Document Document Title
US09640670B2 Transistors in display device
It is an object to manufacture a highly reliable display device using a thin film transistor having favorable electric characteristics and high reliability as a switching element. In a bottom gate thin film transistor including an amorphous oxide semiconductor, an oxide conductive layer having a crystal region is formed between an oxide semiconductor layer which has been dehydrated or dehydrogenated by heat treatment and each of a source electrode layer and a drain electrode layer which are formed using a metal material. Accordingly, contact resistance between the oxide semiconductor layer and each of the source electrode layer and the drain electrode layer can be reduced; thus, a thin film transistor having favorable electric characteristics and a highly reliable display device using the thin film transistor can be provided.
US09640666B2 Integrated circuit employing variable thickness film
An integrated circuit that includes: providing a substrate including a support structure, a dielectric layer, and a variable thickness film processed to include the dielectric layer within a recess of the variable thickness film; forming a gate over the variable thickness film; and forming a channel and a source/drain within the variable thickness film.
US09640661B1 FinFET having a fin and a V-shaped epitaxial layer formed on the top surface of the fin and method for fabricating the same
A method for fabricating semiconductor device is disclosed. First, a substrate is provided, and a fin-shaped structure is formed on the substrate. Next, a gate structure is formed on the fin-shaped structure, and an epitaxial layer is formed adjacent to the gate structure. Preferably, the epitaxial layer includes a V-shaped profile viewing from the top. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the V-shaped profile of the epitaxial layer allows more stress to be applied to the region having concentrated currents or edges of the fin-shaped structures during an on-state, and at the same time prevent exerting too much stress to the region having high currents or central region of the fin-shaped structure during an off-state.
US09640657B2 Semiconductor device
Semiconductor devices and fabrication methods are provided. In an exemplary method, a semiconductor layer including a first opening can be provided. The first opening can be filled with a stress material. The stress material can then be etched to form a second opening having a width less than a width of the first opening to leave a stress material layer in the semiconductor layer and on each sidewall of the second opening. The semiconductor layer can be etched to form a fin structure on a sidewall surface of the stress material layer. A main gate structure can be formed on the sidewall surface of the fin structure. A back gate structure can be formed on the sidewall surface of the stress material layer.
US09640654B2 Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device with improved characteristics is provided. The semiconductor device includes a LDMOS, a source plug electrically coupled to a source region of the LDMOS, a source wiring disposed over the source plug, a drain plug electrically coupled to a drain region of the LDMOS, and a drain wiring disposed over the drain plug. The structure of the source plug of the semiconductor device is devised. The semiconductor device is structured such that the drain plug is linearly disposed to extend in a direction Y, and the source plug includes a plurality of separated source plugs arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction Y. In this way, the separation of the source plug decreases an opposed area between the source plug and the drain plug, and can thus decrease the parasitic capacitance therebetween.
US09640649B2 III-nitride power semiconductor with a field relaxation feature
A III-nitride power semiconductor device that includes a field relaxation feature to relax the electric fields around the gate thereof to improve the breakdown voltage of the device.
US09640646B2 Semiconductor device having group III-V material active region and graded gate dielectric
Semiconductor devices having group III-V material active regions and graded gate dielectrics and methods of fabricating such devices are described. In an example, a semiconductor device includes a group III-V material channel region disposed above a substrate. A gate stack is disposed on the group III-V material channel region. The gate stack includes a graded high-k gate dielectric layer disposed directly between the III-V material channel region and a gate electrode. The graded high-k gate dielectric layer has a lower dielectric constant proximate the III-V material channel region and has a higher dielectric constant proximate the gate electrode. Source/drain regions are disposed on either side of the gate stack.
US09640644B1 Semiconductor device
A planar MOSFET is provided on the upper surface of the N−-type semiconductor substrate in a mesa portion between the trenches. A P+-type emitter layer is provided between the trench and the planar MOSFET in the mesa portion. A P-type collector layer is provided on a lower surface of the N−-type semiconductor substrate. The planar MOSFET includes an N+-type emitter layer, an upper portion of the N−-type semiconductor substrate, a P-type base layer, and a planar gate on the foregoing with a gate insulating film interposed therebetween. The planar gate is connected to the gate trench. The P+-type emitter layer has a higher impurity concentration than the P-type base layer and has an electric potential equal to an emitter potential of the N+-type emitter layer. The N+-type emitter layer is not in contact with the trench. A trench MOSFET is not formed.
US09640629B1 Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same
According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a substrate and a gate electrode. The gate electrode includes a first electrode formed on the substrate, the first electrode having a first conductive property, with a first insulating film between the first electrode and the substrate, and a second electrode formed on the substrate, the second electrode having a second conductive property different from the first conductive property, with a second insulating film between the second electrode and the substrate. The first electrode is formed in a rectangular shape having a hollow portion. A slit is formed in a side surface of the first electrode extending in a width direction of the gate electrode. The second electrode is formed in the slit and along the side surface of the first electrode that has the slit.
US09640628B2 Semiconductor device having fin-shaped semiconductor layer
An SGT production method includes a first step of forming a fin-shaped semiconductor layer on a semiconductor substrate and forming a first insulating film; a second step of forming a pillar-shaped semiconductor layer, a first dummy gate, and a first hard mask formed from a third insulating film; a third step of forming a second hard mask on a side wall of the first hard mask, and forming a second dummy gate; a fourth step of forming a sidewall and forming a second diffusion layer; a fifth step of depositing an interlayer insulating film, exposing upper portions of the second dummy gate and the first dummy gate, removing the second dummy gate and the first dummy gate, forming a first gate insulating film, and forming a gate electrode and a gate line; and a sixth step of forming a first contact and a second contact.
US09640626B2 Semiconductor device with buried gates and bit line contacting peripheral gate
A semiconductor device includes a substrate having a cell region and a peripheral region, a buried gate formed over the substrate of the cell region, a peripheral gate formed over the substrate of the peripheral region and comprising a conductive layer, an inter-layer dielectric layer that covers the substrate, and a peripheral bit line formed inside the inter-layer dielectric layer and contacting the conductive layer.
US09640621B2 Glass-ceramic substrates for semiconductor processing
Embodiments are directed to glass-ceramic substrates with a III-V semiconductor layer, for example, a GaN layer that can be used in LED lighting devices. The glass-ceramics material is in the anorthite-rutile (CaAl2Si2O8+TiO2) family or in the cordierite-enstatite (SiO2—Al2O3—MgO—TiO2) family.
US09640620B2 High power transistor with oxide gate barriers
A method of fabricating a gate stack for a power transistor device includes thermally oxidizing a surface of a Group IIIA-N layer on a substrate to form a first dielectric layer of an oxide material that is >5A thick. A second dielectric layer being silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride is deposited on the first dielectric layer. A metal gate electrode is formed on the second dielectric layer.
US09640618B2 Silicon carbide semiconductor device, method of manufacturing silicon carbide semiconductor device and method of designing silicon carbide semiconductor device
A silicon carbide semiconductor device includes a silicon carbide layer 32 of a first conductivity type, a silicon carbide layer 36 of a second conductivity type, a gate trench 20, a gate electrode 79 provided in the gate trench 20, and a protection trench 10 formed to a greater depth than the gate trench 20. A region in the horizontal direction that includes both the gate trench 20 and a protection trench 10 that surrounds only a part of the gate trench 20 in the horizontal direction is a cell region, and a region in the horizontal direction that includes a protection trench 10 and in which a gate pad 89 or a lead electrode connected to the gate pad 89 is disposed is a gate region.
US09640614B2 Integrated device with raised locos insulation regions and process for manufacturing such device
An integrated device includes a semiconductor body including an STI insulating structure that laterally delimits first active areas and at least one second active area in a low-voltage region and in a power region of the semiconductor body, respectively. Low-voltage CMOS components are housed in the first active areas. A power component, formed in the second active area, includes a source region, a body region, a drain-contact region, and at least one LOCOS insulation region. The insulating region is arranged between the body region and the drain-contact region and has a prominent portion that emerges from a surface of the semiconductor body, and an embedded portion inside it. The prominent portion of the LOCOS insulation region has a volume greater than that of the embedded portion.
US09640609B2 Double guard ring edge termination for silicon carbide devices
Edge termination structures for semiconductor devices are provided including a plurality of spaced apart concentric floating guard rings in a semiconductor layer that at least partially surround a semiconductor junction. The spaced apart concentric floating guard rings have a highly doped portion and a lightly doped portion. Related methods of fabricating devices are also provided herein.
US09640606B2 Electricity storage device and method for manufacturing electricity storage device
An electricity storage device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, an electricity storage layer, and a p-type semiconductor layer. The electricity storage layer is placed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The electricity storage layer contains a mixture of an insulating material and n-type semiconductor particles. The p-type semiconductor layer is placed between the electricity storage layer and the second electrode. The n-type semiconductor particles contain at least one of a titanium-niobium composite oxide and a titanium-tantalum composite oxide.
US09640604B2 Small size and fully integrated power converter with magnetics on chip
An integrated circuit has a semiconductor die provided in a first IC layer and an inductor fabricated on a second IC layer. The inductor may have a winding and a magnetic core, which are oriented to conduct magnetic flux in a direction parallel to a surface of a semiconductor die. The semiconductor die may have active circuit components fabricated in a first layer of the die, provided under the inductor layer. The integrated circuit may include a flux conductor provided on a side of the die opposite the first layer. PCB connections to active elements on the semiconductor die may progress through the inductor layer as necessary.
US09640602B2 Semiconductor device including magnetically coupled monolithic integrated coils
A semiconductor device includes a first coil that is monolithically integrated in a first portion of a semiconductor body and that includes a first winding wrapping around a first core structure. A second coil is monolithically integrated in a second portion of the semiconductor body and includes a second winding wrapping around the second core structure. The first and second coils are magnetically coupled with each other. An insulator frame in the semiconductor body surrounds the first portion and excludes the second portion. High dielectric strength between the first and the second coils is achieved without patterning a backside metallization for connecting the turns of the windings and without being restricted to thin substrates.
US09640596B2 Flexible display panel, manufacturing method thereof and display device
A flexible display panel comprises a display element (100) and a drive unit (50) disposed on a first surface (A) of a flexible base (20) and a supporting substrate (200) disposed on a second surface (B), opposite to the first surface (A), of the flexible base (20). The position of the supporting substrate (200) corresponds to a bonding position (C) of the drive unit (50). The flexible display panel can avoid a bonding alignment deviation caused by a deformation of the flexible display panel during a bonding process.
US09640593B2 Touch organic light emitting diode display device and manufacturing method thereof
A touch organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device, including: a thin film transistor formed on one side of a substrate, a touch signal feedback layer formed on the thin film transistor, a luminous substrate provided on the touch signal feedback layer, and a touch signal receiving layer formed on the other side of the substrate. An anode layer of the luminous substrate is connected to a drain electrode of the thin film transistor. As to the touch-sensitive OLED display device, a touch screen and an OLED display portion are prepared integratedly, so that the weight and thickness of the display itself are greatly reduced, and the production cost is saved. A manufacturing method of the touch-sensitive OLED display device is further disclosed.
US09640592B2 Method for forming functional layer of organic light-emitting device and method for manufacturing organic light-emitting device
A method of forming a hole transport layer in which an amount of ink per unit surface area to be applied to a plurality of groove regions is set so as to decrease in an order R, G, B. Prior to applying the ink, a nozzle head is scanned across while applying only solvent to each of the groove regions. At this time, an amount of the solvent to be applied to the groove regions is set so as to increase in the order R, G, B.
US09640590B2 Organic light-emitting diode display and fabrication method thereof
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display and fabrication method thereof are provided. The OLED display includes an organic light-emitting layer comprising a plurality of primary color regions and a plurality of mixed color regions, wherein the primary color regions and the mixed color regions have the same light emitting direction. A color shift prevention layer is disposed above or under the organic light-emitting layer, the color shift prevention layer comprising a plurality of opaque patterns disposed on the light emitting direction of the corresponding mixed color regions. The color shift prevention layer incorporated in the OLED display is able to block the mixed light emitted from the mixed color regions of the organic light-emitting layer. Therefore, the color shift problem can be solved.
US09640587B2 Semiconductor integrated circuit device having vertical channel and method of manufacturing the same
A semiconductor integrated circuit device having a vertical channel and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. A plurality of active lines are formed in a semiconductor substrate. A gate electrode having a lower height than each active line is formed on a sidewall of the active line. A first insulating layer having a height lower than that of the active line and higher than that of the gate electrode is buried between active lines, and a silicide layer is formed on an exposed upper surface and a lateral surface of the active line.
US09640576B2 Image sensing device and method for fabricating the same
An image sensing device includes: an active layer with a plurality of photo-sensing elements; a color pattern disposed over one of the photo-sensing elements, wherein the color pattern has a color selected from the group consisting of red (R), green (G), and blue (B); a microlens disposed on the color pattern; and a transmissive pattern being adjacent to the color pattern and over another one of the photo-sensing elements, wherein the transmissive pattern includes a color filter portion and a microlens portion, and an absolute value of a difference of refractive indexes between the microlens and the color pattern is less than 0.3, and there is no difference of refractive indexes between the microlens portion and the color filter portion of the transmissive pattern.
US09640562B2 Display panel
A display panel is disclosed and includes an active area and a non-active area. A first, a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth charging scanning lines and a first, a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth charge-sharing scanning lines of an array unit on the active area are connected to a first, a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth pixel row, respectively. A first, a second, and a third detection lines on the non-active area are connected to the active area.
US09640561B2 Flexible display with bent edge regions
An electronic device may have a flexible display with portions that are bent along a bend axis. The display may have display circuitry such as an array of display pixels in an active area. Contact pads may be formed in an inactive area of the display. Signal lines may couple the display pixels to the contact pads. The signal lines may overlap the bend axis in the inactive area of the display. During fabrication, an etch stop may be formed on the display that overlaps the bend axis. The etch stop may prevent over etching of dielectric such as a buffer layer on a polymer flexible display substrate. A layer of polymer that serves as a neutral stress plane adjustment layer may be formed over the signal lines in the inactive area of the display. Upon bending, the neutral stress plane adjustment layer helps prevent stress in the signal lines.
US09640558B2 Semiconductor device, display device, and electronic appliance
In case the size of the transistor is enlarged, power consumption of the transistor is increased. Thus, the present invention provides a display device capable of preventing a current from flowing to a display element in signal writing operation without varying potentials of power source lines for supplying a current to the display element per row. In setting a gate-source voltage of a transistor by applying a predetermined current to the transistor, a potential of a gate terminal of the transistor is adjusted so as to prevent a current from flowing to a load connected to a source terminal of the transistor. Therefore, a potential of a wire connected to the gate terminal of the transistor is differentiated from a potential of a wire connected to a drain terminal of the transistor.
US09640557B2 TFT array substrate and method for producing the same
A TFT array substrate has an organic insulating film formed of a photosensitive organic resin material. A common electrode and a lead-out wiring are formed on the organic insulating film, and a pixel electrode is formed above the common electrode with an interlayer insulating film provided between them. The pixel electrode is connected to the lead-out wiring through a contact hole formed in the interlayer insulating film. The lead-out wiring and the common electrode are connected to a drain electrode and a common wiring, respectively, through contact holes formed in the organic insulating film. A metal cap film is provided on each of the lead-out wiring and the common electrode in the contact holes formed in the organic insulating film.
US09640556B2 Thin film transistor
Provided is a thin film transistor that has high mobility and excellent stress resistance and is good typically in adaptability to wet etching process. The thin film transistor includes a substrate, and, disposed on the substrate in the following sequence, a gate electrode, a gate insulator film, oxide semiconductor layers, source-drain electrodes, and a passivation film that protects the source-drain electrodes. The oxide semiconductor layers have a first oxide semiconductor layer including In, Ga, Zn, Sn, and O, and a second oxide semiconductor layer including In, Ga, Sn, and O. The second oxide semiconductor layer is disposed on the gate insulator film. The first oxide semiconductor layer is disposed between the second oxide semiconductor layer and the passivation film. The atomic ratios in contents of the individual metal elements to all the metal elements constituting the first and the second oxide semiconductor layers are controlled to predetermined ratios.
US09640551B2 Passive device and radio frequency module formed on high resistivity substrate
In embodiments, a radio frequency (RF) module includes an RF switching device, an RF active device, a passive device and a control device formed on a high resistivity substrate. The passive device can include a shallow trench device isolation region having a plate shape and formed at a surface portion of the high resistivity substrate, deep trench device isolation regions extending downward from a lower surface of the shallow trench device isolation region so as to define at least one isolated region therebetween, at least one insulating layer formed on the high resistivity substrate, and at least one passive component formed on the insulating layer.
US09640550B2 Semiconductor device having three-dimensional structure and method of manufacturing the same
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor pattern; conductive layers each including a first portion through which the semiconductor pattern passes and a second portion having a thickness greater than the first portion, wherein the first portion of each conductive layer includes a first barrier pattern surrounding the semiconductor pattern and a material pattern, which is formed in the first barrier pattern and has an etch selectivity with respect to the first barrier pattern, and the second portion of each conductive layer includes a conductive pattern; and contact plugs connected to the second portion of each of the conductive layers.
US09640549B2 Vertical memory device with gate lines at the same level connected
A vertical memory device includes a substrate, a channel, gate lines and a connecting portion. A plurality of the channels extend in a first direction which is vertical to a top surface of a substrate. A plurality of the gate lines are stacked in the first direction to be spaced apart from each other and extend in a second, lengthwise direction, each gate line intersecting a set of channels and surrounding outer sidewalls of each channel of the set of channels. The gate lines forms a stepped structure which includes a plurality of vertical levels. A connecting portion connects a group of gate lines of the plurality of gate lines located at the same vertical level, the connecting portion diverging from the second direction in which the gate lines of the group of gate lines extend.
US09640547B2 Stacked multilayer structure and manufacturing method thereof
A stacked multilayer structure according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a stacked layer part including a plurality of conducting layers and a plurality of insulating layers, said plurality of insulating layers being stacked alternately with each layer of said plurality of conducting layers, one of said plurality of insulating layers being a topmost layer among said plurality of conducting layers and said plurality of insulating layers; and a plurality of contacts, each contact of said plurality of contacts being formed from said topmost layer and each contact of said plurality of contacts being in contact with a respective conducting layer of said plurality of conducting layers, a side surface of each of said plurality of contacts being insulated from said plurality of conducting layers via an insulating film.
US09640545B2 Non-volatile memory devices including vertical NAND channels and methods of forming the same
A non-volatile memory device can include a plurality of immediately adjacent offset vertical NAND channels that are electrically coupled to a single upper select gate line or to a single lower select gate line of the non-volatile memory device.
US09640543B2 Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device may include: a plurality of source-side half channels positioned in a first region and arranged in first to 2Nth rows, wherein N is an integer equal to or greater than 2; a plurality of first drain-side half channels positioned in a second region at one side of the first region and arranged in first to Nth rows; a plurality of second drain-side half channels positioned in a third region at the other side of the first region and arranged in first to Nth rows; a plurality of first pipe channels suitable for connecting the first to Nth rows of source-side half channels to the first to Nth rows of first drain-side half channels, respectively; and a plurality of second pipe channels suitable for connecting the (N+1)th to 2Nth rows of source-side half channels to the first to Nth rows of second drain-side half channels, respectively.
US09640539B2 Self aligned active trench contact
An integrated circuit and method includes self-aligned contacts. A gapfill dielectric layer fills spaces between sidewalls of adjacent MOS gates. The gapfill dielectric layer is planarized down to tops of gate structures. A contact pattern is formed that exposes an area for multiple self-aligned contacts. The area overlaps adjacent instances of the gate structures. The gapfill dielectric layer is removed from the area. A contact metal layer is formed in the areas where the gapfill dielectric material has been removed. The contact metal abuts the sidewalls along the height of the sidewalls. The contact metal is planarized down to the tops of the gate structures, forming the self-aligned contacts.
US09640536B2 Method to make dual material finFET on same substrate
A semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the device are provided. The semiconductor device has a substrate having a first device region and a second device region. A p-type fin field effect transistor is formed in the first device region. The p-type fin field effect transistor has a first fin structure comprised of a first semiconductor material. An n-type fin field effect transistor is formed in the second device region. The n-type fin field effect transistor has a second fin structure comprised of a second semiconductor material that is different than the first semiconductor material. To fabricate the semiconductor device, a substrate having an active layer present on a dielectric layer is provided. The active layer is etched to provide a first region having the first fin structure and a second region having a mandrel structure. The second fin structure is formed on a sidewall of the mandrel structure.
US09640531B1 Semiconductor device, structure and methods
A 3D semiconductor device, including: a first layer including first transistors; a second layer overlaying the first layer, the second layer including second transistors, where the second layer includes at least one thru layer via with a diameter less than 200 nm, where the second layer includes an oscillator, and where the oscillator has a frequency stability of less than 100 ppm error/° C.
US09640523B2 Lateral-diode, vertical-SCR hybrid structure for high-level ESD protection
A lateral p-n diode in the center of and surrounded by a vertical Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR) forms an Electro-Static-Discharge (ESD) protection structure. The lateral p-n diode has a cross-shaped P+ diode tap with four rectangles of N+ diode regions in each corner of the cross. A P-well under the P+ diode tap is also an anode of a vertical PNPN SCR that has a deep N-well in a P-substrate. The deep N-well surrounds the lateral diode. Triggering MOS transistors are formed just beyond the four ends of the cross shaped P+ diode tap. Each triggering MOS transistor has N+ regions at the edge of the deep N-well and in the P-substrate that act as the cathode terminals. A deep P+ implant region under the N+ region at the edge of the deep N-well decreases a trigger voltage of the vertical SCR.
US09640519B2 Photo-sensitive silicon package embedding self-powered electronic system
A self-powered electronic system comprises a first chip (401) of single-crystalline semiconductor embedded in a second chip (302) of single-crystalline semiconductor shaped as a container bordered by ridges. The assembled chips are nested and form an electronic device assembled, in turn, in a slab of weakly p-doped low-grade silicon shaped as a container (330) bordered by ridges (331). The flat side (335) of the slab includes a heavily n-doped region (314) forming a pn-junction (315) with the p-type bulk. A metal-filled deep silicon via (350) through the p-type ridge (331) connects the n-region with the terminal (322) on the ridge surface as cathode of the photovoltaic cell with the p-region as anode. The voltage across the pn-junction serves as power source of the device.
US09640518B2 Semiconductor package with package-on-package stacking capability and method of manufacturing the same
The present invention relates to a method of making a semiconductor package with package-on-package stacking capability. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the method is characterized by forming through openings that extend through a metallic carrier between first and second surfaces of the metallic carrier, attaching a chip-on-interposer subassembly on the metallic carrier using an adhesive, with the chip inserted into a cavity of the metallic carrier, and with the chip-on-interposer subassembly attached to the metallic carrier, forming first and second buildup circuitry on a first surface of the interposer and the second surface of the metallic carrier, respectively, and subsequently forming plated through holes that extend into the through openings to provide electrical and thermal connections between the first and second buildup circuitry. The method and resulting device advantageously provides vertical signal routing and stacking capability for a semiconductor package.
US09640517B2 Stacked electronic packages
A stacked electronic package includes a substrate and conductive straps each having sides, a top, and a bottom opposite the top. Each conductive strap is coupled along the bottom to an upper surface of the substrate and is separate from others of the conductive straps. A length of at least one of the sides is greater than a width of at least another one of the sides. An encapsulant extends over the upper surface and side surfaces of the substrate and the sides of the conductive straps. A passive electronic component is disposed over the conductive straps, and each conductive strap is coupled along the top to a terminal of the passive electronic component.
US09640516B2 Flexible display apparatus and methods
A flexible display includes a plurality of pixel chips, chixels, provided on a flexible substrate. The chixels and the light emitters thereon may be shaped, sized and arranged to minimize chixel, pixel, and sub-pixel gaps and to provide a desired bend radius of the display. The flexible substrate may include light manipulators, such as filters, light converters and the like to manipulate the light emitted from light emitters of the chixels. The light manipulators may be arranged to minimize chixel gaps between adjacent chixels.
US09640515B2 Multiple die stacking for two or more die
A microelectronic package can include a substrate having first and second opposed surfaces, and first and second microelectronic elements having front surfaces facing the first surface. The substrate can have a plurality of substrate contacts at the first surface and a plurality of terminals at the second surface. Each microelectronic element can have a plurality of element contacts at the front surface thereof. The element contacts can be joined with corresponding ones of the substrate contacts. The front surface of the second microelectronic element can partially overlie a rear surface of the first microelectronic element and can be attached thereto. The element contacts of the first microelectronic element can be arranged in an area array and are flip-chip bonded with a first set of the substrate contacts. The element contacts of the second microelectronic element can be joined with a second set of the substrate contacts by conductive masses.
US09640514B1 Wafer bonding using boron and nitrogen based bonding stack
A bonding material stack for wafer-to-wafer bonding is provided. The bonding material stack may include a plurality of layers each including boron and nitrogen. In one embodiment, the plurality of layers may include: a first boron oxynitride layer for adhering to a wafer; a boron nitride layer over the first boron oxynitride layer; a second boron oxynitride layer over the boron nitride layer; and a silicon-containing boron oxynitride layer over the second boron oxynitride layer.
US09640512B2 Wire bonding apparatus comprising an oscillator mechanism
A wire bonding apparatus comprises an ultrasonic transducer including a capillary, a flexible connecting frame having a first side to which the ultrasonic transducer is connected and at least one electrically-driven actuator which is connected to a second side of the flexible connecting frame that is opposite to the first side thereof, the actuator having a longitudinal actuation direction. An elongated slit located in the flexible connecting frame extends substantially transversely to the actuation direction of the at least one actuator to form at least one pivot point adjacent to an end of the slit about which the flexible connecting frame is rotatable when it is driven by the at least one actuator.
US09640509B1 Advanced metal-to-metal direct bonding
A first semiconductor structure having a first metallic structure that has a convex outermost surface and a second semiconductor structure having a second metallic structure that has a concave outermost surface are first provided. The first and second metallic structures are provided utilizing liner systems that have an opposite galvanic reaction to the metal or metal alloy that constitutes the first and second metallic structures such that during a planarization process the metal liners have a different removal rate than the metal or metal alloy that constitutes the first and second metallic structures. The first semiconductor structure and the second semiconductor structure are then bonded together such that the convex outermost surface of the first metallic structure is in direct contact with the concave outermost surface of the second metallic structure.
US09640508B2 Electrical apparatus
An electrical apparatus includes a first electrical component; a second electrical component; and an In—Sn—Ag alloy connecting the first electrical component and the second electrical component, the In—Sn—Ag alloy containing AgIn2 and Ag2In, a Ag2In content being lower than a AgIn2 content.
US09640507B2 Bonding method, bonding apparatus, and method for manufacturing substrate
A bonding method for bonding a semiconductor chip to an underlying structure includes aligning an electrical contact of a lower surface of the semiconductor chip with an electrical connection member of an upper surface of the underlying structure, the electrical contact at least partially encased by a support material. The method further includes first heating the semiconductor chip and the underlying structure, deforming the electrical contact, and curing the support material encasing the deformed electrical contact. The method still further includes second heating the semiconductor chip and the underlying structure to bond the electrical contact of the semiconductor chip to the electrical connection member of the underlying structure while maintaining the support material in a cured state.
US09640500B2 Terminal structure and semiconductor device
The present invention relates to a terminal structure comprising; a base material 10; an external electrode 20 formed on the base material; an insulating coating layer 30 formed on the base material and on the electrode and having an opening exposing at least part of the electrode; an under-bump metal layer 70 filling the opening and covering part of the insulating coating layer; and a dome-shaped bump 85 covering the under-bump metal layer, wherein in a cross section along a lamination direction, the under-bump metal layer has a convex shape toward the bump, and the thickness Tu0 of the under-bump metal layer at a center of the opening is equal to or greater than the thickness Tu1 of the under-bump metal layer at an end portion of the opening.
US09640495B2 Semiconductor device processing method for material removal
A method of removing at least a portion of a layer of material from over a semiconductor substrate that can include dispensing an etching solution over the semiconductor substrate to form a pool of etching solution on the layer of material, wherein a footprint of the pool of etching solution is less than a footprint of the semiconductor substrate. The pool of etching solution and the semiconductor substrate can be moved with respect to each other. A pool boundary of the pool of etching solution can be defined on the semiconductor substrate with at least one air-knife such that the pool of etching solution etches the layer of material over the semiconductor substrate within the footprint of the pool of etching solution. The etching solution and at least a portion of the layer of material etched by the etching solution can be removed with the at least one air-knife.
US09640494B1 Grounded die seal integrated circuit structure for RF circuits
An integrated circuit (IC) structure for radio frequency circuits having a grounded die seal that mitigates the effects of parasitic coupling through the die seal. Embodiments include conductive grounding ties that each electrically couple one or more of the internal grounding pads on an IC die within the magnetic loop formed by the die seal ring to an adjacent extent of an IC die seal. Induced parasitic energy within the die seal ring is quickly coupled to ground through the corresponding grounding ties and grounding pads. Accordingly, very little, if any, induced parasitic energy is propagated around the die seal ring.
