| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US09577506B1 |
High-side circuits with modified diode and layout placement thereof
A high-side circuit, adapted for a switched-mode converter, includes a level shifter, a high-side driver, a high-side transistor, a capacitor, and an active diode. The level shifter receives a first signal to generate a set signal. The high-side driver is supplied by a bootstrap voltage of a bootstrap node and a floating reference voltage of a floating reference node, which controls the high-side transistor to provide an input voltage to the floating reference node according to the set signal. The capacitor is coupled between the bootstrap node and the floating reference node. The active diode provides a supply voltage to the bootstrap node. When the bootstrap voltage exceeds the supply voltage, the active diode isolates the supply voltage from the bootstrap node according to a control voltage. The active diode includes a first-type well coupled to the bootstrap node, where the high-side driver is disposed. |
| US09577505B1 |
Bootstrap controller for switching power supply
Systems and methods for operating a switching converter are disclosed. The switching converter includes a high-side transistor coupled between a voltage input and a switching node and a low-side transistor coupled between the switching node and ground. The switching converter also includes a high-side driver coupled to drive a gate of the high-side transistor, a charge pump coupled to the high-side driver, and a bootstrap circuit, which includes a pass transistor coupled between the charge pump and the switching node, and a pull-down transistor coupled between the charge pump and ground. |
| US09577503B2 |
Rotating machines using trapped field magnets and related methods
Rotors with trapped-field magnet (TFM) bulks, machines with TFM rotors, and methods of activating and/or using machines with TFM rotors. |
| US09577499B2 |
Resolver with mounting structure and method
An apparatus including a rotating member, a resolver and a mounting structure. The resolver includes a resolver stator and a resolver rotor fixedly mounted on the rotating member via a mounting structure. The mounting structure has a low magnetic relative permeability and isolates the resolver rotor from the rotating member by preventing direct contact between the rotating member and the resolver rotor. The disclosed apparatus may be an electric machine having a rotor fixed to the rotating member and be suitable for use in a hybrid vehicle. The mounting structure advantageously has a relative permeability of no greater than about 2 and may be formed out of stainless steel material. The rotating member may be a rotor hub formed out of steel material having a relative permeability of at least about 50. |
| US09577498B2 |
Stator for rotary electric machine and method for manufacturing the stator
Provided is a stator for a rotary electric machine, capable of reducing a space on an end surface of a stator core on an inner diameter side to reduce a size in an axial direction to realize a compact size by maintaining an insulating distance corresponding to a potential difference. In the stator for a rotary electric machine according to the present invention, a coil portion includes a coil main-body portion (21) and a second connecting wire (23). The second connecting wire (23) includes a first bent portion (24) and a second connecting-wire end portion (23A). The second connecting wire (23) is configured so that a differential value of a length z in the axial direction of the stator to a length r in the radial direction of the stator is Δz/Δr≧0. |
| US09577496B2 |
Rotor and brushless motor with rotation position detection
A rotor includes a first rotor core, a second rotor core, a field magnet, and a detected portion. The first rotor core includes a first core base and a plurality of first claw-shaped magnetic pole portions. The second rotor core includes a second core base and a plurality of second claw-shaped magnetic pole portions. The first and second core bases face to each other, and the first and second claw-shaped magnetic pole portions are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction. The field magnet is located between the first and second core bases in the axial direction. The field magnet has the first claw-shaped magnetic pole portion function as a first magnetic pole and has the second claw-shaped magnetic pole portion function as a second magnetic pole. A detected portion, which generates a magnetic flux, is arranged at an outer axial end surface of the first rotor core. |
| US09577495B2 |
Rotary electric machine
A rotary electric machine including a brush used to supply a field current to a field winding of a rotor, a brush holder holding the brush, a power circuit portion connected to a heat sink having fins, and a case covering the power circuit portion and the brush holder. An air passage is provided between the brush holder and the fins of the heat sink, and an opening is provided to the case so as to cover component members of the brush holder in a shape conforming to an outer peripheral portion of the brush holder, from which cooling air is allowed to pass through the air passage. |
| US09577486B2 |
Conductor retention member for a stator assembly
A conductor retention member for a stator core includes a body formed from a non-electrically conductive material. The body includes a radial outwardly facing edge and a radial inwardly facing edge. A plurality of openings extends between the radial inwardly facing edge and the radial outwardly facing edge formed in the body. The body is configured and disposed to be arranged at an axial end of the stator core with the plurality of openings registering with corresponding ones of a plurality of stator slots. |
| US09577479B2 |
Improvements for flux switching machines
Disclosed herein is a design for flux switching machines with one or more armature windings which can deliver controlled torque, in either selected direction on start up, without the use of a mechanical position sensor. Flux switching machines without sensors can operate equally well in either direction. The invention discloses design features for such machines which improves the torque profile of the motor with angle. In three phase machines this delivers higher torque and lower ripple torque. In single phase flux switching machines the invention allows the rotor to be placed in a position where maximum torque can be delivered in either direction by selection of either positive or negative armature current. Rotor slotting is introduced to create a path of low permeability across a rotor tooth with minimal impact on the normal torque producing flux paths. Asymmetry of stator slots is used to further create a stable rotor position when energized by predominantly field means or armature means. Starting of the rotor from this stable position can be achieved in either direction. The method is suitable for starting permanent magnet flux switching motors. The invention results in low cost single phase motors which can start and run in either direction and three phase flux switching motors with improved performance over the prior art. |
| US09577478B2 |
Axial flux motor with stator pre-load
A motor comprises a stator assembly, a rotor assembly having a stator core, and a stator cup adjacent the stator core. The inside surface of the stator cup comprises a plurality of aligned regions and a plurality of pressure regions. Each of the plurality of aligned regions is axially aligned with a corresponding one of a plurality of fastener-engaging regions of the stator cup. Each of the plurality of pressure regions is spaced from each of the plurality of aligned regions. A plurality of fastening portions operatively engages the fastener-engaging regions and operatively engages the stator core in a manner urging the stator core and the stator cup toward one another. Urging of the stator core and the stator cup toward one another by the plurality of fastening portions causes the stator core to exert pressure on the plurality of pressure regions. The pressure being exerted on the plurality of pressure regions by the stator core as a result of the fastening portions urging the stator core and the stator cup toward one another is greater than pressure being exerted on the plurality of aligned regions by the stator core. |
| US09577477B2 |
Power transmission apparatus and method, and resonance device used therein
A resonance device includes a waveguide, a dielectric resonator disposed coaxial with the waveguide, an excitation structure thereof. One end of the waveguide is open and the other is short-circuited. The dielectric resonator has two end surfaces disposed on opposite sides to each other, is insulated from the waveguide in the vicinity of the open end of the waveguide, and is disposed within the waveguide, such that a thickness being a distance between the two end surfaces is constant, regardless of a radial position of the dielectric resonator. In a power transmission apparatus, the two resonance devices are provided. The open end of the waveguide of one resonance device and the open end of the waveguide of the other resonance device are disposed opposite each other. Power, which is input to an excitation structure of one resonance device, is output from an excitation structure of the other resonance device. |
| US09577475B2 |
Electronic device, feed unit, and feed system for reliably informing user of electronic device state during wireless electric power transmission
An electronic device includes: a power receiving section configured to receive electric power transmitted using a magnetic field or an electric field; and a state informing section configured to inform a device state of the electronic device, by using the electric power received by the power receiving section. When an abnormal state is detected as the device state, the state informing section also informs the abnormal state by using the received electric power. A feed unit includes: a power transmission section configured to perform electric power transmission using a magnetic field or an electric field, to a device to be fed; and a control section configured to continue the electric power transmission by the power transmission section, even when an abnormal state in the device to be fed is detected. |
| US09577473B2 |
Power-centric system management
A plurality of controllers, each coupled to a plurality of outlets, compare values assigned to characteristic parameters or “process variables” against at least one control value on the process variable. The values for the process variables are derived from at least one signal provided to corresponding controllers. At least one of the outlets at each controller is configured to selectively provide an electrical voltage from an input voltage in accordance with the comparison of the process variable values and the control value. Remotely accessible controls may be stored at the controllers which may be retrieved through respective network interfaces at the controllers. A remote processor may use the retrieved controls to remotely specify, such as over a communication network, the control values. |
| US09577472B2 |
Power management apparatus, power management method and demand notification apparatus
Disclosed herein is a power management apparatus including: a power-demand forecasting section configured to forecast a power demand made by an electric-power demander at a future time; a power measurement section configured to acquire a power consumption of the electric-power demander for the time; a demand control section configured to determine a demand for urging the electric-power demander to adjust the amount of electric power consumed by the electric-power demander on the basis of the power demand forecasted by the power-demand forecasting section and the power consumption acquired by the power measurement section; and a demand issuance section configured to issue the demand determined by the demand control section to the electric-power demander. |
| US09577471B2 |
Power system for providing an uninterruptible power supply to an external load
A power system for providing an uninterruptible power supply to an external load has a first motor adapted to be connected to a source of power, a flywheel/generator adapted to supply power to the external load, a standby generator switchably electrically connected to the flywheel/generator, and a second motor drivingly connected to the generator/motor and to the internal combustion engine. The second motor is electrically connected to the power supplied by the flywheel/generator. The first motor is drivingly connected to the flywheel/generator. The flywheel/generator is electrically isolated from the source of power. The standby generator has an internal combustion engine that is driving connected to a generator/motor. The generator/motor is adapted to supply power to the flywheel/generator or the external load upon a change in power supplied by the flywheel/generator or the source of power. The second motor is an AC squirrel cage induction motor. |
| US09577469B2 |
Battery pack
A battery pack includes first and second terminals, a battery unit electrically connected between the first and second terminals, the battery unit being configured to receive charging power, and being configured to output discharging power, and a power converter electrically coupled between the first terminal and the battery unit, the power converter being configured to convert the charging power to have a charging voltage corresponding to the battery unit, wherein the first and second terminals are configured to be electrically coupled to a generator and a starter motor. |
| US09577467B1 |
Hinge assembly for a wireless charger
A wireless charger for an electronic device. The charger includes a base having a base opening and an interior cavity defined by an upper shell, a lower shell and an inner sidewall extending between the upper and lower shells to define the base opening. An aperture is formed through the inner sidewall between the interior cavity and the base opening and a hinge is connected to the base within the interior cavity and extends through the aperture. The charger further includes a wireless charging assembly that is pivotably attached to the base by the hinge and moveable between a down position in which the wireless charging assembly is disposed within the base opening and an up position in which the wireless charging assembly extends outside the base. The charging assembly has a charging surface and a power transmitting unit disposed adjacent to the charging surface where the power transmitting unit is configured to wirelessly transmit power across the charging surface to a power receiving unit of a portable electronic device. |
| US09577464B2 |
Wireless charging system
A wireless charging system includes a first winding portion, a second winding portion which is disposed with an interval between the first winding portion and the second winding portion in an axis direction of the first winding portion, and a pair of magnetic members which are disposed so as to sandwich the first winding portion and the second winding portion in the axis direction. In this case, protrusion portions which protrude toward the other magnetic member are provided in one magnetic member. Also, the magnetic member is held so as to be able to move forward and backward toward the other magnetic member. As a result, since the coefficient of magnetic coupling between a transmitting unit and a receiving unit during charging is enhanced, a charging efficiency can be enhanced. |
| US09577462B2 |
Power transmission system
A power transmission system transmits power underwater between a power-transmitting device and a power-receiving device of which at least one is capable of moving freely underwater. In this power transmission system, the power-transmitting device and the power-receiving device are each provided with a resonance coil that performs the power transmission wirelessly underwater by means of magnetic field resonance. At least one of the power-transmitting device and the power-receiving device is provided with a balloon that internally houses the resonance coil of its own device. |
| US09577457B2 |
Control device for secondary battery, charging control method, and SOC detection method
The present invention provides a control device of a secondary battery. The control device of the secondary battery using, as a positive electrode material, a positive electrode active material that shows a difference of an open circuit voltage curve between during charge and discharge, has a judging unit that judges, on the basis of a charge-discharge state of the secondary battery, whether or not calculation of a current SOC of the secondary battery is possible; and a charge controlling unit that, when judged that the calculation of the current SOC of the secondary battery is not possible by the judging unit, charges the secondary battery up to a predetermined fully charged state. |
| US09577454B2 |
Series connected storage interface converter
A method for operating a plurality of energy storage devices includes controlling operation of the plurality of energy storage devices connected in series by independently varying a current and/or bypassing and/or reversing a polarity of at least one of the plurality of energy storage devices without a corresponding change in current, bypass, or reversal of polarity of one or more of the other energy storage devices connected in series. |
| US09577452B2 |
Portable electronic device and charging method therefor
A portable electronic device includes a connector including first and second data pins and a power pin; a battery charging circuit configured to receive a charging current and a power voltage from an external device via the power pin and charge a battery according to the charging current; and a processor configured to make the first and second data pins, which are shorted by the external device, open and obtain an identification code via the first and second data pins from the external device after the first and second data pins are opened, wherein if the identification code matches a specific code, the processor sends a requirement to the external device, and the power voltage and the charging current received by the battery charging circuit are increased by the external device in response to the requirement. |
| US09577451B2 |
Holder for portable electronic device
A holder includes a cover, a base, and a charging module. The cover includes a battery, and the base is foldably connected to the cover. The charging module includes a main charging coil and a power supply. The battery and the main charging coil are electrically connected to the power supply. A first proportion of a current from the power supply charges the battery, while a second proportion of the current from the power supply sends current to the main charging coil. The main charging coil charges a portable electronic device received in the holder. |
| US09577449B2 |
Method and apparatus to align wireless charging coils
A wireless charging device for use in providing electrical power to one or more portable electronic devices is provided. The wireless charging device includes a transmission coil coupled to an electrical power source. The transmission coil selectively transmits power from the electrical power source to at least one receiving coil in a first portable electronic device of the one or more portable electronic devices. The wireless charging device also includes a positioning system coupled to the transmission coil. The positioning system is configured to selectively rotate said transmission coil about a first axis and about a second axis. |
| US09577447B2 |
Short distance wireless power transmitting apparatus which enchances wireless power transmitting capability regardless of a relative arrangment with respect to a wireless power receiving apparatus
Disclosed herein are a coil resonant coupler for short distance wireless power communication and a short distance wireless power transmitting apparatus comprising the same. The coil resonant coupler for short distance wireless power communication comprises a first coil installed perpendicularly to a first axis; a second coil installed perpendicularly to a second axis perpendicular to the first axis; and a third coil installed perpendicularly to a third axis perpendicular to each of the first and second axes. The short distance wireless power transmitting apparatus comprises a primary side core comprising the above-described coil resonant coupler, a position sensing unit which senses a position of the wireless power receiving apparatus to generate position information, and a transmission controlling unit which controls the primary side core based on the position information. |
| US09577446B2 |
Power storage system and power storage device storing data for the identifying power storage device
The versatility of a power feeding device is improved. A power storage system includes a power storage device and a power feeding device. The power storage device includes data for identifying the power storage device. The power storage device includes a power storage unit, a switch that controls whether power from the power feeding device is supplied to the power storage unit, and a control circuit having a function of controlling a conduction state of the switch in accordance with a control signal input from the power feeding device. The power feeding device includes a signal generation circuit having a function of identifying the power storage device by the data input from the power storage device, generating the control signal corresponding to the identified power storage device, and outputting the generated control signal to the power storage device. |
| US09577445B2 |
Vehicle replenishment
The present invention extends to methods, systems, devices, and apparatus for replenishing vehicle resources. Vehicles can be aligned with and docked to replenishment devices. In one aspect, a flying vehicle (e.g., an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)) is aligned onto electrical recharging contacts. The flying vehicles fuel level or battery charge can be replenished with minimal, if any, human intervention. Vehicle docking (e.g., landing), alignment, and replenishment can be performed automatically. A circular ring or shaped surface of a vehicle can engage with a conical sloping surface of a docking apparatus as a vehicle moves towards and/or into the docking apparatus. The conical sloping surface shape aligns the vehicle with recharge contacts or a refueling probe at the base of the docking apparatus. |
| US09577444B2 |
Method for state of charge compensation of a battery and method for charging a battery
The disclosure relates to a method for state of charge compensation of a battery having a plurality of battery units. The method comprises the steps of calculating a depth of discharge of each battery unit after the battery units have been charged, calculating an available charge of each battery unit before the battery units are charged, calculating a state of charge compensation requirement value on the basis of the calculated depth of discharge and the calculated available charge for each battery unit, and discharging each battery unit on the basis of the calculated state of charge compensation requirement value. The disclosure also relates to a method for charging a battery which has a plurality of battery units. Also specified are a computer program and a battery management system set up to perform the method, and a battery and a motor vehicle having a drive system connected to such a battery. |
| US09577443B2 |
Battery system and management method
A system and method for monitoring the status of a system of battery strings is described. The battery string current is measured by a current sensor urged into contact with a metallic element in which the battery string current is flowing. The time history of the battery string current and voltage is interpreted to determine whether the battery string is discharging, charging or in a fully charged state. A moving average current in the charging state is used to establish a threshold for determining whether a thermal runaway condition exists. The moving average is maintained at the value that existed at a time when the battery string has been disconnected from the system current bus. |
| US09577441B2 |
Method for charging the energy storage cells of an energy storage device, and rechargeable energy storage device
The invention relates to a method for charging energy storage cells of an energy storage device with a plurality of energy storage modules which are connected in series in an energy supply line, each energy storage module comprising an energy storage cell module which has at least one energy storage cell and comprising a coupling device with coupling elements. The coupling elements are designed to selectively connect the energy storage cell module in the energy supply line or to bridge the energy storage cell module. The method consists of the following steps: coupling the output connections of the energy storage device to a DC voltage source, controlling the coupling devices of all the energy storage modules in order to bridge the energy storage cell modules in the energy supply line for a first specified period of time, and controlling the coupling devices of at least one first energy storage module in order to connect the energy storage cell module of the first energy storage module in the energy supply line for a second specified period of time after the first specified period of time has elapsed. |
| US09577436B2 |
Wireless energy transfer for implantable devices
Described herein are improved configurations for a wireless power transfer. Described are methods and designs for implantable electronics and devices. Wireless energy transfer is utilized to eliminate cords and power cables puncturing the skin to power an implantable device. Repeater resonators are employed to improve the power transfer characteristics between the source and the device resonators. |
| US09577431B2 |
Console power systems
In various implementations, a pager may be coupled to a console. The pager may include a battery and coupling the pager to the console may provide power to the console. In some implementations, the power provided to the console may charge a battery of the console and/or allow the console to perform one or more operations. |
| US09577430B2 |
Electronic device and method of controlling power supply therein
Disclosed is an electronic device, which includes an external power supply unit configured to receive power from an external power source and an auxiliary power storage unit configured to be charged upon receiving the power from the external power supply unit and store the power. The electronic device further includes a first switching element connected to the external power supply unit and the auxiliary power storage unit, the first switching element configured to select any one of the external power supply unit and the auxiliary power storage unit as a power source, a power information receiver configured to receive power information including at least one of electric rate information and power demand information, and a controller configured to control the first switching element based on the power information received from the power information receiver. |
| US09577429B2 |
Paralleling of active filters with independent controls
A parallel filter arrangement with at least two filters supplying current in line side sensing configuration and a number of sensors for measuring current. The sensors are used to determine the amount of current being supplied by the filters and the amount of current being supplied by a source. The filters adjust their supplied current in order to reduce or eliminate the amount of reactive or harmonic current being supplied by a source. |
| US09577428B2 |
Packeted energy delivery system and methods
Methods and apparatus for packetized energy distribution are provided. A data and power delivery network, called a digital grid, is provided to facilitate delivery of power upon request. Energy bits (quanta) serve as a means to deliver energy as well as coding. Voltage pulses of varying time scales are used for coding and current levels help to accurately meet customer's demand. Energy is sent as packets (a combination of energy bits), and specific energy packets are addressed to specific customers permitting accurate monitoring and distribution of electrical energy. |
| US09577426B2 |
Switching circuits for extracting power from an electric power source and associated methods
An integrated circuit chip includes a first input port, a first output port, and first and second transistors electrically coupled in series across the first input port. The second transistor is also electrically coupled across the first output port and is adapted to provide a path for current flowing through the first output port when the first transistor is in its non-conductive state. The integrated circuit chip additionally includes first driver circuitry for driving gates of the first and second transistors to cause the transistors to switch between their conductive and non-conductive states. The integrated circuit chip further includes first controller circuitry for controlling the first driver circuitry such that the first and second transistors switch between their conductive and non-conductive states to at least substantially maximize an amount of electric power extracted from an electric power source electrically coupled to the first input port. |
| US09577424B2 |
Parallel motor drive disable verification system and method
Systems and methods are provided for performing diagnostic testing for multiple motor drives operating in parallel. In one embodiment, the diagnostic testing may involve determining which of the multiple motor drives are in operation and communicating the active configuration of motor drives to testing circuitry. The testing circuitry generates an enable input signal transmitted to the transistor gates in each of the active motor drives. The testing circuitry also generates a power supply input signal transmitted to a DC to DC converter in each of the active motor drives. The responses to the enable input signal and the power supply input signal are measured to determine safety compliance. |
| US09577419B2 |
Shunt trip control circuits using shunt trip signal accumulator and methods of operating the same
Some embodiments of the inventive subject matter provide an apparatus for driving a shunt trip actuator for a circuit breaker or other switch. The apparatus includes an energy storage device and an accumulator circuit configured to store energy in the energy storage device responsive to a shunt trip control signal. The apparatus further includes a detector circuit configured to generate a detection signal responsive to a state of the energy storage device meeting a predetermined criterion and a driver circuit configured to drive the shunt trip actuator using the energy stored in the energy storage device responsive to the detection signal. |
| US09577416B2 |
Electrical feed-through and the use thereof
A feed-through for conducting electric current is provided that includes a flange, which has a through-opening, in which a conductor for electric current is held by an insulation component and is connected to the flange so that the through-opening is sealed off. The insulation component is flush with the upper side and/or the underside of the flange or is set back (T) from the upper side and/or the underside of the flange in the through-opening. The conductor includes a cobalt-iron alloy of which the cobalt content is 68 to 84% by weight. |
| US09577413B1 |
Cable guide actuation apparatus
A cable guide actuator apparatus is disclosed for guiding a conductor cable onto a wheel assembly, the actuator apparatus including a framework operatively coupled to the wheel assembly. A pair of roller assemblies is pivotally coupled to respective ends of the framework, each having a roller member capable of maintaining the conductor cable in the groove of the wheel assembly. Each roller assembly is pivotally movable between a deployed configuration at which roller members are adjacent the groove and a released configuration at displaced from the groove. A locking assembly extends between the pair of roller assemblies and is selectively movable between a locked configuration that maintains the pair of roller assemblies at the deployed configuration and an unlocked configuration that allows movement to the released configuration. The roller assemblies are biased toward the released configuration when the locking assembly is unlocked. The locking assembly may be unlocked remotely. |
| US09577409B1 |
Wavelength stabilized diode laser
A hybrid external cavity laser and a method for configuring the laser having a stabilized wavelength are disclosed. The laser comprises a semiconductor gain section and a volume Bragg grating, wherein a laser emission from the semiconductor gain section is based on a combination of a reflectivity of a front facet of the semiconductor gain section and a reflectivity of the volume Bragg grating and the reflectivity of the semiconductor gain section and the volume Bragg grating are insufficient by themselves to support the laser emission. The hybrid cavity laser further comprises an etalon that provides further wavelength stability. |
| US09577407B2 |
Optical transmitter or transmission unit in optical transmitter/receiver provided on opto-electric hybrid board
This present invention is provided with: a semiconductor laser for emitting laser light in a plurality of channels; optical waveguides optically coupled in a corresponding manner to the semiconductor lasers, the optical waveguides propagating laser light as input light for each channel; optical modulators for modulating the input light and generating an optical signal; and an optical signal output unit coupled to the optical modulators, the optical signal output unit outputting the optical signal propagated from the optical modulators to the exterior. The present invention is characterized in that the semiconductor laser is arranged on the opposite side from an optical branching unit and the optical modulators, with the optical signal output unit interposed therebetween, in the plane of an opto-electric hybrid board. |
| US09577396B2 |
Keystone jack adaptor
An adaptor for receiving a keystone type connector and insertion into a patch panel is provided, having a bottom wall with a ridge engaging lower slot and a lower edge engaging channel and a top wall having a flexible tab and a cantilevered latch engaging upper slot and an upper edge engaging channel in the flexible tab. The walls define a keystone modular jack receiving region and opening. The adaptor is dimensioned such that when the lower edge is received in the lower edge engaging channel, the upper edge is releasably engageable by the upper edge engaging channel, thereby releasably securing the adaptor within an aperture in a patch panel. |
| US09577390B2 |
Electronic device, attachment, and connection cable
An electronic device includes an accepting connection terminal to which a connection cable can be connected, and a rotation inhibiting member that inhibits the connection cable from rotating an amount equal to or greater than a predetermined amount around the accepting connection terminal in a state where the connection cable is connected to the accepting connection terminal. |
| US09577388B2 |
Connector for power-supply unit with a signal line
A connector for being attached to a power-supply unit including a switching element and for mating with a mating connector of a wire harness, the connector including a connecting terminal including an end portion connected to an output terminal in a casing of the power-supply unit, a housing fixed to the casing and enclosing at least a portion of the connecting terminal, a current sensor enclosed in the housing so as to detect a magnetic field generated by an electric current flowing through the connecting terminal, and a signal line for transmitting an output signal of the current sensor. |
| US09577387B2 |
Electrical connector having a ground terminal with contact portions in contact with a shielding sheet
An electrical connector includes an insulating body, a shielding sheet disposed in the insulating body, and a ground terminal received in the insulating body for mating with a mating connector. The ground terminal is fixed between a plate surface of the shielding sheet and the insulating body. The ground terminal includes a front end, a middle section, and a rear end having a soldering portion. A first contacting portion is disposed at the front end, a second contacting portion is disposed at the middle section, and the first contacting portion and the second contacting portion respectively electrically contact with the shielding sheet. |
| US09577384B2 |
Secured memory card connector
A memory card connector including at least one pin for reading a memory card, at least one parallelepiped-shaped base in which the at least one pin is positioned, and an enclosure extending over the rear of the base and forming a continuous barrier between at least two sides of the base. |
| US09577382B2 |
Connector
A stopper (67) of a detector (60) is lockable to a lock surface (17) by entering a lock hole (18) of a lock arm (13) from a deflection space 15. A locking protrusion (45) of a second housing (40) locks to the lock surface (17) by entering the lock hole (18) from a side opposite the deflection space (15). Thus, the housings (10, 40) are held together and the stopper (67) pressed by the locking protrusion (45) separates from the lock surface (17) and the detector can move to the detection position. The locking protrusion (45) has a main body (46) wider than the lock surface (17) of a lock projection (16) and lockable to the lock surface (17). A pressing protrusion (47) narrower than the locking main body 46 projects from the locking main body (46) and enters the lock hole (18) to press the stopper (67). |
| US09577377B1 |
Connector assembly with lever and shroud
A connector assembly for housing a coaxial connection and a terminal connection is provided. The connector assembly includes a male housing, a female housing and a lever configured to seat the male housing into the female housing at an angle. The male housing includes a first support configured to fixedly hold a first coaxial cable end. The female housing includes a second support configured to fixedly hold a second coaxial cable end. A shroud is disposed on a distal end of a second support. The inner surface of the shroud is configured to slidably engage an outer surface of the first support so as to guide the first coaxial cable end along an axis towards the second coaxial cable end, wherein the sliding engagement between the shroud and the first support overcome the angled approach as the male housing is seated into the female housing by actuation of the lever. |
| US09577373B2 |
Electric connector
An electric connector includes a first connector 2 and a second connector 22. The first connector includes a first contact 4, a second contact 6, a plate like ground plate 8 arranged between the first and second contacts, and a first housing that holds the first contact, the second contact, and the ground plate. The second connector includes a third contact 30 connected to the first contact, a fourth contact 32 connected to the second contact, and a ground metal part arranged at both ends of the third and fourth contacts in a contact array direction and configured to be in contact with the ground plate, and a second housing that holds the third and fourth contacts and the ground metal part. The ground plate includes a projecting portion formed on both side surfaces in the contact array direction and come in contact with the ground metal part. |
| US09577372B1 |
Magnetic reversible power and data connector
A connector may include at least one power conductor configured to supply power to an electronic device; at least one ground conductor to supply a ground to the electronic device; at least one data conductor configured to carry data to or from the electronic device; optionally, one or more connector orientation conductors; a first magnet on a first side of the connector; and a second magnet on a second side of the connector. The connector may be reversible to be magnetically-connectable to a mating connector in a first orientation and in a second orientation that is 180 degrees from the first orientation. The connector may be operative to carry data and power to and/or from the mating connector when connected to the mating connector in the first orientation or in the second orientation. |
| US09577368B2 |
Method for manufacturing connector terminal, and connector
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a connector terminal received in a terminal-receiving chamber, passing through a sealing member, and brought into close contact with the sealing member, and a connector, which are the method for manufacturing a connector terminal, and the connector, for improvement in close contact between the sealing member and the connector terminal. Provided is a method for manufacturing a connector terminal received in a terminal-receiving chamber of a housing, passing through a sealing member filled in the terminal-receiving chamber, and brought into close contact with the sealing member, and the method includes a first process of punching a non-plated metal plate to form an intermediate material and a second process of covering the intermediate material with plating. |
| US09577367B2 |
Sealed connector with an extended seal sleeve and an anti-water pooling retainer
An connector includes a terminated cable, a connector body defining a cylindrical terminal cavity configured to receive the terminated cable, and a cable seal axially surrounding a portion of the terminated cable. The cable seal defines a compliant primary sealing ring that is in compressive contact with an inner wall of the terminal cavity. The cable seal further defines an extended sleeve. The connector also includes a seal retainer that is inserted within a distal end of the terminal cavity and axially surrounds at least a portion of the extended sleeve. An inner surface of the seal retainer is proximate at least a portion of the extended sleeve and an outer surface of the seal retainer is proximate the inner wall of the terminal cavity. |
| US09577366B2 |
Waterproof connector having an elastic seal member with the engaged portion
A waterproof connector includes a housing and an elastic seal member. The housing includes a hollow portion for accommodating a mating connector. The elastic seal member is placed in the housing. The elastic seal member includes a main body portion and an engaged portion extending from the main body portion. An extending end portion of the engaged portion includes a protruding portion, and the protruding portion protrudes outwardly. The extending end portion has a width in a protruding direction of the protruding portion greater than a width of an entrance of an installation portion in the protruding direction where the extending end portion is to be accommodated. |
| US09577364B2 |
Cable connector component, board connector component, and electric connector assembly thereof
The invention provides a cable connector component, a board connector component, and an electric connector assembly thereof. The cable connector component includes a connector, a fixed iron shell, and a cable including a plurality of core wires. The connector includes at least one pair of terminal pair, a first insulating body, a first metal shell, a group strip, and a printed circuit board. The terminal pair, the ground strip, and the first metal shell are assembled with the first insulating body. The first metal shell is assembled with the fixed iron shell. The fixed iron shell includes a convex hull which facilitates the cable to insert into the fixed iron shell. The board connector component, includes: a second metal shell including a butting chamber, a terminal group and a second insulting body which are fixed in the second metal shell. The second insulting body includes a base and a clapper disposed at a front end of the base. The clapper includes a first surface and a second surface which are disposed oppositely. A shielding plate is disposed between the first surface and the second surface, and the shielding plate includes a protrusion which is extended out of a side of the base and abuts against the second metal shell. As a result, a new grounding path is formed, which can reduce the electromagnetic interference and strengthen the insulating effect. |
| US09577358B2 |
Fluid pressure activated electrical contact devices and methods
A fluid pressure actuated device for establishing electrical contact includes a substrate defining a chamber, a flexible membrane having a first side facing a first direction away from the substrate and a second side facing into the chamber in a second direction opposite the first direction, and an electrically conducting contactor mounted on the first side of the flexible membrane. The flexible membrane extends and withdraws moving the electrically conducting contactor in the first direction and second direction respectively when fluid pressure is increased and decreased in the chamber. The flexible membrane includes at least two concentric frustum portions that narrow in opposite directions, including a central frustum portion and a second frustum portion that encircles the central frustum portion. Multiple chambers may be maintained in pressure equilibrium by at least one channel for the concurrent extension of multiple membranes and contactors. |
| US09577357B2 |
Electrical connector with a carrier and terminals located at different distances from side walls
An electrical connector for electrically connecting with a chip module includes an insulating body having a bottom wall, multiple rows of terminals located in the bottom wall for electrically connecting the chip module, and a carrier for carrying the chip module to the insulating body. Two first side walls extend from two opposite sides of the bottom wall upward, and two second side walls extend from the other two opposite sides of the bottom wall upward. There are a first gap between the first side wall and a most peripheral terminal corresponding to the first side wall, and a second gap between the second side wall and a most peripheral terminal corresponding to the second side wall. The first gap is greater than the second gap. The carrier has a buckling portion, received in the first gap, and for buckling a bottom surface of the chip module. |
| US09577356B2 |
Electric contacting for a circuit plate to a conductor
Electricity bolt for electrical contact of a printed circuit board with an electric conductor, with a basic body, wherein the basic body can be electrically contacted by a first section with the printed circuit board, and by a second section with the electric conductor, wherein the basic body at least in the area of the first section, by which the basic body is electrically conductively contactable with the printed circuit board, is designed as a hollow component, into which for the electrical contact with the printed circuit board a screw is so screwed that the first section is radially outwardly expandable by the screw. |
| US09577355B1 |
Push-on coaxial connector
A push-on coaxial cable connector includes a port grip, a joint, and a cable clamp. |
| US09577354B2 |
Electrical transmission line repair device
An electrical transmission line repair device including a first conductor clamp, a second conductor clamp and at least one tie rail extending between the first and second conductor clamps in a spaced apart orientation. The first conductor clamp including a lower assembly and an upper assembly. The lower assembly and the upper assembly are slidably engageable with each other so as to define a conductor cavity extending therealong. Clamping fasteners are configured to extend through openings in the upper assembly so as to be threadable toward and away from the conductor contact region of the lower assembly within the conductor cavity. |
