod assembly.
US09368332B2	Microchannel plate devices with tunable resistive films A microchannel plate includes a substrate defining a plurality of channels extending from a top surface of the substrate to a bottom surface of the substrate. A resistive layer is formed over an outer surface of the plurality of channels that provides ohmic conduction with a predetermined resistivity that is substantially constant. An emissive layer is formed over the resistive layer. A top electrode is positioned on the top surface of the substrate. A bottom electrode positioned on the bottom surface of the substrate.
US09368327B2	High-energy ion implanter A high-energy ion implanter includes: a beam generation unit that includes an ion source and a mass analyzer; a high-energy multi-stage linear acceleration unit that accelerates an ion beam so as to generate a high-energy ion beam; a high-energy beam deflection unit that changes the direction of the high-energy ion beam toward the wafer; and a beam transportation unit that transports the deflected high-energy ion beam to the wafer. The deflection unit is configured by a plurality of deflection electromagnets, and at least a horizontal focusing element is inserted between the plurality of deflection electromagnets.
US09368324B2	Measurement and inspection device The present invention relates to a measurement and inspection device of a scanning-type electron beam system, and provides a technique for achieving a measuring/inspecting process with high precision in accordance with a scanning speed. A secondary electron signal detection system in the present measurement and inspection device is suitably applicable to a scanning control with a plurality of scanning speeds, and the device is provided with a detector 107 for detecting a secondary electron signal (SE) derived from an irradiation onto a sample 110 with an electron beam by a scanning control process, a preamplifier 30 for current-to-voltage converting and pre-amplifying the output, an analog signal processing and amplifying unit 51 to which the output of the preamplifier 30 is inputted to carry out an analog processing and amplifying process thereon as a secondary electron signal detection unit 50, an ADC 52 for analog-to-digital converting the output thereof, and an image processing unit 205 for generating an image for use in measurements or inspections based upon the output. A control unit 210 carries out a switching control of respective units including an LPF (12) inside the analog signal processing and amplifying unit 51, in accordance with a scanning speed or the like.
US09368320B2	Stage apparatus, and charged particle beam apparatus using same The purpose of the present invention is to provide a stage apparatus that effectively suppresses the transmission of heat generated by a drive mechanism to a sample, and a charged particle beam apparatus using the same. In order to achieve the purpose, there are proposed a stage apparatus and a charged particle beam apparatus. The stage apparatus comprises a table; a drive source that drives the table in a predetermined direction; a first connection member provided between the table and the drive source; a second connection member provided between the table and the drive source and closer to the drive source than the first member; a slide unit supported by the second connection member; and a rail guiding the slide unit in a predetermined direction, the first connection member comprising a member having a relatively low heat conductivity with respect to the second connection member.
US09368318B2	Rotary X-ray anode A rotary X-ray anode has a support body and a focal track formed on the support body. The support body and the focal track are produced as a composite by powder metallurgy. The support body is formed from molybdenum or a molybdenum-based alloy and the focal track is formed from tungsten or a tungsten-based alloy. Here, in the conclusively heat-treated rotary X-ray anode, at least one portion of the focal track is located in a non-recrystallized and/or in a partially recrystallized structure.
US09368317B2	Balancing of a rotating anode A rotating anode disk is balanced in a state where the rotating anode disk is mounted inside an X-ray tube. An adjustment device (54) balances the rotating anode disk in an operating state. The adjustment device includes at least a first plurality (72) of balancing elements (74) which are attached to at least one circular ring structure (76). The balancing elements each include a balancing portion (80) mounted to the circular ring structure via a bending portion (82). The bending portions are configured to be heated to a bending temperature to allow a radial pivoting movement (84) of the balancing portion from a first state (86) into a second state (88) caused by centrifugal forces upon rotation. A center of mass of the balancing portion is closer to a center (90) of the circular ring structure in a first state than the second state.
US09368313B1	Electronic amplifier device An integrated pressurized electronic power amplifier circuit including a plasma cathode structure and beam focusing approach leading to an electron beam, an interaction region; an input signal line for conducting an input signal into the interaction region; an output signal line for conducting an output signal from the interaction region; a collector for the electron beam; and an envelope for maintaining a pressurized ambient and a substrate for selected spatial alignment and thermal management; and wherein the plasma cathode structure generates a plasma as a source of electrons. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
US09368308B2	Fuse in chip design In order to produce a cost-effective fuse in chip design, which is applied to a carrier substrate made of a Al2O3 ceramic having a high thermal conductivity, and which is provided with a fusible metallic conductor and a cover layer, in which the melting point of the metallic conductor may be defined reliably, it is suggested that an intermediate layer having low thermal conductivity be positioned between the carrier substrate and the metallic conductor, the intermediate layer being formed by a low-melting-point inorganic glass paste applied in the screen-printing method or an organic intermediate layer applied in island printing. Furthermore, a method for manufacturing the fuse is specified.
US09368307B2	Single-channel safety output A safety switching device for fail-safely switching on and off an electrical load, and to a system comprising at least two safety switching devices which interact in a fail-safe manner via a single-channel. The safety switching device comprises a fail-safe control unit, a first and a second electronic switching element connected with a first and a second output terminal; and at least one input terminal for receiving a first switching signal that causes a switching of said switching elements. Said first and second switching elements each comprise an output which provides depending on the first switching signal an output signal having a first or second potential. A third output terminal connects said safety switching device to a second safety switching device, providing a clocked signal depending on the first switching signal and being monitored by said control unit for performing a cross fault detection.
US09368306B2	Configurable multi-pole relay In some aspects, a configurable multi-pole relay system is provided. The configurable multi-pole relay system can include a first relay module, a second relay module, and a connecting structure. The first relay module can include a first switch that can be electrically connected to a first electrical circuit. The second relay module can include a second switch that can be electrically connected to a second electrical circuit. The connecting structure can include first and second physical connectors. The first physical connector can be attached to a first interlocking portion of the first relay module. The second physical connector can be attached to a second interlocking portion of the second relay module.
US09368305B2	Instant trip device of circuit breaker An instant trip device of a circuit breaker comprises a magnet; a supporter; an armature provided between the magnet and the supporter and including a rotation center portion and a rotating part is disposed to be rotatable with respect to the rotation center portion; and an armature spring configured to apply an elastic force in a direction where the rotating part of the armature becomes farther away from the magnet, wherein a groove of which one side is opened is formed at the supporter to support the rotation center portion, wherein a boss is formed at the rotation center portion to be inserted into the groove, and wherein the armature spring is an extension spring in which one end of the armature spring is supported by a first hanger included in the supporter, and the other end is supported by a second hanger included in the rotating part.
US09368304B2	Polarized electromagnetic relay and method for production thereof A polarized relay comprising an electromagnet, a two-pole or three-pole permanent magnet, an armature, and switches, which are mounted in and on a shelf-like support component. The support component accommodates magnetic flux pieces and the permanent magnet in an upper cavity, and the permanent magnet is magnetized while the electromagnet is still outside the support component. Subsequently, the electromagnet is inserted into lower cavity of the support component and the rest of the components of the relay are mounted.
US09368303B2	Electrical cord reel with control system to limit overheating In an electrical cord reel, a rotatable member can rotate about a winding axis to spool and unspool a linear material. An input power connector can couple to an electrical power source. An output power connector on the rotatable member can couple to an electrical cord at least partially wound about the rotatable member. A switch is adjustable to allow or prevent electrical current flow from the input power connector to the output power connector. One or more temperature sensors detect temperature inside a housing enclosing the rotatable member, output power connector, and a fan. A control system activates the fan if the detected temperature rises from a level below a fan-activation threshold to a level above the fan-activation threshold but below a power shut-off threshold. The control system moves the switch to an open position if the detected temperature is greater than or equal to the power shut-off threshold.
US09368302B2	Double pole-double throw proximity switch Proximity switches include a hermetically sealed unit that can be used in harsh environments and under significant pressures, such as underwater and in nuclear power facilities, without having any parts that would require replacement or periodic maintenance. The proximity switches are preferably switches actuated by physical movement of a contact in response to changing magnetic forces. The switches are preferably disposed in a body tube optionally including a hermetic seal assembly to seal an open end of the body tube and/or a ferrule that prevents electrical wires attached to the switch inside the body tube from being pulled away from the switch. Further, the switches preferably maintain a contact pressure between electrical contacts sufficient to withstand acceleration seismic testing of 10 g with no contact discontinuity.
US09368300B2	Systems and methods for lighting spring loaded mechanical key switches Systems and methods are disclosed that may be implemented to provide keycap lighting to a spring loaded mechanical key switch assembly using a light conductive structure, such as a light pipe, and without requiring a chassis housing of the mechanical key switch assembly to include a dedicated power-consuming light source mounted to or otherwise positioned at the location of the individual key switch assembly chassis housing. Additionally, the disclosed systems and methods may be implemented to use one or more common power-consuming light source/s to simultaneously provide key cap lighting to multiple such spring loaded mechanical key switch assemblies, for example, by feeding light to each key cap though a common light spreader and through an individual non-power consuming light pipe provided for each key switch assembly.
US09368293B2	Separator for power storage device and power storage device Provide is a separator for a power storage device, which reliably prevents short circuits between positive and negative electrode layers while maintaining the permeating ions function, and effectively suppresses shrinkage, and a power storage device using the separator. The separator is composed of a composite material including inorganic microparticles and an organic binder, the composite material has a pigment volume concentration of 55% or more, and the inorganic microparticles have an average particle size in the range of 0.2 to 3.0 μm, and a general particle shape index in the range of 0.50 to 0.85. The composite material can have a pigment volume concentration in the range of 55 to 80%, or 55 to 65%.
US09368290B2	Charge storage device, method of making same, method of making an electrically conductive structure for same, mobile electronic device using same, and microelectronic device containing same In one embodiment a charge storage device includes first (110) and second (120) electrically conductive structures separated from each other by a separator (130). At least one of the first and second electrically conductive structures includes a porous structure containing multiple channels (111, 121). Each one of the channels has an opening (112, 122) to a surface (115, 125) of the porous structure. In another embodiment the charge storage device includes multiple nanostructures (610) and an electrolyte (650) in physical contact with at least some of the nanostructures. A material (615) having a dielectric constant of at least 3.9 may be located between the electrolyte and the nanostructures.
US09368289B2	Three dimensional dye-sensitized solar cells with nanoscale architectures Techniques, apparatus, materials and systems are described for providing solar cells. In one aspect, an apparatus includes a high efficiency dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The DSSC includes three-dimensional nanostructured electrodes. The three-dimensional nanostructured electrodes can include a cathode; an electrolyte; and anode that includes TiO2 nanotubes arranged in a three-dimensional structure; and a photosensitive dye coated on the anode.
US09368282B2	Multilayer ceramic capacitor, manufacturing method thereof, and board having the same mounted thereon A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a ceramic body including dielectric layers and internal electrodes; an electrode layer disposed on an outer surface of the ceramic body and electrically connected to the internal electrodes; a first composite resin layer disposed on the electrode layer and including a first conductive powder; and a second composite resin layer disposed on the first composite resin layer and including a second conductive powder different from the first conductive powder.
US09368281B2	Laminated ceramic electronic component In a laminated ceramic capacitor, a cylindrical ceramic part of its ceramics includes, in a manner not exposed to the surface of the ceramics, a cylinder-shaped high-void-ratio part which has a void ratio higher than the void ratio in the cylindrical ceramic part other than the high-void-ratio part and which has two layered parts facing the left and right sides of each layered conductor, respectively, as well as two layered parts facing the outer surfaces of the two outermost layered conductors, respectively. The laminated ceramic electronic component inhibits cracking of its sintered chip.
US09368280B2	Multi-layered capacitor and circuit board mounted with multi-layered capacitor Disclosed herein is a multi-layered capacitor, including: an element formed by alternately multi-layering a dielectric layer and an internal electrode; and external terminals disposed at both ends of the element, wherein the dielectric layer disposed at an upper end U and a lower end L of the element is formed of a paraelectric material and the dielectric layer disposed at a central part C of the element is formed of a ferroelectric material.
US09368279B2	Electronic part An electronic part that includes an electronic part main body and an external electrode on the surface of the electronic part main body. The external electrode includes at least one alloy layer selected from among a Cu—Ni alloy layer and a Cu—Mn alloy layer, and a Sn-containing layer on the outer side of the alloy layer. The Sn-containing layer is the outermost layer of the external electrode. The Sn-containing layer is in contact with the alloy layer.
US09368276B2	Method for producing R-T-B-based sintered magnets A method for producing a sintered R-T-B based magnet includes the steps of: providing a sintered R-T-B based magnet body 1; providing an RH diffusion source including a heavy rare-earth element RH (which is at least one of Dy and Tb) and 30 mass % to 80 mass % of Fe; loading the sintered R-T-B based magnet body 1 and the RH diffusion source 2 into a processing chamber 3 so that the magnet body 1 and the diffusion source 2 are movable relative to each other and are readily brought close to, or in contact with, each other; and performing an RH diffusion process in which the sintered magnet body 1 and the RH diffusion source 2 are heated to a processing temperature of more than 850° C. through 1000° C. while being moved either continuously or discontinuously in the processing chamber.
US09368274B2	Resonance-based wireless power transfer system A wireless power transfer system including a driver coil array, a hexagonally-packed transmitter mat, a receiver coil, and a load coil for powering a medical implant. The magnetically coupled resonance between two isolated parts is established by an array of primary coils and a single small secondary coil to create a transcutaneous power link for implanted devices as moving targets. The primary isolated part includes a driver coil array magnetically coupled to a mat of hexagonally packed primary coils. Power is injected by the driver coils into the transmitter coils in the transmitter mat to maintain resonance in the presence of losses and power drawn by the receiver coil from the magnetic field. The implanted secondary isolated part includes a receiver coil magnetically coupled to a load coil. A rectification/filter system is connected to the load coil supplying DC power to the electronic circuits of the implant.
US09368271B2	Three-dimension symmetrical vertical transformer First and second paths of the primary-coil of the transformer are located at different sides of the symmetry-line. First terminals of the first and second paths are first and second ports of the primary-coil. Second terminals of the first and second paths are connected to each other. Two partial paths of the first path are connected to each other by TSV. Two partial paths of the second path are connected to each other by TSV. Third and fourth paths of the secondary-coil of the transformer are located on different sides of the symmetry-line. First terminals of the third and fourth paths are first and second ports of the secondary-coil. Second terminals of the third and fourth paths are connected to each other. Two partial paths of the third path are connected to each other by TSV. Two partial paths of the fourth path are connected to each other by TSV.
US09368267B2	Dynamically biased inductor An inductor apparatus includes an inductor winding, a core defining a magnetic circuit for a magnetic flux generated by a current flowing through the inductor winding, at least one permanent magnet magnetically biasing the core by its permanent magnetization, and a magnetization device operable for adjusting a desired magnetization of the permanent magnet. The at least one permanent magnet is arranged within the magnetic circuit of the magnetic flux generated by the current flowing through the inductor winding. The magnetization device includes a magnetization winding and a circuitry configured to subject the magnetization winding to magnetization current pulses, thereby generating at a location of the permanent magnet a magnetic field which is able to change the permanent magnetization of the permanent magnet.
US09368264B2	Magnet keeper assembly and related method A magnet assembly (200) is provided that comprises a magnet keeper (204) configured to hold at least one magnet (202). The bracket (208) is configured to receive the magnet keeper (204) and also configured to be attachable to a flowmeter (5) sensor assembly (10). A first surface (216) is formed on the magnet keeper (204), and a second surface (218) is formed on the bracket (208), wherein the first and second surfaces (216, 218) are configured to mate so to provide a radial alignment of the magnet keeper (204) that is within a predefined radial tolerance range.
US09368259B2	Terminal treatment method for a coaxial cable A terminal treatment method for a coaxial cable including a core member having an inner conductor covered with an insulator, an outer conductor provided around the core member and formed of a plurality of wires, and a sheath covering an outer circumference of the outer conductor, includes exposing the outer conductor by removing the sheath on an end portion of the outer conductor, and widening a terminal of the outer conductor away from the core member by compressing a terminal-near portion of the exposed outer conductor from an outer circumferential side of the coaxial cable to deform the terminal-near portion of the exposed outer conductor.
US09368256B2	Tubular cover A tubular cover is obtained by causing a fabric woven from a warp and weft to be imparted with a curl by a heat treatment, wherein the tubular cover is characterized in that the warp and/or the weft are folded yarns created by twisting together multiple strands of yarn that have already been twisted in either an S- or Z-winding-direction, the winding direction of the twisting when the folded yarn is created being the opposite of the yarn-winding direction.
US09368250B2	Nanoink composition Disclosed is a nanoink composition which can impart electrical conductivity to a surface-protecting ligand layer of an inorganic nanoparticle and does not require any post-treatment such as the removal of ligands. Specifically disclosed is a nanoink composition comprising inorganic nanoparticles (1) and an organic Π-conjugated ligand (3), and characterized in that the organic Π-conjugated ligand (3) is bound to the inorganic nanoparticles (1) via Π-conjugation to exhibit electrical conductivity.
US09368249B2	Method of manufacturing an electrode for an energy storage device Zn layer 21 or Zn alloy layer, Ni layer 22, and Sn layer 23 or Sn alloy layer are formed on a connecting terminal part 10a of a positive electrode composed of Al by plating. Accordingly, this can solder Cu negative electrode, which is composed of metal that is different species from Al, through Sn layer 23 or Sn alloy layer so that jointing strength of the Al positive electrode and the Cu negative electrode can be enhanced. Further, since the contacting area is increased in comparison with the conventional jointing by the spot-welding or the conventional fastening by a bolt so that the resistance value at the contacting point is reduced, the voltage drop of the energy storage device by contact resistance can be reduced.
US09368248B2	Transparent conductive electrodes comprising metal nanowires, their structure design, and method of making such structures A method for making a nanowire-based electrode having homogenous optical property and heterogeneous electrical property is disclosed. The method comprises forming a pattern on the electrode using a photolytically process.
US09368244B2	Hybrid molten salt reactor with energetic neutron source In an embodiment, a hybrid molten salt reactor includes a source of energetic neutrons, the energetic neutrons having a typical energy per neutron of 14 MeV or greater, a critical molten salt reactor, and a molten salt comprising a dissolved mixture of fissile actinides and fertile actinides. The molten salt circulates in a loop through the reactor vessel and around the source of energetic neutrons. The fissile actinides and fertile actinides sustain an exothermic nuclear reaction in which the actinides are irradiated by the energetic neutrons, the energetic neutrons inducing subcritical nuclear fission, and undergo critical nuclear fission when circulating through the critical molten salt reactor. A portion of the daughter neutrons generated by nuclear reactions are captured by the fertile actinides in the molten salt and induce transmutation of the fertile actinides into fissile actinides and sustain critical fission chain reactions in the molten salt reactor.
US09368243B2	Process for processing radioactive waste for shipment and storage A process for encapsulating a radioactive object to render the object suitable for shipment and/or storage, and including the steps of preparing a plastic material, causing the plastic material to react with a foaming agent, generating a foaming plastic, encapsulating the radioactive object in the foaming plastic, and allowing the foaming plastic to solidify around the radioactive object to form an impervious coating.
US09368240B2	Control system for nuclear facilities Provided are a safety protection system facility 43 outputting a normal actuating signal S1 in a case where the safety protection system facility 43 controls actuation of a unit provided in a nuclear facility to a safe side based on an abnormality detecting signal output at the time of occurrence of an abnormality in the nuclear facility, and where this causes the unit to be actuated normally, and a CCF countermeasure facility 44 outputting a CCF-case actuating signal S2 actuating the unit to a safe side in a case where the CCF countermeasure facility 44 determines from output results of the abnormality detecting signal and the normal actuating signal S1 that the unit is not actuated normally at the time of occurrence of the abnormality in the nuclear facility.
US09368236B2	Semiconductor memory apparatus and test method thereof A semiconductor memory apparatus may include a read/write circuit unit configured to receive an external voltage, to read data from a memory cell array, and to generate a pre-read signal, while an internal voltage is generated during a test mode, and a controller configured to selectively drive a write circuit unit in response to the pre-read signal.
US09368235B1	Defect detection using pattern matching on detected data Systems and methods for detection of defects on a magnetic storage medium. The method comprises: (1) receiving incoming detected data generated by reading information recorded on a storage medium, (2) identifying the defects in the storage medium based on comparison between the incoming detected data and a data pattern wherein the data pattern is predetermined; and (3) storing location information indicative of locations of the defects on the storage medium.
US09368234B2	Nonvolatile memory device and method of operating the same In a method of operating a nonvolatile memory device, an impedance calibration verifying operation is performed based on a data read command. The impedance calibration verifying operation ascertains whether an impedance calibration operation is normally performed for a data input/output (I/O) terminal of the nonvolatile memory device. A detection value is stored in a storage unit. The detection value indicates a result of the impedance calibration verifying operation. The detection value is output based on a first command received after the nonvolatile memory device receives the data read command. A data read operation or the impedance calibration operation is selectively performed based on the detection value.
US09368233B2	Manufacturing testing for LDPC codes An amount of time and an error rate function are received, where the error rate function defines a relationship between a number of iterations associated with iterative decoding and an error rate. A testing error rate is determined based at least in part on the amount of time. The number of iterations which corresponds to the testing error rate in the error rate function is selected to be a testing number of iterations; the testing error rate and the testing number of iterations are associated with testing storage media using iterative decoding.
US09368230B2	Shift register unit, gate driving circuit, driving method and display apparatus Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a shift register unit, a gate driving circuit, a driving method and a display apparatus, which can simplify the design of connection lines among the shift register units and thereby is beneficial to achieve a narrow frame of the product. The shift register unit comprises an input module connected to an input terminal, a first control signal terminal and a first node; an output module connected to a first node, a second node, a second control signal terminal, an output terminal and a second level terminal; and an output control module connected to the first node, the second node, the output terminal, a first level terminal and the second level terminal. The embodiments of the present disclosure are used to manufacture displays.
US09368229B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit device including fuse block A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a plurality of column repair address lines configured to cross and a plurality of mat select lines; a fuse set unit including a plurality of latch units electrically coupled with the plurality of column repair address lines and the plurality of mat select lines; a fuse driving unit configured to provide fuse data to the latch units through the plurality of column repair address lines; and an equalizer configured to equalize the fuse data to a same level in response to a select signal of the fuse set unit and a boot-up signal of the fuse set unit.
US09368215B2	Method for biasing an embedded source plane of a non-volatile memory having vertical select gates A method controls a memory that includes twin memory cells formed in a semiconductor substrate. Each memory cell includes a floating-gate transistor including a state control gate, in series with a select transistor that includes a vertical select control gate, common to the twin memory cells, and a source connected to an embedded source line, common to the memory cells. The drains of the floating-gate transistors of the twin memory cells are connected to a same bit line. The method includes controlling a memory cell so as to turn it on to couple the source line to a bit line coupled to the ground, during a step of programming or reading another memory cell.
US09368212B1	Memory with temperature coefficient trimming A device includes an array of memory cells, a temperature sensor to provide a temperature output, and a circuit. The circuit provides a bias voltage to bias a node of the array of memory cells based on the temperature output, a first voltage component independent of a temperature coefficient of the memory cells, and a second voltage component dependent on the temperature coefficient of the memory cells. The first voltage component is determined at a first temperature and the second voltage component is determined at a second temperature less than the first temperature.
US09368211B2	Semiconductor memory device having a memory string that includes a transistor having a charge stored therein to indicate the memory string is defective A semiconductor memory device includes a memory string having first and second selective transistors, each of which includes a charge storage layer and a control gate, a back gate transistor which includes a charge storage layer and a control gate, and memory cell transistors connected to each other and to the back gate transistor in series between the first and second selective transistors. In case any of the memory cell transistors is defective, the defect is indicated by storing a charge in the charge storage layer of at least one of the first and second selective transistors and the back gate transistor.
US09368210B2	Semiconductor memory device According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a memory cells, a selection transistor, a memory string, a block, and a transfer circuit. The memory cells are stacked on a semiconductor substrate. In the memory string, the memory cells and the selection transistor are connected in series. The block includes a plurality of memory strings. In data write and read, the transfer circuit transfers a positive voltage to a select gate line associated with a selected memory string in a selected block, and a negative voltage to a select gate line associated with an unselected memory string in the selected block, and to a select gate line associated with an unselected block.
US09368209B2	Embedded non-volatile memory with single polysilicon layer memory cells programmable through channel hot electrons and erasable through fowler-nordheim tunneling A non-volatile memory includes memory cells arranged in rows and columns. Each memory cell includes a program/read portion and an erase portion that share an electrically floating layer of conductive material defining a first capacitive coupling with the program/read portion and a second capacitive coupling with the erase portion. The first capacitive coupling defines a first capacitance greater than a second capacitance defined by the second capacitive coupling. The erase portion is configured so that an electric current extracts charge carriers from the electrically floating layer to store a first logic value in the memory cell. The program/read portion is further configured so that an electric current injects charge carriers in the electrically floating layer to store a second logic value in the memory cell.
US09368208B1	Non-volatile latch using magneto-electric and ferro-electric tunnel junctions A non-volatile memory circuit includes an SRAM cell with magnetoelectric or ferroelectric structures for maintaining data within the SRAM cell even with power off. In some implementations, the magnetoelectric and ferroelectric structures can be programmed using a NOR or tristate gate coupled to an internal state of the SRAM cell. In other implementations, the magnetoelectric and ferroelectric structures can be configured as programmable resistors in the cross-coupled signal path of the SRAM inverters.
US09368203B1	Memory device and driving method thereof A memory device includes a memory array, a word line driver, and source drivers. The memory array includes memory units. The memory units arranged in the same column are coupled to corresponding bit line. The memory units arranged in the same row are coupled to corresponding word line. The memory units arranged in the rows are divided into N groups, in which N is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The word line driver is configured to selectively enable the word lines. Source drivers are coupled to the memory units in the groups respectively and configured to output N source control signals. When any word line in a first group is enabled, the source control signals corresponding to the first group and a second group of which the sequence for read-write operation is next to the first group are controlled at a select level by corresponding source drivers.