US09640485B2 Bridge interconnection with layered interconnect structures
Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards techniques and configurations for layered interconnect structures for bridge interconnection in integrated circuit assemblies. In one embodiment, an apparatus may include a substrate and a bridge embedded in the substrate. The bridge may be configured to route electrical signals between two dies. An interconnect structure, electrically coupled with the bridge, may include a via structure including a first conductive material, a barrier layer including a second conductive material disposed on the via structure, and a solderable material including a third conductive material disposed on the barrier layer. The first conductive material, the second conductive material, and the third conductive material may have different chemical composition. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
US09640481B2 Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same
In one embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming first patterns on a workpiece layer, and forming second patterns containing a first metal on side faces of the first patterns. The method further includes removing the first patterns after forming the second patterns, and forming third patterns on side faces of the second patterns by a chemical change of the first metal after removing the first patterns. The method further includes removing the second patterns after forming the third patterns, and processing the workpiece layer by using the third patterns as a mask after removing the second patterns.
US09640480B2 Cross-couple in multi-height sequential cells for uni-directional M1
A MOS device includes first, second, third, and fourth interconnects. The first interconnect extends on a first track in a first direction. The first interconnect is configured in a metal layer. The second interconnect extends on the first track in the first direction. The second interconnect is configured in the metal layer. The third interconnect extends on a second track in the first direction. The third interconnect is configured in the metal layer. The second track is parallel to the first track. The third interconnect is coupled to the second interconnect. The second and third interconnects are configured to provide a first signal. The fourth interconnect extends on the second track in the first direction. The fourth interconnect is configured in the metal layer. The fourth interconnect is coupled to the first interconnect. The first and fourth interconnects are configured to provide a second signal different than the first signal.
US09640478B2 Semiconductor device having low dielectric insulating film and manufacturing method of the same
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate on which a structure portion is provided except a peripheral portion thereof, and has a laminated structure including low dielectric films and wiring lines, the low dielectric films having a relative dielectric constant of 3.0 or lower and a glass transition temperature of 400° C. or higher. An insulating film is formed on the structure portion. A connection pad portion is arranged on the insulating film and connected to an uppermost wiring line of the laminated structure portion. A bump electrode is provided on the connection pad portion. A sealing film made of an organic resin is provided on a part of the insulating film which surrounds the bump electrode. Side surfaces of the laminated structure portion are covered with the insulating film and/or the sealing film.
US09640476B2 Driving circuit and pin output order arranging method
A driving circuit and a pin output order arranging method are disclosed. The driving circuit includes (M*N) pins and an arranging module. A first pin˜an N-th pin of the (M*N) pins, a (N+1)-th pin˜an 2N-th pin of the (M*N) pins, . . . , a [(M−1)*N+1]-th pin˜a (M*N)-th pin of the (M*N) pins are arranged along a first direction in a specific distance spaced to form a first row of pins˜an M-th row of pins. The first row of pins˜the M-th row of pins are staggered along a second direction in a staggering way or an aligning way. M and N are integers larger than 1. The arranging module correspondingly arranges the pin output order of the (M*N) pins according to different application modes of the driving circuit.
US09640469B2 Matrix lid heatspreader for flip chip package
A method and apparatus are provided for manufacturing a lead frame based thermally enhanced flip chip package with an exposed heat spreader lid array (310) designed for direct attachment to an array of integrated circuit die (306) by including a thermal interface adhesion layer (308) to each die (306) and encapsulating the attached heat spreader lid array (310) and array of integrated circuit die (306) with mold compound (321) except for planar upper lid surfaces of the heat spreader lids (312).
US09640466B1 Packaged semiconductor device with a lead frame and method for forming
A method of manufacturing a packaged semiconductor device includes patterning and plating silver nanoparticles in bonding areas of a lead frame, forming a hydrophilic group while oxidizing the silver nanoparticles, forming wire bonds on the silver nanoparticles, and encapsulating the wire bonds and the silver nanoparticles.
US09640460B2 Semiconductor device with a heat-dissipating plate
A semiconductor device of the present invention includes: a first substrate (1) on which a power semiconductor element (2) is mounted; a heat-dissipating plate (12); an insulating layer (11) disposed between the first substrate (1) and the heat-dissipating plate (12); and molding resin (4) that molds the first substrate (1), the heat-dissipating plate (12), and the insulating layer (11). The heat-dissipating plate (12) has a first surface opposite to the insulating layer (12), the first surface being exposed from the molding resin (4). The insulating layer (11) has a curved area (11a) that is curved to the first surface and an end that is located in the molding resin (4).
US09640452B2 Electronic component housing package and electronic device
An electronic component housing package has an input/output member that is bonded to a hole part of a frame body via a brazing material. This input/output member has a top surface that is bonded to first side wall parts and a second side wall part inside the first side wall parts, and the top surface is provided with a narrow part having a narrow width at a portion that is bonded to the first side wall part. When the input/output member is bonded, the flow of the brazing material on the top surface can be controlled by the narrow part.
US09640444B2 Semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same
Provided is a method of fabricating a semiconductor device with a field effect transistor. The method may include forming a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode extending substantially parallel to each other and each crossing a PMOSFET region on a substrate and an NMOSFET region on the substrate; forming an interlayered insulating layer covering the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode; patterning the interlayered insulating layer to form a first sub contact hole on the first gate electrode, the first sub contact hole being positioned between the PMOSFET region and the NMOSFET region, when viewed in a plan view; and patterning the interlayered insulating layer to form a first gate contact hole and to expose a top surface of the second gate electrode, wherein the first sub contact hole and the first gate contact hole form a single communication hole.
US09640439B2 Semiconductor device, related manufacturing method, and related electronic device
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device may include the following steps: providing a semiconductor substrate structure; providing a substrate-connecting barrier layer on the semiconductor substrate structure; performing one or more iterations of a composite-layer formation process to provide a gate-connecting barrier layer, wherein the composite-layer formation process comprises: applying a silicon-containing compound set to an outmost existing barrier layer to form an amorphous silicon layer, and forming an overlying barrier layer on the amorphous silicon layer, wherein the substrate-connecting barrier layer is the outmost existing barrier layer for a first iteration of the one or more iterations, and wherein the gate-connecting barrier layer is the overlying barrier layer resulted from a last iteration of the one or more iterations; and providing a conductive gate layer on the gate-connecting barrier layer.
US09640438B2 Integrated circuits with inactive gates and methods of manufacturing the same
Integrated circuits and methods for manufacturing the same are provided. A method for producing an integrated circuit includes forming a first active dummy gate, a second active dummy gate, and an inactive gate overlying a substrate. The first active dummy gate is replaced with a first metal gate, where replacing the first active dummy gate includes planarizing the first metal gate, the second active dummy gate, and the inactive gate. The second active dummy gate is replaced with a second replacement metal after the first active dummy gate was replaced, where the inactive gate remains overlying the substrate.
US09640436B1 MOSFET with asymmetric self-aligned contact
A semiconductor device includes a source and drain on a substrate; a first and second gate on the source, and the second gate and a third gate on the drain; a source contact over the source and between the first and second gates, the source contact including first and second portions, the first portion in contact with the source and extending between the first and second gates, and the second portion contacting the first portion and extending over the first and second gates; and a drain contact formed over the drain and between the second and third gates, the drain contact including first and second portions, the first portion contacting the drain, extending between second and third gates, and recessed with respect to the first portion of the source contact, and the second portion in contact with the first portion and extending between and over the second and third gates.
US09640431B2 Method for via plating with seed layer
Presented herein is a method for plating comprising providing a substrate having a dielectric layer formed over a trace, and forming a via/trench opening extending through the dielectric layer, the via/trench opening exposing a surface of the trace. The method further comprises forming a seed layer in the via/trench opening and contacting the trace and forming a protection layer over the seed layer. The protection layer is removed and a conductive layer deposited on the seed layer in a single plating process step by applying a plating solution in the via/trench opening.
US09640427B2 Semiconductor structure and fabrication method thereof
A method for forming a semiconductor structure is provided. The method includes providing a substrate; and forming an ultra-low-dielectric-constant (ULK) dielectric layer on a surface of the substrate. The method also includes etching the ultra-low-dielectric-constant dielectric layer to form a trench in the ultra-low-dielectric-constant dielectric layer; and performing an inert plasma treatment process on a side surface of the trench. Further, the method includes performing a carbonization process on the side surface of the trench; and performing a nitridation process on the side surface of the trench to form a SiCNH layer on the side surface of the trench.
US09640425B2 System for making and cleaning semiconductor device
Various embodiments provide methods and systems for making and/or cleaning semiconductor devices. In one embodiment, a semiconductor device can be formed including a metal layer and a photoresist polymer. During formation, the semiconductor device can be cleaned in a cleaning chamber by a first cleaning solution provided from a solution supply device. After this cleaning process, a second cleaning solution containing metal ions and/or polymer residues can be produced and processed in a solution processing device to at least partially remove the metal ions and/or polymer residues to produce a third cleaning solution for re-use. In an exemplary fabrication or cleaning system, the solution processing device may be configured connecting to either an inlet or an outlet of the cleaning chamber. After cleaning, the semiconductor device can be processed to include a metal plug or an interconnect wiring.
US09640421B2 Monolithic integration techniques for fabricating photodetectors with transistors on same substrate
Examples of the various techniques introduced here include, but not limited to, a mesa height adjustment approach during shallow trench isolation formation, a transistor via first approach, and a multiple absorption layer approach. As described further below, the techniques introduced herein include a variety of aspects that can individually and/or collectively resolve or mitigate one or more traditional limitations involved with manufacturing PDs and transistors on the same substrate, such as above discussed reliability, performance, and process temperature issues.
US09640418B2 Apparatus, system, and method for handling aligned wafer pairs
An industrial-scale apparatus, system, and method for handling precisely aligned and centered semiconductor wafer pairs for wafer-to-wafer aligning and bonding applications includes an end effector having a frame member and a floating carrier connected to the frame member with a gap formed therebetween, wherein the floating carrier has a semi-circular interior perimeter. The centered semiconductor wafer pairs are positionable within a processing system using the end effector under robotic control. The centered semiconductor wafer pairs are bonded together without the presence of the end effector in the bonding device.
US09640415B2 Robust ink formulations for durable markings on microelectronic packages and its extendibility as a barrier material for thermal and sealant materials
Methods for covalently and indelibly anchoring a polyacrylate polymer using a UV-induced polymerization process in the presence of a photoinitiator to an oxide surface are disclosed herein. The methods and compositions prepared by the methods can be used as indelible marking materials for use on microelectronic packages and as solder and sealant barriers to prevent overspreading of liquids on the oxide surfaces of microelectronic packages. The polyacrylate polymers are covalently linked to the oxide surface by use during the printing and UV-curing process of an adhesion promoter having as a first domain an oxide-reactive silyl group, bonded via a linker to an acrylate-reactive group.
US09640414B2 Method of manufacturing semiconductor device
In a semiconductor device formed by mounting a chip laminate including a semiconductor chip having a small diameter and a semiconductor chip having a large diameter over the top surface of a substrate, an excessive stress is prevented from being added to a joint of the two semiconductor chips. By mounting a first semiconductor chip having a large diameter over a support substrate and thereafter mounting a second semiconductor chip having a small diameter over the first semiconductor chip, it is possible to: suppress the inclination and unsteadiness of the second semiconductor chip mounted over the first semiconductor chip; and hence inhibit an excessive stress from being added to a joint of the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip.
US09640413B2 Etching-before-packaging horizontal chip 3D system-level metal circuit board structure and technique thereof
Provided is an etching-before-packaging horizontal chip three-dimensional system level metal circuit board structure comprising a metal substrate frame; the metal substrate frame is provided with base islands and pins therein; the front faces of the base islands are provided with chips; the front faces of the chips are connected to the front faces of the pins via metal wires; conductive posts are disposed on the front faces or back faces of the pins; the peripheral areas of the base islands, the areas between the base islands and the pins, the areas between the pins, the areas above the base islands and the pins, the areas below the base islands and the pins, and the exteriors of the chips, the metal wires and the conductive posts are all encapsulated with molding compound.
US09640411B2 Method for manufacturing a transistor device comprising a germanium channel material on a silicon based substrate, and associated transistor device
Method for manufacturing a transistor device comprising a germanium channel material on a silicon based substrate, the method comprising providing a shallow trench isolation (STI) substrate comprising a silicon protrusion embedded in STI dielectric structures, and partially recessing the silicon protrusion in order to provide a trench in between adjacent STI structures, and to provide a V-shaped groove at an upper surface of the recessed protrusion. The method also includes growing a Si1-xGex SRB layer in the trenches, and growing a germanium based channel layer on the Si1-xGex SRB layer. In this example, the Si1-xGex SRB layer comprises a germanium content x that is within the range of 20% to 99%, and the SRB layer has a thickness less than 400 nm. The present disclosure also relates to an associated transistor device.
US09640408B2 Fast-gas switching for etching
A method for etching a layer in a plasma chamber with an inner injection zone gas feed and an outer injection zone gas feed is provided. The layer is placed in the plasma chamber. A pulsed etch gas is provided from the inner injection zone gas feed at a first frequency, wherein flow of pulsed etch gas from the inner injection zone gas feed is ramped down to zero. The pulsed etch gas is provided from the outer injection zone gas feed at the first frequency and simultaneous with and out of phase with the pulsed etch gas from the inner injection zone gas feed. The etch gas is formed into a plasma to etch the layer, simultaneous with the providing the pulsed etch gas from the inner injection zone gas feed and providing the pulsed gas from the outer interjection zone gas feed.
US09640402B1 Methods for gate formation in circuit structures
Methods for forming a gate structure of a circuit structure are provide. The methods for forming the gate structure may include: forming a first gate pattern in a gate mask layer, the forming including a first etching of rounded corner portions of the first gate pattern; forming a second gate pattern in the gate mask layer, the second gate pattern at least partially overlapping the first gate pattern, the forming including a second etching of rounded corner portions of the second gate pattern; and, etching the gate mask layer using the first gate pattern and second gate pattern to form the gate structure.
US09640390B1 Method for modifying and controlling the threshold voltage of thin film transistors
Doped semiconductor ink formulations, methods of making doped semiconductor ink formulations, methods of coating or printing thin films, methods of forming electronic devices and/or structures from the thin films, and methods for modifying and controlling the threshold voltage of a thin film transistor using the films are disclosed. A desired dopant may be added to an ink formulation comprising a Group IVA compound and a solvent, and then the ink may be printed on a substrate to form thin films and conductive structures/devices, such as thin film transistors. By adding a customized amount of the dopant to the ink prior to printing, the threshold voltage of a thin film transistor made from the doped semiconductor ink may be independently controlled upon activation of the dopant.
US09640389B2 High-mobility semiconductor heterostructures
A layer structure and method of fabrication of a semiconductor heterostructure containing a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG), or a two-dimensional electron/hole gas (2DEHG). The heterostructure contains a quantum well layer with 2DEG, 2DHG, or 2DEHG embedded between two doped charge reservoir layers and at least two remote charge reservoir layers. Such scheme allows reducing the number of scattering ions in the proximity of the quantum well as well a possibility for a symmetric potential for the electron or hole wavefunction in the quantum well, leading to significant improvement in carrier mobility in a broad range of 2DEG or 2DHG concentration in the quantum well. Embodiments of the invention may be applied to the fabrication of galvano-magnetic sensors, HEMT, pHEMT, and MESFET devices.
US09640385B2 Gate electrode material residual removal process
The present disclosure provides methods for removing gate electrode residuals from a gate structure after a gate electrode patterning process. In one example, a method for forming high aspect ratio features in a gate electrode layer in a gate structure includes performing an surface treatment process on gate electrode residuals remaining on a gate structure disposed on a substrate, selectively forming a treated residual in the gate structure on the substrate with some untreated regions nearby in the gate structure, and performing a remote plasma residual removal process to remove the treated residual from the substrate.
US09640382B2 Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method
In a substrate processing apparatus, with an internal space of a chamber brought into a reduced pressure atmosphere, a first processing liquid is supplied onto an upper surface of a substrate while the substrate is rotated, and the first processing liquid is thereby quickly spread from a center portion toward a peripheral portion on the upper surface of the substrate. It is thereby possible to coat the upper surface of the substrate with the first processing liquid in a shorter time as compared with under normal pressure. Further, by sucking the first processing liquid from the vicinity of an edge of the substrate, it is possible to coat the upper surface of the substrate with the first processing liquid in a still shorter time. As a result, it is possible to shorten the time required for the processing of the substrate.
US09640380B1 Electrodeless high intensity discharge lamp with wave-launcher
Electrodeless high intensity discharge (HID) lamps have the promise of higher reliability and higher efficiency than traditional electroded high intensity discharge lamps. However, most electrodeless HIDs operate in the frequency range of around 400 MHz or higher resulting in expensive, inefficient RF drivers that reduce the overall efficacy of the lamp. Operating the lamp at lower frequencies results in substantial increase in the physical dimensions of the resonators used in traditional electrodeless HIDs. In this invention a novel wave-launcher technology is used allow the lamp housing's operating frequency to be independent of the physical dimensions of the lamp housing. This provides an avenue to increase the conversion efficiency of the RF driver and the efficacy of the lamp system.
US09640379B2 Mass spectrometer vacuum interface method and apparatus
A mass spectrometer vacuum interface can include a skimmer apparatus having a skimmer aperture and an internal surface. A method of operating the mass spectrometer vacuum interface can include establishing an outwardly directed flow along the internal surface of the skimmer apparatus.
US09640378B2 Time-of-flight mass spectrometer
An embodiment of the invention relates to a TOF-MS capable of performing mass spectrometry of a sample at a high throughput. The TOF-MS has an acceleration part for accelerating an ion, a detector for detecting an event of arrival of the accelerated ion, and a data processing part for performing mass spectrometry of the sample, based on a time of flight of the ion. A first structure of the detector includes an MCP, a dynode, and an anode. In the first structure, the dynode is set at a potential higher than that of an output face of the MCP. The anode is disposed at an intermediate position between the MCP and the dynode or on the dynode side with respect to the intermediate position. The anode has plural apertures and is set at a potential higher than that of the dynode.
US09640373B2 Method and system for processing analysis data
Data of a plurality of samples collected by an LC/MS, GC/MS or other systems are converted into a two-dimensional table format. After LC/MS measurement data on a plurality of samples are obtained and the respective extracted ion chromatograms (XICs) are created, a time-axis adjustment for correcting a discrepancy in the retention time is performed, followed by a process of correcting the missing of data which has occurred in the head and/or tail section of the data as a result of the time-axis adjustment.
US09640368B2 Plasma processing apparatus
In a plasma processing apparatus, first to third RF power monitors 94, 94 and 98 are configured to monitor high frequency powers (progressive wave powers), which propagate on first to third high frequency power supply lines 88, 90 and 92 from first to third high frequency power supplies 36, 38 and 40 toward a load side, respectively, and high frequency powers (reflection wave powers), which propagate on the first high frequency power supply lines 88, 90 and 92 from the load side toward the first to third high frequency power supplies 36, 38 and 40, respectively, at the same time. A main controller 82 is configured to control the high frequency power supplies 36, 38 and 40 and matching devices 42, 44 and 46 based on monitoring information sent from RF power monitors 94, 96 and 98.
US09640366B2 Electron beam irradiation method and scanning electron microscope
The present invention has for its object to provide a charged particle beam irradiation method and a charged particle beam apparatus which can suppress unevenness of electrification even when a plurality of different kinds of materials are contained in a pre-dosing area or degrees of density of patterns inside the pre-dosing area differs with positions.To accomplish the above object, a charged particle beam irradiation method and a charged particle beam apparatus are provided according to which the pre-dosing area is divided into a plurality of divisional areas and electrifications are deposited to the plural divisional areas by using a beam under different beam irradiation conditions. With the above construction, the electrifications can be deposited to the pre-dosing area on the basis of such an irradiation condition that the differences in electrification at individual positions inside the pre-dosing area can be suppressed and consequently, an influence an electric field has upon the charged particle beam and electrons given off from the sample can be suppressed.
US09640363B2 Nano-patterned system and magnetic-field applying device thereof
A nano-patterned system comprises a vacuum chamber, a sample stage and a magnetic-field applying device, which comprises a power supply, a magnetic-field generation device and a pair of magnetic poles. The magnetic-field generation device comprises a coil and a magnetic conductive soft iron core. The power supply is connected to the coil, which is wound on the soft iron core to generate a magnetic field. The soft iron core is of a semi-closed frame structure and the magnetic poles are at the ends of the frame structure. The stage is inside a vacuum chamber. The poles are oppositely arranged inside the vacuum chamber relative to the stage. The coil and the soft iron core are outside the vacuum chamber. The soft iron core leads the magnetic field generated by the coil into the vacuum chamber. The magnetic poles locate a sample on the stage and apply a local magnetic field.
US09640362B2 Photocathode coupled X-ray tube
Provided is an X-ray tube including an anode, a target on the anode, a cathode disposed separate from the target and the anode and comprising an emitter providing an electron beam to the target, and a side wall disposed between the cathode and the anode, and surrounding the target and the emitter. The side wall reflects a light generated by collision of the electron beam with the target to the cathode, and electrically insulates the cathode from the anode.
US09640360B2 Ion source and ion beam device using same
Provided is a charged particle beam microscope which has a small mechanical vibration amplitude of a distal end of an emitter tip, is capable of obtaining an ultra-high resolution sample observation image and removing shaking or the like of the sample observation image. A gas field ion source includes: an emitter tip configured to generate ions; an emitter-base mount configured to support the emitter tip; a mechanism configured to heat the emitter tip; an extraction electrode installed to face the emitter tip; and a mechanism configured to supply a gas to the vicinity of the emitter tip, wherein the emitter tip heating mechanism is a mechanism of heating the emitter tip by electrically conducting a filament connecting at least two terminals, the terminals are connected by a V-shaped filament, an angle of the V shape is an obtuse angle, and the emitter tip is connected to a substantial center of the filament.
US09640357B2 Electronic device and electronic apparatus having a fuse that is fractured by external forces
There is provided an electronic device including a first member formed to include at least a part of a substrate material, a second member formed to include at least a part of the substrate material and configured to be relatively movable with respect to the first member, and a fuse configured to include at least a part of the substrate material and configured to electrically connect the first member to the second member via the substrate material.
US09640356B2 Clapping type electromagnetic tripping system
A clapping type electromagnetic tripping system comprises an iron core with a U-shaped structure, an armature, a heating element, a bimetallic element and a connecting plate; a bracket extends into a U-shaped groove of the iron core and is fixedly connected with the iron core, and a wire connecting the heating element and the connecting plate surrounds the iron core and the bracket; the bracket twined round by the wire is fixedly connected with the middle part of the heating element, the bottom end of the heating element and the bottom end of the bimetallic element are fixedly connected with a supporting member together, and the armature is hung on the bracket surrounded by the wire; and the armature and the iron core twined round by the wire are arranged oppositely to form a magnetic loop, and one end of the armature is attracted by the iron core so as to swing when short-circuit current is generated. The clapping type electromagnetic tripping system disclosed by the present invention-creation is simple and reasonable in structure and can enable the armature to be attracted reliably.
US09640351B2 Temperature-dependent switch
In a temperature-dependent switch having a switching mechanism that has a movable contact part which cooperates with a stationary counter contact and is moved by a spring part to which the movable contact part is electrically conductively connected, the switching mechanism produces an electrically conductive connection between the stationary counter contact and a second counter contact in a temperature-dependent manner. The switch is provided with an arc-shielding plate, which has no mechanical function, is arranged on an upper surface of the spring part and covers sections thereof.
US09640350B2 Modular switchgear insulation system
An insulated switchgear module is disclosed. In one example, the module comprises a vacuum interrupter, current exchange assembly, and end conductors disposed within an insulated housing. The insulated housing further comprises a tank containing an actuator mechanism for actuating the current exchange assembly. An insulating tray within the housing separates the vacuum interrupter from the components in the tank. The insulated tray has a shape that corresponds with the shape of the vacuum interrupter and the shape of the housing.
US09640344B2 Portable pressure switch calibration and diagnostic tool
An apparatus for calibration and testing of pressure switches which are used in residential and commercial HVAC systems. The apparatus can be used to test, set, or adjust a pressure switch or a pressure signal transducer to the manufacturer's specifications. The apparatus includes an exterior housing with an on/off switch and at least one vacuum inlet nozzle, and the inside of the housing includes an air compressor to which the amount of voltage supplied can be manually controlled. The air compressor typically operates from a battery power supply located within the housing. A pressure measuring device, such as a differential pressure gage, and a conductivity indicator are typically used in conjunction with the device to calibrate adjustable pressure switches and to test and diagnose faulty pressure switches. The apparatus can include the pressure measuring device and/or the conductivity indicator within its housing.
US09640341B2 On-load tap changer
An on-load tap changer has a load changeover switch insert having a switching tube rotatable about an axis, at least one switching module associated with the switching insert and having at least one switching segment fastened to the switching tube, an oil tank, and a resistor subassembly having a plurality of separate and identical resistors. An actuating arrangement associated with the switching module at an inner wall of the oil tank has a plurality of identical actuators associated with the switching module at the inner wall of the oil tank. The on-load tap changer is a load selector or a load changeover switch depending on the arrangement of the at least one identical switching segment, the resistor subassembly, and the mounting of the plurality of identical actuators at the inner wall of the oil tank.
US09640332B2 Hybrid electrochemical capacitor
Hybrid electrochemical capacitors, electronic devices using such capacitors, and associated methods are disclosed. In an example, a hybrid electrochemical capacitor can include a first electrode made from Mg, Na, Zn, Al, Sn, or Li, a second electrode made from a porous material such as porous carbon or passivated porous silicon, and an electrolyte. The hybrid electrochemical capacitors can have enhanced voltage and energy density compared to other electrochemical capacitors, and enhanced power density compared to batteries.
US09640331B2 Solid state dye-sensitized solar cell tandem module
A method is provided for forming a solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell (ssDSC) tandem module. The method fabricates a first panel by forming a first plurality of series-connected ssDSC cells overlying the first substrate top surface, with an electrical interface between each ssDSC cell. A second panel is fabricated in the same manner. An anisotropic conductive film (ACF) is formed overlying each electrical interface of the first panel ssDSC cells. Each ACF is aligned to a corresponding electrical interface of the second panel ssDSC cells, and the panels are bound. The result is a ssDSC tandem module comprising a first plurality of series-connected tandem sections, where each tandem section comprises a first panel ssDSC cell connected in parallel with an overlying second panel ssDSC cell. In one variation, the tandem sections include series-connected ssDSC cells.
US09640329B2 Hybrid solar cells integrated glassblock and prestressed panel made of dry-assembled glassblocks for the construction of traslucent building envelopes
A hybrid solar cells integrated glassblock structure, includes, at least one glass shell (0) having at least a light transparent surface (2, 9, 13) intended to be exposed to solar radiations, a Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSC) device (3, 8) associated to the surface (2, 9, 13) so as to receive solar radiations passing through the surface, the device having electric contacts, at least one hole (7, 11, 15, 17) allowing passage to an external area of the glassblock of electrical connections leading to the device contacts; and a prestressed and dry assembled glassblock panel for the construction of translucent building envelope even in high-rise buildings, which may also provide high performance related to energy production and saving.
US09640322B2 Monolithic ceramic capacitor with internal conductor layers having different densities
A monolithic ceramic capacitor includes an element body having therein a multilayer portion formed of a plurality of conductor layers and a plurality of ceramic dielectric layers alternately stacked in a thickness direction; and a first outer electrode and a second outer electrode provided on an outer portion of the element body. The element body is divided in the thickness direction into a thickness-direction first outer layer portion, a thickness-direction second outer layer portion, and a thickness-direction inner layer portion located between the thickness-direction first outer layer portion and the thickness-direction second outer layer portion and including the multilayer portion. A first conductor layer and a second conductor layer, which are outermost layers among the plurality of conductor layers, have lower conductor densities than any of conductor densities of the other conductor layers.
US09640319B2 Anisotropic rare earth magnet powder, method for producing the same, and bonded magnet
The anisotropic rare earth magnet powder of the present invention includes powder particles having R2TM14B1-type crystals of a tetragonal compound of a rare earth element (R), boron (B), and a transition element (TM) having an average crystal grain diameter of 0.05 to 1 μm, and enveloping layers containing at least a rare earth element (R′) and copper (Cu) and enveloping surfaces of the crystals. Owing to the presence of the enveloping layers, coercivity of the anisotropic rare earth magnet powder can be remarkably enhanced without using a scarce element such as Ga and Dy.
US09640314B2 Outdoor dry-type transformer
A three-phase dry distribution transformer adapted for mounting outdoors on a pad or to a utility pole. The distribution transformer includes one or more winding assemblies mounted to a ferromagnetic core. Each winding assembly includes a low voltage winding and a high voltage winding. In each winding assembly, an encasement comprised of an insulating resin encapsulates the low voltage and high voltage windings. The encasement includes a body and a pair of high voltage bushings and a pair of low voltage bushing.
US09640313B2 Multilayer inductor and power supply circuit module
A multilayer inductor includes a multilayer body formed by stacking magnetic layers on top of one another. Loop-like line-shaped conductors are respectively formed on the magnetic layers. The loop-like line-shaped conductors are connected to one another by interlayer connection conductors, and thereby a coil conductor having an axis extending in the stacking direction is formed. One end of the line-shaped conductor, which is an uppermost-layer-side end portion of the coil conductor, is connected to a line-shaped conductor, which is for routing and is formed on a higher layer, by a interlayer connection conductor. The line-shaped conductor is connected to an interlayer connection conductor that is formed so as to penetrate through substantially the center inside the loop-like line-shaped conductors. The interlayer connection conductor is connected to an external connection conductor on a bottom surface of the multilayer body via a line-shaped conductor and an interlayer connection conductor.