| US09577350B2 |
Pin and a printed circuit board
A pin and a printed circuit board are provided. The pin includes a pin body and an insertion head. The insertion head is disposed on an end of the pin body and includes a base and a guide post. The shape of the base is a cylinder, the bottom of which is located on the end of the pin body. The shape of the guide post is a prism, which is coaxially connected to the base. The projection of a circumcircle of a cross section of the guide post is overlapped with that of a cross sectional circle of the base along the direction of an axis of the guide post. The advantage of the prevent invention is to decrease the tilt of the pin body after inserted, reduce the solder material between the base and the insertion hole, and improve the welding quality. |
| US09577349B2 |
Near-field magnetic communication antenna
A transceiver antenna has a transmit antenna coil defining a substantially closed transmit coil geometry circumscribing a transmit coil inner area. The transmit antenna coil is configured to conduct a current to generate a magnetic field. One or more receive antenna coils each define a closed receive coil geometry with a number of coil turns. The receive antenna coils are positioned to define one or more inner areas located within the transmit antenna coil inner area and one or more outer areas located outside of the transmit antenna coil. The inner areas and the outer areas of the receive antenna coil(s) are configured so that a first voltage induced by the transmit magnetic field into the outer areas of the receive antenna coils is attenuated by a second voltage induced by the transmit magnetic field into the inner areas of the receive antenna due to phase cancellation. |
| US09577344B2 |
Actuated pin antenna reflector
Apparatus for improving the performance and allowing increased directionality of reflecting-type antenna systems by varying the geometry of the reflecting surface. A reflecting surface is composed of an array of actuated pins which are capable of extending or retracting to alter the overall pattern. An actuator controlling unit has the address of each actuator and is able to extend or retract the pins to the desired degree. The specific pattern which the actuator control unit realizes is determined by the iterative position calculator which utilizes directional inputs from the user and/or inputs from a system which determines the effectiveness of previous pin movements. The apparatus attempts to maximize the received signal by assessing amplitude changes over time and utilizing that information to direct alteration in the reflecting surface for optimal performance. |
| US09577336B2 |
Inverted-F antenna with a choke notch for wireless electronic devices
A wireless electronic device includes an inverted-F antenna (IFA) having an IFA exciting element, an IFA feed, and a grounding pin. The IFA exciting element is configured to resonate at a resonant frequency when excited by a signal received through the IFA feed. The wireless electronic device includes a choke notch having a length defined based on the resonant frequency of the IFA exciting element. The choke notch is electrically coupled to the IFA exciting element through the grounding pin. A ground patch is electrically coupled between the choke notch and the ground plane. |
| US09577334B2 |
Antenna device and electronic apparatus
An antenna device includes an antenna coil, a magnetic core, and a metal member. The antenna coil is mounted on a flexible base. The antenna coil is wound in a loop shape or a spiral shape such that its winding center section is a coil opening section. The magnetic core passes through a slit opening section in the flexible base. The metal member has a rectangular opening. The antenna coil is exposed through the opening in the metal member. A front-side coil conductor is nearer the opening than the magnetic core, and thus a magnetic flux links the front-side coil conductor. |
| US09577333B2 |
Antenna structure and wireless communication device using same
An antenna structure includes a feed portion, a ground portion, at least one metallic portion, and a radiating portion. The ground portion is spaced apart from the feed portion. The least one metallic portion is electrically connected to the ground portion. The radiating portion has a first end electrically connected to the feed portion and a second end electrically connected to the at least one metallic portion. |
| US09577332B2 |
Electronic device and multi-band antenna
An electronic device has a multi-band antenna which includes an antenna frame and multiple feed points and multiple ground points located on the antenna frame. The multiple feed points include a first feed point located at one end portion of the antenna frame and a second feed point located between two end portions of the antenna frame. The multiple ground points include a first ground point located between the two end portions of the antenna frame and a second ground point located at the other end portion of the antenna frame. The multiple feed points and the multiple ground points are alternately located on the antenna frame, and multiple radiating elements are formed on the antenna frame and are configured to radiate signals having different frequency bands. Each radiating element is formed between a feed point and a ground point. |
| US09577327B2 |
Electromagnetic beam steering antenna
Described embodiments include an electromagnetic beam steering apparatus. The apparatus includes a first blazed transmission diffraction grating component configured to angularly deflect an electromagnetic beam at a first blaze angle. The apparatus includes a second blazed transmission diffraction grating component configured to angularly deflect an electromagnetic beam at a second blaze angle. The apparatus includes an electromagnetic beam steering structure configured to independently rotate the first blazed transmission diffraction grating component and the second blazed transmission diffraction grating component about a coaxial axis such that an electromagnetic beam incident on the first blazed transmission diffraction grating component exits the second blazed transmission diffraction grating component as a steered electromagnetic beam. |
| US09577324B2 |
Wearable electronic device
A wearable electronic device includes a main body, a watchband spring pin engaged with one side of the main body, and a wrist-worn watchband connected to the watchband spring pin. The main body includes a wireless communication module and a conductive member electrically connected to the wireless communication module. The watchband spring pin is physically connected to the conductive member on the main body to be an antenna unit of the wireless communication module. |
| US09577317B2 |
Heat radiation antenna device, portable terminal and battery cover therewith, and method for manufacturing the battery cover
A portable terminal employing a near field communication antenna with a heat radiation function is provided. The portable terminal includes a cover provided for the portable terminal, and an antenna device mounted on an inner surface of the cover. The antenna device includes a near field communication antenna coupled to a location on the inner surface of the cover, a shield sheet coupled to an upper surface of the antenna, a heat radiation sheet coupled to an upper surface of the shield sheet so as to discharge heat transmitted from the portable terminal, and a protection cover coupled to an upper surface of the heat radiation sheet. |
| US09577312B2 |
Polarization alignment for wireless networking systems
Techniques are disclosed for systems and methods to provide polarization alignment for wireless networking systems. A polarization aligned wireless networking system may include one or more sensors, controllers, user interfaces, and/or other modules mounted to or in proximity to a vehicle. Antennas for each of the electronic devices may be implemented with linear polarization components that can be substantially aligned with a lateral axis of the vehicle. Each electronic device may be implemented with a logic device adapted to use a corresponding antenna to form one or more wireless links between the various electronic devices. |
| US09577311B2 |
HF resonator and particle accelerator with HF resonator
The invention relates to an HF resonator comprising a cylindrical cavity made of a dielectric material. An inner face of the cavity has an electrically conductive coating which is divided into a first inner coating and a second inner coating by an electrically insulating gap that encircles a lateral face of the cavity in an annular manner. An outer face of the cavity has an electrically conductive first outer coating and an electrically conductive second outer coating. The first outer coating and the second outer coating are electrically insulated from each other. The HF resonator comprises a device that is provided for applying a high-frequency electric voltage between the first outer coating and the second outer coating. |
| US09577308B2 |
Interconnecting structure for electrically connecting a first electronic device with a second electronic device
An interconnecting structure for electrically connecting a first electronic device with a second electronic device is provided. The first electronic device has two first bond-pads, and the second electronic device has two second bond-pads electrically connected to the two first bond-pads respectively. The interconnecting structure includes a signal transmission structure electrically connected to the two first bond-pads and the two second bond-pads; and a ground device disposed between the first electronic device and the second electronic device so that the first electronic device and the second electronic device have a same ground potential. |
| US09577305B2 |
Low attenuation stripline RF transmission cable
A stripline RF transmission cable has a flat inner conductor surrounded by a dielectric layer that is surrounded by an outer conductor. The outer conductor has a top section and a bottom section which transition to a pair of edge sections that interconnect the top section with the bottom section. The top section, bottom section and the inner conductor may be provided with generally equal widths. An average dielectric constant of the dielectric layer may be lower between the inner conductor edges and the edge sections than between a mid section of the inner conductor and the top and the bottom sections and/or spacing between the inner conductor and the dielectric layer may be reduced proximate a mid section of the inner conductor. |
| US09577304B2 |
Attenuation reduction structure for high frequency signal connection pads of circuit board with insertion component
Disclosed is an attenuation reduction structure for high-frequency connection pads of a circuit board with an insertion component. The circuit board includes at least one pair of differential mode signal lines formed thereon. A substrate has upper and lower surfaces respectively provided with at least one pair of upper connection pads and lower connection pads. A first metal layer is formed on the lower surface of the substrate. The first metal layer includes an attenuation reduction grounding pattern structure. The attenuation reduction grounding pattern structure includes a hollow area and at least one protruded portion. The protruded portion extends from the first metal layer in a direction toward the lower connection pads. |
| US09577302B2 |
RF filter circuit, RF filter with improved attenuation and duplexer with improved isolation
A filter circuit providing improved attenuation, a filter having improved attenuation and a duplexer with improved isolation are provided. The filter circuit has a first and a second coupling conductor segment which couple an input port to a ground port or the filter's output port. The filter circuit can be realized in the filter. The duplexer can comprise the filter, especially as its transmission filter. |
| US09577297B2 |
Electrochemical cells including a conductive matrix
An electrochemical cell is presented. The cell includes a housing having an interior surface defining a volume, and an elongated separator disposed in the housing volume. The elongated separator defines an axis of the cell. The separator has an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surface of the separator defines a first compartment. The outer surface of the separator and the interior surface of the housing define a second compartment having a volume. The cell further includes a conductive matrix disposed in at least a portion of the second compartment volume such that the conductive matrix occupies a gap between the outer surface of the separator and the interior surface of the housing. The gap in the second compartment extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the cell. |
| US09577293B2 |
Method and system for equalizing and matching lithium secondary batteries
In the present invention, a method and system for equalizing and matching lithium secondary batteries belong to the field of secondary batteries. A lithium secondary battery is divided into more than one grade according to the magnitude of a consumable current Ic, the number of grades is h, the lithium secondary battery is divided into grades corresponding to the consumable current according to the magnitude of a voltage difference ΔV, a battery cell at a grade same as that of the consumable current and the voltage difference is selected for matching, so the range of the consumable current of the battery group can be controlled. The battery system configured in the method of the present invention converts consumable current grading into voltage difference grading after laying, so as to be convenient and swift; the range of the consumable current of the battery cell, the laying time, the equalization charging period, the equalization current, and the charger cutoff current are all under control, and are matched with each other, the equalization cost is low, and the charging equalization time is short; the laying service life and the maintenance period of the battery group can be designed or predicted during matching, and how many times of charging/discharging is required to charge the battery group to be balanced after the battery group is laid for an extremely long time is estimated in advance; the battery group reject rate is reduced, and the battery group reliability is improved. |
| US09577289B2 |
Lithium-ion electrochemical cell, components thereof, and methods of making and using same
An electrochemical cell including at least one nitrogen-containing compound is disclosed. The at least one nitrogen-containing compound may form part of or be included in: an anode structure, a cathode structure, an electrolyte and/or a separator of the electrochemical cell. Also disclosed is a battery including the electrochemical cell. |
| US09577288B2 |
Secondary battery including electrolyte having an unsaturated cyclic ester carbonate, battery pack, electric vehicle, electric power storage system, electric power tool, and electronic apparatus including the same
A secondary battery includes: a cathode; an anode; and an electrolytic solution. The anode includes an anode active material layer on an anode current collector. The anode active material layer includes a carbon material. The anode active material layer has a thickness from about 30 micrometers to about 100 micrometers both inclusive. The electrolytic solution includes an unsaturated cyclic ester carbonate represented by the following Formula (1) (X is a divalent group in which m-number of >C═CR1R2 and n-number of >CR3R4 are bonded in any order. Each of R1 to R4 is one of a hydrogen group, a halogen group, a monovalent hydrocarbon group, a monovalent halogenated hydrocarbon group, a monovalent oxygen-containing hydrocarbon group, and a monovalent halogenated oxygen-containing hydrocarbon group. Any two or more of the R1 to the R4 are allowed to be bonded to one another. m and n satisfy m≧1 and n≧0). |
| US09577279B2 |
Ionomers and methods of making same and uses thereof
Phosphazenium-based ionomers and methods of making them are disclosed. The ionomers are useful in making membranes for fuel cells and other devices that benefit from extremely base-stable membranes. The polymers (ionomers) contain repeating units of formula: in which all of R1, R2, W, Y and Z are hydrocarbon. |
| US09577277B2 |
Liquid drum type fuel cell-metal recovery apparatus
Disclosed herein is a liquid drum type fuel cell-metal recovery apparatus, which can produce power through electrochemical oxidation of coal by continuously receiving coal/metal oxide mixed particles. |
| US09577276B2 |
Fuel cell membrane electrode assembly
A membrane electrode assembly includes an MEA structure unit and a resin frame member. The MEA structure unit includes a cathode, an anode, and a solid polymer electrolyte membrane interposed between the cathode and the anode. The resin frame member is formed around the MEA structure unit, and joined to the MEA structure unit. An adhesive layer is provided between an outer marginal portion of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane extending outward beyond an outer end of a second gas diffusion layer and an inner extension of the resin frame member. The adhesive layer includes an overlapped portion overlapped on an outer marginal end of the second gas diffusion layer. |
| US09577274B2 |
Apparatus and method for managing fuel cell vehicle system
Provided are an apparatus and a method for managing a fuel cell vehicle system, and more particularly, an apparatus and a method for managing a fuel cell vehicle system capable of optimally maintaining a driving method based on environmental information and product information. |
| US09577269B2 |
Thin film catalytic material for use in fuel
A catalytic material includes (i) a support material and (ii) a thin film catalyst coating having an inner face adjacent to the support material and an outer face, the thin film catalyst coating having a mean thickness of ≦8 nm, and wherein at least 40% of the support material surface area is covered by the thin film catalyst coating; and wherein the thin film catalyst coating includes a first metal and one or more second metals, and wherein the atomic percentage of first metal in the thin film catalyst coating is not uniform through the thickness of the thin film catalyst coating. |
| US09577268B2 |
Power storage device and method for manufacturing the same
A power storage device is reduced in weight. A metal sheet serving as a negative electrode current collector is separated and another negative electrode current collector is formed. For example, through the step of forming silicon serving as a negative electrode active material layer over a titanium sheet and then performing heating, the titanium sheet can be separated. Then, another negative electrode current collector with a thickness of more than or equal to 10 nm and less than or equal to 1 μm is formed. Thus, light weight of the power storage device can be achieved. |
| US09577264B2 |
Aluminum base for current collector, current collector, positive electrode, negative electrode, and secondary battery
The purpose of this invention is to provide an aluminum base for a current collector, which enables the production of a secondary battery having excellent cycle properties; and a current collector, a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a secondary battery, each of which is produced using the aluminum base. The aluminum base for a current collector has a surface in which at least two structures selected from the group consisting of a large-wave structure having an average opening size of more than 5 μm but up to 100 μm, a medium-wave structure having an average opening size of more than 0.5 μm but up to 5 μm, and a small-wave structure having an average opening size of more than 0.01 μm but up to 0.5 μm are superimposed on one another, wherein a maximum peak-to-valley height Pt of a profile curve of the surface is up to 10 μm. |
| US09577257B2 |
Methods of making low cost electrode active materials for secondary batteries from ilmenite
A method of producing electrode active materials includes generating a source material of titanium (Ti) and a source material of iron (Fe) from an ilmenite, and performing a operation to the source material of Fe and the source material of Ti. The operation includes determining a content of Fe or Ti in the source material of Fe or Ti, preparing an intermediate mixture having the source material of Fe or Ti and other required source materials, ball-milling and drying the intermediate mixture, and sintering the intermediate mixture to form the electrode active materials. |
| US09577254B2 |
Lithium-ion secondary battery
A lithium-ion secondary battery (100A) includes a positive electrode current collector (221A) and a positive electrode active material layer (223A) retained on the positive electrode current collector (221A). The positive electrode active material layer (223A) contains positive electrode active material particles, a conductive agent, and a binder. The positive electrode active material particles (610A) each include a shell portion (612) made of primary particles (800) of a layered lithium-transition metal oxide, a hollow portion (614) formed inside the shell portion (612), and a through-hole (616) penetrating through the shell portion (612). The primary particles (800) of the lithium-transition metal oxide have a major axis length of less than or equal to 0.8 μm in average of the positive electrode active material layer (223A). |
| US09577247B2 |
Positive electrode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, and nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery
A positive electrode active material capable of improving an output performance of a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery is provided. A positive electrode active material of a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery 1 contains a first positive electrode active material and a second positive electrode active material. In the first positive electrode active material, the content of cobalt is 15% or more on an atomic percent basis in transition metals. In the second positive electrode active material, the content of cobalt is 5% or less on an atomic percent basis in transition metals. An average secondary particle diameter r1 of the first positive electrode active material is smaller than an average secondary particle diameter r2 of the second positive electrode active material. |
| US09577241B2 |
Apparatus for preventing overcharge of battery
The present invention relates to an apparatus for preventing overcharge of a battery, and more particularly, to an apparatus for preventing overcharge of a battery, which interrupts power of the battery by inducing a fracture of a busbar to prevent overcharge and to this end, provided is an apparatus for preventing overcharge of a battery, including: a battery cell; an electrode tab extended from both sides of the battery cell and constituted by a negative tab and a positive tab; and a busbar connecting the negative tab and the positive tab, wherein the busbar has a cut part fractured by expansion of the battery cell. |
| US09577240B2 |
Battery module and bus bar applied to battery module
Disclosed is a battery module capable of ensuring safety in use by breaking a bus bar when an overcurrent flows at the battery module. The battery module includes at least one unit cell, a case for accommodating the unit cell, and a bus bar electrically connected to the unit cell, wherein the bus bar includes a first metal plate, a second metal plate spaced apart from the first metal plate, and a metal bridge configured to connect the first metal plate and the second metal plate and having a lower melting point than the metal plate. |
| US09577233B2 |
Battery pack and fastening structure
Battery pack includes battery module, metallic installation substrate, metallic attachment member disposed between battery module and installation substrate, metallic fastening part, and insulating member for electrically insulating fastening part and attachment member, and attachment member and installation substrate, from each other, respectively. Insulating member includes annular insulating part having an inner-diameter hole allowing passing through of a male screw shaft portion of fastening part, and electrically insulating between attachment member and an entire surface of an outer periphery of the male screw shaft portion of the fastening part, and between attachment member and an entire surface of an outer periphery of the larger-diameter portion of fastening part; and plate-like insulating part having a corresponding inner-diameter hole which corresponds to the inner-diameter hole of annular insulating part and allows passing through of the male screw shaft portion of fastening part, and electrically insulating between attachment member and installation substrate. |
| US09577230B2 |
Integrated high voltage service disconnect for traction batteries
A traction battery includes a battery housing having a tray and a cover cooperating to define an interior. A plurality of battery cells are arranged in an array and disposed on the tray within the interior. A service disconnect base is disposed on an exterior surface of the housing and includes a uni-terminal connector having a receptacle disposed within the base and electrically connected to the battery cells. A service disconnect plug is integrally incorporated with a single high voltage cable that is partially disposed in the plug. The service disconnect plug includes a body configured to mechanically engage the base and a prong mechanically connected to the high voltage cable and configured to be received within the receptacle to create an electrical connection between the battery cells and a high voltage bus when the body is engaged with the base. The plug may include a cover portion that enclosures a terminal disposed on the housing. |
| US09577227B2 |
Cell module assemblies
A method includes: assembling a thermal-exchange tube in a module housing for an energy storage pack; assembling cells in the module housing, wherein the thermal-exchange tube runs between rows of the cells; applying an adhesive that affixes the cells and the thermal-exchange tube to the module housing; curing a first portion of the adhesive by radiation, wherein a second portion of the adhesive is shielded from the radiation by the cells or the thermal-exchange tube; and curing at least the second portion of the adhesive by a chemical cure mechanism. |
| US09577225B2 |
Manufacturing method for square battery and square battery
A manufacturing method for a square battery includes: a first process in which an outer terminal and an outer side resin member that separates the outer terminal and an outer surface of a lid body are assembled to the lid body; a second process in which a laser beam is irradiated from the outer surface side of the lid body to weld the lid body to the case body by laser after the first process; and a third process in which the outer side resin member is expanded after the second process. |
| US09577223B2 |
Organic light emitting diode with light-scattering layer with nano structure and air gaps
Provided is an organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and method of manufacturing the OLED. The OLED includes: a substrate; a light scattering layer having an uneven shape on the substrate; a transparent electrode film provided directly on and in contact with the light scattering layer; an organic light emitting layer on the transparent electrode film; and an electrode on the organic light emitting layer. The method of manufacturing the OLED includes: disposing a light scattering layer on a substrate; providing a transparent electrode film on the light scattering layer; and transferring the transparent electrode film to be directly on and in contact with the light scattering layer. |
| US09577220B2 |
Organic light emitting diode display
An organic light emitting diode display includes a substrate including at least one folding part, two or more emission units parallel to each other and on a same surface of the substrate in an unfolded state of the substrate, the two or more emission units overlapping each other in a folded state of the substrate, and a moisture absorbent on an inner surface of the folding part. |
| US09577213B2 |
Organic electroluminescence display device
An organic electroluminescence display device includes: a lower electrode that is made of a conductive inorganic material and formed in each of pixels arranged in a matrix in a display area; a light-emitting organic layer that is in contact with the lower electrode and made of a plurality of different organic material layers including a light-emitting layer emitting light; an upper electrode that is in contact with the light-emitting organic layer, formed so as to cover the whole of the display area, and made of a conductive inorganic material; and a conductive organic layer that is in contact with the upper electrode, formed so as to cover the whole of the display area, and made of a conductive organic material. |
| US09577212B2 |
Display device and organic light emitting diode display
A display device includes a substrate, a display unit formed on the substrate, a sealing substrate bonded to the substrate by a bonding layer surrounding the display unit, the sealing substrate comprising a complex member and an insulating member, wherein the complex member has a resin matrix and a plurality of carbon fibers and the insulator is connected to an edge of the complex member and comprises a penetration hole, a metal layer disposed at one side of the sealing substrate wherein the one side faces the substrate, and a conductive connection unit filling in the penetration hole and contacting the metal layer. The complex member and the insulator may be coupled by tongue and groove coupling along a thickness direction of the sealing substrate where the protrusion-groove coupling structure is top-to-bottom symmetric and the insulator may have a thickness identical to that of the complex member. |
| US09577210B2 |
Method for producing top-emission organic electroluminescence display device and cover material for forming top-emission organic electroluminescence display device
A method for producing top-emission organic EL display device, in which, using cover material having flexibility such as resin film, space between organic EL layer-side substrate and cover material is made into decompressed state, thereafter, adhesion properties between organic EL layer-side substrate and cover material is maintained by retaining decompressed state in the space between organic EL layer-side substrate and cover material when adhering organic EL layer-side substrate and cover material by adjusting pressure of space on opposite side to the organic EL layer-side substrate, in relation to cover material so that deterioration in display properties can be restrained by preventing organic layer on auxiliary electrode removed by laser light from being scattered on pixel area. In the method for producing top-emission organic EL display device described above, resin film including barrier property with oxygen permeability of 100 cc/m2·day or less is used as the cover material. |
| US09577208B2 |
Organic light emitting diode display
An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display is disclosed. In one aspect, the OLED display includes a substrate, a plurality of transistors formed over the substrate and a passivation layer covering the transistors. The OLED display also includes an OLED formed over the passivation layer and including a pixel electrode, an organic emission layer, and a common electrode. The pixel electrode includes a first curved portion that does not overlap the organic emission layer in the depth dimension of the OLED display. |
| US09577205B2 |
Organic light-emitting device
An organic light-emitting device including a first light-emitting region, a second light-emitting region, and a third light-emitting region. The organic light-emitting device includes a substrate; a first electrode layer on the substrate; a hole injection layer on the first electrode layer; a common emission layer on the hole injection layer; a first resonance assistance layer on the common emission layer in the first light-emitting region and a second resonance assistance layer on the common emission layer in the second light-emitting region. |
| US09577201B2 |
Organic electroluminescent materials and devices
A compound including a ligand having the formula: is disclosed. In these formulas, each R1, R2, and R3 is independently selected from hydrogen, alkyl, and aryl; at least one of R1 and R2 is a branched alkyl containing at least 4 carbon atoms, where the branching occurs at a position further than the benzylic position; where R1 and R3 are mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, or no substitutions; and R2 is mono-, di-, or no substitutions. Heteroleptic iridium complexes including such compounds, and devices including such compounds are also disclosed. |
| US09577200B2 |
Organic electroluminescent materials and devices
Triphenylene containing benzo-fused thiophene compounds are provided. Additionally, triphenylene containing benzo-fused furan compounds are provided. The compounds may be useful in organic light emitting devices, particularly as hosts in the emissive layer of such devices, or as materials for enhancement layers in such devices, or both. |
| US09577199B2 |
Deuterated compounds for electronic applications
This invention relates to deuterated aryl-anthracene compounds that are useful in electronic applications. It also relates to electronic devices in which the active layer includes such a deuterated compound. |
| US09577198B1 |
2,6-bis(diarylaminophenyl)benzene and derivatives thereof as hole-transport compounds in organic light-emitting devices
Compounds according to Formulas 1-33 may be useful in electronic devices such as light-emitting devices. For example, they may be used as hole-transport materials. |
| US09577197B2 |
Conjugated polymers
The invention relates to novel polymers containing one or more 3,7-dialkyl-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene repeating units, methods for their preparation and monomers used therein, blends, mixtures and formulations containing them, the use of the polymers, blends, mixtures and formulations as semiconductor in organic electronic (OE) devices, especially in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, and to OE and OPV devices comprising these polymers, blends, mixtures or formulations. |
| US09577190B2 |
Thermal management structure for low-power nonvolatile filamentary switch
Heat-trapping bulk layers or thermal-boundary film stacks are formed between a heat-assisted active layer and an associated electrode to confine such transient heat to the active layer in a heat-assisted device (e.g., certain types of resistance-switching and selector elements used in non-volatile memory. Preferably, the heat-trapping layers or thermal-boundary stacks are electrically conductive while being thermally insulating or reflective. Heat-trapping layers use bulk absorption and re-radiation to trap heat. Materials may include, without limitation, chalcogenides with Group 6 elements. Thermal-boundary stacks use reflection from interfaces to trap heat and may include film layers as thin as 1-5 monolayers. Effectiveness of a thermal-boundary stack depends on the thermal impedance mismatch between layers of the stack, rendering thermally insulating bulk materials optional for thermal-boundary stack components. |
| US09577189B2 |
Method for forming RRAM cell including V-shaped structure
A method of forming an RRAM cell structure is provided. The method includes forming dummy features over a substrate, and the dummy features have a gap therebetween. The method also includes depositing an oxide layer over the dummy features while forming a first V-shaped valley on the oxide layer. The method further includes partially planarizing the oxide layer while leaving the first V-shaped valley. In addition, the method includes forming a first electrode over the oxide layer while forming a second V-shaped valley on the first electrode. The method further includes forming a resistance variable layer over the first electrode in a conformal manner. The method still includes forming a second electrode over the resistance variable layer. |
| US09577188B2 |
Semiconductor constructions and methods of forming memory cells
Some embodiments include semiconductor constructions having stacks containing electrically conductive material over dielectric material. Programmable material structures are directly against both the electrically conductive material and the dielectric material along sidewall surfaces of the stacks. Electrode material electrically coupled with the electrically conductive material of the stacks. Some embodiments include methods of forming memory cells in which a programmable material plate is formed along a sidewall surface of a stack containing electrically conductive material and dielectric material. |
| US09577187B2 |
Memory element with ion conductor layer in which metal ions diffuse and memory device incorporating same
The present invention provides a memory element and a memory device realizing reduced variations in resistance values in an initial state or erase state of a plurality of memory elements and capable of retaining the resistance value in a write/erase state for writing/erasing operations of a plurality of times. The memory element includes a first electrode, a memory layer, and a second electrode in order. The memory layer has: an ion source layer containing at least one of chalcogen elements of tellurium (Te), sulfur (S), and selenium (Se) and at least one metal element selected from copper (Cu), silver (Ag), zinc (Zn), and zirconium (Zr); and two or more high-resistance layers having a resistance value higher than that of the ion source layer and having different compositions. |
| US09577184B2 |
TMR device with novel free layer structure
A TMR sensor that includes a free layer having at least one B-containing (BC) layer made of CoFeB, CoFeBM, CoB, CoBM, or CoBLM, and a plurality of non-B containing (NBC) layers made of CoFe, CoFeM, or CoFeLM is disclosed where L and M are one of Ni, Ta, Ti, W, Zr, Hf, Tb, or Nb. One embodiment is represented by (NBC/BC)n where n≧2. A second embodiment is represented by (NBC/BC)n/NBC where n≧1. In every embodiment, a NBC layer contacts the tunnel barrier and NBC layers each with a thickness from 2 to 8 Angstroms are formed in alternating fashion with one or more BC layers each 10 to 80 Angstroms thick. Total free layer thickness is <100 Angstroms. The free layer configuration described herein enables a significant noise reduction (SNR enhancement) while realizing a high TMR ratio, low magnetostriction, low RA, and low Hc values. |
| US09577181B2 |
Magnetic junctions using asymmetric free layers and suitable for use in spin transfer torque memories
A magnetic junction usable in a magnetic device is described. The magnetic junction includes a pinned layer, a nonmagnetic spacer layer, an asymmetric free layer and a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) inducing layer. The nonmagnetic spacer layer is between the pinned layer and the free layer. The free layer is between the nonmagnetic spacer layer and the PMA inducing layer. The asymmetric free layer includes a first ferromagnetic layer having a first boron content and a second ferromagnetic layer having a second boron content. The second boron content is less than the first boron content. The first boron content and the second boron content are each greater than zero atomic percent. The first and second ferromagnetic layers each contain at least one of Co and CoFe. The magnetic junction is configured such that the asymmetric free layer is switchable between stable magnetic states when a write current is passed through the magnetic junction. |
| US09577179B2 |
Electrostatically controlled magnetic logic device
A magnetic logic cell includes a first electrode portion, a magnetic portion arranged on the first electrode, the magnetic portion including an anti-ferromagnetic material or a ferrimagnetic material, a dielectric portion arranged on the magnetic portion, and a second electrode portion arranged on the dielectric portion. |
| US09577178B2 |
Piezoelectric device and method for producing piezoelectric device
A piezoelectric device that prevents defects due to pyroelectric charge without limiting how the piezoelectric device can be used includes a first metal layer located on a bonding surface of a piezoelectric single crystal substrate. A second metal layer is located on a bonding surface of a support substrate. The first and second metal layers are overlaid on each other to define a metal bonded layer. Subsequently, by oxidizing the metal bonded layer, a semi-conducting layer is formed. |
| US09577176B1 |
Josephson junction readout for graphene-based single photon detector
A detector for detecting single photons of infrared radiation. In one embodiment a waveguide configured to transmit infrared radiation is arranged to be adjacent a graphene sheet and configured so that evanescent waves from the waveguide overlap the graphene sheet. An infrared photon absorbed by the graphene sheet from the evanescent waves heats the graphene sheet. The graphene sheet is coupled to the weak link of a Josephson junction, and a constant bias current is driven through the Josephson junction, so that an increase in the temperature of the graphene sheet results in a decrease in the critical current of the Josephson junction and a voltage pulse in the voltage across the Josephson junction. The voltage pulse is detected by the pulse detector. |
| US09577173B2 |
Mono-metallic thermocouples
Nanoscale thermocouples are made of a single material and are shape-engineered to contain one or more variations in their width along their length. The mono-metallic nanowire junctions resulting from the width variation(s) exploit a difference in the Seebeck coefficient that is present at these size scales. Such devices have a wide variety of uses and can be coupled with an antenna in order to serve as an infrared detector. |
| US09577170B2 |
Light-emitting device having a plurality of contact parts
A light-emitting device is disclosed. The light-emitting device comprises a supportive substrate; a first light-emitting element and a second light-emitting element on the supportive substrate, wherein the first light-emitting element comprises a transparent layer on the supportive substrate, a first light-emitting stacked layer on the transparent layer, and a plurality of contact parts between the transparent layer and the first light-emitting stacked layer; and the second light-emitting element comprises an electrode and a second light-emitting stacked layer between the electrode and the supportive substrate; and a metal line on the supportive substrate and electrically connecting the electrode and one of the contact parts. |
| US09577169B2 |
LED lead frame for laminated LED circuits
Techniques are disclosed for integrating the LED lead frame into the LED circuit fabrication process. The LED packages within the lead frame may be spaced according to the final spacing of the LED packages on the finished circuit board, such that multiple LED packages may be attached to a circuit board at a time by applying the lead frame to circuit board and then removing portions of the lead frame, leaving the LED packages attached to the board. The LED packages may be attached using solder or conductive epoxy, in some embodiments. Alternatively, part of the lead frame may include conductive wires forming one or more strings of LED packages. An entire string of LED packages may then be removed from the lead frame in a single motion and placement may be performed for a string of LED packages all at once rather than for individual LED packages. |
| US09577164B2 |
Semiconductor light emitting device and optical film
A semiconductor light emitting device, which can endure a dicing step for singulation, is superior in resistance to a high/low thermal cycle, and exhibits a high light extraction efficiency, and an optical film, which can be used favorably for producing the semiconductor light emitting device, are to be provided. The invention provides a semiconductor light emitting device comprising a semiconductor layer, an A layer, and a B layer, in which the semiconductor light emitting device is configured such that at least a part of emitted light from the semiconductor layer is emitted outward from the B layer through the A layer, the thickness of the A layer is from 1 nm to 200 nm, the B layer has a first major surface and a second major surface, while the first major surface faces the A layer and the second major surface has a concave-convex microstructure, the B layer contains an inorganic substance at 60 mass-% or more on the basis of the total mass of the B layer, and the content of an inorganic substance present in the A layer is lower than the content of the inorganic substance present in the B layer. |
| US09577163B2 |
Light emitting diode package and method thereof
The present disclosure provides a light emitting diode package including a substrate, a first electrode and a second electrode located on a first surface of the substrate, a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) located between the first electrode and the second electrode, a plurality of retaining ring located on the first surface of the substrate. The LEDs are surrounded by the retaining ring therein. An encapsulation layer is mounted in the retaining ring and covers the LEDs therein. The encapsulation layer includes a first surface and an side surface extending from edges of the first surface. The side of the encapsulation layer contacts an inner surface of the retaining ring. The present disclosre also provides a method for manufacturing the above light emitting diode package. |
| US09577161B2 |
Light emitting device having first and second wavelength converter parts
The light emitting device includes a light emitting element, a wavelength converter, and a light guider. The light emitting element has an element upper surface, an element lower surface, and an element side surface. The wavelength converter has a converter lower surface. The wavelength is provided to be connected to the light emitting element. The converter lower surface has an exposed region that does not face the element upper surface. The light guider guides light from the light emitting element to the wavelength converter. The light guider covers the element side surface and the exposed region. The wavelength converter includes first and second wavelength converter parts. The first wavelength converter part faces the element upper surface and has a first thickness. The second wavelength converter part does not face the element upper surface and has a second thickness thinner than the first thickness. |
| US09577160B2 |
Light-emitting device and image display
A light-emitting device includes a light-emitting element emitting blue light, a green phosphor emitting green light when being excited by the blue light, and a red phosphor emitting red light when being excited by the blue light. An emission spectral peak wavelength of the green light emitted by the green phosphor is greater than or equal to 520 nm and less than or equal to 540 nm. |
| US09577153B2 |
Light emission device and illumination device
A light emission device includes: an insulating substrate; a light emitting section including a plurality of LED chips mounted on the insulating substrate; and land electrodes for supplying power to the LED chips. At least a surface of each of the land electrodes is made of a conductive material which is harder than Au and Ag and which has sulfurization resistance to such an extent that secures conduction of each land electrode when a current in a working current range is applied on the land electrode. |