US09368202B2	Apparatuses, sense circuits, and methods for compensating for a wordline voltage increase Apparatuses, sense circuits, and methods for compensating for a voltage increase on a wordline in a memory is described. An example apparatus includes a bitline, a memory cell coupled to the bitline, a bipolar selector device coupled to the memory cell, a wordline coupled to the bipolar selector device, and a wordline driver coupled to the wordline. The apparatus further includes a model wordline circuit configured to model an impedance of the wordline and an impedance of the wordline driver, and a sense circuit coupled to the bitline and to the model wordline circuit. The sense circuit is configured to sense a state of the memory cell based on a cell current and provide a sense signal indicating a state of the memory cell. The sense circuit is further configured to adjust a bitline voltage responsive to an increase in wordline voltage as modeled by the model wordline circuit.
US09368201B2	Nonvolatile memory device having resistive memory cell and method sensing data in same A method of sensing multi-bit data stored in a resistive memory cell includes; determining a resistive value range for the memory cell by performing a first read operation using a first read voltage and a first reference current, determining whether the multi-bit data stored in the resistive memory cell has a first program state, upon determining that the multi-bit data stored does not have the first program state, selecting a second read voltage different from the first read voltage in response to the resistive value range of the resistive memory cell, and using the second read voltage to again determine whether the multi-bit data stored in the resistive memory cell has the first program state.
US09368199B2	Memory device A memory device according to an embodiment includes a first memory cell array; a second memory cell array; and a multiplexer arranged between the first memory cell array and the second memory cell array, the multiplexer controlling the first memory cell array and the second memory cell array.
US09368198B1	Circuits and methods for placing programmable impedance memory elements in high impedance states A memory device can include a plurality of two terminal conductive bridging random access memory (CBRAM) type memory elements; at least one program transistor configured to enable a program current to flow through at least one memory element in response to the application of a program signal at its control terminal and a program bias voltage to the memory element; and an erase load circuit that includes at least one two-terminal diode-like load element, the erase load circuit configured to enable an erase current to flow through the load element and at least one memory element in a direction opposite to that of the program current.
US09368197B2	Memory system A memory system according to the embodiment comprises a cell array of plural cells having three or more settable physical quantity levels and operative to store a code composed of symbols expressed by elements in a finite field Zp (p is a prime), wherein a set of two cells is defined as a pair cell and a combination of physical quantity levels of the two cells contained in the pair cell is defined as a pair cell level, wherein the pair cell uses a pair cell level of plural pair cell levels, which maximizes or minimizes a physical quantity level of one cell contained in the pair cell, to assign elements in the Zp to the pair cell levels, thereby storing symbols of the code.
US09368195B2	Memory system for processing data from memory device, and method of operating the same A memory system includes a memory device including memory blocks, each of the memory blocks including pages, each of the pages including memory cells that are electrically coupled to word lines, wherein the memory cells store data that is requested from a host; and a controller suitable for reading first data corresponding to a read command received from the host, from a page of a first memory block among the memory blocks, storing the first data in a buffer, providing the first data stored in the buffer, to the host, and writing and storing the first data stored in the buffer, in a page of a second memory block among the memory blocks.
US09368193B2	Methods for reducing power dissipation in drowsy caches and for retaining data in cache-memory sleep mode A method for refreshing static random access memory comprises providing at least one six-transistor static random access memory cell disposed on a substrate and providing a light source emitting light. The six-transistor static random access memory cell comprises two storage nodes, two pass transistors, two load transistors, and two driver transistors, the drain diffusion regions of the load transistors forming pn-junctions with the substrate. A portion of the light emitted by the light source is absorbed and converted to minority carriers in the substrate, The minority carriers diffuse through the substrate, and a portion of the minority carriers reach the pn-junctions and cause the pn-junctions to generate electrical current. The electrical current generated charges the storage nodes.
US09368189B2	Semiconductor device including output circuit constituted of plural unit buffer circuits in which impedance thereof are adjustable A semiconductor device includes an output circuit having a plurality of unit buffer circuits, an impedance of each unit buffer circuit of the plurality of unit buffer circuits being adjustable, a control circuit configured to selectively activate one or more unit buffer circuits of the plurality of unit buffer circuits, and an impedance adjustment unit configured to adjust the impedance of each of the unit buffer circuits of the plurality of unit buffer circuits. The impedance adjustment unit includes a first power line, a replica circuit, and a load current generation circuit. The replica circuit and the load current generation circuit are coupled in common to the first power line, the replica circuit has a replica impedance that is substantially equal to the impedance of the output circuit, and the load current generation circuit changes current flowing therethrough.
US09368184B2	Memory refresh methods, memory section control circuits, and apparatuses Apparatuses, memory section control circuits, and methods of refreshing memory are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a plurality of memory sections and a plurality of memory section control circuits. Each memory section control circuit is coupled to a respective one of the plurality of memory sections and includes a plurality of access line drivers, each of which includes a plurality of transistors having common coupled gates. During an operation of the apparatus a first voltage is provided to the commonly coupled gates of the transistors of at least some of the access line drivers of the memory section control circuit coupled to an active memory section and a second voltage is provided to the commonly coupled gates of the transistors of the access line drivers of the memory section control circuit coupled to an inactive memory section control circuit, wherein the first voltage is greater than the second voltage.
US09368180B2	Variable resistance memory device and storage devices using the same In an electronic device including a semiconductor memory, the semiconductor memory may include a unit storage cell including a variable resistor having a resistance value that is changed according to current flowing through both terminals of the variable resistor and a selection element that is electrically coupled to one terminal of the variable resistor, a unit current generation section that generates the current flowing through both terminals by using predetermined voltage according to a polarity of current data as compared with existing data, and a pad that receives the predetermined voltage from an exterior and allows the current flowing through both terminals to be measured from an exterior.
US09368176B2	Scalable magnetoresistive element One embodiment of a magnetoresistive element comprises: a free ferromagnetic layer comprising a reversible magnetization direction directed substantially perpendicular to a film surface in its equilibrium state; a pinned ferromagnetic layer comprising a fixed magnetization direction directed substantially perpendicular to the film surface; a nonmagnetic tunnel barrier layer disposed between the free ferromagnetic layer and the pinned ferromagnetic layer and having a direct contact with the free and pinned ferromagnetic layers; a first nonmagnetic conductive layer disposed adjacent to and having a direct contact with a side of a free ferromagnetic layer opposite to the tunnel barrier layer; and a second nonmagnetic conductive layer disposed adjacent to a side of the pinned ferromagnetic layer opposite to the tunnel barrier layer, wherein the free ferromagnetic layer and the pinned ferromagnetic layers comprise at least one element selected from the group consisting of Fe, Co, and Ni, at least one element selected from the group consisting from V, Cr, and Mo, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of B, P, C, and Si, and wherein the first nonmagnetic conductive layer comprises an oxide. Other embodiments are described as shown.
US09368174B2	Data strobe control device A control device that comprises a first data strobe input terminal to be connected in common to data strobe terminals that are included respectively in first memory devices, and a plurality of first sub-units each coupled to the first data strobe input terminal and each holding a data strobe delay value corresponding to an associated one of the first memory devices, and the data strobe delay values of the sub-units being independent from each other.
US09368172B2	Read strobe gating mechanism A memory controller that extends the window when reading data from the memory device to compensate for fluctuations in a read strobe delay. The memory controller includes a communication port that receives a timing reference signal for reading data from a memory device. A control circuit generates a gating signal indicative of a read window. A gating adjustment circuit generates an adjusted gating signal indicative of an adjusted read window based on the gating signal and the timing reference signal. A gating circuit generates a first gated timing reference signal for reading data by gating a delayed version of the timing reference signal with the adjusted gating signal.
US09368171B2	Semiconductor memory apparatus A semiconductor memory apparatus may include a write driver, a data sensing section, and a programming control section. The write driver may write an input data into a memory cell in response to a write signal. The data sensing section may generate a comparison flag signal by comparing an output data outputted from the memory cell with a reference voltage in response to a verification read signal. The programming control section may generate the write signal for an initial write operation and the verification read signal in response to a write command, and generate the write signal for a following write operation as soon as the comparison flag signal is at a predetermined level.
US09368170B2	Memory device with resistance-change type storage elements According to one embodiment, a memory device includes memory cells including storage elements, each storing information based on a change of resistance, word lines, first bit lines, second bit lines, column selection transistors connected to the first bit lines, and precharge transistors connected to the first bit lines. At least two of the precharge transistors are selected by a common control signal and apply a precharge voltage to at least two of the corresponding first bit lines before writing information to a selected memory cell, and the precharge voltage is the same as a voltage to be applied to at least two of the second bit lines paired with the at least two of the first bit lines.
US09368168B2	Nonvolatile memory device including a peripheral circuit to receive an address in synch with one of a rising and falling edge of a signal regardless of whether a first or second alignment type is selected and nonvolatile memory system including the same A flash memory device including: a memory cell array; a signal generator inputting a first data fetch signal and outputting a second data fetch signal; and an output buffer circuit configured to output data from the memory cell array in sync with rising and falling edges of the second data fetch signal, wherein second data fetch signal is output along with data output from the output buffer circuit.
US09368164B2	Data independent periodic calibration using per-pin VREF correction technique for single-ended signaling A single-ended receiver includes an internal voltage generation circuit to set a first internal reference voltage (Vref). A model voltage generation circuit is configurable to receive an external reference voltage to be calibrated during an initial calibration. The model voltage generation circuit is configurable to track an offset value for voltage-temperature (VT) drift and the offset value is applied to the internal voltage generation circuit to calibrate the internal Vref during a periodic calibration of the single-ended receiver.
US09368162B2	Integrated circuit device, power management module and method for providing power management An integrated circuit device comprising at least one memory module comprising a plurality of memory sub-modules, and at least one power management module arranged to provide power management for the at least one memory module. The at least one power management module is arranged to determine when content of at least one memory sub-module is redundant, and place the at least one memory sub-module into a powered-down state upon determining that content of the at least one memory sub-module is redundant.
US09368160B2	Memory device According to one embodiment, a memory device includes first to third interconnects, memory cells, and selectors. The first to third interconnects are provided along first to third directions, respectively. The memory cells includes variable resistance layers formed on two side surfaces, facing each other in the first direction, of the third interconnects. The selectors couple the third interconnects with the first interconnects. One of the selectors includes a semiconductor layer provided between associated one of the third interconnects and associated one of the first interconnects, and gates formed on two side surfaces of the semiconductor layer facing each other in the first direction with gate insulating films interposed therebetween.
US09368157B2	Recorded content repair A television receiver may detect during a primary recording of particular programming degradation of a received signal quality associated with the particular programming to at or below a predetermined threshold value. The television receiver may instantiate a secondary recording of the particular programming during the primary recording when the particular programming is accessible over at least one terrestrial network. The television receiver may query a computing system to acquire content associated with at least one gap in content within the primary recording present due to received signal quality. The television receiver may output during playback of the primary recording a notification to enable access to the secondary recording when content associated with the at least one gap in content within the primary recording is unavailable over the at least one terrestrial network.
US09368156B2	Operation device A controller includes a plurality of channel strips to which are allocated any one of a plurality of channels to be handled in a DAW. Each of the channel strips includes a channel strip display section, a movable fader capable of indicating a sound volume level of the allocated channel by means of a knob position of the fader, and a slide operation reception section operable to successively change the allocated channel. During a slide operation on the reception section, a CPU continuously updates only displayed content on the channel strip display section of each of the channel strips by a variation amount corresponding to the slide operation. Upon completion of the slide operation on the reception section, the CPU moves, through automatic control, the knob position of the movable fader of each of the channel strips.
US09368148B2	Efficient moves via spare chamber A magazine-based data storage library is described that includes plurality of chambers each adapted to hold a magazine, that in turn, is adapted to hold a plurality of tape cartridges. The storage library further includes a tape drive adapted to read and write data to and from tape cartridges. The storage library further includes a vacant chamber that shifts from a first chamber when a recently used magazine is disposed therein to a second chamber when a new magazine is withdrawn there from. The recently used magazine most recently being withdrawn from a different chamber than the first chamber where it is later disposed.
US09368147B2	Media and drive validation in a storage library Systems and methods are described for validating storage media and/or media drives in a storage library using a hidden drive pool and a non-hidden media pool. For example, a storage library can be instructed to perform media/drive validation (MDV) on a selected pool of physical storage media using a selected pool of drive resources. Embodiments handle the pools so that, at least during performance of MDV, the drive resources in the drive pool are not visible to the host applications, but the storage media is still visible and can still be accessed by the host application. For example, the MDV can be performed in such a way that the host application cannot task a drive being used for validation, but the host application can perform operations on storage media in the media validation pool. Further, some embodiments operate in the context of storage library complex-wide validation pools.
US09368145B2	Reversible recording medium based on optical storage of information, method of reversible recording on such a medium A reversible recording medium based on optical storage of at least one item of information within a support material, includes at least one layer of support material having: base molecules able to take, in a local zone, a first collective state of molecules able to generate a first signal of second harmonic characteristic of this first collective state of molecules when excited by electromagnetic reading radiation; the base molecules having the first collective state of molecules able to transform, at least in part, into transformed molecules so as to pass to a second collective state of molecules when excited by electromagnetic writing radiation, the molecules having the second collective state of molecules able to generate a second signal of second harmonic characteristic of this second collective state of molecules when excited by the electromagnetic reading radiation. The molecules exhibit a molecular structure based on a coumarin skeleton of Formula (I).
US09368143B2	Method for forming pattern, method for producing magnetic recording medium using the same, magnetic recording medium, and method for producing stamper According to one embodiment, there is provided a method for forming a pattern including forming an island-like metal underlayer comprised of a first metal, a phase-separated release layer including a first metal, a second metal, and a metal oxide, a mask layer, and a resist layer on a processed layer in this order, forming a concave-convex pattern on the resist layer, transferring the pattern to the mask layer, the phase-separated release layer, and the processed layer in this order, dissolving the phase-separated release layer using a peeling liquid for dissolving the first metal and the second metal, and removing the mask layer from the processed layer to expose the concave-convex pattern.
US09368133B2	Unbalanced data writer coil A data writer may be configured with at least a write pole and a continuous coil with the continuous coil having a first turn with a first cross-sectional shape and a second turn with a second cross-sectional shape that differs from the first cross-sectional shape. The second turn may be positioned proximal a leading edge of the write pole and an air bearing surface while the first turn is positioned distal the air bearing surface.
US09368132B1	Data storage device employing differential write data signal and differential write pattern signal A data storage device is disclosed comprising a head actuated over a disk. A first control circuit comprises a pattern detector configured to detect at least one pattern in write data and generate a corresponding multi-state signal, and a transmitter configured to transmit a first differential signal representing the write data and a second differential signal representing the multi-state signal. A second control circuit comprises a receiver configured to receive the first differential signal and the second differential signal, and a write driver configured to generate a write current applied to the head based on the first differential signal and configured to adjust at least one property of the write current based on the second differential signal.
US09368130B2	Data storage system, method of writing to storage in the data storage system, hard disk and method of forming the hard disk In various embodiments, a data storage system may be provided. The data storage system may include a storage. The storage may include a first portion and a second portion. The data storage system may further include a determination circuit configured to determine whether to write data to the first portion or to the second portion. The data storage system may also include a control circuit configured to control writing the data to the first portion in a log structured manner.
US09368125B2	System and electronic equipment for voice guidance with speed change thereof based on trend A voice guidance system is provided in which the voice guidance is enabled to easily follow a trend of change intervals, a rapid change of change intervals, etc. in a menu operation. The voice guidance system is configured with an input analyzing unit which inputs and analyzes an operation instruction signal of a menu item, a voice guidance control unit which controls voice guidance of the menu item according to the analysis result by the input analyzing unit, and a textual guidance control unit which performs display control of the menu item according to the analysis result by the input analyzing unit. The voice guidance control unit determines reproduction speed of the voice guidance according to the analysis result, on the basis of a speed trend obtained from a speed history as a set of plural pieces of reproduction speed information.
US09368120B2	Methods and systems for controlling calling party access to called device Devices, systems, and methods are provided to send an alert to a called party communications device during a call setup phase and to present the alert to a called party during an alert portion of the call setup phase. Other devices, systems, and methods are provided that allow a calling party to remotely and securely access at least one host computer by sending a security phrase during a call setup phase and presenting the security phrase to the host computer to determine if by way of comparison to a voice print if the calling party is a valid user.
US09368119B2	Methods and apparatus to convert received graphical and/or textual user commands into voice commands for application control A method for transmitting communications from a vehicle onboard computer system is provided. The method receives a graphical user command via a user interface; converts the user command into a voice instruction; and transmits the voice instruction to an electronic device, using machine-to-machine (M2M) communication.
US09368115B2	Identifying corresponding positions in different representations of a textual work Described herein are techniques for determining corresponding positions between different representations of a textual work. In some of the techniques, portions of one or more representations may be processed. A determination of a corresponding position may be made in response to a request received from a user, such as a reader that desires to switch between representations. The request may indicate a position in one representation and the representation to which the user would like to switch. In response to receiving the request, one or more portions of one or more representations of a textual work may be processed. In some techniques, a corresponding position between different representations may be determined without processing the entirety of one or more representations of the textual work. For example, a corresponding position may be determined without processing an entire audio representation.
US09368112B2	Method and apparatus for detecting a voice activity in an input audio signal The disclosure provides a method and an apparatus for detecting a voice activity in an input audio signal composed of frames. A noise characteristic of the input signal is determined based on a received frame of the input audio signal. A voice activity detection (VAD) parameter is derived based on the noise characteristic of the input audio signal using an adaptive function. The derived VAD parameter is compared with a threshold value to provide a voice activity detection decision. The input audio signal is processed according to the voice activity detection decision.
US09368099B2	Bandlimiting anti-noise in personal audio devices having adaptive noise cancellation (ANC) A personal audio device, such as a wireless telephone, includes noise canceling circuit that adaptively generates an anti-noise signal from a reference microphone signal and injects the anti-noise signal into the speaker or other transducer output to cause cancellation of ambient audio sounds. An error microphone may also be provided proximate the speaker to measure the output of the transducer in order to control the adaptation of the anti-noise signal and to estimate an electro-acoustical path from the noise canceling circuit through the transducer. A processing circuit that performs the adaptive noise canceling (ANC) function also either adjusts the frequency response of the anti-noise signal with respect to the reference microphone signal, and/or by adjusting the response of the adaptive filter independent of the adaptation provided by the reference microphone signal.
US09368097B2	Noise suppression device A noise suppression device includes an input signal analyzer that analyzes the harmonic structure and periodicity of a plurality of input signals on the basis of power spectra of a plurality of input signals, a power spectrum synthesizer that synthesizes the power spectra of the plurality of input signals to generate a synthesized power spectrum according to the result of the analysis by the input signal analyzer, a noise suppression amount calculator that calculates an amount of noise suppression on the basis of the synthesized power spectrum and an estimated noise spectrum estimated from the input signals, and a power spectrum suppressor that carries out noise suppression on the synthesized power spectrum by using the calculated amount of noise suppression.
US09368096B2	Method and system for active noise cancellation according to a type of noise Microphone signals are received from a microphone. The microphone signals represent first sound waves. A determination is made about a type of noise that likely exists in the first sound waves. In response to the type of noise, cancellation signals are generated by filtering the microphone signals with at least one of: a first filter in response to the type of noise indicating that a first type of noise likely exists in the first sound waves; and a second filter in response to the type of noise indicating that a second type of noise likely exists in the first sound waves. In response to the cancellation signals, second sound waves are output from a speaker for cancelling at least some noise in the first sound waves.
US09368092B2	Neck adjustment mechanism for string instrument An adjustment mechanism for a stringed instrument in which the stringed instrument comprises a guitar body, a bridge supported by the guitar body, a saddle affixed to the bridge, a neck pivotably coupled to the guitar body, a fretboard supported by the neck, a nut affixed to the neck adjacent a headstock, and a plurality of strings extending between the nut and the saddle. The nut substantially forms a pivot axis for at least the fretboard, and a heel end of at least the fretboard is pivotably about the pivot axis, via an adjustment mechanism, for adjusting an action of the strings. A method of adjusting string action of a stringed instrument is also disclosed.
US09368083B2	Liquid crystal display device adapted to partial display A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel; and a driver driving the liquid crystal display panel. The liquid crystal display panel includes: a first substrate on which subpixels each including a pixel electrode are integrated; and a second substrate opposed to the first substrate, a plurality of common electrodes being formed on the second substrate. The display region of the liquid crystal display panel is divided into a plurality of sections respectively corresponding to the common electrodes. When a partial display in which an image is selectively displayed in a selected section is performed, the liquid crystal driver drives the common electrode corresponding to the selected section to a predetermined common voltage level, sets the common electrodes corresponding to the non-selected sections to a predetermined reference level, and sets pixel electrodes of subpixels in the non-selected sections to the reference voltage level.
US09368082B2	Liquid crystal display device and electronic device including the liquid crystal display device In a liquid crystal display device including a plurality of pixels in a display portion and configured to performed display in a plurality of frame periods, each of the frame periods includes a writing period and a holding period, and after an image signal is input to each of the plurality of pixels in the writing period, a transistor included in each of the plurality of pixels is turned off and the image signal is held for at least 30 seconds in the holding period. The pixel includes a semiconductor layer including an oxide semiconductor layer, and the oxide semiconductor layer has a carrier concentration of less than 1×1014/cm3.
US09368081B2	Display device and method of controlling the same A display device is provided that includes a transparent display unit, a setting unit that sets transparency of a first screen that is output in the foreground to the transparent display unit, and a controller that determines transparency of a background object that is seen through the transparent display unit, based on the transparency of the first screen that is set, such that the transparency of at least one of the background object and at least one region of the first screen is changed, based on a detected event that is associated with transparency control of the transparent display unit.
US09368079B2	Display device and a method for driving the same A method for driving a display device is disclosed. Display images of one frame are divided into detection regions; pixel polarity arrangements of each detection region are determined, and according to the determined result a data driving circuit selects a corresponding scanning method to drive the display device. The data driving circuit adopts an interlaced-to-progress scanning conversion method to drive the display device, so as to ensure that there are no data circuits in a loaded state, thereby reducing the power consumption of the display device.
US09368068B2	Pixel circuit and display device using the same Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a pixel circuit comprising an organic light emitting diode (OLED), an RS trigger comprising a first terminal connected to a scan line, a second terminal connected to an enable line, and a third terminal connected to a data line, the RS trigger configured to generate an output signal according to an enable signal, a data signal, and a scan signal respectively received via the enable line, the data line, and the scan line, and a driving transistor comprising a first electrode connected to a first power source, a second electrode connected to an anode of the OLED, and a gate electrode connected to an output terminal of the RS trigger, the driver transistor configured to control a current flowing through the OLED in response to the output signal of the RS trigger.
US09368060B2	Organic light emitting display device using an adjustable power source voltage and driving method thereof A power system for an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display includes a power supplier and a power source controller. The power supplier respectively supplies a first power source voltage and a second power source voltage to first and second power source voltage application lines. The power source controller calculates a reference power source voltage corresponding to a maximum average grayscale using a distribution for each grayscale of first to third image data, models each voltage drop of the first and second power source voltages for first to third subpixels, and reflects the voltage drop to the reference power source voltage to change the second power source voltage.
US09368055B2	Display device and driving method thereof for improving side visibility A display device includes: a similar gray level block detector configured to detect a pixel data block in which a gray level difference between a plurality of pixel data included in an image signal is smaller than or equal to a threshold; a skin tone detector configured to detect the pixel data block including a skin tone; and a gamma processor configured to apply a first gamma to a plurality of pixel data included in the pixel data block when the pixel data block does not include the skin tone and apply a second gamma to the plurality of pixel data included in the pixel data block when the pixel data block includes the skin tone.
US09368054B2	Pixel array and flat-panel display having the pixel array The present application discloses a pixel array and a flat panel display having the pixel array. The pixel array includes a plurality of rows and columns of sub-pixel basic unit, and every sub-pixel basic unit having a blue sub-pixel, a red sub-pixel and a green sub-pixel, wherein: every sub-pixel basic unit presents a plurality of pixels; an arrangement proportion of the blue sub-pixel in a row direction and a column direction is that one blue sub-pixel is assigned for every two pixels; and any two red sub-pixels are not adjacent to each other and any two green sub-pixels are not adjacent to each other in the row direction and in the column direction. The present application may enable the flat panel display to have a better visual effect and may save sub-pixels.
US09368051B2	Display device and display control method A display device includes a light modulation device, a light source, a light modulation device control section, and a light source control section. The light modulation device control section controls the light modulation device to select a plurality of scan lines of the light modulation device by K lines (K is an integer not smaller than 2), and write a data signal into the pixels corresponding to the selected scan lines in an image update period, and to select at least a part of the plurality of scan lines line by line, and then write the data signal into the pixels corresponding to the selected scan line in an image display period subsequent to the image update period. The light source control section sets a duty ratio in a part of the image display period to be higher than the duty ratio in another part of the image display period.
US09368046B2	Color tactile vision system A tactile display writer unit includes a probe having a contact tip, and at least a first actuator and a second actuator coupled to the probe, whereby activation of the actuators results in a displacement of the probe tip in one or more of a z-direction and in a lateral direction having a vector in an x-y plane. Also, a display writer includes a plurality of such units supported in an x-y array. The writer units may have a third actuator coupled to the probe. Also, a tactile vision system includes such a display writer, an image processor, and an image sensor. The processor transforms RGB image information from the image sensor into hue-based information having two or more attributes; and the actuators in the tactile display writer are activated by the information attributes. Also, a method for producing a tactile color stimulus at a site on the skin of a subject includes providing a probe having a contact tip; displacing the tip at the contact site in a direction generally normal to the skin surface at the site to an extent that relates one attribute of a hue-based model of the color, and displacing the tip in at least one lateral direction generally in a plane parallel to the skin surface at the site to an extent that relates to at least one additional attribute of the color.