US09640309B2 Superconducting DC reactor
A DC reactor consisting of a coil formed of a superconducting material is provided. It is possible to reduce leakage reactance and to increase critical current by using a coil formed of a high temperature superconducting material and forming a first bobbin of the DC reactor as a toroid shape.
US09640306B2 Ferromagnetic powder composition and method for its production
A ferromagnetic powder composition is provided comprising soft magnetic iron-based core particles having an apparent density of 3.2-3.7 g/ml, and wherein the surface of the core particles is provided with a phosphorus-based inorganic insulating layer and at least one metal-organic layer, located outside the first phosphorus-based inorganic insulating layer. A process further is provided for producing the composition and a method for the manufacturing of soft magnetic composite components prepared from the composition, as well as the obtained component.
US09640305B2 Method for producing sintered rare-earth magnet, sintered rare-earth magnet, and material for same
A method for producing a sintered rare-earth magnet characterized by sintering a raw material that includes a ribbon-shaped polycrystalline phase with an average grain size of 10 to 200 nm fabricated by rapid solidification of an alloy melt having a rare-earth magnet composition, and a low-melting point phase formed on the surface of the polycrystalline phase and having a melting point lower than the polycrystalline phase.
US09640302B2 Cable with molded resin
A cable with a molded resin includes a cable including an electric wire and a sheath covering the electric wire, the electric wire including a central conductor and an insulation covering the central conductor, and a molded resin covering a part of the electric wire protruding from the sheath in a longitudinal direction thereof, the molded resin being apart from the sheath. The electric wire is bent at not less than one bent part in the molded resin.
US09640301B2 Electric wire and cable
An electric wire includes a conductor having a cross-sectional area of not less than 135 mm2 and not more than 165 mm2, an insulation provided so as to cover the outer periphery of the conductor, and a wire sheath provided so as to cover the outer periphery of the insulation. The amount of deflection is not less than 250 mm when, at 23° C., one end of the electric wire is fixed to a fixture table so that another end horizontally protrudes 400 mm from the fixture table and a weight of 2 kg is attached to the other end, and cracks and breaks do not occur when wound with a bending diameter of three times the diameter at −40° C.
US09640296B2 Electroconductive polymer dispersion liquid and electroconductive coating
The present invention relates to an electroconductive polymer dispersion liquid characterized in containing a π-conjugated electrically conductive polymer, a polyanion, a compound represented by the following chemical formula (1), and a dispersion medium. In accordance with the present invention, an electroconductive polymer dispersion liquid capable of readily forming an electroconductive coating having excellent electrical conductivity, heat resistance, moist-heat resistance, and substrate adhesion property can be provided.[Chemical formula 1] CH2═C(R1)—CO—NH—R2—O—CO—NH—R3—Si(OR4)3  (1) In chemical formula (1), R1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, R2 and R3 each independently represent an arbitrary substituent group, and R4 represents a methyl group or an ethyl group.
US09640295B2 Aluminum electrode, method of forming an aluminum electrode and electronic device therewith
The present disclosure relates to an aluminum electrode, a method of forming an aluminum electrode and an electronic device therewith. An aluminum electrode according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises: a bottom layer consisting of molybdenum; a top layer consisting of molybdenum; and an aluminum layer located between the bottom layer and the top layer, wherein the bottom layer, the top layer and the aluminum layer are formed at a temperature below 120° C. An aluminum electrode according to one embodiment of the present disclosure eliminates the mouse bite phenomenon. An aluminum electrode according to another aspect of the present disclosure comprises: a bottom layer consisting of a metal or metal-alloy nitride; a top layer consisting of molybdenum; and an aluminum layer located between the bottom layer and the top layer, wherein the bottom layer, the top layer and the aluminum layer are formed at a temperature below 120° C. An aluminum electrode according to another embodiment of the present disclosure eliminates both of the mouse bite phenomenon and the undercut phenomenon, and can further arrive at a desired profile angle by controlling the content of nitrogen.
US09640294B2 Single-layer multi-point touch-control conductive film
The present invention provides a single-layer multi-point touch-control conductive film and a method for producing the same. The single-layer multi-point touch-control conductive film includes a transparent substrate having a first surface; a bridging module provided on the first surface of the transparent substrate; a transparent polymer layer provided on the first surface of the transparent substrate, the transparent polymer layer covers the bridging module; the transparent polymer layer is formed with a first groove-like grid on the surface, the first groove-like grid is filled with a conductive material, respectively forming a first electrode and a plurality of second electrode modules, the bridging module electrically connects two adjacent second electrode modules, to form a second electrode; and a conductive module, provided on the transparent polymer layer, and penetrating the transparent polymer layer; each of the second electrode modules is in electrical connection with the bridging module via the conductive module.
US09640288B1 Flexible radiation shield
A pliable multilayer blanket configured as a particle radiation shield, the blanket including multiple layers. A first layer of the multiple layers is composed of a first material and a second layer of the multiple layers is composed of a second material, different from the first material, each layer being less than 20 mils thick. At least one of the first material and the second material is a metal or metal alloy having an atomic number (Z) of at least 29.
US09640282B1 Flexible I/O partition of multi-die memory solution
A method of testing a microelectronic package configured to provide memory access can include energizing terminals of the microelectronic package, the terminals including first terminals configured to carry address information and second terminals configured to carry data signals. The method can also include applying read and write test data signals simultaneously to the first and second sets of second terminals, so as to simultaneously test read and write operation in first and second microelectronic elements of the microelectronic package. The first and second microelectronic elements can be configured to provide access to memory storage array locations in the first and second microelectronic elements. The terminals can also include third terminals configured to receive a test mode input that reconfigures the first and second microelectronic elements to permit simultaneous access to memory storage array locations in the first and second microelectronic elements.
US09640280B1 Power domain aware insertion methods and designs for testing and repairing memory
Aspects of the present disclosure involve insertion of power domain aware memory testing logic into integrated circuit designs to enable efficient testing of the memories embedded therein. In example embodiments, each power domain of the integrated circuit, and the memories included therein, are associated with dedicated test data register (TDR) set and instruction set. Each instruction set causes memory test logic circuitry in the integrated circuit to test the memories included in the corresponding power domain in parallel. Once testing of memories within a particular power domain is over, the test circuitry tests memories belonging to another power domain in parallel, and so on.
US09640276B2 Shift register unit and gate driving circuit
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communication. There is provided a shift register unit and a gate driving circuit for decreasing noise interferences, enhancing stability of the shift register unit, and at the same reducing the size of the shift register unit. The shift register unit comprises: an input module configured to provide a first voltage signal to an output terminal in response to an input signal; a reset module configured to provide a second voltage signal to a first node as an output terminal of the input module in the input module in response to a reset signal; an output module configured to provide a first clock signal to the output terminal in response to a voltage at a first node; a pull-down control module configured to provide a second clock signal to a second node in response to the second clock signal and provide a power supply negative voltage to the second node in response to the voltage at the first node or the voltage at the output terminal; and a pull-down module configured to provide the power supply negative voltage to the first node and the output terminal in response to the voltage at the second node.
US09640274B1 Semiconductor memory device
A semiconductor memory device includes word lines, bit lines, and memory cells at intersections of the word lines and the bit lines. A driver is configured to a voltage to a selected word line. A sense amplifier is configured to detect data of the memory cells. A controller is configured to control the driver and the sense amplifier. A writing sequence of writing data to a selected memory cell connected to the selected word line includes a plurality of writing loops including a write operation and a verify operation. The controller is configured to perform the write operation on the selected memory cell a predetermined number of times corresponding to write data to be written to the selected memory cell, without the verify operation, after a threshold voltage of the selected memory cell connected to the selected word line reaches a first level.
US09640271B2 Low-dropout regulator peak current control
A low-dropout regulator includes an error amplifier to provide a control signal, a first transistor, and a second transistor. The first transistor receives the control signal and has a source-drain path electrically coupled between a supply voltage node and a load, the first transistor to power the load in response to a voltage on the supply voltage node rising above an absolute value of a threshold voltage of the first transistor. The second transistor has a source-drain path electrically coupled between the supply voltage node and the load, the second transistor to receive the control signal in response to the voltage on the supply voltage node rising above a particular voltage.
US09640267B2 Semiconductor device, pre-write program, and restoration program
When a control circuit has received a first erase command, the control circuit controls performing a first pre-write process to allow a first storage device and a second storage device to have threshold voltages, respectively, both increased, and the control circuit thereafter controls performing an erase process to allow the first storage device and the second storage device to have their respective threshold voltages both decreased to be smaller than a prescribed erase verify level. When the control circuit has received a second erase command, the control circuit controls performing a second pre-write process to allow one of the first storage device and the second storage device to have its threshold voltage increased, and control circuit subsequently controls performing the erase process.
US09640266B1 Semiconductor memory device and operating method thereof
Provided herein is a semiconductor memory device and an operating method thereof. The semiconductor memory device may include a memory cell array, peripheral circuits, and a control logic. The memory cell array may include memory cells grouped into a plurality of pages. The peripheral circuits may perform a program operation for the plurality of pages. The control logic may control the peripheral circuits to perform the program operation by applying program voltages gradually increasing by a first step voltage to a selected page of the plurality of pages and by applying pass voltages gradually increasing by second step voltages to unselected pages of the plurality of pages. The second step voltages may vary depending on a position of the memory cells of the unselected pages in the memory cell array.
US09640264B2 Memory system responsive to flush command to store data in fast memory and method of operating memory system
A method of operating a memory system includes storing data received from an external device in a buffer memory of the memory system, programming the data stored in the buffer memory to a first storage area of a nonvolatile memory of the memory system in response to a mode of the memory system being in a guarantee mode and to a second storage area of the nonvolatile memory in response to the mode of the memory system being in other than the guarantee mode, and programming the data stored in the first storage area to the second storage area during an idle time.
US09640258B2 Ternary content addressable memory (TCAM) with magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices
A ternary content addressable memory (TCAM) cell is coupled to a first word line and a first match line and includes a first data storage portion coupled to a first search line, a second data storage portion coupled to a complement of the first search line, and a resistor divider portion including two resistive elements coupled in series with the first and second data storage portions of the first TCAM cell. The first and second data storage portions of the first TCAM cell are coupled to a first supply voltage and include two resistive elements coupled in parallel.
US09640257B2 Method and circuit for programming non-volatile memory cells of a volatile/non-volatile memory array
A memory array including: a first volatile memory cell including first and second cross-coupled inverters between first and second storage nodes; a first non-volatile memory cell including at least one resistive element that can be programmed to take one of at least two resistive states; and a control circuit adapted to couple the first non-volatile memory cell to the first and second storage nodes in order to generate a current for programming the resistive state of the at least one resistive element.
US09640256B1 Nonvolatile static random access memory (NVSRAM) system having a static random access memory (SRAM) array and a resistive memory array
An integrated circuit (IC) device includes a static random access memory (SRAM) array, and a resistive memory (resistive memory) array. A first set of programmable resistive elements in the resistive memory array are used to store data from memory cells in the SRAM array. Sense amplifier circuitry is couplable to the SRAM array and the resistive memory array. An arbiter is configured to assert an resistive memory enable signal to couple the sense amplifier circuitry to the resistive memory array and decouple the sense amplifier circuitry from the SRAM array during a resistive memory read operation, and to couple the sense amplifier to the SRAM array and decouple the sense amplifier circuitry from the resistive memory array during an SRAM read operation.
US09640254B2 Memories and methods of operating memories having memory cells sharing a resistance variable material
Memories and methods of operating memories having memory cells sharing a resistance variable material.
US09640251B2 Multi-port memory cell
A circuit includes: a first word line; a second word line; and a memory cell. The memory cell includes: a first pass gate, between a transistor and a first data line (RBL), having a gate coupled to the first word line; the transistor having a drain coupled to the first pass gate, a source coupled to a reference node, and a gate coupled to a data node of the memory cell; and a second pass gate, between the data node and a second data line, having a gate coupled to the second word line. The first word line is configured to turn on the first pass gate. The second word line is configured to turn on the second pass gate after an elapse of a first delay.
US09640249B2 Write assist scheme for low power SRAM
A write-assist memory includes a memory supply voltage and a column of SRAM cells that is controlled by a pair of bit lines, during a write operation. Additionally, the write-assist memory includes a write-assist unit that is coupled to the memory supply voltage and the column of SRAM cells and has a separable conductive line located between the pair of bit lines that provides a collapsible SRAM supply voltage to the column of SRAM cells based on a capacitive coupling of a control signal in the pair of bit lines, during the write operation. A method of operating a write-assist memory is also provided.
US09640246B2 Memory tracking scheme
A tracking circuit for a memory includes a tracking cell. A tracking word line is connected to the tracking cell. A tracking bit line is connected to the tracking cell. A voltage generator is configured to provide a variable tracking cell power supply voltage to the tracking cell based on a control signal.
US09640245B2 Semiconductor device and operating method thereof
A semiconductor memory device includes a plurality of memory cell blocks each including a plurality of word lines and suitable for being selectively activated based on an active command and a row address, wherein word lines are selected from the respective activated memory cell blocks based on the active command and the row address, and a column decoding block sequentially accessing the activated memory cell blocks to input/output data thereof by decoding a column address based on the row address.
US09640236B2 Reduced load memory module using wire bonds and a plurality of rank signals
An apparatus for reducing load in a memory module. In such an apparatus, there is a circuit platform with a plurality of memory chips coupled to the circuit platform. Each memory chip of the plurality of memory chips each has a plurality of memory dies. At least one controller is coupled to the circuit platform and further coupled to the plurality of memory chips for communication with the plurality of memory dies thereof. The at least one controller is for receiving chip select signals to provide a plurality of rank select signals in excess of the chip select signals. The plurality of memory dies are coupled with wire bonds within the plurality of memory chips for a reduced load for coupling the circuit platform for communicating via a memory channel. The load is sufficiently reduced for having at least two instances of the memory module share the memory channel.
US09640235B2 Stacked memory device and system
A stack memory device may include a core chip and a base chip. The core chip may include a data receiver, a strobe signal generation unit, and a test register. The data receiver may be configured for receiving data outputted from the core chip through a first normal port. The strobe signal generation unit may be configured to generate a data strobe signal based on one of a normal strobe signal and a test strobe signal depending on an operation mode. The test register may store data outputted from the data receiver in response to the data strobe signal.
US09640229B2 Memory circuit and layout structure of a memory circuit
A memory circuit includes a transistor, a signal line and a plurality of information lines. The transistor includes a first electrode, a second electrode and a control electrode. The transistor is included in a memory cell. The signal line is connected to the first electrode of the transistor. The voltage on the signal line is programmable. At most one of the information lines is connected to the second electrode of the transistor via a contact. Information stored in the memory cell is coded according to the voltage programmed on the signal line and an option of which information line the contact should connect to the second electrode of the transistor.
US09640227B2 System and method of command based and current limit controlled memory device power up
Devices and systems for powering up a memory device, for example, are disclosed. One such memory device includes power up circuitry configured to receive an external power supply and to provide an internal power supply to the memory device upon receipt of a command. The power up circuitry may be configured to provide the internal power supply limited to a peak current, or may be configured to provide the internal power supply not limited to a peak current. The memory device may be, for example, a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) device or Flash memory.
US09640225B2 Apparatus and method for processing images
Provided are an image processing apparatus and method for processing images. The image processing apparatus is connected to at least one camera and includes: a performance calculating unit configured to calculate a decoding performance of the at least one camera based on information about at least one of a codec, a resolution and a frame rate of image frames which are received from the at least one camera, and a filtering unit configured to filter the received image frames to select image frames for decoding, based on a result of the calculation of the decoding performance of the at least one camera.
US09640223B2 Methods, apparatus and systems for time-based and geographic navigation of video content
Methods, apparatus, and systems for time-based and geographic navigation of video content are provided. Video content and associated metadata information are recorded and encoded using a video capture and encoding module. The associated metadata information includes at least one of date and time information of the recording and geographic position information indicative of a recording location. The recorded video content and the associated metadata information are communicated to a remote storage and web server device. A graphical user interface enables the display of an interactive map showing a route and current location of the video capture and encoding module. The video content may be searched using at least one of the graphical user interface and the interactive map by the date and/or time information and the geographic position information. Selected video content can be streamed or downloaded to a select location for display or storage.
US09640222B2 Multivariant video segmentation system and method
A multivariant video segmentation system and method including accepting video segments that make up a video, accepting video segment variants for the video segments, and selecting a particular video segment variant to provide as a video segment at a particular sequential time order. The video segments are provided to a user at each relative sequential time order via a video player on a first webpage, user inputs associated with the video player and at least one webpage are accepted, and engagements and conversions from the user inputs are determined and stored. The engagements include at least a viewing time of the user viewing the video, and conversions include completion of a predefined task by the user that differs from the user viewing the video. The video segment path with the highest engagement or conversion value associated with information related to the user viewing the video is provided to the user.
US09640217B1 Systems and methods for flaw scan with interleaved sectors
Systems and methods relating generally to determining flaws on a storage medium.
US09640216B2 Reproduction system for maintaining synchronization between a first audio content and a plurality of audio contents during special reproduction of the first audio content, and method and program thereof
A reproduction system has a content reproduction section 220 that reproduces a content having a cycle; a special reproduction operation section 230 that performs special reproduction on the content by which the content is reproduced at a reproduction position different from a normal reproduction return position at a time of normal reproduction reproduced normally; a special reproduction process section 235 that makes the content reproduction section 220 perform the special reproduction based on an operation of the special reproduction operation section 230; and a return process section 250 that matches the normal reproduction return position of the content with a position corresponding to cycle timing with which the normal reproduction continues without the special reproduction when the normal reproduction returns after the special reproduction is cancelled in case that the special reproduction is performed.
US09640211B1 Servo track encoding and decoding
A system includes a memory, a processor, an encoder, a head, and a decoder. The memory stores information. The processor processes information and controls operation of other components. The encoder encodes a first portion and a second portion of a servo track to form a first and second encoded values. The second code has a run length associated therewith. The first and second encoded values result in a Gray code. Each bit of the Gray code remains constant for at least a number of tracks corresponding to the run length. The head is configured to write the first and the second encoded values onto a media, and is configured to read the first and the second encoded values from the media. The decoder decodes the first encoded value and the second encoded value. The processor determines a servo track address from the decoded first value and the decoded second value.
US09640210B1 Virtual window mode for guide spiral servo demodulation
A write head is positioned over a disk surface of a hard disk drive during a self-servo write process. A virtual window mode is employed for positioning the write head, in which the read channel of the hard disk drive continuously searches for servo spirals, but spiral detection is disabled except during specific time intervals, or “virtual windows.” Each virtual window is associated with one specific servo spiral on the disk surface, and has a predetermined duration. The duration and timing of these virtual windows may be selected to ensure that spiral detection is enabled while a read head of the hard disk drive passes over the associated servo spiral, even when servo spiral placement is not ideal.
US09640206B1 Thermal assisted magnetic recording head with plasmon generator
A thermal assisted magnetic recording head executing magnetic recording while locally heating a magnetic recording medium includes a plasmon generator generating surface plasmon and generating near-field light from the surface plasmon at an end surface situated on an air bearing surface facing the magnetic recording medium, a main pole being in contact with the plasmon generator and exposed on the air bearing surface, a metal protective layer situated on an opposite side to the plasmon generator when viewed from the main pole and positioned to overlap with a part of the main pole when viewed from one side in a down track direction, and an overcoat protective layer covering the metal protective layer. The overcoat protective layer is formed on a flat surface at least at a position where it overlaps with the main pole when viewed from one side in the down track direction, and the metal protective layer configures a part of the flat surface. Moreover, the overcoat protective layer has a flat bottom surface at least at a position where it overlaps with the main pole when viewed from one side in the down track direction.
US09640205B1 Magnetic recording-reproducing head having different sections with different functions including an erase function
A magnetic recording-reproducing head includes, on a support member, a first head section having a function of executing a recording process and having a function of executing a reproducing process, and one or more second head sections each having a function of executing an erasing process and having no function of executing a reproducing process.
US09640204B2 Magnetic recording head front shield formation
Implementations disclosed herein provide an apparatus comprising a write pole, and a two-layer front shield formed on the write pole, the front shield comprising, a first dielectric material formed on the first layer of the front shield, an active shield control (ASC) device formed between the two layers of the front shield on the first dielectric material configured to synchronize the response to a magnetomotive force (MMF) of a write pole and the front shield, and a second dielectric material formed on the ASC device, wherein the second layer of the front shield is formed only on top of the second dielectric material and the first layer of the front shield.
US09640200B2 Multiple pitch extraction by strength calculation from extrema
An apparatus includes a function module, a strength module, and a filter module. The function module compares an input signal, which has a component, to a first delayed version of the input signal and a second delayed version of the input signal to produce a multi-dimensional model. The strength module calculates a strength of each extremum from a plurality of extrema of the multi-dimensional model based on a value of at least one opposite extremum of the multi-dimensional model. The strength module then identifies a first extremum from the plurality of extrema, which is associated with a pitch of the component of the input signal, that has the strength greater than the strength of the remaining extrema. The filter module extracts the pitch of the component from the input signal based on the strength of the first extremum.
US09640199B2 Location tracking from natural speech
A headset computer device provides user voice indication of location of the device. The user may implicitly or explicitly present by voice input his and hence the HSC device location. A voice driven location module is coupled to the voice recognition engine, a map database and GPS of the HSC device. Based on user voiced indications of 3D space location, the voice driven location module determines device location and resets 3D space location accordingly.
US09640197B1 Extraction of target speeches
Methods and systems are provided for separating a target speech from a plurality of other speeches having different directions of arrival. One of the methods includes obtaining speech signals from speech input devices disposed apart in predetermined distances from one another, calculating a direction of arrival of target speeches and directions of arrival of other speeches other than the target speeches for each of at least one pair of speech input devices, calculating an aliasing metric, wherein the aliasing metric indicates which frequency band of speeches is susceptible to spatial aliasing, enhancing speech signals arrived from the direction of arrival of the target speech signals, based on the speech signals and the direction of arrival of the target speeches, to generate the enhanced speech signals, reading a probability model, and inputting the enhanced speech signals and the aliasing metric to the probability model to output target speeches.
US09640195B2 Time zero convergence single microphone noise reduction
Embodiments of the invention include a device for reducing noise. The device may include a storage configured to store noise data; a processor configured to: classify a segment of noise utilizing noise data which was accumulated prior to initiation of a communication session; estimate the segment of noise, utilizing information received from the noise classification; and select a noise profile which accounts for a user's current context based on a context defined by the data which was accumulated prior to initiation of the communication session.
US09640192B2 Electronic device and method of controlling electronic device
An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a reception unit configured to receive an audio signal, a bandwidth change unit configured to gradually change a bandwidth of the received audio signal from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth during a preset time, when the received audio signal is changed, and an audio output unit configured to output the received audio signal.
US09640190B2 Decoding method, decoding apparatus, program, and recording medium therefor
In a speech coding scheme based on a speech production model, such as a CELP-based scheme, an object of the present invention is to provide a decoding method that can reproduce natural sound even if the input signal is a noise-superimposed speech. The decoding method includes a speech decoding step of obtaining a decoded speech signal from an input code, a noise generating step of generating a noise signal that is a random signal, and a noise adding step of outputting a noise-added signal, the noise-added signal being obtained by summing the decoded speech signal and a signal obtained by performing, on the noise signal, a signal processing that is based on at least one of a power corresponding to a decoded speech signal for a previous frame and a spectrum envelope corresponding to the decoded speech signal for the current frame.
US09640188B2 Reconstructing audio signals with multiple decorrelation techniques
A method performed in an audio decoder for decoding M encoded audio channels representing N audio channels is disclosed. The method includes receiving a bitstream containing the M encoded audio channels and a set of spatial parameters, decoding the M encoded audio channels, and extracting the set of spatial parameters from the bitstream. The method also includes analyzing the M audio channels to detect a location of a transient, decorrelating the M audio channels, and deriving N audio channels from the M audio channels and the set of spatial parameters. A first decorrelation technique is applied to a first subset of each audio channel and a second decorrelation technique is applied to a second subset of each audio channel. The first decorrelation technique represents a first mode of operation of a decorrelator, and the second decorrelation technique represents a second mode of operation of the decorrelator.
US09640186B2 Deep scattering spectrum in acoustic modeling for speech recognition
Deep scattering spectral features are extracted from an acoustic input signal to generate a deep scattering spectral feature representation of the acoustic input signal. The deep scattering spectral feature representation is input to a speech recognition engine. The acoustic input signal is decoded based on at least a portion of the deep scattering spectral feature representation input to a speech recognition engine.
US09640182B2 Systems and vehicles that provide speech recognition system notifications
Systems and vehicles that provide speech recognition system status notifications are described herein. Systems described herein include one or more processors, one or more memory modules, and machine readable instructions. In some embodiments described herein, when executed by the one or more processors, the machine readable instructions cause the speech recognition system to transform the acoustic vibrations received by a microphone into a speech input signal, determine to remotely process the speech input signal with a remote computing system, and provide a remote processing notification. In some embodiments described herein, when executed by the one or more processors, the machine readable instructions cause the speech recognition system to output an audible sequence with a speaker and provide a barge-in availability notification on a display.
US09640181B2 Text editing with gesture control and natural speech
A speech processing engine of an HSC device transcribes user utterance input and displays resulting text on a microdisplay. The speech processing engine further provides to the user text editing functions and auto suggestions. The user interface utilizes head gesture control and natural language for text editing. Standard language dictionaries, user's dictionary and user's address book contacts data are utilized.
US09640180B2 Conversational agent with a particular style of expression
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for handing off a user conversation between computer-implemented agents. One of the methods includes receiving, by a computer-implemented agent specific to a user device, a digital representation of speech encoding an utterance, determining, by the computer-implemented agent, that the utterance specifies a requirement to establish a communication with another computer-implemented agent, and establishing, by the computer-implemented agent, a communication between the other computer-implemented agent and the user device.
US09640178B2 User configurable speech commands
A speech recognition method and system enables user-configurable speech commands. For a given speech command, the speech recognition engine provides a mechanism for the end-user to select speech command terms to use in substitution for the given speech command. The speech recognition engine, or module thereof, forms a replacement command for the given speech command from the user-selected speech command terms. The speech recognition engine thereafter is synonymously responsive to user utterance of the replacement command as though the user issued/voiced the associated counterpart given speech command.
US09640174B2 Home appliance and operation method thereof
A home appliance and an operation method thereof are disclosed. The operation method of the home appliance includes entering a voice recognition mode, receiving a voice data through a microphone, recognizing the received voice date, and, in a case in which the recognized voice data contains information related to another home appliance, transmitting the recognized voice data to the corresponding home appliance. Consequently, sharing of voice data between home appliances is achieved.
US09640173B2 System and method for intelligent language switching in automated text-to-speech systems
Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for providing for intelligent switching of languages and/or pronunciations in a text-to-speech system. As the system receives text, the text is analyzed to identify portions which should have speech constructed using a pronunciation distinct from the remaining portions of the text. The text-to-speech system uses multiple pronunciation dictionaries to generate and produce speech corresponding to the text, where the identified portions of the text are in a different language or have a different accent from the remainder of the text. Having generated speech corresponding to the text in multiple languages, accents, or dialects, the system combines the portions, then communicates the speech to the text recipient.
US09640168B2 Noise cancellation with dynamic range compression
An audio processor (200) for a hearing device has a noise estimator (100), an adaptive noise canceller (110), and a dynamic range compressor (120) to provide a gain according to a signal strength of an input signal. A signal strength processor (130) determines a signal strength dependent noise cancellation parameter, and the adaptive noise canceller provides noise cancellation of the input signal according to an estimated noise from the noise estimator, and according to the signal strength dependent noise cancellation parameter, so as to provide less noise cancellation when the input signal has higher signal strength than when the input signal has a lower signal strength. This helps retain the desirable environment or ambient type noise, present when the signal strength is higher, while providing more cancellation of undesirable circuit type noise when there is low input signal strength.
US09640166B2 Soundproof panel
A soundproof panel has a sandwich structure, which includes two outer walls, a core, and modifying elements that are maintained in a fractal distribution by the core. The panel has an improved trade-off between sound attenuation efficiency and the weight of the panel.
US09640161B2 Musical score displaying and performing program, and musical score displaying and performing device
The program of the present invention is provided for an information terminal equipped with a touch panel that is used for displaying a musical score thereon, the information terminal performing music in accordance with performance sequence data corresponding to the musical score. The program displays the musical score on the touch panel, determines a start bar for a performance sequence as the start point for performing from any bar region of the musical score by sliding a touch position in the right direction on the particular bar region, and determines an end bar for the performance sequence as an end point for ending the performance in any bar region of the musical score by sliding the touch position in the left direction on the particular bar region. Thus, the user can intuitively designate a range of performance.
US09640160B2 System and method for capture and rendering of performance on synthetic string instrument
Synthetic multi-string musical instruments have been developed for capturing and rendering musical performances on handheld or other portable devices in which a multi-touch sensitive display provides one of the input vectors for an expressive performance by a user or musician. Visual cues may be provided on the multi-touch sensitive display to guide the user in a performance based on a musical score. Alternatively, or in addition, uncued freestyle modes of operation may be provided. In either case, it is not the musical score that drives digital synthesis and audible rendering of the synthetic multi-string musical instrument. Rather, it is the stream of user gestures captured at least in part using the multi-touch sensitive display that drives the digital synthesis and audible rendering.