| US09577151B2 |
Side interconnect for light emitting device
Embodiments of the invention include a semiconductor structure including a light emitting layer disposed between an n-type region and a p-type region. A metal n-contact is connected to the n-type region. A metal p-contact is in direct contact with the p-type region. An interconnect is electrically connected to one of the n-contact and the p-contact. The interconnect is disposed adjacent to the semiconductor structure. |
| US09577149B2 |
Continuous synthesis of high quantum yield InP/ZnS nanocrystals
The invention relates to a continuous-flow synthesis process for the preparation of high quality indium phosphide/zinc sulfide core/shell semiconduting nanocrystals in particular quantum dots (QD) conducted in a micro-reaction system comprising at least one mixing chamber connected to one reaction chamber. |
| US09577146B2 |
Light-emitting element
A light-emitting element comprises: a first semiconductor stack having a first conductivity type; an active layer formed on the first semiconductor stack; a second semiconductor stack having a second conductivity type formed on the active layer; and a first current-spreading layer having the first conductivity type interposed in the second semiconductor stack. |
| US09577145B2 |
Semiconductor light emitting device
Provided is a semiconductor light emitting device.The semiconductor light emitting device comprises a second electrode layer; a light emitting structure comprising a plurality of compound semiconductor layers under the second electrode layer; at least one dividing groove that divides inner areas of the lower layers of the light emitting structure into a plurality of areas; and a first electrode under the light emitting structure. |
| US09577140B2 |
Low-cost solar cell metallization over TCO and methods of their fabrication
Methods for fabricating busbar and finger metallization over TCO are disclosed. Rather than using expensive and relatively resistive silver paste, a high conductivity and relatively low cost copper is used. Methods for enabling the use of copper as busbar and fingers over a TCO are disclosed, providing good adhesion while preventing migration of the copper into the TCO. Also, provisions are made for easy soldering contacts to the copper busbars. |
| US09577137B2 |
Photovoltaic cells with multi-band gap and applications in a low temperature polycrystalline silicon thin film transistor panel
One aspect of the present invention relates to a photovoltaic cell. In one embodiment, the photovoltaic cell includes a first conductive layer, an N-doped semiconductor layer formed on the first conductive layer, a first silicon layer formed on the N-doped semiconductor layer, a nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) layer formed on a first silicon layer, a second silicon layer formed on the nc-Si layer, a P-doped semiconductor layer on the second silicon layer, and a second conductive layer formed on the P-doped semiconductor layer, where one of the first silicon layer and the second silicon layer is formed of amorphous silicon, and the other of the first silicon layer and the second silicon layer formed of polycrystalline silicon. |
| US09577128B2 |
Cementitious product suitable in particular as substrate for a thin film photovoltaic module, and method of production thereof
The present invention relates to a substrate for a thin film photovoltaic module, characterized in that it is a cementitious product with average surface roughness Ra not higher than 500 nm. The invention also relates to the cementitious product as such, the thin film photovoltaic module comprising it, and a method of molding both of them. |
| US09577124B2 |
Infrared sensor and method for manufacturing same, filter member for infrared sensor, and photocoupler
A filter member includes a first lead terminal, an optical filter, and a first mold member, and a light incidence surface and a light emission surface of the optical filter is exposed from the first mold member. A sensor member includes an IR sensor element, a second lead terminal and a second mold member. A light-receiving surface of the IR sensor element is exposed from the second mole member. The filter member is disposed on the sensor member so that the light emission surface of the optical filter faces the light-receiving surface of the IR sensor element in the sensor member. |
| US09577120B2 |
Anti-reflective coating with high optical absorption layer for backside contact solar cells
A multilayer anti-reflection structure for a backside contact solar cell. The anti-reflection structure may be formed on a front side of the backside contact solar cell. The anti-reflection structure may include a passivation level, a high optical absorption layer over the passivation level, and a low optical absorption layer over the high optical absorption layer. The passivation level may include silicon dioxide thermally grown on a textured surface of the solar cell substrate, which may be an N-type silicon substrate. The high optical absorption layer may be configured to block at least 10% of UV radiation coming into the substrate. The high optical absorption layer may comprise high-k silicon nitride and the low optical absorption layer may comprise low-k silicon nitride. |
| US09577118B2 |
Semiconductor device
The semiconductor device of the present invention includes a first conductivity type semiconductor layer made of a wide bandgap semiconductor and a Schottky electrode formed to come into contact with a surface of the semiconductor layer, and has a threshold voltage Vth of 0.3 V to 0.7 V and a leakage current Jr of 1×10−9 A/cm2 to 1×10−4 A/cm2 in a rated voltage VR. |
| US09577117B2 |
Super-junction schottky oxide pin diode having thin P-type layers under the schottky contact
A semiconductor chip, which includes an n-type substrate, over which an n-type epitaxial layer having trenches introduced into the epitaxial layer and filled with p-type semiconductor is situated, the trenches each having a heavily doped p-type region on their upper side, the n+-type substrate being situated in such a manner, that an alternating sequence of n-type regions having a first width and p-type regions having a second width is present; a first metallic layer, which is provided on the front side of the semiconductor chip, forms an ohmic contact with the heavily doped p-type regions and is used as an anode electrode; a second metallic layer, which is provided on the back side of the semiconductor chip, constitutes an ohmic contact and is used as a cathode electrode; a dielectric layer provided, in each instance, between an n-type region and an adjacent p-type region, as well as p-type layers provided between the n-type regions and the first metallic layer. |
| US09577113B2 |
Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same
A semiconductor device includes a substrate; a gate electrode provided on the substrate; a first insulating layer formed on the gate electrode; an island-shaped oxide semiconductor layer formed on the first insulating layer; a source electrode electrically connected to the oxide semiconductor layer; and a drain electrode electrically connected to the oxide semiconductor layer, wherein the first insulating layer has a recess in the surface, wherein the oxide semiconductor layer is formed on a bottom surface and side walls of said recess and on an upper face of the first insulating layer, and wherein at least one of the source electrode and the drain electrode is disposed on a portion of the oxide semiconductor layer over the side walls of said recess, and is not formed on a portion of the oxide semiconductor layer over the upper face of the first insulating layer. |
| US09577108B2 |
Semiconductor device
Disclosed is a semiconductor device with a transistor in which an oxide semiconductor is used. An insulating layer on a back channel side of the oxide semiconductor layer has capacitance of lower than or equal to 2×10−4 F/m2. For example, in the case of a top-gate transistor, a base insulating layer has capacitance of lower than or equal to 2×10−4 F/m2, whereby the adverse effect of an interface state between the substrate and the base insulating layer can be reduced. Thus, a semiconductor device where fluctuation in electrical characteristics is small and reliability is high can be manufactured. |
| US09577104B2 |
COA substrate and liquid crystal display panel
A COA substrate is provided including a substrate base, a first metal layer, a first insulating layer, a semiconductor layer, a second metal layer, a color resist layer, and a pixel electrode layer. The surface of the color resist layer is provided with a protrusion and a recess, and the pixel electrode is disposed on the protrusion and the recess. A plurality of protrusions and a plurality of recesses are provided, thereby increasing the display quality of a liquid crystal display device. |
| US09577103B2 |
Liquid crystal display including a variable width spacer element and method for fabricating the same
A liquid crystal display with two insulating substrates. A first insulating substrate has crossing signal lines, a pixel electrode, and a drain electrode electrically connected to the pixel electrode through a contact hole. A spacer is formed on the first signal line of the first insulating substrate, and is wider at a first portion close to the first insulating substrate than at a second portion close to the second insulating substrate, and the drain electrode comprises a first portion and a second portion extending in a different direction with respect to the first portion. |
| US09577098B2 |
Semiconductor device and fabrication method thereof
A semiconductor device includes a gate electrode formed on a silicon substrate via a gate insulation film in correspondence to a channel region, source and drain regions of a p-type diffusion region formed in the silicon substrate at respective outer sides of sidewall insulation films of the gate electrode, and a pair of SiGe mixed crystal regions formed in the silicon substrate at respective outer sides of the sidewall insulation films in epitaxial relationship to the silicon substrate, the SiGe mixed crystal regions being defined by respective sidewall surfaces facing with each other, wherein, in each of the SiGe mixed crystal regions, the sidewall surface is defined by a plurality of facets forming respective, mutually different angles with respect to a principal surface of the silicon substrate. |
| US09577095B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes a MISFET. The semiconductor device also includes a silicon nitride film 12 and a silicon nitride film 10 arranged on the silicon nitride film 12. The silicon nitride film 12 covers at least a portion of an upper part of a source/drain 8 of the MISFET and has a film thickness thinner than a height of a gate electrode 4. The source/drain 8 includes nickel silicide 9 on its boundary to the silicon nitride film 10. The silicon nitride film 10 is a stressed film. A tight adhering property between the silicon nitride film 12 and the surface of the source/drain 8 and that between the silicon nitride film 12 and the silicon nitride film 10 are rendered higher than a tight adhering property which would prevail when the silicon nitride film 10 be made to adhere tightly to the source/drain 8. |
| US09577088B2 |
Semiconductor device with high concentration region
A semiconductor device includes a drift region of a first conductivity type, a channel forming region of a second conductivity type that is selectively provided in a first main surface of the drift region, a first main electrode region of the first conductivity type that is selectively provided in an upper part of the channel forming region, a second main electrode region of the second conductivity type that is provided in a second main surface of the drift region, and a high-concentration region of the first conductivity type that is provided in a portion of the drift region below the channel forming region so as to be separated from the channel forming region. The high-concentration region has a higher impurity concentration than the drift region and the total amount of first-conductivity-type impurities in the high-concentration region is equal to or less than 2.0×1012 cm−2. |
| US09577084B2 |
Semiconductor device having a semiconductor layer stacked body
A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a semiconductor layer stacked body, and a source electrode and a drain electrode formed on the semiconductor layer stacked body. The semiconductor layer stacked body includes a first nitride semiconductor layer formed on the substrate, and a second nitride semiconductor layer formed on the first nitride semiconductor layer. The semiconductor device further includes a third nitride semiconductor layer formed on the second nitride semiconductor layer and disposed between the source electrode and the drain electrode, and a gate electrode formed on the third nitride semiconductor layer. The semiconductor device includes a first magnesium-containing region having a magnesium concentration of 1×1018 cm−3 or more that is provided right under the third nitride semiconductor layer, from an upper surface of the second nitride semiconductor layer to a position lower than an interface between the first nitride semiconductor layer and the second nitride semiconductor layer. |
| US09577080B2 |
Power semiconductor device
A power semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate layer of a first conductive type which has a lower part semiconductor layer of a second conductive type and an active region that includes a body region of the second conductive type, a source region of the first conductive type disposed in the body region, and a first doped region of the first conductive type at least a part of which is disposed below the body region. An emitter electrode is electrically connected to the source region, and a groove extends into the substrate layer and includes a shielding electrode electrically connected to the emitter electrode. The groove extends to a deeper depth into the substrate layer than the first doped region. At least a part of a gate is formed above at least a part of the source region and the body region, and is electrically insulated from the shielding electrode. |
| US09577078B1 |
Structure and formation method of semiconductor device structure
Structures and formation methods of a semiconductor device structure are provided. The semiconductor device structure includes a source structure in a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor device structure also includes a channel layer over the semiconductor substrate. A first portion of the channel layer covers a portion of the source structure. A second portion of the channel layer laterally extends away from the source structure. The semiconductor device structure further includes a drain structure over the semiconductor substrate. The drain structure and the source structure have different conductivity types. The drain structure adjoins the second portion of the channel layer. |
| US09577071B2 |
Method of making a strained structure of a semiconductor device
A method of fabricating a field effect transistor (FET) includes forming a channel portion over a first surface of a substrate, wherein the channel portion comprises germanium and defines a second surface above the first surface. The method further includes forming cavities that extend through the channel portion and into the substrate. The method further includes epitaxially-growing a strained material in the cavities, wherein the strained material comprises SiGe, Ge, Si, SiC, GeSn, SiGeSn, SiSn or a III-V material. |
| US09577068B2 |
Protection of semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectric during replacement gate formation
Semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics can be formed on surfaces of semiconductor fins prior to formation of a disposable gate structure. A high dielectric constant (high-k) dielectric spacer can be formed to protect each semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectric. Formation of the high-k dielectric spacers may be performed after formation of gate cavities by removal of disposable gate structures, or prior to formation of disposable gate structures. The high-k dielectric spacers can be used as protective layers during an anisotropic etch that vertically extends the gate cavity, and can be removed after vertical extension of the gate cavities. A subset of the semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics can be removed for formation of high-k gate dielectrics for first type devices, while another subset of the semiconductor-oxide-containing gate dielectrics can be employed as gate dielectrics for second type devices. The vertical extension of the gate cavities increases channel widths in the fin field effect transistors. |
| US09577066B1 |
Methods of forming fins with different fin heights
One illustrative method disclosed herein includes, among other things, forming first and second fins, forming a liner layer above at least a first upper surface of the first fin and a second upper surface of the second fin, and forming an ion-containing region in the first portion of the liner layer while not forming the ion-containing region in second portion of the liner layer. The method also includes performing a liner etching process so as to remove the second portion of the liner layer while leaving at least a portion of the first portion of the liner layer positioned above the first fin, and performing at least one etching process to define a reduced-height second fin that is less than an initial first height of the first fin. |
| US09577064B2 |
High electron mobility transistors with field plate electrode
A high electron mobility transistor comprising: an epitaxial substrate comprising a semi-insulating substrate, a buffer layer and a barrier layer sequentially stacked; a first and a second current conducting electrode formed on, and in ohmic contact with, the barrier layer; a control gate and one or more field plate electrode(s) formed on, and in contact with, the barrier layer between the first and second current conducting electrodes; and an electric circuit formed for electrically connecting each field plate electrode to an electric reference potential and comprising at least a rectifying contact and/or an electric resistor, wherein the rectifying contact is formed outside the channel area of the high electron mobility transistor and is distinguished from the rectifying contact formed by the corresponding field plate electrode. |
| US09577063B2 |
Bipolar transistor, band-gap reference circuit and virtual ground reference circuit and methods of fabricating thereof
The present invention provides a bipolar transistor, a method for forming the bipolar transistor, a method for turning on the bipolar transistor, and a band-gap reference circuit, virtual ground reference circuit and double band-gap reference circuit with the bipolar transistor. The bipolar transistor includes: a Silicon-On-Insulator wafer; a base area, an emitter area and a collector area; a base area gate dielectric layer on a top silicon layer and atop the base area; a base area control-gate on the base area gate dielectric layer; an emitter electrode connected to the emitter area via a first contact; a collector electrode connected to the collector area via a second contact; and a base area control-gate electrode connected to the base area control-gate via a third contact. Processes of forming the bipolar transistor are fully compatible with traditional standard CMOS processes; and the base current to turn on the bipolar transistor is based on the GIDL current and formed by applying a voltage to the base area control-gate electrode without any need of contact to the base. |
| US09577062B2 |
Dual metal gate electrode for reducing threshold voltage
A gate conductor material stack including, from bottom to top, of a first metallic nitride, a second metallic nitride, and a conductive material portion is employed for a transistor in combination with a gate dielectric including a high dielectric constant (high-k) dielectric material. The second metallic nitride includes a nitride of an aluminum-containing metallic alloy of at least two elemental metals, and can be selected from TaAlN, TiAlN, and WAlN. The second metallic nitride can provide a function of oxygen scavenging from the high-k gate dielectric and/or prevent diffusion of atoms from the conductive material portion. The gate conductor material stack can enable a reduced inversion thickness and/or a reduced magnitude for a linear threshold voltage for p-type field effect transistors compared with a gate electrode employing a single metallic material. |
| US09577059B2 |
Non-volatile memory device and method of fabricating the same
A non-volatile memory device may include a control plug formed over a substrate. A floating gate may be formed over the substrate, the floating gate surrounding the control plug and being separated from the control plug by a gap. A first charge blocking layer may be formed over sidewalls of the floating gate to fill the gap. |
| US09577058B2 |
Devices, systems, and methods related to removing parasitic conduction in semiconductor devices
Semiconductor devices and methods for making semiconductor devices are disclosed herein. A method configured in accordance with a particular embodiment includes forming a stack of semiconductor materials from an epitaxial substrate, where the stack of semiconductor materials defines a heterojunction, and where the stack of semiconductor materials and the epitaxial substrate further define a bulk region that includes a portion of the semiconductor stack adjacent the epitaxial substrate. The method further includes attaching the stack of semiconductor materials to a carrier, where the carrier is configured to provide a signal path to the heterojunction. The method also includes exposing the bulk region by removing the epitaxial substrate. |
| US09577057B2 |
Semiconductor device contacts
Techniques are disclosed for forming contacts in silicon semiconductor devices. In some embodiments, a transition layer forms a non-reactive interface with the silicon semiconductor contact surface. In some such cases, a conductive material provides the contacts and the material forming a non-reactive interface with the silicon surface. In other cases, a thin semiconducting or insulating layer provides the non-reactive interface with the silicon surface and is coupled to conductive material of the contacts. The techniques can be embodied, for instance, in planar or non-planar (e.g., double-gate and tri-gate FinFETs) transistor devices. |
| US09577056B2 |
Semiconductor component comprising at least one contact structure for feeding in and/or leading away charge carriers
A semiconductor component having at least one first contact structure for feeding in and/or leading away charge carriers in relation to the semiconductor component, which first contact structure has at least one contact-making point for electrically conductively connecting the first contact structure to an external terminal, and which first contact structure has at least one first-order branching point proceeding from the contact-making point, at which first-order branching point at least one first-order subsequent conduction track branches off. Each first-order subsequent conduction track has at least one second-order branching point, at which second-order branching point at least one second-order subsequent conduction track branches off, and the electrical through-conduction resistance of each second-order subsequent conduction track is higher than the electrical through-conduction resistance of the first-order subsequent conduction track connected to said second-order subsequent conduction track via a common second-order branching point. |
| US09577049B1 |
Semiconductor device structure and method for forming the same
A semiconductor device structure is provided. The semiconductor device structure includes a substrate. The semiconductor device structure includes a semiconductor layer over the substrate. The semiconductor layer includes a transition metal chalcogenide. The semiconductor device structure includes a source electrode and a drain electrode over and connected to the semiconductor layer and spaced apart from each other by a gap. The source electrode and the drain electrode are made of graphene. |
| US09577044B2 |
Semiconductor device with first and second electrodes forming schottky junction with silicon carbide semiconductor layer and method of manufacturing the same
A semiconductor device includes first and second second-conductivity-type region groups containing multiple second-conductivity-type regions that are disposed on a first silicon carbide semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, arrayed in parallel following one direction with a space between each other, and first and second electrodes disposed on the first silicon carbide semiconductor layer and forming a Schottky junction with the first silicon carbide semiconductor layer. The first electrode covers a position where a distance from adjacent first and second second-conductivity-type regions included in a first second-conductivity-type region group, and a distance from a third second-conductivity-type region included in a second second-conductivity-type region group and adjacent to the first and second second-conductivity-type regions, are equal. A Schottky barrier between the first electrode and the first silicon carbide semiconductor layer is larger than a Schottky barrier between the second electrode and the first silicon carbide semiconductor layer. |
| US09577037B2 |
Nanocrystals with high extinction coefficients and methods of making and using such nanocrystals
A population of bright and stable nanocrystals is provided. The nanocrystals include a semiconductor core and a thick semiconductor shell and can exhibit high extinction coefficients, high quantum yields, and limited or no detectable blinking. |
| US09577030B2 |
Semiconductor structure having a capacitor and metal wiring integrated in a same dielectric layer
Semiconductor structures having capacitors and metal wiring integrated in a same dielectric layer are described. For example, a semiconductor structure includes a plurality of semiconductor devices disposed in or above a substrate. One or more dielectric layers are disposed above the plurality of semiconductor devices. Metal wiring is disposed in each of the dielectric layers. The metal wiring is electrically coupled to one or more of the semiconductor devices. A metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor is disposed in one of the dielectric layers, adjacent to the metal wiring of the at least one of the dielectric layers. The MIM capacitor is electrically coupled to one or more of the semiconductor devices. |
| US09577019B2 |
Organic light-emitting diode display and method of manufacturing the same
An OLED display and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. In one aspect, the display device includes a plurality of pixels, wherein each of the pixels includes a plurality of wires including a first wire extending in a first direction and a second wire extending in a second direction crossing the first direction, the second wire having top and bottom portions opposing each other. The pixels also include a plurality of switching TFTs electrically connected to the wires, a driving TFT configured to supply a driving current, a storage capacitor electrically connected to the wires and the driving TFT, and a connecting wire electrically connecting the driving TFT to a selected one of the switching TFTs, wherein the connecting wire has top and bottom portions opposing each other, and wherein at least the top portions of the connecting wire and the second wire are formed on different layers. |
| US09577012B2 |
Imaging element, electronic device, and information processing device
The present disclosure relates to an imaging element, an electronic device, and an information processing device capable of more easily providing a wider variety of photoelectric conversion outputs. An imaging element of the present disclosure includes: a photoelectric conversion element layer containing a photoelectric conversion element that photoelectrically converts incident light; a wiring layer formed in the photoelectric conversion element layer on the side opposite to a light entering plane of the incident light, and containing a wire for reading charges from the photoelectric conversion element; and a support substrate laminated on the photoelectric conversion element layer and the wiring layer, and containing another photoelectric conversion element. The present disclosure is applicable to an imaging element, an electronic device, and an information processing device. |
| US09577011B2 |
Complementary metal oxide semiconductor transistor and fabricating method thereof
A fabricating method of CMOS transistor includes following steps. A first gate and a second gate are formed on a substrate. A gate insulator is formed on the substrate to cover the first and second gates. A first source, a first drain, a second source, and a second drain are formed on the gate insulator. The first source and the first drain are above the first gate. The second source and the second drain are above the second gate. A first channel layer and a mask layer are formed on the gate insulator. The mask layer is on the first channel layer. The first channel layer is above the first gate and contacts with the first source and the first drain. A second channel layer is formed on the gate insulator. The second channel layer is above the second gate and contacts with the second source and the second drain. |
| US09577009B1 |
RRAM cell with PMOS access transistor
The present disclosure relates to an integrated chip comprising an RRAM cell that is driven by a PMOS transistor, and an associated method of formation. In some embodiments, the integrated chip has a PMOS transistor arranged within a semiconductor substrate. A resistive RRAM cell is arranged within an inter-level dielectric (ILD) layer overlying the semiconductor substrate. The RRAM cell has a first conductive electrode separated from a second conductive electrode by a dielectric data storage layer having a variable resistance. The first conductive electrode is connected to a drain terminal of the PMOS transistor by one or more metal interconnect layers. The use of a PMOS transistor to drive the RRAM cell allows for impact of the body effect to be reduced and therefore allows for a reset operation to be performed at a low power and in a short amount of time. |
| US09577008B2 |
Display device and driving method of the same
A problem in that a light emitting element slightly emits light is solved by an off current of a thin film transistor connected in series to the light emitting element, thereby a display device which can perform a clear display by increasing contrast, and a driving method thereof are provided. When the thin film transistor connected in series to the light emitting element is turned off, a charge held in the capacitance of the light emitting element itself is discharged. Even when an off current is generated at the thin film transistor connected in series to the light emitting element, this off current charges this capacitance until the capacitance of the light emitting element itself holds a predetermined voltage again. Accordingly, the off current of the thin film transistor does not contribute to light emission. In this manner, a slight light emission of the light emitting element can be reduced. |
| US09577007B2 |
Active LED module with LED and transistor formed on same substrate
An LED module is disclosed containing an integrated driver transistor (e.g, a MOSFET) in series with an LED. In one embodiment, LED layers are grown over a substrate. The transistor regions are formed over the same substrate. After the LED layers, such as GaN layers, are grown to form the LED portion, a central area of the LED is etched away to expose a semiconductor surface in which the transistor regions are formed. A conductor connects the transistor in series with the LED. Another node of the transistor is electrically coupled to an electrode on the bottom surface of the substrate. In one embodiment, an anode of the LED is connected to one terminal of the module, one current carrying node of the transistor is connected to a second terminal of the module, and the control terminal of the transistor is connected to a third terminal of the module. |
| US09577003B2 |
Method of forming an image pickup device having two waveguides and a light-shielding member
A solid-state image pickup device includes a semiconductor substrate in which photoelectric conversion units are arranged. An insulator is disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The insulator has holes associated with the respective photoelectric conversion units. Members are arranged in the respective holes. A light-shielding member is disposed on the opposite side of one of the members from the semiconductor substrate, such that only the associated photoelectric conversion unit is shielded from light. In the solid-state image pickup device, the holes are simultaneously formed and the members are simultaneously formed. |
| US09576990B2 |
Thin film transistor and method of making same
A thin film transistor includes a substrate, a gate electrode formed on the substrate, an electrically insulating layer formed on the substrate and covering the gate electrode, a channel layer made of semiconductor material and formed on the electrically insulating layer, an etch stop pattern formed on the channel layer and defining a first through hole and a second through hole; and a source electrode and a drain electrode formed on the etch stop pattern. The source electrode extends into the first through hole to electrically couple to the channel layer. The drain electrode extends into the second through hole to electrically couple to the channel layer. Both the channel layer and the etch stop pattern are formed by using a single mask and a single photoresist layer. |
| US09576986B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing a breaking and poor contact, without increasing the number of steps, thereby forming an integrated circuit with high driving performance and reliability. The present invention applies a photo mask or a reticle each of which is provided with a diffraction grating pattern or with an auxiliary pattern formed of a semi-translucent film having a light intensity reducing function to a photolithography step for forming wires in an overlapping portion of wires. And a conductive film to serve as a lower wire of a two-layer structure is formed, and then, a resist pattern is formed so that a first layer of the lower wire and a second layer narrower than the first layer are formed for relieving a steep step. |
| US09576985B2 |
Liquid crystal display device
A liquid crystal display device includes a TFT substrate having a display region with first and second electrodes, TFTs, scanning signal lines connected to the TFTs, a counter substrate, a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the TFT substrate and counter substrates, and sealed by a sealant, scanning line leads connected to the scanning signal lines and formed outside of the display region, video signal line leads connected to the video signal lines and formed outside of the display region and a shield electrode formed on the TFT substrate covering the scanning line leads but not the video signal line leads. The second electrode is connected to a TFT, and liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer are driven by an electric field, which is generated between the first and second electrodes. The shield electrode is electrically connected to the first electrode and overlapped with the sealant in plan view. |
| US09576981B2 |
Semiconductor device having a gate insulting film with thick portions aligned with a tapered gate electrode
By providing appropriate TFT structures arranged in various circuits of the semiconductor device in response to the functions required by the circuits, it is made possible to improve the operating performances and the reliability of a semiconductor device, reduce power consumption as well as realizing reduced manufacturing cost and increase in yield by lessening the number of processing steps. An LDD region of a TFT is formed to have a concentration gradient of an impurity element for controlling conductivity which becomes higher as the distance from a drain region decreases. In order to form such an LDD region having a concentration gradient of an impurity element, the present invention uses a method in which a gate electrode having a taper portion is provided to thereby dope an ionized impurity element for controlling conductivity accelerated in the electric field so that it penetrates through the gate electrode and a gate insulating film into a semiconductor layer. |
| US09576978B2 |
Cells including at least one fin field effect transistor and semiconductor integrated circuits including the same
A semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) may comprise at least one cell comprising at least one fin field-effect transistor (FET). The at least one cell may comprise a plurality of fins that extend in a first direction and are arranged in parallel to each other in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. A size of the at least one cell in the second direction may correspond to a number and a pitch of the plurality of fins. |
| US09576976B1 |
Three dimensional memory device
A 3D memory device includes a multi-layer stacks structure having a plurality of conductive strips and a first, a second, a third and a fourth ridge stack; a first SSL switch, a first GSL switch, a second SSL switch and a second GSL switch respectively disposed on the first, the second the third and the fourth ridge stack; a first U-shaped memory cells string connecting the first SSL switch with the first GSL switch; a second U-shaped memory cells string connecting the second SSL switch with the second GSL switch; a first word lines contact in contact with the conductive strips disposed in the first ridge stack; a second word lines contact in contact with the conductive strips disposed in the second ridge stack; and a third word lines contact in contact with the conductive strips disposed in the third ridge stack and the fourth ridge stack. |
| US09576973B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same
Disclosed is a semiconductor device, including: stack structures including interlayer insulating patterns and conductive line patterns, which are alternately stacked, and separated by a first slit; string pillars passing through the stack structures; and dummy holes passing through top portions of the stack structures to be spaced apart from bottom surface of the stack structures and disposed between the string pillars. |
| US09576969B2 |
Integrated circuit device including polycrystalline semiconductor film and method of manufacturing the same
An IC device includes a polycrystalline silicon thin film interposed between a first level semiconductor circuit and a second level semiconductor circuit which are formed on a substrate and disposed to vertically overlap each other. The polycrystalline silicon thin film includes at least one silicon single crystal. The at least one silicon single crystal includes a flat horizontal portion, which provides an active region of the second level semiconductor device, and a pin-shaped protruding portion protruding from the flat horizontal portion toward the first level semiconductor device. |
| US09576966B1 |
Cobalt-containing conductive layers for control gate electrodes in a memory structure
An alternating stack of insulating layers and sacrificial material layers can be formed over a substrate. Memory stack structures and a backside trench are formed through the alternating stack. Backside recesses are formed by removing the sacrificial material layers from the backside trench selective to the insulating layers. A cobalt-containing material is deposited such that the cobalt-containing material continuously extends at least between a neighboring pair of cobalt-containing material portions in respective backside recesses. An anneal is performed at an elevated temperature to migrate vertically-extending portions of the cobalt-containing material into the backside recesses, thereby forming vertically separated cobalt-containing material portions confined within the backside recesses. Sidewalls of the insulating layers may be rounded or tapered to facilitate migration of the cobalt-containing material. |
| US09576964B2 |
Integrated fin and strap structure for an access transistor of a trench capacitor
At least one dielectric pad layer is formed on a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. A deep trench is formed in the SOI substrate, and a combination of an outer electrode, a node dielectric, and an inner electrode are formed such that the top surface of the inner electrode is recessed below the top surface of a buried insulator layer of the SOI substrate. Selective epitaxy is performed to fill a cavity overlying the inner electrode with an epitaxial semiconductor material portion. A top semiconductor material layer and the epitaxial semiconductor material portion are patterned to form a fin structure including a portion of the top semiconductor material layer and a portion of the epitaxial semiconductor material portion. The epitaxial semiconductor material portion functions as a conductive strap structure between the inner electrode and a semiconductor device to be formed on the fin structure. |
| US09576962B2 |
Memory device having electrically floating body transistor
A semiconductor memory cell includes a floating body region configured to be charged to a level indicative of a state of the memory cell selected from at least first and second states. A first region of the memory cell is in electrical contact with the floating body region. A second region of the memory cell is spaced apart from the first region and is also in electrical contact with the floating body region. A gate is positioned between the first and second regions. A back-bias region is configured to generate impact ionization when the memory cell is in one of the first and second states, and the back-bias region is configured so as not to generate impact ionization when the memory cell is in the other of the first and second states. |
| US09576956B2 |
Method and structure of forming controllable unmerged epitaxial material
A method of forming a semiconductor device that includes forming a plurality of semiconductor pillars. A dielectric spacer is formed between at least one set of adjacent semiconductor pillars. Semiconductor material is epitaxially formed on sidewalls of the adjacent semiconductor pillars, wherein the dielectric spacer obstructs a first portion of epitaxial semiconductor material formed on a first semiconductor pillar from merging with a second portion of epitaxial semiconductor material formed on a second semiconductor pillar. |
| US09576954B1 |
POC process flow for conformal recess fill
A method of filling trenches between gates includes forming a first and a second dummy gate over a substrate, the first and second dummy gates including a sacrificial gate material and a hard mask layer; forming a first gate spacer along a sidewall of the first dummy gate and a second gate spacer along a sidewall of the second dummy gate; performing an epitaxial growth process to form a source/drain on the substrate between the first and second dummy gates; disposing a conformal liner over the first and second dummy gates and the source/drain; disposing an oxide on the conformal liner between the first and second dummy gates; recessing the oxide to a level below the hard mask layers of the first and second dummy gates to form a recessed oxide; and depositing a spacer material over the recessed oxide between the first dummy gate and the second dummy gate. |
| US09576952B2 |
Integrated circuits with varying gate structures and fabrication methods
Integrated circuits and fabrication methods are provided. The integrated circuit includes: a varying gate structure disposed over a substrate structure, the varying gate structure including a first gate stack in a first region of the substrate structure, and a second gate stack in a second region of the substrate structure; a first field-effect transistor in the first region, the first field-effect transistor including the first gate stack and having a first threshold voltage; and a second field-effect transistor in the second region, the second field-effect transistor including the second gate stack and having a second threshold voltage, where the first threshold voltage is different from the second threshold voltage. The methods include providing the varying gate structure, the providing including: sizing layer(s) of the varying gate structure with different thickness(es) in different region(s). |
| US09576949B2 |
Diode formed of PMOSFET and schottky diodes
A P-type Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (PMOSFET) includes a gate, a first source/drain region connected to the gate, and a second source/drain region on an opposite side of the gate than the first source/drain region. A first Schottky diode includes a first anode connected to the first source/drain region, and a first cathode connected to a body of the PMOSFET. A second Schottky diode includes a second anode connected to the second source/drain region, and a second cathode connected to the body of the PMOSFET. |
| US09576944B2 |
Semiconductor devices with transistor cells and thermoresistive element
A semiconductor device includes a first load terminal electrically coupled to a source zone of a transistor cell. A gate terminal is electrically coupled to a gate electrode which is capacitively coupled to a body zone of the transistor cell. The source and body zones are formed in a semiconductor portion. A thermoresistive element is thermally connected to the semiconductor portion and is electrically coupled between the gate terminal and the first load terminal. Above a maximum operation temperature specified for the semiconductor device, an electric resistance of the thermoresistive element decreases by at least two orders of magnitude within a critical temperature span of at most 50 Kelvin. |
| US09576939B2 |
Light emitting device and lighting system having the same
The present invention provides a light emitting device comprising a first light emitting portion that emits white light at a color temperature of 6000K or more and a second light emitting portion that emits white light at a color temperature of 3000K or less, which include light emitting diode chips and phosphors and are independently driven. The present invention has an advantage in that a light emitting device can be diversely applied in a desired atmosphere and use by realizing white light with different light spectrums and color temperatures. Particularly, the present invention has the effect on health by adjusting the wavelength of light or the color temperature according to the circadian rhythm of humans. |
| US09576937B2 |
Back-to-back stacked integrated circuit assembly
An integrated circuit assembly includes a first substrate and a second substrate, with active layers formed on the first surfaces of each substrate, and with the second surfaces of each substrate coupled together. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit assembly includes forming active layers on the first surfaces of each of two substrates, and coupling the second surfaces of the substrates together. |
| US09576936B2 |
Semiconductor system having semiconductor apparatus and method of determining delay amount using the semiconductor apparatus