US09368044B2	Asynchronous art jurying system A remote art jurying system in which art jurors independently evaluate works of art at different locations, times and places. A central database presents information about each work of art and/or the artist to an individual juror. The database provides images of the artwork along with relevant information. Each juror can access the database independent of other jurors in terms of location, or time. The system provides enhanced voting methods. The juror can review or change their votes at any time prior to final submission. They can review all works of art, by categories of art, or by scores. The juror reviews artwork thumbnail images, which can be used to select high resolution images with extended information. Selected categories of art can be enhanced by eliminating the lowest scores to balance artwork finalists across multiple categories of art. An online artist's application system is integrated with an image portfolio management system which allows artists to maintain permanent portfolio copies which can be electronically attached to applications. The system can be used for jurying art or other types of competitive ratings.
US09368042B2	Educational-app engine for representing conceptual understanding using student populations' electronic response latencies Systems and methods can track, at a group level, times for responding to educational questions. A set of users is identified as users enrolled in an academic course. A set of responses is accessed (e.g., after being received). Each response in the set of responses is one submitted via an electronic user device associated with a user in the set of users and is one submitted in response to one or more educational questions. For each response in the set of responses, an accuracy of the response is identified and a response time for the response is identified. The response time is indicative of a time between presentation of the one or more questions and submission the response. The identified response times for at least two responses in the set of responses are aggregated. A representation of the aggregation is caused to be presented.
US09368036B2	Method and device for calculating a flight plan of an aircraft in a runway approach phase A method for calculating a flight plan used by a flight management system of an aircraft in a runway approach phase comprises: loading an initial procedure ending at a first end point not corresponding to a threshold of the runway and a first associated missed approach procedure; determining an additional procedure and a second associated missed approach procedure; concatenating the initial procedure and the additional procedure in order to generate a continuous concatenated flight plan comprising the initial procedure, the first missed approach procedure, the additional procedure and the second missed approach procedure; loading the concatenated flight plan into an active flight plan; selecting a second procedure from a set comprising the first missed approach procedure and the additional procedure; activating the selected second procedure.
US09368031B2	Vehicle surface tinting for visual indication of environmental conditions Environmental hazards and safe conditions can be indicated to an operator of a vehicle. An audio signal of varying intensities can be played to indicate the severity of a potential hazard. An audio signal can be played at different locations in the vehicle cabin to indicate the location of a potential hazard. Surfaces such as but not limited to windows can be tinted to indicate a hazardous or safe condition. Tinting can be of various intensities commensurate with a potential hazard. Location of tinting can indicate the location of a potential hazard.
US09368030B2	Method for making available route information by means of at least one motor vehicle Current route information about a traffic situation and/or the state of the route itself is made available. A communication link to a peer-to-peer network is set up by a communication device of a motor vehicle, and the motor vehicle is signed on to said peer-to-peer network as a subscriber of the peer-to-peer network, with the result that a communication address of the motor vehicle can be determined by at least one other subscriber of the peer-to-peer network. Furthermore, in each case an interrogation relating to the route information is received by the communication device from the at least one other subscriber. The route information itself is determined by a sensing device of the motor vehicle and is then transmitted to the interrogating subscriber by the communication device.
US09368027B2	Traffic data simulator In one embodiment, traffic data that originates from sensors, cameras, or observations is analyzed. The traffic data is associated with multiple repeating time epochs or intervals. The traffic data is divided into clusters using a clustering technique. The traffic data may be collected on specific days such as holidays. The holiday traffic data may be divided data into clusters and a dominant traffic pattern cluster that represents a holiday classification is identified. The dominant traffic pattern cluster is stored in a traffic prediction model.
US09368026B1	Fallback requests for autonomous vehicles Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a system having a memory, a plurality of self-driving systems for controlling a vehicle, and one or more processors. The processors are configured to receive at least one fallback task in association with a request for a primary task and at least one trigger of each fallback task. Each trigger is a set of conditions that, when satisfied, indicate when a vehicle requires attention for proper operation. The processors are also configured to send instructions to the self-driving systems to execute the primary task and receive status updates from the self-driving systems. The processors are configured to determine that a set of conditions of a trigger is satisfied based on the status updates and send further instructions based on the associated fallback task to the self-driving systems.
US09368025B2	Two-part load control system mountable to a single electrical wallbox A load control system includes a load control device and a remote control for configuring and controlling operation of the load control device. The load control device and remote control may be mounted to an electrical wallbox. The system may be configured by associating the remote control with the load control device, and actuating a button on the remote control to configure the load control device. A second remote control device may be directly or indirectly associated with the load control device. The load control device and remote control may communicate via inductive coils that are magnetically coupled together. The remote control may be operable to charge a battery from energy derived from the magnetic coupling between the inductive coils. The load control device and remote control may include near-field communication modules that are operable to communicate wirelessly via near-field radiation.
US09368019B1	Method for notifying one or more individuals about the presence of one or more occupants in a vehicle In one embodiment, the present invention is a mobile application that, after being installed and activated on a mobile device, detects whether there are network signals. After the invention detects network signals, the mobile application asks the user whether or not there is an occupant in the vehicle. If the user responds that there are one or more occupants in the vehicle, the invention starts checking for interruption of the network signals. When the network signals are no longer available, the invention sends a notification to the user requesting him/her to respond to the notification. If the user does not respond to the notification, the invention sends alerts to a preprogrammed list of several people and/or emergency services. The alerts may include the location information of the vehicle.
US09368017B2	Earthquake early warning method based on support vector regression An earthquake early warning method for an earthquake detecting system includes utilizing support vector regression (SVR) method to build an earthquake detecting model according to the a plurality of vectors, wherein each of the vectors is corresponding to an earthquake information and a ground motion intensity; detecting a new earthquake information of a new earthquake and generating a specific vector according to the new earthquake information when the new earthquake occurs; and predicting a new ground motion intensity of the new earthquake according to the specific vector and the earthquake detecting model.
US09368016B2	System and method of detecting sleep disorders An apparatus for detecting sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, includes a housing insertable into an ear canal of a subject. A sensor disposed within the housing measures a position of the subject's head relative to an axis of gravity. A transducer is responsive to the sensor and is capable of creating a stimulus detectable by the subject under certain conditions. In various embodiments, a controller receives signals corresponding to a pitch angle and a roll angle of the subject's head measured by the sensor, determines if the pitch and roll angles correspond to a sleep apnea inducing position, and causes the transducer to generate a stimulus upon determining that the subject's head is in the sleep apnea inducing position more than a predetermined threshold number of times. Various parameters of the stimulus may be modified with successive stimulus generation until a non-sleep apnea inducing position is detected.
US09368007B2	Methods and systems for determining a location of a container Systems and methods of securing chattels are provided. Motion of a first container can be measured by a sensor over an interval of time and compared to motion of a second container. A relative difference between the motion of the first container and the motion of the second container over the interval of time can be calculated by a data processing circuit. A determination can be made by the data processing circuit that the relative difference in motion of the containers exceeds a predetermined threshold. An alert that the threshold has been exceeded can be transmitted by a transmitting circuit to a remote server. A SIM card and a modem can be associated with a container. Information corresponding to the location and identification of the SIM card can be received by the modem. The location and identification information can be transmitted by the modem to a remote server.
US09368004B2	Battery-powered surgical devices including internally-mounted visual indicators An assembly for use with a surgical device includes an enclosure defining a passageway extending from an interior to an exterior thereof and a visual indicator mounted within the interior of the enclosure adjacent the passageway. The visual indicator is configured to emit light. The passageway is partially defined by a concave surface of the enclosure and/or a chamfered portion of the enclosure to facilitate the passage of light emitted by the visual indicator through the passageway and to the exterior of the enclosure to increase the external viewing angle of the light emitted from the visual indicator.
US09368003B2	Automated banking machine that is operable responsive to data bearing records In an example embodiment, an automated banking machine that operates responsive at least in part to data read from data bearing records. The automated banking machine including a transaction function device, a slot associated with the transaction function device, an indicator adjacent to the slot, the indicator includes at least three different color light emitting diodes (LEDs), and an indicator processor in operative connection with the indicator. The indicator processor is operable to cause the LEDs of the indicator to intermittently illuminate to produce a plurality of blended colors that correspond to a functional status of the transaction function device.
US09368000B2	Automated banking machine with non-contact reading of card data An automated banking machine is part of a banking system that can operate to cause financial transfers responsive to data read from data bearing records. The machine can also receive user card data from a cell phone, including an electronic account number. The phone's banking application encrypts the account number along with an inputted random number which was generated by the machine. The phone then displays a bar code image containing the encrypted data. The machine includes a bar code reader. The random number is used to verify the current transaction session. Thereafter, normal transaction flow can follow, including PIN input. The process allows for secure input of card data without physical insertion of a card. Thus, fraudulent activities based on card insertion can be reduced.
US09367999B2	Gaming system and method of gaming having player-selectable win lines A gaming system comprising a display area and a player symbol selector for selecting the player symbols from a plurality of player symbols. The player symbol selector comprises a plurality of reels and each reel has a plurality of player symbols. The player symbol selector is arranged so that selected player symbols are displayed at an array of display positions when the reels are stationary. A display position selector enables a player to select, prior to stopping of the reels, groups of display positions. An award allocator allocates an award associated with a winning combination of the player symbols when a winning combination of the player symbols is displayed along a win line. The player symbol selector is arranged so that each one of different player symbols of each reel has the same probability to be displayed at any one of the display positions associated with that reel.
US09367998B2	Gaming system having displays with integrated image capture capabilities A gaming system comprises a wager input device for receiving at least one wager and a display for displaying a wagering game. The display includes an integrated image capture device for visually capturing objects proximate the display. The system further comprises at least one controller operative to (i) detect the presence of at least a first object proximate the display, (ii) cause the image capture device to visually capture the first object and create a stored image thereof, (iii) graphically integrate the stored image of the first object into the wagering game, and (iv) display one or more outcomes of the wagering game which include one or more symbols comprising at least a portion of the stored image.
US09367995B2	Electronic gaming device with turbo boost progressive gaming functionality Examples disclosed herein relate to an electronic gaming device including a memory, a processor, and a plurality of reels. The memory may include one or more turbo boost progressive feature structures. A processor may generate one or more symbols to be located in the one or more areas. The processor may increase a progressive jackpot amount by a first amount where the first amount is a portion of a wager. The processor may increase the progressive jackpot amount by a second amount based on a turbo boost triggering event.
US09367994B2	Social collaboration in community casino game offered as player incentive Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for enhancing social collaboration in an online casino game. One method includes an operation for receiving bets from players playing in a first gambling mode in an online gambling room. The method also includes an operation for determining contributions to a community metric based on the outcomes of the bets, where all players in the online gambling room contribute towards the community metric. After detecting that the community metric reaches a predetermined goal, the online casino game enters all players in the online gambling room into a second gambling mode to achieve a room goal, where the value of the community metric does not change while players are in the second gambling mode.
US09367991B2	Method for retrieving an identity card associated with an electronic gaming machine Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method for creating an electronic log for documenting entries into electronic gaming machines on a network. The network is monitored by a network computing device. People who enter the machines carry mobile computing devices that communicate over a normally operating wireless network. Cooperating among the network computing device and the wireless network results in creating an entry that includes the identify of a person entering one of the gaming machines, the identity of the gaming machine entered, and the reason for entry. The entry is stored in an electronic log.
US09367985B2	System for providing an interface for a gaming device A device for providing an interface to a gaming machine. The device includes a processor, an ID Card reader coupled to the processor, a display coupled to the processor for displaying a bezel and information within the bezel. The device also including a keypad coupled to the processor for receiving input. The processor instructing the display to display media according to a predetermined set of rules.
US09367984B2	Enhanced modular drawer structures, systems, and methods A modular drawer structure comprises a housing having an interior volume defined therein, and a drawer comprising one or more compartments, wherein the drawer is slidably movable with respect to the interior volume of the housing between a first closed position, wherein the compartments are enclosed within the interior volume, and a second open position, wherein the compartments are at least partially accessible. The drawer structure further comprises a mechanism for controllably locking the drawer in the first closed position, an access pad, e.g. such as but not limited to a keypad and/or a card swipe pad, for entry of a passcode, and a processor for unlocking the drawer when an entered passcode matches a stored passcode value. Some embodiments of the drawer structure include a stored time threshold, wherein if the drawer is unlocked for a time that meets or exceeds the stored time threshold, the drawer is relocked.
US09367981B2	Automated label verify systems and methods for dispensing pharmaceuticals Apparatus and methods for filling a prescription order with plurality of products each containing a pharmaceutical. The apparatus and method verifying a barcode on each of the products and printing and applying a patient label with a verified barcode to each of the products. After the patient label is applied, the barcodes are independently verified before the products are released.
US09367977B2	Apparatus, method and system for controlling smart key An apparatus, a method, and a system are provided for controlling a smart key. The smart key control apparatus includes a smart key controller that is configured to transmit a wake-up signal for a smart key when a start-up command is detected in a start-off state of a vehicle and authenticate the smart key based on a response of the smart key that corresponds to the wake-up signal. In addition, a peripheral controller is configured to adjust a power level of a neighboring portable terminal when an authentication for the smart key fails and a communicator is configured to transmit and receive a signal between the smart key and the portable terminal.
US09367971B2	Aircraft maintenance method and device A method for the maintenance of an aircraft including an avionics system including a set of operating units. The avionics system is connected to a ground-based infrastructure via at least one communication medium. Maintenance data stored in the ground-based infrastructure and relating to the malfunction of at least one operating unit are obtained via the at least one communication medium, and at least one operating unit is repaired on the basis of the maintenance data obtained.
US09367967B2	Systems and methods for odometer monitoring Systems and methods for odometer monitoring are disclosed herein. One example method includes storing an odometer value and a vehicle position in response to an initial triggering event, and determining a second odometer value and a second vehicle position in response to a subsequent triggering event. The odometer value is compared with the second odometer value to detect any odometer value change from the initial triggering event to the subsequent triggering event. The vehicle position is compared with the second vehicle position to detect any vehicle position change from the initial triggering event to the subsequent triggering event. From the comparisons, it is determined whether odometer tampering has occurred.
US09367963B2	Coordinate geometry augmented reality process for internal elements concealed behind an external element Embodiments of the invention include a method, a system, and a mobile device that incorporate augmented reality technology into land surveying, 3D laser scanning, and digital modeling processes. By incorporating the augmented reality technology, a 3D digital model of internal elements concealed behind an external element can be visualized on a live view, aligned to the orientation and scale of the scene displayed on the mobile device. In an embodiment, a marker can be placed at a predetermined set of coordinates on the external element, determined by surveying equipment. The 3D digital model of the internal elements can be retrieved by the mobile device and overlaid in relation to the marker position, orientation, and size so that it is seen at a calculated distance in depth behind the external element as they would exist hidden behind the external element in the real environment.
US09367952B2	3D geometric modeling and 3D video content creation A system, apparatus and method of obtaining data from a 2D image in order to determine the 3D shape of objects appearing in said 2D image, said 2D image having distinguishable epipolar lines, said method comprising: (a) providing a predefined set of types of features, giving rise to feature types, each feature type being distinguishable according to a unique bi-dimensional formation; (b) providing a coded light pattern comprising multiple appearances of said feature types; (c) projecting said coded light pattern on said objects such that the distance between epipolar lines associated with substantially identical features is less than the distance between corresponding locations of two neighboring features; (d) capturing a 2D image of said objects having said projected coded light pattern projected thereupon, said 2D image comprising reflected said feature types; and (e) extracting: (i) said reflected feature types according to the unique bi-dimensional formations; and (ii) locations of said reflected feature types on respective epipolar lines in said 2D image.
US09367951B1	Creating realistic three-dimensional effects Graphical elements displayed on a two-dimensional display screen have an appearance that is consistent with a three-dimensional view of those elements over a range of viewing angles. A current viewing angle of a user is determined, and a view of an element to be rendered can be determined that includes an orientation appropriate for the current viewing angle. An image manipulation process is applied in order to enable the element to have the determined view from the current viewing angle of the user, taking into account the angle of the display screen with respect to the user. In at least some embodiments, an anamorphic skewing process can be used to correlate locations on the display screen with apparent positions of those locations at the current viewing angle, and cause the graphical elements to be rendered on the display screen with a skew or distortion based on the correlated locations.
US09367943B2	Seamless fracture in a production pipeline Systems and processes for rendering fractures in an object are provided. In one example, a surface representation of an object may be converted into a volumetric representation of the object. The volumetric representation of the object may be divided into volumetric representations of two or more fragments. The volumetric representations of the two or more fragments may be converted into surface representations of the two or more fragments. Additional information associated with attributes of adjacent fragments may be used to convert the volumetric representations of the two or more fragments into surface representations of the two or more fragments. The surface representations of the two or more fragments may be displayed.
US09367941B2	Image output apparatus and method of rendering an image An image output apparatus and a method of rendering an image thereof are provided. The method includes: a data input configured to receive stroke attribute information; a vertex generator configured to generate a vertex which indicates an outer appearance of a stroke based on the stroke attribute information; an alpha value setter configured to calculate a size of a texture based on the stroke attribute information and set an alpha value that will be stored in the texture; a UV setter configured to set UV information based on the stroke attribute information; a renderer configured to render the stroke based on the vertex, the texture in which the alpha value is stored and the UV information; and an output configured to output the rendered stroke.
US09367940B2	Method for single-view hair modeling and portrait editing The invention discloses a method for single-view hair modeling and portrait editing. The method is capable of 3D structure reconstruction for individual's hairstyle in an input image, and it requires only a small amount of user inputs to bring about a variety of portrait editing functions; after steps of image preprocessing, 3D head model reconstruction, 2D strands extraction and 3D hairstyle reconstruction, the method finally achieves portrait editing functions such as portrait pop-ups, hairstyle replacements, hairstyle editing, etc.; the invention discloses a method for creating a 3D hair model from a single portrait view for the first time, thereby bringing about a series of practical portrait hairstyle editing functions, of which the effect is superior to methods in the prior art, and having features such as simple interactions and highly efficient calculations.
US09367939B2	Relevance based visual media item modification A method that receives a visual media item and determines an identity of at least one intended viewer of the visual media item is disclosed. The method may further identify a visual representation of an object that is comprised by the visual media item and determine a relevance of the object based, at least in part, on the identity. The method may further generate a modified visual media item such that the modified visual media item differs from the visual media item, at least, by visual emphasis of the visual representation of the object.
US09367934B2	Image processing method, image processing apparatus, and image processing program In the image processing apparatus, Input transform into an input color space is performed on input image data; After the input transform, transform processing of transforming chroma or chromaticity of the input image data or chroma or chromaticity in the input color space is performed so as to reduce a difference between a space of chroma or chromaticity of the input image data and a space of chroma or chromaticity in the input color space to acquire transformed image data; and Output transform into an output color space is performed on the transformed image data using a three-dimensional lookup table including inverse transform processing of returning the chroma or chromaticity of the transformed image data to the chroma or chromaticity of the input image data to acquire output image data.
US09367930B2	Methods and systems for determining fish catches The present disclosure is directed towards determining, at sea, the respective weights of fish species that are part of a fish catch. By way of the present disclosure, images of a fish catch are taken using triangulation techniques involving stereo-photogrammetry. According to one embodiment, a method for estimating a total weight of a fish catch includes receiving a fish catch on a fishing vessel and capturing images of the fish catch. From the images, fishes are identified and the species to which the corresponding fishes belong are also identified. Using the images, lengths of the identified fishes as well as the total volume occupied by the fish catch are determined, which can be used to estimate the total weight of the fish catch.
US09367929B2	Monitoring web site content Systems and methods for monitoring Web page content associated with processing a resource request are provided. A client computing device generates a sample image corresponding to a set of resources rendered in response to a resource request. A processing component, such as an image analysis component, then compares the sample image with an averaged reference image to identify a compared image. The averaged reference image is determined from averaging a pixel intensity value for each pixel in a first reference image with a pixel intensity value for each pixel in a second reference image. These first and second reference images both correspond to the same set of requested resources. The processing component then weights the compared image to produce a weighted compared image and determines whether a sum of the intensity values for each pixel in the weighted compared image exceeds a threshold. Aspects of systems and methods for generating an alert message if the threshold is exceeded are also provided.
US09367924B2	Method and system for segmentation of the liver in magnetic resonance images using multi-channel features A method and system for fully automatic liver segmentation in a multi-channel magnetic resonance (MR) image is disclosed. An initial liver boundary in the multi-channel MR image, such as an MR Dixon scan. The segmented initial liver boundary in the multi-channel MR image is refined based on features extracted from multiple channels of the multi-channel MR image using a trained boundary detector. The features may be extracted from an opposed channel and a water channel of an MR Dixon scan.
US09367921B2	Determining object volume from mobile device images Techniques are described for analyzing images acquired via mobile devices in various ways, including to estimate measurements for one or more attributes of one or more objects in the images. For example, the described techniques may be used to measure the volume of a stockpile of material or other large object, based on images acquired via a mobile device that is carried by a human user as he or she passes around some or all of the object. During the acquisition of a series of digital images of an object of interest, various types of user feedback may be provided to a human user operator of the mobile device, and particular images may be selected for further analysis in various manners. Furthermore, the calculation of object volume and/or other determined object information may include generating and manipulating a computer model or other representation of the object from selected images.
US09367917B2	Estimation of co-registration errors The co-registration error can be estimated by performing a number of additional iterative co-registrations, each iteration having a starting point dictated by the found co-registration transformation, and using a set of initial parameters different to that of the co-registration being tested. The spread in the resulting co-registrations can then be used as the estimate of the co-registration error. The variations in the set of initial parameters can include (i) the candidate transformation which the iteration uses as its starting point, adopting starting points that are offset from the co-registration being tested, (ii) the sample points used for the mutual information metric (or whichever metric is used to optimise the transformation), and (iii) the region-of-interest that is selected. Ideally, all three are varied to some extent within the plurality of additional co-registrations that are performed, and an average value is taken.
US09367915B2	Method and system for analyzing optical coherence tomography (OCT) results using color reflectivity discretization analysis A method of analyzing an OCT image. An OCT image has many differently colored dots. The system detects the number of differently colored dots, quantifies them and performs statistical analyses to determine a likelihood of disease. The different colored dots correspond to different retina cell types and structures.
US09367914B2	Imaging system and method for use of same to determine metric scale of imaged bodily anatomy Repositionable imaging system and method for creating a 3D image of a closed cavity of a patient's anatomy containing the imaging system, estimating characteristics of motion of the system within the cavity, and determining a metric dimension characterizing the cavity without the use of mechanical measurement. The system may include tracking device located externally with respect to the cavity to determine a scale measurement of the system's motion and the structure of the cavity. The system's computer processor is configured to determine triangulated features of the cavity and recover motion scale data with the use of data received from the tracking device. A specific imaging system includes an endoscope (equipped with an electrical coil and complemented with an external electromagnetic tracker).
US09367913B2	Choosing anatomical variant model for image segmentation A system (100) for segmenting an object in an image adapts a first model for segmenting the object to the image. A feature is extracted from the image based on the adapted first model. A second model is selected for segmenting the object from a plurality of models for segmenting the object, based on the feature extracted from the image. The second model includes additional detail of the object. The second model is utilized based on the adapted first model and/or the feature extracted from the image; the initialized second model is adapted to the image. The features extracted from the image based on the adapted first model help the system (100) to select the second model for segmenting the object from a plurality of models for segmenting the object. The adapted first model and/or the extracted features are also used for initializing the second model. Because the second model includes the additional detail of the object, the segmentation result using the second model is more complete than the segmentation result Obtained using the first model. Moreover, the initialization of the second model based on the adapted first model and/or the detected features Improves the accuracy of the second model adaptation.
US09367911B2	Apparatus and method for defect detection including patch-to-patch comparisons A system receives, based on processing of an inspected frame of an inspected image generated by collecting signals indicative of a pattern on an article, at least one candidate defect location in the inspected frame. The system defines a candidate patch within the inspected frame. The candidate patch is associated with the candidate defect location. The system identifies at least one similar patch in the inspected frame using a predefined similarity criterion and determines whether a defect exists at the candidate defect location based on a comparison of at least a portion of the candidate patch with at least a corresponding portion of the at least one similar patch.
US09367910B2	Self-assemblable polymer and methods for use in lithography A method and system to analyze various dimensional parameters of a structure, such as a self-assembled block copolymer structure whether formed by graphoepitaxy or chemical epitaxy. The method involves image processing including median filtering and feature detection to determine critical dimension information, and optionally the use of a Hough transform to find periodicity values and to determine placement errors.
US09367909B2	Devices, systems, and methods for classifying materials based on a bidirectional reflectance distribution function Systems, devices, and methods for classifying a sample by material type measure a reflection of a sample at an illumination angle and an observation angle in at least two spectral bands, calculate a feature value for the sample based on an estimated ratio value of the at least two spectral bands of the measured reflection, and classify the sample based on the feature value.
US09367908B1	Overcoming inappropriate apparent rotation of vehicle wheels in videos by image modification Apparatus and method are described to overcome the perception in viewed video or other presentations containing moving vehicles that the apparent rotation rate of their wheels is frequently inappropriate for the vehicle speeds, which is caused by the stroboscopic interaction between the wheel spokes and the rate at which the images are presented. A currently preferred embodiment operates off-line under human control on a previously recorded video, identifying the wheels and replacing them with suitably altered images which are perceived to rotate at rates appropriate to the vehicle speeds; or to suppress inappropriate perception of rotation. The apparatus and method results in a new recording of the original video in which the wheels appear to rotate at the correct rate for all vehicle speeds. Alternate embodiments implement a similar but automated process operating in near-real time for operating in-line on streaming videos; and variations achieving the same ends.
US09367903B2	Method and apparatus for correcting artifacts during generation of X-ray images, in particular computed tomography, or radiography by means of temporal modulation of primary radiation Artifacts caused by scattered radiation when generating X-ray images of objects are corrected using a temporally alterable modulation of the primary radiation. A respective set of originally amplitude-modulated modulation projections of the object is generated and a respective scattered image allocated to the respective modulation projections is calculated. The method is particularly suitable for fast CT scans.
US09367902B2	Image processing device, endoscope apparatus, isolated point noise correction method, and information storage device An image processing device includes an isolated point noise detection section, and an isolated point noise correction section. The isolated point noise detection section determines whether or not isolated point noise is included within a given area based on a first index value that represents the range of first to nth pixel values being obtained by arranging the pixel values of pixels within the given area including an attention pixel in ascending or descending order, and a second index value that represents the range of a pixel value group being obtained by excluding at least one of the first pixel value and the nth pixel value from the first to nth pixel values. The isolated point noise detection section determines whether or not the attention pixel is a pixel that corresponds to isolated point noise when it has been determined that isolated point noise is included within the given area.