US09640157B1 Latency enhanced note recognition method
The present invention relates to the field of audio recognition, in particular to computer implemented note recognition methods. Furthermore, the present invention relates to improving latency of such audio recognition methods. One of the embodiments of the invention described herein is a method for note recognition of an audio source. The method includes: dividing an audio input into a plurality of frames, each frame having a pre-determined length, conducting a frequency analysis of at least a set of the plurality of frames, based on the frequency analysis, determining if a frame is a transient frame with a frequency change between the beginning and end of the frame, comparing the frequency analysis of each said transient frame to the frequency analysis of an immediately preceding frame and, based on said comparison, determining at least one probable pitch present at the end of each transient frame, and for each transient frame, outputting pitch data indicative of the probable pitch present at the end of the transient frame.
US09640156B2 Audio matching with supplemental semantic audio recognition and report generation
System, apparatus and method for determining semantic information from audio, where incoming audio is sampled and processed to extract audio features, including temporal, spectral, harmonic and rhythmic features. The extracted audio features are compared to stored audio templates that include ranges and/or values for certain features and are tagged for specific ranges and/or values. The semantic information may be associated with audio codes to determine changing characteristics of identified media during a time period.
US09640153B2 Acoustic decoupling device
A drum-supporting component is provided for maintaining a drum or cymbal acoustically separated from an underlying support surface. A body of the component is configured to maintain the drum separated from the underlying support thereby increasing the sound generated from the drum which is projected therefrom.
US09640149B2 Methods for fixed rate block based compression of image data
A set of methods, techniques and hardware is described for compressing image data for memory bandwidth and memory storage reduction in graphics processing systems. The disclosed technology can be used for compressing image data sent to the frame buffer and/or image data residing in the frame buffer. The compression process can be based on an adaptive number of base color points and an adaptive number of quantized color points. An adaptive technique for compressing alpha values based on pre-calculated maps or using an estimated alpha value based on thresholds is also disclosed. An implementation of the disclosed methods has, for example, a low hardware overhead, low buffering requirements, and low and predefined compression latency. Also, the disclosed methods allow, for example, random accesses to compressed image data.
US09640147B2 Driving circuit for display panel and driving method thereof
A driving circuit of a display panel and driving method thereof are provided. The driving circuit of the display panel has a capacitor, a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth thin film transistor, a reset thin film transistor, and an output thin film transistor. A sixth and seventh drain electrode, and an eighth gate electrode are connected to a signal output line, a sixth source electrode is configured to receive a fourth power source signal, an eighth is configured to receive a fifth power source signal, and an eighth drain electrode is connected to a sixth gate electrode.
US09640144B2 Projector, figure input/display apparatus, portable terminal, and program
Blocking a view of a whiteboard by a position of an attendee writing thereon is prevented, and writing records made by all attendees are stored to use the writing records including a course of the written records later. Each terminal of the attendees has a touch-panel-equipped terminal can divide any input line drawing on the terminal into line segment data, successively transmit the line segment data to the controller, and display line drawing information on the display of the touch-panel-equipped terminal. A liquid crystal projector having a controller that can be embedded therein or connected thereto is provided, the controller can sequentially record line drawing information transmitted from each touch-panel-equipped terminal in a data base, add the line drawing information to a video image memory of the whiteboard, and project the video image memory contents onto a wall surface while transmitting information of the data base to each touch-panel-equipped terminal.
US09640140B2 Color management system
A color management system is provided that includes a color transformation unit that uses a profile connection space to perform a color transformation process on input image data based on an input side color transformation parameter associated with the input image data for translating an input device-dependent color value that describes the input image data into a device-independent color value of the profile connection space and an output side color transformation parameter for matching the device-independent color value to an output device-dependent color value. The color management system further includes an output device selection unit that enables a user to select at least two output devices from plural output devices that are available for selection, and a profile connection space generation unit that automatically generates the profile connection space according to a predetermined profile connection space generation method based on the gamuts of the output devices selected by the user.
US09640138B2 Information processing system, non-transitory storage medium encoded with computer readable information processing program, information processing method, and information processing terminal
An information processing system includes a first information processing terminal which can be connected to an external network and a second information processing terminal which receives data from the external network through the first information processing terminal. The first information processing terminal stands by in a sleep mode, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied, it cancels the sleep mode and transmits data from the external network to the second information processing terminal.
US09640135B2 Semiconductor device, and display device and electronic device utilizing the same
A semiconductor device having a normal function means is provided, in which the amplitude of an output signal is prevented from being decreased even when a digital circuit using transistors having one conductivity is employed. By turning OFF a diode-connected transistor 101, the gate terminal of a first transistor 102 is brought into a floating state. At this time, the first transistor 102 is ON and its gate-source voltage is stored in a capacitor. Then, when a potential at the source terminal of the first transistor 102 is increased, a potential at the gate terminal of the first transistor 102 is increased as well by bootstrap effect. As a result, the amplitude of an output signal is prevented from being decreased.
US09640130B2 Display driver and display device
A display driver is connectable with and serves to activate an active matrix type display panel having a plurality of source lines wired to run in an up-and-down direction and a plurality of gate lines wired to run in left and right directions when viewed from a direction perpendicular to a substrate, and a plurality of pixels respectively arranged at intersections where the source and gate lines intersect with one another; electric charges corresponding to display data are transmitted from the source lines to the pixels selected by the driven gate line. The display driver includes a circuit capable of adjusting, in amplitude, first gate drive circuits operable to drive, of the plurality of gate lines, gate lines wired from the left, and second gate drive circuits operable to drive gate lines wired from the right independently of one another.
US09640127B2 Semiconductor device and electronic appliance
The amplitude voltage of a signal input to a level shifter can be increased and then output by the level shifter circuit. Specifically, the amplitude voltage of the signal input to the level shifter can be increased to be output. This decreases the amplitude voltage of a circuit (a shift register circuit, a decoder circuit, or the like) which outputs the signal input to the level shifter. Consequently, power consumption of the circuit can be reduced. Alternatively, a voltage applied to a transistor included in the circuit can be reduced. This can suppress degradation of the transistor or damage to the transistor.
US09640125B2 Systems and methods for transmitting data using phase shift modulation in display systems
The present disclosure provides methods for transmitting data in a display system, a clock controller, a source driver, and a display system. The method includes the steps of: receiving, by the clock controller, a reference clock signal and a data signal from an external data source; determining a phase difference between the data signal and the reference clock signal in each cycle; encoding the determined phase difference to generate a corresponding encoded signal; and transmitting the encoded signal and the reference clock signal to the source driver. By encoding the phase difference between the data signal and the reference clock signal in each cycle, it is able to use the encoded signal and the reference clock signal to transmit the data signal and the reference clock signal between the clock controller and the source driver.
US09640109B2 Pixel driving circuit, pixel driving method, display panel and display device
The present disclosure provides a pixel driving circuit, including a first pixel driving unit and a second pixel driving unit. The first pixel driving unit includes a first driving transistor, a first storage capacitor and a first driving control unit. The first driving control unit is configured to apply a jumping voltage onto the data voltage at a first compensation stage, so as to perform jumping compensation on a threshold voltage of the first driving transistor. The second pixel driving unit includes a second driving transistor, a second storage capacitor and a second driving control unit. The second driving control unit is configured to apply a jumping voltage onto the data voltage at a second compensation stage, so as to perform jumping compensation on a threshold voltage of the second driving transistor and control the second light-emitting element to emit light.
US09640108B2 Bit-plane pulse width modulated digital display system
A digital-drive display system, comprising an array of display pixels, each display pixel having a light emitter, a digital memory for storing a digital pixel value, and a drive circuit that drives the light emitter in response to the digital pixel value. The drive circuit can respond to a control signal provided to all of the display pixels in common by a display controller that loads digital pixel values in the digit memory of each display pixel.
US09640103B2 Apparatus for converting data and display apparatus using the same
Disclosed is an apparatus for converting data capable of enhancing sharpness without deterioration of picture quality, and a display apparatus using the same, wherein the apparatus for converting data is provided in the display apparatus with a plurality of unit pixels, each unit pixel with red, green, blue and white sub-pixels, and the apparatus for converting data includes a 4-color data generator for generating 4-color data of red, green, blue and white colors for each unit pixel based on 3-color input data of red, green and blue colors of an input image; and a sharpness enhancer for enhancing sharpness of the input image by correcting white sub-pixel data of the unit pixel corresponding to an edge portion of the input image by a luminance variation of adjacent unit pixels based on white sub-pixel data for each unit pixel.
US09640099B2 Display control circuit, display control method and display apparatus
The present disclosure relates to the field of display technique. Disclosed are a display control circuit, a display control method and a display apparatus. The circuit comprises: a signal supplying unit for outputting an image data signal; a timing control unit for processing the image data signal into an signal recognizable for a driving circuit unit; a storage unit for storing and transmitting the signal recognizable to the driving circuit unit; a sample storing unit connected with the signal supplying unit, for acquiring and storing the image data signal; and a sample comparing unit for comparing a current frame signal outputted from the signal supplying unit with a previous frame signal stored in the sample storing unit and controlling the timing control unit to be turned on or off and controlling whether the signal stored in the storage unit needs to be updated according to a comparison result. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, part of modules in the timing control unit are turned off and the image data signal to be displayed is provided to the driving circuit unit by the storage unit when the signal outputted from the signal supplying unit is unchanged, so that intermittent operations of part of the modules are realized to reduce the power consumption in the circuit.
US09640098B2 Image display device
An image display device comprises a display panel, a casing to hold the display panel, a moving bar provided at the casing and configured to be movable in a first direction while overlapping the display panel, a calibration sensor at the moving bar to be movable in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and to obtain calibration information related to the display panel, and a controller to control the display panel based on the obtained calibration information.
US09640095B2 Photography light panel reflector clamp
The present invention provides a photography light panel reflector clamp for mounting a photography light panel reflector with a rod member. The photography light panel reflector clamp of the present invention includes a central member, a groove and a turning clamp set. A rod member clamping seat is disposed on the central member, and a mounting portion is disposed at an opening of the rod member clamping seat. The groove is formed across a mounting face on a side of the central member, and the turning clamp set is disposed on the central member next to the groove. A flange of the photography light panel reflector has a segment fitted in the groove, and the turning clamp set is utilized to fix the segment of the flange of the photography light panel reflector in the groove with the photography light panel reflector clamp.
US09640094B2 Shelf sign holder
A sign holder includes a sign sleeve having a width and being defined by a viewing flange, a base flange and a first joint that couples the viewing flange to the base flange. At least one protruding member has a width and is coupled to and extends from the base flange at an at least one second joint. Each protruding member includes a leg portion and at least two hook portions coupled to the leg portion at an at least one third joint. The leg portion is oriented relative to the base flange by a first angle and each hook portion is oriented relative to the leg portion by a second angle. The width of the sign sleeve is greater than the width of the at least one protruding member.
US09640091B2 Card
An article such as a greeting card (10) comprising a sheet (11) defining at least one central portion (16) and at least one versatile portion (18) connected together via at least one fold (20). The central portion (16) has two opposing edges (26, 28) adapted to be drawn together to create a three-dimensional form. The fold (20) is located at a junction of the central portion (16) and versatile portion (18). These portions (16, 18) are foldably connected together whereby the versatile portion (18) can be folded and adapted for location adjacent to or at an angle to the three-dimensional form, and may be secured at that location. The greeting card (10) may further comprise numerous engagement means (30, 32), apertures (38) and cords (39). The greeting card (10) can be delivered in a collapsed condition and can be readily assembled into a three-dimensional form revealing the ingenuity of the card.
US09640086B2 Voice communication system for simulated radio networks
A method of radio simulation is provided. The method includes a first computer executing a communication manager, the communication manager configured to provide a radio simulation environment comprising a virtual radio network. The method also includes the first computer executing a communication management controller, wherein the communication management controller receives radio control input for the virtual radio network. The method also includes the first computer executing a tactical and environment cue controller, the tactical and environment cue controller configured to provide simulated audible sounds for the radio simulation environment. The method also includes the first computer executing a configuration controller, the configuration controller coupled to the communication manager and configured to receive at least one radio simulator configuration that designates at least a number of radios and frequencies.
US09640085B2 System and method for automated content generation for enhancing learning, creativity, insights, and assessments
The present invention provides an automated system for multiple types of knowledge content generation for enhancing learning, creativity, insights and assessments comprising the means of: Capturing one or more contents; Storing the captured contents in raw content database; Classifying the captured content by one or more means of selected from Bookmarking or annotating, Using meta information from the content source files, Using algorithms to classify information and Receiving feedback from users and user interaction with content; Defining content template; Specifying rules and algorithms for automatic generation of knowledge content; Finally, Using the generated knowledge content by means of a display to candidate. Invention reduces the manual effort and time taken to create the multiple types of knowledge contents as well as reduce the cost for creation of the multiple types of knowledge contents.
US09640084B2 Computer-based system and method for creating customized medical video information using crowd sourcing
A computer-based apparatus including a computer including a processor arranged to select a first video regarding a medical condition; create a second video including segments from the first video; transmit the second video for viewing by qualified medical personnel; receive input from the personnel; based on the input confirm accuracy of a first segment or modify a second segment or delete a third segment; create, from the second video, by at least including the first or second segment or deleting the third segment; transmit the third video for viewing by viewers; receive a respective response from each viewer identifying a respective fourth segment of the third video deemed relevant to the medical condition or enjoyable; create a fourth video including at least a portion of the respective fourth segments; and store the fourth video for inclusion in a video regarding the medical condition.
US09640079B1 Methods and systems facilitating holding for an unavailable destination
Methods and systems are provided for generating an interim route that facilitates navigating a vehicle to an intended destination. One exemplary method facilitating an aircraft landing at an intended destination involves obtaining a current position of the aircraft, obtaining one or more time constraints for the intended destination, determining an interim route from the current aircraft position to the intended destination that veers towards a conditional diversion destination based at least in part on the one or more time constraints for the intended destination, and providing indication of the interim route to an aircraft operator, for example, by displaying a graphical representation of the interim route on a navigational map on a display device.
US09640078B2 Authority issued slot assignment optimization
An approach for identifying slot exchanges for flights among a schedule of an aircraft operator includes acquiring existing slot assignments and flight schedules for flights operated by any airline that participate in a slot exchange program for a particular controlled airspace. Cost values are assigned to slots of the aircraft operator based on various criteria, such as any difference between flight times of particular flights and corresponding assigned slots. An optimization is performed to identify any alternate authority issued slots that, if assigned to flights of the aircraft operator, result in reduced cost values. Slot exchange requests are issued for the alternate authority issued slots in a manner that facilitates acceptance of the request without user intervention, by either the send or receiving airline. Flight schedules and assigned slots may be represented on a common display.
US09640077B2 System and method for determining position of a position device relative to a moving vehicle
There is disclosed a vehicle backing system configurable by a driver or spotter as a function of the type of the vehicle being backed up and a spotter's position and/or a position of another vehicle located at a rear of a first vehicle.
US09640069B2 Quantifying magnetic resonance parameters
Example apparatus and methods provide improved spatial and temporal resolution over conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for a large (e.g., 500 cm3) three dimensional (3D) volume. Example apparatus and methods reconstruct under-sampled 3D data associated with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals acquired from the volume using a 3D through-time non-Cartesian generalized auto-calibrating partially parallel acquisitions (GRAPPA) approach. The NMR signals are produced in response to a 3D non-Cartesian (e.g., stack-of-spirals) pulse sequence. Example apparatus and methods produce a quantified value for T1 relaxation, T2 relaxation, diffusion, or other NMR parameters in the volume from signal intensities in the data. The quantified value may describe, for example, a perfusion parameter, a blood flow parameter, a blood volume parameter, or other value. Greater precision is achieved for the NMR parameter in the volume as a result of the quantization performed on data acquired with greater spatial resolution and temporal resolution.
US09640068B2 Device for establishing communications interoperability at an incident site including means for recording crisis incidents
What is provided is recording capability for each of the modules utilized by the first responders and other personnel within the area of the incident, with the stored information at each of the first responders' modules being read out through the ad hoc network, where it can be uploaded to storage. The stored information can be displayed at an incident commander work station in real time to give the incident commander a realistic view of the timeline and the severity of the incident, as well as the response. The use of the ad hoc network permits offloading stored information from each of the first responders' modules so as to free up storage within the modules. By providing storage at every node of the ad hoc network, one has access to a timeline of the actions at the incident as well as redundancy, which enhances the memories and observational skills of the first responders. Incident reporting is made complete due to the fact of all recordings being made available at one node on the temporary ad hoc network from which information reports and analysis can proceed, as well as subsequent training.
US09640063B2 Sensor device for remote monitoring
A sensor device used in remote monitoring of waste within a waste container includes a sensor arrangement for monitoring the waste and for generating a corresponding waste-indicative signal, a data processing arrangement for receiving the waste-indicative signal, a wireless interface coupled to the data processing arrangement for enabling the data processing device to emit wireless signals including information derived from the waste-indicative signal, and a power source for providing power to operate the sensor device. The sensor arrangement additionally includes a temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of at least the power source, and the data processing arrangement is operable to be switched from the second reduced-power mode to the first activated mode as a function of the temperature measured by the temperature sensor. This enables power saving and increased service life of the sensor, battery, and the waste container.
US09640062B2 Method and apparatus for forwarding local-alert messages within a communication system
A method and apparatus for forwarding detected environmental conditions are provided herein. During operation, sensors will continuously sample an environment surrounding a public-safety officer. The sensors are preferably body-worn sensors, but could be vehicle or incident area sensors as well. The sensors continuously monitor and report any detected condition to a hub (which could be body-worn) as a local status alert message. Once the hub receives a detected condition within a local status alert, the hub will make a determination if a dispatch center needs to be notified of the detected condition. The notification of the condition is transmitted to the dispatch center as a global status alert, which may simply comprise a forwarded local status alert.
US09640060B2 Payment card location method and apparatus
A system, method, and computer-readable storage medium configured to track the location of lost payment cards.
US09640049B2 Security device for intrusion detection
The present invention relates to a security device for detecting an intrusion including at least one sensor frame including a sensor, a first connection frame for connecting a signal sensed from the sensor frame, and a signal processing frame for detecting an intrusion from the sensed signal received from the first connection frame or the sensor frame, wherein the at least one sensor frame is detachably connected to the security device. Accordingly, the security device can be easily installed, use a variety of sensors, and be changed in size.
US09640046B2 Media recognition and synchronisation to a motion signal
The present document describes a device and method for synchronizing a motion signal corresponding to a media content with a media signal for the media content, the motion signal being for controlling a motion feedback system. The method comprises: receiving a portion of the media signal; obtaining a fingerprint corresponding to the received portion of the media signal; from reference fingerprints associated with time positions of at least one reference media content, identifying a reference time position of the media content corresponding to the obtained fingerprint; obtaining the motion signal associated with the identified reference time position of the media content; and outputting the motion signal synchronized with the media signal using the identified reference time position of the media content for controlling the motion feedback system.
US09640039B2 Gaming system and method for providing a cascading symbol game with shifting symbols in different directions between multiple symbol display position matrices
A gaming system including a cascading symbol game which utilizes a plurality of symbol display position matrices and a plurality of different directions of symbol movement. Each symbol display position matrix includes a plurality of symbol display positions. At least one of the symbol display position matrices includes one or more symbol display positions linked to or otherwise associated with one or more symbol display positions of at least another of the symbol display position matrices. If the gaming system determines that one or more symbols will be repositioned from one or more symbol display positions of one symbol display position matrix to one or more linked symbol display positions of another symbol display position matrix, the gaming system determines a direction of movement of such symbols.
US09640038B2 Game with chance element and strategy component that can be copied
In various embodiments, a first player may follow the same pattern of betting used by a second player.
US09640036B2 Method and system for gaming
A gaming machine comprises a display and a game control to control images of symbols to be displayed on the display. Symbols are stored for positioning in an array. The symbols include game-specific standard symbols and bonus symbols and are organized in a predetermined mix and number to define a bonusing scheme for filling positions of the array. The game control randomly selects portions of the array for displaying images of the symbols in a matrix format on the display during a play of the game, and associates symbols within paylines of the matrix to provide play outcomes in accordance with the bonusing scheme and a paytable prescribed for the particular game. The game control is configured to provide play options individually selectable by a player before a play. Each play option has a prescribed set of symbols and each set is designed with a predetermined bonusing scheme.
US09640035B2 Jackpot interfaces and services on a gaming machine
A disclosed a player tracking unit provides a touch screen display with a touch screen controller integrated into the touch screen sensor assembly. Game service interfaces may be presented on the touch screen display that allow a user to obtain one or more game services. With the touch screen sensor, a user may navigate through the game service interface and supply information required to obtain a game service. Types of interfaces provided with the gaming machine include a jackpot interface for displaying one or more jackpots selected by the player or one or more jackpots that the player is eligible to win.
US09640032B2 Electromechanical hybrid gaming system
Systems in accordance with embodiments of the invention operate an electromechanical hybrid gaming system including a real world engine configured to provide a randomly generated payout for a gambling game; an electromechanical game system connected to an entertainment game user interface and constructed to manage the electromechanical table game including an actuator that affects a goal of the electromechanical table game, wherein outcomes of the electromechanical table game are based upon actions performed by the player, wherein the electromechanical game system operates the actuator based on an outcome of the randomly generated payout for the gambling game; and a game world engine connected to the electromechanical game system and the real world engine, the game world engine constructed to communicate gameplay gambling event occurrences based upon the sensed actions by the player during the player's skillful execution of the electromechanical table game.
US09640030B2 Method and apparatus for communicating information about networked gaming machines to prospective players
On a network of electronic gaming machines, data regarding the performance of the machines or the players of the machines is collected and processed to make predictions of future jackpots and recommendations of games to play. The predictions and recommendations are delivered via at least one virtual persona that communicates with players or potential players via displays in a casino or on a web browser, via smartphone. Players can conduct conversations with the persona using cellular telephone, text messaging, or other types of Internet communications.
US09640026B2 Gaming machine
In a gaming machine including a symbol region where reels having symbols are arranged in predetermined arrangement. The symbols are displayed in an arranged manner in longitudinal and transverse directions. A reel control unit that independently controls movement of the reels. A winning determination unit determines whether the symbols appearing on a valid line set to span the reels form a predetermined winning pattern. The symbol region includes layer. At least one reel is disposed in each layer. A symbol group is provided in at least one reel or in a specific layer in such a manner that symbols capable of forming at least portion of the winning pattern are arranged in the symbol group.
US09640021B2 Real three dimensional display for wagering game machine events
Systems and methods include a wagering game machine having a three-dimensional monitor. Certain events are 3D transition events that cause certain graphical elements presented by the wagering game to be rendered as real 3D objects using the three-dimensional monitor.
US09640018B2 Hybrid instant online lottery game
A system and method for conducting a lottery game is described. The game may include providing a player with a free pre-printed first game piece having a first set of game play data, wherein game play data on the first game piece is insufficient to ascertain an outcome of the lottery game. The game may further include receiving information identifying the first game piece and an indication the player wishes to purchase a chance in the lottery game. Responsive to receiving the indication, the game outcome may be determined and a second set of game play data chosen based on the outcome, so that a comparison of the first set of game play data and the second set game play data is indicative of the outcome of the chance according to predetermined game rules. The second set of game data may be provided to the player on a second game piece also having data associating the second game piece with the first game piece and a unique identifier. When a claim for a prize is received from the player, the uniquue identifier may be used to confirm whether a prize is due the player. A prize with a value that depends on the game outcome may then be awarded to the player.
US09640017B2 Gaming system and method employing rankings of outcomes from multiple gaming machines to determine awards
A gaming system is provided in which multiple gaming machines are linked. Each of the machines plays its game and generates at least one outcome. The top or best outcome of each machine is submitted, e.g., to a comparator or server computer for ranking. An award is provided for a certain percentage such as one-half of the highest ranked outcomes. The award is made available to the gaming machine, but a player must be wagering on the associated outcome producing event (such as the payline) to receive the award. For example, if a player plays only payline one of a multi-line slot machine and payline five of that machine generates the highest ranked result of all linked gaming machines, the award is made available to the gaming machine, but the player does not receive the award. In an embodiment, each linked gaming machine participates in play (all paylines) regardless of whether a player is playing that gaming machine.
US09640014B2 Vending machine with elevator delivery of vended product to customer access
An automated vending or merchandizing machine includes an elevator sub-assembly which moves a dispensing bin or elevator tray vertically along the fronts of plural vertical levels of product dispensers in the vending machine. A controller tracks the vertical position of the elevator tray. This allows the controller to send the elevator tray to the vertical level of the dispenser of the product selected by a customer, at that level receive and confirm dispensing of the selected product into the elevator tray, and return the elevator tray holding the dispensed product down to a customer delivery or access door or opening in the vending machine that can below the vertical levels of dispensers. Features can include coordination of locking and unlocking of a customer access door and actuating an anti-cheat security baffle with the position of the elevator tray.
US09640012B2 Transaction verification protocol for smart cards
A protocol appropriate for smartcard purchase applications such as those that might be completed between a terminal or ATM and a users personal card is disclosed The protocol provides a signature scheme which allows the card to authenticate the terminal without unnecessary signature verification which is an computationally intense operation for the smart card. The only signature verification required is that of the terminal identification (as signed by the certifying authority, or CA, which is essential to any such protocol). In the preferred embodiment, the protocol provides the card and terminal from fraudulent attacks from impostor devices, either a card or terminal.
US09640010B2 Coin processing device
The present invention has the purpose of providing a coin processing device capable of performing a coin reception test while being connected with a vending machine.When a response command from the vending machine is received while a test mode is executed, a response is carried out to the response command based on device information present immediately before the test mode is executed, reception of a coin thrown during the test mode is stored, and the coin is paid out based on the storage when the test mode is released.
US09640008B2 Cash transaction machine
To enhance the functionality of an automated cash transaction machine. An automated cash transaction machine 1 is disposed with a currency bill deposit/withdrawal unit 16 that accepts currency bills from outside, a discriminating unit 18 that discriminates the authenticity of the currency bills and also reads their serial numbers, and a receipt issuing slot 8 and an operation display unit 6 that present, to a customer for each deposit transaction, the serial number of a currency bill judged to be a fake bill by the discriminating unit 18.
US09640007B2 Medium transaction device
The precision of detection of abnormal media is increased using a unique identification number. A banknote deposit/withdrawal mechanism of an automated teller machine confirms whether a banknote having the same serial number is among transaction banknotes by comparing each transaction serial number obtained by reading the serial number for each transaction banknote with other transaction serial numbers. Thereby, when counterfeit notes having the same serial number are included among the transaction banknotes, the banknote deposit/withdrawal mechanism cannot determine a banknote as counterfeit in a process of collating the serial numbers with a counterfeit note serial number list, but can determine that a banknote is counterfeit in a collation process between the transaction serial numbers. In this case, the banknote deposit/withdrawal mechanism can prevent counterfeit notes from being transferred to a user by transporting a relevant transaction banknote together with all other transaction banknotes to a reject compartment.
US09640006B2 Method for detecting the actuation of a motor vehicle door handle
A method for detecting the actuation of a handle (10) of a motor vehicle door (20), the handle (10) including at least a locking electrode (60), having a capacitance across its terminals, and an unlocking request detection device (50) generating an unlocking request signal, the method including continuously measuring a variation of the unlocking request signal and a variation of the capacitance (ΔCV) of the locking electrode, determining an unlocking request, and then comparing the variation of the capacitance (ΔCV) with a threshold (S2) during consecutive first and second predetermined periods (t1, t2), respectively, in order to detect whether the handle (10) has been actuated.
US09640004B2 Method for utilizing a wireless connection to unlock an opening
A method of operating a lock from a portable remote device includes sending a radio frequency identification signal from the portable remote device to a controller for the lock, and receiving the radio frequency identification signal at the lock controller and identifying the remote device as an authorized user of the lock. The method then includes sending a sound frequency identification signal from the portable remote device to the lock controller, receiving the sound frequency identification signal at the lock controller and identifying the remote device as an authorized user of the lock. The method further includes authorizing operation of the lock in accordance with the radio or sound frequency identification signal from the portable remote device. A system for practicing the method includes a lock controller capable of receiving a radio frequency identification signal and a sound frequency identification signal from the portable remote device.
US09640002B1 System and method for verified admission through access controlled locations using a mobile device
A system and method for verifying entry credentials and activating/deactivating an access control system via use of the native capabilities of a mobile device is disclosed herein. Particularly, the system and method include an embedded local control device attached or communicative with an electronic gate or lock. The control device is communicative with a remote access control management system, which is structured to receive, track and manage access tokens that can be used to control access to a gated community or other secured location. Notifications that an access token has been generated can be communicated to the guest(s) by way of text message, short message service (SMS), email, social media, for example. Each notification may contain a unique link to a webpage employing the access token. While in the geographic vicinity of the secured location, the guest may actuate the access token and open the gate.
US09639994B2 Optimized parking system
Parking spaces are optimized by orchestrating the movement of one or more autonomous vehicles or shared vehicles. A computing device monitors locations of multiple vehicles. The computing device receives a request for a parking space from a user at or in route to a geographic location. The computing device selects one of the monitors vehicles based on the geographic location of the parking request. The computing device generates an instruction to make available a parking space of the selected one of the vehicles. In the case of autonomous vehicles, the vehicle drives away from the parking space. In the case of shared vehicles, a rental appointment is modified to make the parking space available.