A semiconductor apparatus includes: a slave chip including a signal transfer unit configured to determine whether or not to transfer an input signal in response to a chip select signal; a master chip including a replica circuit unit having the same configuration as the signal transfer unit and a signal output unit configured to receive an output signal of the signal transfer unit and an output signal of the replica circuit unit and generate an output signal in response to the control signal; a first through-chip via vertically formed through the slave chip, and having one end connected to the master chip to receive the input signal and the other end connected to the signal transfer unit; and a second through-chip via vertically formed through the slave chip, and having one end connected to the signal transfer unit and the other end connected to the signal output unit. |
| US09576934B2 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device according to the present invention includes: a through via formed to penetrate a semiconductor substrate; first and second buffer circuits; a wiring forming layer formed in an upper layer of the semiconductor substrate; a connecting wiring portion formed in an upper portion of the through via assuming that a direction from the semiconductor substrate to the wiring forming layer is an upward direction, the connecting wiring portion being formed on a chip inner end face that faces the upper portion of the semiconductor substrate at an end face of the through via; a first path connecting the first buffer circuit and the through via; and a second path connecting the second buffer circuit and the through via. The first path and the second path are electrically connected through the connecting wiring portion. |
| US09576928B2 |
Bond head assemblies, thermocompression bonding systems and methods of assembling and operating the same
A bond head assembly for bonding a semiconductor element to a substrate is provided. The bond head assembly includes a base structure, a heater, and a clamping system securing the heater to the base structure. The clamping system includes a plurality of elastic elements constraining the heater along a plurality of axes. |
| US09576923B2 |
Semiconductor chip with patterned underbump metallization and polymer film
Various semiconductor chip solder bump and underbump metallization (UBM) structures and methods of making the same are disclosed. In one aspect, a method is provided that includes forming a first underbump metallization layer on a semiconductor chip is provided. The first underbump metallization layer has a hub, a first portion extending laterally from the hub, and a spoke connecting the hub to the first portion. A polymer layer is applied to the first underbump metallization layer. The polymer layer includes a first opening in alignment with the hub and a second opening in alignment with the spoke. A portion of the spoke is removed via the second opening to sever the connection between the hub and the first portion. |
| US09576921B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacturing method for the same
To improve an integration degree of a semiconductor device.The semiconductor device includes a plurality of wiring layers formed on the semiconductor substrate, a pad electrode formed on an uppermost wiring layer among the plurality of wiring layers, a base insulating film having a pad opening above the pad electrode, and a rewiring electrically connected to the pad electrode and extending over the base insulating film. Further, the semiconductor device includes a protective film covering an upper surface of the rewiring and having an external pad opening exposing part of the upper surface of the rewiring, an external pad electrode electrically connected to the rewiring through the external pad opening and extending over the protective film, and a wire connected to the external pad electrode. Part of the external pad electrode is located in a region outside the rewiring. |
| US09576918B2 |
Conductive paths through dielectric with a high aspect ratio for semiconductor devices
Conductive paths through a dielectric are described that have a high aspect ratio for semiconductor devices. In one example, a plurality of conductive connection pads are formed on a semiconductor substrate to connect to circuitry formed on the substrate. A post is formed on each of a subset of the connection pads, the posts being formed of a conductive material. A dielectric layer is formed over the semiconductor substrate including over the connection pads and the posts. Holes are formed by removing the dielectric layer directly over the posts. The formed holes are filled with a conductive material and a connector is formed over each filled hole. |
| US09576909B2 |
Bumpless die-package interface for bumpless build-up layer (BBUL)
Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards bumpless interfaces to an embedded silicon die, in integrated circuit (IC) package assemblies. In one embodiment, a method includes forming a surrounding portion of dielectric material defining a cavity therein; placing at least one die in the cavity, the die including a contact; depositing a dielectric material on the die and the surrounding portion; etching the dielectric material to expose the contact; and depositing conductive material onto the contact. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed. |
| US09576908B1 |
Interconnection structure, fabricating method thereof, and semiconductor device using the same
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a contact region present in the semiconductor substrate, and a silicide present on a textured surface of the contact region. A plurality of sputter ions are present between the silicide and the contact region. Since the surface of the contact region is textured, the contact area provided by the silicide is increased accordingly, thus the resistance of a interconnection structure in the semiconductor device is reduced. |
| US09576907B2 |
Wiring structure and method of manufacturing the same
A wiring structure is made up by electrically connecting a via part made up by forming CNTs in a via hole and a wiring part made up of multilayer graphene on an interlayer insulating film via a metal block such as Cu. In the wiring structure using the CNTs at the via part and the graphene at the wiring part, it is thereby possible to obtain the wiring structure with high reliability enabling a certain electrical connection between the CNTs and the graphene with a relatively simple configuration. |
| US09576904B2 |
Semiconductor devices comprising interconnect structures and methods of fabrication
Semiconductor devices comprise at least one integrated circuit layer, at least one conductive trace and an insulative material adjacent at least a portion of the at least one conductive trace. At least one interconnect structure extends through a portion of the at least one conductive trace and a portion of the insulative material, the at least one interconnect structure comprising a transverse cross-sectional dimension through the at least one conductive trace which differs from a transverse cross-sectional dimension through the insulative material. |
| US09576903B2 |
Structure with conductive plug and method of forming the same
Provided is a structure with a conductive plug including a substrate, a first dielectric layer, an etch stop layer, a second dielectric layer, a conductive plug and a liner. The substrate has a conductive region therein. The first dielectric layer, the etch stop layer and the second dielectric layer are sequentially formed on the substrate and have at least one opening therethrough. Besides, the opening has a substantially vertical sidewall. The conductive plug fills in the opening and is electrically connected to the conductive region. The liner surrounds the upper portion of the conductive plug. A method of forming a structure with a conductive plug is further provided. |
| US09576897B2 |
Semiconductor interconnect device
A method for forming an interconnect device is provided by the present disclosure. The method includes providing a dielectric layer on a substrate, forming openings in the dielectric layer to expose a portion of a surface of the substrate at a bottom of each opening and forming a metal layer to fill up the openings. The method also includes forming a semiconductor cover layer on the metal layer and on the dielectric layer, and performing a thermal annealing reaction to convert portions of the semiconductor cover layer that are on the metal layer into a metal capping layer. The method further includes performing a nitridation process on the metal capping layer and a remaining semiconductor cover layer to convert the metal capping layer into a metal nitride capping layer and the remaining semiconductor cover layer into a semiconductor nitride layer. |
| US09576894B2 |
Integrated circuits including organic interlayer dielectric layers and methods for fabricating the same
Integrated circuits and methods for fabricating integrated circuits are provided. In one example, a method for fabricating an integrated circuit includes depositing an organic dielectric material overlying a semiconductor substrate for forming an organic interlayer dielectric (OILD) layer. An opening is formed in the OILD layer and a conductive metal fill is deposited in the opening for forming a metal line and/or a via. |
| US09576888B2 |
Package on-package joint structure with molding open bumps
A device comprises a bottom package comprising a plurality of metal bumps formed on a first side of the bottom package and a plurality of first bumps formed on a second side of the bottom package, a top package bonded on the bottom package, wherein the top package comprises a plurality of second bumps, and wherein second bumps and respective metal bumps form a joint structure and an underfill layer formed between the top package and the bottom package, wherein the metal bumps are embedded in the underfill layer. |
| US09576880B2 |
Dual damascene structure with liner
A dual damascene structure with an embedded liner and methods of manufacture are disclosed. The method includes forming a dual damascene structure in a substrate. The method further includes reflowing a seed layer such that material of the seed layer flows into a via of the dual damascene structure. The method further includes forming a liner material on the material over or within the via of the dual damascene structure. The method further includes filling any remaining portions of the via and a trench of the dual damascene structure with additional material. |
| US09576878B2 |
Thermal interface material on package
A packaged assembly is disclosed, including thermal interface material dispensed on an organic package and methods of manufacturing. The method includes dispensing a thermal interface material (TIM) on an electronic assembly. The method further includes removing volatile species of the TIM, prior to lid placement on the electronic assembly. The method further includes placing the lid on the TIM, over the electronic assembly. The method further includes pressing the lid onto the electronic assembly. |
| US09576874B2 |
Semiconductor devices and methods of manufacture thereof
Semiconductor devices and methods of manufacture thereof are disclosed. In some embodiments, a semiconductor device includes a substrate, and a plurality of contact pads disposed over the substrate. The contact pads may be arranged in a ball grid array (BGA), and the may include a plurality of corners. A metal dam is disposed around each of the plurality of corners, such as corners of the BGA. |
| US09576867B2 |
Device comprising a ductile layer and method of making the same
Device comprising a ductile layer, a method for making a component comprising a ductile layer and a method for testing a component are disclosed. An embodiment includes an electronic device including a first conductive layer, a ductile layer and a brittle layer between the first conductive layer and the ductile layer. |
| US09576866B2 |
Array substrate, method for fabricating and testing array substrate, and display device
The present invention provides an array substrate, which includes a plurality of pixel units, each pixel unit includes a thin film transistor, a pixel electrode, a common electrode and a passivation layer, the thin film transistor includes an active layer, a gate electrode, a source electrode and a drain electrode, the drain electrode and the pixel electrode are connected, the passivation layer is disposed on the active layer, the source electrode, the drain electrode and the pixel electrode, the common electrode is disposed above the pixel electrode with the passivation layer therebetween, a test electrode is disposed on the active layer and under the passivation layer, the test electrode is electrically insulated from the gate electrode, the source electrode and the drain electrode. Correspondingly, a method for fabricating and a method for testing the array substrate, and a display device including the array substrate are provided. |
| US09576862B2 |
Optical acoustic substrate assessment system and method
A system and method for identifying one or more characteristics of a structure formed into a substrate is herein disclosed. Surface and bulk acoustic waves are induced in the substrate and travel past a structure of interest where the acoustic waves are sensed. Information concerning one or more characteristics of the structure is encoded in the wave. The encoded information is assessed to determine the characteristic of interest. |
| US09576861B2 |
Method and system for universal target based inspection and metrology
Universal target based inspection drive metrology includes designing a plurality of universal metrology targets measurable with an inspection tool and measurable with a metrology tool, identifying a plurality of inspectable features within at least one die of a wafer using design data, disposing the plurality of universal targets within the at least one die of the wafer, each universal target being disposed at least proximate to one of the identified inspectable features, inspecting a region containing one or more of the universal targets with an inspection tool, identifying one or more anomalistic universal targets in the inspected region with an inspection tool and, responsive to the identification of one or more anomalistic universal targets in the inspected region, performing one or more metrology processes on the one or more anomalistic universal metrology targets with the metrology tool. |
| US09576858B2 |
Dual work function integration for stacked FinFET
A three-dimensional stacked fin complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device having dual work function metal gate structures is provided. The stacked fin CMOS device includes a fin stack having a first semiconductor fin over a substrate, a dielectric fin atop the first semiconductor fin and a second semiconductor fin atop the dielectric fin, and a gate sack straddling the fin stack. The gate stack includes a first metal gate portion surrounding a channel portion of the first semiconductor fin and a second metal gate portion surrounding a channel portion of the second semiconductor fin. The first metal gate portion has a first work function suitable to reduce a threshold voltage of a field effect transistor (FET) of a first conductivity type, while the second gate portion has a second work function suitable to reduce a threshold voltage of a FET of a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type. |
| US09576856B2 |
Fabrication of nanowire field effect transistor structures
Methods are presented for facilitating fabrication of nanowire structures, such as one or more nanowire field effect transistors. The methods include, for instance: providing a substrate; providing first material layers and second material layers above the substrate, the first material layers interleaved with the second material layers; removing portions of the first material layers and second material layers, the removing forming a plurality of nanowire stacks, including first material nanowires and second material nanowires; removing the first material nanowires from at least one nanowire stack; and removing the second material nanowires from at least one other nanowire stack, where the at least one nanowire stack and at least one other nanowire stack include a p-type nanowire stack(s) and a n-type nanowire stack(s), respectively. |
| US09576853B2 |
Magnetic trap for cylindrical diamagnetic materials
A magnetic trap is configured to arrange at least one diamagnetic rod. The magnetic trap includes first and second magnets on a substrate that forms the magnetic trap defining a template configured to self-assemble diamagnetic material. Each of the first and second magnets extends along a longitudinal direction to define a magnet length, and contact each other to define a contact line. The first magnet and the second magnet have a diametric magnetization in a direction perpendicular to the contact line and the longitudinal direction so as to generate a longitudinal energy potential that traps the diamagnetic rod along the longitudinal direction. |
| US09576852B2 |
Integrated circuits with self aligned contacts and methods of manufacturing the same
Integrated circuits and methods for producing the same are provided. A method for producing an integrated circuit includes forming an interconnect in a first interlayer dielectric. A first cap is formed overlying the first interlayer dielectric adjacent to the interconnect, and a second interlayer dielectric is formed overlying the first interlayer dielectric, the interconnect, and the cap. A contact is formed through the second interlayer dielectric, where the contact includes an overlap region and a connection region. The overlap region directly overlies the first interlayer dielectric adjacent to the interconnect, and the connection region directly contacts the interconnect. The first cap is positioned between the overlap region and the first interlayer dielectric. |
| US09576850B2 |
Method for manufacturing semiconductor device
When a recess is formed in a SiCOH film, C is removed from the film to form a damage layer. If the damage layer is removed by hydrofluoric acid or the like, the surface becomes hydrophobic. By supplying a boron compound gas, a silicon compound gas or a gas containing trimethyl aluminum to the SiCOH film, B, Si or Al is adsorbed on the SiCOH film. These atoms bond with Ru and a Ru film is easily formed on the SiCOH film. The Ru film is formed using, for example, Ru3(CO)12 gas and CO gas. Copper is filled in the recess and an upper side wiring structure is formed by carrying out CMP processing. |
| US09576849B2 |
Semiconductor package and method for manufacturing the same
The semiconductor package includes semiconductor chips, each chip having one or more bonding pads. The semiconductor chips are stacked in a stepped configuration over the surface of the substrate without covering one or more bonding pads. An encapsulation member encapsulates the stacked semiconductor chips on the surface of the substrate. Via wirings in the encapsulation member electrically connect to a bonding pad of at least one of the semiconductor chips. Redistributions are formed over the encapsulation member such that the one or more redistributions are electrically coupled to the via wirings. |
| US09576848B2 |
Method of treating a porous dielectric layer and a method of fabricating a semiconductor device using the same
A method of treating a porous dielectric layer includes preparing a substrate on which the porous dielectric layer including an opening and pores exposed by the opening is formed, supplying a first precursor onto the substrate to form a first sub-sealing layer sealing the exposed pores, and supplying a second precursor onto the first sub-sealing layer to form a second sub-sealing layer covering the first sub-sealing layer. Each of the first and second precursors includes silicon, and a molecular weight of the second precursor is smaller than that of the first precursor. |
| US09576845B2 |
Method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a hollow structure around an electrode of a semiconductor element
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: forming a semiconductor element having an electrode on a main surface of a semiconductor substrate; forming a first resin film that encloses a side of the electrode while keeping a distance from the electrode of the semiconductor element on the main surface of the semiconductor substrate; and forming a hollow structure around the electrode of the semiconductor element by bonding a second resin film that covers over the electrode while keeping a distance from the electrode of the semiconductor element to a top surface of the first resin film. |
| US09576844B2 |
Method for manufacturing a composite wafer having a graphite core, and composite wafer having a graphite core
A composite wafer is manufactured by providing a carrier wafer including graphite and a protective layer, forming a bonding layer, and bonding the carrier wafer to a semiconductor wafer through the bonding layer. |
| US09576843B2 |
Process for bonding in an atmosphere of a gas having a negative Joule-Thomson coefficient
The present invention relates to a process for direct bonding two substrates, comprising at least: (a) bringing the surfaces to be bonded of said substrates in close contact; and (b) propagating a bonding wave between said substrates, characterised in that said substrates are kept, during step (b), in an atmosphere of a gas having a negative Joule-Thomson coefficient at the temperature and pressure of said atmosphere. |
| US09576842B2 |
Grass removal in patterned cavity etching
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes providing a first semiconductor substrate having a first main surface and an opposing second main surface, and forming a pattern into the first semiconductor substrate. The pattern includes a plurality of trenches defining a plurality of mesas. Each of the plurality of mesas has sidewalls and a free surface formed by material of the first semiconductor substrate. The method further includes forming a cavity in the first semiconductor substrate such that the pattern is recessed in the cavity, forming an oxide layer in the cavity and on the sidewalls and free surfaces of the plurality of mesas, and etching the oxide layer to remove the oxide layer from the free surfaces of the plurality of mesas and at least a portion of the sidewalls of the plurality of mesas. |
| US09576839B2 |
Substrate carrier arrangement, coating system having a substrate carrier arrangement and method for performing a coating process
A substrate carrier arrangement (10, 11) for a coating system (12) is provided, comprising a carrier (1) which comprises at least one support region (3) having a support surface (30), on which a substrate support (2) is arranged, and which support region comprises in the support surface (30) at least one first and one second gas inlet (4, 5), wherein the first gas inlet (4) is at a smaller distance from a center (M) of the support surface (30) than the second gas inlet (5) and wherein the first and second gas inlet (4, 5) comprise mutually independent gas feeds (40, 50) which are arranged to supply gases having mutually different thermal conductivities. A coating system comprising a substrate carrier arrangement and a method for performing a coating process are also provided. |
| US09576837B2 |
Method of forming a flexible semiconductor layer and devices on a flexible carrier
A method for fabricating a semiconductor device comprises providing a preformed spalled structure comprising a stressor layer stack on a first surface of a semiconductor substrate; forming an interfacial release layer on an exposed second surface of the semiconductor substrate; adhesively bonding the interfacial release layer to a rigid handle substrate using an epoxy; removing at least a portion of the stressor layer stack from the first surface of the semiconductor substrate; processing the semiconductor substrate; and removing the semiconductor substrate from the interfacial release layer to impart flexibility to the semiconductor substrate. |
| US09576836B2 |
Damage-free self-limiting through-substrate laser ablation
A first substrate, bonded to a second substrate by a material, is provided. The first substrate is transparent to at least some wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. The first substrate is irradiated with the electromagnetic radiation to which the first substrate is transparent, such that the electromagnetic radiation impinges on the material causing a decomposition thereof at a location at an interface between the first substrate and the material. The decomposition results in, at the location, an interface of the first substrate and an atmosphere of the decomposition. The atmosphere of the decomposition has an optical property resulting in ceasing the decomposition of the material. |
| US09576835B2 |
Workpiece processing method
A method for processing a workpiece including: a supporting plate preparing step of preparing a supporting plate having, on a top surface side of the supporting plate, a recessed portion configured to house a projecting portion provided in a device region of the workpiece; a positioning step of mounting the workpiece on the supporting plate such that the recessed portion of the supporting plate and the device region of the workpiece correspond to each other; a bonding step of forming a welded region in which the workpiece is welded to the supporting plate by irradiating a peripheral surplus region of the workpiece mounted on the supporting plate with a laser beam, whereby the workpiece is fixed on the supporting plate; and a processing step of processing the workpiece after performing the bonding step. |
| US09576833B2 |
Robot for a substrate processing system
A robot for a substrate processing system includes a first arm and a second arm each including a first arm portion connected to a base, a second arm portion connected to the first arm portion, and an end effector connected to the second arm portion. The first arm and the second arm are each configured to actuate between a fully retracted position and a plurality of extended positions. The end effector of the first arm is configured to support a first substrate and the end effector of the second arm is configured to support a second substrate. When the first arm and the second arm are in the respective fully retracted positions, the first substrate is spaced apart from and does not overlap the second substrate. |
| US09576831B2 |
Substrate container, a load port apparatus, and a substrate treating apparatus
A substrate container includes a housing, rack members, housing-side support members for supporting ends of substrates, a moving mechanism for moving the substrates, a lid, and lid-side support members for supporting ends of the substrates. The housing-side support members have deepest portions for supporting the ends of the substrates to be immovable upward. In a state where the lid is attached to the housing, the housing-side support members and lid-side support members clamp the ends of the substrates in between, with lower surfaces of the substrates out of contact with the rack members, and the housing-side support members support the ends of the substrates in the deepest portions. When the lid detaches from the housing, the moving mechanism moves the substrates supported in the deepest portions to disengage the ends of the substrates from the deepest portions, and places the substrates in a substantially horizontal position on the rack members. |
| US09576829B1 |
Process liquid supply apparatus operating method, process liquid supply apparatus and non-transitory storage medium
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a process liquid supply apparatus operating method is provided. The method includes filling a filter unit with a process liquid from an upstream side of the filter unit to a downstream side of the filter unit after newly mounting or replacing the filter unit and repeating a depressurization filtering process and a pressurization filtering process for a predetermined number of times. The depressurization filtering process depressurizes the process liquid in the downstream side of the filter unit and thereby allows the process liquid to permeate through the filter unit. The pressurization filtering process pressurizes the process liquid from the upstream side of the filter unit and thereby allows the process liquid to permeate through the filter unit. |
| US09576826B2 |
Systems and methods for controlling wafer-breaker devices
Systems and methods for controlling wafer-breaker devices. In some embodiments, a controller for a semiconductor wafer singulation apparatus can be configured to receive an input signal having information about at least one singulation parameter. The controller can be further configured to generate an output signal based on the input signal to effectuate an operation associated with the singulation parameter. The controller can be further configured to disable manual control of the singulation parameter. In some embodiments, such a controller can be implemented, for example, in a control module, in a kit for modifying an existing singulation apparatus, as an integral part of a singulation apparatus, or any combination thereof. |
| US09576825B2 |
Device for alignment of two substrates
Device and method for alignment of a first contact surface of a first substrate with a second contact surface of a second substrate which can be held on a second platform. The device includes first X-Y positions of first alignment keys located along the first contact surface, and second X-Y positions of second alignment keys which correspond to the first alignment keys and which are located along the second contact surface, wherein the first contact surface can be aligned based on the first X-Y positions in the first alignment position and the second contact surface can be aligned based on the second X-Y positions in the second alignment position. |
| US09576818B2 |
Polishing slurry for cobalt removal
Provided herein are polishing compositions for removal of Co, for example, selectively over Cu, and methods of their use. A polishing composition comprising an abrasive and one or more Co complexors, where the polishing composition has a pH of 9 or more, and the Co complexor comprises one or more of functional groups selected from phosphonic acid (—P(═O)(OH)2) group or carboxyl (—C(═O)OH) group. |
| US09576815B2 |
Gas-phase silicon nitride selective etch
A method of etching silicon nitride on patterned heterogeneous structures is described and includes a gas phase etch using anhydrous vapor-phase HF. The HF may be combined with one or more of several precursors in the substrate processing region and near the substrate to increase the silicon nitride etch rate and/or the silicon nitride selectivity. The silicon nitride etch selectivity is increased most notably when compared with silicon of various forms. No precursors are excited in any plasma either outside or inside the substrate processing region according to embodiments. The HF may be flowed through one set of channels in a dual-channel showerhead while the other precursor is flowed through a second set of channels in the dual-channel showerhead. |
| US09576814B2 |
Method of spacer patterning to form a target integrated circuit pattern
A method of forming a target pattern includes forming a plurality of lines over a substrate with a first mask and forming a first spacer layer over the substrate, over the plurality of lines, and onto sidewalls of the plurality of lines. The plurality of lines is removed, thereby providing a patterned first spacer layer over the substrate. The method further includes forming a second spacer layer over the substrate, over the patterned first spacer layer, and onto sidewalls of the patterned first spacer layer, and forming a patterned material layer over the second spacer layer with a second mask. Whereby, the patterned material layer and the second spacer layer collectively define a plurality of trenches. |
| US09576813B2 |
Method of fabricating semiconductor device
Provided is a method of fabricating a semiconductor device. In the method, a double patterning technology is used to form various patterns with different widths. |
| US09576811B2 |
Integrating atomic scale processes: ALD (atomic layer deposition) and ALE (atomic layer etch)
Methods are provided for integrating atomic layer etch and atomic layer deposition by performing both processes in the same chamber or reactor. Methods involve sequentially alternating between atomic layer etch and atomic layer deposition processes to prevent feature degradation during etch, improve selectivity, and encapsulate sensitive layers of a semiconductor substrate. |
| US09576810B2 |
Process for etching metal using a combination of plasma and solid state sources
An apparatus configured to remove metal etch byproducts from the surface of substrates and from the interior of a substrate processing chamber. A plasma is used in combination with a solid state light source, such as an LED, to desorb metal etch byproducts. The desorbed byproducts may then be removed from the chamber. |
| US09576809B2 |
Etch suppression with germanium
Methods of selectively etching silicon relative to silicon germanium are described. The methods include a remote plasma etch using plasma effluents formed from a fluorine-containing precursor and a hydrogen-containing precursor. Plasma effluents from the remote plasma are flowed into a substrate processing region where the plasma effluents react with the silicon. The plasmas effluents react with exposed surfaces and selectively remove silicon while very slowly removing other exposed materials. The methods are useful for removing Si(1-X)GeX faster than Si(1-Y)GeY, for X |
| US09576808B2 |
Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method
In a substrate processing apparatus, with an internal space of a chamber brought into a pressurized atmosphere, an etching process is performed by continuously supplying a first processing liquid onto an upper surface of a substrate while rotating the substrate. It is thereby possible to suppress vaporization of the first processing liquid on the substrate and further suppress a decrease in the temperature of the substrate due to the heat of vaporization as it goes from a center portion of the substrate toward a peripheral portion thereof as compared with under normal pressure. As a result, it is possible to improve the uniformity in the temperature of the upper surface of the substrate during the etching process using the first processing liquid and improve the uniformity of etching over the entire upper surface of the substrate. |
| US09576806B2 |
FinFET device with vertical silicide on recessed source/drain epitaxy regions
A method of forming a semiconductor device that includes forming a fin structure from a semiconductor substrate, and forming a gate structure on a channel region portion of the fin structure. A source region and a drain region are formed on a source region portion and a drain region portion of the fin structure on opposing sides of the channel portion of the fin structure. At least one sidewall of the source region portion and the drain region portion of the fin structure is exposed. A metal semiconductor alloy is formed on the at least one sidewall of the source region portion and the drain region portion of the fin structure that is exposed. |
| US09576805B2 |
Fortification of charge-storing material in high-K dielectric environments and resulting apparatuses
Memories, systems, and methods for forming memory cells are disclosed. One such memory cell includes a charge storage node that includes nanodots over a tunnel dielectric and a protective film over the nanodots. In another memory cell, the charge storage node includes nanodots that include a ruthenium alloy. Memory cells can include an inter-gate dielectric over the protective film or ruthenium alloy nanodots and a control gate over the inter-gate dielectric. The protective film and ruthenium alloy can be configured to protect at least some of the nanodots from vaporizing during formation of the inter-gate dielectric. |
| US09576803B2 |
Method for tuning metal gate work function before contact formation in fin-shaped field effect transistor manufacturing process
The present invention provides a method for metal gate work function tuning before contact formation in a fin-shaped field effect transistor (FinFET), where in the method comprises the following steps. (S1) providing a substrate having a metal gate structure on a side of the substrate, (S2) forming a titanium nitride (TiN) layer on the side of the substrate, and (S3) performing a gate annealing to tune work function of the metal gate structure. |
| US09576800B2 |
Method of producing epitaxial silicon wafer, epitaxial silicon wafer, and method of producing solid-state image sensing device
Provided is an epitaxial silicon wafer free of epitaxial defects caused by dislocation clusters and COPs with reduced metal contamination achieved by higher gettering capability and a method of producing the epitaxial wafer. A method of producing an epitaxial silicon wafer includes a first step of irradiating a silicon wafer free of dislocation clusters and COPs with cluster ions to form a modifying layer formed from a constituent element of the cluster ions in a surface portion of the silicon wafer; and a second step of forming an epitaxial layer on the modifying layer of the silicon wafer. |
| US09576796B2 |
Semiconductor devices and methods of manufacture thereof
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device may include: forming an opening in an insulating layer to expose a portion of a major surface of a substrate, the substrate comprising a first semiconductor material; forming a protrusion in the opening using a first epitaxial growth process, the protrusion comprising a first portion disposed in the opening and a second portion extending out of the opening, the protrusion comprising a second semiconductor material different from the first semiconductor material; and forming the second semiconductor material on sidewalls of the second portion of the protrusion using a second epitaxial growth process different from the first epitaxial growth process. |
| US09576793B2 |
Semiconductor wafer and method for manufacturing the same
An embodiment of a method for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer includes providing a monocrystalline silicon wafer, epitaxially growing a first layer of a first material on the silicon wafer, and epitaxially growing a second layer of a second material on the first layer. For example, said first material may be monocrystalline silicon carbide, and said second material may be monocrystalline silicon. |
| US09576789B2 |
Apparatus, method, and composition for far edge wafer cleaning
A wafer cleaning apparatus includes a polishing unit used in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of a wafer and a cleaning dispensing unit arranged to direct cleaning fluids toward a far edge of the wafer after the CMP of the wafer. A wafer cleaning method includes CMP of a wafer by a polishing unit and directing cleaning fluids toward a far edge of the wafer after the CMP of the wafer by a cleaning dispensing unit. Another method can include CMP, applying deionized water, and applying pH adjuster having a pH range from about 2 to about 13. |
| US09576787B2 |
Substrate treatment method
A substrate treatment method includes a substrate holding unit which horizontally holds a substrate; a rotating unit which rotates the substrate held by the substrate holding unit about a vertical axis; and a first nozzle having an opposing face to be opposed to a lower surface of the substrate inward of a peripheral portion of the substrate in spaced relation to the lower surface of the substrate during rotation of the substrate by the rotating unit and a treatment liquid spout provided in the opposing face for filling a space defined between the lower surface of the substrate and the opposing face with a treatment liquid spouted from the treatment liquid spout to keep the space in a liquid filled state; wherein the treatment liquid spreads outwardly over the lower surface of the substrate and further, flows around to a peripheral portion of an upper surface of the substrate. |
| US09576784B2 |
Electrical gas-discharge lamp with discharge-coupled active antenna
The present invention relates to an electrical gas-discharge lamp comprising an inner bulb (1) arranged within an outer bulb (2), said inner bulb (1) being filled with a discharge gas and comprising a first electrode (3) and an opposing second electrode (4) having a distance from the first electrode (3) which allows ignition of a gas-discharge by applying an ignition voltage between the electrodes (3, 4). At least one through hole (11) is formed in the feedthrough to the electrically conductive lead (5) to the first electrode (3). An electrically conductive member (10) extents within a space formed between the inner (1) and the outer bulb (2) from a position close to the through hole (11) to a distance from the second electrode (4) which is smaller than the distance between the two electrodes (3,4). When applying the ignition voltage between the electrodes (3,4) an electrically conducting path (12) forms through the through hole (11) between the electrically conductive member (10) and the electrically conductive lead (5) by ionization of the gas in the outer bulb (2). With this transient conductive path the coating (10) forms an active antenna effectively lowering the ignition voltage. The fabrication of the proposed lamp with reduced ignition voltage requires only few additional fabrication steps compared to a lamp without such an ignition aid. |
| US09576782B2 |
Orthogonal acceleration system for time-of-flight mass spectrometer
An orthogonal pulse accelerator for a Time-of-Flight mass analyzer includes an electrically-conductive first plate extending in a first plane, and a second plate spaced from the first plate. The second plate includes a grid that defines a plurality of apertures each having a first dimension extending in a first direction and a second dimension orthogonal to the first dimension, the first and second dimensions lying in the second plane and the second dimension begin larger than the first dimension. The first and second plates are positioned in the Time-of-Flight mass analyzer to receive, during operation of the mass analyzer, an ion beam propagating in the first direction in a region between the first and second plates, and the orthogonal pulse accelerator directs ions in the ion beam through the apertures. |
| US09576781B2 |
Intelligent dynamic range enhancement
A method of mass spectrometry is disclosed comprising transmitting ions and obtaining first mass spectral data and automatically determining during an acquisition whether the first mass spectral data suffers from saturation or is approaching saturation. If a determination is made during an acquisition that the first mass spectral data suffers from saturation or is approaching saturation then the method further comprises automatically changing or altering the intensity of ions which are detected by an ion detector and obtaining second mass spectral data. The method further comprises substituting one or more portions of the first mass spectral data with one or more corresponding portions of the second mass spectral data multiplied or scaled by an attenuation or scale factor and/or by an integer or other value so as to form a composite mass spectrum, wherein the composite mass spectrum comprises one or more ion peaks from the first mass spectral data and one or more ion peaks from the second mass spectral data. |
| US09576774B2 |
Plasma wavguide using step part and block part
In a magnetron and a plasma waveguide through which a microwave oscillated from the magnetron moves, there is provided a plasma waveguide including a plurality of step parts formed at any one side on an inner side surface of the waveguide, and a block part of a predetermined height formed at any other side on the inner side surface of the waveguide, wherein the block part is formed at a side opposite to a boundary part between the plurality of step parts. |
| US09576771B2 |
High energy ion implanter, beam current adjuster, and beam current adjustment method
A beam current adjuster for an ion implanter includes a variable aperture device which is disposed at an ion beam focus point or a vicinity thereof. The variable aperture device is configured to adjust an ion beam width in a direction perpendicular to an ion beam focusing direction at the focus point in order to control an implanting beam current. The variable aperture device may be disposed immediately downstream of a mass analysis slit. The beam current adjuster may be provided with a high energy ion implanter including a high energy multistage linear acceleration unit. |
| US09576769B2 |
Weak signal detection system and electron microscope equipped with same
This weak signal detection system has: a statistical data acquisition unit which measures the average value or distribution of an input signal in which is noise superimposed on a desired signal, calculates parameters such as the amplitude or noise dispersion of the desired signal, and outputs the calculated data obtained thereby; a nonlinear characteristic unit which outputs a signal having a nonlinear response with respect to the magnitude of the voltage or the current of the input signal; a signal detection ratio evaluation unit which determines whether the output signal from the nonlinear characteristic unit is the desired signal, calculates the detection ratio in the event that the signal is the desired signal, and outputs detection ratio data; a parameter adjustment unit which, on the basis of detection ratio data obtained by the signal detection ratio evaluation unit and calculated data obtained by the statistical data acquisition unit, adjusts a control parameter pertaining to the responsiveness of the nonlinear characteristic unit; and a signal processing unit which performs signal processing of the output signal of the nonlinear characteristic unit, and conversion to digital data or image data. In so doing, it is possible to provide a weak signal detection system having improved signal detection accuracy, and an electron microscope equipped with the system. |
| US09576768B2 |
Multipole lens and charged particle beam system
A multipole lens is provided which is for use in electron microscopy and which is simple in structure but capable of producing X- and Y-components of a quadrupole field and X- and Y-components of an octopole field. The multipole lens (100) comprises: first through twelfth polar elements (10-1 to 10-12); first through sixteenth coils (20-1 to 20-16); a first power supply (30-1) for supplying currents to the coils (20-1, 20-4, 20-9, 20-12); a second power supply (30-2) for supplying currents to the coils (20-3, 20-5, 20-11, 20-13); a third power supply (30-3) for supplying excitation currents to the coils (20-6, 20-8, 20-14, 20-16); and a fourth power supply (30-4) for supplying excitation currents to the coils (20-2, 20-7, 20-10, 20-15). The coils (20-1, 20-3, 20-6, 20-7, 20-9, 20-11, 20-14, 20-15) produce magnetic fields in a first direction. The coils (20-2, 20-4, 20-5, 20-8, 20-10, 20-12, 20-13, 20-16) produce magnetic fields in a direction opposite to the first direction. |
| US09576758B2 |
Portable single-phase air bypass switch for live power distribution network