US09367900B2	Image noise removing apparatus and image noise removing method An image noise removing apparatus which removes, after removal of noise from a first image, noise included in a second image includes: a spatial noise removing unit executing an operation for removing the noise included in the second image using a pixel value included in the second image, thereby generating a spatial noise-free image; a reliability calculating unit calculating a reliability indicating how dynamic the second image is, based on the spatial noise-free image, the second image, and a first noise-free image which is generated from the first image with the noise therein removed; and a temporal blending unit performing, based on the reliability, a weighted summation on the second image and the first noise-free image, thereby removing the noise included in the second image.
US09367898B2	Orientation of display rendering on a display based on position of user Apparatus, computer-readable storage medium, and method associated with orienting a display image are described. In embodiments, a computing device may include a display to render the display image and a display orientation module coupled with the display. In embodiments the display orientation module may receive audio input from a user of the computing device and determine a position of the user relative to the display, based on the audio input. In embodiments, the display orientation module may further either orient the display image in accordance with the position of the user or output a result of the determination for use to orient the display image in accordance with the position of the user. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
US09367897B1	System for video super resolution using semantic components A method for increasing the resolution of a series of low resolution frames of a low resolution video sequence to a series of high resolution frames of a high resolution video sequence includes receiving the series of low resolution frames of the video sequence. The system determines a first plurality of semantically relevant key points of a first low resolution frame of the series of low resolution frames and determines a second plurality of semantically relevant key points of a second low resolution frame of the series of low resolution frames. The system temporally processes the first plurality of key points based upon the second plurality of key points to determine a more temporally consistent set of key points for the first plurality of key points.
US09367894B2	Stretchable display and method of controlling the same A method of controlling a stretchable display including a stretchable substrate, stretchable in at least one direction, and a display unit that is on the stretchable substrate and displays an image, the method including obtaining stretch information of the stretchable substrate using at least two acceleration sensors provided on edges of the stretchable substrate, predicting a shape change of the display unit on the basis of the stretch information, and controlling the display unit on the basis of the shape change.
US09367888B2	Feature resolutions sensitivity for counterfeit determinations A counterfeit identification performance attribute (CIPA) sensitivity to changes in resolution of the image for features of an image is determined (102). The CIPA sensitivity for the features is used to choose at least one feature to determine whether the image on a sample is a counterfeit (106).
US09367887B1	Multi-channel audio video fingerprinting Implementations are provided herein relating to audiovisual matching. Audio and video channel data is merged to create a single multi-channel fingerprint used to match media content. Audio channel data is used to generate audio fingerprints. Video channel data is used to generate a video fingerprints. Multi-channel fingerprints can then be generated based on the audio channel fingerprints and video channel fingerprints. In this sense, entropy can be increased while the multi-channel fingerprint can be less resistant to noise.
US09367881B2	Rotary platform user interface A control and monitoring system for a rotating animal platform which includes multiple animal stalls arranged about its periphery, where the system includes an interactive display screen which displays output information relating to the current status of operations on the platform and which displays input channels for use by an operator, the platform itself is represented at said interactive display screen by an annular shape, each stall on the platform is graphically represented by a cell, the cells are displayed in a spatial arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of stalls on the platform, real-time status information relating to operations on the platform is represented at each cell, and the rotating movement of the platform is represented by the progression of each cell about the displayed representation of the platform.
US09367878B2	Social content suggestions based on connections A system and method for recommending content to a user in a social network, including: logging user activity for the user in the social network; categorizing the user activity across all the user's networks, wherein each category is assigned a score based on relevance to the user; assigning weights to the user activities; calculating a social index score as a function of the weighted user activity categories; logging user content into categories; scoring the user content; and generating a content social index by weighting the content scores.
US09367877B1	System for electronic administration of employee skill certification badge program A communication device may receive an employee skill certification badge request for: (i) a first employee of an insurance enterprise, and (ii) a first employee skill category of a plurality of potential categories. Information about the received may be stored, and a badge server may gather and store data (e.g., quantitative and/or qualitative data) in an electronic evidence file based the first employee's interactions with customers during normal performance of his or her employment. A first manager of the first employee may be determined, and the badge server may receive from the first manager an indication that the electronic evidence file meets a threshold criteria. Responsive to the received indication, the badge server may associate the first employee with the first employee skill certification badge and transmit data to cause display of an icon associated with the first employee skill certification badge on other remote devices.
US09367876B2	Systems and methods for multimedia multipoint real-time conferencing allowing real-time bandwidth management and prioritized media distribution A system is disclosed for multimedia multipoint real-time conferencing that includes a communication module to receive a request to share media content in a virtual room setting. The content may include an audio, a video, a text, or a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) code referencing a third-party resource. The system may further include a content encoder at the host website to create a data packet encapsulating the transport characteristics and the routing requirements and a multipoint router to share the content via the transport protocol in the real-time group conference associated with the users of the virtual room.
US09367874B2	Mobile kiosk for enhanced financial product offerings A mobile kiosk comprising a vehicle and a kiosk portion coupled to the vehicle. The mobile kiosk receives information for a first configuration of financial products and applies the first configuration to the mobile kiosk at a first time. It provisions a first set of the financial products while the mobile kiosk is configured according to the first configuration. The mobile kiosk receives information for a second configuration of the financial products, wherein the second configuration differs from the first configuration. It applies the second configuration to the mobile kiosk at a second time, and provisions a second set of the financial products while the mobile kiosk is configured according to the second configuration.
US09367867B2	System and method for provisioning of internet access services in a guest facility A system and method for provisioning Internet access services to guests of a facility (e.g., one or more hotel chains). Equipment and devices for access service are installed throughout the facility. Each device that supports the Internet access services has a unique identifier. Zones representing various public and private areas within each facility are defined and one or more devices are associated with each zone. Service offerings for wired and wireless connections are defined and associated with one or more zones. Service offerings are also paired with pricing plans that provide various payment options and amounts. A web-based administration application allows an administrator to define and manage service offerings associated with the zones. The application also allows the administrator to define and manage the pricing plans. The ability to customize offerings in each facility allows development of consistent offerings, regardless of the size or layout of the facility.
US09367865B2	System and method for providing consumers with access to an article while preventing theft thereof The present invention is directed to a system and method for providing consumers with access to an article while preventing theft thereof. In one aspect, the invention is a method for providing consumers with access to an article, the method comprising: a) securing the article in a secured state using an anti-theft system, the anti-theft system alterable between the secured state and an unsecured state; b) the anti-theft system receiving, from a consumer's portable electronic device, consumer data relating to the consumer; c) analyzing the consumer data received by the anti-theft system to determine the consumer's risk level; and d) directing the anti-theft system to transition from the secured state to the unsecured state upon the consumer's risk level being approved.
US09367863B2	Temporary internet speed increase A temporary Internet bandwidth increase is provided. A speed preview interface is presented for obtaining a request for an Internet bandwidth increase from a customer. The eligibility of the customer for the requested increase of the Internet bandwidth is verified. The increase of Internet bandwidth for the customer is provisioned for a predetermined period of time based on the verification of eligibility of the customer. The predetermined period of time may be a temporary fixed period of time or a period of time based on billing status. When the predetermined period of time is a temporary fixed period of time, the increase in Internet bandwidth is terminated after lapse of the temporary fixed period of time.
US09367862B2	Asynchronous advertising placement based on metadata A podcast system and method are provided to select and deliver media ads over a network to a user device and to insert the media ads in media content subscribed to and delivered over the network to the user device.
US09367861B2	Timer-based ad placement in content retrieval applications Techniques are described for incorporating advertisements into content in a content retrieval application. Embodiments receive a request to view content retrieved from source content containing one or more advertisements. In response to receiving the request, a timer is initiated. The timer is configured to expire after a period of time has elapsed. Embodiments determining whether to display any of the one or more advertisements, based upon whether the timer has expired.
US09367857B2	Method for performing real-time click fraud detection, prevention and reporting for online advertising The present invention provides a method of detecting fraudulent clicks in an online environment to reduce fraudulent paid clicks for online advertisers. The method includes server side and client side code which combined enables a click verification web site to identify valid and invalid clicks and in real-time prevents advertisers from getting billed for fraudulent activity.
US09367856B1	Asynchronous account modification Technology is described for asynchronously modifying a plurality of subaccounts. A method may include receiving an update request for an account having a running order value. An update sub-request may be sent for a subaccount of the account. Another operation may be receiving an expiration request for the subaccount with a consumed running order value. The expiration request may be applied to the subaccount when a determination has been made that the update sub-request is completed by checking the running order value against the consumed running order value.
US09367855B2	Telephony based reward system The present disclosure describes a system and method for managing through telephony systems a customer reward system, such as, a spend and get reward system. In one embodiment, a virtual punch card (“VPC”) customer loyalty reward program system and method are managed through a telephonic communication connection provider.
US09367854B1	Methods and a computing device for carrying out data collection According to an implementation, a host computing device receives, from a first computing device, a data collection request of a first user. The data collection request indicates a data point (whose characteristics are defined in a mark-up language schema) that is to be the subject of the data collection and identifies a second user as provider of a value for the data point. The host computing device notifies the second user of the data collection request and receives, from a second computing device, a request of the second user for the data point to be assigned a plurality of categories. In response to the request of the second user, the host computing device extends the mark-up language schema to characterize the plurality of categories within the mark-up language schema.
US09367853B2	Systems, methods, and apparatuses for implementing data upload, processing, and predictive query API exposure Disclosed herein are systems and methods for implementing data upload, processing, and predictive query API exposure including means for receiving a dataset in a tabular form, the dataset having a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns; processing the dataset to generate indices representing probabilistic relationships between the rows and the columns of the dataset; storing the indices in a database; exposing an Application Programming Interface (API) to query the indices in the database; receiving a request for a predictive query or a latent structure query against the indices in the database; querying the database for a prediction based on the request via the API; and returning the prediction responsive to the request. Other related embodiments are further disclosed.
US09367848B2	Dynamic interactive seat map Systems and methods for providing an interactive seat map showing locations of available tickets in an event venue are described. A client computer receives, from a network-based system, a base map illustrating locations of sections within the event venue, a coded image map for building a map overlay having a polygon for each section depicted in the base map, and an inventory for an event at the event venue. The inventory provides, for each section, section data that includes available tickets for each section within the event venue. The client computer displays an interactive seat map by loading the base map and building the map overlay on top of the base map so that each polygon of the map overlay aligns with the respective section of the base map. The client computer determines one or more characteristics for each polygon of the map overlay based on the received section data corresponding to each polygon. The client computer applies the one or more characteristics to each polygon of the map overlay, and links each polygon of the map overlay that includes available tickets to the section in the inventory.
US09367847B2	Presenting content packages based on audience retargeting A present technology intelligently retargets invitational content to a user by maintaining a user profile that includes data descriptive of the user's interaction with invitational content previously presented to the user and making decisions regarding retargeting based on an analysis of the user profile. The information in the user profile is not limited to whether or not the user completed a conversion action associated with invitational content presented. Rather, the profile is expanded to include such information as where on the conversion continuum the user abandoned the process and details of how the invitational content was presented to the user, e.g. colors used, situation, and message. When presented with a request for invitational content, the system uses the profile information to influence which content is selected and how it is presented to the user. This enables the system to re-present invitational content in a form and/or situation where the user is more likely to complete the conversion action.
US09367846B2	Telephone search supported by advertising based on past history of requests A technology platform for the delivery of dynamic, interactive audio advertisements played in response to a consumer initiated request for information via a telephone. The platform provides advertising supported information services that are related to past responses made to a specific consumer who initiated the request. In one specific embodiment, a consumer uses a telephone is connected to a call processing system. The call processing system receives a request for information from the consumer. In determining a response, the consumer's request is examined to identify the customer that originated the request. This in turn identifies a profile file associated with the consumer, which then permits the system to determine one or more advertisement selection parameters. The customer profile may comprise one or more records of past requests from the identified customer station.
US09367844B1	Method and system for online and physical merchant specific fraud detection system A method for processing payment transactions with merchant-specific fraud detection includes: storing a merchant profile, the profile including data related to a merchant including a merchant identifier and a plurality of transaction data entries, each entry including data related to a payment transaction involving the merchant including transaction data; receiving an authorization request for a payment transaction, the request including the merchant identifier and transaction data; calculating a fraud score for the payment transaction based on application of one or more scoring algorithms to the transaction data included in the authorization request and based on the transaction data included in transaction data entries in the merchant profile; transmitting the transaction data included in the received authorization request and the calculated fraud score to the merchant; and receiving a notification from the merchant indicating acceptance of risk for the payment transaction.
US09367831B1	Methods and apparatus for inventory determinations using portable devices Methods and apparatus for inventory determinations using portable devices are disclosed. One disclosed example apparatus includes a detector of a portable device to determine one or more of an orientation or a position of a portable device relative to a product or a shelf storing the product, where the portable device is independent of the shelf. The disclosed example also includes a transmitter of the portable device, where the transmitter is to transmit a signal towards a rear surface of the shelf, and where the rear surface faces toward the product. The disclosed example also includes a receiver of the portable device to receive a reflected signal corresponding to the transmitted signal, where the reflected signal reflected from the rear surface of the shelf. The disclosed example also includes a processor of the portable device to enable the transmitter based on the detected orientation or position of the portable device, and to determine inventory information about the product on the shelf based on the reflected signal.
US09367828B2	Forward-path digital summation in digital radio frequency transport A distributed antenna switch includes a plurality of first interfaces, each of the plurality of first interfaces configured to receive a downlink serialized data stream from a different network interface across a different first digital communication link; at least one second interface, the at least one second interface configured to communicate an aggregate downlink serialized data stream to a remote antenna unit over a second digital communication link; and wherein the distributed antenna switch is configured to aggregate the plurality of downlink serialized data streams from the different network interfaces into the aggregate downlink serialized data stream.
US09367826B2	Consistent interface for entitlement product A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction. In some operations, software creates, updates, or otherwise processes information related to an entitlement product business object.
US09367822B2	Supervision and data cyber superhighway system, method and medium A method provides supervision which includes providing a plurality of information channels for communicating information to the service provider and the user and integrating the information channels to provide access to supervisory functionality for supervising the information channels of the plurality of information channels by way of a single portal. The method provides access to audio/visual functionality, to information record functionality, to diagnostic functionality, to action functionality and to administrative functionality. All functionalities are accessed by way of a portal whereby the portal has access to the functionalities simultaneously. A single accessing of the portal by the user permits the user to gain access to all of the functionalities simultaneously in accordance with the single accessing. The portal can be a web portal. Each of the functionalities is accessed by way of a respective information channel of a plurality of information channels.
US09367819B2	Sensor data processing A method and apparatus for processing data, the data including: a set of one or more system inputs; and a set of one or more system outputs; wherein each system output corresponds to a respective system input; each system input includes a plurality of data points, a first data point in the plurality and a second data point in the plurality being from a same raw data source, and the first data point being pre-processed using a different pre-processing method relative to a pre-processing method used to pre-process the second data point, the method including: for each of the first and second data points, inferring a value indicative of a significance of the pre-processing method used to pre-process that data point; wherein the inferring includes performing a machine learning algorithm on a given system input from the data and a further system input.
US09367812B2	Compound selection in drug discovery Methods and systems for determining the selection criteria that in its embodiments can distinguish compounds that successfully meet an objective from those that do not, determine the importance of selection criterion in selecting test compounds that have a high probability of achieving an objective and automatically apply the selection criteria to select test compounds with a high chance of meeting an objective.
US09367810B1	Operations maturity model Embodiments are directed towards an operations maturity model. An operations management system may associate events with one or more organizations. Event metric information may be provided based on the events for one or more sub-scores. The sub-scores may be scaled to fit within a defined range. An operations maturity score may be provided for the organizations that may be based on the scaled sub-scores. One or more recommendations may be provided to increase the operations maturity score for the organizations based on operations maturity scores that correspond to the one or more organizations. Providing the recommendations, includes providing a correlation of operations practices and the sub-scores and providing configuration recommendations based on the operations practices that are correlated with above average sub-scores.
US09367809B2	Contextual graph matching based anomaly detection Contextual graph matching based anomaly detection may include evaluating computer-generated log file data to create a master directed graph that specifies known events and transitions between the known events. The master directed graph may be processed to determine a plurality of decomposed master graph walks. Incoming computer-generated log file data may be evaluated to create an incoming directed graph that specifies unknown events and transitions between the unknown events. The incoming directed graph may be processed to determine a decomposed incoming walk. Overlap, distance difference, and correlation scores may be determined for each walk pair of a plurality of walk pairs including each of the plurality of decomposed master graph walks and the decomposed incoming walk. One of the decomposed master graph walks may be selected based on the overlap score, the difference score, and the correlation score, to detect an anomaly.
US09367807B2	Method and system that provides efficient index-based retrieval of rules The current application is directed to methods, and to systems employing the methods, that allow built-in indexing methods for facts, to additionally be applied to rules within a logic-programming system. The methods and systems to which the current application is directed convert an original set of rules into an equivalent set of fact/rule pairs. In addition, a new set of rules may be directly encoded as a new set of fact/rule pairs by these methods and systems. The equivalent set of fact/rule pairs implement the original set of rules, preserving the meaning of the original rules, but the equivalent set of fact/rule pairs are indexed by built-in indexing methods for facts. The new fact/rule pairs are also indexed by built-in indexing methods for facts.
US09367805B2	Complex situation analysis system using a plurality of brokers that control access to information sources Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for generating a data set are provided. One method includes generating a data set based on input data using a plurality of brokers. The method further includes receiving a request from a user and determining whether the request can be fulfilled using data currently in the data set. When the request can be fulfilled using data currently in the data set, the data is accessed using broker(s) configured to provide access to data within the data set. When the request cannot be fulfilled using data currently in the data set, at least one new broker is spawned using existing broker(s) and additional data needed to fulfill the request is added to the data set using the new broker. The method further includes generating a response to the request using one or more of the plurality of brokers.
US09367802B2	Determining a preferred node in a classification and regression tree for use in a predictive analysis Techniques are described for determining what node of a classification and regression tree (CART) should be used by a predictive analysis application. A first approach is to use a standard deviation of the data at a given the level of the CART to determine whether data in the next, lower node is more consistent than the data in the current node. A second approach is to measure a correlation between data points in a given node and the time at which each point was sampled (or other correlation metric) to identify a preferred node.
US09367801B2	Optimal non-recursive method for finding a minimal subset satisfying an upward-closed property According to an aspect, a method for providing a minimal explanation to a set of unsatisfiable constraints involves retrieving a minimal subset of constraints that remain together unsatisfiable. The method includes iterating over a list of n constraints, and building a minimal explanation to a set of unsatisfiable constraints by determining which constraint to add to the set of unsatisfiable constraints. Building includes accelerating by removing an increasing number of constraints until removed further constraints makes the set of constraints satisfiable. A dichotomic search is performed on the removed further constraints. The average observed distance is identified between successive constraints in the set of unsatisfiable constraints. A plurality of 2k further constraints located in the list of constraints is removed at the average observed distance from the most recently added constraint. Testing whether a current selected subset is unsatisfiable is performed for the first log2(n) added constraints.
US09367800B1	Ancestry painting with local ancestry inference Presenting ancestral origin information, comprising: receiving a request to display ancestry data of an individual; obtaining ancestry composition information of the individual, the ancestry composition information including information pertaining to a proportion of the individual's genotype data that is deemed to correspond to a specific ancestry; and presenting the ancestry composition information to be displayed.
US09367791B2	Transponder inlay and device including such an inlay The inlay (10) for the manufacture of a device (12) comprising a base made up of a multilayer structure within which the inlay (10) is designed to be incorporated, the insert (10) comprising a microcircuit and an antenna connected to the microcircuit. The transponder assembly is combined into a microcircuit module (26) and the substrate includes a cavity (28) dimensioned to completely receive the module (26).
US09367789B2	Process for the production of an electronic card having an external connector and such an external connector The invention relates to an external connector for the production of an electronic card comprising an insulating support that defines an outside face and an inside face opposite one another and a plurality of external metal contact pads. This external connector additionally comprises a plurality of metal projections located on the side of the inside face of the insulating support and respectively connected electrically to at least one subassembly of the plurality of external metal contact pads and/or to contact pads linked to an electronic unit, which is arranged on the inside face of the insulating support, wherein these metal projections are intended to be inserted into individual cavities of the body of the electronic card, and metal contact pads linked to an electronic unit inside the card body and/or an antenna incorporated in this card body are located at the base of these cavities. The invention also relates to a process for the production of an electronic card using the aforementioned external connector.
US09367788B2	Arrangement for connecting set values concerning performance to an electronics device Arrangement for connecting set values concerning performance relating to an electronics device to the electronics device, more particularly to a power electronics device, such as a frequency converter, which arrangement includes a rating plate part. The rating plate part is a separate unit belonging to the nameplate arrangement of the electronics device, which unit may be affixed to the electronics device. The rating plate part includes a memory member, in which values concerning the performance of the device are recorded. The rating plate part further includes an area in which information corresponding to the information recorded in the memory member is printed and which area remains visible when the rating plate part is affixed to the electronics device.
US09367787B2	Smart card The invention proposes a smart card which comprises a digital signal processing receiver that can automatically identify the type of a smart card reader based on the error vector magnitude of signals received from the reader. The digital signal processing receiver is able to reconfigure itself at runtime in order to optimally minimize its power consumption in dependence on the type of reader it is communicating with. Furthermore, the invention proposes a new preamble structure that comprises a basic part and an optional additional part.
US09367785B2	RFID tag location systems We describe a methods of locating an RFID tag. One method transmits tag location signals at a plurality of different frequencies from a plurality of different antennas spaced apart by more than a near field limit distance. The processing determines a phase difference at the plurality of different frequencies by determining a phase difference between either i) two or more of the transmit signals resulting in a maxima in the returned signal RSSI or ii) a first transmit signal and its corresponding return signal. The range determining uses return signals weighted by signal strength. Further data which may be used for averaging may be generated by using the above techniques along with changes in the polarisation state of the transmit and receive antennas and/or physical reconfiguration of the antennas (e.g. switch the transmit and receive elements).
US09367780B2	Image forming system and information processor that perform printing based on delegation to users who did not execute printing An image forming system with an information processor and an image forming device includes a memory that pre-stores user identification information, an input that accepts an entry of delegation identification information, a data creation part that creates transmission data using the delegation destination identification information as first authentication information when the entry of the delegation destination identification information is accepted, and that creates transmission data using user identification information as first authentication information when the entry of the delegation destination identification information is not accepted, a transmission part that sends the transmission data to the image forming device including a reception part that receives the transmission data, an authentication part that performs authentication using the first authentication information, that permits image formation based upon the transmission data when the authentication is successful, and an image forming part that forms an image on a recording medium based upon the transmission data.
US09367778B2	Document finishing architecture (DFA) master controller A Document Finishing Architecture Master controller includes an input communication link enabling two-way communication with a document-handling device. The document-handling device is restricted to connections with document finishing devices (DFDs) connected in series. Output communication links are operatively connected to the input communication link. The output communication links enable two-way communication over parallel communication networks with the DFDs. A translator is operatively connected to the output communication link, and driver interfaces are operatively connected to the translator. Document-finishing signals originating from the document-handling device are translated by the translator to a protocol used by the DFDs. The document-finishing signals are communicated from the translator to the driver interfaces, and from the driver interface to the DFDs. DFD signals from the DFDs are translated by the translator to a protocol used by the document-handling device. The DFD signals are communicated from the driver interfaces to the translator and from the translator to the document-handling device.
US09367770B2	Methods and arrangements for identifying objects In some arrangements, product packaging is digitally watermarked over most of its extent to facilitate high-throughput item identification at retail checkouts. Imagery captured by conventional or plenoptic cameras can be processed (e.g., by GPUs) to derive several different perspective-transformed views—further minimizing the need to manually reposition items for identification. Crinkles and other deformations in product packaging can be optically sensed, allowing such surfaces to be virtually flattened to aid identification. Piles of items can be 3D-modelled and virtually segmented into geometric primitives to aid identification, and to discover locations of obscured items. Other data (e.g., including data from sensors in aisles, shelves and carts, and gaze tracking for clues about visual saliency) can be used in assessing identification hypotheses about an item. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.
US09367768B2	Image processing device, image processing method, and storage medium computer-readably storing program therefor An image processing process includes classifying an Object-related information indicating a feature of an object into an attribute, generating feature information of a partial area of an image, calculating a degree of similarity between the object and the partial area based on the object-related information and the feature information, estimating, based on the degree of similarity, the object for each of the partial areas, calculating, for a combination of the estimated objects, a total of the degrees of similarity between the object classified into the attribute and the partial area for each of the attributes, selecting, based on the total, at least one of the combinations of the estimated objects, and storing the object included in the selected combination in association with the image.
US09367763B1	Privacy-preserving text to image matching A method for text-to-image matching includes generating representations of text images, such as license plate images, by embedding each text image into a first vectorial space with a first embedding function. With a second embedding function, a character string, such as a license plate number to be matched, is embedded into a second vectorial space to generate a character string representation. A compatibility is computed between the character string representation and one or more of the text image representations to identify a matching one. The compatibility is computed with a function that uses a transformation which is learned on a training set of labeled images. The learning uses a loss function that aggregates a text-to-image-loss and an image-to-text loss over the training set. The image-to-text loss penalizes the transformation when it correctly ranks a pair of character string representations, given an image representation corresponding to one of them.
US09367759B2	Cooperative vision-range sensors shade removal and illumination field correction A method of creating a shadow-reduced image from a captured image. An image of a scene exterior of a vehicle is captured by a vehicle-based image capture device. A first object profile of an object in the captured image is identified by a processor. A second object profile of the object is detected using a non-vision object detection device. Shadows in the captured image are removed by the processor as a function of the first object profile and the second object profile. A shadow reduced image is utilized in a vehicle-based application.