US09639986B2 Head mounted display and method of controlling thereof
The present specification relates to a head mounted display (HMD) and a method of controlling therefor. More specifically, the present specification provides a method for a user wearing an HMD to recognize at least one object positioned at the front via a virtual map. The HMD includes a display unit configured to display visual information, a position sensing unit configured to sense a position of the HMD, a camera unit configured to sense at least one object positioned at the front of the HMD, and a processor configured to control the display unit, the position sensing unit, and the camera unit. The processor is further configured to obtain position information of the HMD, generate a first virtual map indicating a virtual object corresponding to the at least one object positioned at the front of the HMD, based on the position information of the HMD, and display the first virtual map.
US09639985B2 Active binocular alignment for near eye displays
A system and method are disclosed for detecting angular displacement of a display element relative to a reference position on a head mounted display device for presenting a mixed reality or virtual reality experience. Once the displacement is detected, it may be corrected for to maintain the proper binocular disparity of virtual images displayed to the left and right display elements of the head mounted display device. In one example, the detection system uses an optical assembly including collimated LEDs and a camera which together are insensitive to linear displacement. Such a system provides a true measure of angular displacement of one or both display elements on the head mounted display device.
US09639982B2 On-demand transformation aware shape tessellation
Disclosed are apparatus and methods for tessellating shapes. A computing device that has a display can receive an instruction to draw a shape. The computing device can determine a scale factor for the shape. The computing device can determine a set of polygons that tessellate the shape based on the scale factor. The set of polygons can include at least two polygons. The computing device can display the polygons in the determined set on the display.
US09639979B2 Method and apparatus for generating a composite image based on an ambient occlusion
A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided for non-occluding overlay of user interface or information elements on a contextual map. A method is provided including receiving a two dimensional image associated with a geographic area or object, receiving geometry model associated with the associated with the geographic area, generating an embossing map based on ambient occlusions associated with the geometry model, and generating a composite image based on the two dimensional image and the embossing map.
US09639977B2 Processing model data representing a biological body section having a defect portion
A method of processing model data representing a body section with bilateral symmetry of a biological organism is proposed that comprises the steps of providing object imaging data representing the body section having one or more defect portions; calculating a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis of the body section based on mathematical analysis of the object imaging data; and determining a mirror plane based on the calculated longitudinal and lateral axes. Said mirror plane allows for reconstructing the one or more defect portions by mirroring one or more corresponding portions having no defects at the mirror plane.
US09639975B1 System and method for generating shadows
A computer-implemented method for generating a shadow in a graphics scene. The method includes casting a ray having a finite length associated with a point on a surface of an object in the graphics scene towards a light source; determining whether the ray intersects any other objects in the graphics scene; and generating a shadow value associated with the point on the surface of the object based on a combination of geometric scene information obtained as a result of determining whether the ray intersects any other objects in the graphics scene and an image-based shadow map value.
US09639973B2 Muon tomography imaging improvement using optimized limited angle data
Disclosed technology can provide a process for generating reconstructed muon image resolution to optimize the use of the limited angular range muon track data collected by a muon tomography system. In one aspect, a process for improving reconstructed muon image resolution for a volume of interest (VOI) imaged by a muon tomography system includes: collecting raw muon track data of cosmic ray muon tracks passing through the VOI; grouping the raw muon track data into two or more subsets of tracks based on at least one angular distribution of the muon tracks in the raw muon track data; generating a set of images of the VOI based on the two or more subsets of tracks; and combining information from the set of reconstructed images and a reconstructed image based on the full set of the raw muon track data to obtain a resulting reconstructed image of the VOI.
US09639970B2 Character recognition system, character recognition program and character recognition method
A character recognition system for recognizing character(s) displayed on display(s) of computer(s). In one embodiment, memory device(s) store recognition dictionaries, and there may be a separate recognition dictionary for each display font and character size combination. Such a recognition dictionary may contain information pertaining to arrangement of constituent dots making up each character of a corresponding display font and character size. A character recognition unit may identify target character(s) displayed on display(s) by searching such recognition dictionary or dictionaries and extracting therefrom character(s) for which information pertaining to arrangement of constituent dots making up extracted character(s) is a perfect match for target character(s) displayed on display(s).
US09639968B2 Generating an augmented view of a location of interest
One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for generating an augmented view of a location of interest for a user. The technique includes determining an image capture location based on the location of interest, and determining an image capture direction based on the image capture location. The technique further includes receiving an image associated with the image capture location and the image capture direction. The technique further includes processing the image based on a line of sight associated with a location of the user to generate a processed image and displaying the processed image to the user. Advantageously, the disclosed techniques enable a user to see through obstructions in the surrounding environment to view a location of interest.
US09639966B2 Visually displaying a plurality of attributes of sound data
A control section analyzes sound data to acquire data indicative of a plurality of attributes, such as pitch and volume, and displays, on a display screen, graphics indicative of the acquired pitch and volume. At that time, the control section displays, on the display screen, a pitch curve where a value of pitch is represented by the vertical axis while the passage of time is represented by the horizontal axis. Also, at a position on the display screen based on a displayed position of the pitch curve, the control section displays a volume graphic where a level of volume is represented by a length or distance or width, in the vertical-axis direction, of the volume graphic.
US09639959B2 Mobile device configured to compute 3D models based on motion sensor data
A particular method includes determining, based on data received from at least one motion sensor, a movement of a mobile device from a first position to a second position. The method also includes computing a three-dimensional (3D) model of an object based on a first image of the object corresponding to a first view of the object from the first position of the mobile device, a second image of the object corresponding to a second view of the object from the second position of the mobile device, and the movement of the mobile device.
US09639956B2 Image adjustment using texture mask
Implementations relate to adjusting images using a texture mask. In some implementations, a method includes detecting one or more texture regions having detected texture in an image, and generating a mask from the image based on the detected texture regions. The detected texture regions are distinguished in the mask from other regions of the image that do not have detected texture. The method applies one or more adjustment operations to the image in amounts based on values of the mask.
US09639945B2 Depth-based application of image effects
An image such as a light-field image may be captured with a light-field image capture device with a microlens array. The image may be received in a data store along with a depth map that indicates depths at which objects in different portions of the image are disposed. A function may be applied to the depth map to generate a mask that defines a gradual transition between the different depths. An effect may be applied to the image through the use of the mask such that applicability of the effect is determined by the mask. A processed image may be generated. The first effect may be present in the processed image, as applied previously. The processed image may be displayed on a display device. If desired, multiple effects may be applied through the generation of multiple masks, depth maps, and/or intermediate images prior to generation of the processed image.
US09639944B2 Method and apparatus for determining a depth of a target object
A method for determining a depth of a target object in an environment is disclosed. The method comprises sensing a depth of objects within the environment with a depth sensing apparatus (1 10), identifying a disocclusion gap caused by the target object (120), detecting a position of edge contours of the disocclusion gap (1 30), and calculating a depth of the target object from the position of the disocclusion gap edge contours and a position of the depth sensing apparatus (140). Also disclosed are a computer program product for carrying out a method for determining a depth of a target object in an environment and an apparatus (300) for determining a depth of a target object in an environment.
US09639940B2 Imaging apparatus and methods for generating a guide display showing a photographing technique for approximating a composition of a subject image to that of a sample image
A display apparatus (which may be included in an imaging apparatus) includes: a display unit; a guide display generation circuit which acquires an image file including image data and photographing posture data including information of an inclination and a height of an imaging apparatus performing an imaging operation when the image data was created by the imaging operation to generate a photographing posture guide display based on the photographing posture data; and a display control circuit which causes the display unit to display an image based on the image data and the photographing posture guide display. A data processing apparatus may include a signal processing circuit which creates an image file including image data and photographing posture data.
US09639938B2 Matching patient images of different imaging modality using atlas information
The present invention relates to a medical data processing method of transforming a representation of an anatomical structure of a patient in a first imaging modality into a representation of the anatomical structure in a second, other imaging modality, the method being constituted to be executed by a computer and comprising the following steps: acquiring first modality image data describing the first modality medical image containing the representation of the anatomical structure in the first imaging modality; acquiring atlas data describing a first modality atlas image describing a general structure of the anatomical structure in the first imaging modality, the atlas data containing information about the representation of the general structure in the second imaging modality; determining, based on the first modality image data and the atlas data, a first matching transformation between the first modality medical image and the first modality atlas image; determining, based on the first matching transformation and the first modality atlas image and the information about the representation of the general structure in the second imaging modality second modality, a second modality image representation of the first modality medical image.
US09639937B2 Apparatus and method for detecting event from plurality of photographed images
An apparatus and a method for detecting an event from a plurality of captured images are disclosed. An apparatus for generating an individual event rule is provided, comprising an image receiver, an image synthesis unit, an event rule acquisition unit, an individual event rule generator and a rule transmitter. The image receiver receives multiple captured images from multiple cameras. The image synthesis unit synthesizes the multiple captured images through conversion functions corresponding to coordinate systems of the multiple cameras into a main image. The event rule acquisition unit acquires an event rule for the main image. The individual event rule generator converts the event rule through the conversion functions into individual event rules corresponding respectively to the cameras. The rule transmitter transmits the individual event rules for identifying a single event.
US09639936B2 Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium in which program is stored for enhancing an image via super-resolution
An image processing apparatus includes a storage unit that is capable of storing a look-up table having association information for associating at least one first image with at least one second image that is different from the first image, a constraint condition storage unit that is capable of storing a constraint condition, which is to be satisfied by at least one of an input image, the association information and an output image, an image accepting unit that accepts at least one image, a mapping unit that acquires at least one second image associated with the at least one image accepted by the image accepting unit, so as to match the constraint condition, using the association information, and an image output unit that outputs an output image configured by the at least one second image acquired by the mapping unit.
US09639935B1 Apparatus and methods for camera alignment model calibration
Generating a calibrated camera alignment model for image capture devices having overlapping fields-of-view may include identifying a camera alignment model describing a first candidate alignment path for a defined location in a first input frame and a second candidate alignment path for the defined location in a second input frame, identifying a third candidate alignment path spatially adjacent to the first candidate alignment path, identifying a fourth candidate alignment path spatially adjacent to the second candidate alignment path, identifying a first point along the first candidate alignment path or the second candidate alignment path corresponding to a second point along the third candidate alignment path or the fourth candidate alignment path, and updating the camera alignment model based on the first point, the second point, or both.
US09639929B2 Apparatus and method for computer-aided diagnosis
An apparatus and method for medical diagnostics includes receiving three-dimensional (3D) volume data of a part of a patient's body, and generating two-dimensional (2D) slices including cross-sections of the 3D volume data cut from a cross-section cutting direction. The apparatus and the method also determine whether a lesion in each of the 2D slices is benign or malignant and output results indicative thereof, select a number of the 2D slices based on the results, and make a final determination whether the lesion is benign or malignant based on the selected 2D slices.
US09639926B1 Image processing tool for automatic feature recognition and quantification
A system for defining structures within an image is described. The system includes reading of an input file, preprocessing the input file while preserving metadata such as scale information and then detecting features of the input file. In one version the detection first uses an edge detector followed by identification of features using a Hough transform. The output of the process is identified elements within the image.
US09639925B2 Device, system, and method for rapidly and comprehensively inspecting lens actuator
Disclosed is a device for rapidly and comprehensively inspecting a lens actuator, the device comprising a bracket (4) for fixing the lens actuator, a cone-shaped body (2) and a camera (1), wherein the outer surface of the cone-shaped body (2) is a mirror surface, the cone-shaped body (2) is mounted on the top of the bracket (4), and the camera (1) is hung above the cone-shaped body (2). Further disclosed is a system employing the above-mentioned device for rapidly and comprehensively inspecting a lens actuator, and a method for inspecting a lens actuator by using the above-mentioned device. A rapid inspection can be realized so as to facilitate quality inspection and control in mass production, and a comprehensive inspection also can be realized, the inspection items including lens stroke, magnitude of inclination and the similar items under different control conditions.
US09639922B2 Generation method of image restoration filter, image processing method, image pickup apparatus, image processing apparatus, and recording medium
A method for generating an image restoration filter used to correct a deterioration of an image captured through an optical system includes a first step of setting a target restoration gain value representative of a target restoration degree of an absolute value of an optical transfer function of the optical system, within a restoration gain limiting value calculated by dividing a maximum value operable by a fixed-point arithmetic by a data point number of the optical transfer function, and a second step of generating, through the fixed-point arithmetic, a frequency characteristic of the image restoration filter based on the target restoration gain value set by the first step.
US09639920B2 Dither directed LUT output value interpolation
In an example, a method for image processing may include inputting a first pixel value corresponding to a first pixel of an image into a LUT. The LUT may map one or more LUT input values to one or more LUT output values. The first pixel value may correspond to a first LUT input value that maps to a first LUT output value in the LUT. The first pixel may include one or more pixel values. The method may include generating a noise value for the first LUT input value. The method may include generating a first interpolated LUT output value for the first LUT input value based on the noise value. The method may include transforming the image into a transformed image using the first interpolated LUT output value.
US09639916B2 Image processing device, and image processing method
A fog in an image is quickly removed with a small processing load.An image processing device includes a dark channel image generating section 20 for generating a dark channel image based on an input image, a transmittance image generating section 30 for generating a transmittance image based on the dark channel image generated in the dark channel image generating section 20 and a pixel value of atmospheric light, a transmittance correcting section 40 for correcting the transmittance image generated in the transmittance image generating section 30, and a fog removal image generating section 60 for removing fog in the input image based on the transmittance image corrected in the transmittance correcting section 40, the pixel value of atmospheric light, and the input image.
US09639915B2 Image processing method and apparatus
An image processing method includes configuring a noise reduction filter for each of pixels in an image in accordance with a linear noise model of the image, based on different levels of a noise effect caused to a corresponding pixel, among the pixels, by other pixels, among the pixels and adjacent to the corresponding pixel. The method further includes performing noise reduction filtering on each of the pixels, using the noise reduction filter for each of the pixels, to obtain a noise reduced image.
US09639913B2 Image processing device, image processing method, image processing program, and storage medium
A device comprises an input unit, a motion acquisition unit, a matrix operation unit, and a drawing unit. The input unit implements sequential input of a first frame image and a second frame image. The motion acquisition unit acquires motion data between the first frame image and the second frame image. The matrix operation unit calculates a projection matrix to project the output frame image to the second frame image, from a first matrix including a rolling shutter distortion component, a second matrix including at least one of a parallel translation component in directions perpendicular to an image-shooting direction and a rotation component with respect to the image-shooting direction, and an auxiliary matrix including a motion component not included in the first matrix and the second matrix. The drawing unit generates the output frame image from the second frame image by using the projection matrix.
US09639910B2 System for embedding data
A method and system including receiving marking information, determining, at least in part, based on the marking 0 information, a plurality of color element additives, adding the plurality of color element additives to at least one color element of a video frame, wherein the at least one color element includes a color element R, a color element G, and a color element B. Related methods and systems are also described.
US09639908B1 Variable delivery zones for delivery orders
In some examples, a service provider may receive an indicated delivery location from a buyer device. The service provider may determine, based at least in part on traffic information, respective predicted courier travel times to the delivery location from a plurality of different merchant locations. The service provider may compare the respective predicted courier travel times with respective spoilage times for items offered by the corresponding merchants, and may identify one or more items having respective spoilage times greater than the respective predicted courier travel time from that merchant location. The service provider may send, to the buyer device, information about items available to be ordered from particular merchants having respective spoilage times greater than the predicted courier travel time from respective the merchant location. The buyer device may present the item information on a display to enable buyer selection of an item for delivery.
US09639901B2 Geo-location systems and methods
Systems and methods are provided for matching a first user in a first geographic location with a second user in a second geographic location, and enabling the first user to find the second user in the second geographic location. The first geographic location can be the same as the second geographic location. The first user and second user can be matched based on user-specific matching criteria, including a first user profile of the first user and a second user profile of the second user. The first user can communicate with the second user.
US09639900B2 Systems and methods for tax data capture and use
A computer-implemented method of acquiring tax data for use in tax preparation application includes acquiring an image of at least one document containing tax data therein with an imaging device. A computer extracts one or more features from the acquired image of the at least one document and compares the extracted one or more features to a database containing a plurality of different tax forms. The database may include a textual database and/or geometric database. The computer identifies a tax form corresponding to the at least one document from the plurality of different tax forms based at least in part on a confidence level associated with the comparison of the extracted one or more features to the database. At least a portion of the tax data from the acquired image is transferred into corresponding fields of the tax preparation application.
US09639896B2 System and method for dynamically managing message flow
System and method for dynamically managing message flow. According to the example embodiments, an intermediary network device or a client device dynamically manages the flow of messages received from an electronic exchange by analyzing the client device's capabilities, such as CPU utilization. Based on a percentage of total CPU utilization, the level of throttling is dynamically adjusted, such that if the percentage of CPU utilization, or load, increases, then throttling is increased from a lower level to a higher level. Similarly, if the percentage of CPU utilization decreases significantly enough, then throttling is decreased to a lower level.
US09639892B2 Activity review for a financial and social management system
Embodiments of the invention comprise systems, computer program products, and methods for a financial and social management system that provides improved tracking and management related to how, where, when, and with whom a user enters into activities. The financial and social management system captures activity information and images from various sources of information, including but not limited to social networking accounts, e-receipts, location determination devices, and the like, and associates the activity information and images with the activities. The financial and social management system aggregates the activity information for a number of activities based on the location, user, entity, category, cost, time period, or the like and displays the aggregated activity information in an activity review interface. The financial and social management system may supplement the aggregated activity information with educational data.
US09639891B2 Computerized method and system for dynamically creating and updating a user interface
The number of users viewing a given variable directly affects the rate of change and/or outcome of said variable. In the case of eCommerce, pricing of products and/or services is based upon a user accessing a website on which products and/or services are for sale. An initial price indicia associator associates initial price indicia with the products and/or services files. The initial pricing can be based upon historical indicia or the engine itself. Thereafter, a price indicia adjuster adjusts the pricing responsive to user access of the website or related website. A user interface meter shown on the website indicates to potential buyers how much interest there is in the product and/or service being sold so that peer activity is exhibited to potential buyers to encourage sales and impulsive buying behavior. Pricing is dynamic and adjusts in real-time at a rate determined by the amount of users accessing the website.
US09639889B2 Discovery engine storefront
A method and a system of online shopping using a digital storefront. For example, a digital storefront having multiple touchscreen display surfaces presents a plurality of tiles to a user, where one or more tiles display images of items for sale and at least one hunch question which may be related to the environment. In further examples, a response is received from the user to one or more hunch questions, and items are recommended for the user and presented to the user in one or more updated tiles on a touchscreen display surface.
US09639885B2 Recovery of e-commerce orders
Implementations for recovering e-commerce orders are described herein. An e-commerce order is submitted to an order processing system, by an order check-out module of an online transaction system. The e-commerce order includes order information that is provided to the order check-out module by a client device. The check-out module determines that the order processing is delayed or failed and, based at least on a status of the order processing being delayed or failed, initiates an order recovery action to be performed by an order recovery engine. Once the order recovery action is initiated, the order check-out module is made available to handle a new order.
US09639879B2 Evaluating real estate properties
The present invention is an improved system and method for analyzing multiple real estate properties. The system includes a pool of properties that are searched based on user-defined search criteria. The system identifies comparison properties from the search pool. The comparison properties include attributes that match or are a near match to the search criteria. The system compares each of the comparison properties to at least one average value and demonstrably depicts the comparison to the user.
US09639877B1 eBook citation enhancement
Electronic content items such as electronic books are enhanced by identifying citations within the content items, identifying sources of the objects of the citations, and associating the citations with such sources so that readers of the content items can easily purchase or otherwise obtain the citation objects. The citations may be updated as new products become available or information related to the products changes over time.
US09639875B1 Reconfiguring reserved instance marketplace offerings for requested reserved instance configurations
A virtual computing resource provider may implement reconfiguration of reserved compute instance marketplace offerings for requested reserved compute instance configurations. A request for listings of reserved compute instances available for resale according to a specified instance configuration may be received. Reserved compute instances may be identified that are reconfigurable to satisfy the specified configuration (e.g., a particular type, location, or reservation term length). Listing may be provided for reservation by a client that include modified listings that describe a configuration for the reconfigurable reserved compute instances that satisfies the specified configuration. In some embodiments, a reservation request for a modified listing may be received, and in response the reserved compute instance associated with the modified listing may be reconfigured (e.g., modified, upgraded, downgraded, or term adjusted) as described in the modified listing. Access to the reconfigured reserved compute instance may then be provided to the reserving client.
US09639872B2 System and method for managing pricing and inventory information
A sales management system may include a pricing data store operable to store a manufacturer price for a sales item; a retail input device adapted to receive a margin applicable to the sales item from a retailer and operable to store the margin; a retail display device residing at a retail location and configured to display a retail price for the sales item; and a product information provider located remotely from the retail display device and in communication with the manufacturer pricing data store, the product information provider configured to receive a request for product information from the retail display device and operable to compute the retail price for the sales item based in part on the manufacturer price for the sales item and the margin associated with the retailer and to provide the retail price to the retail display device for display in relation to the sales item.
US09639871B2 Methods and apparatuses for assigning moods to content and searching for moods to select content
Systems and methods for content identification and search are described. Content is identified or represented by one or more moods conveyed by the content to viewers. Identified moods are assigned range areas corresponding to each mood. Range areas are assigned spans corresponding to the range areas. Assigned spans are digitized and stored for searching. Searches are initiated by users through the identification of one or more moods and corresponding identification spans within ranges corresponding to the ranges. Once a user has selected at least one search span, a search is performed by looking for content having identification spans that at least partially correspond to the selected search spans, with content being ordered or ranked based on the degree of overlap between the identification spans and the search spans.
US09639862B2 Tracking the influence of gift giving within a social network
Exemplary methods, apparatuses, and systems receive a gift giving event characteristic. A first set of one or more gift giving events within a first period of time that meet the received gift giving event characteristic are identified. Each of the gift giving events result in a narrative being published to a social network and are viewable by a group of one or more users of the social network. A second set of one or more gift giving events within a second period of time are identified. The second period of time is subsequent to the first period time. The second set of gift giving events are initiated by the group of one or more users. An amount of influence of a first user that initiated a gift giving event in the first set of gift giving events is determined based upon the second set of gift giving events.
US09639861B2 Messaging with greeting card and gift option
A messaging solution that provides for creating and embedding gift cards into a text message or multi-media message. The inclusion of the gift card may be invoked when a user is sending a greeting card or, a user may directly invoke the sending of a gift card, or similarly a subscription.
US09639857B2 Method and apparatus for associating commenting information with one or more objects
An approach is provided for presenting a user interface and associating one or more commenting information with on one or more content items detected in one or more media items. Further, a user may associate one or more commenting information related to a point of interest/object wherein one or more content items associated with the point of interest/object may be retrieved and aggregated with the one or more commenting information.
US09639854B2 Voice-controlled information exchange platform, such as for providing information to supplement advertising
A system with an associated method for preloading advertisements by a server to a user's device is disclosed. In response to inquiries made by members of a user group, the system presents advertisements to the members and keeps a record of these presentations. Next, the system identifies those advertisements which have been frequently presented to the members, and preloads the identified advertisements on the device of a user who belongs to the user group. Subsequently, upon receiving a specific inquiry from the user's device, the system determines a response to the specific inquiry. When the determined response contains one of the preloaded advertisements, the system sends an instruction to the user's device to present the preloaded advertisement to the user.
US09639848B1 Diffusion prediction based on indicator scoring
Based on historical data describing product sales or other types of transactions, indicator scores may be calculated for users who have purchased, reviewed, or otherwise consumed products, the indicator scores based on subsequent diffusion of the products. Measured, current activities of the scored users with regard to another product may then be employed to develop a diffusion model that predicts the future sales of the other product over time. The diffusion model may be employed to determine product pricing, marketing, distribution, or acquisition.
US09639846B2 System and method for providing targeted content
An arrangement for providing targeted content includes data repositories storing information from which targeted content may be selected. The data repositories store at least one contextual relationship graph. The arrangement also includes an input/output interface through which a request for targeted content is made. The arrangement further includes a controller that receives the request for targeted content and selects targeted content using the contextual relationship graph. The controller further provides the selected targeted content through the input/output interface. An arrangement for determining the relative strength of a classification for a group of words includes memory for storing a contextual relationship graph for a given classification and a processor that receives the contextual relationship graph and a plurality of words to be analyzed by the processor, identifies occurrences of the relationships identified in the contextual relationship graph and determines the relative strength of classification based on the identified occurrences.
US09639844B2 Method and apparatus of identifying a website user
A method and an apparatus of identifying a website user are disclosed herein. The method includes: obtaining accounts and user identities from a database; building a connected graph by taking the accounts and the user identities as nodes and connecting account nodes and user identity nodes having association relationship therewith; finding a connected component from the connected graph, accounts corresponding to all account nodes in the connected component forming an account group that is bound to a same website user; computing an account density and a fraud account closing rate of the account group; determining whether the account density and the fraud account closing rate are within respective predetermined normal value ranges; and if affirmative, determining that the account group is a dangerous account group and a website user bound to the dangerous account group is a dangerous website user; otherwise, determining that the account group is a normal account group and a website user bound to the normal account group is a normal website user.
US09639842B1 System and method for accommodating disrupted travelers so that respective optimized itineraries for the disrupted travelers are identified simultaneously and a result comprising a simultaneous assignment of the respective optimized alternative itineraries is returned to a JMS out queue and outputted in XML format
A system and method for accommodating disrupted travelers utilizing scoring and optimization techniques.
US09639841B2 Promoting learned discourse in online media
In one example, a method for promoting learned discourse in online forums includes posting forum content on a forum server and providing access to users to the content through an I/O module. The method further includes receiving a comment from a user and analyzing the comment from the user to produce an a priori score for the comment. A portable certificate of status is accepted from the user and used to produce a posteriori score for the comment. A system for promoting learned discourse in online forums is also disclosed.
US09639831B2 Secure payment of virtual items
A method (400, 500) and a system (100) of conducting transactions for acquisition of virtual items. The method can include receiving from a user (108) a request to acquire the virtual item. Responsive to an identity indicator (112) that is exclusively unique to an identity confirmation device (110) being communicated from the identity confirmation device, a determination can be made whether the identity indicator corresponds to the user. Responsive to determining that the identity indicator corresponds to the user, the virtual item can be provided to the user. The method also can include receiving from a user a request to acquire the virtual item, receiving from an identity confirmation device an identity indicator exclusively unique to the identity confirmation device, and communicating the request and the identity indicator from the client device to a server (104).
US09639830B2 Methods, systems, and devices to dynamically customize electronic bill presentment and payment workflows
Embodiments of systems, methods and devices for electronic bill presentment and payment are disclosed. Such embodiments include receiving one or more instructions from a biller at a remote computer server. Further, the remote computer server implements an electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) workflow configuration module and provisions, using the EBPP workflow configuration module, one or more configuration parameters for the biller based on the one or more received instructions. In addition, embodiments include configuring, dynamically an EBPP workflow based on the one or more received instructions and provisioned configuration parameters using the EBPP workflow configuration module. The configuring of the EBPP workflow includes generating a state machine implementing the EBPP workflow. Moreover, embodiments include configuring one or more business logic scripts by the EBPP workflow configuration module to implement the EBPP workflow as well as configuring one or more view templates by the EBPP workflow configuration module to implement the EBPP workflow.
US09639829B2 Location-based automatic payment system
A method for making a location-based automatic payment includes receiving an automatic payment instruction that designates a payee account. The automatic payment instruction is associated with a payer account in a database. A payment location is received and associated with the automatic payment request in the database. A payer device that is associated with the payer account is determined to be in the payment location and, in response, a payment request is sent over a network to make a payment from the payer account to the payee account.
US09639825B1 Securing multifactor authentication
In certain embodiments, a system receives a request sent by a device to authorize an operation. The system initiates display of an image encoding a challenge code to allow the device to capture the image and extract the challenge code. The device calculates a response using the challenge code and a seed, and sends the response to the system. In certain examples, the device may send the request over a first channel and the response over a second channel distinct from the first channel. In other examples, the device displays the response and a user inputs the response into a computing system to send to the system.
US09639812B1 System and method for accommodating disrupted travelers
A system and method for accommodating disrupted travelers utilizing scoring and optimization techniques.
US09639806B2 System and method for predicting iconicity of an image
A system and method for evaluating iconicity of an image are provided. In the method, at least one test image is received, each test image including an object in a selected class. Properties related to iconicity are computed for each test image. The properties may include one or more of: a) a direct measure of iconicity, which is computed with a direct iconicity prediction model which has been learned on a set of training images, each training image labeled with an iconicity score; b) one or more class-independent properties; and c) one or more class-dependent properties. A measure of iconicity of each of the test images is computed, based on the computed properties. By combining a set of complementary properties, an iconicity measure which shows good agreement with human evaluations of iconicity can be obtained.
US09639799B2 System, method and apparatus for matrix-less inlay design
According to at least one exemplary embodiment, a system, method and apparatus for a matrix-less inlay design may be described. The system, method and apparatus can include the formation of an inlay with a pattern, such as a starburst pattern, surrounding an antenna that can be formed during laser ablation process. The starburst pattern may be utilized to provide for the efficient generation of inlays of varying sizes.