The present invention provides a portable single-phase air bypass switch for live power distribution network, including a housing member, a positioning member, a conductive circuit member, a clutch member, a switch-closing member and a switch-opening member. The positioning member includes a positioning nut, positioning frames, and a positioning column. The conductive circuit member includes a conductive end cover, an upper conductive rod, a pressing sleeve, a coupling nut, a conductive sleeve pipe, a stationary contact, a movable contact, and a lower conductive rod. The switch-closing member includes a switch-closing energy-storage rod, a switch-closing energy-storage ring, a switch-closing spring, a switch-closing positioning pin, a switch-closing release ring, and an inner sleeve pipe. The switch-opening member includes a small shaft, a switch-opening spring, a stopping block, a switch-opening energy-storage shaft, a connection rod, a switch-opening energy-storage pressing head, a switch-opening positioning pin, and a switch-opening release ring. |
| US09576748B2 |
Electricity storage device and method for manufacturing same
An electricity storage device includes an electricity storage element formed by winding an electrode body of an anode or cathode side along with a separator, an electrode leading section having an inclined edge is formed on an element end-face of the electricity storage element by a part of the electrode body. |
| US09576745B2 |
Method to enhance the efficiency of dye sensitized and perovskite solar cell
The present disclosure relates to a method to enhance the efficiency and reduce interfacial charge transfer resistance in dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and a perovskite solar cell (PSC) by fabricating with Mg and La doped photoanodes. Mg and La co-doped into TiO2 has shown more than 20% efficiency than pristine TiO2 and more than 5% higher efficiency than the single doping of 1% La and Mg in TiO2 cells. Thus, the present disclosure relates to an improved photoanode material to be used in solar cells. |
| US09576744B2 |
Solid electrolytic capacitor
A solid electrolytic capacitor comprising a capacitor element including a positive electrode which contains tantalum as a principal component and is composed of a porous sintered body, a positive electrode lead which contains niobium as a principal component and has a first end part embedded in the positive electrode and a second end part extending from the positive electrode, a dielectric layer which is disposed on a surface of the positive electrode and a part of a surface of the positive electrode lead, and a negative electrode layer disposed on the dielectric layer; an positive electrode terminal electrically connected to the second end part of the positive electrode lead; a negative electrode terminal electrically connected to the negative electrode layer; and a resin outer body covering the surfaces of the capacitor element, a part of the positive electrode terminal and a part of the negative electrode terminal, wherein a linear expansion coefficient of the resin outer body is larger than all of linear expansion coefficients of the positive electrode, the positive electrode lead, the positive electrode terminal, and the negative electrode terminal. |
| US09576741B2 |
Solid electrolytic capacitor and production method thereof
The present invention relates to a solid electrolytic capacitor and a production method thereof.A solid electrolytic capacitor of the present invention includes: a capacitor element having an anode wire inserted in one side surface thereof; a cathode terminal disposed on one side under the capacitor element to be electrically connected to the capacitor element; an anode terminal disposed on the other side under the capacitor element and having a bending portion integrally formed to be inclined to the capacitor element for electrical connection with the anode wire; and a molding portion surrounding the outside of the capacitor element and formed to expose lower surfaces of the cathode terminal and the anode terminal. |
| US09576739B2 |
Metal oxide-carbonaceous hybrid thin film and preparing method thereof
The present disclosure relates to a metal oxide-carbonaceous hybrid thin film, a preparing method of the metal oxide-carbonaceous hybrid thin film, and a dye-sensitized solar cell using a photoelectrode including the metal oxide-carbonaceous hybrid thin film. |
| US09576738B2 |
Tunable MEMS capacitor
A capacitive MEMS structure comprising first and second opposing capacitor electrode arrangements, wherein at least one of the electrode arrangements is movable, and a dielectric material located adjacent to the second electrode arrangement, wherein the second electrode arrangement is patterned such that it includes electrode areas and spaces adjacent to the electrode areas, and wherein the dielectric material extends at least partially in or over the spaces. |
| US09576733B2 |
Electronic component
An electronic component includes a capacitor having a desired capacitance value and a laminate including a plurality of laminated insulating material layers. Land electrodes are provided on a bottom surface of the laminate. Internal conductors face the land electrodes, respectively, across the insulating material layer within the laminate, have areas larger than those of the land electrodes, respectively, and contain the land electrodes, respectively, when seen in a planar view from a z-axis direction. A capacitor conductor is provided on the positive direction side of the capacitor conductors in the z-axis direction and faces the capacitor conductors. |
| US09576728B2 |
Laminated chip electronic component, board for mounting the same, and packing unit thereof
A laminated chip electronic component includes: a ceramic body including internal electrodes and dielectric layers; external electrodes formed to cover both end portions of the ceramic body in a length direction; an active layer in which the internal electrodes are disposed in an opposing manner, while having the dielectric layers interposed therebetween, to form capacitance; and upper and lower cover layers formed on upper and lower portions of the active layer in a thickness direction, the lower cover layer having a thickness greater than that of the upper cover layer. |
| US09576723B2 |
Insulating support flange for current loop system
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for isolating a current loop conductor of a current loop system of a pre-charge circuit from a plurality of current transformers disposed around the current loop conductor. In particular, the embodiments described herein include an insulating support flange having a first tubular section, a second tubular section radially disposed around the first tubular section and connected to the first tubular section via a solid annular section extending radially outward from the first tubular section to a first end of the second tubular section, an annular base extending radially outward from a second end of the second tubular section, and a plurality of prongs extending axially from or near to an outer circumference of the annular base, wherein each of the prongs comprises an end face that is angled toward the second tubular section. The insulating support flanges are configured to mate with each other along an axial direction of the current loop conductor. In addition, each of the plurality of current transformers is installed (i.e., held in place) between the prongs, annular base, and second annular section of its respective insulating support flange. As such, a fixed open air space between the first and second annular sections of the insulating support flanges isolates the current transformers from the current loop conductor, thereby reducing the possibility of discharge between the current transformers and the current loop conductor. |
| US09576722B2 |
Electronic component and manufacturing method thereof
A coil component 1 includes a thin-film coil layer including spiral conductors and bump electrodes 12a to 12d formed on a surface of the thin-film coil layer. The thin-film coil layer includes internal terminal electrodes 24a to 24d connected respectively to corresponding one ends of the spiral conductors, and a fourth insulating layer 15d covering the internal terminal electrode 24a to 24d and having openings ha to hd. Both a top surface TS and a side surface SS of each of the internal terminal electrodes 24a to 24d are exposed through the corresponding opening. The bump electrodes 12a to 12d are each brought into contact with both the top surface TS and side surface SS of each of the internal terminal electrodes 24a to 24d in the corresponding opening. |
| US09576718B2 |
Inductor structure in a semiconductor device
An inductor structure includes a first set of traces corresponding to a first layer of an inductor, a second set of traces corresponding to a second layer of the inductor, and a third set of traces corresponding to a third layer of the inductor that is positioned between the first layer and the second layer. The first set of traces includes a first trace and a second trace that is parallel to the first trace. A dimension of the first trace is different from a corresponding dimension of the second trace. The second set of traces is coupled to the first set of traces. The second set of traces includes a third trace that is coupled to the first trace and to the second trace. The third set of traces is coupled to the first set of traces. |
| US09576713B2 |
Variable reluctance transducers
An example variable reluctance device includes a load structure connected to an armature through a connecting arm. The armature is positioned between two oppositely oriented core structures. A structural frame secures the core structures in a fixed position, forming gap regions between the core structures and the armature, forming a magnetic circuit. The armature is resiliently centered between the core structures by a spring, such that the gaps and are approximately equal in width when the armature is at rest. The device further includes a magnetic substance within the gaps that is compressed or stretched to allow movement of the armature. |
| US09576712B2 |
Magnetic circuit for magnetic field generator
A magnetic circuit that forms an arc-shaped magnetic field space is provided. Of two magnets constituting a first magnetic circuit 10, a first magnetic pole 1 is provided with a first yoke 11 that is arc-shaped in planar view, a first magnet 13 that is arc-shaped in planar view and a magnetic pole piece 15. On the other hand, a second magnetic pole 2 is provided with a second yoke 21 that is arc-shaped in planar view, a second magnet 23 that is arc-shaped in planar view and a magnetic pole piece 25. The first magnetic pole piece 15 and the second magnetic pole piece 25 are disposed so as to be opposed to each other while being separated from each other. The first magnet 13 and the second magnet 23 are formed by arranging a plurality of small magnets. |
| US09576708B2 |
Apparatus for replacing insulators on energized power lines
Apparatus for replacing a suspension insulator on a tower having a davit arm supporting an attached insulator and a conductor shoe attaching an energized conductor to the insulator lower end including a non-conductive board longer than and mounted to the tower below the davit arm, struts extending between the board and the tower, and a movable slider mounted on the board, the slider supporting a jack and a conductor lifting bar attached to the jack. Without contacting any energized components, a lineman moves the slider and operates the jack to lift and support the energized components, detaches the shoe from the insulator, moves the energized components to a remote position on the board, detaches and replaces the insulator while it is supported by a helicopter, moves the slider and operates the jack to lift the shoe into alignment with the insulator and attaches the shoe to the insulator. |
| US09576707B2 |
Conductive thin film and transparent electrode including graphene oxide and carbon nanotube, and methods of producing the same
A conductive thin film, a transparent electrode, and methods of producing the same are provided. A method for preparing a conductive thin film may involve forming a layer of reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotube on a substrate using a reducing agent containing a halogen atom. |
| US09576706B2 |
Method for preparing carbon nano material/polymer composites
Disclosed is a method for preparing a carbon nanomaterial/polymer composite. More particularly, it relates to an improved method for preparing a carbon nanomaterial/polymer composite capable of solving a dust problem of a carbon nanomaterial powder and a layer separation problem due to large density difference between the carbon nanomaterial powder and a polymer pellet and providing superior physical properties of the composite, whereby an additive used to prepare the carbon nanomaterial/polymer composite is mixed with the carbon nanomaterial powder and prepared into a pellet, which is then mixed with the polymer pellet. |
| US09576705B2 |
Sleeve support module for transmission line
There is provided a support module of a sleeve for a transmission line, which is inserted into a part of a plurality of accommodation spaces formed at a flexible sleeve for a transmission line to prevent the sleeve for a transmission line from being slack, including a flexible flat plate; a plurality of bases fixed to the flat plate so as to be arranged in a longitudinal direction of the flat plate; a plurality of slack-preventing blocks that is connected to the bases to be positioned at a top of the flat plate and prevents the flat plate from being slack by coming in contact with each other; and a plurality of bending-degree restricting blocks that is connected to the bases and the slack-preventing blocks to be positioned a bottom of the flat plate and restricts a bending degree of the flat plate by coming in contact with each other. |
| US09576703B2 |
Energy cable having stabilized dielectric resistance
A cable includes at least one electrical conductor and at least one electrically insulating layer surrounding the electrical conductor, wherein the at least one electrically insulating layer includes: (a) a thermoplastic polymer material selected from: at least one copolymer (i) of propylene with at least one olefin comonomer selected from ethylene and an a-olefin other than propylene, the copolymer having a melting point greater than or equal to 130° C. and a melting enthalpy of 20 J/g to 90 J/g; a blend of at least one copolymer (i) with at least one copolymer (ii) of ethylene with at least one α-olefin, the copolymer (ii) having a melting enthalpy of 0 J/g to 70 J/g; a blend of at least one propylene homopolymer with at least one copolymer (i) or copolymer (ii); at least one of copolymer (i) and copolymer (ii) being a heterophasic copolymer; (b) at least one dielectric fluid intimately admixed with the thermoplastic polymer material; and (c) at least one water tree retardant selected from ethoxylated fatty acids and amide derivatives thereof. |
| US09576692B2 |
Method and device for producing 99mTc
A method for producing 99mTc may include: providing a solution comprising 100Mo-molybdate-ions; providing a proton beam having an energy suitable for inducing a 100Mo(p,2n)99mTc-nuclear reaction when exposing 100Mo-molybdate-ions; exposing the solution to the proton beams and inducing a 100Mo(p,2n)99mTc-nuclear reaction; and applying an extraction method for extracting the 99mTc from the solution. Further, a device for producing 99mTc may include: a solution with 100Mo-molybdate-ions; an accelerator for providing a proton beam with energy which is suitable for inducing a 100Mo(p,2n)99mTc-nuclear reaction when exposing 100Mo-molybdate-ions, for exposing the solution and for inducing a 100Mo(p,2n)99mTc-nuclear reaction; and an extraction step for extracting 99mTc from the solution. |
| US09576686B2 |
Reactor coolant pump system including turbo pumps supplied by a manifold plenum chamber
A nuclear reactor includes a nuclear core comprising a fissile material, and a pressure vessel containing the nuclear core immersed in primary coolant water. Turbo pumps disposed in the pressure vessel provide active circulation of primary coolant water in the pressure vessel. Each turbo pump includes a turbine driving an impeller. A manifold plenum chamber is disposed in the pressure vessel, and is in fluid communication with inlets of the turbines of the turbo pumps. An electrically driven pump operatively connected with the manifold plenum chamber to pressurize the manifold plenum chamber with primary coolant water. The turbo pumps may be disposed in openings passing through the manifold plenum chamber. The pressure vessel may be vertically oriented and cylindrical, with a cylindrical riser oriented coaxially inside, and the manifold plenum chamber may be annular and disposed in a downcomer annulus defined between the cylindrical riser and the cylindrical pressure vessel. |
| US09576685B2 |
Fuel bundle for a liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor
In one embodiment, the fuel bundle for a liquid metal cooled reactor includes a channel, a nose assembly secured to a lower end of the channel, and a plurality of fuel rods disposed within the channel. At least one of the fuel rods has at least one guard ring surround the fuel rod and spacing the fuel rod from adjacent fuel rods. |
| US09576683B2 |
Systems and methods for hard error reduction in a solid state memory device
Systems and method relating generally to solid state memory, and more particularly to systems and methods for reducing errors in a solid state memory. |
| US09576682B2 |
Traffic and temperature based memory testing
The method may include accessing, with a first stress test, a plurality of memory modules, the plurality of memory modules coupled in a computer system, the plurality of memory modules including a first module having a first memory characteristic and a second module having a second memory characteristic. The method may include determining for the first module, a first traffic-to-temperature parameter, and determining that the first module was sufficiently stressed in response to determining that the first traffic-to-temperature parameter is within a first traffic-to-temperature range. The method may also include determining, for the second module, a second traffic-to-temperature parameter, and determining that the second module was sufficiently stressed in response to determining that the second traffic-to-temperature parameter is within a second traffic-to-temperature range. |
| US09576680B1 |
Semiconductor devices
A semiconductor device may be provided. The semiconductor device may include a failure information generation circuit configured to generate first failure information. The semiconductor device may include a first latch data generation circuit configured to include the first failure information into first latch data of a first block and configured to output the first latch data including the first failure information. The semiconductor device may include a data synthesis circuit configured to generate first synthesis data. |
| US09576677B2 |
Scan driving circuit
A scan driving circuit is disclosed, and the scan driving circuit has a pull-up control module, a pull-up module, a pull-down module, a pull-down maintaining module, a down-stream module and a bootstrap capacitor; when the pull-up control module generates a scan level signal, the pull-up control module and the pull-down maintaining module use a constant high-level voltage to avoid an electrical leakage phenomenon; and the pull down module uses a present-level scan signal to avoid the electrical leakage phenomenon. Thus, the electrical leakage phenomenon can be efficiently avoided. |
| US09576672B2 |
Non-volatile memory device and related method of operation
A nonvolatile memory device comprises a cell array connected to a plurality of bit lines in an all bit line structure, a page buffer circuit connected to the plurality of bit lines, and control logic configured to control the page buffer circuit. The control logic controls the page buffer circuit to sense memory cells corresponding to both even-numbered and odd-numbered columns of a selected page in a first read mode and to sense memory cells corresponding to one of the even-numbered and odd-numbered columns of the selected page in a second read mode. A sensing operation is performed at least twice in the first read mode and once in the second read mode. |
| US09576666B2 |
Non-volatile memory device, operating method thereof, memory system including the non-volatile memory device, and operating method of the memory system
An operating method of a non-volatile memory device having a string including a plurality of memory cells and a plurality of auxiliary cells, the plurality of memory cells and the plurality of auxiliary cells being connected in series, includes detecting a threshold voltage of at least one of the plurality of auxiliary cells and generating an output signal corresponding to a deterioration level of the plurality of memory cells, based on the threshold voltage. |
| US09576665B2 |
Semiconductor memory device and memory system
A semiconductor memory device includes: a first string unit including first and second memory cell transistors; a second string unit including third and fourth memory cell transistors; a first word line coupled to gates of the first and third memory cell transistors; and a second word line coupled to gates of the second and fourth memory cell transistors. When the first string unit is selected and the first word line is selected, a first voltage is applied. The first voltage is larger than an initial value of the voltage in the step-up operation. |
| US09576664B2 |
Three dimensional semiconductor memory device
A semiconductor memory device may include a string including at least one drain select transistor, a plurality of first memory cells, a first connection element, a plurality of second memory cells, a second connection element, a plurality of third memory cells, and at least one source select transistor, wherein the at least one drain select transistor, the plurality of first memory cells, the plurality of second memory cells, the plurality of third memory cells, and the at least one source select transistor connected serially via the first connection element and the second connection element. |
| US09576662B2 |
Phase change memory in a dual inline memory module
Subject matter disclosed herein relates to management of a memory device. |
| US09576661B2 |
Systems and methods for SRAM with backup non-volatile memory that includes MTJ resistive elements
A memory device has an SRAM that stores a logic state. A first MTJ has two terminals. A second one of the terminals is coupled to a storing node. A first terminal of a second MTJ is coupled to the storing node. The first and second MTJs are programmed to a first resistance by flowing current from the first second terminals and to a second resistance by flowing current from the second to first terminal. A storing circuit is coupled to the storing node, the SRAM cell, and a non-volatile word line. The storing circuit couples the logic state of the SRAM cell to the storing node during a store mode. The logic state of the SRAM cell is stored in the first and second MTJs by applying a storing voltage between the first terminal of the first MTJ and the second terminal of the second MTJ of a first polarity then a second polarity. |
| US09576660B2 |
Low forming voltage non-volatile storage device
A three-dimensional array of memory elements that reversibly change a level of electrical conductance in response to a voltage difference being applied across them. The memory elements can be set to a low resistance state and reset to a high resistance state during standard operation by biasing appropriate voltages on the word lines and bit lines. Prior to standard operation, the memory elements undergo a forming operation, during which current through the bit lines is limited. A forming voltage is applied to the memory elements during forming with a polarity such that a higher voltage is applied to anodes and a lower voltage to cathodes. |
| US09576659B2 |
Apparatuses and methods including memory access in cross point memory
Some embodiments include apparatuses and methods having a memory cell, first and second conductive lines configured to access the memory cell, and a switch configured to apply a signal to one of the first and second conductive lines. In at least one of such embodiments, the switch can include a phase change material. Other embodiments including additional apparatuses and methods are described. |
| US09576654B2 |
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. |
| US09576653B1 |
Fast sense amplifier with bit-line pre-charging
A bit-line of a resistive memory cell includes a reference branch including a reference resistor having a predetermined value and a cell branch including an adjustable memory resistor having a variable value. The reference branch generates a reference current based on the predetermined value of the reference resistor and the cell branch generates a cell branch current based on a selected value of the adjustable memory resistor. A sense amplifier has a first input coupled to the reference branch and a second input coupled to the cell branch. A first pre-charge transistor is coupled to a first pre-charge voltage and the cell branch. The first pre-charge transistor is configured to pre-charge the cell branch to the first pre-charge voltage prior to a read operation. |
| US09576651B2 |
RRAM and method of read operation for RRAM
According to one embodiment, a method of RRAM operations is provided. The method includes the following operations: providing a first voltage difference across a resistor of the RRAM during a read operation; and providing a second voltage difference across the resistor of the RRAM during a reset operation, wherein the first voltage difference has the same polarity as the second voltage difference. |
| US09576647B2 |
Parallel programming of nonvolatile memory cells
Adaptive write operations for non-volatile memories select programming parameters according to monitored programming performance of individual memory cells. In one embodiment of the invention, programming voltage for a memory cell increases by an amount that depends on the time required to reach a predetermined voltage and then a jump in the programming voltage is added to the programming voltage required to reach the next predetermined voltage. The adaptive programming method is applied to the gate voltage of memory cells; alternatively, it can be applied to the drain voltage of memory cells along a common word line. A circuit combines the function of a program switch and drain voltage regulator, allowing independent control of drain voltage of selected memory cells for parallel and adaptive programming. Verify and adaptive read operations use variable word line voltages to provide optimal biasing of memory and reference cells during sensing. |
| US09576643B2 |
Array power supply-based screening of static random access memory cells for bias temperature instability
A method of screening complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor CMOS integrated circuits, such as integrated circuits including CMOS static random access memory (SRAM) cells, for transistors susceptible to transistor characteristic shifts over operating time. For the example of SRAM cells formed of cross-coupled CMOS inverters, separate ground voltage levels can be applied to the source nodes of the driver transistors, or separate power supply voltage levels can be applied to the source nodes of the load transistors (or both). Asymmetric bias voltages applied to the transistors in this manner will reduce the transistor drive current, and can thus mimic the effects of bias temperature instability (BTI). Cells that are vulnerable to threshold voltage shift over time can thus be identified. |
| US09576642B2 |
Memory device with dynamically operated reference circuits
This invention concerns a semiconductor memory device comprising: at least one sense amplifier circuit for reading data sensed from selected memory cells in a memory array,—at least one reference circuit, each reference circuit being a replica of the sense amplifier circuit and having an output through which the reference circuit delivers an output physical quantity, a regulation network providing a regulation signal to each sense amplifier circuit and each reference circuit, wherein the regulation signal is derived from an averaging of the output physical quantity over time and/or space, wherein the regulation network comprises a control unit configured to sum up the physical quantities of each output of the reference circuit and a target mean value, the control unit delivering a regulation signal based on the sum, the regulation signal being fed in to each regular sense amplifier circuit and to each reference circuit. |
| US09576639B2 |
Method for controlling a semiconductor device having CAL latency function
One semiconductor device includes a command receiver receiving the command signal to generate a first internal command signal, and a latency control circuit activating a second internal chip select signal after elapse of first cycles of a clock signal since a first internal chip select signal is activated. The latency control circuit activates a second control signal when the chip select signal is maintained in an inactive state during second cycles of the clock signal that is larger than the first cycles. The command receiver is activated based on a first control signal. The first control signal is activated in response to the first internal chip select signal. The first control signal is deactivated in response to the second control signal. |
| US09576638B2 |
Information processing apparatus, control method for the same, program for the same, and storage medium
An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention acquires temperature information for each of a plurality of memories in a wide IO memory device, and when execution of a job is instructed, decides on a memory having a lower temperature as the memory to be used by a functional module that corresponds to a function, based on the memory size to be used by the functional module that corresponds to the function, and on the acquired temperature information for the memories. |
| US09576637B1 |
Fine granularity refresh
A data processing system includes a memory channel and a data processor coupled to the memory channel. The data processor is adapted to access at least one rank and has refresh logic. In response to an activation of the refresh logic, the data processor generates refresh cycles to a bank of the memory channel. The data processor selects one of a first state corresponding to a first auto-refresh command that causes the data processor to auto-refresh the bank, and a second state corresponding to a second auto-refresh command that causes the data processor to auto-refresh a selected subset of the bank. The data processor initiates a switch between the first state and the second state in response to the refresh logic detecting a first condition related to the bank, and between the second state and the first state in response to the refresh logic circuit detecting a second condition. |
| US09576633B2 |
Method and system for programming magnetic junctions utilizing high frequency magnetic oscillations
A magnetic memory and methods for providing and programming the magnetic memory are described. The memory includes storage cells, magnetic oscillator(s) and bit lines. Each storage cell includes magnetic junction(s) having a free layer, a reference layer, and a nonmagnetic spacer layer between reference and free layers. The free layer is switchable between stable magnetic states when a write current is passed through the magnetic junction. The free layer has a first magnetic anisotropy at room temperature and a second magnetic anisotropy at a minimum switching temperature due to at least the write current. The second magnetic anisotropy is not more than ninety percent of the first magnetic anisotropy. The first and second magnetic anisotropies correspond to first and second ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) frequencies. The magnetic oscillator(s) have a frequency range. The first FMR frequency is outside of the frequency range. The second FMR frequency is within the frequency range. |
| US09576631B2 |
Spin hall effect magnetic apparatus, method and applications
An ST-MRAM structure, a method for fabricating the ST-MRAM structure and a method for operating an ST-MRAM device that results from the ST-MRAM structure each utilize a spin Hall effect base layer that contacts a magnetic free layer and effects a magnetic moment switching within the magnetic free layer as a result of a lateral switching current within the spin Hall effect base layer. This resulting ST-MRAM device uses an independent sense current and sense voltage through a magnetoresistive stack that includes a pinned layer, a non-magnetic spacer layer and the magnetic free layer which contacts the spin Hall effect base layer. Desirable non-magnetic conductor materials for the spin Hall effect base layer include certain types of tantalum materials and tungsten materials that have a spin diffusion length no greater than about five times the thickness of the spin Hall effect base layer and a spin Hall angle at least about 0.05. |
| US09576630B2 |
Memory devices and methods having multiple address accesses in same cycle
A memory device can include a plurality of banks, each bank including memory locations accessible by different access circuits; at least a first address port configured to receive addresses on falling and rising edges of a timing clock, each address corresponding to locations in different banks; and at least two read/write data ports configured to receive write data for storage in one of the banks, and output read data from one of the banks. |
| US09576625B1 |
Register initialization using multi-pass configuration
A method includes clearing configuration bits of a plurality of latches of an integrated circuit. The method also includes implementing an initialization routing pattern of the plurality of latches by configuring the configuration bits of the plurality of latches. The method further includes storing initialization data in a set of the plurality of latches based on the initialization routing pattern. The method includes clearing the configurations bit of the plurality of latches, wherein the initialization data remains stored in the set of the plurality of latches. The method also includes implementing a user-designed routing pattern of the plurality of latches by configuring the configuration bits of the plurality of latches. |
| US09576624B2 |
Multi-dimentional data randomization
The disclosed technology provides for multi-dimensional data randomization in a memory cell array using circular shifts of an initial scrambling sequence. Data addressed to a first row of a data array is randomized using the initial scrambling sequence and data addressed to each row of the memory cell array is randomized using a scrambling sequence that is equal to a circular shift of the initial sequence. |
| US09576619B2 |
Shiftable memory supporting atomic operation
A shiftable memory supporting atomic operation employs built-in shifting capability to shift a contiguous subset of data from a first location to a second location within memory during an atomic operation. The shiftable memory includes the memory to store data. The memory has the built-in shifting capability. The shiftable memory further includes an atomic primitive defined on the memory to operate on the contiguous subset. |
| US09576615B1 |
Memory module with power management system and method of operation thereof
A memory module with power management system, and a method of operation of a memory module with power management system thereof, including: a base power plane; a power management circuit electrically connected to the base power plane; a managed power plane electrically connected to the base power plane only through the power management circuit; and a memory array electrically connected to the managed power plane. |
| US09576612B2 |
Nonvolatile memory device
A nonvolatile memory device includes a first memory block connected to first word lines, a second memory block arranged in a direction perpendicular to the first memory block and is connected to second word lines, first pass transistors for enabling the first word lines, and second pass transistors for enabling the second word lines. The first and second pass transistors are arranged in a horizontal direction with respect to the first and second memory blocks. |
| US09576610B2 |
Systems and methods of detecting significant faces in video streams
Systems and methods of processing video streams are described. A face is detected in a video stream. The face is tracked to determine a video clip associated with one of a plurality of individuals. The video segment is assigned to a group of video clips based on the associated individual. A significant face is detected in the group of video clips when the detected face meets one or more significance criteria. The significance criteria describes a face-frame characteristic. A representation of the significant face is displayed in association with a representation of the group of video clips. The order of the significance criteria is adjusted through a user interface. |
| US09576609B2 |
Subtitle processing device and associated method and subtitle parsing method
A subtitle processing method includes a subtitle parsing step and a subtitle reading step. The subtitle parsing step includes: dividing a subtitle file into a plurality of subtitle blocks, each of the subtitle blocks including a plurality of subtitle contents, each of the subtitle contents corresponding to a subtitle time; generating an index table that records characteristic times of the subtitle blocks. The subtitle reading step, for reading a target subtitle content corresponding to a current time, includes: identifying a target subtitle block corresponding to the current time and the characteristic times recorded in the index table; and reading the target subtitle content of the target subtitle block according to the current time. |
| US09576608B2 |
Techniques for indexing video files
In one embodiment, an apparatus may include a processor circuit and a keyframe indexing module that is operative on the processor circuit to map sensor data from a first sensor to a set of video data, where the sensor data and video data correspond to an event. The keyframe indexing module may be further operative on the processor circuit to identify one or more key portions of the set of sensor data, index the one or more key portions to respective mapped one or more video frames of the video data, and generate a first keyframe index to identify the one or more video frames. |
| US09576604B1 |
Magnetic disk device and write control method
A magnetic disk device according to an embodiment includes a disk including a plurality of tracks, a head configured to write and read data to and from the disk, and a controller configured to control an off-track of the head, which occurs when data is written to one track included in the plurality of tracks, within an allowable range of an amount of the off-track, which is set based on a count value of at least another track other than the one track. |
| US09576601B2 |
Flexure of disk drive suspension
A flexure of a disk drive suspension with a magnetic head having first and second elements. The flexure includes a metal base, a conductive circuit along the metal base, and a tail pad in a flexure tail of the flexure. The tail pad includes first and second frames with an opening therebetween; a first pair of tail terminals arranged between and insulated from the first and second frames, connected to the first element; a second pair of tail terminals arranged between and insulated from the first and second frames, connected to the second element; and a third pair of tail terminals arranged between and insulated from the first and second frames, connected to a third element. First, second and third bridge elements of the metal base are arranged between first tail terminals, second tail terminals, and third tail terminals, respectively. A first bridge-free opening portion is between the first and second tail terminals, and a second bridge-free opening portion is between the first and third tail terminals. |
| US09576600B2 |
Flexure of disk drive suspension
A tail pad portion is provided in a flexure tail including a metal base and a conductive circuit portion. Tail terminals are arranged in the tail pad portion. The metal base is made of stainless steel, and includes a frame structure having a first frame and a second frame. An opening is formed between the first and second frames. The tail terminals are arranged parallel to each other between the first and second frames. A bridge portion is provided between the first and second frames. The bridge portion is constituted of at least one conductive bridge member, and arranged at a position which does not overlap the tail terminals. One end of the bridge member is connected to the first frame, and the other end of the bridge member is connected to the second frame. |
| US09576599B1 |
Monitoring head wear
A method, executed by a computer, for monitoring head wear includes reading from a cartridge a high frequency pattern and a low frequency pattern, determining a first read amplitude corresponding to the high frequency pattern and a second read amplitude corresponding to the low frequency pattern, and determining a head wear metric according to the first read amplitude and the second read amplitude. A computer program product and computer system corresponding to the above method are also disclosed herein. |
| US09576597B2 |
Disk drive sensor selection
Implementations described and claimed herein includes a method comprising selecting a zone of one or more tracks on a disk drive having a plurality of magnetic sensors on a transducer head, determining a performance matrix related to the selected track zone, and selecting a first subset and a second subset of the plurality of magnetic sensors based on the determined performance matrix, wherein only the first subset of the plurality of magnetic sensors are used for data recovery in the selected track zone, and the second subset of the plurality of magnetic sensors are used for servo recovery. |
| US09576595B1 |
Transfer printing an epitaxial layer to a read/write head to form an integral laser
A mounting surface of a read/write head is prepared to receive an epitaxial layer. The mounting surface is proximate a waveguide of the read/write head, and the waveguide is configured to receive an optical output from the epitaxial layer. The epitaxial layer is transfer printed on to the mounting surface. The mounting surface maintains a vertical alignment between the optical output and the waveguide. The epitaxial layer is processed to form a laser integrated with the read/write head. |
| US09576593B2 |
Automated verbal fluency assessment
Techniques are described for calculating one or more verbal fluency scores for a person. An example method includes classifying, by a computing device, samples of audio data of speech of a person, based on amplitudes of the samples, into a first class of samples including speech or sound and a second class of samples including silence. The method further includes analyzing the first class of samples to determine a number of words spoken by the person, and calculating a verbal fluency score for the person based at least in part on the determined number of words spoken by the person. |
| US09576591B2 |
Electronic apparatus and control method of the same
An electronic apparatus includes a voice acquirer which receives a first voice, a voice processor which processes a voice signal, a communication unit which communicates with at least one external electronic apparatus and receives information on at least one second voice, and a controller which determines whether the first voice is a user's command based on the information on at least one second voice transmitted by the communication unit, and if the first voice is not the user's command, does not perform an operation according to the first voice. |
| US09576584B2 |
System for perceived enhancement and restoration of compressed audio signals
A system for processing compressed audio includes a signal enhancer module configured to generate one or more signal treatments. The one or more signal treatments may be generated by the signal enhancer module based on analysis of the incoming audio signal. Alternatively, or in addition, characteristics of the incoming audio signal may be provided to the signal enhancer module for use in generating the one or more signal treatments. The one or more signal treatments may be added to file audio signals. |
| US09576582B2 |
System and method for adapting automatic speech recognition pronunciation by acoustic model restructuring
Disclosed herein are systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer-readable storage media for recognizing speech by adapting automatic speech recognition pronunciation by acoustic model restructuring. The method identifies an acoustic model and a matching pronouncing dictionary trained on typical native speech in a target dialect. The method collects speech from a new speaker resulting in collected speech and transcribes the collected speech to generate a lattice of plausible phonemes. Then the method creates a custom speech model for representing each phoneme used in the pronouncing dictionary by a weighted sum of acoustic models for all the plausible phonemes, wherein the pronouncing dictionary does not change, but the model of the acoustic space for each phoneme in the dictionary becomes a weighted sum of the acoustic models of phonemes of the typical native speech. Finally the method includes recognizing via a processor additional speech from the target speaker using the custom speech model. |
| US09576577B2 |
Systems and methods for transcription transfer
Included are systems and methods for transcription transfer. In some embodiments a method includes receiving text data in an electronic format, determining a header in the text data, and in response to determining the header in the text data, determining a segment associated with the header. Some embodiments may include providing a dialog box associated with the text data, where the dialog box includes a first option for inserting the segment into a user interface provided by a destination application, receiving a user selection of the first option, and inserting the segment into a predetermined portion of the user interface provided by the destination application. |
| US09576576B2 |
Answering questions using environmental context
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for receiving audio data encoding an utterance and environmental data, obtaining a transcription of the utterance, identifying an entity using the environmental data, submitting a query to a natural language query processing engine, wherein the query includes at least a portion of the transcription and data that identifies the entity, and obtaining one or more results of the query. |
| US09576575B2 |
Providing voice recognition shortcuts based on user verbal input
A method for determining a voice command shortcut includes receiving a first voice command providing instructions for performing a particular task and a second voice command providing additional instructions for performing the same task. The voice command shortcut may be used in place of the first and second voice commands, which are typically submitted in response to system prompts. The availability of a voice command shortcut is determined based on the first and second voice commands. If a voice command shortcut is available, an audible and/or visual notification may be provided to inform the user of the available voice command shortcut. |
| US09576570B2 |
Method and apparatus for adding new vocabulary to interactive translation and dialogue systems