US09367757B2	Content extracting device, content extracting method and program An information processing apparatus that obtains intimacy degree information corresponding to identification information of a first person, specifies an extraction period based on the intimacy degree information, and extracts content in the extraction period.
US09367755B2	Image encoding apparatus, image decoding apparatus and methods thereof There is provided an image processing apparatus including a quantization unit that quantizes an image subjected to logarithmic conversion such that a quantization error is focused on a luminance region in which expansion of an error caused due to logarithmic inverse-conversion which is inverse conversion of the logarithmic conversion is relatively small or a luminance region in which no expansion of the error occurs; and an encoding unit that encodes an index image obtained through the quantization by the quantization unit.
US09367754B2	Payment card OCR with relaxed alignment Extracting financial card information with relaxed alignment comprises a method to receive an image of a card, determine one or more edge finder zones in locations of the image, and identify lines in the one or more edge finder zones. The method further identifies one or more quadrilaterals formed by intersections of extrapolations of the identified lines, determines an aspect ratio of the one or more quadrilateral, and compares the determined aspect ratios of the quadrilateral to an expected aspect ratio. The method then identifies a quadrilateral that matches the expected aspect ratio and performs an optical character recognition algorithm on the rectified model. A similar method is performed on multiple cards in an image. The results of the analysis of each of the cards are compared to improve accuracy of the data.
US09367752B2	Camera position posture evaluating device, camera position posture evaluating method, and camera position posture evaluating program There is provided a camera position posture evaluating device which can calculate a value which indicates an evaluation of a state of a camera from a viewpoint of to what degree an object appears in an image suitably for image processing. A resolution evaluating means 71 calculates a first suitability rate matching each position in a target area from a viewpoint of resolution. A gazing point angle evaluating means 72 calculates a second suitability rate matching each position in the target area. A target area evaluating means 73 calculates a third suitability rate from a viewpoint of how a target object field-of-view area and the target area overlap. A comprehensive evaluating means 74 calculates an evaluation index which indicates to what degree the state of the camera is suitable to the image processing based on the first suitability rate matching each position in the target area, the second suitability rate matching each position in the target area and the third suitability rate.
US09367750B2	Lane departure warning system and method of controlling the same Disclosed is a lane departure warning system. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the lane departure warning system includes: an image obtaining unit configured to obtain a travelling image; a region of interest setting unit configured to set a predetermined region of the travelling image as a region of interest; and a controller configured to remove a shadow component included in the region of interest when brightness of the region of interest satisfies a predetermined condition, and detect a line in the region of interest in which the shadow component is removed.
US09367748B1	System and method for autonomous lock-on target tracking An autonomous lock-on target tracking system and method with imaging means for a real space. The imaging means captures and aligns first and second images. A frame-differencing operation produces a resultant image including blobs corresponding to elements in the real space. One of the blobs is analyzed, classified, and tracked as a target.
US09367744B2	Systems and methods of fingerprinting and identifying media contents Systems and methods are provided for identifying a video object using digital fingerprints. The digital fingerprints are generated from information extracted from the video object including encoded video. The digital fingerprints can be calculated in a manner that permits identification of both the video object and operational characteristics of the video object based on matching calculated digital fingerprints with known fingerprints of known video objects. Systems and methods are described that allow a DVD to be uniquely identified and identify whether the DVD is original, copied or pirated. Systems and methods are described for computing digital fingerprints from strings of bits in which certain additional data is optionally embedded. Systems and methods are described that permit media players to access known signatures of known video objects maintained on one or more databases and to identify video objects presented for playing on the media player. In the present continuation application, the video object is extended to media content including video and audio, and DVD is extended to media file, network stream and other content mediums.
US09367743B1	Method and system for classifying a terrain type in an area A method for classifying a terrain type in an area is provided, which method comprises the steps of: obtaining a plurality of overlapping aerial images of the area; calculating at least one terrain type index for each part of each of the aerial images which lies in the area, where the at least one terrain type index represents the terrain type; determining at least one terrain type index for each part of the area based on the calculated at least one terrain type index for each part of each of the aerial images; and classifying the parts of the area for which at least one pre-determined conditions is met as containing the terrain type, wherein at least one of the at least one predetermined condition relates to a value of the determined at least one terrain type index. An associated system and computer program product are also provided.
US09367741B2	Deviation indicator with infrared imagery and system for automatically aiming at and tracking a target The invention relates to a deviation indicator with infrared imagery and a system for automatically aiming at and tracking a target. According to the invention, the deviation indicator with infrared imagery comprises an infrared pulsed laser (11) and the device (12) for controlling and processing infrared images also processes the laser pulse echoes.
US09367738B2	Method, apparatus and computer program for calculating current distribution inside brain Apparatus for calculating current distribution inside brain includes: initial grid setting unit configured to set grid points constituting grid with predetermined pitch; current calculating unit configured to calculate current value at each grid point based on the electromagnetic information, by solving forward problem to obtain lead field matrix and by solving inverse problem to obtain current source vector; sub-grid setting unit configured to set grid points constituting sub-grid with smaller pitch, only for subset of the previously set grid, based on the current value at each grid point calculated in the preceding current calculating step; and calculation executing unit configured to repeat setting the sub-grid and calculating the current source vector by the sub-grid setting unit and the current calculating unit one or more times, after calculation of current source vector corresponding to the initial grid is executed by the initial grid setting unit and the current calculating unit.
US09367736B1	Text detection using features associated with neighboring glyph pairs A multi-orientation text detection method and associated system is disclosed that utilizes orientation-variant glyph features to determine a text line in an image regardless of an orientation of the text line. Glyph features are determined for each glyph in an image with respect to a neighboring glyph. The glyph features are provided to a learned classifier that outputs a glyph pair score for each neighboring glyph pair. Each glyph pair score indicates a likelihood that the corresponding pair of neighboring glyphs form part of a same text line. The glyph pair scores are used to identify candidate text lines, which are then ranked to select a final set of text lines in the image.
US09367733B2	Method and apparatus for detecting people by a surveillance system Surveillance systems may be found in both private and public spaces. In private spaces, they can be designed to help provide and monitor secure premises. Similarly, public spaces may also use surveillance systems to determine an allocation of public resources. A camera surveillance system according to an embodiment of the invention uses advanced image processing techniques to determine whether an object moving across a scene is a person. The camera surveillance system achieves an accurate and efficient classification by selectively processing a set of features associated with the object, such as features that define an omega shape. By selectively processing the set of features associated with the object, the methods and systems described herein reduce the computational complexity of standard image processing/object detection techniques.
US09367729B2	Multi-resolutional texture analysis fingerprint liveness systems and methods Various systems, methods, and programs embodied in computer-readable mediums are provided for fingerprint liveness detection. In one embodiment, a method for determining fingerprint liveness is provided that comprises receiving a plurality of image analysis data of a fingerprint image; condensing the plurality of image analysis data; and determining liveness of the fingerprint image based upon the condensed data.
US09367719B2	Laser scanning system employing an optics module capable of forming a laser beam having an extended depth of focus (DOF) over the laser scanning field A laser scanning system having a laser scanning field, and a laser beam optics module with an optical axis and including: an aperture stop disposed after a laser source for shaping the laser beam to a predetermined beam diameter; a collimating lens for collimating the laser beam produced from the aperture stop; an apodization element having a first and second optical surfaces for extending the depth of focus of the laser beam from the collimating lens; and a negative bi-prism, disposed after the apodization element, along the optical axis, to transform the energy distribution of the laser beam and cause the laser beam to converge to substantially a single beam spot along the far-field portion of the laser scanning field, and extend the depth of focus of the laser beam along the far-field portion of the laser scanning field.
US09367718B2	Methods for enabling low-power RFID communication A system and method for enabling low-powered RFID communication that includes at an RFID tag listening for a periodic signal containing beacon signals; synchronizing the internal clock to those beacon signals; identifying access points from the beacon signals; selecting an access point; sending a join request to the access point; identifying the tag to the access point; receiving an assigned time slot; and communicating with the access point in that time slot.
US09367717B1	Read head array stitching Read head array stitching techniques are described. A card reader includes an array of magnetic sensors (a read head array) for retrieving account information from a magnetic stripe of a financial transaction card. The magnetic sensors can be arranged in rows and columns. During a card swipe, each magnetic sensor receives a series of readings. A processor determines relative bit rates for each series of readings. The processor determines which sensor corresponds to which track of the magnetic stripe based on a comparison of the relative bit rates. The processor generates a data stream for at least one track based on portions of readings from each sensor during periods of time the sensor is determined to correspond to the track.
US09367715B2	System for non-contact ID identification and ID card using the same A system for identifying identity (ID) and an ID card using the same are provided in the present invention. The ID card utilizes a specific ID reader to identify the ID of the ID card. The ID card includes a card case, a plurality of disposing positions for electrodes and at least a specific conductor electrode. The disposing positions are disposed in the card case. The specific conductor electrode(s) is/are disposed on at least one of the disposing positions according to the ID of the ED card. The specific card reader includes a flat panel sensor. When the ID card is close to the flat panel sensor of the card reader, the flat panel sensor senses the position of the conductor electrode(s) to determine the ID of the ID card.
US09367713B2	Contactless communication device A contactless communication device comprises a contactless front chip, a security chip concentrator and a security chipset. Wherein, said security chipset contains more than two security chips for storing and processing the contactless application data; said contactless front chip is used for implementing the interaction between said security chip and the external contactless field; said security chip concentrator, which is connected with the contactless front chip and with the security chip of the security chipset, is used for selecting a security chip based on the contactless application and implementing the connection between the selected security chip and the contactless front chip. The contactless communication device of the present invention is based on the application mode of multi-card for multi-use so that different providers can independently issue security chips separated from the contactless communication device, then the problems of data security, user management and so on caused by single-card for multi-use are avoided.
US09367712B1	High density memory card using folded flex A memory card comprising a flexible substrate (a “flex”) which is integrated in the memory card and folded in a prescribed manner subsequent to having various active and passive devices (e.g., controller and memory devices) surface mounted thereto. The active and passive devices are attached to a common side of the flex, and electrically connected to a conductive pattern disposed thereon. The conductive pattern itself electrically communicates with external signal contacts also formed on the flex. The use of folded flex technology in the memory card of the present invention allows the same to support four or more standard, pre-packaged memory devices, thus providing the memory card with substantially increased capacity.
US09367710B2	Watch identification and authentication system and method A method and system for creating and storing an identifier for a timepiece having at least one gemstone. The method includes determining one or more characteristics of the at least one gemstone and detecting a relative position of the at least one gemstone in the timepiece. The method further includes creating the identifier for the timepiece in dependence upon at least one of the one or more characteristics of the at least one gemstone and the respective relative position of the at least one gemstone and storing the identifier in a database or device.
US09367701B2	Systems and methods for maintaining integrity and secrecy in untrusted computing platforms A method for operating a computing system with a trusted processor include generating a secret cryptographic key based on a physically unclonable function in at least one hardware component in the trusted processor, generating a first public key and first private key using first secret cryptographic key, and executing instruction code corresponding to a first software program. The method further includes generating output data with the trusted processor during execution of the first software program, generating encrypted data corresponding to the output data using the first public key for at least a portion of the encryption, generating a signature of the encrypted data, and transmitting with an input/output (I/O) interface operatively connected to the trusted processor the encrypted data and the signature for storage in an untrusted memory.
US09367698B2	Apparatus and method for performing different cryptographic algorithms in a communication system A communication apparatus performs encryption on data transmitted from another communication apparatus by using first or second cryptographic algorithm, or performs decryption on the data that has been encrypted using the first or second cryptographic algorithm, by using one of the first and second cryptographic algorithms used for the encryption, where the second cryptographic algorithm provides a higher security level than the first cryptographic algorithm. The communication apparatus includes an encryption unit configured to perform, upon receiving the data including a cryptographic class identifying a parameter to be used for performing the encryption or the decryption, the encryption or the decryption by using one of the first and second cryptographic algorithms, based on the cryptographic class.
US09367695B2	Software vulnerability notification via icon decorations A computer identifies computer software applications installed on a computer. The computer sends an electronic request to a program on a server computer that extracts information about the computer software applications identified having a vulnerability. The computer receives the information that is extracted. The computer generates an icon decoration for the vulnerability, wherein the icon decoration readily displays the level of risk associated to the vulnerability and information about a security update for the vulnerability. The computer adds the icon decoration onto each icon of the one of the computer software applications identified and each icon of electronic documents associated to the one of the computer software applications identified.
US09367694B2	Probabilistic cyber threat recognition and prediction Generally discussed herein are systems, apparatuses, or processes to recognize that a cyber threat exists or predict a future track of a cyber threat in a network. According to an example, a process for recognizing a cyber threat can include (1) determining a network layout of a network based on received network layout data, (2) receiving cyber sensor data indicating actions performed on the network, (3) calculating a first score associated with the cyber sensor data indicating that a cyber threat is present in the network by comparing a cyber threat profile of the cyber threat that details actions performed by the cyber threat to actions indicated by the cyber sensor data, (4) determining whether the calculated first score is greater than a specified threshold, or (5) determining that the cyber threat is present in response to determining the calculated first score is greater than the specified threshold.
US09367693B2	Bitstream confirmation for configuration of a programmable logic device A bitstream for configuration of a programmable logic device is received, the bitstream comprising a data segment and authentication data associated with the data segment. The programmable logic device computes a hash of the data segment. The programmable logic device compares the computed hash of the data segment with the authentication data. Configuration of the programmable logic device halts responsive to a determination that the computed hash of the data segment does not match the authentication data. Configuration of the programmable logic device using the data segment continues responsive to a determination that the computed hash of the data segment matches the authentication data.
US09367689B2	Apparatus and method for securing BIOS in a trusted computing system An apparatus including a BIOS read only memory (ROM) and a tamper detector. The BIOS ROM includes BIOS contents stored as plaintext, and an encrypted message digest comprising an encrypted version of a first message digest that corresponds to the BIOS contents. The tamper detector is coupled to the BIOS ROM, and accesses the BIOS contents and the encrypted message digest upon reset of a microprocessor, and directs the microprocessor to generate a second message digest corresponding to the BIOS contents and a decrypted message digest corresponding to the encrypted message digest using the same algorithms and key that were employed to generate the first message digest and the encrypted message digest, and compares the second message digest with the decrypted message digest, and precludes the operation of the microprocessor if the second message digest and the decrypted message digest are not equal.
US09367686B1	System and method for antivirus checking of native images of software assemblies Disclosed is a system and method for antivirus checking of native images of software assemblies. An example method includes for detecting malicious native images of a machine code, the method comprising: receiving a native image of the machine code; identifying a parent assembly, which was used to create the native image; determining whether the parent assembly corresponds to the machine code; and determining that the native image is malicious when the parent assembly does not correspond to the machine code.
US09367684B2	Data security seeding system In one aspect of the invention there is provided a system for tracking seed data that has been inserted into a secured private information database listing. The system includes a network, computer, and database. Incoming communications to the network are monitored and are matched to a phone number, credit card number, address, email, or fax number that corresponds to the seed data. Depending on the incoming communication software is configured to track and store third party identification information. The information is sent to a user to determine if the incoming phone call was conducted by breaching the secured private information database listing.
US09367682B1	Content management system for securely managing static and dynamic data content A computer-implemented method manages data content, the data content including static data and dynamic data. The content management method includes analyzing the data content by a server to identify the static data and the dynamic data within the data content, wherein the dynamic data is included within a content block, and extracting the dynamic data in the content block from the data content, and replacing the content block with a special identifier. The content management method further includes hosting, by the server, the data content with the static content and the special identifier from a primary website in a primary domain, and the dynamic data in a secondary website in a secondary domain, wherein the special identifier identifies a location of the dynamic data.
US09367678B2	Password authentication A user credential comprising a user password and a one-time password (OTP) may be provided to access a computing system. The user password is authenticated and the network connection status of the computing system is determined. If the computing system is offline, the user password and the OTP are stored in memory and the user is granted a first level of access to the computing system. Upon detecting that the network connection status of the computing system has changed to online, the user password and the OTP are provided to an authentication server for authentication. If the authentication of the user password and the OTP is successful, the user is granted a second level of access to the computing system, the second level of access being higher than the first level of access.
US09367673B2	Privileged shared account password sanitation Sanitizing passwords used in a shared, privileged account includes providing a password of a shared account to a user; identifying a first machine logged into using the password; determining when the first machine enters an inconsistent state; and modifying a memory area associated with the first machine to eliminate occurrences of the password in the memory area.
US09367669B2	Content source identification using matrix barcode A system for fingerprinting audiovisual content. The system includes a content receiver and a display device in communication with the content receiver. The content receiver is configured to receive a video signal, where the video signal includes audiovisual content. The content receiver may then be configured to generate a matrix barcode that includes identification data. The content receiver is also configured to create a fingerprinted content that includes the audiovisual content from the video signal and the matrix barcode. The content receiver may then be configured to output the fingerprinted content. The display device is configured receive the fingerprinted content form the content receiver. Also, the display device is configured to display the fingerprinted content.
US09367668B2	Dynamic fitness equipment user interface adjustment A method and exercise system obtain at least one parameter of ongoing exercise on a fitness equipment unit and adjust at least one operational characteristic of the user interface while a person is exercising and based upon the obtained at least one parameter of ongoing exercise.
US09367665B2	Management of pharmacy kits A system for managing pharmacy kits comprises a reading station configured to read tag information from a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags associated with a pharmacy kit, and an information processing system operatively connected to the reading station and configured to receive the tag information from the reading station and determine a status of the pharmacy kit based on the tag information, a plurality of stored templates defining contents to be included in each of a plurality of pharmacy kits, and a plurality of kit records indicating the current contents of a plurality of pharmacy kits.
US09367662B2	Fault injection of finFET devices A device layout tool includes a gate electrode layer, wherein the gate electrode layer is configured to define a three dimensional gate structure over a fin structure, wherein the fin structure has three exposed surfaces. The device layout tool further includes a defect-describing layer, wherein the defect-describing layer is configured to define locations of gate defects relative to the three exposed surfaces of the fin structure.
US09367661B2	Apparatus and method for e-beam writing A method of preparing mask data, the method begins with performing a logic operation to a design layout, and an optical proximity correction (OPC) is performed to the design layout to form an OPC feature. The OPC feature has a first jog and a second jog on a line, and the first jog is larger than the second jog in width. The OPC feature is resized to form a resized first jog and a resized second jog on the line if a width ratio of the first jog to the second jog being smaller than a predetermined value.
US09367655B2	Topography-aware lithography pattern check The present disclosure provides a method. The method includes obtaining an integrated circuit (IC) layout. The method includes providing a polishing process simulation model. The method includes performing a lithography pattern check (LPC) process to the IC layout. The LPC process is performed at least in part using the polishing process simulation model. The method includes detecting, in response to the LPC process, possible problem areas on the IC layout. The method includes modifying the polishing process simulation model. The method includes repeating the performing the LPC process and the detecting the possible problem areas using the modified polishing process simulation model.
US09367653B2	Proppant transport model for well system fluid flow simulations In some aspects, a one-dimensional proppant transport flow model represents flow of a proppant-fluid mixture in a subterranean region. The one-dimensional proppant transport flow model includes a proppant momentum conservation model that balances axial proppant momentum in an axial flow direction of the proppant-fluid mixture against dynamic changes in transverse proppant momentum. In some instances, the proppant momentum conservation model can vary the axial proppant momentum, for example, to account for interphase momentum transfer between the proppant and the fluid.
US09367648B2	Specification-guided user interface for optical design systems An optical design system generates a design state overview of a design of an optical system, the design state overview summarizing a current state and a target state of the design by describing a plurality of specifications for the optical system, the specification descriptions including target ranges for the specifications based on the target state of the design and further including current values for the specifications based on the current state of the design. The optical design system displays the design state overview. The optical design system updates the design state overview in response to the optical design system changing the current design for the optical system.
US09367639B2	Systems and methods for dynamic page creation A computer-implemented method of dynamically creating a page module for a word on a display screen is provided. The page module is creating by determining a word provided for defining the page module, searching for text directly associated with the word and text contextually associated with the word, and, searching for media directly associated with the word and contextually associated with the word. The type of page module layout for the word is then identified. The page module layout includes placeholders for displaying at least some of the text that is directly or contextually associated with the word and at least some of the media that is directly or contextually associated with the word in the page module. The page module is then displayed by drawing the page module layout on the display screen and populating the page module layout with at least some of the media that is directly or contextually associated with the word.
US09367636B2	Web application home button Various embodiments provide a mechanism to allow end users to install web applications and websites onto their desktop. In accordance with one or more embodiments, client-side code can be utilized to allow developers associated with a website to define boundaries associated with user interaction, and have those boundaries enforced by a run-time engine. In at least some embodiments, developers can provide, through JavaScript code and/or HTML markup, various configurations for the creation of a start menu shortcut, navigation, and so-called jumplist integration.
US09367634B2	Optimizing location and mobile search A method of optimizing digital content for searches performed on mobile devices. The method may include receiving digital content that includes one or more pages and analyzing the digital content to determine one or more properties of the digital content that relate to placement of a reference to the digital content in mobile search results. The method may also include analyzing the properties of the digital content to determine one or more optimizations to apply to the digital content to improve the placement of the reference to the digital content in the mobile search results. In addition, the method may include generating one or more recommendations for adapting the digital content based on the optimizations.
US09367632B2	Accession of position-related data Requests (94) for location-dependant information, received from a mobile device (1) having a location-finding capability (10), are processed by middleware (4, 40) which identifies the handset type and generates instructions (93, 95) specific to the handset type to provide the data (94, 97) required to generate the required data (99) in a format compatible with the handset (1).
US09367630B2	Forensic system, forensic method, and forensic program A forensic system includes a result information receiving unit that receives result information which is a determination result of connection between a lawsuit and a document group including a predetermined number of documents, which is extracted from document data included in digital information, by a user, an element selection unit that calculates evaluation values of elements which commonly appear in the document group in each result information item from the characteristics of the elements and selects the elements on the basis of the evaluation values, a score calculation unit that calculates a score of each document in the document data from the selected elements included in each document of the document data and the evaluation values of the selected elements, and a recall ratio calculation unit that calculates a recall ratio related to the determination of the connection to the lawsuit on the basis of the score.
US09367628B2	Object recommendation based upon similarity distances Exemplary methods, apparatuses, and systems receive a candidate object with which a user can interact within a network service. For each of a first plurality of objects with which the user has had a positive interaction, a first value representing a commonality between the candidate object and each of the first plurality of objects is determined. For each of a second plurality of objects with which a user has had a negative interaction, a second value representing a commonality between the candidate object and each of the second plurality of objects is determined. An aggregate positive distance is determined using a plurality of the first values. An aggregate negative distance is determined using a plurality of the second values. The candidate object is displayed or not displayed to the user as a recommendation based upon a difference between the aggregate positive distance and the aggregate negative distance.
US09367623B2	Query model over information as a networked service Techniques for hosting data or connecting to hosted data are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a first computing device in a first region of control can receive a data set from a second computing device in a second region of control via a communication network. The first computing device can then analyze the received data set to determine structural information, such as one or more structural features associated with the received data set. The determined structural information can then be transmitted to the second computing device. In response to the transmission, the first computing device can receive input from the second computing device regarding a query capability to enforce over the received data set.
US09367622B2	Efficient web page fact checking method and system An efficient fact checking system analyzes and determines the factual accuracy of information and/or characterizes the information by comparing the information with source information. The efficient fact checking system automatically monitors information, processes the information, fact checks the information efficiently and/or provides a status of the information.
US09367620B2	Local context search results improvements A method, system, and/or computer program product handles a query generated by a user of one of multiple local network devices that are coupled to a network. Multiple system queries are autonomously issued, by a computer that is coupled to the network, requesting states of the local network devices. Query statements, responsive to the system queries and being sent to a wide area network search engine, are intercepted. A natural language query, which is a logical query that is answered by one of the multiple query statements, is generated from one of the multiple query statements. An unstructured query, from a user, about a state of a particular device is received. The unstructured query from the user is compared with the natural language query in order to determine if a match between the query from the user with the natural language query exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
US09367614B2	System and method of collecting video content information Aggregated information is accessed on a computing device. The aggregated information includes video content information associated with video content and related end destination information. The aggregated information is further processed to render at least a portion of the aggregated information on a publically-accessible information medium. Thus, published content is generated.
US09367609B1	Method and apparatus for submitting, organizing, and searching for content Some embodiments of the invention provide a method for tagging and searching for content. In some embodiments, a tagging mechanism is provided that allows the creation of tag chains for tagging content. In some embodiments, once the content is tagged, a search tool is provided that allows the search for content, through the search for tag chains.
US09367606B1	Search engine that applies feedback from users to improve search results The present invention is directed to methods of and systems for ranking results returned by a search engine. A method in accordance with the invention comprises determining a formula having variables and parameters, wherein the formula is for computing a relevance score for a document and a search query; and ranking the document based on the relevance score. Preferably, determining the formula comprises tuning the parameters based on user input. Preferably, the parameters are determined using a machine learning technique, such as one that includes a form of statistical classification.
US09367604B2	Systems, methods, and interfaces for extending legal search results The present invention makes legal research more efficient by selecting clusters in response to the behavior of a user (e.g., a legal professional such as a paralegal, lawyer, or judge). The clusters, which are formed prior to the user accessing a legal document (and thus, providing user behavior to a system), are identified to the based upon a set of metadata associated with the legal document. At least two clusters are identified and a signal associated therewith is transmitted to the user. Each cluster is associated with a unique legal topic. Further, each cluster may comprise primary and/or secondary authority.
US09367603B2	Systems and methods for behavioral segmentation of users in a social data network There is provided methods and systems for analyzing data from a plurality of users within a social networking platform, comprising: receiving a query for a topic associated with the social networking platform; determining a set of users having at least one social networking behavior on the social networking platform related to the topic; selecting, for each user from the set of users, a pre-defined number of posts and associating each of the pre-defined number of posts with the respective user; segmenting the selected posts for each user to determine a likelihood of each of the selected posts among the set of users; and, clustering the selected posts for each user to define a plurality of clusters and determining a mapping from each user to at least one of the plurality of clusters, each cluster comprising representative topics indicating frequently used topics within the cluster for the pre-defined number of posts between the set of users.