US09639795B2 Method and system for displaying at least one matrix code on a screen to send data to electronic equipment provided with means for reading the matrix code(s)
A display method displays at least one matrix code on a screen of an electronic display device, to send data to electronic equipment including a mechanism reading the matrix code. The display device includes the screen and a mechanism displaying information on the screen. The display method includes: generating at least one two-dimensional matrix code from data to be sent; displaying the matrix code on the screen, matrix codes being displayed successively when plural matrix codes are generated; partitioning a primary image corresponding to a generated matrix code into at least two secondary images, dimensions of the primary image being equal to dimensions of the matrix code and dimensions of the secondary image being smaller than or equal to resolution of the screen, the corresponding matrix code being displayed as secondary images during the display, and the secondary images being displayed successively on the screen.
US09639793B2 Printing system displaying registration screen for registration of attributes of printing media
A printing system includes a plurality of loading units, and a registration management unit configured to display on a display screen a registration screen for receiving registration of attributes of printing media loaded in the loading unit. The registration management unit is configured to arrange selection elements corresponding to unregistered loading units so as to be selectable on the registration screen, and is configured to arrange on the registration screen registration elements for registering the attributes of the printing media loaded in the loading unit corresponding to a selected selection element.
US09639788B2 Raster image processor methods and systems
Methods, systems, and computer program products for improving the performance of a raster image processor. Smaller objects are identified among a group of larger objects with respect to a job processed via a raster image processor. The smaller objects are merged with one or more larger objects among the group of larger objects. The smaller objects that are merged with the larger object are treated as a single object without losing the perceptual quality of the job and while reducing memory requirements to thereby enhance productivity during processing of the job via the raster image processor. RIP performance improvement results by pre-flattening complicatedly designed backgrounds with multiple objects of significantly low relative occupancy.
US09639785B2 Method of compensating density and image forming apparatus performing the same
An image forming apparatus according to the present general inventive concept includes a transfer unit configured to transfer an image formed on a photoreceptor to a transfer medium, a power supply unit configured to supply transfer power to the transfer unit, a density sensor unit configured to sense a density of the image transferred to the transfer medium, and a control unit configured to control the power supply unit so that the transfer power supplied to the transfer unit is adjusted, wherein the density sensor unit is allowed to move from a first position for sensing a density of sample patches formed on the transfer medium to a second position for sensing a density of a reference reflective plate, and the control unit performs a sensor compensation mode and a density compensation mode.
US09639781B2 Systems and methods for classification and alignment of highly similar or self-similar patterns
Systems and methods for training a machine vision system create geometric models. The disclosed methods can extract one or more corresponding features and one or more differentiating features from different sets of training images. The one or more differentiating features can be used to differentiate between the different work pieces. The disclosed methods can generate an alignment model using the corresponding features and a classification model using the one or more differentiating features.
US09639780B2 System and method for improved classification
A system and method for improved classification. A first classifier is trained using a first process running on at least one computing device using a first set of training images relating to a class of images. A set of additional images are selected using the first classifier from a source of additional images accessible to the computing device. The first set of training images and the set of additional images are merged using the computing device to create a second set of training images. A second classifier is trained using a second process running on the computing device using the second set of training images. A set of unclassified images are classified using the second classifier thereby creating a set of classified images. The first classifier and the second classifier employ different classification methods.
US09639777B1 Systems and methods for providing an image classifier
Systems and methods are provided for image classification using histograms of oriented gradients (HoG) in conjunction with a trainer. The efficiency of the process is greatly increased by first establishing a bitmap which identifies a subset of the pixels in the HoG window as including relevant foreground information, and limiting the HoG calculation and comparison process to only the pixels included in the bitmap.
US09639776B2 Image evaluation device and image evaluation system
Provided is an image evaluation device including an acquisition unit that acquires an image including plural patterns having different spatial frequencies and contrasts, and an output unit that compares each of plural patterns included in the image acquired by the acquisition unit with each of plural ideal patterns corresponding to the plural patterns, calculates similarities therebetween, and outputs an evaluation value for evaluating performance regarding a resolution of the image based on a sum of the calculated similarities of the plural patterns.
US09639774B2 Method for determining applicabilty of a processing device, a processing path and a processing pattern
The present disclosure provides a method for determining an applicability of a specific processing device having a specific processing pattern. The method includes the following steps: locating a similarity index between the specific processing pattern and a reference processing pattern of a reference processing device; and confirming the applicability of the specific processing device if the similarity index is no less than a threshold. Besides, a method for assessing an applicability of a new processing pattern for a specific processing device, and a method for determining an applicability of an alternative processing path for a reference processing path are also provided.
US09639772B2 Video comparison using color histograms
Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture for video comparison using color histograms are disclosed. Example methods disclosed herein to compare video sequences include determining a color histogram corresponding to an input video sequence based on color values of pixels sampled from a plurality of video frames of the input video sequence. Such disclosed example methods also include adjusting the color histogram corresponding to the input video sequence based on a first reference color histogram corresponding to a first reference video sequence different from the input video sequence to determine an adjusted color histogram corresponding to the input video sequence. Such disclosed example methods further include comparing the adjusted color histogram and the first reference color histogram to determine whether the first reference video sequence matches the input video sequence.
US09639769B2 Liveness detection
An image of a portion of a person's body is accessed, the image having been captured by an image capture device. Using the image, measurements of characteristics in the image are obtained, the characteristics in the image having been selected based on a statistical analysis of characteristics (i) in a plurality of first images taken directly of a person and (ii) in a plurality of second images taken of an image of a person. Based on a liveness function, a score for the image is determined using the obtained measurements of the characteristics in the image. A threshold value is accessed. The score of the image is compared to the accessed threshold value. Based on the comparison of the score of the image to the accessed threshold value, the image is determined to be have been taken by the image capture device imaging the portion of the person's body.
US09639768B2 Methods and systems to adaptively detect object borders from electronic device images
A method of automatically identifying a border in a captured image may include capturing an image of a target by an image sensor of an electronic device, and, by one or more processors, processing the image to automatically detect a border of the target in the image by applying an automatic border detection method to the image. The method may include presenting the image of the target to a user via a display of the electronic device so that the presented image comprises a visual depiction of the detected border, receiving an adjustment of the border from the user, determining whether to update the default parameters based on the received adjustment, in response to determining to update the default parameters, determining one or more updated parameters for the automatic border detection method that are based on, at least in part, the received adjustment, and saving the updated parameters.
US09639766B2 Camera device, server device, image monitoring system, control method of image monitoring system, and control program of image monitoring system
An image monitoring system that efficiently utilizes a network band and decrease the processing load of a server is provided. A second image decision processor analyzes an extracted image transmitted from a monitoring terminal, and evaluates the quality (reliability) of the extracted image. A reliability decision unit outputs an individual ID of the analyzed extracted image to a load estimation unit when the numerical value from the analysis output by the second decision processor becomes less than the preset threshold. The load estimation unit estimates the server processor load of a server and the network load. A resend request unit controls the resend request for an individual ID output from the negative load estimation unit corresponding to the server processor load and the network load.
US09639765B2 Multi-stage liveness determination
A method of determining whether a biometric object is part of a live individual is described. In one such method, image information is acquired from the biometric object by using a sensor, such as an ultrasonic sensor. The image information may be analyzed in at least two analysis stages. One of the analysis stages may be a temporal analysis stage that analyzes changes in the image information obtained during a time period throughout which the biometric object was continuously available to the sensor. For example, a dead/alive stage may analyze differences between image information taken at two different times in order to identify changes from one time to the next. Other stages may focus on aspects of a particular image information set, rather than seeking to assess changes over time. These other stages seek to determine whether an image information set exhibits characteristics similar to those of a live biometric object.
US09639763B2 Image target detecting apparatus and method
An image processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment includes a detection unit 11 and an identification unit 12. The detection unit 11 included in the image processing apparatus 10 detects a region in which a pixel value is changed between frames included in moving image data. The detection unit 11 outputs a detected result to the identification unit 12. The identification unit 12 sets a circumscribed rectangle to the region detected by the detection unit 11. The identification unit 12 specifies a frame including a detection target based on a filling ratio of the region to the circumscribed rectangle.
US09639758B2 Method and apparatus for processing image
A method of processing an image by using an image processing apparatus is provided. The method includes acquiring, by the image processing apparatus, a target image, extracting a shape of a target object included in the target image, determining a category including the target object based on the extracted shape, and storing the target image by mapping the target image with additional information including at least one keyword related to the category.
US09639755B2 Automated compound structure characterization in overhead imagery
A system for automatically characterizing areas of interest (e.g., urban areas, forests, and/or other compound structures) in high resolution overhead imagery through manipulation of a dictionary of visual words. The pixels of an input overhead image are initially clustered into a plurality of hierarchically-arranged connected components of a first hierarchical data structure. Image descriptors (e.g., shape, spectral, etc.) of the connected components are then clustered into a plurality of hierarchically-arranged nodes of a second hierarchical data structure. The nodes at a particular level in the second hierarchical data structure become a dictionary of visual words. Subsets of the visual words may be used to label the cells of a grid over the geographic area as falling into one of a number of areas of interest. Categorization information from the grid may be mapped into a resultant image whereby pixels depict their respective type of area of interest.
US09639753B2 Image processing apparatus, image processing method and recording medium
In an image processing apparatus, an image acquiring section acquires one or more images. An image analysis information acquiring section acquires image analysis information on each of the one or more images. A theme determining section determines a main theme representing a theme of each group of images related to each other among the one or more images and a subtheme representing a theme of each of the one or more images based on information on photography tendencies of images associated with each of one or more themes and the image analysis information on each of the one or more images. A theme information output section outputs information on the main theme and information on the subtheme.
US09639748B2 Method for detecting persons using 1D depths and 2D texture
A method detects an object in a scene by first determining an active set of window positions from depth data. Specifically, the object can be a person. The depth data are acquired by a depth sensor. For each, window position perform the following steps. Assign a window size based on the depth data. Select a current window from the active set of window positions. Extract a joint feature from the depth data and texture data for the current window, wherein the texture data are acquired by a camera. Classify the joint feature to detect the object. The classifier is trained with joint training features extracted from training data including training depth data and training texture data acquired by the sensor and camera respectively. Finally, the active set of window positions is updated before processing the next current window.
US09639747B2 Online learning method for people detection and counting for retail stores
People detection can provide valuable metrics that can be used by businesses, such as retail stores. Such information can be used to influence any number of business decisions such a employment hiring and product orders. The business value of this data hinges upon its accuracy. Thus, a method according to the principles of the current invention outputs metrics regarding people in a video frame within a stream of video frames through use of an object classifier configured to detect people. The method further comprises automatically updating the object classifier using data in at least a subset of the video frames in the stream of video frames.
US09639746B2 Systems and methods of detecting body movements using globally generated multi-dimensional gesture data
The disclosure describes systems and methods of detecting body movements using gesture data. The gesture data may be self-referenced and may be comprised by frames which may identify locations or positions of body parts of a subject with respect to a particular reference point within the frame. A classifier may process frames to learn body movements and store the frames of gesture data in a database. Data comprising frames of self-referenced gesture data may be received by a recognizer which recognizes movements of the subject identified by the frames by matching gesture data of the incoming frames to the classified self-referenced gesture data stored in the database.
US09639745B2 Method and apparatus for evaluating results of gaze detection
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for evaluating results of gaze detection, wherein these results are present or are obtained in the form of information which defines, for each of a multiplicity of successive times, a viewing direction detected at this time and a focal point identified thereby in a scene image assigned to this time. For this purpose, the invention provides for the following steps to be carried out: —a temporal change in the viewing direction and/or the focal point is evaluated in order to identify different viewing events which differ from one another by different speeds of an eye movement, wherein saccades and fixations and/or pursuit movements are detected as different types of viewing events and the identified viewing events are classified according to the type thereof, —a period of time spanned by the times is divided into intervals in such a manner that an interval corresponding to a duration of the particular viewing event is assigned to each of the identified viewing events, wherein at least some of these intervals each contain a sequence of a plurality of times, —precisely one of the times or a true subset of the times is selected in each case from each of the intervals assigned to a fixation or a pursuit movement, —and, for each of these selected times, the focal point identified in the scene image assigned to the particular time is mapped to a position corresponding to this focal point in a reference image.
US09639741B2 Facial recognition with biometric pre-filters
Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method for facial recognition processing using biometric pre-filters. The computer determines a first eye-to-eye distance of a first detected face of a first image, and wherein the eye-to-eye distance is a biometric measurement. The computer receives a selection of a demographic characteristic. The computer determines a search range for the first eye-to-eye distance based, at least in part, on the selection of the demographic characteristic, and the first eye-to-eye distance. The computer identifies a second image from a plurality of images, wherein the second image includes a second eye-to-eye distance that is included in the determined search range for the first eye-to-eye distance. The computer applies a facial recognition algorithm to the second image to determine at least one potential identity that is associated with the first detected face.
US09639736B2 Apparatus for and method of processing image and storage medium
An image processing apparatus displays an object adopted and an object not adopted by an adoption/non-adoption process in a distinguishable manner. A user designates an object whose adoption/non-adoption result is desired to be reversed among the objects displayed by the image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus changes an allowable range stored in a storage part so that the adoption/non-adoption result of the designated object is reversed. That is, the user views the adoption/non-adoption result of the objects to change the allowable range of a parameter so that the adoption/non-adoption result becomes proper. This makes the allowable range of the parameter for use in the adoption/non-adoption process proper with ease.
US09639732B2 Apparatus and system for operating a handheld barcode scanner in a presentation mode
An apparatus and system for operating a handheld barcode scanner in a presentation mode are provided. The apparatus includes an upright stand having a lower end for placement adjacent to a work surface, and an opposing upper end. The apparatus includes a lower mirror, an upper mirror and a dock all supported by the stand. The dock holds the handheld barcode scanner between the lower mirror and a scan volume above the work surface to define a first beam path segment between the handheld barcode scanner and the lower mirror. The upper mirror defines a second beam path segment between the upper mirror and the lower mirror, and a third beam path segment between the upper mirror and the scan volume. The first, the second and the third beam path segments define a beam path between the handheld scanner and the scan volume.
US09639731B2 Compact mirror arrangement for and method of capturing light over multiple subfields of view through an upright window of a point-of-transaction workstation
A compact optical arrangement splits the field of view of an upwardly-looking imager into a plurality of intersecting subfields along which return light from a target passes through and past an upright window to the imager. A top mirror is positioned along a vertical axis directly above the imager. Overhead mirror portions located between the imager and the top mirror are spaced radially apart to enable the return light reflected by the top mirror to bypass the overhead mirror portions and pass unobstructedly directly to the imager along a central subfield. A plurality of side fold mirrors reflects the return light passing through the upright window to the overhead mirror portions. The overhead mirror portions are positioned apart to enable the return light reflected by the side fold mirrors to pass to the imager along a pair of outer subfields.
US09639730B2 Aiming system and method for machine-readable symbol readers
An engine for a machine-readable symbol reader includes an image sensor; at least one optical component positioned in an optical path of the image sensor, the image sensor and the at least one optical component having a receiving optical axis and a depth of field; an illumination source; and at least two optical components positioned relative to the illumination source to direct light emitted by the illumination source outward of the engine as a first beam and at least a second beam. The first and the second beams are each parallel to the receiving optical axis of the image sensor and the at least one optical component at least along the depth of field of the image sensor and the at least one optical component. The first and the second beams are opposed to one another across the receiving optical axis of the image sensor and the at least one optical component to provide a visible aiming indication when impinging on an object.
US09639728B1 Imaging module and reader for, and method of, reading a target over a field of view by image capture with a visually prominent indicator of a center zone of the field of view
An imaging sensor of an imaging reader senses return light from a target to be read by image capture along an imaging axis over a field of view that extends along mutually orthogonal, horizontal and vertical axes. Two aiming light assemblies are offset from the sensor, and direct an aiming light pattern at the target. The pattern has an aiming mark in a central area of the pattern, and a pair of aiming light lines that are collinear along the horizontal axis. The visibility of the aiming mark is enhanced by optically configuring the aiming mark to be different in brightness relative to a remaining area of the pattern by specially configuring aiming lenses with regions of different optical power to forte each aiming light line of non-uniform brightness. The aiming mark of enhanced visibility constitutes a prominent visual indicator of a center zone of the field of view.
US09639726B2 Code symbol reading system having adjustable object detection
A code symbol reading system is provided. The code symbol reading system has an object detection subsystem that can be configured to detect only those objects that are positioned at a specified distance from the system. The object-detection subsystem thereby initiates the scanning process only when an object is detected at substantially the specified distance from the system.
US09639724B2 Smart power source
An article having a conductive body, a magnetic diverter, and a communication device is described. The magnetic diverter is positioned on an outer surface of the conductive body. The magnetic diverter covers a substantial portion of the outer surface of the conductive body. A communication device is positioned on the outer surface of the diverter or may be recessed therein. The communication device is capable of signal coupling with a reader.
US09639723B1 Conditional RFID
A RFID tag includes logic to compare information in a received signal with conditional response criteria, and to respond to the received signal with an RFID only if the information satisfies the conditional response criteria.
US09639720B2 System and method of automatically avoiding signal interference between product proximity subsystems that emit signals through mutually facing presentation windows of different workstations
Signal interference is automatically avoided between product proximity subsystems that emit signals through mutually facing presentation windows of different workstations. A magnetometer in each workstation determines a direction faced by a respective presentation window. A controller in each workstation controls a respective product proximity subsystem to emit and receive a signal with a first signal characteristic when the respective magnetometer determines that the respective presentation window faces a first direction, and controls a respective product proximity subsystem to emit and receive a signal with a different second signal characteristic when the respective magnetometer determines that the respective presentation window faces a different second direction.
US09639718B2 USB link lock device
Provided is a USB link lock device. The device includes a device body, a blocking member provided on the device body to block access of an external device, an external USB port part provided on the device body to be adjacent to the blocking member, a signal connection part enabling signal transmission between a terminal inside the USB port and the external USB connecting port, a locking member selectively locked to the electronic device so that the blocking member is not forcedly removed from the USB port, a stopping member provided in the device body to be retractable into the external USB port part, a lock member movably provided on the blocking member to control a locking operation of the locking member and a blocking operation of the stopping member.
US09639715B2 Protecting user identifiable information in the transfer of telemetry data
This disclosure describes systems and method for preventing the transfer of ‘user-identifiable information’ from a client device while collecting telemetry data that is relevant to features of an operating system or computing application. In various examples, telemetry data is gathered to monitor the performance or use of an operating system or computing application. The process of collecting telemetry data can involve capturing data associated with files that are not directly associated with the operating system or computing application that is being monitored. This disclosure presents techniques that use a cryptographic hash function to prevent user identifiable information from being revealed in file attributes during the process of collecting telemetry data. A user's privacy is protected by the computational impracticability of recreating the original filename from the hash value.
US09639713B2 Secure endpoint file export in a business environment
Embodiments for preventing data loss in a business environment are provided. In some embodiments, a secure endpoint file export application assigns users to different classes having different permissions for accessing and writing data. In an embodiment, the system and method are configured to identify a plurality of users in a business environment; classify the plurality of users according to business needs; assign the users to one of at least two classes based on the classification; determine that the first user is permitted to access the data; transmit the secure file to a second user who is permitted to write the data in the secure file to removable media; write the data in the secure file to the removable media; and track a location of the removable media.
US09639710B2 Device-based PIN authentication process to protect encrypted data
Techniques are disclosed for providing a device-based PIN authentication process used to protect encrypted data stored on a computing system, such as a tablet or mobile device. A client component and a server component each store distinct cryptographic keys needed to access encrypted data on the client. The mobile device stores a vault encryption key used to decrypt encrypted sensitive data stored on the mobile device. The vault key is encrypted using a first encryption key and stored on the mobile device. The first encryption key is itself encrypted using a second encryption key. The second encryption key is derived from the PIN value.
US09639705B1 Encryption management for data storage
Large volumes of data to be securely imported to, and exported from, a data storage service or other such location in a secure manner without a customer having to manage keys or encryption. A data management component can execute on a client device that can identify data to be stored and obtain the appropriate key for encrypting the data. Once the data is encrypted, the data can be transmitted to the data storage service. When the data is received to the data storage service, an ingestion station reads the encrypted data and causes the encrypted data to be stored to the data storage service. The data remains encrypted from the client device through being stored to the data storage service. When a request for the data is received, access to the key can be obtained and the data decrypted and returned in response to the request.
US09639704B2 Biogenetic information security
In one embodiment, an encryption device may retrieve authentic genetic information from a genetic information database, generate false genetic information based on the authentic genetic information, encrypt the false genetic information to produce encrypted genetic information, assign identifiers to respective segments of the encrypted genetic information, transmit the encrypted genetic information to be genetically analyzed to a gene analyzer, receive, from the gene analyzer, an analysis of the encrypted genetic information, and decrypt the analysis of the encrypted genetic information to parse the analysis of the authentic genetic information.
US09639703B2 Method, system, and computer program product for automatically mitigating vulnerabilities in source code
A method for automatically mitigating vulnerabilities in a source code of an application is provided in the present invention. The method includes the following steps. First, the source code is complied, and a path graph is built according to the compiled source code. The path graph includes a plurality of paths traversing from sources to sinks, and each of the paths includes a plurality of nodes. Then, at least one tainted path is identified by enabling a plurality of vulnerability rules. Each of the at least one tainted path corresponds to a vulnerability, and each of the at least one vulnerability corresponds to a sanitization method. Then, the at least one vulnerability is determined if it is mitigable. If the at least one vulnerability is mitigable, the at least one vulnerability is mitigated automatically. Furthermore, the method may be implemented as a system and a computer program product.
US09639699B1 Detecting non-human users on computer systems
A method including collecting, by a processing device, raw data regarding an input to fill a form field. The method further includes converting, by the processing device, the raw data to test data, wherein the test represents behavioral characteristics of the entry of the input. The method further includes identifying a human characteristic model corresponding to the behavior characteristics of the entry of the input. The method further includes generating a predictor from a comparison of the test data against the corresponding human characteristic model. The predictor includes a score indicating a probability that the input originated from a human user or from a malicious code imitating the human user.
US09639695B2 System and method for validating users using social network or other information from a web site
A system and method uses any or all of information of a user and/or user's activity at a second web site, information of the user's friends or other connections at the second web site, or registration information of the user, to determine whether to allow the user to communicate with other users of a first web site, prevent the user from communicating with other users of the first web site, or monitor the user's communications and allow or prevent the user from further communication based on the monitored communications at the first web site.
US09639694B2 Automated classification of applications for mobile devices
Automated classification of applications (“apps”) for mobile devices is provided. In some embodiments, automated classification of apps for mobile devices includes receiving an application (“app”); performing an analysis of the app using a classification engine; and determining an app category for the app based on the analysis performed using the classification engine.
US09639689B1 User authentication
There is disclosed a technique for use in authentication. The technique comprises selecting an authentication challenge when an authentication request is deemed risky. An attack threat determined to be associated with the authentication request acts as a decision factor in the selection of the authentication challenge such that a biometric challenge is selected in the event that the attack threat describes a stolen device and an out-of-band challenge is selected in the event that the attack threat describes a stolen identification credential.
US09639688B2 Methods and systems for implementing and enforcing security and resource policies for a vehicle
In one or more embodiments, a vehicle resource usage control system includes a vehicle computer having security policies that define usage rules for one or more vehicle resources. One or more devices communicating with the vehicle computer may have installed in memory software applications that use one or more vehicle resources for operation. Programmed instructions may be received that define which of the one or more vehicle resources the software applications use for operation. These programmed instructions may be associated with the one or more security policies. The security policy associated with the software applications may be determined based on the programmed instructions. Operation of the software applications may be permitted according to the security policy.
US09639685B2 Authentication of gesture input through RFID scans
Systems, apparatuses and methods may provide for receiving one or more radio frequency identifier (RFID) codes from a passive wearable device and identifying gesture input in at least one of the RFID code(s). Additionally, access to a computing system may be granted if the gesture input corresponds to a known gesture. In one example, identifying the gesture input includes detecting a change in at least one of the RFID code(s) and the detected change is compared to an expected change associated with the known gesture.
US09639682B2 Voice activated application for mobile devices
A system and methods for performing authentication to enable a user to access a site monitoring system are provided. The authentication includes voice authentication having at least one threshold that may be dynamically adjustable between false-rejection and false-acceptance. The system includes a processor configured to adjust the at least one threshold for the voice authentication based on at least one factor associated with the site monitoring system. The processor may be configured to perform voice authentication based on the adjusted at least one threshold to authenticate the user.
US09639678B2 Identity risk score generation and implementation
Embodiments are directed to providing an identity risk score as part of an authentication assertion, applying operating heuristics to determine an operating application's validity and to providing identity risk scores to requesting third parties. In one scenario, an authentication server receives from a cloud service portal various user credentials from a user. The user credentials identify a user to the authentication server. The authentication server verifies the user's identity using the received credentials and generates an identity risk score based on one or more identity factors. The identity factors indicate a likelihood that the user is a valid user. The authentication server encapsulates the generated identity risk score in an authentication assertion and sends the authentication assertion that includes the generated identity risk score to the cloud service portal.
US09639677B1 Skill-based authentication
There is disclosed herein techniques for use in skill-based authentication. The techniques comprise determining a skill associated with a user. Also, the techniques comprise providing a user challenge based on the skill. Further, the techniques comprise receiving a user response to the user challenge. Additionally, the techniques comprise determining whether to authenticate the user based on the user response.
US09639670B2 On-demand custom entitlement cards for products and services
An entitlement card can be assigned a product key real-time to provide a custom order of benefits including product and/or service, amount, and time. A method facilitating product key assignment for an entitlement can include receiving a request for activating a custom entitlement product key from, for example, a point of purchase. The request includes a request for particular benefits to a redeemer, including the particular product and/or service to be provided and the quantity and time period for the product and/or service. The method further includes assigning the benefits to the product key at the time of the request and activating the product key, which may be later redeemed for the assigned benefits.
US09639666B2 Pathway planning system and method
A system and method for planning a pathway through an anatomical luminal network of a patient including a computing device having at least one processor; a display device in communication with the computing device; and a user interface configured for display on the display device and configured to guide a user through a pathway planning procedure. The user interface includes a patient selection window configured to receive a user input to select a patient having CT image data on which to perform pathway planning; a target selection window configured to receive a user input to select at least one target from the CT image data; and an airway finder window configured to generate at least one pathway from the at least one target to an entry point of the anatomical luminal network in response to a user input.
US09639664B2 Computer-implemented methods for executing transactions
Computer-implemented methods for executing transactions between parties seeking services and parties offering services.
US09639661B2 Simulator for breast imaging examinations
A system simulating the reviewing process of breast imaging examination (i.e. mammographic) information provides a data file of breast imaging information including mammographic (and other breast imaging examinations) images that may be scored by a trainee on computerized worksheet and expert assessments of those images. Quantitative data in the expert assessment may be compared to trainee-entered data recovered from the worksheet to provide an assessment of trainee proficiency in interpreting breast imaging studies. The data file of breast imaging information may be derived from actual clinical data anonymized and selected to provide for realistic yet demanding simulation.
US09639659B2 Ancestral-specific reference genomes and uses in identifying a candidate for a clinical trial
Ancestry has a significant impact on the major and minor alleles found in each nucleotide position within the genome. Due to mechanisms of inheritance, ancestral-specific information contained within the genome is conserved within members of an ancestry. For this reason, individuals within a specific ancestry are more likely to share alleles in their genomes with other members of the same ancestry. Functionally, the combination of alleles at all positions within a group of individuals defines that group as having a common ancestry. Moreover, the aggregation of differences between alleles at all positions distinguishes one ancestry from another. The genomic similarities and differences between ancestries provides a mechanism to generate reference genomes that are specific for each ancestry. Reference genomes that are specific to an ancestry can be used to increase the accuracy of whole genome sequencing, DNA-based diagnostics and therapeutic marker discovery and in a variety of real-world DNA-based applications. Provided herein is a method for identifying a candidate individual for participation in a clinical trial, comprising the step of comparing a DNA sequence of the whole genome of a patient with any one or more of the ancestral-specific reference genomes of an ancestral-specific reference genome database described herein, wherein the presence or absence of a clinically relevant genetic marker indicates that the individual is candidate for participation in the clinical trial.
US09639658B2 Ancestral-specific reference genomes and uses in determining prognosis
Ancestry has a significant impact on the major and minor alleles found in each nucleotide position within the genome. Due to mechanisms of inheritance, ancestral-specific information contained within the genome is conserved within members of an ancestry. For this reason, individuals within a specific ancestry are more likely to share alleles in their genomes with other members of the same ancestry. Functionally, the combination of alleles at all positions within a group of individuals defines that group as having a common ancestry. Moreover, the aggregation of differences between alleles at all positions distinguishes one ancestry from another. The genomic similarities and differences between ancestries provides a mechanism to generate reference genomes that are specific for each ancestry. Reference genomes that are specific to an ancestry can be used to increase the accuracy of whole genome sequencing, DNA-based diagnostics and therapeutic marker discovery and in a variety of real-world DNA-based applications. Provided herein is a method for determining a prognosis for a genetic disease or disorder comprising the step of comparing a DNA sequence of or derived from the whole genome of a patient with any one or combination of two or more ancestral-specific reference genomes of an ancestral-specific reference genome database described herein to determine the level of severity of the genetic disease or disorder.