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for adding new vocabulary to interactive translation and dialog systems. In one embodiment, a method for adding a new word to a vocabulary of an interactive dialog includes receiving an input signal that includes at least one word not currently in the vocabulary, inserting the word into a dynamic component of a search graph associated with the vocabulary, and compiling the dynamic component independently of a permanent component of the search graph to produce a new sub-grammar, where the permanent component comprises a plurality of words that are permanently part of the search graph. |
| US09576569B2 |
Playback control apparatus, playback control method, and medium for playing a program including segments generated using speech synthesis
A playback control apparatus includes a playback controller configured to control playback of first content and second content. The first content is to output first sound which is generated based on text information using speech synthesis processing. The second content is to output second sound which is generated not using the speech synthesis processing. The playback controller causes an attribute of content to be played back to be displayed on the screen, the attribute indicating whether or not the content is to output sound which is generated based on text information using speech synthesis processing. |
| US09576568B2 |
Multilayer interlayer having sound damping properties over a broad temperature range
A polymer interlayer having improved sound insulation is disclosed. The polymer interlayer comprises at least one soft layer wherein the soft layer comprises a blend of a first poly(vinyl butyral) resin, a second poly(vinyl butyral) resin and a plasticizer; at least one stiffer layer comprising a third poly(vinyl butyral resin) and a plasticizer, wherein the polymer interlayer has a damping loss factor (η) (as measured by Mechanical Impedance Measurement according to ISO 16940) of at least about 0.16 measured at two or more different temperatures selected from 10° C., 20° C. and 30° C. |
| US09576566B2 |
Electronic bass musical instrument
An electronic bass musical instrument that has the appearance, character and ambiance of a traditional washtub bass where the sounds of the bass are produced electronically by manually pressing an electrically conductive string extending along a neck of the bass against selected electrically conductive contacts arranged at spaced positions along the neck thus sending signals to an electronic control circuit of the instrument, whereby the sounds of the bass are produced electronically, providing vastly improved tonal quality and pitch accuracy to the sounds produced. |
| US09576565B2 |
Selective pitch emulator for electrical stringed instruments
Presented is a method for controlling an electronic stringed instrument. Embodiments of electrical stringed instruments according to the present invention can be actual stringed instruments or virtual representations of stringed instruments. The methods provide a way in which to teach and play electronic stringed instruments which allow a novice musician to focus on a small portion of playing of a stringed instrument while maintaining overall musicality and ability to play the instrument. |
| US09576564B2 |
Performance recording apparatus
A performance recording apparatus includes: a performance information acquiring unit which is configured to acquire performance information indicating a performance performed by a performer; a musical score information acquiring unit which is configured to acquire musical score information indicating a musical score that is used in the performance; and a producing unit which is configured to produce a performance file containing the performance information and the musical score information. |
| US09576559B1 |
Musical instrument manual
The present invention provides a musical instrument manual having keys that may be made of a material subject to warping and twisting, such as wood. A distal flexible suspension allows angular shifting of the distal end of each key of the manual to accomodate key warping. The flexible suspension enables angular displacement of the key lever about its distal end perpendicular to the plane of the playing surface of the key to allow the key to be played. The flexible suspension elastically opposes twisting of the key lever relative to the key bed. |
| US09576553B2 |
Method of producing a reflective or refractive surface
A method and apparatus for producing a reflective or refractive surface that reflects or refracts light shined thereon and reproduces on a screen a desired greyscale intensity image on which the reflective or refractive surface is based and a corresponding apparatus, wherein the method permits a reproduction of a reference grayscale image with adjustable precision. |
| US09576549B2 |
Electronic apparatus and method of controlling the same
According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus, includes a sensor-equipped display device includes a display device and a sensor configured to detect a contact or proximate position, a display driver configured to output an image display signal to the display device and to output a drive signal to the sensor, a detecting circuit configured to generate, based on the information from the sensor, raw data (Raw data) including three-dimensional information of coordinates of a position on the display device and a physical quantity at the coordinates, and an application processor configured to discriminate whether a part of the region in the display area should be further sensed or not, based on the raw data, and if the part of the region is further sensed, to output the range of the display device to be further sensed and the timing of driving the sensor to the display driver. |
| US09576547B2 |
Display panel with alternating sub-pixel electrodes
A display panel includes a first sub-pixel electrode and a second sub-pixel electrode alternating with each other to form a horizontal electric field, a first data line transmitting a first data voltage to the first sub-pixel electrode, and a second data line transmitting a second data voltage to the second sub-pixel electrode, wherein the second sub-pixel electrode is formed to overlap the first and second data lines. |
| US09576540B2 |
Operating an electrophoretic display with first and second operating formats
Electrophoretic displays (EPDs) and methods for controlling EPDs are disclosed herein. An embodiment of an EPD includes a first operating format, wherein pixels on at least one area of the EPD are driven individually. The EPD has a second operating format, wherein a plurality of pixels constituting at least one area of the EPD are driven simultaneously. Both the first operating format and the second operating format are performable simultaneously on the EPD. |
| US09576537B2 |
Display apparatus
A display apparatus includes a display panel including a plurality of pixels, and a backlight unit disposed at a rear surface of the display panel and supplying a light to the display panel, where the backlight unit includes a first light source which provides a first color light to the display panel, a second light source which provides a second color light to the display panel, and a third light sources which provides a third color light to the display panel, spectral bands of the first, second and third color light are different from each other, and the first color light and the second color light have substantially the same color as each other. |
| US09576536B2 |
Display device and driving method thereof
A display device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a pixel configured to emit light according to a data signal supplied to a data line, a power source voltage supplier configured to supply a power source voltage to the pixel, a driving transistor configured to drive the pixel to be emitted according to the data signal and the power source voltage, and a sensor configured to supply a test signal to a data line and to detect a sensing current flowing to the data line through the driving transistor according to the test signal. |
| US09576534B2 |
Pixel selection control method, driving circuit, display apparatus and electronic instrument
A pixel selection control method, driving circuit, display apparatus and electronic instrument are disclosed. A driving circuit includes a logic circuit configured to receive a reference signal associated with a line of pixels. The reference signal has a first logic level or a second logic level. The driving circuit also includes a switch circuit configured to receive the reference signal and an enable signal, and to provide the enable signal to the logic circuit when the reference signal is at the first logic level. A display apparatus may be provided that includes the driving circuit. |
| US09576533B2 |
Display apparatus and controlling method thereof
A display apparatus includes a display unit, a control unit, and a compensation unit. The compensation unit may compensate the display data when a sensing operation is performed on a target pixel circuit, the compensation unit compensating display data by setting a light emission amount of light emitting element of a target pixel circuit to be an amount obtained by subtracting a sensing light emission amount, which is a light emission amount of the light emitting element of the target pixel circuit during a sensing interval, from a display light emission amount, which is a light emission amount of the light emitting element of the target pixel circuit before the compensation. |
| US09576532B2 |
Display panel and organic light-emitting diode display including the same
A display panel and an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display including the display panel are disclosed. The display panel includes a first pixel configured to emit a first color of light, a second pixel configured to emit a second color of light, and a third pixel configured to emit a third color of light. Each of the first to third pixels includes a light emission current applying unit including a driving transistor and a storage capacitor, a gate electrode of the driving transistor configured to receive a data signal from a display driver of the OLED display. The panel includes a light emission unit configured to emit light based on a light emission current. The panel also includes an initialization voltage supply unit configured to provide an initialization voltage to the gate electrode of the driving transistor and the first electrode of the OLED. |
| US09576524B2 |
Shift register unit, shift register circuit, array substrate and display device
A shift register unit, a shift register circuit, an array substrate and a display device are provided. The present disclosure relates to the field of display device manufacture, and can prevent an OLED device from flickering while writing display data. A shift register comprises a first pull-up unit, connected with a high level end, a first clock signal end and a first control node (A); a first pull-down unit, connected with a low level end, a second clock signal end, an input signal end, the first pull-up unit, a first output end and the first control node (A); a pull-down switch unit, connected with the high level end, the low level end, the first clock signal end, the second clock signal end and a second control node (B); a second pull-down unit, connected with the low level end, the second control node (B) and a second output end; and a second pull-up unit, connected with the high level end, the first control node (A) and the second output end. |
| US09576522B2 |
Organic light emitting display
An organic light emitting display includes a plurality of pixels formed at crossings of data lines and gate line parts and a main power supply line part supplying a cell driving voltage to the pixels. The main power supply line part includes a plurality of main power supply lines disposed along a first direction and main power supply line connection patterns for connecting the adjacent main power supply lines along a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The main power supply line connection patterns are staggered along the second direction. |
| US09576520B2 |
Display device with groove in a non-display area and method of manufacturing the same
A display device having a substrate including a first display area, a second display area, a non-display area disposed adjacent to the first and second display areas, a plurality of first pixels disposed in the first display area, a plurality of second pixels disposed in the second display area, a first groove disposed in the non-display area and recessed downward from an upper surface of the substrate, a first flexible film disposed in the first groove, and a plurality of pad electrodes disposed on the first flexible film in the non-display area between the first and second display areas and connecting the first pixels are connected to the second pixels in a row. |
| US09576518B2 |
Display panel and driving circuit thereof
A display panel and a driving circuit thereof are provided. The driving circuit includes a data signal supplying module for generating a data signal; a first selection signal generating module for providing a first selecting signal; a second selection signal generating module for providing a second selecting signal; a selecting module including selecting switch sets, which are utilized to receive the first and second selecting signals and output the data signal to a pixel array. The present invention is capable of decreasing a level switching frequency of the selecting signals. |
| US09576516B2 |
Electrophoretic display apparatus having colorful handwriting function and driving method thereof
An electrophoretic display apparatus includes a substrate, a color filter layer, an electrophoretic display film, a common electrode layer, multiple electrode patterns and multiple spacers. The color filter layer is disposed on the substrate and at least includes multiple first color filter patterns and second color filter patterns. The electrophoretic display film is disposed between the substrate and the color filter layer and includes a flexible substrate and multiple display media. The first and second color filter patterns are respectively corresponding to the display media. The electrode patterns at least include multiple first electrode patterns and second electrode patterns. The first electrode patterns receive a first voltage and are disposed respectively correspondingly to the first color filter patterns, while the second electrode patterns receive a second voltage and are disposed respectively correspondingly to the second color filter patterns. The spacers are disposed between the display media and the substrate. |
| US09576514B2 |
Method for detecting disconnection of gate line and detection apparatus
A detecting method and a detecting apparatus for detection of a gate line disconnection. The gate line disconnection detecting method includes step 1: providing a first unit (41) at least capable of receiving signals at one end of a gate line to be detected (2), and providing a second unit (42) at least capable of transmitting signals at the other end of it; step 2: providing a first signal receiving unit (51) for receiving signals on a gate line other than the gate line to be detected (2). With respect to the gate line disconnection detecting method, whether disconnection occurs or not is judged depending on the signal strength received by the first signal receiving unit (51), and thus, the case that in a gate line disconnection detection of a bilateral drive type display device, whether a gate line is disconnected or not can be accurately detected, is realized. By it, technical supports are provided for getting rid of bad products timely, and a goal of promoting the yield of products is achieved. |
| US09576512B2 |
Display panel and method for testing display panel
A display panel including a display part including a plurality of sub-pixels configured to display a plurality of colors, and a plurality of data lines connected with the sub-pixels; a first test part configured to supply a test signal to (2K−1)th data lines (‘K’ is an integer above 0) by each color for the sub-pixels among the plurality of data lines; and a second test part configured to supply a test signal to 2Kth data lines by each color for the sub-pixels among the plurality of data lines when the first test part supplies the test signal. Further, a polarity of the test signal supplied by the second test part is opposite to a polarity of the test signal supplied by the first test part. |
| US09576511B2 |
Sign and method for lighting
A sign comprising a surface having a display, and a plurality of sources of visible light. The sources of visible light are oriented to illuminate at least a portion of the display, and include solid state light emitters and/or luminescent materials. Line segments drawn on a Chromaticity Diagram connecting coordinates of some of the illumination color hues define a shape which encompasses coordinates of the display color hue(s). Also, a sign comprising a surface having a display having a surface area of at least 4 square meters, and at least 100 sources of visible light including solid state light emitters and/or luminescent materials. Also, a sign comprising a white light source and at least one additional source of light. Also, methods of illuminating signs. |
| US09576510B2 |
Display device
The present invention relates to the field of display technology, and particularly relates to a bendable flexible display device. The display device comprises a display screen, a back plate arranged on the back of the display screen, and a support, the back plate being arranged on the support, wherein the back plate is a spliced back plate, and the display screen is a flexible display screen; and the back plate allows the display screen to be converted between a curved display state and a flat display state. The display device can be converted between a curved display state and a flat display state, to implement various viewing modes and meet different demands of all kinds of people. |
| US09576501B2 |
Providing sound as originating from location of display at which corresponding text is presented
In one aspect, a device includes a processor, a display accessible to the processor, and memory accessible to the processor. The memory bears instructions executable by the processor to provide sound corresponding to a portion of text presented on the display with at least one portion of the sound being provided as if originating at least substantially from a location on the display at which the portion of text is presented on the display. |
| US09576492B2 |
Collision mitigation systems with adjustable trigger width
A vehicle collision mitigation system (2) and method having a detecting device (3) and a control unit (4). The detecting device (3) being arranged to detect a certain field of view (6) defining a trigger area having an adjustable trigger width that is defined by trigger borders (9a, 9b; 10a, 10b) and is adjustable between a minimum trigger width (wmin) and a maximum trigger width (wmax). The collision mitigation system (2) is arranged to issue a system trigger signal at least in dependence of an object being determined to at least partly being present within the trigger borders if a collision is predicted to occur. The adjustable trigger width (w) is adjustable in dependence of the number of system trigger signals that have been issued during a certain time period. |
| US09576486B2 |
Virtual parking management
An apparatus manages vehicle parking services in a flexible and cost efficient manner. Service information for vehicle parking in a spatial and time varying parking area is received at a vehicle from a parking service management apparatus. A geographical position of the vehicle relative to the parking area is determined and forwarded to the parking service management apparatus. These communications can trigger issuance of a vehicle parking ticket at the parking service management apparatus based on the geographical position of the vehicle. |
| US09576480B1 |
Centrally-managed vehicle network
Systems and methods to determine vehicle safety conditions are provided. Techniques include receiving one or more vehicle conditions from vehicle sensors and sending the data to a centralized server. The data is aggregated based on vehicle identifier and location to determine the type and location of the safety condition. The determined safety condition is sent to one or more vehicles in the vicinity of the determined safety condition to alert the drivers of the hazard. The safety condition can be displayed as an overlay on a map to aid the driver in locating it. |
| US09576477B2 |
Electrical equipment and remote control receiving remote signal by electro-magnetic induction
Electrical equipment includes a power supply unit, a signal receiving unit, a rectifying and filtering unit, a switch unit, and a control. The rectifying and filtering unit rectifies and filters remote signals received by the signal receiving unit to generate first voltage signals. The switch unit connects the power supply unit to an external power in response to receiving the first voltage signals. The control identifies a current mode of the electrical equipment and determines whether the first voltage signal persists longer than a predetermined time or not. The control outputs a second voltage signals in response to the duration time of the first voltage signals being greater than the predetermined time. The switch unit further connects the power supply unit to the external power according to the first voltage signal and the second voltage signal to start the electrical equipment. |
| US09576476B2 |
Method and electronic device for controlling peripheral device
A method for controlling at least one peripheral device and associated electronic device and control system are provided. The method includes: detecting existence of a first mobile device by checking a wireless connection associated with the first mobile device; and when the existence of the first mobile device is detected, obtaining user data of the first mobile device through the wireless connection, and broadcasting the user data of the first mobile device to the peripheral device(s) for controlling a setting of each peripheral device. |
| US09576474B2 |
Providing cellular data to a vehicle over different data channels
A method and a system for providing vehicle services to at least one communication device located at a vehicle via a vehicle telematics unit. The method carried out by the system includes the steps of: receiving a request at the vehicle telematics unit for first vehicle services from a first communication device located at a vehicle; associating a first identifier with the first communication device; and providing the first vehicle services to the first communication device, wherein the vehicle services are provided according to at least one services parameter associated with the first identifier. |
| US09576470B2 |
Application such as an electrically adjustable bed or electrically driven patient lift
A combination of an articulated apparatus having an electromechanical actuator, a power supply and a control unit with a unique electronic address, and a cordless controller, the cordless controller becoming exclusively electrically paired to the articulated apparatus when common signals therefrom to the control box include the unique electronic address, thus enabling control of the articulated apparatus when located near the other apparatus having other electronic addresses. |
| US09576462B2 |
GPS device for locating a lost child
A pendant which provides a large, prominent alert button comprises a GPS device for locating a lost child. The child user may wear the pendant and may press the alert button to alert authorities, family, and friends. The pendant then sends a location query to GPS, obtains the child user's GPS coordinates, and transmits the GPS coordinates within a distress message. This distress message may be received by authorities, by the child user's parent, or other responsible parties via a mobile application which may be installed on a smartphone or other mobile electronic device. The pendant may also be activated by the parent via the mobile application. In alternate embodiments, a microchip GPS can be inserted just under the skin, or a contact lens tracking device. The device can also aid in the search for people lost in avalanches, earthquakes, and those lost at sea. |
| US09576455B2 |
Cloud EAS synchronization and firmware update
A system and method provides access to antennas of an electronic article surveillance system via WiFi and the Internet. Each antenna of the EAS system has a WiFi chip associated with its controls and the WiFi chip relays the antennas operating parameters as well as its reading of electromagnetic noise in its environment to the Internet. A remote technician can review the information provided by the antennas of the EAS system and optimize their operation with each other and their environments. In some embodiments, remote software can optimize the operation of the EAS system antennas. In some embodiments, the WiFi chip is an aftermarket addition. |
| US09576454B2 |
Control tag with environmentally selected conditional response
Systems (100) and methods (300) for selective device responsiveness using a plurality of control tags (132) affixed to a plurality of objects (102). The methods involve: receiving, by a plurality of control tags, a reporting command signal sent from an interrogation device via a communications link; and communicating a response to the reporting command signal from only those of the plurality of control tags which are (1) currently being moved, (2) have been moved within a first specified period of time, and/or (3) have a surrounding environment with at least one characteristic that has recently changed. |
| US09576448B2 |
Home security system using wireless communication
The invention relates to a method for monitoring the security of an area, a corresponding security monitor device and a wireless access device. The method comprises steps of: determining whether there is at least one first mobile device accessing a wireless access device that serves said area; starting to monitor a breach of security conditions, if there is no at least one first mobile device accessing the wireless access device; and, generating an alarm signal and sending said signal to one of said at least one first mobile device, if the breach of security conditions is detected. With this method, it does not need the host to turn on the security monitoring device every time he leaves home and effectively eliminates the possibility of forgetting to turn on the security monitoring procedure by the user, making the security device more reliable and convenient. |
| US09576446B2 |
Ultra-thin haptic switch with lighting
A haptic switch includes: (a) a force sensor responding a mechanical stimulus by providing a sensing signal; (b) a processing circuit receiving the sensing signal and providing a control signal; and (c) an electromechanical polymer (EMP) actuator receiving the response control signal and providing a haptic response. The force sensor and the EMP actuator may each be provided on a flexible circuit covered by a protective layer overlying the flexible circuit. The haptic switch may include a graphic layer on which is provided a symbol representing a key. In that haptic switch, the symbol, the light source, the EMP actuator and the force sensor are aligned such that the light source illuminates the symbol and such that, when a user pushes on the symbol, the user's push applies a pressure on the force sensor and the EMP actuator's haptic response is provided in the vicinity of the force sensor. |
| US09576444B2 |
Solar light-emitting diode lamp wireless sensor device for monitoring structure safety in real-time
A long time monitoring and self-powered solar light-emitting diode (LED) lamp wireless sensor device, capable of monitoring bridge, building or structure in real-time. The device comprises a substrate, at least one LED lamp bead, a rechargeable battery, a solar cell, at least one wireless communication module, at least one sensor and a control unit. The device is contained in a casing having a transparent region and a waterproof function. The solar cell stores energy into the rechargeable battery in sunshine environment, and by comparing the sensing value with a threshold, it is determined whether a safety issue occurs, so as to emit alert. In the night, the rechargeable battery supplies power to the LED lamp beads for illumination or decoration lighting of the structure. Wireless communication links the entire system for providing safety monitoring information, LED lighting or decoration instruction. |
| US09576443B2 |
Systems and methods for providing beacon-based notifications
Systems and method of providing beacon-based notifications are provided. More particularly, an identifying signal can be received from a beacon device. A geographic location of a user device can be determined based at least in part on the identifying signal. At least a portion of time-based contextual beacon data can then be obtained based at least in part on spatial-temporal data associated with a user. One or more notifications associated with the contextual beacon data can then be determined. The one or more notifications can indicative of information corresponding to the beacon device, and can be provided for display on a user device. |
| US09576431B2 |
Systems, apparatuses and methods for enhancing gaming experiences
Systems, apparatuses and methods for enhancing winning result opportunities in gaming activities. Embodiments involve identifying award-enhancing opportunities using dice, and enabling repetition of such award-enhancing opportunities based on the dice results until a terminating event occurs using the die/dice. Award-enhancing opportunities can be accumulated during the repetition, whereby payout opportunities of the gaming event from which the dice activity was initiated may be enhanced. |
| US09576430B2 |
Delayed bonus win determination
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to gaming devices having a delayed bonus win determination and methods of operating gaming systems and gaming devices to provide delayed bonus win determinations. Here, contributions to a linked jackpot may be separated from the chance to win the linked jackpot, where the chance to win the linked jackpot can be stored and used at a later time. |
| US09576429B2 |
Systems and methods for site-wide jackpots
Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture provide for site-wide and/or community jackpots. |
| US09576426B2 |
System and method of revealing the outcomes of real world wagers through skill based actions
The invention relates to systems and methods of selecting and placing real-world wagers responsive to one or more wager triggers, obtaining outcomes of the real-world wagers, facilitating skill-based actions with various interactive media, and revealing the outcomes of the real-world wagers through the interactive media to give an appearance that the outcomes of the real-world wagers resulted from skill-based actions even though the outcomes resulted from the real-world wagers and were determined before the user interactions. The system may reveal an outcome of a real-world wager through the skill-based action, which is required to claim a value of the reveal. The skill-based action may include an action that requires interaction from a user and for which is not completely dependent on chance for the user to achieve the action. |
| US09576425B2 |
Portable intermediary trusted device
In one embodiment, an intermediary gaming trusted electronic device for use with an untrusted PED may include a position sensor configured to acquire position information, a memory configured to store at least game session data, and a processor configured to at least: securely communicate with a gaming apparatus via the wireless transceiver; securely communicate with the associated untrusted PED; determine whether a gaming session is permitted based on the position information; receive gaming data from the gaming apparatus if it is determined that the gaming session is permitted; transmit presentation data to the associated untrusted PED for presentation on a display of the associated PED, wherein the intermediary gaming trusted device is able to support interaction between the gaming apparatus and the associated untrusted PED so that the associated untrusted PED, when coupled to the intermediary gaming trusted device, can execute a gaming software. |
| US09576424B2 |
Side betting for enriched game play environment (single and/or multiplayer) for casino applications
Systems for making a side bet in a hybrid game having a gambling game portion and an entertainment game portion are provided. The side bet is made in regards to the play of the entertainment portion of the hybrid game and can be made using a real world credit, a game world credit or a game world element. If the side bet is made using a real world credit, the real world credits used by the gambling game portion of the hybrid game and credited to a player are incremented or decremented. If the side bet is made using a game world element, the entertainment game portion of the hybrid game is updated based on the outcome of the side bet. |
| US09576420B2 |
Method and apparatus for conditional payouts in a gaming device
A gaming device incentivizes additional game play by combining payouts with conditional payouts. During game play, players are informed of the conditions, which must be satisfied so as to vest the conditional payouts. Subsequent game play is monitored to see if the player has satisfied the conditions. If the player has satisfied the conditions, then the conditional payout vests. If the condition is not met, then the conditional payout terminates. |
| US09576417B2 |
Item pusher apparatus with channel-based shuttle displacement detection and associated methods
According to some example embodiments, systems, apparatus, methods, computer readable media, and computer program products are provided for implementing an item pusher apparatus with channel-based shuttle displacement detection. One example method includes determining a position of a channel engagement member affixed to a shuttle, where the shuttle is movable and configured to at least exert a force on an item to urge the item towards a stopping member. The channel engagement member is configured to at least physically interface with as channel defined such that movement of the shuttle alone a defined movement path causes movement of the channel engagement member in a direction that is nonparallel to the defined movement path in at least one plane. Example systems apparatuses, methods, computer readable media, and computer program products are also provided. |
| US09576413B2 |
Portable machine and control system
A portable machine of the disclosure includes: a manipulation unit configured to receive a manipulation for a vehicle; a transmitter configured to transmit a function enabling signal to a control device based on the manipulation of the manipulation unit, the control device being configured to control opening and closing of an opening and closing body of the vehicle; and a display configured to display information. The display displays a remaining time of a predetermined time after the transmitter transmits the function enabling signal. The control device controls an opening operation of the opening and closing body based on user's action that is detected by a sensor within the predetermined time after the function enabling signal is received, the sensor being provided in or around the opening and closing body to detect the user's action. |
| US09576407B1 |
Systems and methods for mobile mileage tracking
A system and method allows a user to connect a mobile device, such as a smartphone, to a vehicle in order to track and record driving mileages incurred for a trip. Once a connection is established, the system and method may automatically begin mileage tracking. Upon termination of the connection, the system and method may sum up the tracked mileages to calculate a total mileage for the trip. The system and method may then display the total mileage for the trip to the user. |
| US09576406B2 |
Determining a remedial action for a motorized vehicle based on sensed vibration
An apparatus that includes a vibration sensor and a circuit. The vibration sensor provides an indication of vibration sensed in a motorized vehicle. The circuit determines a remedial action to be taken for the motorized vehicle based at least in part on the sensed vibration. |
| US09576404B2 |
System and method of transmitting data from an aircraft
A system for transmitting aircraft data from an aircraft includes a Data Acquisition Unit (DAU) that records aircraft data. A PC card is interfaced to the DAU and stores the aircraft data from the DAU. A processor retrieves aircraft data from the memory. A first wireless transceiver is controlled by the processor and receives and transmits the aircraft data along a wireless communications signal. A wireless local area network (LAN) communications unit is configured as an access point and positioned within the aircraft and transmits and receives wireless communications signals to and from the PC card. A second wireless transceiver is mounted within the aircraft and receives the wireless communications signal from the wireless LAN communications unit for transmitting the aircraft data from the aircraft. |
| US09576401B2 |
Methods and systems of reducing blurring artifacts in lenticular printing and display
A method of creating an interlaced composite image. The method comprises receiving a plurality of images selected for generating an interlaced composite image by interlacing a plurality of image strips from each image, providing a filter as a function of an approximate inverse transform of an undesired distortion dataset representing at least one estimated undesired distortion caused by an autostereoscopic display element when a user views the interlaced composite image via the autostereoscopic display element, generating a reduced artifact interlaced composite image by applying the filter on the plurality of images, and outputting the reduced artifact interlaced composite image. |
| US09576400B2 |
Avatar editing environment
An avatar editing environment is disclosed that allows users to create custom avatars for use in online games and other applications. Starting with a blank face the user can add, rescale and position different elements (e.g., eyes, nose, mouth) on the blank face. The user can also change the shape of the avatar's face, the avatar's skin color and the color of all the elements. In some implementations, touch input and gestures can be used to manually edit the avatar. Various controls can be used to create the avatar, such as controls for resizing, rotating, positioning, etc. The user can choose between manual and automatic avatar creation. The avatar editing environment can be part of a framework that is available to applications. One or more elements of the avatar can be animated. |
| US09576398B1 |
Pixelated light shutter mechanisms for improving contrast between computer-generated images and an ambient visible environment
Augmented reality systems and associated methods, computer-readable media, techniques, and methodologies for improving contrast between projected or emitted computer-generated images and ambient light of a visible real-world environment are disclosed. Devices that incorporate such augmented reality systems are also disclosed. |
| US09576395B2 |
Discrete objects for building virtual environments
Described is a virtual environment built by drawing stacks of three-dimensional objects (e.g., discrete blocks) as manipulated by a user. A user manipulates one or more objects, resulting in stack heights being changed, e.g., by adding, removing or moving objects to/from stacks. The stack heights are maintained as sample points, e.g., each point indexed by its associated horizontal location. A graphics processor expands height-related information into visible objects or stacks of objects by computing the vertices for each stack to draw that stack's top surface, front surface and/or side surface based upon the height-related information for that stack. Height information for neighboring stacks may be associated with the sample point, whereby a stack is only drawn to where it is occluded by a neighboring stack, that is, by computing the lower vertices for a surface according to the height of a neighboring stack where appropriate. |
| US09576393B1 |
Dynamic rendering of soft shadows for interface elements
Soft shadows can be rendered using a relatively expensive blur process by leveraging the structure provided for various user interfaces. The elements of a user interface may be arranged according to a hierarchical tree or scene graph. Certain related elements may be grouped into a shadow group that can cast and/or receive a shadow. When the root of the shadow group is designated, the other child elements of the group can be added automatically, up to the boundary of another shadow group. A single texture for a shadow group can be determined, blurred, and projected onto a corresponding receiving group. If the shadow needs to be regenerated due to motion, for example, only a single texture needs to be regenerated for the group instead of a shadow for each element. A throttling value may be set to further limit the number of shadows that can be regenerated per frame. |
| US09576392B2 |
Image display device and method, and medium containing program
A two-dimensional image is generated from a three-dimensional volume image of the chest of a human body based on information about recognized and labeled costal regions and vertebral regions. The two-dimensional image includes first regions showing one of right and left costal regions and second regions showing the other of the right and left costal regions or vertebral regions. Different colors or patterns are applied to the first regions showing different ones of the costal regions, and the same color or pattern as that of each first region is applied to the second region that shows a costal region provided with a label indicating a costal bone located on the opposite side of and paired with the costal bone shown by the first region or a vertebral region provided with a label indicating a vertebral bone connected to the costal bone shown by the first region. |
| US09576389B2 |
Method and apparatus for generating acceleration structure in ray tracing system
Provided are an apparatus and method for generating an acceleration structure in a ray tracing system. The method of generating an acceleration structure includes splitting, at an acceleration structure generator, a space comprising a three-dimensional (3D) object into a plurality of sub spaces, calculating costs for traversing the plurality of sub spaces based on occlusion information of primitives in the plurality of sub spaces, selecting the plurality of sub spaces that minimize the costs for traversing, and generating an acceleration structure based on setting the selected plurality of sub spaces as nodes. |
| US09576387B2 |
Creating a cinemagraph
An apparatus receives first image data that is based on image data captured by a first camera and second image data that is based on image data captured by a second camera. The apparatus then creates a cinemagraph using the first image data for a static part of the cinemagraph and using the second image data for an animated part of the cinemagraph. Another apparatus could provide at least one of the first and second image data based on a detected corresponding element. |
| US09576386B2 |
Multi-layered slide transitions
Architecture that enhances the visual experience of a slide presentation by animating slide content as “actors” in the same background “scene”. This is provided by multi-layered transitions between slides, where a slide is first separated into “layers” (e.g., with a level of transparency). Each layer can then be transitioned independently. All layers are composited together to accomplish the end effect. The layers can comprise one or more content layers, and a background layer. The background layer can further be separated into a background graphics layer and a background fill layer. The transition phase can include a transition effect such as a fade, a wipe, a dissolve effect, and other desired effects. To provide the continuity and uniformity of presentation the content on the same background scene, a transition effect is not applied to the background layer. |
| US09576384B2 |
Hierarchical index bits for multi-sampling anti-aliasing
In accordance with some embodiments, a control surface stores the index bits in a tile using multi-sampling anti-aliasing. By determining whether all the samples in a tile point to plane 0, one can use only two bits in a control surface for the tile to indicate that all the samples on the tile point to plane 0. Otherwise more than two bits may be stored in the control surface to indicate planes pointed to by the samples of the tile. |
| US09576382B2 |
Method and apparatus for visualizing and interactively manipulating profile data
Profile data collected through sampling is transformed and visually and interactively manipulated and displayed. In one scenario, the profile data is collected through statistical profiling of a program for a video game. The game program profile data is visually and interactively manipulated and displayed to visually present a dynamic behavior of the video game that shows correlation of impacts that the functions of the program have on the video game's performance. This allows the developer to identify inefficient sections of the program for optimization. |
| US09576380B2 |
Image display device, image display method, medical image diagnostic device, medical image diagnostic method, medical image diagnostic system, data preparation device, data preparation method, and non-transitory recording medium
In the present invention, in a case where a display unit is capable of displaying either multiple tomographic images or at least one plain image of a subject, a display control unit switches the display on the display unit to the display of tomographic images in sequence or to the display of a plain image. |
| US09576375B1 |
Methods and systems for detecting moving objects in a sequence of image frames produced by sensors with inconsistent gain, offset, and dead pixels
Systems and methods of detecting dead pixels of image frames are described including receiving a sequence of image frames, aligning, from the sequence of image frames, pairs of image frames, and for a given pair of image frames, determining differences in intensity of corresponding pixels between the aligned pair of image frames. The method also includes, based on the differences in intensity of corresponding pixels between the aligned pair of image frames, generating mask images indicative of areas in the pairs of image frames having moving objects. The method further includes determining, within the mask images, common pixel locations indicative of areas in the pairs of image frames having moving objects over a portion of the sequence of image frames, and based on a number of the common pixel locations for a given pixel location being above a threshold, identifying the given pixel location as a dead pixel. |
| US09576364B1 |
Relative positioning of a mobile computing device in a network
In an approach to determining a relative position for each computer of a group of computers within a wireless network to a computer within the wireless network, a computer receives a set of digital image files from each computer and aggregates the set of digital image files into a panoramic digital image file. The computer generates a network map depicting a position of each of the computers based on the panoramic digital image file. The computer determines a relative position map for at least one computer based on the network map and the panoramic digital image file, wherein the relative position map provides a location of each computer of the group of computers with respect to the at least one computer. The computer receives input from the at least one computer, the input using the relative position map to send data to one or more of the group of computers. |