US09367600B2	Policy-based storage structure distribution Policy-based storage and retrieval combined with a distribution algorithm results in automatic and even distribution of policy-based storage structures across a set of nodes and dynamic, automated homing or ownership of policy-based storage structures. Large numbers of policy-based storage structures may be distributed without manual administration, allowing for rapid creation and destruction of storage structures. The overall load may be distributed and balanced across the server pool. Multiple entries having the same key value in a database- or table-like structure allow for distribution of policy-based storage and retrieval by key value and for queue semantics to be utilized for microqueues in the large database- or table-like structure.
US09367599B2	Search based specification for data synchronization Systems and methods for a search based specification for data synchronization are described. In some embodiments, a method to synchronize information of a client device from a server includes, at a client, receiving a communication from a server to synchronize information between the client device and the server, wherein the information is selected from all application data on the server by a search mechanism in accordance with one or more one or more search criteria, and the information is arranged in an order prior to transmission from the server; and performing operations to synchronize application data on the client in accordance with at least portions of the information received from the server. Other embodiments are also described.
US09367596B2	Synchronization of data objects between two or more devices with automatic conflict resolution A method and apparatus is for implementing a conflict resolution policy. The method includes providing a rule set that includes a plurality of rules that define the conflict resolution policy. An algorithm is generated by decomposing each rule in the rule set into at least one pre-action that is to be performed on data in identified fields in first and second conflicting objects, at least one condition that is to be applied to the first and second conflicting objects, and at least one action that is to be performed on the identified fields in the first and second conflicting objects if the at least one condition is satisfied. The algorithm is loaded from a configuration file for execution during a synchronization component runtime using first and second conflicting objects provided by the synchronization component.
US09367590B1	Method and system to cloud-enabled large-scaled internet data mining and data analytics A method and procedure for large-scaled Internet data mining and data analytics for consumers over the cloud. The method describes an online market place which include an authoring tool generating computer scripts, executing the script to acquire data from URL, wherein the sequence of script instructions performs extraction and transformation of data, aggregating it into a dataset, publishing it for data consumer to pair with data analytics software programs in analyzing the dataset.
US09367589B1	Where to go next via mined trails A system and method for providing destination recommendations to a user based on mining of a location history. The location history provides information on locations visited by users of the system over time. The system mines the location history to identify location pairs. Each location pair comprises an originating location visited by a user and a next location that was visited by the user within a defined time threshold of visiting the originating location. The system aggregates location pairs by common originating location. The system then takes into account the current location of a requesting user. The system uses the current location information to identify a corresponding originating location in a location history index. The system provides recommendations based at least in part on how frequently certain next locations were visited after visiting the originating location.
US09367586B2	Data validation and service A data validation service includes providing a user interface to a subscriber of the service via a computer device of the subscriber, receiving, via the user interface, a data validation rule specified by the subscriber and an address of a database subject to the data validation, and generating a configuration file that includes the address of the database and an address of a location of executable code corresponding to the data validation rule. The data validation service also includes transmitting the configuration file and remote methods to the computer device over the network. The remote methods are configured to execute the data validation rule with respect to the data and compile results of the execution.
US09367585B2	Data storage and query method A data storage and query method supporting an agile development and horizontal scaling, in a field of computer applications, includes steps of: transforming data into a 2-tuple (Key, MiniTable) and identifying any MiniTable (having a data set removed) with a unique Key, wherein the MiniTable includes multiple data columns; a structure of each data column is limited by a pre-defined mode; and the data columns are sorted according to a primary key defined by the mode. The data storage and query method obtains a capability of the horizontal scaling via removing dependency among the data sets, and a capability of the agile development via supporting an analogous SQL grammar by saving dependency among the data within the data sets. The data storage and query method can be applied to a data management system which supports the horizontal scaling of big data and the agile development of short development lifecycles.
US09367584B2	Data management system and method to host applications and manage storage, finding and retrieval of typed items with support for tagging, connections, and situated queries A data management method to host applications and manage storage, finding and retrieval of typed items with support for tagging, connections, and situated queries is provided.
US09367579B1	System and method for maintaining a file change log within a distributed file system Various methods and systems for implementing a file change log in a distributed file system are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method involves operating a distributed file system that presents a namespace and maintaining a file change log for the namespace. Operating the distributed file system involves executing an instance of a file system on each of several nodes. Maintaining the file change log can involve maintaining a single file change log for the namespace. Updates to the single file change log can be handled by a primary node or controlled using a locking mechanism. Alternatively, several private file change logs (e.g., one per node) can be maintained, and these private file change logs can be merged into a single file change log (e.g., by a primary node).
US09367574B2	Efficient query processing in columnar databases using bloom filters A bloom filter is generated for efficient query processing for unsorted data in a column of a columnar database. Bloom filters represented as bitmaps are generated for data blocks storing data for a column of a columnar database table. An indication of a query directed toward the column is received and the bloom filter for each data block is examined to determine which ones of the data blocks do not need to be read in order to service the query for the select data. Data is then read from the data blocks storing data for the column excepting the ones which do not need to be read.
US09367571B2	Techniques for integrating parameterized information requests into a system for collaborative work Techniques used in a system for collaborative work which gives collaborators unskilled in data processing technologies access to a variety of information resources to provide the collaborators with information resources which are obtained in response to parameterized information requests such as queries. The techniques use records in database tables to represent a class of parameterized information requests. Information for instances of the class includes queries that may be used in the instances and default values for bind parameters in the queries. Values for the bind parameters may also be specified for classes of user interfaces that employ the information sources returned by the parameterized information requests and for instances of the user interface. A user may also use specify values for bind parameters in his or her instance of the user interface.
US09367567B2	Feature value extraction apparatus and feature value extraction method A feature value extraction apparatus is provided that includes an image input unit that receives an input of an image, and a converted image generation unit that converts the input image into at least one converted image for extracting a feature value of the input image. The apparatus also includes a feature value generation pattern holding unit that stores a feature value generation pattern that includes a plurality of comparison pairs of unit positions for comparing unit values in a unit array in which units, each of which includes at least one pixel, are arranged. The apparatus further includes a feature value extraction unit that compares the unit values corresponding to the comparison pairs through referring to the feature value generation pattern with respect to the converted image, and extracts the feature value of the converted image.
US09367560B1	Method, system and apparatus for synchronizing changes in a directory service Disclosed are methods of synchronizing changes in a directory service, comprising receiving a sync request comprising a token from a sync client and returning a response to the sync client comprising a token and changes. Embodiments include collecting and returning changes that are new to the sync client, collecting and returning changes from first and second directory servers, and returning a unified token. The changes may include changes to a dataset that is partitioned over first and second directory servers, and the partitioning may include entry-balancing. Also disclosed are embodiments of a directory service comprising first and second directory servers, each comprising a change set with changes, and a proxy server configured to collect and send changes in the change sets that are new to a sync client, and proxy server and a directory server for use in synchronizing changes in a directory service.
US09367558B2	Methods and apparatus for efficient compression and deduplication Mechanisms are provided for performing efficient compression and deduplication of data segments. Compression algorithms are learning algorithms that perform better when data segments are large. Deduplication algorithms, however, perform better when data segments are small, as more duplicate small segments are likely to exist. As an optimizer is processing and storing data segments, the optimizer applies the same compression context to compress multiple individual deduplicated data segments as though they are one segment. By compressing deduplicated data segments together within the same context, data reduction can be improved for both deduplication and compression. Mechanisms are applied to compensate for possible performance degradation.
US09367553B2	Computer file system traversal A method and apparatus for computer file system traversal. An embodiment of a method includes receiving a set of data. The set of data has a hierarchical file structure, and the set of data includes multiple data elements. The set of data is traversed, where traversing the set of data elements includes determining whether to skip or process each data element that is addressed in the set of data. A serial data stream representing selected data elements of the set of data is output.
US09367551B2	File system accessing an object store A digitally signed file system in which data, metadata and files are objects, each object having a globally unique and content-derived fingerprint and wherein object references are mapped by the fingerprints; the file system has a root object comprising a mapping of all object fingerprints in the file system, such that a change to the file system results in a change in the root object, and tracking changes in the root object provides a history of file system activity.
US09367550B2	Information processing apparatus and file system In an information processing apparatus, a file system manages files in a storage unit. Upon receipt of a boot instruction, a process boot unit starts an application. Once the application is started, a path acquisition unit acquires the path to an application file in the storage unit. A mount unit associates the path acquired by the path acquisition unit with a predetermined virtual mount point. A processor specifies the predetermined mount point and then accesses the file.
US09367547B2	Method and system for generating and deploying container templates A method for creating a deployable zone template of a source zone, involving receiving, from the user an instruction to create the deployable zone template of a source zone including a zonepath dataset (ZPDS) and an application image (AI), where the ZPDS is a hierarchy of file systems in which an operating system image of the source zone is installed, creating a zonepath image file of the ZPDS, creating an application image file of the AI, collecting auxiliary zone data describing a dependency of the source zone and configuration a parameter of the source zone, creating an archive file including the zonepath image file, the application image file, and the auxiliary zone data, and combining the archive file and an executable wrapper script to obtain the deployable zone template.
US09367544B2	Method for efficient database formation and search on media devices acting synchronously with television programming Techniques for efficient database formation and search in applications embedded in a media device are provided. The search may be performed synchronously with presentation of media programming content on a nearby media presentation device. A mobile media device captures some temporal fragments of the presented audio/video content on its microphone and camera, and then generates query fingerprints for the captured fragment. A local reference database resides on the mobile media device and a master reference database resides on a remote server with a most recent chunk of reference fingerprints transferred dynamically to the local mobile media device. A chunk of the query fingerprints generated locally on the mobile media device are searched on the local reference database for continuous content search and identification. The method presented automatically switches between the local search on the mobile media device and a remote search on an external search server.
US09367540B2	Dynamic language translation of web site content A method, system and computer program product for providing translated web content is disclosed. The method includes receiving a request from a user on a web site, the web site having a first web content in a first language, wherein the request calls for a second web content in a second language. The method further includes dividing the first web content into a plurality of translatable components and generating a unique identifier for each translatable component. The method further includes identifying a plurality of translated components of the second web content using the unique identifier of each of the plurality of translatable components of the first web content and putting the plurality of translated components of the second web content to preserve a format that corresponds to the first web content. The method further includes providing the second web content in response to the request that was received.
US09367539B2	Techniques for automated document translation Techniques for automated document translation are described. An apparatus may comprise a translatable content component, an intermediate component, and a translation management component. The translatable content component may be generally operative to extract translatable content from an original document, and to construct a translated document based on extracted translated content, the translated document comprising a translation of the original document from a first language to a second language. The intermediate component may be operative to create one or more intermediate documents from extracted translatable content, and to extract translated content from one or more translated intermediate documents. The translation management component operative to transmit the one or more intermediate documents to a translation service for translation from a first language to a second language and to receive one or more translated intermediate documents from the translation service. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09367538B2	Analyzing messages and/or documents to provide suggestions to modify messages and/or documents to be more suitable for intended recipients A method, system and computer program product for assisting authors in composing suitable messages or documents for intended recipients. A profile to be used in analyzing the message/document is obtained, where the profile contains a set of corrections and correlations to be applied to the message/document for the intended recipients of the message/document. The content of the message/document is analyzed using the obtained profile to assess for any language that may be misunderstood or offensive to the intended recipients. Upon identifying words, phrases, sentences or images in the message/document as being potentially misunderstood or offensive to the recipients, suggestions are provided to modify such language. In this manner, the author of the message/document is able to assess the content and context of the message/document based on the intended recipients prior to sending the message/document thereby reducing the likelihood that the recipients will interpret the message/document in an untoward manner.
US09367537B2	Analyzing messages and/or documents to provide suggestions to modify messages and/or documents to be more suitable for intended recipients A method, system and computer program product for assisting authors in composing suitable messages or documents for intended recipients. A profile to be used in analyzing the message/document is obtained, where the profile contains a set of corrections and correlations to be applied to the message/document for the intended recipients of the message/document. The content of the message/document is analyzed using the obtained profile to assess for any language that may be misunderstood or offensive to the intended recipients. Upon identifying words, phrases, sentences or images in the message/document as being potentially misunderstood or offensive to the recipients, suggestions are provided to modify such language. In this manner, the author of the message/document is able to assess the content and context of the message/document based on the intended recipients prior to sending the message/document thereby reducing the likelihood that the recipients will interpret the message/document in an untoward manner.
US09367536B2	Using inverse operators for queries on online social networks In one embodiment, a method includes accessing a social graph that includes a plurality of nodes and edges, receiving from a user a structured query comprising references to selected nodes and selected edges, parsing the structure query to identify a first query constraint and one or more second query constraints, identifying a inverse constraint associated with the first query constraint, and generating a query command based on the structured query, where the query command includes the inverse constraint and the one or more second query constraints.
US09367535B2	Dashboard formula execution Formulas in dashboards can be executed at a client executing web technologies such as HTML5 and JavaScript. The formulas specified by a spreadsheet file are transformed into a pre-defined notation format and then recursively evaluated. Related apparatus, systems, techniques and articles are also described.
US09367534B2	Mobile terminal and method for controlling the same A mobile terminal and a method for controlling the same are disclosed, where symbols used often when inputting characters and pointer position moving are input simultaneously by using a touch gesture of a user, such that character input may be accelerated.
US09367526B1	Word classing for language modeling A language processing application employs a classing function optimized for the underlying production application context for which it is expected to process speech. A combination of class based and word based features generates a classing function optimized for a particular production application, meaning that a language model employing the classing function uses word classes having a high likelihood of accurately predicting word sequences encountered by a language model invoked by the production application. The classing function optimizes word classes by aligning the objective of word classing with the underlying language processing task to be performed by the production application. The classing function is optimized to correspond to usage in the production application context using class-based and word-based features by computing a likelihood of a word in an n-gram and a frequency of a word within a class of the n-gram.
US09367525B2	Data processing apparatus for page ordering, data processing method, and nontransitory storage medium for same A data processing apparatus extracts operators (including particular operators) describing character strings in a text format, at least one by one, from among acquired page data. The data processing apparatus determines an order in which two or more of the page data containing the particular operators whose font information coincides with each other are to be arranged according to a sequence indicated by particular characters.
US09367524B1	Systems and methods for selecting web page layouts including content slots for displaying content items based on predicted click likelihood Apparatus and method for dynamic web page layout optimization. In accordance with some embodiments, a plurality of different layouts are defined for a web page of a publisher. Each of the different layouts have at least one common element and at least one content slot adapted to display a content item. A request for the web page is received from a network accessible device having associated profile information, and a selected layout is identified using the profile information. At least one content item is selected for display in each content slot of the selected layout. Data are thereafter transferred to the network accessible device to display the web page arranged in accordance with the selected layout along with the selected content item.
US09367523B2	System and method for using design features to search for page layout designs Various embodiments of a system and methods for using design features to search for page layout designs are described. The document and image structures of a page layout design may be analyzed to determine design features which define the style of the page layout design. Dependent on the design features, style scores may be calculated for the page layout design. Page layout designs may be stored in a database in association with corresponding style scores. A user may indicate a desired page layout style by indicating example page layout designs which exhibit the desired style. Style scores for the example page layout designs may be compared to the style scores for page layout designs stored in the database. Dependent on the comparison, page layout designs stored in the database may be selected and displayed to the user.
US09367520B2	Scorecard models with measured variable interactions Data is received that characterizes a transaction and includes a plurality of values corresponding to variables. Thereafter, a score is determined for the transaction based on the received data and using a scoring model. The scoring model only uses variables pairs having a divergence residual above a pre-defined threshold. Thereafter, data is provided that characterizes the determined score. Related apparatus, systems, techniques and computer program products are also described.
US09367510B2	Backplane controller for handling two SES sidebands using one SMBUS controller and handler controls blinking of LEDs of drives installed on backplane Present disclosure relates to a computer-implemented method for handling two SES sidebands using one SMBUS controller. The method includes one or more of following operations: (a) establishing communication between a backplane controller and a host computer through HBA, (b) receiving control commands and control data from host computer for monitoring and controlling at least one drive of first and second group of drives, (c) determining address and device number of drive to which received control commands and control data are directed, (d) forwarding control commands and control data to first or second SMBUS sideband handler based on address received, (e) controlling the blinking of the LEDs of the drive by first or second SMBUS sideband handler, (f) generating responses by the first or second SMBUS sideband handler, (g) receiving responses by the SMBUS controller, and (h) sending the responses back to the host computer within a predetermined time period.
US09367509B2	Configurable multi-lane scrambler for flexible protocol support Various structures and methods are disclosed related to configurable scrambling circuitry. Embodiments can be configured to support one of a plurality of protocols. Some embodiments relate to a configurable multilane scrambler that can be adapted either to combine scrambling circuits across a plurality of lanes or to provide independent lane-based scramblers. Some embodiments are configurable to select a scrambler type. Some embodiments are configurable to adapt to one of a plurality of protocol-specific scrambling polynomials. Some embodiments relate to selecting between least significant bit (“LSB”) and most significant bit (“MSB”) ordering of data. In some embodiments, scrambler circuits in each lane are adapted to handle data that is more than one bit wide.
US09367507B2	Expansion card An expansion card includes a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) slot, a PCI expansion controller, a PCIe/serial advanced technology attachment (PCIe/SATA) converter, a hard disk drive (HDD) controller, and a storage chip. An edge connector is arranged on a bottom side of the expansion card and includes power pins, ground pins, and signal pins. The power pins are connected to power pins of the PCIe slot, the PCIe expansion controller, the PCIe/SATA converter, the HDD controller, and the storage chip. The signal pins are connected to the PCIe expansion controller. The PCIe expansion controller expands a PCI signal into PCI signals and provides the PCI signals to the PCIe slot and the PCIe/SATA converter. The PCIe/SATA converter converts the PCI signal to SATA signals and provides the SATA signals to the HDD controller. The HDD controller controls the storage chip to read or write data.
US09367498B2	Resource request arbitration device, resource request arbitration system, resource request arbitration method, integrated circuit, and program A resource request arbitration device is connected with each of a plurality of masters, and arbitrates transfer requests issued by the masters. The resource request arbitration device includes a plurality of counters each indicating a slack time of a transfer request issued by a master corresponding to the counter, and compares counter values stored in the counters by a tournament method, and specifies a master that has issued a transfer request having the highest priority. The resource request arbitration device grants access permission to the specified master to permit the specified master to use a slave.
US09367497B2	Reconfigurably designating master core for conditional output on sideband communication wires distinct from system bus A method for dynamically reconfiguring one or more cores of a multi-core microprocessor comprising a plurality of cores and sideband communication wires, extrinsic to a system bus connected to a chipset, which facilitate non-system-bus inter-core communications. At least some of the cores are operable to be reconfigurably designated with or without master credentials for purposes of structuring sideband-based inter-core communications. The method includes determining an initial configuration of cores of the microprocessor, which configuration designates at least one core, but not all of the cores, as a master core, and reconfiguring the cores according to a modified configuration, which modified configuration removes a master designation from a core initially so designated, and assigns a master designation to a core not initially so designated. Each core is configured to conditionally drive a sideband communication wire to which it is connected based upon its designation, or lack thereof, as a master core.
US09367495B1	High speed integrated circuit interface A method and apparatus for interfacing integrated circuit chips is disclosed. In one embodiment, the interface includes a set of differential data lines over which a variable length register transaction can be conducted.
US09367494B2	Data processor and control system Provided are a data processor, and a control system, in which an interrupt controller and an event link controller are adopted. The event link controller responds to a generated event signal to output a start control signal for controlling start of an operation of a circuit module. The circuit module is able to generate an event signal. The event link controller generates the start control signal according to the correspondences between event signals and start control signals which are defined by event control information. The links between the event signals and start control signals can be prescribed by the event control information. Therefore, operations of circuit modules prescribed by such links can be controlled sequentially. The control neither involves save and return processes by CPU as in the interrupt processing, nor needs priority level control as executed on competing interrupt requests.
US09367491B2	Method and apparatus for on-the-fly learning traffic control scheme The present invention discloses a method of arbitrating among a plurality of channels to access a resource, comprising the steps of: providing each channel an address back-to-back counter; assigning each address back-to-back counter an initial value and a pre-defined threshold, wherein the address back-to-back counter is updated according to the activities of back-to-back access to the resource by the channel; and providing each channel a contiguous window setting to define a number of contiguous times for the channel to access the resource; wherein a channel being served is to be served for contiguous times defined by the contiguous window setting of the channel if the address back-to-back counter value of the channel is higher than the pre-defined threshold of the channel.
US09367489B1	Adjusting the size of a media presentation received by a mobile device A method, system, and medium are provided for changing the size of media content sent to a mobile device during a media session. In one embodiment, during the media session, the mobile device requests media content that has a second size. In response to the request, the content provider transmits the media content having the second size and discontinues transmission of the media content having the first size. The size of the media content transmitted to the mobile device may be changed multiple times during the presentation of the media content.
US09367486B2	Extended utilization area for a memory device Methods, systems and devices for configuring access to a memory device are disclosed. The configuration of the memory device may be carried out by creating a plurality of access profiles that are adapted to optimize access to the memory device in accordance with a type of access. For example, when an application with specific memory access needs is initiated, the memory access profile that is designed for that particular access need may be utilized to configure access to the memory device. The configuration may apply to a portion of the memory device, a partition of the memory device, a single access location on the memory device, or any combination thereof.
US09367483B2	Acoustically secure phase change memory devices Systems, methods, and firmware for operating data storage devices and storage processors are provided herein. In one example, a data storage device is provided. The data storage device includes phase change media on which to write data, and a processing system configured to identify a write process to at least obfuscate an acoustic signature associated with writing the data on the phase change media and write the data to the phase change media in accordance with the write process.
US09367478B2	Controlling direct memory access page mappings A method for controlling access to a memory of a computer system configured with at least one logical partition may include receiving a first request to map a first page of the memory, the request identifying a first requester. A first logical partition associated with the first page may be determined. It may be determined that an attribute of the first logical partition limits access to individual pages of the first logical partition to a single requester, and that the first page is available to be mapped to a requester. The first page may be mapped to the first requester and a flag indicating that the first page is unavailable for an additional mapping may be set. The first request may be from a device driver on behalf of an input/output adapter, as the first requester, to use the first page in a direct memory access transfer.
US09367475B2	System and method for cache access The rows of a cache are generally maintained in a low power state. In response to a memory access operation, the data processor predicts a plurality of cache rows that may be targeted by the operation, and transitions each of the plurality of cache rows to an active state to prepare them for access. The plurality of cache rows are predicted based on speculatively decoding a portion of a base address and a corresponding portion of an offset without performing a full addition of the portions. Because a full addition is not performed, the speculative decoding can be performed at sufficient speed to allow the set of rows to be transitioned to the active state before full decoding of the memory address is completed. The cache row associated with the memory address is therefore ready for access when decoding is complete, maintaining low latency for cache accesses.
US09367473B2	System and method for removing data from processor caches in a distributed multi-processor computer system A processor (600) in a distributed shared memory multi-processor computer system (10) may initiate a flush request to remove data from its cache. A processor interface (24) receives the flush request and performs a snoop operation to determine whether the data is maintained in a one of the local processors (601) and whether the data has been modified. If the data is maintained locally and it has been modified, the processor interface (24) initiates removal of the data from the cache of the identified processor (601). The identified processor (601) initiates a writeback to a memory directory interface unit (24) associated with a home memory 17 for the data in order to preserve the modification to the data. If the data is not maintained locally or has not been modified, the processor interface (24) forwards the flush request to the memory directory interface unit (22). Memory directory interface unit (22) determines which remote processors within the system (10) have a copy of the data and forwards the flush request only to those identified processors. The identified processors then remove the data from their respective caches in response to the flush request. If an identified remote processor has modified data, the identified remote processor initiates a writeback to the memory directory interface unit (22) for preservation of the modified data.
US09367471B2	Fetch width predictor Various techniques for predicting instruction fetch widths. In one embodiment, a fetch prediction unit in a processor is configured to generate a fetch width that specifies a number of bits to be retrieved in a subsequent fetch from an instruction cache. The fetch prediction unit may also generate a fetch prediction that includes the fetch width in response to a current fetch request. A number of bits corresponding to the fetch width may be fetched from the instruction cache. The fetch width may correspond to a location of a predicted-taken control transfer instruction. This fetch width prediction may lead to power savings in instruction cache accesses.
US09367470B2	Bounded cache searches Cache lines of a data cache may be assigned to a specific page type or color. In addition, the computing system may monitor when a cache line assigned to the specific page color is allocated in the cache. As each cache line assigned to a particular page color is allocated, the computing system may compare a respective index associated with each of the cache lines to determine maximum and minimum indices for that page color. These indices define a block of the cache that stores the data assigned to the page color. Thus, when the data of a page color is evicted from the cache, instead of searching the entire cache to locate the cache lines, the computing system uses the maximum and minimum indices as upper and lower bounds to reduce the portion of the cache that is searched.
US09367464B2	Cache circuit having a tag array with smaller latency than a data array A method is described that includes alternating cache requests sent to a tag array between data requests and dataless requests.
US09367461B2	Ordering constraint management within coherent memory systems A data processing system including multiple processors 6, 8, 10, 12 each with a local cache memory 14, 16, 18, 20 share a main memory 24 under control of a coherency controller 22. Store requests from a store requester which are to be serviced by data received from the main memory 24 trigger the coherency controller 22 to return exclusive rights to access the data to the store requester before the corresponding data is returned from the main memory 24. The store requester uses possession of the exclusive rights to access the data to permit further processing with an ordering constraint relative to the store request to proceed even though the store request has yet to be finished. The ordering constraint may be, for example, a fence instruction. The store requester in possession of the exclusive rights to access the data values ensures that the store request is finished and its results observed by any instruction as required by the ordering constraint it has released early.