US09639653B2 Method for checking a hardware-configurable logic circuit for faults
A method is described for checking a hardware-configurable logic circuit including circuit areas and including a configuration memory having different subareas for faults, a respective configuration of hardware elements of one of the circuit areas being defined by configuration data stored in an associated subarea of the configuration memory, and when at least one checking requirement in regard to an output signal which is provided by the hardware-configurable logic circuit is met, a fault check of the configuration data being carried out only in those subareas of the configuration memory of the hardware-configurable logic circuit which are involved in generating the output signal.
US09639652B2 Compact model for device/circuit/chip leakage current (IDDQ) calculation including process induced uplift factors
A system, method and computer program product for implementing a quiescent current leakage specific model into semiconductor device design and circuit design flows. The leakage model covers all device geometries with wide temperature and voltage ranges and, without the need for stacking factor calculations nor spread sheet based IDDQ calculations. The leakage model for IDDQ calculation incorporates further parasitic and proximity effects. The leakage model implements leakage calculations at different levels of testing, e.g., from a single device to a full chip design, and are integrated within one single model. The leakage model implements leakage calculations at different levels of testing with the leverage of a single switch setting. The implementation is via a hardware definition language code or object oriented code that can be compiled and operated using a netlist of interest, e.g., for conducting a performance analysis.
US09639647B2 Method of making semiconductor device and system for performing the same
A method of making a semiconductor device includes determining, by a processor, a first pattern density of a first region, determining a second pattern density of a second region, determining a pattern density gradient from the first region to the second region, determining whether the pattern density gradient exceeds a pattern density gradient threshold and performing a placement or a routing of the semiconductor device if the pattern density gradient is less than or equal to the pattern density gradient threshold.
US09639646B2 System-on-chip intellectual property block discovery
An integrated circuit (IC) includes a bridge circuit configured to receive a first request from an external system, a discover circuit coupled to the bridge circuit and configured to process the first request received from the bridge circuit, and a memory map coupled to the discover circuit. The memory map stores a record for each of a plurality of Intellectual Property (IP) blocks implemented within the IC. The discover circuit is configured to generate a list of the IP blocks implemented within the IC from the records of the memory map responsive to the first request. The bridge circuit is configured to send the list to the external system.
US09639645B2 Integrated circuit chip reliability using reliability-optimized failure mechanism targeting
Disclosed are methods for improving integrated circuit (IC) chip reliability. IC chips are manufactured and sorted into groups corresponding to process windows within a process distribution for the design. Group fail rates are set for each group based on failure mechanism fail rates, which are set for multiple failure mechanisms. An overall fail rate is determined for the full process distribution based on the group fail rates. First contribution amounts of the groups to the overall fail rate and second contribution amounts of the failure mechanisms to the group fail rate of each group are determined. Based on an analysis of the contribution amounts, at least one specific failure mechanism is selected and targeted for improvement (i.e., changes directed to the specific failure mechanism(s) are proposed and implemented). Optionally, proposed change(s) are only implemented if they will be sufficient to meet a reliability requirement and/or will not be cost-prohibitive.
US09639639B2 Logic circuit emulator and control method therefor
A logic circuit emulator comprises multiple sub-systems, in which each sub-system outputs to another one of the sub-systems a permission notification to permit the another sub-system to proceed to next emulation clock cycle depending on whether or not the state of an own sub-circuit has advanced. In case a signal that is output from an own sub-circuit and that is to be sent to a sub-circuit of the other sub-system has changed, each sub-system outputs a transfer request to transfer the signal to the another sub-system before the next emulation clock cycle. In case a signal is not being sent from the own sub-circuit to the sub-circuit of the another sub-system, and a permission notification is received but no transfer request is being received from the other sub-system, a clock signal is output for the own sub-circuit to advance the own sub-circuit to the next emulation clock cycle.
US09639633B2 Providing information services related to multimodal inputs
A system and method provides information services related to multimodal inputs. Several different types of data used as multimodal inputs are described. Also described are various methods involving the generation of contexts using multimodal inputs, synthesizing context-information service mappings and identifying and providing information services.
US09639624B2 Extracting color schemes of pages written in a markup language
An aspect includes extracting a color scheme of a page written in a markup language. A content portion from the page is nonvisualized, a subtractive process is applied to the page with the content portion having been nonvisualized, and a color scheme is extracted from the page to which the subtractive process has been applied.
US09639623B2 Method for remotely controlling a video playing within a first web page at a first device from a second device using a document object model
Administration of a Web page is contemplated. The contemplated administration may be used to facilitate identifying state of a Web page at a first device from a remotely located second device, optionally independently of a Web server that downloads the Web page to the device. The contemplated administration may be used to facilitate changing state of Web page as provided through the first device from the remotely located second device, optionally independent of the Web server that downloads the Web page to the device.
US09639622B2 Image processing system, image processing method, program, and non-transitory information storage medium
A web site determination unit determines web sites associated with any one of a plurality of users of interest. A web site association unit associates, among the determined web sites, a plurality of the web sites with each other, each of the plurality of the web sites satisfying at least one of a condition on a feature amount of the each of the plurality of the web sites and a condition on at least one of the users of interest associated with the each of the plurality of the web sites. Accordingly, web site groups possibly having a commonality may be determined among web site groups associated with users of interest.
US09639619B2 Network architecture and method for reducing the number of resource requests
A method may include receiving a primary resource in a user device, wherein the resource includes a plurality of addresses and each of the plurality of addresses identifying one of a plurality of additional resources. The method may further include aggregating the plurality of addresses and sending the aggregated addresses to a network device. The method may further include receiving the additional resources in the user device.
US09639618B2 System, method and program product for key word searching where a key word is a homonym
System, method and program product for forming a search query. A user enters search terms. Icons that correspond to the respective search terms are automatically determined and displayed. The icons are not the search results. An indication is received from a user whether the icons represent a context intended by the search terms. If the user indicates that the icons represent the context intended by the search terms, a search that corresponds to the icons is conducted. The search query can be structured or unstructured. If the user indicates that one of the icons does not represent a corresponding search term entered by the user (for example, if the search term is a homonym), then the context of the corresponding search term is determined as well as another icon corresponding to the context of the corresponding search term entered by the user. A hierarchical relationship between the icons can be determined and displayed.
US09639614B2 Maximizing content item information on a search engine results page
Methods, computer systems, and computer-readable storage media for maximizing information associated with content items on a search engine results page are provided. A total number of pixels available on the search engine results page is determined, and content items are received in response to a search query. Templates are selected from a set of pre-generated templates, and the content items are initially assigned to the templates such that a number of content items is maximized on the search engine results page. Next, and starting with the highest-ranked content item, an optimal size is determined for each of the templates such that the content-item-per-pixel is maximized within each template. After resizing the templates to the optimal size, the content items are presented on the search engine results page.
US09639607B2 Managing media content, playlist sharing
Electronic content items which may be associated into playlists and located throughout a plurality of sources may be managed using at least one media content manager. A compatibility hierarchy may be used to determine compatibility of certain electronic content items with other electronic content items associated with other sources in order to populate playlists.
US09639603B2 Electronic device, display method, and storage medium
An electronic device includes a receiving unit, a searching unit, a storing unit, and a displaying unit. The receiving unit receives a search character string. The searching unit searches a dictionary database according to the received search character string. The storing unit stores headwords which are obtained by the searching unit in a memory as search history data. The displaying unit displays a search history graph based on the search history data. Marks are arranged in the search history graph. The marks show positions of headwords searched for in past times, within a range of headwords collected in the dictionary data.
US09639598B2 Large-scale data clustering with dynamic social context
A system and method for dynamic, semi-supervised clustering comprises receiving data attributes, generating a set of ensemble partitions using the data attributes, forming a convex hull using the set of ensemble partitions, generating a simplex vector by performing ensemble clustering on the convex hull, receiving dynamic links, deriving an optimal simplex vector using the simplex vector and the dynamic links, computing a current optimal clustering result using the optimal simplex vector, and outputting the current optimal clustering result.
US09639596B2 Processing data in a data warehouse
Processing data of a data warehouse is provided and includes receiving, by a processing device, user input to create simple filter objects. Each filter object defines an ad hoc subset of a respective dimension of a dimension table of the data warehouse. User input is received to create a filtered operation object that specifies an operation and a plurality of the simple filter objects. The ad hoc subset differs from all subsets defined in the dimension table.
US09639595B2 Operational business intelligence system and method
An automated method of detecting and reporting exceptions to a plurality of real-world processes, designed to combine the real-time speeds of automated transaction processing systems with the in depth analysis of automated business intelligence systems. The system operates by storing input data in the form of process agnostic database system (PADS) objects, configured to accept data without limitation as to specific process, and design to allow flexible automated linking between various things, activities, and processes to any desired depth. The system operates by analyzing real-time input data against various exception criteria, thereby determining exception marked objects, and then using linkages between different PADS objects to immediately determine the impact of these exceptions on other activities and processes. The system can then estimate the severity of the impact, automatically notify users when an impact to even distantly connected processes are detected, and also estimate the severity of the impact.
US09639587B2 Social network analyzer
A system and method are described herein that provide for visualizing business objects stored in a backend system in database model views for display as nodes in a user interface. Business objects are retrieved from the backend system, with metadata from the business objects being customized and sorted into a plurality of node types. Each business object may be displayed in a user interface as a node along with other nodes generated from the database model views. The nodes represented by the business objects may be connected by edges that provide for an interconnection between each of the nodes. The edges may be customized by providing directional components to the edges to demonstrate the relationship between the displayed nodes.
US09639586B2 Identification of load utility
Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods and computer program products for converting MLOAD and TPUMP operations. In some embodiments, a system is configured to: receive a first information, wherein the first information comprises at least one piece of data; count the number of pieces of data; compare the counted number of pieces of data to a predetermined threshold value; and identify a load utility based on the comparison between the counted number of pieces of data and the predetermined threshold value.
US09639583B2 Caching predefined data for mobile dashboard
Embodiments provide a data caching mechanism based on a user's request (query) to a remote database, and the corresponding response (query result) received therefrom. As part of a database query, the user can define cache parameter(s). When a viable communications link becomes available to access the remote database, volumes of relevant data are returned as a query result and cached locally according to those predefined cache parameter(s). Embodiments are particularly suited to allow a mobile device to interact with data of a remote database in an efficient and reliable manner. The mobile device's small form factor, may preclude local storage of large volumes of remotely stored data. However, this can be compensated for by selectively storing data in the cache memory according to user-specified parameters, allowing the mobile device to continue to have access to relevant information in the event that communication with the remote database is degraded or lost.
US09639580B1 Computer-implemented systems and methods for data management and visualization
Systems and methods are disclosed for data management and visualization. In accordance with one implementation, a method is provided that includes, for example, receiving data from one or more sources, the data being associated with a plurality of locations. The method also includes receiving, based on input from a user, a selection of a set of metrics for scoring each of the plurality of locations and a weight to assign to each metric. In addition, the method includes calculating an overall score for each of the plurality of locations based on the received data, the selected set of metrics, and the weight assigned to each metric.
US09639578B2 System and method for investigating large amounts of data
A data analysis system is proposed for providing fine-grained low latency access to high volume input data from possibly multiple heterogeneous input data sources. The input data is parsed, optionally transformed, indexed, and stored in a horizontally-scalable key-value data repository where it may be accessed using low latency searches. The input data may be compressed into blocks before being stored to minimize storage requirements. The results of searches present input data in its original form. The input data may include access logs, call data records (CDRs), e-mail messages, etc. The system allows a data analyst to efficiently identify information of interest in a very large dynamic data set up to multiple petabytes in size. Once information of interest has been identified, that subset of the large data set can be imported into a dedicated or specialized data analysis system for an additional in-depth investigation and contextual analysis.
US09639577B1 Systems and methods for determining membership of an element within a set using a minimum of resources
A computer-implemented method for scanning a file is described. A Golomb-Compressed Sequence (GCS) index may be queried to determine whether GCS data is associated with the scanned data. The GCS index may be stored in a first storage medium and the GCS data may be stored in a second storage medium. The second storage medium may be different from the first storage medium. Upon determining the GCS data is associated with the scanned data, the location of the GCS data associated with the scanned data may be identified. The GCS data may be retrieved from the identified location. At least a portion of the retrieved GCS data may be analyzed. Based on the analysis of the retrieved GCS data, it may be determined whether to perform additional data querying.
US09639573B2 Systems and methods for query queue optimization
A computer-implemented method for optimizing a queue of queries for database efficiency is implemented by a controller computing device coupled to a memory device. The method includes receiving a plurality of database queries at the computing device from at least one host, evaluating the plurality of database queries to determine a resource impact associated with each database query of the plurality of database queries, prioritizing the plurality of database queries based upon a set of prioritization factors and the resource impact associated with each database query, and submitting the prioritized plurality of database queries to a database system for execution. The database system executes the plurality of database queries in order of priority.
US09639572B2 SQL enhancements simplifying database querying
Disclosed are techniques employed alone or in combination, to further enhance a database language and improve conciseness and comprehensiveness of query statements in application code. Embodiments may build upon an initial extension of database language to accommodate concepts of entity-relationship models (ERMs). That initial extension may include entities with structured types, and named associations. One technique modifies SQL to allow the SELECT command to specify element path expressions based upon a relationship (e.g. named associations between ERM elements). Another technique modifies SQL to introduce filter expressions suffixed to associations within path expressions, thus improving adherence to the principle of locality within query statements. Yet another technique allows a shorthand to “factor out” association path prefixes, thereby avoiding lengthy lists of path expressions in order to read several elements from the same nested structure or a same target entity behind a single association. Other techniques simplifying database querying are also disclosed.
US09639571B2 Methods and systems for increasing capacity and performing data rebalancing without downtime to a distributed shared-nothing database with serializable isolation
A distributed shared-nothing database provides serializable isolation for transactions and includes a mechanism for adding storage and processing capacity to the database without stopping the database from processing transactions.
US09639568B2 Systems and methods for improved data structure storage
A system and method for storing, reading, and updating data structures in a database. The system and method can include storing an entry in a structure table for each data structure, where each data structure is associated with a unique identifier. The system and method can also include storing an entry for each field of a data structure in n field table corresponding to a data type of the field, where the entry for each field is associated with the unique identifier of the data structure. A field for a data structure can be accessed by searching the appropriate field table for the unique identifier of the data structure. Additionally, the data structure can be updated by adding a new entry in the structure table and new entries in the field tables.
US09639558B2 Image building
An image is built. The building of an image includes selecting an image to be built, performing a hashing function on the image to produce a checksum, querying a registry for an existing image including the same checksum, and if no existing image including the same checksum is found, acquiring a parent image for the image to be built, building the image to produce a built image, adding the checksum for the image to the built image, and storing the built image in the registry.
US09639557B2 Positioning system
There is disclosed a method of managing a database of positioning data, the positioning data including electromagnetic signal source data for use by a positioning system, and the method comprising: receiving signal data relating to signals received from a plurality of electromagnetic signal sources; associating an appropriate one of a plurality of zone identifiers with each of the electromagnetic signal sources, each zone identifier being associated with a respective geographical zone; selecting a subset of the plurality of electromagnetic signal sources in dependence on their associated zone identifiers; processing the signal data relating to the subset of the plurality of electromagnetic signal sources to compute position estimates of the electromagnetic signal sources; and updating the database of electromagnetic signal source data in dependence on the computed position estimates.
US09639556B2 Methods and systems for sharing database content
Mechanisms and methods for sharing database content stored by a first organization with a third party are provided. A network address is provided to the third party, which can enable control of the access to the content and tracking of the views of the content. For example, the network address can include an encrypted key that contains information about the organization that created content and the specific distribution ID for delivering the content when requested by the third party using the address. A distribution can be created in numerous ways, with various restrictions on the access to the document of a distribution.
US09639555B1 Object storage server based gateway to network file system cluster
A gateway of a cluster file system comprises a plurality of object storage servers each having one or more object storage targets implemented using storage devices of a first type. The gateway is configured to communicate with a network file system cluster implemented using storage devices of a second type different than the first type. The network file system cluster comprises storage directories corresponding to respective ones of the object storage targets. A controller that may be implemented at least in part within the gateway is configured to control movement of data between the object storage targets and the storage directories of the network file system cluster. The movement of data between the object storage targets and the storage directories may be controlled at least in part based on one or more of policy information provided by a policy engine and information provided by an application running on a client.
US09639554B2 Extensible file system
An extensible file system format for portable storage media is provided. The extensible file system format includes the specification of primary and secondary directory entry types that may be custom defined. The primary and secondary directory entry types can be further classified as critical and benign directory entries.
US09639549B2 Hybrid of proximity and identity similarity based deduplication in a data deduplication system
For a hybrid of proximity and identity similarity based deduplication in a data deduplication, comparing color intensity for additional classification enhancement of colored files grouped together by file coloring where a preferred character is represented for the file coloring using a code selected from a multiplicity of codes that represent a variety of contexts. The original meaning of the preferred character is retained when representing the preferred character for the file coloring by the code selected from the multiplicity of codes.
US09639547B2 Method and system for file-system based caching
A method and system for file-system based caching can be used to improve efficiency and security at network sites. In one set of embodiments, the delivery of content and storing content component(s) formed during generation of the content may be performed by different software components. Content that changes at a relatively high frequency or is likely to be regenerated between requests may not have some or all of its corresponding files cached. Additionally, extra white space may be removed before storing to reduce the file size. File mapping may be performed to ensure that a directory within the cache will have an optimal number of files. Security at the network site may be increased by using an internally generated filename that is not used or seen by the client computer. Many variations may be used is achieving any one or more of the advantages described herein.
US09639546B1 Object-backed block-based distributed storage
An object-backed block-based storage system may store data blocks in a block cache in a non-relational database and data block objects in an object data store. Access requests for a particular data block may be received at a storage protocol target that are formatted according to a network-based storage protocol. Translated access requests formatted according to respective programmatic interfaces may be generated and sent to the non-relational database or to the object data store in order to access the particular data block. A response indicating success or failure of the access request may be sent.
US09639537B2 Geographic space management
At least one subsystem among the plurality of subsystems includes a managing section operable to manage individual event information for events occurring in a management target region of the at least one subsystem among the plurality of regions and adjacent event information for events occurring in a partial range from a boundary of the management target region among routes in an adjacent region that is adjacent to the management target region, and an event selecting section operable to select events about which the moving object is to be informed, from the individual event information and the adjacent event information managed by the at least one subsystem. Also provided is a method and computer program product.
US09639528B1 Translation-based visual design
The embodiments may be adapted to accommodate a plurality of translations of a source text string into a limited available display area of a visual element in a graphical interface of a client system. Text strings in a source language may be received as input. A list of one or more languages selected for the text string to be translated into may also be received as input. The system may then be configured to obtain translations of the text string in the selected languages, to provide a set of translation vectors, and to calculate a minimum display area necessary for a visual element to display the longest translation of the translations contained in the translation vector. The display area of the visual element may then be adjusted to encompass the minimum display area so that the longest translation fits within the display area of the visual element.
US09639527B2 System and method for website translations
A system and method for a website administrator to order the translation of the strings within a website from the original language to “supported” language(s) by injecting computer code one time from a translation service website into the administrator's website template. The code subsequently analyzes, collects, and electronically transmits un-translated character strings via the Internet to the service's computer server for human or machine translations. When a user-visitor-of the administrator's website selects the supported language to view the website in, then the translated text immediately appears on the administrator's website. When the user visits the website in the future, the system automatedly displays the text in the supported language, and it will determine if new un-translated strings appear on the website, and automatedly translate and store them, and/or store the identity of the supported language, on the user's device.
US09639526B2 Mobile language translation of web content
Techniques are described for improving language translation of content (e.g., web content) on computing devices (e.g., mobile computing devices). For example, automatic translation can be performed when entering reading view in association with displayed web content by determining that the displayed web content is not in a language that is understood by the user (e.g., as indicated by language settings). As another example, language-related meta-data can be passed between applications and used in language detection of content, such as web content.
US09639524B2 Linguistic based determination of text creation date
A method includes receiving a text. The method also includes identifying a set of linguistic characteristics contained in the text. The method also includes determining a plurality of time periods in which the text was potentially written based on the set of linguistic characteristics. The method also includes retrieving a set of reference documents for each time period. The method also includes producing a set of proximity scores by performing a set of proximity checks using the set of linguistic characteristics, the set of reference documents, and the text, where the proximity checks analyze how often and how close linguistic characteristics are to one another. The method also includes ranking the plurality of time periods based on the set of proximity scores and returning a set of one or more ranked time periods of the plurality of time periods.
US09639523B2 System and method for processing natural language
A method for processing natural language includes generating a first layer of a multi-layer knowledge network including a plurality of word nodes arranged to represent a word or an entity name, generating a second layer of the multi-layer knowledge network with a natural language dataset, the second layer including one or more instance nodes arranged to represent a word or an entity of the natural language dataset, each of the instance nodes being linked by one or more semantic or syntactic relations to form one or more sub-graphs, and, referencing the first layer of the multi-layer knowledge network with the second layer of the multi-layer knowledge network by establishing a reference between each of the word nodes and each of the instance nodes when the word or the entity name represented by each word node is associated with the word or the entity represented by the instance node.
US09639522B2 Methods and apparatus related to determining edit rules for rewriting phrases
Methods and apparatus related to determining an edit rule based on a plurality of edits. Some implementations are directed to identifying the plurality of edits in one or more documents and determining an edit rule based on the pre-edit and post-edit phrases of the edits. Some implementations are directed to identifying the edits from one or more mature documents. The determined edit rule may be utilized to determine one or more candidate rephrasings of a subsequent phrase.
US09639520B2 System and method for keyword spotting using representative dictionary
Methods and systems for keyword spotting, i.e., for identifying textual phrases of interest in input data. In the embodiments described herein, the input data comprises communication packets exchanged in a communication network. The disclosed keyword spotting techniques can be used, for example, in applications such as Data Leakage Prevention (DLP), Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) or Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), and spam e-mail detection. A keyword spotting system holds a dictionary of textual phrases for searching input data. In a communication analytics system, for example, the dictionary defines textual phrases to be located in communication packets—such as e-mail addresses or Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).
US09639514B2 Information browsing apparatus and recording medium for computer to read, storing computer program
Provided is an information browsing apparatus provided with a display section on which display surface a touch panel to detect contact of an object is disposed. The information browsing apparatus is capable of displaying a document in a first display form where the entire display section is configured with a single region, and in a second display form where the display section is divided into a plurality of regions and provided with a data processing section. In case handwriting information is inputted straddling two or more than two regions in the second display form, the data processing section judges to which region the handwritten information belongs, thereafter when the display from is changed to the first display form, the data display section displays all of the handwritten information in the region which is judged that the hand written information belongs to the region thereof.
US09639513B2 Multiplexed forms
A system for presenting and executing a multiplicity of interactive forms as a single document includes a server having one or more copies of a multi-form package and configured to deliver a copy of the package to a requesting device upon request. The system also includes a client computing device configured to request and receive the multi-form package, the first computing device including an application program and a multi-form document engine configured to receive commands from the application program and, in response, cause forms from the multi-form package to be presented and executed.
US09639512B1 Apparatus and method for sharing regional annotations of an image
A machine has a processor and a memory with instructions executed by the processor to receive a regional annotation request for an image, where the regional annotation request is associated with a segment of the image. The position of the regional annotation request in the image is noted. An annotation prompt is supplied. An annotation about the segment of the image is recorded.
US09639511B2 Systems and methods for editing a file in a non-native application using an application engine
Systems and methods are disclosed herein for editing documents with non-native applications using an application engine. A request to open a document file using a non-native application is received from a user. An engine of the non-native application is selected, the engine being configured to edit the format of the file. Modifications to the document are received by the non-native application engine, and the document is saved to the file using the format of the file, without converting the document to a different format.
US09639510B2 Advanced editing and interfacing in user applications
A method performed within a content editing device provides advanced editing functionality for use within application user interfaces having selectable content. The method provides automatic content insertion following a selection of an end location within the target document and selection of content for insertion at the selected end location. An editor moves content around within one or more documents by tagging the end location and selecting the content that is to be moved or copied to that end location. The method further enables efficient re-arrangement of multiple selected contents within a single document or across multiple application user interfaces by tagging each of the selected content with a sequence tag indicative of the relative content location within the re-arranged sequence of content. Once the content has been tagged, a selectable paste option automatically orders the various contents at the end location in correct sequence relative to each other.
US09639509B2 Document generation based on referral
A document machine may detect a request for provision of a document while that document is available for provisioning. The document machine may update a count of referrals to the document and, based on the count of referrals transgressing a threshold value, generate a substitute document based on the original document. This substitute document may then be provided in response to further requests for the original document after the original document is no longer available for provision. The updating of the count of referrals is based on the identifier of a network that referred a request detected while the first document was still available for provision. The document machine may then provide the substitute document in lieu of the original document in response to a further request for provision of the first document.
US09639501B1 Apparatus and methods to compress data in a network device and perform ternary content addressable memory (TCAM) processing
Systems and techniques relating to processing of network communications include, according to an aspect, a network device that includes circuitry configured to receive value bits selected from a group consisting of a zero bit, a one bit, and a don't care bit; and circuitry configured to store encoded representations of the value bits for use in network packet routing, wherein the encoded representations are position bits selected from a group consisting of a zero bit and a one bit; wherein the circuitry configured to store includes a first memory location and a second memory location that each eliminate a different combination of the value bits from being available for storage respectively in the first memory location and the second memory location.
US09639500B2 Single wire bus communication protocol
A method for transmitting data over a single-wire bus wherein a first communication channel is defined by pulses of different durations according to the state of the transmitted bit and depending on a reference duration, and a second communication channel is defined by the reference duration.
US09639499B2 Camera control interface extension bus
System, methods and apparatus are described that offer improved performance of a serial bus used for Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) and/or camera control interface (CCI) operations. CCI extension (CCIe) devices are described. CCIe devices may be configured as a bus master or as a slave. In one method, a CCIe transmitter may generate a transition number from a set of bits, convert the transition number into a sequence of symbols, and transmit the sequence of symbols in the signaling state of a two-wire serial bus. Timing information may be encoded in the transitions between symbols of consecutive pairs of symbols in the sequence of symbols. For example, each transition may cause a change in the signaling state of at least one wire of the two-wire serial bus. A CCIe receiver may derive a receive clock from the transitions in order to receive and decode the sequence of symbols.
US09639498B2 Protocol conversion system
An Ethernet/Fibre Channel conversion system includes a chassis having a first end and a second end that is located opposite the chassis from the first end. An Ethernet interface is located on the first end and is configured to directly mate with an Ethernet port on an Ethernet device. A Fibre Channel interface is located on the second end. An Ethernet/Fibre Channel conversion engine is housed in the chassis and configured to receive Ethernet protocol signals through the Ethernet interface, convert the Ethernet protocol signals to Fibre Channel protocol signals, and send the Fibre Channel protocol signals through the Fibre Channel interface. The Ethernet/Fibre Channel conversion engine is also configured to receive Fibre channel protocol signals from the Fibre Channel IHS through the Fibre Channel interface, convert the Fibre channel protocol signals to Ethernet protocol signals, and send the Ethernet protocol signals through the Ethernet interface.
US09639492B2 Virtual PCI expander device
Methods, systems, and computer program products for notifying a virtual machine of an expander coupled to a first virtual root bus, probing the expander to detect an additional root bus, probing the additional root bus to detect a second device, and assigning the second device to a second virtual root bus of the virtual machine.
US09639491B2 Connection interface switching device for multiple portable devices
A connection interface switching device for multiple portable devices provides a communication channel between an I/O peripheral set and for a plurality of portable devices which are bundled with a default control program installed in the portable devices, and switches among the portable devices to establish a communication channel selected between one portable device and the I/O peripheral set according to a switch instruction generated by the default control program of the portable device. The connection interface switching device includes plural I/O ports, a controller, a memory module, a storage module and an I/O peripheral port, and an origin of the computer signal is controlled and switched to achieve the effect of sharing the same I/O peripheral set among multiple portable devices through the communication channel.
US09639490B2 Ring protocol for low latency interconnect switch
Methods, systems, and apparatus for implementing low latency interconnect switches between CPU's and associated protocols. CPU's are configured to be installed on a main board including multiple CPU sockets linked in communication via CPU socket-to-socket interconnect links forming a CPU socket-to-socket ring interconnect. The CPU's are also configured to transfer data between one another by sending data via the CPU socket-to-socket interconnects. Data may be transferred using a packetized protocol, such as QPI, and the CPU's may also be configured to support coherent memory transactions across CPU's.
US09639484B2 Provision of access control data within a data processing system
A data processing system (2) includes memory protection circuitry (10) storing access control data for controlling accesses to data at memory addresses within a main memory (16). An access control cache (14) may, in one embodiment, store access control data when the access control data is indicated by the memory protection circuitry (10) to be cachable. In another embodiment access control data is stored within the access control cache with determined address range data for reach determination of access control data by the memory protection circuitry. If the access control cache (14) is storing access control data for a memory access request, then the access control data stored within the access control cache (14) is used in place of access control data retrieved form the memory protection circuitry (10). In the first embodiment, access control data may be determined to be cachable is if is associated with a region of memory addresses within a plurality of hierarchically ordered memory addresses that is a highest order region which encompasses all the memory addresses within that region.