| US09576363B2 |
Object picking system, object detecting device, object detecting method
The present invention relates to a device and a method of detecting arbitrarily piled objects, and a device and a method for picking a detected object. The present invention may provide a device and a method of detecting an object, which extract a unique local characterized part of the object by using a visual sensor, detect an object region, and estimate a posture from the detected object region. Also the present invention may provide an object picking system capable of being applied to an actual production process, such as assembling or packaging, in a cell producing method. |
| US09576362B2 |
Image processing device, information storage device, and processing method to acquire a summary image sequence
An image processing device includes an image sequence acquisition section that acquires an image sequence that includes a plurality of images, and a processing section that performs an image summarization process that deletes some of the plurality of images included in the acquired image sequence to acquire a summary image sequence, the processing section selecting a reference image and a determination target image from the plurality of images, calculating a coverage ratio of the determination target image by the reference image based on deformation information about the reference image and the determination target image, and determining whether or not the determination target image can be deleted based on the coverage ratio. |
| US09576359B2 |
Context based algorithmic framework for identifying and classifying embedded images of follicle units
The subject invention provides a method for detecting and analyzing the hair follicles on a scalp to assist with hair follicle transplantation. The methods of the subject invention are able to count the number of hair follicle groups and the number of follicles within each group based upon a microscopic image of a sample from a human scalp. An algorithm is then used to cluster the follicles and generate a neighboring connected graph to calculate the inter object distances. A report can then be generated that provides information regarding the density, placement, and percentage of hair follicle type in different areas of the scalp. This report can be used to generate a hair follicle transplant strategy to assist a physician or robotic system. |
| US09576357B2 |
Eliminating motion effects in medical images caused by physiological function
Ultrasonic imaging methods are described for eliminating the effects of physiological motion such as respiratory motion from image data of a sequence of images which is to be used for quantified analysis such as time-intensity curve computation. A bright reflector in the images of the loop which exhibits motional effects such as cyclical variation in brightness or position from image to image is identified and its variation used to identify cycles of motion. A phase or range of phases of the cycles is identified. Images acquired during the identified phase or phase range of the motion cycles during the loop are then used for quantified processing. |
| US09576349B2 |
Techniques for atmospheric and solar correction of aerial images
Techniques for atmospheric and solar correction of aerial images are described. An apparatus may comprise an atmospheric and solar component arranged for execution by a logic device and operative to correct solar and atmosphere artifacts from an aerial image. The atmospheric and solar component may comprise an image information component operative to generate an image record for each aerial image of a group of aerial images, the image record comprising statistical information and image context information for each aerial image, a filter generation component operative to generate an atmospheric filter and a solar filter from the statistical information and the image context information stored in the image records, and an image correction component operative to correct atmospheric and solar artifacts from the aerial image using the respective atmospheric filter and solar filter. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US09576346B2 |
Non-local means image denoising with an adaptive directional spatial filter
System, apparatus, method, and computer readable media for edge-enhanced non-local means (NLM) image denoising. In embodiments, edge detail is preserved in filtered image data by weighting of the noisy input target pixel value with other pixel values based on self-similarity and further informed by a data-driven directional spatial filter. Embodiments herein may denoise regions of an image lacking edge characteristics with a more uniform spatial filter than those having edge characteristics. In embodiments, directionality of a spatial filter function is modulated based on an edge metric to increase the weighting of pixel values along an edge when there is a greater probability the edge passes through the target pixel. In further embodiments, the adaptive spatial filter is elliptical and oriented relative to a spatial gradient direction with non-uniform filter widths that are based on the edge metric. |
| US09576345B2 |
Simultaneous edge enhancement and non-uniform noise removal using refined adaptive filtering
A method for denoising magnetic resonance images includes estimating a normalization field corresponding to a magnetic resonance imaging device and acquiring a non-normalized image from the magnetic resonance imaging device. A noise level estimation process is performed with the non-normalized image to yield a noise level. The normalization field is applied to the noise level to yield a potentially inhomogeneous noise-level map and to the non-normalized image to yield a normalized image. An adaptive polynomial filtering process is performed using the normalized image and the potentially inhomogeneous noise-level map to yield a denoised image. |
| US09576343B2 |
Systems and methods for a content-adaptive photo-enhancement recommender
Systems and methods for a content-adaptive photo-enhancement recommender that produces multiple enhanced images based on content and color layout parameters derived from related high-quality images are disclosed. In some embodiments, a user-uploaded image is enhanced based on parameters learned from high-quality images similar in content to the user-uploaded image and obtained using content-based image retrieval techniques. |
| US09576342B2 |
Image processing apparatus, non-transitory computer-readable medium, and image processing method
An image processing apparatus includes an acquiring unit, an identifying unit, and a correcting unit. The acquiring unit acquires input data including shape data on a concave-convex area having a convex part and a concave part and image data of an image formed on the concave-convex area. The identifying unit identifies an uneven area which is within a bottom surface of the concave part and is continuous with a wall surface connecting the bottom surface and a convex surface of the convex part. The correcting unit corrects the image data so that the brightness of a first image area in the uneven area stacked with multiple dots and the brightness of a second image area continuous with the first image area become about the same. |
| US09576341B2 |
Image-processing system, imaging apparatus and image-processing method
An image-processing system including an image processor and a correction processor is provided. The imaging processor obtains a captured image. The correction processor produces a corrected image by correcting an aberration that emerges in the captured image. The correction processor produces: at least one or more processed images obtained by applying different processes to the captured image; a masking image by applying a predetermined process to one of the captured images or the at least one or more processed images; a composite image by synthesizing the masking image and either of the captured image or the at least one or more processed images, which are not used when producing the masking image; and the corrected image by synthesizing the composite image and the captured image. |
| US09576340B2 |
Render-assisted compression for remote graphics
A technique for efficiently compressing rendered three-dimensional images in a remote rendering system adds a novel render-assisted prediction function to an existing video compression framework, such as the standard H.264/5 framework. Auxiliary rendering information is separated from rendering information used to describe a reference image by a server system. A client system may alter the auxiliary data and generate a new image based on the reference image and rendered scene information from the auxiliary data without creating additional network bandwidth or server workload. |
| US09576337B2 |
Image processing apparatus and control method thereof
An image processing apparatus is provided. The image processing apparatus includes an image quality processor and a controller. The image quality processor performs a detail enhancement function on an image frame. The controller calculates blur information and/or gray information of the image frame and controls the image quality processor to perform the detail enhancement function on the image frame based on the calculated information. |
| US09576335B2 |
Method, device, and computer program for reducing the resolution of an input image
In a method, a device, and a computer program for reducing the resolution of an input image, wherein input image shows a three-dimensional scene that was recorded by a surveillance camera, the distance between surveillance camera and objects in the three-dimensional scene is referred to as the object distance, and the resolution reduction is adjusted with consideration for the object distance in the three-dimensional scene and/or the perspective distortion of the three-dimensional scene. |
| US09576334B2 |
Second screen recipes function
Systems for, and methods of, displaying video information comprising: a second screen device obtaining current play position data of a video being played on a primary screen device (e.g., obtaining from the primary screen device an identification of a current play position of the video, or obtaining information to generate an acoustic fingerprint of the video); determining a current play position of the video playing on the primary screen device based upon the current play position data (e.g., identification of the current play position or the acoustic fingerprint); downloading information (e.g., video map, subtitles, moral principles, objectionable content, memorable content, performers, geographical maps, shopping, plot point, item, ratings, trivia information, and recipe information) over a computer communications network into the memory of the second screen device; and displaying information on the second screen device synchronized with the contemporaneously played video on the primary screen device. |
| US09576333B2 |
Data processing system and method thereof
Several systems and methods for data processing are disclosed. In an embodiment, a data processing system includes a host processor, a plurality of slave processors and a plurality of frame buffers. Each slave processor is associated with at least one data co-processor configured to process data sub-frames based on one processing stage. For a first data sub-frame, a first messaging call is provisioned to the host processor by each slave processor subsequent to execution of a processing stage by an associated data co-processor. The host processor is configured to provision a second messaging call to a next slave processor upon receiving the first messaging call. Further, for each subsequent data sub-frame, a third messaging call is provisioned by each slave processor to a next slave processor subsequent to execution of the corresponding processing stage by the associated data co-processor for facilitating execution of the next processing stage. |
| US09576331B2 |
Embedding and decoding three-dimensional watermarks into stereoscopic images
Disclosed inventions relates to methods and systems for encoding at least one watermark into a stereoscopic conjugate pair of images. An example method comprises the step of encoding the at least one watermark by shifting selected pixels of said pair of images in one or more directions. The one or more directions include a horizontal direction. In the disclosed embodiments, ancillary information is not required to support decoding of encoded watermarks in addition to the transmitted left and right images. |
| US09576329B2 |
Systems and methods for equipment installation, configuration, maintenance, and personnel training
A method, performed by a server, for supporting equipment service at a site includes receiving, from Head Mounted Equipment (HME) associated with an installer at a site, data relating to an inventory and location of equipment at the site, wherein the data is collected by the HME during equipment service, wherein the equipment includes one or more of a circuit pack, a line module, a cable and power equipment; and checking the equipment service based on the received data and at least one of plans associated with the site and configuration rules of the equipment. |
| US09576321B2 |
Infrastructure supporting online transactions
A system and method for supporting the purchase of products offered for sale. The system and method may include delivering for display to a buyer information regarding the product being offered for sale, along with retrieving profile information relating to the potential buyer from one or more other systems, for use in consummating the purchase of the product. |
| US09576312B2 |
Data mesh-based wearable device ancillary activity
In various example embodiments, a system and method for data mesh-based wearable device ancillary activity are presented. A device activity being performed in real-time by a user device of a user is detected. Attribute data associated with a plurality of attribute sources is accessed. A user preference indicating a preference for performing on a secondary user device a complementary activity corresponding to the device activity is inferred. Based on the inferred user preference, the secondary user device is identified according to a device status of the secondary user device, the device status indicating a device capability to perform the complementary activity in real-time. The complementary activity to be performed in real-time on the secondary user device is generated by analyzing at least one of the device activity, a device functionality of the secondary user device, and the user preference. Instructions to perform the complementary activity in real-time are transmitted to the secondary user device. |
| US09576309B2 |
Dynamic power sharing system and map view graphical user interface
A method comprising receiving, on a server, from a computing device of a user, a request to receive a battery charge on a battery-powered device of the user, the request including one or more criteria; identifying, by the server, one or more potential charge donors as target charge donors by comparing the criteria of the request with donor preferences previously provided by potential charge donors; and sending, from the server, information related to a target charge donor to the computing device of the user. |
| US09576307B2 |
Method and apparatus for controlling charging of a service
A method and apparatus for controlling charging of a service in a communication network comprising in an Online Charging System OCS receiving a request message for charging of the service from a charging client where the request message is including at least data identifying a first communication network account to charge for the service. A system utilization indicator is accessed representing a computer resource utilization value of a node involved in providing the service. Based on at least the system utilization indicator a determined service usage quota is determined, including a determined service usage quota attribute, to be reserved for from the account. The service usage quota is reserved for from the account and an answer message is transmitted to the charging client including the determined service usage quota attribute of the service usage quota reserved for from the account to be applied in controlling the service. |
| US09576301B1 |
Detection of child frames in web pages
Methods and systems for framing detection are disclosed. A web page comprising a child frame is generated. The child frame comprises an instruction to load a component from a merchant. The child frame comprises a header option restricting a loading of the component from within a parent frame associated with a domain external to the merchant. The web page is sent from the merchant to a client browser. It is determined that the web page is loaded within the parent frame in the client browser if a request for the component is not received by the merchant. It is determined that the web page is not loaded within the parent frame in the client browser if a request for the component is received by the merchant. |
| US09576299B1 |
Tracking online impressions to offline purchases
Customers receive advertisements or “impressions” related to brick and mortar merchants while accessing online content. The merchants or other entities track which impressions correlate with customers coming to a physical store and conducting a transaction (e.g., making a purchase) by comparing transaction information with information about the customer that is provided by the source of online impressions. In one implementation, the merchant creates a hash from the customer's name and account number on a payment card. This hash is compared with a hash from the impression provider that is generated using the same technique. When a match is found, it is inferred that exposure to the online impression caused the customer to make a purchase at the physical store. Merchants may pay the impression providers an advertising or referral fee based on the matches. |
| US09576296B2 |
Automated system for adapting market data and evaluating performance in transactions
A system includes a remotely-located server comprising a metric server adapter, a metrics application, and a communication application. The metric server adapter includes governing logic that manages an evaluation service and predefined instructions for managing metric data. The metrics application is a production application that operates in coordination with the metric server adapter. The metrics application receives an evaluation scenario causing the metrics application to retrieve historical purchase data including one or more price data sets. The metrics application obtains metric data that includes market reference price data, evaluates attributes of responsive items in the metric data to dynamically discover a difference in the attribute data, and dynamically defines transaction-specific instructions for adapting the metric data for a respective item. One or more adjustment values applied to the metric data transform the market reference price data. The metrics application generates and communicates at least one performance metric to a computing device. |
| US09576295B2 |
Adjusting a process for visit detection based on location data
A method and system for adjusting a process for identifying settings visited by a consumer based at least in part on electronically-derived consumer location data. A method and system are provided for gathering location data for consumers and identifying points of interest (POIs) visited by the consumers based on the location data. Based on a comparison of settings identified by a process to settings that are identified in data collected from external data sources, the system may determine whether to adjust the visit detection process. The system may adjust the visit detection process by adjusting a way in which settings are defined in a data set, by adding or removing settings from a data set, and/or by changing a manner in which the visit detection process determines whether a location corresponds to a setting in the data set. |
| US09576293B2 |
Method and apparatus for the furnishing of benefits information and benefits
A system and method for permitting an entity to more effectively make use of targeted benefits from a plurality of benefit providers; wherein the benefits are offered specifically to those entities qualified and eligible to receive said benefits. Various methods and systems for matching entities with benefits are also disclosed. An exemplary embodiment includes: (1) making available a plurality of benefits; (2) examining this plurality of benefits to determine which benefits entity is or may be qualified and eligible to receive; and (3) providing notification of said “entity-is-qualified-for” benefits. Entity information is compared to benefit information to determine those benefits, if any, to which the entity is or appears to be qualified to receive. |
| US09576292B2 |
Systems and methods to facilitate selling of products and services
The system of the present invention provides systems and methods for selling goods and services on, over, through, and in conjunction with the Internet. The system receives session (clickstream) information on a customer's website session from the enterprise's website and may also receive customer information on the customer from the enterprise's CRM or eCRM system. The session information referred to comprises the goods or services the customer is searching and metadata about such search and the relevant products, such as the surfing pattern itself. The system determines from the received information, based on the interaction between matching rules created using the system by the enterprise and the system's matching engine, whether the customer is a candidate for assistance from a sales associate. The system creates and indexes information on available sales associates and their performance, selling capabilities and product expertise. The system further matches the customer with at least one sales associate, ideally the most appropriate sales associate, based on the customer, session, and sales profile associate information, and facilitates communication between the sales associate and the customer. Additionally, the system provides information on the customer, products or services the customer is interested in, and the collateral sales materials (both internal and external to the enterprise) and selling techniques to the sales associate based on the particular sales opportunity. The system facilitates communication between the sales associate and the customer on the basis of chat, voice over IP, email and the public switched telephone network, including the concept of bridging a chat session into a PSTN conference call during which call the sales associate and customer maintain a co-browsing session with regard to the opportunity over the Internet. |
| US09576290B2 |
Controlling eCommerce authentication based on comparing cardholder information among eCommerce authentication requests from merchant nodes
A method of operating a computer system is disclosed. An eCommerce authentication request is received from a merchant node. The eCommerce authentication request has content including cardholder information. A risk score for the eCommerce authentication request is generated based on comparison of the cardholder information of the eCommerce authentication request to cardholder information of eCommerce authentication requests of a plurality of merchant nodes. The eCommerce authentication request is selectively provided to an authentication node based on the risk score. |
| US09576288B1 |
Automatic approval
Techniques for automatically approving transactions are described herein. These techniques may include determining whether a user who requested to conduct a transaction is the same user as a user that approves the transaction. If so, then the transaction may be approved. If not, then the approving user may be asked to provide authentication information in order to finish the approval process. |
| US09576283B2 |
Delivering customer specified receipt types at checkout
The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for delivering customer specified receipt types at checkout. A customer specifies receipt delivery preferences at a mobile device (e.g., specifying delivery of a digital receipt and/or a paper receipt at checkout). The mobile device sends the customer's receipt delivery preferences to a receipt preferences database server for storage in a receipt preferences database. During a sales transaction, a point-of-sale (“POS”) system refers to the receipt preferences database (or a relevant portion thereof) to access the customer's receipt delivery preferences. Based on the customer's receipt delivery preferences, the point-of-sale (“POS”) system delivers appropriate types of receipts (e.g. digital and/or paper) to the customer. |
| US09576278B2 |
Time analysis of a banking system
A banking system that utilizes metrics in acquiring and processing event data related to financial transaction activity at a plurality of automated banking machines. Automated banking machine include sensors able to detect event data during a transaction. The event data can include transaction data related to the type of transaction, time analysis data related to duration of the transaction, and operational data related to machine components used in carrying out the transaction. The event data for automated banking machines can be obtained, analyzed, and stored. Statistical averages associated with the banking system machines can be determined in real time. The averages allow a respective machine to be compared to other machines with respect to operational efficiency. An alert can be issued concerning a statistical anomaly regarding the respective machine. |
| US09576275B2 |
System and method for archiving and retrieving messages
A method comprises establishing by a computer an audience element comprising a particular combination of one or more addresses. The method further comprises creating a first relationship between the audience element and at least one of the one or more addresses. The method also comprises creating a second relationship between one or more messages and the audience element. The method further comprises utilizing the first relationship and the second relationship to identify one or more messages associated with one or more particular addresses. |
| US09576270B1 |
System and related method for management of devices of a network system via social media interfaces
A system and related method for the exchange of information, data and instructions between one or more network administrators and one or more network infrastructure devices via one or more media exchanges. Devices are managed using a social media agent including a session agent that translates media messages into network device content and vice versa while maintaining context. Particular media interfaces may be selected for messaging dependent upon the particular message to be exchanged. Shorthand may be used to facilitate messaging through media of interest. |
| US09576268B2 |
Distributed data analysis
Distributed data analysis systems and methods are provided. A data broker distributes received data to consumers, such as information and repository consumers, which can be subscribed to the data. A subsystem with a processor for data processing can provide data to the data broker. A first information consumer may include a receiving module for receiving the data from the data broker, an analysis module for analyzing the received data to obtain a result, and a publication module for sending the result to the data broker when a second information consumer is subscribed to the result. |
| US09576261B2 |
Quick drafts of items in a primary work queue
Techniques disclosed herein facilitate the use of the primary work queue within an information management application as a centralized access point for creating and viewing multiple types of new draft items such as a note, to-do, or message item. An information management application can receive a new item request through its user interface and initiate a new draft item in response to the new item request. A view of new draft item can then be surfaced in a primary work queue of the information management application. The item type of the new draft item may be different than other item types in the primary work queue. |
| US09576260B2 |
System and method for vendor and customer management in a supply chain
A method of managing a supply chain comprises providing at a customer interface module a plurality of order fulfillment options to a customer, and receiving from the customer a selection of a particular order fulfillment option. The method also includes receiving a first order from the customer, and receiving a first inventory status from a first distribution center. A first distribution center sends a first product to the customer in response to determining that the particular order fulfillment option comprises a fill-partial order fulfillment option, and a duration between the time that the first product is directed to be sent and the time when the first product is actually sent is determined. An alert is generated if the duration is greater than a predetermined duration. |
| US09576257B2 |
Integrating data-handling policies into a workflow model
A method and system for integrating data-handling policies into a computer-implemented workflow model is provided. In one embodiment, a workflow editor implemented using one or more processors may include a privacy manager module configured to permit a business process designer to integrate data handling policies into a workflow model. A privacy manager module, or simply a privacy manager, may also be configured to execute a consistency check with respect to newly-created and existing data handling policies to determine whether there is a conflict among any of the data-handling policies associated with tasks and data objects of the workflow model. |
| US09576255B2 |
Method and apparatus for network controlled ticket access
The system provides a method and apparatus for providing controlled access to events, premises, transportation, and the like. In one embodiment, the system provides a ticket that is tied to a user and/or a device. The ticket in one embodiment comprises a dynamic link whose privileges and permissions can be controlled by a system controller so that use, re-use, and re-sale of the ticket can be controlled by the issuer and not by a purchaser or user. The system in one embodiment uses a reader/scanner associated with a controlled entrance that can receive tickets via scanning or some other form of electronic communication. In one embodiment, the system uses radio signals, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC (Near Field Communication) from a mobile device to determine if access should be granted. |
| US09576254B2 |
Multi-tiered fleet management cache
A method of providing reservation status relating to a group of objects includes providing a database for containing (i) availability data describing availability of at least one of the group of objects, and (ii) reservation data describing allocation of at least one of the group of objects. The availability data and the reservation data are stored in sparse form. The method further includes extracting, from the database, availability data and reservation data corresponding to a predetermined period of time, and combining the extracted availability data and reservation data to form windowed data in a dense format. The method also includes receiving the windowed data and providing the windowed data in a bit-vector view, and sampling the windowed data in the bit-vector view to produce sampled data. The sampled data provides the reservation status as a static view of the windowed data in the bit-vector view. |
| US09576250B2 |
Method and system for simulating users in the context of a parking lot based on the automatic learning of a user choice decision function from historical data considering multiple user behavior profiles
Methods and systems for modeling user arrival and choice in the context of off-street parking solutions. A first component models the arrival and duration of stay of users as a function of time, taking into account different user profiles (or “clusters”), captured by a latent variable. A second component provides a ranking function (for each user cluster), wherein the input features describing the “choice” constitute status variables associated different car park(s), and the output constitutes a preferred car park and a pricing scheme. The system simulates different user behaviors by assuming some standard groups of users will behave similarly. Groups of users or user profiles are learned automatically. The profiles are then employed as a key element for automatically learning a decision function of parking users, and automatically learning one decision function per profile. |
| US09576248B2 |
Record linkage sharing using labeled comparison vectors and a machine learning domain classification trainer
Herein disclosed is a system and method for record linkage that uses machine learning to link records, so that many users can contribute their training data to a shared repository and employ the accumulated training data without any user having to share their actual data. The system includes a record linkage server, which further includes a record linkage repository, a domain classifier, and a domain classification trainer. The record linkage server is connected with a record linkage client, which includes a field comparator and a manual label prompter. Further disclosed is a method for record linkage, describing how two structured data sets can be matched, including searching domains, loading data sets, loading domain, matching fields, iterating record linking for all record pairs, including: selecting record pair, calculating comparison vector, calculating label probabilities, determining label, optionally setting label manually, updating prior probabilities, optionally confirming selected label, and updating training data. |
| US09576246B2 |
Predictive modeling and data analysis in a secure shared system
A system and method enables users to selectively expose and optionally monetize their data resources, for example on a web site. Data assets such as datasets and models can be exposed by the proprietor on a public gallery for use by others. Fees may be charged, for example, per new model, or per prediction using a model. Users may selectively expose public datasets or public models while keeping their raw data private. |
| US09576244B2 |
Methods and systems of four-valued simulation
A system for the dynamic encoding in a semantic network of both syntactic and semantic information into a common four valued logical notation. The encoding of new information being benign to prior syntactic constructions, tests for N conditionals in time O(C) and allows for the proper quantification of variables at each recursive step. The query/inference engine constructed from such an implementation is able to optimize short term memory for maximizing long term storage in the automaton. In a parallel context this can be viewed as optimizing communication and memory allocation between processes. Disclosed embodiments of a four valued encoding achieve efficiencies in minimizing the run time stack and maximizing heap size especially in a parallel architecture. Disclosed embodiments are useful in simulation and search engine implementations. |
| US09576243B2 |
Advanced intelligence engine
An advanced intelligence engine (AIE) for use in identifying what may be complex events or developments on one or more data platforms or networks from various types of structured or normalized data generated by one or more disparate data sources. The AIE may conduct one or more types of quantitative, correlative, behavioral and corroborative analyses to detect events from what may otherwise be considered unimportant or non-relevant information spanning one or more time periods. Events generated by the AIE may be passed to an event manager to determine whether further action is required such as reporting, remediation, and the like. |
| US09576242B2 |
Reasoning engine services
A reasoning engine is disclosed. Contemplated reasoning engines acquire data relating to one or more aspects of various environments. Inference engines within the reasoning engines review the acquire data, historical or current, to generate one or more hypotheses about how the aspects of the environments might be correlated, if at all. The reasoning engine can attempt to validate the hypotheses through controlling acquisition of the environment data. |
| US09576237B2 |
RFID transponder device and method for production of an RFID transponder device
An RFID transponder device has antenna terminals for coupling an antenna system to the device. A transmitter and a receiver are coupled to the antenna terminals. The device has at least one damping resistance connected to at least one of the antenna terminals. The at least one damping resistance is connected, depending on a voltage swing at the antenna terminals during a transmission burst period, either together with a serially connected switch in parallel to the antenna terminals that are coupled to the receiver, or together with a parallel connected switch between one of the antenna terminals and a terminal of the transmitter. A damping control is configured to activate the at least one damping resistance during a damping period after the transmission burst period by controlling the respective switch. |
| US09576236B2 |
Wearable device with overlapping ends coupled by magnets positioned in the wearable device by an undercut
A wearable device includes a wearable device structure. The wearable device has a first end and a second end each with a plurality of magnets. The first and second ends are coupled by overlapping of at least a portion of the first end magnets to at least a portion of the second end magnets. The wearable device structure includes an undercut structure for receiving at least a portion of the magnets. ID circuitry is provided at a surface or an interior of the wearable device. |
| US09576233B2 |
Techniques for checking into a retail establishment
Techniques for checking into a retail establishment are provided. A retailer provides a substrate having a magnetic-field encoded tag. A consumer waves the consumer's device over the tag to electronically capture the magnetic-field encoded tag. The consumer's device is used to communicate the tag to a retailer to validate that the consumer is physically present and now checked into the retail establishment of the retailer. |
| US09576229B2 |
Image forming apparatus and detection apparatus
An image forming apparatus includes a detector for detecting one of position and density information of a detection image based on a signal corresponding to a difference between a value of a detection signal corresponding to a first position of one of the detection image on an image carrier and a surface of the image carrier and an average value of a value of the detection signal corresponding to a second position on a downstream side with respect to the first position in a moving direction of the detection image and a value of the detection signal corresponding to a third position on an upstream side with respect to the first position in the moving direction during a time when the detection image formed on the image carrier passes through an irradiation region of an irradiation device. |
| US09576226B2 |
Image processing device for reducing data size of object in image data based on target value
An image processing device includes a controller. The controller is configured to perform: acquiring image data having a plurality of objects; calculating an amount of characteristic of each of the objects, the amount of characteristic indicating a degree of change in pixel values; setting a process order based on the amount of the characteristic of each of the objects; setting a target value, the target value being a reference value to reduce a data size of the image data; reducing an object data size of at least one of the plurality of objects based on the process order in such a way that the data size of the image data becomes smaller than or equal to the target value, thereby generating a reduced object; and generating reduced image data having a data size smaller than the data size of the image data by using the reduced object. |
| US09576224B2 |
Robust error correction with multi-model representation for face recognition
The present invention provides a face recognition method on a computing device, comprising: storing a plurality of training face images, each training face image corresponding to a face class; obtaining one or more face test samples; applying a representation model to represent the face test sample as a combination of the training face images and error terms, wherein a coefficient vector is corresponded to the training face images; estimating the coefficient vector and the error terms by solving a constrained optimization problem; computing a residual error for each face class, the residual error for a face class being an error between the face test sample and the face test sample's representation model represented by the training samples in the face class; classifying the face test sample by selecting the face class that yields the minimal residual error; and presenting the face class of the face test sample. |
| US09576221B2 |
Systems, methods, and devices for image matching and object recognition in images using template image classifiers
An image matching technique locates feature points in a template image such as a logo and then does the same in a test image. Classifiers are trained for multiple template images and the classifiers are used to evaluate a match between a template image and a test image. |
| US09576220B2 |
Automatically determining the size of a blur kernel
A computer-implemented method and apparatus are described for deblurring an image. The method may include accessing the image that has at least one blurred region and, automatically, without user input, determining a first value for a first size for a blur kernel for the at least one blurred region. Thereafter, automatically, without user input, a second value for a second size for the blur kernel is determined for the at least one blurred region. A suggested size for the blur kernel is then determined based on the first value and the second value. |
| US09576217B2 |
System and method for visual recognition
A method for visual recognition of an object in an electronic image includes extracting unique points of an object to be learned and/or a target object. The unique points are obtained by cross-correlating the image with a structure. Generally, the structure and/or the size of the structure may vary to detect extremum information associated with the learned object and/or target object. An icon corresponding to each of the unique points is extracted. The size of the icon corresponds to the scale of the unique point. After extraction of the various icons, an object becomes a collection of icons. Each of these icons is un-rotated and normalized or resized to a constant size so it can be compared with other icons. One of the unique properties of these icons is their stability over scale and angle. Thus, this invention allows the recognition of an image(s) or object(s) from large number of trained images or objects very quickly. |
| US09576213B2 |
Method, system and processor for instantly recognizing and positioning an object
The invention provides a method for instantly recognizing and positioning an object, comprising steps of: a) wirelessly searching a wireless identification of the object; b) capturing a plurality of images of the object for each image capture; c) determining a 2D center coordinate (x, y) of the object based on a center coordinate (xw, yw) of the wireless identification of the object; d) transforming the captured images of the object to acquire a 3D pattern of the object, and comparing the 3D pattern of the object with 3D patterns pre-stored; and e) if the 3D pattern of the object matches with a pre-stored 3D pattern, calculating and obtaining a 3D center coordinate (x, y, z) of the object to recognize and position the object. The invention also provides a system and a processor enabling the method, and use of the system. |
| US09576209B2 |
Robotic device tester
A system, method, and device may include software and hardware which simplify and quicken configuration of the system for testing a device, enhance testing procedures which may be performed, and provide data via which to easily discern a cause and nature of an error which may result during testing. A camera may capture still images of a display screen of a tested device and another camera may capture video images of the tested device and a partner device. A wizard may be used to generate a configuration file based on one previously generated for a similar device. A mount for a tested device may be structured so that: it is suitable for mounting thereon a plurality of differently structured devices; and adjustments in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction in a plane and adjustments of an angle of the device relative to the plane may be easily made. |
| US09576204B2 |
System and method for automatic calculation of scene geometry in crowded video scenes
A system or method for automatic calculation of scene geometry may include receiving, by a processor, a video stream including a plurality of video frames. A video frame may be divided into blocks, and a vertical vanishing point of the video stream may be determined based on a dominant orientation of detected edges in the blocks. A horizon and scale of the video stream may be estimated based on optical flow of pixels between two consecutive video frames. A set of human heads may be detected in a video frame of the video stream based on the estimated horizon and scale of the video stream. |
| US09576202B1 |
Systems and methods for identifying a scene-change/non-scene-change transition between frames
Disclosed are systems and methods for identifying a scene-change/non-scene-change transition between frames. One embodiment takes the form of a method including receiving a first frame of video; defining a first region of the first frame, wherein the first region is associated with a first plurality of pixels of the first frame; receiving a second frame of video; defining a second region of the second frame, wherein the second region is associated with a second plurality of pixels of the second frame; using (i) a first plurality of luma values associated with the first plurality of pixels and (ii) a second plurality of luma values associated with the second plurality of pixels, as a basis to identify the pair of the first and second frames as having a particular scene-change/non-scene-change attribute; and storing in a memory an indication that the pair of the first and second frames has the identified attribute. |
| US09576201B2 |
Method and apparatus for classifying pixels in an input image and image processing system
The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for classifying pixels in an input image and image processing system. The apparatus includes a first confidence determination unit configured for determining a first confidence of each of the pixels in the input image belonging to each of a plurality of predetermined classes; a detection unit configured for acquiring, by using a detector for detecting a particular class among the plurality of predetermined classes, detection results used to indicate pixels which belong to the particular class; an updating unit configured for updating the first confidences according to the detection results; and a class determination unit configured for determining the class to which each of the pixels in the input image belongs among the plurality of predetermined classes, according to the updated first confidences. |
| US09576200B2 |