US09367457B1	Systems and methods for enabling write-back caching and replication at different abstraction layers A computer-implemented method for enabling write-back caching and replication at different abstraction layers may include (1) identifying a cache abstraction layer that implements write-back caching to selectively cache at least one write to a backing store, (2) identifying a replication abstraction layer that replicates the backing store to a secondary storage system by replicating writes committed to the backing store to the secondary storage system, (3) receiving a request to create a point-in-time image of the backing store at the secondary storage system at a point at which the writes committed to the backing store are point-in-time consistent, (4) committing the cached write to the backing store to ensure that the writes committed to the backing store are point-in-time consistent, (5) marking the point at which the writes committed to the backing store are point-in-time consistent. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US09367452B1	System and method for apportioning storage A computer-implemented method, computer program product and computing system for defining a cache storage portion within a cache storage device coupled to a computing device. An application storage portion is defined within the cache storage device coupled to the computing device. The cache storage portion is configured to store cache data and the application storage portion is configured to store application data.
US09367451B2	Storage device management device and method for managing storage device According to one embodiment, a storage device management device is connected to a random access memory and a first storage device. When the random access memory includes a free region sufficient to store write data, the write data is stored onto the random access memory. Data on the random access memory selected in the descending order of elapsed time from the last access is sequentially copied onto the first storage device, and a region in the random access memory which has stored the copied data is released. When stored on the random access memory, the read data is read from the random access memory to the processor. When stored on the first storage device, the read data is copied onto the random access memory and read from the random access memory to the processor.
US09367448B1	Method and system for determining data integrity for garbage collection of data storage systems A garbage collector of a storage system traverses a namespace of a file system of the storage system to verify data integrity of segments. The namespace identifies files that are represented by segments arranged in multiple levels in a hierarchy, where an upper level segment includes one or more references to one or more lower level segments, and at least one segment is referenced by multiple files. Traversing the namespace includes computing and verifying checksums all segments in a level-by-level manner, where checksums of an upper level are verified before any of checksums of a lower level are verified. Upon all checksums of all levels have been verified, a garbage collection process is performed on the segments stored in the storage system.
US09367446B2	Computer system and data recovery method for a computer system having an embedded controller A computer system and a data recovery method are provided. The computer system includes an embedded controller (EC). The data recovery method includes following steps. When the computer system stores data into the EC through a basic input/output system (BIOS), the data is backed up into a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) by the BIOS. The EC enters a power-off mode. The data is obtained from the NVRAM and is stored back to the EC after the EC leaves the power-off mode. Accordingly, the EC recovers from the power-off mode.
US09367444B2	Non-volatile memory device, control method for information processing device, and information processing device A storage device for a host device includes a non-volatile semiconductor memory and a control section configured to execute a delete process in response to a command from the host device to delete data stored at locations in the non-volatile semiconductor memory corresponding to a selected logical address included in the command. The delete process includes determining a selected mapping and at least one prior mapping of the selected logical address to physical addresses of the non-volatile semiconductor memory, and erasing or overwriting the data stored at the physical addresses.
US09367440B2	Memory device A memory device having a primary memory element, in which the memory device includes an evaluation device to ascertain whether the primary memory element experiences a state change and to activate a secondary memory element so that if (a) the primary memory element experiences a state change, the secondary memory element does not carry out a state change, and if (b) the primary memory element does not experience a state change, the secondary memory element carries out a state change.
US09367436B2	System and method for coordinating field user testing results for a mobile application across various mobile devices Systems and methods for facilitating field testing of a test application are provided. In certain implementations, one or more metrics related to execution, at a mobile device, of one or more operations of the test application may be obtained. A determination of whether an error occurred with an operation of the one or more operations may be effectuated based on the one or more metrics. Error information relating to the error may be caused to be transmitted to one or more other mobile devices, wherein the error information includes information for replicating the error. Replication information relating to an attempt by the first other mobile device to replicate the error may be received back from at least a first other mobile device of the one or more other mobile devices. A determination of whether the first other mobile device replicated the error may be effectuated based on the replication information.
US09367428B2	Transparent performance inference of whole software layers and context-sensitive performance debugging Methods and systems for performance inference include inferring an internal application status based on a unified call stack trace that includes both user and kernel information by inferring user function instances. A calling context encoding is generated that includes information regarding function calling paths. Application performance is analyzed based on the encoded calling contexts. The analysis includes performing a top-down latency breakdown and ranking calling contexts according to how costly each function calling path is.
US09367426B2	Call graph simplification/comparison and automatic initial suspects finding of performance degradations In one embodiment, a method for call graph analysis is provided. The method includes determining a plurality of nodes in a call graph. The plurality of nodes represent resource consumption of functions of a software program executed in a software system. A simplification factor is determined. A first set of nodes in the plurality of nodes is then eliminated based on exclusive values for the plurality of nodes, inclusive values for the plurality of nodes, and the simplification factor. An inclusive value for a node is a first amount of resources consumed by the node and any descendent nodes of that node. An exclusive value for the node is a second amount of resources consumed by the node. A simplified call graph is output including a second set of nodes in the plurality of nodes. The second set of nodes does not include the eliminated first set of nodes.
US09367425B1	Disjoint-or trees for caching aggregated dependencies Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for using disjoint-or trees to cache aggregated dependencies. One of the methods includes receiving a request to compute a set of software dependencies inbound to or outbound from a node or any descendant of the node in a hierarchy of software elements in a software project. If the node of the hierarchy is important enough to cache in the disjoint-or tree, a new element is generated in the disjoint-or tree corresponding to the node. A set of dependencies for the new element is computed as a union of one or more sets of dependencies associated with the node and any descendants of the node in the hierarchy, and the computed set of dependencies are associated with the new element in the disjoint-or tree corresponding to the node.
US09367424B2	Method for performance monitoring and optimization via trend detection and forecasting A method for identifying trends in system faults. During a generating stage, monitoring via a software based performance monitoring unit, a state of a server on a network and generating hardware or software performance information which indicate system faults of the server. During an analysis stage including, creating a dataset from the hardware or software performance information and isolating events from the dataset and categorizing each of the isolated events into a type, each type representing one application program call return. For each event in the dataset, assigning a trend score which decays with time such that recent events receive greater weight in the assigning than less recent events. Finally, performing one or more of: outputting a notification of the trend score, utilizing an optimization unit or triggering operation of a fault system handler for the event, when the trend score is above a threshold.
US09367417B2	Nonvolatile memory device including dummy wordline, memory system, and method of operating memory system A method of operating a memory system includes reading data of first memory cells, the first memory cells being connected to a first wordline from among a plurality of wordlines, the plurality of wordlines including one or more dummy wordlines and one or more normal wordlines; determining whether the first wordline is one of the one or more dummy wordlines by determining, based on the read data, a number of the first memory cells having a first threshold voltage state, the one or more dummy wordlines being wordlines the memory cells of which have been programmed with dummy data, the one or more normal wordlines being wordlines that are not dummy wordlines; and performing a repair algorithm for correcting an error in the read data, selectively according to a result of the determination.
US09367415B1	System for testing markup language applications on a device A system is described for testing markup language-based applications, such as a web page, executing on an external computing device. A development device executes development tool modules which may include a proxy module and a driver module. The proxy module enables communication between one or more modules which execute on the development device and one or more embedded test tools on the computing device. The driver module provides a command line interface to facilitate automated testing, and generates commands appropriate to the use of the embedded test tools and may use the proxy module to communicate with the computing device. Using the proxy module, the driver module, or both, a developer is able to test and interact with a markup language application executing on the computing device with a variety of development modules.
US09367414B2	Persisting high availability protection state for virtual machines stored on distributed object-based storage Techniques are disclosed for persisting high availability (HA) protection state for virtual machines (VMs) running on host systems of a host cluster, where the host cluster aggregates locally-attached storage resources of the host systems to provide an object store, and where persistent data for the VMs is stored as per-VM storage objects across the locally-attached storage resources comprising the object store. In one embodiment, a host system in the host cluster executing a HA module determines an identity of a VM that has been powered-on in the host cluster. The host system then persists HA protection state for the VM in a storage object of the VM, where the HA protection state indicates that the VM should be restarted on an active host system in the case of a failure in the host cluster.
US09367413B2	Detecting data loss during site switchover Techniques for detecting data loss during site switchover are disclosed. An example method includes storing at NVRAM of a first node a plurality of operations of a second node, the first and second nodes being disaster recovery partners. The method also includes during a switchover from the second node to the first node, receiving an indication of a first number of operations yet to be completed. The method further includes comparing the first number to a second number of operations in the plurality of operations stored at the NVRAM of the first node. The method also includes in response to the comparing, determining whether at least one operation is missing from the plurality of operations stored in the NVRAM of the first node. The method further includes in response to determining that at least one operation is missing, failing at least one volume.
US09367398B1	Backing up journal data to a memory of another node In one aspect, a method includes receiving and recording journal data at a client on a first server, providing the data to a journal component, transferring the journal data from the journal component to a reserve memory in a memory of a second server using a remote direct memory access (RDMA), after failure of the client, retrieving the journal data from the reserve memory using the RDMA and replacing the journal data lost from the failure of the client with the journal data from the reserve memory.
US09367397B1	Recovering data lost in data de-duplication system An indication is received that a data object is to be deleted, wherein the data object comprises data stored in a segment within a container. It is determined no currently alive data object references any segment within the container. The container is placed in a delete-ready but not yet reclaimable state.
US09367396B2	Method and system for service-aware parity placement in a storage system A method and system for service-aware parity placement in a storage system, including after receiving the service notification specifying a target SD: writing a RAID stripe to the persistent storage, where the parity block of the RAID stripe is stored on the target SD and none of the data blocks in the RAID stripe are stored on the target SD. The method further includes performing a modified garbage collection operation that includes identifying a live RAID stripe in the persistent storage, writing a new RAID stripe to a new location in the persistent storage, where the new RAID stripe includes a copy of at least a portion of data from the live RAID stripe and a parity block in the new RAID stripe is stored on the target SD, and issuing a removal notification when the modified garbage collection operation is completed.
US09367394B2	Decoupled reliability groups Methods and apparatuses for updating members of a data storage reliability group are provided. In one exemplary method, a reliability group includes a data zone in a first storage node and a checksum zone in a second data storage node. The method includes updating a version counter associated with the data zone in response to destaging a data object from a staging area of the data zone to a store area of the data zone without synchronizing the destaging with the state of the checksum zone. The method further includes transmitting, from the data zone to the checksum zone, an update message indicating completion of the destaging of the data object, wherein the update message includes a current value of the version counter.
US09367393B2	Storage control apparatus and storage control method A storage control apparatus converts data in a variable-length data format including a field into data in a fixed-length data format and stores the converted data in the fixed-length data format in a storage apparatus. The storage control apparatus includes a data storage memory, a writing unit, and a verification information adding unit. The writing unit writes the data in the variable-length data format to divided regions of the data storage memory. The verification information adding unit adds verification information to the field of the variable-length data format which is written to one or more of the divided regions. Thus, the storage control apparatus is able to check each divided region for a data error.
US09367391B2	Error correction operations in a memory device Memory devices configured to determine if an error exists in read data and to respond to determined errors, as well as methods of operating such memory devices. In at least one embodiment, an internal controller of a memory device periodically performs internal error correction operations on stored user data and corrects user data in the memory device independently from instructions from an external memory access device. In further memory devices, an internal controller performs internal error correction operations on stored user data and adjusts trim values that define voltages to be utilized during a read operation in response to determining that the read user data comprises an error.
US09367389B2	Recovery strategy that reduces errors misidentified as reliable A method for applying a sequence of sensing/read reference voltages in a read channel includes (A) setting a read window based on an estimate of a read channel, (B) setting first, second, and third values of a sequence of sensing voltages to values corresponding to different ones of (i) a left-hand limit of the read window, (ii) a right-hand limit of the read window, and (iii) a point central to the read window, (C) determining whether first, second and third reads are successful, and (D) if the first, second and third reads are not successful, setting fourth and fifth values of the sequence of sensing voltages to values corresponding to different ones of (i) a point between the left-hand limit and the point central to the read window and (ii) a point between the right-hand limit and the point central to the read window.
US09367386B2	Semiconductor integrated circuit and drive apparatus including the same A semiconductor integrated circuit includes a first transmission circuit generating and outputting a first transmission signal reflecting a first data signal supplied from outside, a first reception circuit reproducing the first data signal based on a first reception signal, a first isolation element isolating the first transmission circuit from the first reception circuit and transmitting the first transmission signal as the first reception signal, a second transmission circuit generating and outputting a second transmission signal reflecting a second data signal supplied from outside, a second reception circuit reproducing the second data signal based on a second reception signal, a second isolation element isolating the second transmission circuit from the second reception circuit and transmitting the second transmission signal as the second reception signal, and a third transmission circuit generating and outputting a third transmission signal reflecting the second data signal.
US09367385B2	High speed serial data receiver architecture with dual error comparators A receiver path including first, second, third, and fourth comparator modules. The first comparator module is configured to generate, based on a signal received via the receiver path, a first digital output signal indicative of a sum of first data in the received signal and a first error. The second comparator module is configured to generate, based on the signal received via the receiver path, a second digital output signal indicative of a sum of second data in the received signal and a second error. The third comparator module is configured to generate, based on the signal received via the receiver path, a third digital output signal indicative of the first data in the received signal. The fourth comparator module is configured to generate, based on the signal received via the receiver path, a fourth digital output signal indicative of the second data in the received signal.
US09367384B2	Admission control based on the end-to-end availability Providing admission control for a request may comprise creating a process flow associated with the request, the process flow identifying a plurality of computer-implemented components and a flow of transactions occurring between the computer-implemented components; executing the flow of transactions on the plurality of computer-implemented components; logging the flow of transactions; monitoring the flow of transactions to detect a problem in the flow or one or more of the components, or combination thereof; responsive to not detecting a problem in the flow or one or more of the components, or combination thereof, allowing the request to proceed; and responsive to detecting a problem in the flow or one or more of the components, or combination thereof, not allowing the request to proceed.
US09367382B2	Apparatus, method, and program product for calculating abnormality based on degree of correlation destruction In the invariant analysis, a fault cause is judged correctly. A correlation model storing unit (112) of an operation management apparatus (100) stores a correlation model including one or more correlation functions each of which indicates a correlation between two metrics different each other among a plurality of metrics in a system. The correlation destruction detecting unit (103) detects correlation destruction of the correlation which is included in the correlation model by applying newly inputted values of the plurality of metrics to the correlation model. The abnormality calculation unit (104) calculates and outputs a centrality degree which indicates a degree to which a first metric is estimated to be center of distribution of correlation destruction on the basis of a correlation destruction degree of one or more correlations between each of one or more second metrics having a correlation with the first metric and each of one or more metrics other than the first metric among the plurality of metrics.
US09367381B2	Method and system for exception detecting and alerting Methods and system for exception detecting and alerting are described. An exception indicating an occurrence of an error in an application and a path to the exception in an application space may be received. The received exception may be compared to a stored exception in a prior version of an exception data structure to determine whether the received exception is a new exception. The exception data structure may include a plurality of stored exceptions. The results of the comparison may be provided.
US09367376B2	Drive control device A drive control device includes: an embedded microcontroller including a program for outputting a drive control signal to a driving unit; a first timer circuit for outputting a cyclic signal to the embedded microcontroller, wherein the embedded microcontroller reads the cyclic signal outputted from the first timer circuit and transmits the cyclic signal to output a transmission signal as part of operation of the program; and a second timer circuit provided externally to the embedded microcontroller, wherein the transmission signal is inputted to the second timer circuit, the second timer circuit obtains temporal change of the transmission signal for a time set in advance, and the second timer circuit outputs, based on the obtained result, a signal indicating one of different operation states of the embedded microcontroller depending on whether or not there is continuous temporal change of the transmission signal.
US09367375B2	Direct connect algorithm A system includes a safety relevant component that generates a data packet in response to receiving a request to perform a task and that communicates the data packet. The system further includes a first fail-safe chassis (FSC) that continuously generates a first and second chassis health signals, that determines whether the data packet is valid, and that selectively determines whether to de-assert the first and second chassis health signals based on the determination. The system also includes a second FSC that continuously generates a third a fourth chassis health signals, that determines whether a data packet is valid, and that selectively determines whether to de-assert the third and fourth chassis health signals based on the determination. The system includes a direct connect algorithm state machine that determines whether to instruct the one of the first and second FSCs to operate in a predetermined mode based on the chassis health signals.
US09367372B2	Software only intra-compute unit redundant multithreading for GPUs A system, method and computer program product to execute a first and a second work-item, and compare the signature variable of the first work-item to the signature variable of the second work-item. The first and the second work-items are mapped to an identifier via software. This mapping ensures that the first and second work-items execute exactly the same data for exactly the same code without changes to the underlying hardware. By executing the first and second work-items independently, the underlying computation of the first and second work-item can be verified. Moreover, system performance is not substantially affected because the execution results of the first and second work-items are compared only at specified comparison points.
US09367371B2	Widget framework, real-time service orchestration, and real-time resource aggregation A method to optimize calls to a service by components of an application running on an application server is provided. The method includes receiving a first call and a second call, the first call made to a service by a first one of a plurality of components included in the application, and the second call made to the service by a second one of the plurality of components; selecting one of a plurality of optimizations, the plurality of optimizations including orchestrating the first call and the second call into a third call to the service; and, in response to the selecting of the orchestrating of the first call and the second call into the third call as the one of the plurality of optimizations, orchestrating the first call and the second call into the third call.
US09367364B2	Broadcasting shared variable directory (SVD) information in a parallel computer Methods, parallel computers, and computer program products for broadcasting shared variable directory (SVD) information in a parallel computer are provided. Embodiments include a runtime optimizer detecting, by a runtime optimizer of the parallel computer, a change in SVD information within an SVD associated with a first thread. Embodiments also include a runtime optimizer identifying a plurality of threads requiring notification of the change in the SVD information. Embodiments also include the runtime optimizer in response to detecting the change in the SVD information, broadcasting to each thread of the identified plurality of threads, a broadcast message header and update data indicating the change in the SVD information.
US09367363B2	System and method for integrating best effort hardware mechanisms for supporting transactional memory Systems and methods for integrating multiple best effort hardware transactional support mechanisms, such as Read Set Monitoring (RSM) and Best Effort Hardware Transactional Memory (BEHTM), in a single transactional memory implementation are described. The best effort mechanisms may be integrated such that the overhead associated with support of multiple mechanisms may be reduced and/or the performance of the resulting transactional memory implementations may be improved over those that include any one of the mechanisms, or an un-integrated collection of multiple such mechanisms. Two or more of the mechanisms may be employed concurrently or serially in a single attempt to execute a transaction, without aborting or retrying the transaction. State maintained or used by a first mechanism may be shared with or transferred to another mechanism for use in execution of the transaction. This transfer may be performed automatically by the integrated mechanisms (e.g., without user, programmer, or software intervention).
US09367360B2	Deploying a hardware inventory as a cloud-computing stamp Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for automatically configuring an inventory of hardware to interact seamlessly with a computing fabric of a data center are provided. Initially, a communicative coupling between a user device and computing units of the hardware inventory is established. The communicated coupling allows an engine running on the user device to provision the computing units with software that allows the hardware inventory to function as a fabric-computing cluster (FCC) of the data center. Provisioning involves deploying a computing fabric to the computing units, and deploying core infrastructure services to run on top of the computing fabric. The computing fabric enables the computing units to interact as a unified logical system, while the core infrastructure services represent operating-system-level components that provide underlying support of applications running on the FCC. Upon carrying out the provisioning, the components internal to the computing units of the hardware inventory are validated.
US09367359B2	Optimized resource management for map/reduce computing Embodiments of the present invention include a method for resource optimization of map/reduce computing in a computing cluster. The method can include receiving a computational problem for processing in a map/reduce module, subdividing the computational problem into a set of sub-problems and mapping a selection of the sub-problems in the set to respective nodes in a computing cluster, for example a cloud computing cluster, computing for a subset of the nodes in the computing cluster a required resource capacity of the subset of the nodes to process a mapped one of the sub-problems and an existing capacity of the subset of the nodes, and augmenting the existing capacity to an augmented capacity when the required resource capacity exceeds the existing capacity, and when a cost of augmenting the existing capacity to the augmented capacity does not exceed a penalty for breaching a service level agreement (SLA) for the subset of the nodes.
US09367353B1	Storage control system with power throttling mechanism and method of operation thereof A storage control system, and a method of operation thereof, including: a host interface module for receiving a host command from a host system; a power measurement module, coupled to the host interface module, for reading a current value of an electrical power supplied by the host system in response to the host command; and a schedule module, coupled to the power measurement module, for scheduling new operations to be executed in parallel in non-volatile memory devices, the new operations are scheduled when the current value of the electrical power does not exceed a power limit.
US09367351B1	Profiling input/output behavioral characteristics in distributed infrastructure Techniques for profiling input/output (I/O) characteristics in a computing system implemented with distributed infrastructure. In one example, a method comprises the following steps. Behavioral characteristics are extracted for a set of factors associated with a targeted system in a distributed infrastructure by causing execution of one or more input/output workloads in accordance with one or more entities and the targeted system. At least a portion of the extracted behavioral characteristics is utilized to determine whether one or more subsequent workloads satisfy one or more quality-of-service criteria when executed in accordance with at least one of the one or more entities and the targeted system.
US09367343B2	Dynamic batch management of shared buffers for virtual machines Methods, systems, and computer program products for providing dynamic batch management of shared packet buffers are disclosed. A virtualized computer system may include a hypervisor with access to memory and executed by a processor to maintain a pool of host memory to store a plurality of incoming network packets received by a network device, adjust a number of memory buffers associated with the pool of host memory to resize the pool of host memory, receive an indication of an incoming network packet stored in the pool of host memory by the network device, and provide the incoming network packet to a guest. In an example, the hypervisor uses the pool of host memory to perform batch processing of the incoming network packets and dynamically adjusts the size of the pool during the processing by adding or removing memory buffers in response to an event, condition, request, etc.
US09367342B2	Optimizing a deactivation process for a virtual machine system A virtual machine system includes one or more virtual machines and a deactivator that deactivates the virtual machines. Each virtual machine includes an output unit that outputs a deactivation prohibiting signal indicating that the virtual machine is not permitted to stop operating while deactivation prohibited processing is being executed. The deactivation prohibited processing is processing that involves the device and during which the virtual machine is not permitted to stop operating. The deactivator deactivates a virtual machine that has not output the deactivation prohibiting signal, and does not deactivate a virtual machine that has output the deactivation prohibiting signal.
US09367339B2	Cryptographically attested resources for hosting virtual machines Approaches to enable the configuration of computing resources for executing virtual machines on behalf of users to be cryptographically attested to or verified. When a user requests a virtual machine to be provisioned, an operator of the virtualized computing environment can initiate a two phase launch of the virtual machine. In the first phase, the operator provisions the virtual machine on a host computing device and obtains cryptographic measurements of the software and/or hardware resources on the host computing device. The operator may then provide those cryptographic measurements to the user that requested the virtual machine. If the user approves the cryptographic measurements, the operator may proceed with the second phase and actually launch the virtual machine on the host. In some cases, operator may compare the cryptographic measurements to a list of approved measurements to determine whether the host computing device is acceptable for hosting the virtual machine.
US09367334B2	Vibrator and audio resource sharing for mobile communication device A communication device includes at least two output apparatuses, and an interface circuit configured as an interface between the at least two output apparatuses and software drivers supported by an operating system embedded within the communication device, so that the software drivers can access the output apparatuses. The interface circuit includes an access control circuit configured to temporarily allocate a first one of the at least two apparatuses with a first one of the software drivers, so that other ones of the software drivers cannot access the first output apparatus during its allocation to the first software driver. The interface circuit also includes shared resource circuits configured to dynamically direct communication from the first software driver to the temporarily allocated first output apparatus.
US09367327B2	Method to ensure platform silicon configuration integrity Some aspects include beginning a power on self test (POST) by a BIOS for a computer system; enumerating the computer system by the BIOS; providing, based on the enumeration of the computer system by the BIOS, at least one configuration setting of the computer system to a management engine (ME) of the computer system; and applying a lock to the at least one configuration setting by the ME to manage a change to the at least one configuration setting, all prior to an ending of the POST.
US09367325B2	Common architecture state presentation for processor having processing cores of different types A method is described that includes deciding to migrate a thread from a first processing core to a second processing core. The method also includes automatically in hardware migrating first context of the thread of the first processing core whose register definition is also found on the second processing core to the second processing core. The method also includes automatically in hardware migrating second context of the thread of the first processing core whose register definition is not found on the second processing core to a first storage location external to the second processing core. The message also includes automatically in hardware migrating third context of the thread from a second storage location external to the second processing core to register definition found on the second processing core but not found on the first processing core.
US09367324B2	Saving/restoring selected registers in transactional processing A TRANSACTION BEGIN instruction begins execution of a transaction and includes a general register save mask having bits, that when set, indicate registers to be saved in the event the transaction is aborted. At the beginning of the transaction, contents of the registers are saved in memory not accessible to the program, and if the transaction is aborted, the saved contents are copied to the registers.
US09367321B2	Processor instruction set for controlling an event source to generate events used to schedule threads The invention provides a processor comprising: an execution unit, and a thread scheduler configured to schedule a plurality of threads for execution by the execution unit in dependence on a respective runnable status for each thread. The execution unit is configured to execute thread scheduling instructions which manage the runnable statuses. The thread scheduling instructions including at least: one or more source event enable instructions each of which sets an event source to a mode in which it generates an event dependent on activity occurring at that source, and a wait instruction which sets one of said runnable statuses to suspended pending one of the events upon which continued execution of the respective thread depends. The continued execution comprises retrieval of a continuation point vector for the respective thread.
US09367319B2	System and method for a multi-schema branch predictor A system and method for predicting the execution of a branch of computer-executable instructions. In an embodiment, a branch predictor may include a program-counter register operable to store a program-counter value and a branch-history register operable to store a branch-history value. Additionally, the branch predictor may include a prediction hash table having a plurality of prediction values each uniquely corresponding to a plurality of memory locations. With these components, the branch predictor may generate a first prediction value that corresponds to the program-counter value and may generate a second prediction value that corresponds to a logical combination of the program-counter value and the branch-history value. With these two prediction values obtained from two different prediction schemas, the branch predictor is better suited to generate an overall prediction value based on the first and second prediction values that is more accurate than a single prediction value based upon a single prediction schema.