Background map format for autonomous driving
A computer-readable map format and methods of constructing the map format are disclosed. The map format includes location information for a plurality of background objects. At least one of the background objects is a seasonal background object and the location information associated with the seasonal background object is identified during a season in which an obscuration level associated with the seasonal background object is at a minimum. The obscuration level can be based on the amount that the seasonal background object is obscured or based on the amount of obscuration caused by the seasonal background object. |
| US09576198B2 |
Methods and apparatus for identifying subject matter in view data
In one aspect, a method and apparatus for detecting subject matter of interest in view data obtained by scanning an object including generating a filter adapted to respond to the subject matter of interest, splatting the filter onto a portion of the view data to provide a filter splat, and performing at least one operation on the portion of the view data using the filter splat to facilitate determining whether the subject matter of interest is present in the portion of the view data. |
| US09576195B2 |
Integrated image searching system and service method thereof
The present disclosure relates to an image searching system and method for searching by using images of objects. Images of objects which it is desired to search are input via a PC-based terminal equipped with a webcam or a smart phone and then the input object images are analyzed using image recognition technology based on feature point extraction such that types of code contained in the object images are categorized and a decoder matching the object type is automatically driven such that the object is read, and thus a search function is provided which allows integrated recognition of all objects regardless of the type of object and which is convenient for the user. |
| US09576194B2 |
Method and system for identity and age verification
Systems and Methods for identity information verification. The system includes an electronic device and a computing authentication unit. The electronic device includes a data capture unit for electronically scanning first data and second data corresponding to respective first and second locations of an identity document indicative of an individual. The computing authentication unit is configured to: perform a first verification to verify whether the first data matches the second data; perform a second verification, when the first data matches the second data, including comparing aggregated data from both the first and second data to identity data in one or more identity databases to verify personal identity information of the individual indicated in the identity document; and cause the electronic device to indicate a result of at least one of the first verification or the second verification. |
| US09576190B2 |
Emotion recognition in video conferencing
Methods and systems for videoconferencing include recognition of emotions related to one videoconference participant such as a customer. This ultimately enables another videoconference participant, such as a service provider or supervisor, to handle angry, annoyed, or distressed customers. One example method includes the steps of receiving a video that includes a sequence of images, detecting at least one object of interest (e.g., a face), locating feature reference points of the at least one object of interest, aligning a virtual face mesh to the at least one object of interest based on the feature reference points, finding over the sequence of images at least one deformation of the virtual face mesh that reflect face mimics, determining that the at least one deformation refers to a facial emotion selected from a plurality of reference facial emotions, and generating a communication bearing data associated with the facial emotion. |
| US09576189B2 |
Method and apparatus for controlling vehicle using motion recognition with face recognition
Provided is a vehicle control apparatus including an image obtaining part that obtains an image of outside of a vehicle; a face recognizing part that finds and tracks a face of a person from an image obtained by the image obtaining part based on feature elements human faces and extracts feature information regarding a face of a person; a face authenticating part that compares the feature information extracted by the face recognizing part to feature information regarding faces of persons registered in advance and, if a difference therebetween is less than or equal to a critical value, authenticates that the recognized face as a registered face; the motion recognizing part that, when authentication is completed by the face authenticating part, recognizes a motion; and a control part that recognizes a motion of a face-recognized and face-authenticated person and performs a set function. |
| US09576186B2 |
Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and non-transitory computer readable medium
An image processing apparatus includes an imaging unit, an authenticating unit, and a controller. The imaging unit acquires a face image of a user. The authenticating unit performs a first authentication process based on the face image and a second authentication process based on information other than the face image. The controller suspends the first authentication process based on the face image while maintaining the imaging unit in an activated state when the authenticating unit performs the second authentication process. |
| US09576182B2 |
Method for authenticating a signature
A method is provided for recording a user's handwritten signature through a device including a touch-sensitive surface. The method includes a phase of obtaining a handwritten signature, which includes at least one step of acquiring the handwritten signature on the touch-sensitive surface of the device, delivering an acquired signature and at least one step of recording the acquired signature within a signature-recording space. During the phase of obtaining the handwritten signature, the method includes at least one step of measuring at least one piece of complementary data through the device and at least one step of recording the at least one piece of complementary data. |
| US09576181B2 |
Bio-imaging method
A method for defining an isolation area around an object of interest in a cell culture vessel, the method comprising the steps of: —obtaining one or more images of the cell culture vessel using one or more of a plurality of illumination sources, each illumination source being capable of illuminating the vessel from a different direction; —selecting an image or combination of images for further processing; —applying a circular object detection transformation to identify one or more objects of interest being substantially circular objects in the cell culture vessel, which circular objects of interest are representative of isolated colonies in the cell culture vessel and determining the center of an object of interest; —applying a binarizing step to obtain a binarized image of the object of interest and other objects, wherein the center of the binarized image corresponds to the center of the object of interest; —iteratively forming concentric circles with increasing radius, wherein the concentric circles are centered on the center of the binarized image; —identifying coronas, wherein a corona is delimited by two circles having successive radius values; —for each corona: determining the presence and the location of any other object located in the corona to determine the presence and the location of other objects; —determining a clearance angle defining an angular sector free of other objects around the object of interest to define the isolation area around the object of interest. |
| US09576177B2 |
Fingerprint sensing device
A fingerprint sensing device (and associated method of manufacturing) comprises a sensing chip arranged on a substrate with readout circuitry. The sensing chip comprising a plurality of sensing elements having a surface defining a sensing plane, each sensing element being configured to provide a signal indicative of an electromagnetic coupling between a sensing element and a finger placed on the sensing device; bond wires arranged between bond pads located on the sensing chip on the substrate, respectively, to electrically connect the sensing chip to the readout circuitry. A portion of the bond wire protrudes above the chip and an adhesive is arranged on the sensing chip to covering to cover the chip so that the portion of the bond wire protruding above the chip is embedded in the adhesive. A protective plate is attached to the sensing chip by the adhesive and forms an exterior surface of the device. |
| US09576176B2 |
Noise compensation in a biometric sensing device
An electronic device includes a biometric sensing device connected to a processing channel that includes at least one amplifier having a gain. One or more processing devices is operatively connected to the biometric sensing device and adapted to compensate for signal fixed pattern noise in signals received from the processing channel. The signal fixed pattern noise can include signal measurement variation noise and gain variation noise. The biometric sensing device captures a new image or data, and at least one processing device compensates for the signal fixed pattern noise in the newly captured image or data. |
| US09576175B2 |
Generating emoticons based on an image of a face
A device is configured to receive an image of a person. The image may include an image of a face. The device may create an emoticon based on the image of the face. The emoticon may represent an emotion of the person. The device may detect a facial expression of the person at a time that a message is being generated. The device may determine the emotion of the person based on the detected facial expression. The device may identify the emoticon as corresponding to the emotion of the person. The device may add the emoticon to the message based on the emoticon corresponding to the emotion of the person. The device may output the message including the emoticon. |
| US09576172B2 |
Systems and methods for simultaneously providing and reading machine-readable codes
Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can acquire a first machine-readable code. The first machine-readable code can be provided on a display element. A reader tool for reading a second machine-readable code can be provided on the display element in conjunction with the providing of the first machine-readable code on the display element. In some instances, the second machine-readable code can be read using the reader tool. The second machine-readable code can be processed to access information represented by the second machine-readable code. One or more operations can be performed based on the information represented by the second machine-readable code. |
| US09576168B2 |
Conditional retrieval
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is disclosed. The method involves: a reader detecting an eye-mountable device within a wireless communication range of the reader, wherein the eye-mountable device includes a transparent material having a concave mounting surface configured to be removably mounted on a corneal surface; wirelessly retrieving from the detected eye-mountable device a first set of data; using the retrieved first set of data to determine that a condition has been satisfied; and responsive to using the retrieved first set of data to determine that the condition has been satisfied, retrieving from the detected eye-mountable device a second set of data. |
| US09576167B2 |
Locating parts with electromagnetic identification (EMID) tags for contextual visualization
In one or more embodiments, a disclosed method involves transmitting a first transmit signal(s) having a first signal strength and/or a first field of view (FOV), thereby establishing a first radiation region. The method further involves receiving a first receive signal(s) radiated from an EMID tag(s). Also, the method involves transmitting a second transmit signal(s) having a second signal strength and/or a second field of view (FOV), thereby establishing a second radiation region. In addition, the method involves receiving a second receive signal(s) radiated from an EMID tag(s). Additionally, the method involves subtracting the second radiation region from the first radiation region to determine a difference region. Also, the method involves determining which of the EMID tags are located within the difference region by using the first receive signal(s) and the second receive signal(s). Further, the method involves determining a location of the EMID tag(s) located within the difference region. |
| US09576165B2 |
Multiple-speed interface
The present invention provides a security module having a communication interface being capable of operating according to any from a selection from a plurality of predetermined operation modes or communication protocols. The security module further comprises a voltage detector to detect the voltage on the module's power supply connection. Depending on the value of the detected voltage or to which of a plurality of predetermined voltage ranges the detected voltage may be categorized, the security module is made to function according to one from the plurality of predetermined communication protocols. According to an embodiment of the present invention the plurality of communication protocols require that the security module operate at a plurality of different frequencies. |
| US09576162B2 |
Information processing apparatus, information management method, and information management program
An information processing apparatus, including a reading apparatus which reads an electronic recording card, is disclosed. The apparatus includes a reading unit which reads the electronic recording card via the reading apparatus and obtains read information; a generating unit which generates user management information of a user who owns the electronic recording card based on the read information obtained by the reading unit; and a holding unit which holds the user management information generated by the generating unit in a predetermined storage area. |
| US09576159B1 |
Multiple payment card reader system
Approaches provide for a mobile point-of-sale system configured to facilitate the transfer of funds between entities (e.g., customers and merchants). A card reader can include two different types of slots configured for conducting a financial transaction between entities. A first slot can allow for a magnetic stripe element of a card to be swiped. A second slot can include contact elements which allow the card to be “dipped in”. In this way, the device can receive a swipe and/or a “dipping” of a card into a respective slot for conducting a financial transaction. |
| US09576158B2 |
Decodable indicia reading terminal with indicia analysis functionality
A decodable indicia reading terminal can comprise a multiple pixel image sensor, an imaging lens configured to focus an image of decodable indicia on the image sensor, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter configured to convert an analog signal read out of the image sensor into a digital signal, a communication interface, and a microprocessor configured to output decoded message data corresponding to the decodable indicia by processing the digital signal. The decodable indicia reading terminal can be configured, responsive to a triggering event, to transmit via the communication interface a decoding result and an indicia readability rating. The triggering event can be provided by a failure to detect decodable indicia, the indicia readability rating being less than a pre-defined threshold, exceeding a pre-defined time period to decode decodable indicia, a user interface action, and a command received via said communication interface. |
| US09576150B1 |
Validating a user of a virtual machine for administrator/root access
In one example, a method for validating a user includes transmitting, to a management server, a request for a shared secret, and receiving, from the management server, the shared secret. Next, the shared secret received from the management server is compared to a secret identified in a user request for access to a backup of data associated with a computing device. The user is granted access to the backup when the shared secret identified by the user matches the shared secret obtained from the management server, and the user is denied access to the backup when the shared secret identified by the user does not match the shared secret obtained from the management server. |
| US09576146B2 |
Service oriented secure collaborative system for compartmented networks
A system receives a request to store a document in a database, receives a user security token, analyzes the document to determine an adjudicated security level for the document, compares the user security token to the adjudicated security level, stores the document when the user security token is equal to the adjudicated security level, when the user security token is not equal to the adjudicated security level, queries the user as to whether the document should be stored with the adjudicated security level, receives a response to the query from the user, stores the document when the user agrees to store the document with the adjudicated security level, and when the user does not agree to store the document with the adjudicated security level, transmits a message to a security officer and quarantine the document. |
| US09576143B2 |
Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and computer-readable medium
An information processing apparatus includes a determination unit, an operator change unit, and an image change unit. The determination unit determines whether or not an image displayed on a display unit of a portable information processing apparatus has been rotated. The operator change unit changes an operator of the information processing apparatus, when the determination unit determines that the image has been rotated. The image change unit changes the image displayed on the display unit of the information processing apparatus on the basis of the operator who has been changed by the operator change unit. |
| US09576142B2 |
Execution environment file inventory
A method is described to maintain (including generate) an inventory of a system of a plurality of containers accessible by a computer system. At least one container is considered to determine whether the container is executable in at least one of a plurality of execution environments characterizing the computer system. Each execution environment is in the group comprising a native binary execution environment configured to execute native machine language instructions and a non-native execution environment configured to execute at least one program to process non-native machine language instructions to yield native machine language instructions. The inventory is maintained based on a result of the considering step. The inventory may be used to exercise control over what executables are allowed to execute on the computer system. |
| US09576141B2 |
Access controls on the use of freeform metadata
Approaches are described for security and access control for computing resources. Various embodiments utilize metadata, e.g., tags that can be applied to one or more computing resources (e.g., virtual machines, host computing devices, applications, databases, etc.) to control access to these and/or other computing resources. In various embodiments, the tags and access control policies described herein can be utilized in a multitenant shared resource environment. |
| US09576140B1 |
Single sign-on system for shared resource environments
Systems and methods for enhancing security of single sign-on are described. These systems and methods can reduce the amount of sensitive information stored on a client device while still providing single sign-on access to shared resources such as virtual desktops or Terminal Servers. For example, storage of authentication information on client devices can be avoided while still allowing client devices to connect to the shared resources. Instead, such information can be stored at a broker server that brokers connections from client devices to the shared resources. The broker server can facilitate more secure single sign-on by providing a single-use ticket to a client device that authenticates with the broker server. The client device can use this single-use ticket to authenticate with a shared resource. |
| US09576137B2 |
Method and system for analyzing integrity of encrypted data in electronic control system for motor vehicle
A method for improving the functional security and increasing the availability of an electronic control system, particularly a motor vehicle control system, including hardware components and software components, wherein the hardware components are abstracted by at least one basis software component and/or a runtime environment, and in which an implemented security concept describes two or more software levels, wherein a first software level includes control functions of an application software and a second software level is designed as functional monitoring, for safeguarding against control function faults, wherein a data encryption, provided by at least one hardware component, and/or a data signature for securing the data of at least one communication channel of the hardware component is used with at least one first software component. The invention additionally describes an electronic control system for performing the method. |
| US09576135B1 |
Profiling user behavior through biometric identifiers
This disclosure describes systems and methods for profiling user behavior through biometric identifiers. A first biometric identifier associated with a first user of a user device may be captured. The first user may be identified based at least in part on the first biometric identifier. The first request for content and first information retrieved from the user profile may be transmitted. First data that corresponds to the first request for content may be received. A second biometric identifier associated with a second user of the user device may be captured during an active session associated with the first user profile. The second user may be identified based at least in part on the second biometric identifier. A second request for content and second information retrieved from the second user profile may be transmitted. A second data corresponding to the second request for content may be received. |
| US09576134B2 |
Global platform health management
The use of one or more device health values to indicate the health status of a computing device may enable operating system developers to directly manage the security configuration of the computing device. The generation of a device health value involves initializing hardware components of a computing device and loading the operating system according to configuration settings during boot up of the computing device. The device health value is then generated based on a state of the hardware component and/or a state of a software stack that includes the operating system at boot up. The device health value may be compared to a reference health value to determine whether the computing device is in a secured state. |
| US09576133B2 |
Detection of data tampering of encrypted data
A device includes storage hardware to store a secret value and processing hardware coupled to the storage hardware. The processing hardware is to receive an encrypted data segment with a validator and derive a decryption key using the secret value and a plurality of entropy distribution operations. The processing hardware is further to verify, using the received validator, that the encrypted data segment has not been modified. The processing hardware is further to decrypt the encrypted data segment using the decryption key to produce a decrypted data segment responsive to verifying that the encrypted data segment has not been modified. |
| US09576131B2 |
Malware detection system and method for mobile platforms
In one example, a management server is configured to provide malware protection for one or more client mobile platforms in communication with the management server via a mobile network. In the example, the management server includes a processor configured to detect malware in the mobile network, select a client mobile platform having a malware scanning agent, and, manage the malware scanning agent of the client mobile platform using a device independent secure management protocol based at least in part on the malware detected in the mobile network. |
| US09576130B1 |
Detecting malware on mobile devices
In one example, a mobile device includes a network interface configured to receive data for an application including a set of application permissions describing elements of the mobile device to which the application will have access upon installation of the application, and a processing unit configured to determine a type for the application and, based on an analysis of the set of application permissions and the type for the application, determine whether the application includes malware. |
| US09576127B2 |
Methods, media, and systems for detecting attack on a digital processing device
Methods, media, and systems for detecting attack are provided. In some embodiments, the methods include: comparing at least part of a document to a static detection model; determining whether attacking code is included in the document based on the comparison of the document to the static detection model; executing at least part of the document; determining whether attacking code is included in the document based on the execution of the at least part of the document; and if attacking code is determined to be included in the document based on at least one of the comparison of the document to the static detection model and the execution of the at least part of the document, reporting the presence of an attack. In some embodiments, the methods include: selecting a data segment in at least one portion of an electronic document; determining whether the arbitrarily selected data segment can be altered without causing the electronic document to result in an error when processed by a corresponding program; in response to determining that the arbitrarily selected data segment can be altered, arbitrarily altering the data segment in the at least one portion of the electronic document to produce an altered electronic document; and determining whether the corresponding program produces an error state when the altered electronic document is processed by the corresponding program. |
| US09576122B2 |
System and method for secure data entry
An electronic device comprises a CPU, and a touch-sensitive screen operable to display a plurality of keys. Each of the plurality of keys are associated with and exhibit a predetermined value, where the keys are arranged so that the predetermined values of the keys are displayed in a random manner. The predetermined values of the plurality of keys have different predetermined display characteristics associated therewith so that the plurality of keys have varied appearances. |
| US09576119B2 |
Preventing phishing attacks based on reputation of user locations
User sessions are authenticated based on locations associated with a user account used for sending a request for creating a session. Examples of locations of a source of a request include a geographical location, a network address, or a machine cookie associated with a device sending the request. Locations of the request are compared with stored safe locations associated with the user account and a suspiciousness index is determined for the session. The level of authentication required for the session is determined based on the suspiciousness index. Locations are associated with a reputation based on past history of sessions originating from the locations. A location associated with a history of creating suspicious session is considered an unsafe location. Reputation of the location originating the session is used to determine the level of authentication required for the session. |
| US09576118B2 |
Image processing apparatus, method for controlling the same, and storage medium for carrying out login processing
An image processing apparatus transmits, after reception of a login notification of an authenticated user, the login notification to an identified application, and then changes displaying of a screen of a display unit to displaying of an initial screen corresponding to the identified application. After the displaying of the display unit has been changed to the displaying of the initial screen, the image processing apparatus transmits the login notification to, among applications belonging to a first group, an application to which the login notification has not been transmitted, and applications belonging to a second group. |
| US09576112B1 |
Embedded reversibly opaque display cover for an electronic device
Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a cover for an electronic device. The cover can be deployed on a transparent surface of the electronic device and can reversibly occlude the view through the transparent surface. In certain embodiments, the cover can include a closed bounding surface region that is transparent and has a specific volume. The bounding surface can define an interior open space that can be partitioned into multiple cavities, where nearest-neighboring cavities can share a surface that defines each of such cavities. In one embodiment, in order to occlude the view through the transparent surface, an opaque liquid can be injected into the cavities, where the liquid can solidify and, thus, can form an opaque solid layer. To reverse such an occlusion and, effectively, uncover the transparent surface, the solid layer can be melted by applying a suitable voltage to at least one of the multiple cavities. |
| US09576110B2 |
Access control apparatus, access control method, and printing system
In a multi-domain environment, an access control apparatus belonging to a first domain obtains access control information for controlling usage of a function of an image forming apparatus corresponding to a user belonging to the first domain. When the user belonging to the first domain instructs usage of a function of an image forming apparatus belonging to a second domain, the access control apparatus belonging to the first domain requests an access control apparatus belonging to the second domain to add authentication information managed by the second domain to the access control information. The access control apparatus belonging to the first domain transmits access control information including the added authentication information to a client computer. |
| US09576109B1 |
Content revenue allocation
Revenue generated through electronic book sales (and other transactions, such as rental, sample, leasing, etc.) is allocated among rights holders and other parties based on a ranking of common work distributed in electronic book form or any other form (e.g., paperback, hardcover, audio). As the ranking changes, the revenue allocated to the rights holder changes. The changes may be made in real-time as revenue and metric data is collected. |
| US09576108B2 |
Method for determining an infusion parameter
A method for planning an infusion of a medical substance into a target region acquires non-patient-specific anatomical data from an atlas in the form of target region geometry information describing target and off-target regions for which an infusion of the medical substance is intended and regions to be avoided, respectively. Target coverage information is derived describing a minimum dose of the medical substance to be infused into the target region and describing a maximum dose of the medical substance to be applied to the off-target region. Relationship information describes a relationship between a physical parameter of an infusion setup and a selected spatial distribution of the medical substance. Infusion setup information for the infusion is determined that describes a planned infusion setup and is based on the relationship information and information related to the target and off-target regions. |
| US09576107B2 |
Model based reconstruction of the heart from sparse samples
A parametric model representing a portion of a heart is constructed using a statistical prior of the shape from a dataset of other instances of the portion. Using a mapping electrode, electrical data is acquired in a plurality of locations in the portion of the heart of a subject. The parametric model is fitted to the electrical data and the statistical prior to produce an isosurface of the portion of the heart and a reconstruction of its shape. |
| US09576105B2 |
Method of displaying health information and electronic device for providing same
Disclosed is a method of displaying health information by an electronic device. The method includes: activating an application providing at least one piece of health-related information; identifying a user account pre-stored in the application and receiving health state measurement data of the user account; receiving pieces of health state measurement data of similar group accounts from a host device; determining an account with which to be compared among the similar group accounts based on a predetermined reference and identifying health state measurement data of the account with which to be compared; and displaying the health state measurement data of the user account and the health state measurement data of the account with which to be compared. |
| US09576104B2 |
Bioinformatics systems, apparatuses, and methods executed on an integrated circuit processing platform
A system, method and apparatus for executing a sequence analysis pipeline on genetic sequence data includes a structured ASIC formed of a set of hardwired digital logic circuits that are interconnected by physical electrical interconnects. One of the physical electrical interconnects forms an input to the structured ASIC connected with an electronic data source for receiving reads of genomic data. The hardwired digital logic circuits are arranged as a set of processing engines, each processing engine being formed of a subset of the hardwired digital logic circuits to perform one or more steps in the sequence analysis pipeline on the reads of genomic data. Each subset of the hardwired digital logic circuits is formed in a wired configuration to perform the one or more steps in the sequence analysis pipeline. |
| US09576099B2 |
Minimizing harmful effects caused by reticle defects by re-arranging IC layout locally
Provided is a method of fabricating a semiconductor device. An integrated circuit (IC) layout plan is obtained. The IC layout plan contains critical features and non-critical features. Locational information regarding a defect on a blank reticle is obtained. The blank reticle is a candidate reticle for being patterned with the IC layout plan. Based on the locational information regarding the defect and the IC layout plan, a determination is made that at some of the critical features will intersect with the defect if the blank reticle is patterned with the IC layout plan, regardless of whether the IC layout plan is globally manipulated or not before being patterned onto the blank reticle. In response to the determination, selected local portions of the IC layout plan are re-arranged such that none of the critical features will intersect with the defect if the blank reticle is patterned with the IC layout plan. |
| US09576098B2 |
Lithography aware leakage analysis
A method for performing leakage analysis includes receiving information specifying an integrated circuit. A neighborhood of shapes associated with the integrated circuit is then determined. Leakage information associated with the integrated circuit is generated based on the neighborhood of shapes. The neighborhood of shapes may be determined by determining a first set of spacings to a boundary of a first cell from an internal shape. A second set of spacings may be determined from the boundary of the first cell to a shape of a second cell. A lithography process may be characterized using the first and second set of spacings. |
| US09576095B1 |
Partial reconfiguration compatibility detection in an integrated circuit device
Methods for partial reconfiguration compatibility detection in an integrated circuit device are disclosed. A disclosed method includes storing a unique identifier that identifies a partial reconfiguration region of the integrated circuit device in a storage circuit. A control circuit may receive an input partial reconfiguration data that activates the operations of the partial reconfiguration region. The method further includes comparing the input partial reconfiguration data to the stored unique identifier prior to activating the operations of the partial reconfiguration region of the integrated circuit device. The input partial reconfiguration data may contain an associated identifier that is derived from the unique identifier during a design compilation operation of the integrated circuit device. |
| US09576092B2 |
Synthesis using multiple synthesis engine configurations
Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of methods, systems, and apparatus for performing synthesis. For example, in one exemplary method disclosed herein, a high-level description of a complete circuit design is partitioned into a plurality of sections. Two or more synthesis engine configurations are selected for a respective one of the sections. The respective one of the sections is synthesized using the two or more selected synthesis engine configurations, thereby generating two or more gate-level descriptions. A gate-level description of the complete circuit design is generated that includes at least a portion of one of the gate-level descriptions. Computer-readable media storing instructions for causing a computer to perform any of the disclosed methods are also disclosed herein. |
| US09576084B2 |
Generating a smooth grid for simulating fluid flow in a well system environment
In some aspects, a grid-point-spacing ratio is computed for a one-dimensional fluid flow model. The one-dimensional fluid flow model represents a flow path for well system fluid in a subterranean region, and the grid-point-spacing ratio is computed based on a parameter of the flow path. Grid points for the one-dimensional flow model are generated based on the grid-point-spacing ratio. |
| US09576077B2 |
Generating and displaying media content search results on a computing device
Technologies for generating and displaying media search results on a computing device include determining search criteria based on media stored and/or accessed on the computing device. One or more search queries are generated based on the search criteria and submitted to one or more search engines. Any search results are analyzed for relevancy to the media and/or user, and relevant search results are displayed on a display of the computing device. The user may select one or more of the displayed search results to access additional information, websites, and/or perform other functions related to the displayed search result. |
| US09576074B2 |
Intent-aware keyboard
Systems, methods, and computer storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that provide contextual services are provided. Embodiments of the present invention allow an input mechanism to provide contextual services. Exemplary input mechanisms include a keyboard, a gesture interface, and a speech interface. These inputs may be used to provide user input into one or more applications running on a computer. The contextual services provided include composition assistance, grammatical assistance, communication-context assistance, and research assistance. In one embodiment, an input mechanism (“IME”) program provides the contextual service. The IME program may work with a remote contextual-service provider. The IME program communicates user input and contextual information to the contextual-service provider. The contextual-service provider analyzes the input and contextual information to determine whether one or more contextual services should be provided. |
| US09576073B2 |
Distance queries on massive networks
Distance query techniques are provided that are robust to network structure, scale to large and massive networks, and are fast, straightforward, and efficient. A hierarchical hub labeling (HHL) technique is described to determine a distance between two nodes or vertices on a network. The HHL technique provides indexing by ordering vertices by importance, then transforming the ordering into an index, which enables fast exact shortest-path distance queries. The index may be compressed without sacrificing its correctness. |
| US09576070B2 |
Creation and delivery of pre-rendered web pages for accelerated browsing
The process of rendering web pages can be significantly improved with a content delivery system that pre-renders web content for a client device. A web page “program” can be pre-executed and the result delivered to a requesting client device, rather than or before sending a traditional set of web page components, such as a markup language document, cascading style sheets, embedded objects. This pre-execution can relieve the client device of the burden of rendering the web page, saving resources and decreasing latency before the web page is ready, and can reduce the number of network requests that the client device must make before being able to display the page. Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and devices for creating and delivering pre-rendered web pages for accelerated browsing. |
| US09576068B2 |
Displaying selected portions of data sets on display devices
Embodiments of the invention are concerned with displaying a data set within a display area of a display device, where the data set includes a plurality of groups of elements, each of the groups including a higher-level element and one or more lower-level elements. Each element may for example form part of a Document Object Model for an HTML document.Elements are processed to identify and render one or more elements in the display area. An element is identified if the region it occupies corresponds with a selected portion of a layout area of the data set. Groups of elements are processed differently in dependence on whether a higher-level element of a group has a pre-defined spatial relationship with respect to one or more lower-level elements in the group, allowing the invention to efficiently process elements which are members of groups for which the pre-defined spatial relationship has been identified. |
| US09576065B2 |
Method for maintaining common data across multiple platforms
Systems and methods are described for maintaining a user's common data across multiple platforms. The common data is information about the user and graphical and design elements of publications that should be consistently presented across online, other electronic, and non-electronic platforms, such as websites, social networking profiles, electronic and printed business listings, email and print newsletters, business cards, letterhead, and the like. The common data may be stored and updated by a centralized or distributed system including one or more servers communicating with the platforms and with a content database that retains the common data in a stored data structure. The system may provide an interface to the user, receive common data elements input by the user, add the common data elements to the stored data structure, and distribute the common data elements to the platforms. The system may identify which platforms require which elements of the common data. |
| US09576064B2 |
Third party program integrity and integration control in web-based applications
Disclosed herein are a resource control service, system, method and architecture. A client device's resource access is limited to an approved resource, or resources. A request for a resource is directed to a resource control service that determines whether or not to grant access to the requested resource. Where a determination is made to grant access to the resource, a response is transmitted to the client device, the response redirecting the client device to a second URI for the approved version of the requested resource. The response can be used by the client device request the resource from the location identified in the response. |
| US09576060B2 |
Composite term index for graph data
This application is directed to an indexing system for graph data. In particular implementations, the indexing system uses a database index infrastructure that provides for flexible search capability to data objects and associations between data objects. Particular embodiments relate to an indexing system for storing and serving information modeled as a graph that includes nodes and edges that define associations or relationships between nodes that the edges connect in the graph. |
| US09576057B2 |
User interface for navigating a keyword space
The present invention relates to systems, methods, and user interfaces for browsing a collection of content items saved by a user or by one or more buddies associated with a given user. The method of the present invention comprises saving one or more content items and one or more associated keywords as specified by a user. An interface is generated that displays the one or more saved content items and the one or more associated keywords, as well as the one or more buddies associated with a given user. A user indication of the selection of a given keyword or the selection of a given buddy by the user is received. The one or more displayed content items are filtered according to the selected keyword, buddy, or combination of selected keyword and buddy. |
| US09576054B2 |
Search method, apparatus and system based on rewritten search term
A search method is disclosed. In the method, a data rewriting system obtains, from a database, one or more search term candidates that are relevant to a present search term. The data rewriting system retrieves properties of the present search term and the one or more search term candidates, where the properties describe respective matching results of the present search term and the one or more search term candidates. Based on the matching results, the data rewriting system determines whether the present search term needs to be rewritten, and rewrites the present search term based on the matching results to provide a rewritten present search term in response to determining that the present search term needs to be rewritten. A search engine performs a search based on the rewritten present search term. |
| US09576050B1 |
Generating a playlist based on input acoustic information
Techniques for generating a playlist include: receiving acoustic information, obtaining seed information based on the acoustic information, identifying audio tracks in an audio library based on the seed information, and generating the playlist using at least some of the identified audio tracks. |
| US09576049B2 |
Semantic searching using zoom operations
Computer storage media, computerized methods, and systems for semantically navigating between content using zoom operations, as well as other user-initiated operations, are provided. The zoom operations include an open-pinch gesture (zoom in) and a closed-pinch gesture (zoom out) physically applied to a touch-screen display of a client device, where the touch-screen display presents a document with original content. When one or more of the zoom operations have been detected as being performed upon a targeted portion of the original content, new content that is relevant to the targeted content is retrieved, as opposed to simply expanding or contracting the original content within a display area of the touch-screen display. The document is transitioned to a view with representations of the new content organized according to a format, where the format is dictated by a type of the one or more zoom operations being performed. |