US09367311B2	Multi-core processor system, synchronization control system, synchronization control apparatus, information generating method, and computer product A multi-core processor system includes a given core that includes a detecting unit that detects migration of a thread under execution by a synchronization source core to a synchronization destination core in the multi-core processor; an identifying unit that refers to a table identifying a combination of a thread and a register associated with the thread, and identifies a particular register corresponding to the thread for which migration was detected; a generating unit that generates synchronization control information identifying the synchronization destination core and the particular register; and a synchronization controller that, communicably connected to the multi-core processor, acquires from the given core, the synchronization control information, reads in from the particular register of the synchronization source core, a value of the particular register obtainable from the synchronization control information, and writes to the particular register of the synchronization destination core, the value.
US09367310B2	Stack access tracking using dedicated table A processor employs a prediction table at a front end of its instruction pipeline, whereby the prediction table stores address register and offset information for store instructions; and stack offset information for stack access instructions. The stack offset information for a corresponding instruction indicates the location of the data accessed by the instruction at the processor stack relative to a base location. The processor uses pattern matching to identify predicted dependencies between load/store instructions and predicted dependencies between stack access instructions. A scheduler unit of the instruction pipeline uses the predicted dependencies to perform store-to-load forwarding or other operations that increase efficiency and reduce power consumption at the processing system.
US09367308B2	System and method for monitoring software development and program flow A system and method for monitoring software development and project flow in the insurance industry using user stories is disclosed. The system and method include a communication interface that receives information included in communications; a processor and memory to: identify from the monitored communication a plurality of user stories; estimate a priority and assign a value to each story; store each story and associated priority and value as a product backlog; calibrate the difference in the assigned value of each story by comparing each story and the associated assigned value, and iteratively adjusting the assigned value based on the calibrated difference; and update the product backlog of user stories and associated calibrated assigned value; and a display device for displaying the status of the software development and project flow based on the stories remaining in the product backlog as compared to the completed user stories.
US09367306B2	Method for transforming a multithreaded program for general execution A technique is disclosed for executing a program designed for multi-threaded operation on a general purpose processor. Original source code for the program is transformed from a multi-threaded structure into a computationally equivalent single-threaded structure. A transform operation modifies the original source code to insert code constructs for serial thread execution. The transform operation also replaces synchronization barrier constructs in the original source code with synchronization barrier code that is configured to facilitate serialization. The transformed source code may then be conventionally compiled and advantageously executed on the general purpose processor.
US09367304B2	Integrated development environment-based repository searching in a networked computing environment Embodiments of the present invention provide an approach for integrated development environment (IDE)-based repository searching (e.g., for library elements such as classes and/or functions) in a networked computing environment. In a typical embodiment, a first program code file is received from a first integrated development environment (IDE). The first program file may be associated with a set of attributes as stored in an annotation, header, or the like. Regardless, the first program file may be parsed and indexed into a repository based on the set of attributes. A search request may then be received from a second IDE. Based on the search request and the set of attributes, a matching program code file may then be identified as stored in the repository. Once identified, the matching program code file may be transmitted/communicated to the second IDE to fulfill the search request.
US09367302B2	Generating client qualification to execute package update manager A compatibility tool can certify compliance between software packages managers, used by or known to a user, and software packages to be updated or installed on a computing system. Additionally, the compatibility tool can identify a software package manager that is compatible with the software packages to be updated or installed, if the user does not have or know of a compatible software package manager. To certify software package managers or identify compatible software package managers, the compatibility tool can maintain a database of software package managers associated with software packages that are compatible with the software package managers.
US09367300B2	Method and apparatus for determining installation order of software A method of determining an installation order of multiple update programs corresponding to multiple pieces of software for updating current versions of the software on a computer to newer versions, includes applying a function outputting an index representing a degree of likelihood of existence of a version of software on the computer, to information about each piece of software existing on known computers, to calculate the index for each combination of the current and newer versions of the software; and searching for the installation order satisfying a predetermined condition based on a total of the indices corresponding to the combinations of the current and newer versions possibly realized when installing the update programs corresponding to the software one by one from a state of all the current versions to a state of all the new versions.
US09367293B2	System and method for compiler assisted parallelization of a stream processing operator A method of enabling compiler assisted parallelization of one or more stream processing operators in a stream processing application, which consists of a data flow graph with operators as vertices connected by streams. The method includes specifying a parallelized version of one or more of the operators, with a parameterized degree of parallelism, in the stream application, evaluating whether or not to use the parallelized operator, deciding the degree of parallelism of the parallelized operator, if there is a need for a parallelized operator.
US09367285B2	Themed ornaments with internet radio receiver Apparatuses for playing signals received from the internet or other information highway on one or more speakers are described. The apparatus has a receiver for receiving information from preselected addresses; a processor for interpreting the signals; and several speakers for playing the processed signals. The speakers each have an ornamental design on the outside which is related to the topic of the signals received from the address. The apparatus could include a smartphone as the receiver.
US09367283B2	Audio settings Method and systems are provided for a playback device to play a media item using an audio setting corresponding to the media item and characteristics of the playback device. The characteristics of the playback device may be one or more of a model of the playback device, an orientation of the playback device, or a playback group configuration of the playback device, among other possibilities. The audio setting may be determined specifically for the characteristics of the playback device, by a provider (i.e. an artist and/or producer of the media item, and/or a curator of a playlist including the media item, among others). The media item, when rendered by the playback device, may sound as the provider intended.
US09367281B2	Methods and systems for displaying content on multiple network devices with a simple command A method for displaying content displayed on one or more first devices on a second device is provided. The method includes receiving a request to display content currently displayed on a first device on a second device, the request including a gesture made on a screen of the first device, and pairing the first device to the second device. The method further includes transmitting instructions to the second device to display the content currently displayed on the first device, and transmitting the content currently displayed on the first device to the second device for display thereon.
US09367274B2	Network-based event notification system Upon startup of an OS, the present invention obtains an entry of a StatusMonitor key from all printer driver setting information subscribed in a registry by means of a subscriber (S0), and if a value thereof is 1, obtains an entry of a key including “Notification”. If a value of an array element 0 indicates activation of notification, the present invention obtains a character string of an array element 1 as an event type, and makes a Subscribe request to an image forming apparatus (S3). The present invention stores a subscription ID being returned, and makes an Unsubscribe request to the image forming apparatus for all subscription IDs thus stored, upon shut-down of the OS.
US09367273B2	Electronic apparatus An MFP stores identification information and address information in correlation with each other for each interface. The MFP sends first identification information to a PC when receiving an inquiry of identification information from the PC through a first interface in preparation communication such as installation of a printer driver. In addition, when a request of address information using the first identification information is acquired from the PC, the MFP sends first address information corresponding to the first identification information in a case where the request of address information is acquired through the first interface, and sends second address information corresponding to second identification information in a case where the request of address information is acquired through a second interface.
US09367271B2	System and method for achieving tap-to-print functionality on a mobile device A method of printing a document from a mobile device coupling the mobile device to a print device. The method may also include launching a tap-to-print application software on the mobile device in response to the coupling, identifying a document to be printed via the tap-to-print application, and transmitting the document to be printed to the print device by the tap-to-print application. The tap-to-print application does not modify an operating system of the mobile device.
US09367270B1	Method and system for shuttling client resident data to servers in a client-server printing environment A print driver's feature selection GUI can thus be utilized by a user to initiate a special, private print job when the user selects a feature, such as a picture Watermark, which is dependent on one or more files which are only present on the client (e.g., a client PC or other client computing device in a client-server printing environment). That private print job is used in a novel way as disclosed herein to “shuttle” the file to the print server. The print server interprets these private jobs in a special manner and caches the files contained within for use by subsequent normal print jobs. Unlike a normal print job, nothing will be sent to the printer in the case of these private print jobs.
US09367265B2	Storage system and method for efficiently utilizing storage capacity within a storage system In a storage system 1, a storage apparatus A having a first pool 1430 including segments as unit storage areas and a storage apparatus B having a second pool 1430 having the same configuration are communicably connected to each other. In the storage system, an external volume identifier is associated with a logical volume 1420 included in the first pool 1430, the external volume identifier being used by a controller 1500 in the storage apparatus B to identify and manage the logical volume 1420 as an external volume 1425 that is a virtual volume in the storage apparatus B. Moreover, a volume identifier 5110 of the logical volume 1420 included in the first pool 1430 is rewritten into the external volume identifier in order to enable the storage apparatus B to utilize the logical volume 1420 created from the first pool 1430.
US09367264B2	Transaction check instruction for memory transactions A processing unit of a data processing system having a shared memory system executes a memory transaction including a transactional store instruction that causes a processing unit of the data processing system to make a conditional update to a target memory block of the shared memory system conditioned on successful commitment of the memory transaction. The memory transaction further includes a transaction check instruction. In response to executing the transaction check instruction, the processing unit determines, prior to conclusion of the memory transaction, whether the target memory block of the shared memory system was modified after the conditional update caused by execution of the transactional store instruction. In response to determining that the target memory block has been modified, a condition register within the processing unit is set to indicate a conflict for the memory transaction.
US09367261B2	Computer system, data management method and data management program A computer system is achieved which enables a high-speed response to a copy process between computers configuring a KVS (Key Value Store) and ensures data reliability. Disclosed is a computer system in which computers are connected via a network, and a task is executed using a database including storage areas belonging to the computers. The computer system includes a first computer that manages a data set containing pieces of data. The first computer stores replicated data of data contained in data sets managed by other computers. Upon receiving a request for storage (writing and/or overwriting) of new data, the first computer stores the data in memory, replicating the data, transmits the replicated data to the other computers, determines whether the replicated data has been transmitted to the network, and uses the data to execute the task when determining the replicated data was transmitted to the network.
US09367256B2	Storage system having defragmentation processing function A storage system according to the present invention includes: a data storage controlling part that stores data into a storage device and, when storing other data of the same data content as the data, refers to the already stored data as the other data; and a defragmentation processing part that moves and stores storage target data stored in an area set as a defragmentation range within a predetermined region of the storage device, into another region of the storage device. The data storage controlling part stores reference frequency that is frequency of referring to data as other storage target data. The defragmentation processing part, depending on the reference frequency of the data, stores the data into an area to become a defragmentation range later within another region of the storage device.
US09367250B2	Enabling throttling on average write throughput for solid state storage devices A mechanism is provided for enabling throttling on average write throughput instead of peak write throughput for solid-state storage devices. The mechanism assures an average write throughput within a range but allows excursions of high throughput with periods of low throughput offsetting against those of heavy usage. The mechanism periodically determines average throughput and determines whether average throughput exceeds a high throughput threshold for a certain amount of time without being offset by periods of low throughput.
US09367246B2	Performance optimization of data transfer for soft information generation A single command initiates a first read operation and sequence of one or more additional read operations from the same portion of memory. The one or more additional read operations are terminable after the first read operation provides a first plurality of data values that is made available to a requesting device and/or module. In some implementations, the first plurality of data values includes hard information values. Subsequent pluralities of data values are generated from the same portion of memory until a terminating event occurs. In some implementations, until a terminating event occurs, a respective hybrid plurality of data values is generated by combining the latest read plurality of data values with one of a previously generated hybrid plurality of data values and the first plurality of data values. Each hybrid plurality of data values is representative of a corresponding plurality of soft information values.
US09367234B2	Image display device and controlling method thereof An image display device including a touchscreen display configured to display information; a controller configured to display a touch input window with a predetermined transparency while maintaining the information displayed on the touchscreen display based on a received request, the touch input window including a pad region for controlling a pointer displayed on the touchscreen display, move the pointer displayed on the touchscreen display in accordance with a touch movement on the mouse pad region, select and execute an application corresponding to a display object displayed on the touchscreen display when the pointer is displayed on the display object and an execute command is received, and select and execute the application corresponding to the display object when the pointer is not displayed on the display object and a touch direct input of the display object is received.
US09367230B2	Interaction models for indirect interaction devices One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for utilizing input data received from an indirect interaction device (e.g., mouse, touchpad, etc.) as if the data was received from a direct interaction device (e.g., touchscreen). Interaction models are described for handling input data received from an indirect interaction device. For example, the interaction models may provide for the presentation of two or more targets (e.g., cursors) on a display when two or more contacts (e.g., fingers) are detected by indirect interaction device. Moreover, based upon a number of contacts detected and/or a pressured applied by respective contacts, the presented target(s) may be respectively transitioned between a hover visualization and an engage visualization. Targets in an engage visualization may manipulate a size of an object presented in a user interface, pan the object, drag the object, rotate the object, and/or otherwise engage the object, for example.
US09367226B2	Techniques for self adjusting kiosk display information Techniques for self adjusting kiosk display information are provided. Presentation information is centered within a display of the kiosk. A center location for the presentation information is custom recalibrated within the display based on direction of a user. The layout, content, and presentation within the display of the kiosk is user-driven and customizable.
US09367225B2	Electronic apparatus and computer-readable recording medium A mobile terminal device displays at least one category on a predetermined display unit upon reception of copy operation or cut operation with respect to display information which is to be displayed on the predetermined display unit. The mobile terminal device stores the display information which is subjected to the copy operation or the cut operation in the memory, while associating the display information with a category selected out of the at least one category displayed on the predetermined display unit.
US09367224B2	Method and apparatus for allowing drag-and-drop operations across the shared borders of adjacent touch screen-equipped devices A user interface(s) in which the displays of different devices become “synchronized” when the devices are brought into close proximity with one another. One exemplary embodiment permits drag-and-drop procedures that originate on one device to be terminated on the other. Illustratively, the solution could be handled in the following manner: The user would place the second device alongside or in close proximity to the first device, The two devices would detect each other, The user would touch the representation (such as an icon) of the party on the second device's display that they wish to add to the call, The user would slide the representation across the first device/second device border onto the first device's screen, The user would slide the representation to a spotlight or hot spot and then lift the finger from the screen, The party would be connected to the call.
US09367221B2	System and method for sequencing rotatable images A system and method for sequencing rotatable images are disclosed. In at least one embodiment, an image database contains an at least one image collection comprising a plurality of view sets. The view sets each comprise a parallel sequence of images that depicts the same sequentially formatted subject matter as the other view sets in the image collection, but from a unique common perspective point. A unique view index is assigned to each view set in the at least one image collection, while a unique frame index is assigned to each image within each view set. Using these view and frame indices, the content module allows the user to dynamically and selectively choose the common perspective point at which to view the sequentially formatted subject matter at any step in the sequence of images, thereby providing a 360 degree, selectively rotatable view of the subject matter.
US09367220B2	Imaging apparatus and method for controlling the same An imaging apparatus includes a touch detection unit configured to detect a touch operation on a display unit, a display control unit configured to control display of an indicator indicating a reference value in an autobracketing shooting and an indicator indicating a bracketing value in the autobracketing shooting, a control unit configured to perform control to increase a width between the reference value and the bracketing value to be set when the touch detection unit detects a touch operation moving in a first direction while keeping touching a setting area for setting the bracketing value on the display unit and to decrease the width when the touch detection unit detects a touch operation moving in a second direction opposite the first direction while keeping touching the setting area, and a bracketing value setting unit configured to set the bracketing value based on the width.
US09367217B2	Mobile travel information system and method A mobile travel information system and method are disclosed for providing a variety of travel-related information and services to a traveler via a personal electronic device. A custom application installed on the personal electronic device provides, for example, itinerary management, navigational assistance, local recommendations, driving condition alerts, etc. The system may interface with airline, hotel and car rental reservation systems and obtain data from a variety of sources, so as to function as a mobile personal concierge for a traveler.
US09367214B2	Wireless communication device having deterministic control of foreground access of the user interface A wireless communication device that has one or more applications resident on a computer platform, a wireless communication interface, a display, and a user interface that, at least, appears on the display. The one or more applications and/or an arbiter that is resident on the computer platform may determine which user interface of the one or more applications resident on the computer platform controls the display based upon a predetermined criteria when the user interfaces compete for control of the display. In another embodiment, an application that does not comply with the determination of which application controls the display may be terminated. A method may be performed to determine which application may control a display of a plurality of displays of the wireless communication device. A method may be performed to associate user input data with applications when there is a change of control of a display.
US09367213B2	Method and apparatus for delivery of interactive multimedia content over a network A client device downloads an interactive multimedia content package, such as a video game, from a server across a network. The package includes executable code and a plurality of graphical asset files. A wrapper component is provided in the package, which provides an intermediate layer between the executable code and a runtime environment of the client device. The wrapper component restricts functionality of the interactive multimedia content package to provide a demonstration or trial mode, in particular having time limitations (e.g. a rental mode) or functional limitations regarding the assets and/or progress within the content by the executable code. The wrapper component may be removed or inactivated, thereby achieving a full or unlimited mode of the package.
US09367209B2	Scrollable computing device display The display of a scrollable list of items is described. In one disclosed embodiment, a list of items may be displayed on a scrollable computing device display in such a manner that, upon receiving an input requesting movement of a select indicator to a different list item, the select indicator is moved on the display toward the different list item and the list is scrolled on the display in an opposing direction.
US09367207B2	Mobile terminal and control method thereof A mobile terminal including a wireless communication unit configured to wirelessly communicate with at least one other terminal; a display unit; and a controller to receive a lock screen input command, display a lock screen on the display unit upon receiving the lock screen input command, receive a predetermined touch input on the lock screen, display a home screen in an overlapping manner with the lock screen on the display unit upon receiving the predetermined touch input on the lock screen, identify an icon displayed at a position on the home screen corresponding to a position of the predetermined touch input among a plurality of icons included in the home screen, and release the lock screen and execute an application corresponding to the identified icon when the predetermined touch input is released.
US09367205B2	Radial menus with bezel gestures Bezel gestures for touch displays are described. In at least some embodiments, the bezel of a device is used to extend functionality that is accessible through the use of so-called bezel gestures. In at least some embodiments, off-screen motion can be used, by virtue of the bezel, to create screen input through a bezel gesture. Bezel gestures can include single-finger bezel gestures, multiple-finger/same-hand bezel gestures, and/or multiple-finger, different-hand bezel gestures.
US09367204B2	Method and apparatus for determining user input in a three-dimensional field In accordance with one implementation, a method is illustrated that allows a computing device to determine a user input. The method includes detecting one or more user input objects in a 3-dimensional field relative to a 2-dimensional surface. The method also includes determining coordinates for the one or more user input objects relative to the 2-dimensional surface. And, the method further includes determining a user input based on the coordinates.
US09367203B1	User interface techniques for simulating three-dimensional depth Systems and approaches provide for user interfaces (UIs) that are based on a user's viewing angle and/or motion and orientation of the computing device. The UI elements of the framework can be rendered based on head tracking and/or device motion/orientation data to provide a user the impression that the UI elements exist in an environment having three-dimensional (3D) depth. To further enhance the impression of 3D depth, UI elements positioned at depths perceived to be closer to the user can cast shadows upon UI elements positioned at depths appearing to be further away from the user. During the course of operating the computing device, the depths of certain UI elements can change. The UI elements can be rendered to correspond to such changes in depth, and shadows for the UI elements can be recast to be consistent with the rendered UI elements.
US09367202B2	Information processing method and electronic device The present disclosure provides an information processing method for addressing the technical problem that an operation mode of a voice input interface of a conventional electronic device is not flexible. The method comprises steps of: obtaining a voice input trigger operation by an sensing unit; in response to the voice input trigger operation, starting a voice processing system, and displaying a voice indicator in a display unit, the voice indicator occupying a portion of the display area; obtaining an input operation for moving the voice indicator by the sensing unit; making a response to the input operation for moving; controlling movement of the voice indicator within the display area based on the input operation for moving; determining a corresponding control command based on parameter information of the input operation for moving, the control command being used for controlling a processing procedure of the voice processing system. The present disclosure also provides an electronic device for implementing the method.
US09367199B2	Dynamical and smart positioning of help overlay graphics in a formation of user interface elements In some example implementations, there is provided a method. The method may include selecting an action element located on a user interface, wherein the user interface includes a plurality of action elements, whereby each action element corresponds to an action performable by a user and causing a change in a state of the user interface; identifying a help overlay graphics element for each selected action element in the plurality of action elements, the help overlay graphics element describing the action corresponding to the selected action element; and dynamically positioning a plurality of help overlay graphics elements identified for at least a portion of the plurality of selected action elements on the user interface, wherein the plurality of help overlay graphics elements are positioned proximate to associated action elements. Related systems, methods, and articles of manufacture are also provided.
US09367198B2	Spin control user interface for selecting options A spin control graphical user interface is used to display a currently applied option and to receive options from a user. The spin control is a circular graphical user interface that is positioned near a displayed document to which it applies. For example, the spin control may be positioned on or near a corner of the displayed document. The spin control comprises options that are presented to a user upon rotation of the spin control. An option may be manually selected or automatically selected and applied to the displayed document upon rotating the spin control clockwise or counterclockwise. More than one spin control may be associated with the displayed document. The spin control may be automatically shown and removed from a display in response to whether the document to which the spin control is attached is currently being displayed.
US09367197B1	Displaying computer resource hierarchy A hierarchy of computer resources is represented on a display using frames. Each frame is constituted by a top banner, a left sidebar, a right edge, and a bottom edge. The banner includes text identifying the resource it represents. The banner and the left sidebar have sufficient width to bear the text; the edges have insufficient width to bear the text.
US09367195B1	Displaying current location of components in a data storage system A method is used in displaying current location of components in a data storage system. An image of data storage equipment having multiple components is received at a mobile device. The image is processed to automatically identify the multiple components. A current relative physical positioning of the identified components within the data storage system is determined. Based on the determined positioning, a graphical view of the components is provided wherein the graphical view indicates a current relative physical positioning of the components within the data storage system.
US09367194B2	Systems for displaying images A system for displaying images is provided. The system includes a capacitive touch sensor device includes a dielectric layer having a sensing area and covered by a transparent substrate. A plurality of series of first sense electrodes and a plurality of series of second sense electrodes are embedded in a first level of the dielectric layer and within the sensing area. Each series of first sense electrodes extends along a first direction and each series of second sense electrodes extends along a second direction substantially different from the first direction. A plurality of signal lines are embedded in a second level lower than the first level of the dielectric layer and extends along the second direction. Each signal line is correspondingly and electrically connected to one of the plurality of series of first sense electrodes.
US09367193B2	Multi-touch pad A multi-touch pad having grid piezoresistor structure is disclosed. The grid structure conducts current to flow more linearly thereby allowing a more precise calculation of touch position.
US09367191B2	System and method for determining user input using polygons Devices and method are provided that facilitate improved input device performance. Specifically, the systems and methods are configured to identify a portion of an image of sensor values as corresponding to at least one sensed object in the sensing region, determine a polygon corresponding to the identified portion of the image, and determine a contact characterization of the at least one sensed object based on the polygon. The determination of a polygon corresponding to a sensed object facilitates improved contact characterization of the sensed object. For example, the determined polygon may be used to determine if the sensed object is actually more than one object. As a second example, the determined polygon may be used to determine the orientation of the sensed object. In addition, determined polygons may be used to more accurately track changes in the position of the sensed object.
US09367189B2	Compensating for source line interference Embodiments of the present invention generally provide an input device including a display device having an integrated capacitive sensing device. The input device includes a plurality of source lines, a plurality of routing traces coupled to a plurality of sensor electrodes, and a processing system. The processing system is configured to update a first sub-pixel coupled to a first source line by driving the first source line with a first voltage. The processing system is further configured to drive one or more routing traces included in the plurality of routing traces with a second voltage that is an inverted version of the first voltage. The processing system is further configured to receive resulting signals from at least one sensor electrode via the one or more routing traces while the one or more routing traces are driven with the second voltage, and determine positional information based on the resulting signals.
US09367186B2	Method and system for discriminating stylus and touch interactions Embodiments of the invention are directed to control devices, such as human interface devices, configured for use with a tablet computer. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and system for discriminating between the interactions of a handheld device, touch of one or more of the user's finger(s) and interaction with appendages of the user on a touch-screen tablet computer. The methods described herein may include discriminating between the interaction of the handheld device, the user's finger(s) and an appendage of the user so that the collected information can be used to control some aspect of the hardware or software running on the touch-screen tablet computer.
US09367185B2	Method and system for discriminating stylus and touch interactions Embodiments of the invention are directed to control devices, such as human interface devices, configured for use with a tablet computer. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and system for discriminating between the interactions of a handheld device, touch of one or more of the user's finger(s) and interaction with appendages of the user on a touch-screen tablet computer. The methods described herein may include discriminating between the interaction of the handheld device, the user's finger(s) and an appendage of the user so that the collected information can be used to control some aspect of the hardware or software running on the touch-screen tablet computer.
US09367184B2	Method of reducing offset in a capacitive touch panel capable of switching between a differential-input sensor circuit and single-ended sensor circuit This invention offers a signal processing circuit of an electrostatic capacity type touch panel which is capable of switching between a differential input mode and a single input mode and has an extended adjustable range of an offset in the single input mode. The signal processing circuit of this invention includes a first sensor circuit of a differential input type, a second sensor circuit of a single input type, a third and fourth electrostatic capacitors that are variable capacitors for calibration to adjust the offset in an output voltage of the first sensor circuit, and a switching control circuit to control so as to put in operation one of the first and second sensor circuits. The switching control circuit also controls so that the third and fourth electrostatic capacitors for calibration are connected in parallel to each other when the second sensor circuit is put in operation.
US09367179B2	Capacitive voltage divider touch sensor A system for measuring capacitance has a measurement circuit with a first reference capacitor connected to a first node and to a second node. Each of the nodes is connected to a unit operable to apply a reference voltage or ground to one of the nodes. Each node has a first pad connected to the first node and a unit operable to measure voltage between the first node and second node.
US09367177B2	Method and system for determining true touch points on input touch panel using sensing modules The present invention is to provide a method and system for determining true touch points on input touch panel. Two optical sensing module pairs are used to determine two groups of possible touch regions, further with overlap checking with virtual shadow regions to find out potential touch points. Occlusion checking is implemented to acquire true touch points from the potential touch points. The method of the present invention is capable of acquiring true touch points in a fast and reliable way. Furthermore, an interactive input system of the present invention comprises optical sensing modules having their corresponding optical emitters with different wavelengths, and light filters with peak transmission at different wavelengths to avoid from interference effect and over-exposed signal during signal detection by the optical sensing modules.

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