US09639482B2 Software cryptoprocessor
Security of information—both code and data—stored in a computer's system memory is provided by an agent loaded into and at run time resident in a CPU cache. Memory writes from the CPU are encrypted by the agent before writing and reads into the CPU are decrypted by the agent before they reach the CPU. The cache-resident agent also optionally validates the encrypted information stored in the system memory. Support for I/O devices and cache protection from unsafe DMA of the cache by devices is also provided.
US09639481B2 Systems and methods to manage cache data storage in working memory of computing system
Systems and methods for managing records stored in a storage cache are provided. A cache index is created and maintained to track where records are stored in buckets in the storage cache. The cache index maps the memory locations of the cached records to the buckets in the cache storage and can be quickly traversed by a metadata manager to determine whether a requested record can be retrieved from the cache storage. Bucket addresses stored in the cache index include a generation number of the bucket that is used to determine whether the cached record is stale. The generation number allows a bucket manager to evict buckets in the cache without having to update the bucket addresses stored in the cache index. In an alternative embodiment, non-contiguous portions of computing system working memory are used to cache data instead of a dedicated storage cache.
US09639480B2 Dynamic cache allocation adjustment using multiple cache simulations for efficient cache utility curve construction
The configuration of a cache is adjusted within a computer system that includes at least one entity that submits a stream of references, each reference corresponding to a location identifier corresponding to data storage locations in a storage system. The reference stream is spatially sampled using reference hashing. Cache utility values are determined for each of a plurality of caching simulations and an optimal configuration is selected based on the results of the simulations.
US09639476B2 Merged TLB structure for multiple sequential address translations
A computer system that supports virtualization may maintain multiple address spaces. Each guest operating system employs guest virtual addresses (GVAs), which are translated to guest physical addresses (GPAs). A hypervisor, which manages one or more guest operating systems, translates GPAs to root physical addresses (RPAs). A merged translation lookaside buffer (MTLB) caches translations between the multiple addressing domains, enabling faster address translation and memory access. The MTLB can be logically addressable as multiple different caches, and can be reconfigured to allot different spaces to each logical cache.
US09639474B2 Migration of peer-mapped memory pages
Techniques are provided by which memory pages may be migrated among PPU memories in a multi-PPU system. According to the techniques, a UVM driver determines that a particular memory page should change ownership state and/or be migrated between one PPU memory and another PPU memory. In response to this determination, the UVM driver initiates a peer transition sequence to cause the ownership state and/or location of the memory page to change. Various peer transition sequences involve modifying mappings for one or more PPU, and copying a memory page from one PPU memory to another PPU memory. Several steps in peer transition sequences may be performed in parallel for increased processing speed.
US09639468B2 Temporal clones to identify valid items from a set of items
Techniques are provided for using bitmaps to indicate which items, in a set of items, are invalid. The bitmaps include an “active” bitmap and one or more “temporal clones”. The active bitmap indicates which items in the set are currently valid. The temporal clones are outdated versions of the active bitmap that indicate which items in the set were invalid at previously points in time. Temporal clones may not be very different from each other. Therefore, temporal clones may be efficiently compressed. For example, a bitmap may be selected as a “base bitmap”, and one or more other bitmaps are encoded using delta encoding. Run length encoding may then be applied to further compress the bitmap information. These bitmaps may then be used to determine which items are valid relative to past-version requests.
US09639466B2 Control mechanism for fine-tuned cache to backing-store synchronization
One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for processing commands received by an intermediary cache from one or more clients. The technique involves receiving a first write command from an arbiter unit, where the first write command specifies a first memory address, determining that a first cache line related to a set of cache lines included in the intermediary cache is associated with the first memory address, causing data associated with the first write command to be written into the first cache line, and marking the first cache line as dirty. The technique further involves determining whether a total number of cache lines marked as dirty in the set of cache lines is less than, equal to, or greater than a first threshold value, and: not transmitting a dirty data notification to the frame buffer logic when the total number is less than the threshold value, or transmitting a dirty data notification to the frame buffer logic when the total number is equal to or greater than the first threshold value.
US09639460B1 Efficient string formatting
A system and method for providing a print formatted string wherein a format object is created for a format string a format string having a set of format specifiers, an amount of memory to allocate to a string buffer for the format object is determined, and the determined amount of memory is allocated to the string buffer. For each set of parameter values received with the format object, where each parameter value corresponds to a format specifier in the format string, a determination is made whether the determined amount of memory for the string buffer is sufficient to hold the set of input parameter values in accordance with the format string. If the determined amount of memory is insufficient, an amount of memory sufficient for the set of input parameter values in accordance with the format string is re-determined, and the string buffer is reallocated to the re-determined amount of memory.
US09639459B2 I/O latency and IOPs performance in thin provisioned volumes
A storage system receives an anticipatory write command corresponding to a potential subsequent write command to be received by the storage system, wherein the anticipatory write command indicates an anticipated region of logical address space that may be written to by the potential subsequent write command. The storage system determines that physical storage is not allocated to the anticipated region of logical address space. The storage system allocates physical storage to the anticipated region of logical address space from a pool of available storage managed by the storage system. The storage system creates an association between the anticipated region of logical address space and the allocated physical storage in a virtual-to-physical mapping.
US09639458B2 Reducing memory accesses for enhanced in-memory parallel operations
A memory storage system is that includes a memory element having a memory address for a physical memory. A memory controller receives a command for accessing the memory element using a program-generated address and dynamically transforms the program-generated address into the memory address for the physical memory using a rotation module and configuration information. A data word accessed by the physical address is then provided to a set of arithmetic logic units (ALUs) where multiple computations are performed simultaneously so as top reduce program execution time and energy. The configuration information provided to the rotation unit configures the set of ALUs.
US09639447B2 Trace data export to remote memory using remotely generated reads
A method for easily tracing the execution of an application in a computer system having a plurality of computing nodes interconnected by high speed data links is disclosed. While executing the application on one or more of the computing nodes, trace data is collected into a separate temporary trace buffer coupled to each computing node. A trace transfer request event is sent to another one of the computing after collecting a portion of the trace data in one of the trace buffers. The trace data is recorded on a designated recording and analysis computing node by transferring the trace data from each trace buffer to a recording buffer in the designated computing node in response to the transfer request by performing memory mapped read transfers initiated by the designated computing node. Each trace buffer is memory mapped into an address space of the second computing node.
US09639442B2 Modified condition/decision coverage test case automation
This embodiment relates to software verification and in particular to automatic generation of Modified Condition/Decision Coverage (MC/DC) tests scenarios. A system and method for reducing Modified Condition/Decision coverage (MC/DC) test scenarios is described along with selection of test data automatically for an input Boolean expression. An MC/DC test case engine generates optimal test case for a Boolean expression using an algorithm. The optimal minimal number of MC/DC cases generated to for satisfy the MC/DC condition for ‘n’ number of inputs may be ‘n+1’. The MC/DC test engine supports Boolean expression with Arithmetic and Comparison operators. The MC/DC test engine supports Boolean expression with no limitation on number of input variables.
US09639441B2 Solid-state storage system, apparatus and method of writing data
Provided is a method of writing data to a solid-state storage system, wherein the solid-state storage system comprises several logical disks. The method comprises the steps of: from each of the logical disks, allocating at least one idle logic block used for receiving parallel data, wherein each of the logic blocks comprises several logical pages; setting the logical pages with a same page number in respective logic block as one RAID stripe, wherein each RAID stripe is used for storing a set of parallel data and verification information associated with the parallel data; and when data in one of the logical pages is damaged, calculating and restoring the damaged data based on the other data and the associated verification information stored in the RAID stripe where the logical page is located. The present invention also provides a solid-state storage system for implementing the above-mentioned method.
US09639433B2 Reducing input/output (I/O) operations for centralized backup and storage
Techniques are described for reducing I/O operations and storage capacity requirements for centralized backup storage systems. A central server optimizes the collection and centralization of backup data from a number of endpoint devices for backup purposes. The central server utilizes a single instance store and a persistent files cache to minimize the number of backup copies for each non-unique file, reduce storage usage, network traffic, memory footprint and CPU cycles required to identify and process non-unique data. For each file in the single instance store, the server tracks the source device of that file until a threshold number of devices have been reached. Once the file reaches the threshold number of sources, the file is marked as persistent and its hash value is placed in the persistent files cache. Thereafter, all pointer creation and reference counting for that file cease.
US09639432B2 Live rollback for a computing environment
A first computing device is provided for rolling back a computing environment. The computing device includes processors configured to acquire a stream containing entries including snapshot entries, memory entries, and input/output entries wherein each entry includes information and is associated with a timestamp. The processors are further configured to receive a snapshot entry associated with a first timestamp, revert to a memory state using information provided in at least one memory entry associated with a timestamp after the first timestamp, and re-execute a previously executed process, wherein the re-execution of the process is started using the first timestamp, information from the received snapshot entry, and information for input/output operations corresponding to the input/output entries associated with timestamps after the first timestamp.
US09639430B2 Intermediate data backup in an incremental snapshot data backup system to reduce data backup time
Machines, systems and methods for performing intermediate data backups, the method comprising monitoring data updates to one or more data blocks in at least a target data storage medium, wherein the target data storage medium is subject to an incremental data backup routine at prescheduled time intervals; in response to determining that said at least one or more data blocks is updated prior to a prescheduled time interval for the incremental data backup routine, performing one or more intermediate data backups to store data from the updated data blocks to at least one backup data storage medium; and in response to determining that said at least one or more data blocks is updated prior to the prescheduled time interval for the incremental data backup routine but after the last of the intermediate data backups, copying data on one or more updated data blocks after the last of the intermediate data backups to the backup data storage medium.
US09639429B2 Creating validated database snapshots for provisioning virtual databases
Virtual databases are provisioned using point-in-time copies of a source database. Transaction logs received from the source database are applied to a point-in-time copy of the source database to create recovery milestones comprising database blocks that can be used to provision virtual databases. The recovery milestones are created in advance of receiving a request to provision a virtual database. Each recovery milestone is validated to determine that a consistent database snapshot can be created using the recovery milestone. If a problem is identified that prevents creation of a consistent database snapshot, the problem is fixed before creating the next recovery milestone. In response to receiving a request to provision a virtual database corresponding to a point in time, a recovery milestone is identified and transaction logs applied to the recovery milestone to create a database snapshot corresponding to the requested point in time.
US09639423B2 Method and apparatus for recovering metadata lost during an unexpected power down event
A system including first and second memory and a control module. The first memory stores a first lookup table with first metadata that includes a first mapping between logical and physical addresses and is lost due to an unexpected power down event. The second memory stores a second lookup table with second metadata and an event log. The second metadata includes a second mapping between the logical and physical addresses. The event log includes entries indicating updated associations between respective ones of the logical addresses and one of the physical addresses as included in the first metadata prior to the power down event. The control module: prior to the power down event, performs segmented flushes each including updating a segment of the second metadata with a corresponding segment of the first metadata; and walks the event log to recover a full flush cycle of segments of the first metadata.
US09639421B2 Operating method of flash memory system
An operation method of a flash memory system includes reading data stored in a memory device, wherein the data is encoded by units of message blocks each including a row constituent code and a column constituent code by using a block-wise concatenated Bose-Chadhuri-Hocquenghem (BC-BCH) method; performing a hard decision decoding on the read data; determining, when the hard decision decoding fails, a reference voltage for a message block having an error among the message blocks of the read data; and performing a soft decision decoding by using the determined reference voltage.
US09639420B2 High performance memory controller
A memory device includes a memory array that includes a buffer data. The memory device also includes a memory controller. The memory controller includes an error correction code (ECC) component. The memory controller further receives a status command and an indication related to the quality of the data to analyze with the ECC component. Based on a status value, the memory controller utilizes one of a plurality of error correction techniques via the ECC component to correct an error (e.g., soft state, calibration, etc.).
US09639418B2 Parity protection of a register
The embodiments herein generate parity check data which serves as parity-on-parity. Stated differently, the parity check data can be used to determine if parity data stored in a memory element has been corrupted. For example, after generating the parity data, a computing system may set the parity check data depending on whether there is an even or odd number of logical ones (or logical zeros) in the parity data. Thus, when the parity data is read out of the memory element, if the parity data does not include the same number of even or odd bits, the parity check data indicates to the computing system that the parity data is corrupted. In one embodiment, to reduce the likelihood that the parity check data becomes corrupted, the computing system stores this data in hardened latches which are less susceptible to soft errors than other types of memory elements.
US09639415B2 Salvaging hardware transactions with instructions
A transactional memory system salvages a hardware transaction. A processor of the transactional memory system executes a first salvage checkpoint instruction in a code region during transactional execution of the code region, and based on the executing the first salvage checkpoint instruction, the processor records transaction state information comprising an address of the first salvage checkpoint instruction within the code region. The processor detects a pending point of failure in the code region during the transactional execution, and based on the detecting, determines that the transaction state information been recorded, and further based on the detecting, executes an about-to-fail handler. Based on executing the about-to-fail handler, the processor returns to the execution of the code region of the transaction at the address of the checkpoint instruction.
US09639413B2 Automated fault detection and diagnostics in a building management system
Systems and methods for building automation system management are shown and described. The systems and methods relate to fault detection via abnormal energy monitoring and detection. The systems and methods also relate to control and fault detection methods for chillers. The systems and methods further relate to graphical user interfaces for use with fault detection features of a building automation system.
US09639410B2 Load-control backup signal generation circuit
In a case in which a malfunction occurs in a control processor which operates according to a predetermined program, a load-control backup signal generation circuit supplies a backup control signal to a switch of a load connected to an output of the control processor. The load-control backup signal generation circuit includes: a watchdog input terminal to which a watchdog signal periodically output from the control processor is input; a pulse count unit which counts a clock pulse generated with a constant period and which controls a count state of the clock pulse according to a signal input to the watchdog input terminal; and a signal selection unit which selects, from a plurality of options, a predetermined condition for causing a backup signal output unit to generate the backup control signal, based on a count output signal of a plurality of bits output from the pulse count unit.
US09639409B2 Device and method for communicating between cores
A device and method for communicating between cores are provided. The device comprises: a postbox component, configured to store a message sent from a message sending core to a message receiving core and notify the message receiving core to read the message; and a bus adapter component, connected between the postbox component and the message receiving core and the message sending core which communicate with each other and configured to provide read/write interfaces of the postbox component and the message receiving core and the message sending core. By means of the disclosure, the problems that the device and method for communicating between cores with high complexity, poor timeliness and poor expandability during multi-core application in the related art are solved, thereby achieving the effects of reducing the communication between cores complexity significantly, reducing communication time delay and having excellent expandability and scalability.
US09639405B2 System and method for providing settlement information
A method for providing settlement information in which a device provides settlement information to an application which is installed on the device includes executing a first application which is installed on the device, receiving settlement information from an external device via the executed first application, converting at least a part of the received settlement information, and providing the converted settlement information to a second application which is installed on the device in order to allow the second application to use the received settlement information.
US09639404B2 API matchmaking using feature models
Software that uses machine logic based algorithms to help determine and/or prioritize an application programming interface's (API) desirability to a user based on how closely the API's terms of service (ToS) meet the users' ToS preferences. The software performs the following steps: (i) receiving a set of API ToS feature information that includes identifying information for at least one API and respectively associated ToS features for each identified API; (ii) receiving ToS preference information that relates to ToS related preferences for a user; and (iii) evaluating a strength of a match between each respective API identified in the API ToS feature information set and the ToS preference information to yield a match value for each API identified in the API ToS feature information set.
US09639399B2 Method, apparatus and terminal for releasing memory
A method is provided for memory releasing. The method includes obtaining a first memory space value of a terminal system, where the first memory space represents a size of current idle memory space on the terminal system. The method also includes requesting a memory space whose size equals to a second memory space value from the terminal system, where the second memory space value is greater than the first memory space value. Further, the method includes releasing occupied memory after the terminal system receives a memory space request and detects that the second memory space value is greater than the first memory space value. The method includes confirming allocation of the memory space whose size equals to the second memory space value. The method includes releasing the memory space whose size equals to the second memory space value as the idle memory space after receiving allocation confirmation of the memory space of the terminal system.
US09639398B1 Burst throttling with sequential operation detection
Burst throttling methods may be used manage computing resources of a data storage service. Tokens may represent I/O operations executed by a customer of the data storage service. A global token bucket may contain a set of tokens representing the overall I/O operation capacity of the data storage service. Additionally, a work token bucket may contain a set of tokens for a given logical volume maintained by the data storage service. When I/O request are received the data storage service may determine if the I/O request is a member of a sequence and removed a reduced number for tokens from the work token bucket as a result. Furthermore, if there is sufficient capacity the data storage service may charge a reduced number of tokens to the work token bucket.
US09639393B2 Virtual processor state management based on time values
A method includes, with a hypervisor, detecting that a virtual processor of a virtual machine has accessed a designated address, the designated address being associated with a time value, causing the virtual processor to enter a halt state for a period of time, and causing the virtual processor to exit the halt state after a period of time has passed, the period of time being based on the time value.
US09639389B1 Technology for dynamic resource pool master
For managing a pool of virtual computer systems, master status and a rebasing task are assigned to at least one virtual computer system of the pool. A non-reserved status is assigned to virtual computer systems of the pool that are not assigned tasks. A virtual computer system of the pool is selected to respond to a rebasing request. The selecting includes selecting one of the at least one virtual computer system that currently has a master status and that currently has a processing load less than a predetermined threshold and, when no virtual computer system of the pool currently has a master status and a processing load less than the predetermined threshold, selecting a non-reserved one of the virtual computer systems to perform rebasing for the request and changing the non-reserved status of the selected, non-reserved one of the virtual computer systems to master status.
US09639381B2 Sharing applications in a java virtual machine
Disclosed are various embodiments for executing multiple applications in a single virtual machine. The classes of an application executing in the virtual machine are traversed to identify non-sharable static fields. Upon identifying a non-sharable static field, mapping data is created that corresponds to the non-sharable static field. During another traversal of the classes of the application, access to the identified non-sharable static field is translated into an access to the mapping data that is associated with the non-sharable static field.
US09639380B2 Physical device emulation synchronization
In one or more embodiments, a system can configure a physical mobile device via configuring a configuration for an emulator of the physical mobile device. For example, a user (e.g., a customer) can request a physical mobile device, and a system can provide the user with an emulation of the physical mobile device, where the user can configure the emulation of the physical mobile device. In one or more embodiments, the user can be provided with the configuration via at least one of a network and a physical delivery of the physical mobile device, configured with the configuration. In one example, the user can execute an emulation of the physical mobile device configured with the configuration, received via the network. In another example, the physical mobile device can be configured with the configuration, and subsequently, the physical mobile device can be physically delivered to the user.
US09639378B2 Extensible 3D asset plug-in framework
An extensible three-dimensional (3D) asset plug-in framework is disclosed. In various embodiments, files having different 3D file formats may be processed by respective plug-ins. The plug-ins may be configured to be downloaded and installed, to receive input files describing one or more 3D models and having a respective 3D file format, to read the respective 3D file format, and to generate and return a common 3D description to be previewed and manipulated by an application or an operating system. The different 3D file formats and their respective plug-ins may be proprietary or developed by third parties.
US09639376B2 Methods and systems for creating and using skins
Methods and systems for creating and rendering skins are described. In one described embodiment skins can be defined as sets of script files, art files, media files, and text files. These files can be used to create new and different skin appearances, layouts and functionalities. The files are organized for use using a hierarchical tag-based data structure, an example of which is an XML data structure. The data structure is processed to provide an object model. The object model can be a scriptable object model that enables script to execute to provide an interactive, dynamic skin that can respond to internal and external events. In one embodiment, a computer architecture used for rendering the skin includes a layout manager that processes an intermediate representation of the XML data structure to provide the scriptable object model. Various components of the scriptable object model can include a script engine for receiving and executing script, and one or more rendering elements. Each rendering element represents a different skin element and can be individually configured to respond to script via the script engine. The inventive systems and techniques can provide a robust, dynamic skin that can be rendered and re-rendered at runtime. In other embodiments, properties associated with a skin's elements can be synchronized with other skin element properties or state that is associated with a software application. Synchronization can take place through the use of keywords that can be used in connection with the XML data structure. Synchronizations can be one- or two-way synchronizations.
US09639373B2 Reconfigurable embedded device, method of reconfiguring an embedded device and non-transitory recording medium therefor
An information processing apparatus providing a specific function includes a non-volatile function program memory that stores a function program for providing the specific function, a main memory, and an arithmetic device that reads and stores the function program from the function program memory into the main memory at startup of the information processing apparatus and performs an arithmetic operation based on the function program to execute the function program. The arithmetic device operates at a start frequency set for startup as a clock frequency for accessing the function program memory when reading and storing the function program from the function program memory into the main memory at the startup, and operates at a frequency lower than the start frequency as the clock frequency for accessing the function program memory after reading and storing the function program into the main memory.
US09639361B2 Tracing speculatively executed instructions
A trace unit for generating items of trace data indicative of processing activities of a processor executing a stream of instructions, the unit includes trace circuitry for monitoring a behavior of the processor; storage circuitry for storing current trace control data for controlling the trace circuitry; a data store for storing at least some of the trace control data; the trace circuitry being configured to store the trace control data in the data store in response to detection of execution of the group of instructions, wherein the trace circuitry is responsive to detecting the at least one processor cancelling at least one group of the speculatively executed instructions to retrieve at least some of the trace control data stored in the data store for the group of instructions executed before the cancelled speculatively executed instructions and to store the retrieved trace control data in the storage circuitry.
US09639360B2 Reducing energy and increasing speed by an instruction substituting subsequent instructions with specific function instruction
A data processing system is used to evaluate a data processing function by executing a sequence of program instructions including an intermediate value generating instruction Inst0 and an intermediate value consuming instruction Inst1. In dependence upon one or more input operands to the evaluation, an embedded opcode within the intermediate value passed between the intermediate value generating instruction and the intermediate value consuming instruction may be set to have a value indicating that a substitute instruction should be used in place of the intermediate value consuming instruction. The instructions may be floating point instructions, such as a floating point power instruction evaluating the data processing function ab.
US09639359B2 Thermal-aware compiler for parallel instruction execution in processors
Embodiments are described for a method for compiling instruction code for execution in a processor having a number of functional units by determining a thermal constraint of the processor, and defining instruction words comprising both real instructions and one or more no operation (NOP) instructions to be executed by the functional units within a single clock cycle, wherein a number of NOP instructions executed over a number of consecutive clock cycles is configured to prevent exceeding the thermal constraint during execution of the instruction code.
US09639356B2 Arbitrary size table lookup and permutes with crossbar
An example method of updating an output data vector includes identifying a data value vector including element data values. The method also includes identifying an address value vector including a set of elements. The method further includes applying a conditional operator to each element of the set of elements in the address value vector. The method also includes for each element data value in the data value vector, determining whether to update an output data vector based on applying the conditional operator.
US09639355B2 Functional unit capable of executing approximations of functions
A semiconductor chip is described having a functional unit that can execute a first instruction and execute a second instruction. The first instruction is an instruction that multiplies two operands. The second instruction is an instruction that approximates a function according to C0+C1X2+C2X22. The functional unit has a multiplier circuit. The multiplier circuit has: i) a first input to receive bits of a first operand of the first instruction and receive bits of a C1 term of the second instruction; ii) a second input to receive bits of a second operand of the first instruction and receive bits of a X2 term of the second instruction.
US09639350B2 Tagging non-upstream source code
A method relates to identifying, by a processing device, a plurality of source code objects associated with an open source product stored in a version-controlled code repository, determining a first subset of the plurality of source code objects associated with a respective commit identifier indicating that each of the first subset of the plurality of source code objects is committed to the version-controlled code repository, determining a second subset of the plurality of source code objects not associated with any commit identifier of the version-controlled code repository, labeling each of the first subset of the plurality of source code objects as an upstream source code object, and labeling each of the second subset of the plurality of source code objects as a non-upstream source code object.
US09639349B2 Subject and audience oriented instant collaborative development
Techniques to facilitate software development are disclosed. In various embodiments, an indication is received that a software development project event has occurred. One or more rules are applied to determine one of more of a notification to be sent in response to the event, a recipient to receive the notification, and a communication channel to be used to send the communication. The notification is generated and sent to the recipient via the communication channel.
US09639343B2 Method for altering execution of a program, debugger, and computer-readable medium
A method for altering execution of a program on a computer. The program resides in a memory unit that has a logical address space assigned thereto. The method comprises: operating the computer to start executing the program; operating the computer to suspend execution of the program; selecting a patch insertion address within a logical address range of the program, saving the original code residing at the patch insertion address; generating a patch routine; writing a jump instruction to the patch insertion address, thus overwriting said original code, wherein the jump instruction is arranged to instruct the computer to jump to a start address of the patch routine; and operating the computer to resume execution of the program. The patch routine is arranged to prompt the computer to: save a current context of the program; execute a user code; restore the saved context of the program; and execute a surrogate code.
US09639341B2 Network hardware and software upgrade recommender
Methods, systems and computer readable media for generating hardware and software upgrade recommendations for a managed network of devices are described.
US09639333B2 Method and system for model driven development
Embodiments of the present invention disclose a system and computer program product for providing a technical solution for model driven development. Program code is analyzed to determine the execution sequence of states of the program code. The program code is generated by performing a first transformation to a model. The model includes an abstract description of a business implemented by the program code. At least part of the statement of the program code is grouped into functional blocks. A visual representation of the program code is created. The visual representation is based on the execution sequence and the functional blocks. A code snipped is determined to be preserved in the program code based on a user's annotation of the visual representation. The code snippety is to be preserved in new program code generated by performing a second transformation to the model. The second transformation is executed after the first transformation.
US09639330B2 Programming interface
Some examples of a system for providing a visual based programming interface for developing camera-based applications may include a code editor interface, a timeline interface, a canvas interface and/or a program session interface. For instance, the code editor interface may allow a programmer to view and edit source code, the timeline interface may present application data associated with a program session in a frame by frame manner, the canvas interface may allow the programmer to view, interact with, arrange and/or annotate the application data in a visual format, and the program session interface may allow the programmer to choose application data to display in the timeline interface and the canvas interface by selecting between historical program sessions and live program sessions.
US09639326B2 Floating-point adder circuitry
An integrated circuit is provided that performs floating-point addition or subtraction operations involving at least three floating-point numbers. The floating-point numbers are pre-processed by dynamically extending the number of mantissa bits, determining the floating-point number with the biggest exponent, and shifting the mantissa of the other floating-point numbers to the right. Each extended mantissa has at least twice the number of bits of the mantissa entering the floating-point operation. The exact bit extension is dependent on the number of floating-point numbers to be added. The mantissas of all floating-point numbers with an exponent smaller than the biggest exponent are shifted to the right. The number of right shift bits is dependent on the difference between the biggest exponent and the respective floating-point exponent.
US09639323B2 Audio control system and control method thereof
An audio control method includes as follows. Control a vehicle to switch to an audio playing mode in response to input operations applied on a touch input unit of a vehicle. Recognize a gesture in response to input signals. Compare the gesture with a plurality of predefined gestures stored in a storage unit of the vehicle to determine whether the gesture is same as one of the plurality of predefined gestures. Obtain a control order corresponding to the one of the plurality of predefined gestures when the gesture matches the one of the plurality of predefined gestures. Control a volume of an audio player of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order.
US09639321B2 Method and system for controlling the playback of multimedia content
The present disclosure provides method and system for controlling the playback of multimedia content. The method includes: enumerating currently running multimedia input sources to determine a number of currently running multimedia input sources by calling a system application programming interface (API), each multimedia input source having a corresponding multimedia player; determining, when the number of the currently running multimedia input sources is greater than 1, that the multimedia input sources conflict; and controlling, when the multimedia input sources conflict, a corresponding multimedia player to pause or close so as to remove the conflict. According to the present disclosure, when an audio conflict occurs, a corresponding multimedia player can be automatically paused or closed, or a user can be automatically notified of positions of multimedia players, which greatly improves convenience of operating the multimedia player when the audio conflict occurs and brings better experience to the user.
US09639316B2 System including server and printing apparatus, printing apparatus, and control method that controls printing of access information
Print control of access information for which a valid period is set is performed properly. A printing apparatus acquires access information which is to be used for accessing a server and which has a valid period set for the access. If an elapsed time from the acquisition of the access information exceeds a predetermined time, the printing apparatus does not print the access information even if the valid period has not expired. If the elapsed time does not exceed the predetermined time, the printing apparatus prints the access information.
US09639315B2 Content production
A method includes causing a display by a first device of a user interface containing a visual representation of content accessed from a source remote from the first device. Responsive to a user's selection of a first control associated with the user interface, a hard copy representation of the content is caused to be generated. Responsive to a user's selection of a second control associated with the user interface, an electronic file representation of the content is caused to be communicated to a second device remote from the first device.
US09639308B2 Page processing method and apparatus for variable data printing
This invention relates to printing, and discloses a method and apparatus for variable data printing. The method comprises: obtaining a current page of a file to be printed; performing a rasterization process on the current page to obtain a current page dot matrix; determining a reference page for the current page and obtaining a reference page dot matrix corresponding to the reference page; dividing the reference page dot matrix and the current page dot matrix into dot matrix blocks having a predetermined granularity; identifying variable data blocks in the current page dot matrix based on the dot matrix blocks; dynamically adjusting the size of the variable data blocks; extracting a variable data dot matrix in the current page dot matrix splitting the current page dot matrix up into the reference page dot matrix and the variable data dot matrix and then storing and outputting them.
US09639304B2 Data supplying device and image processing system
A data supplying device may storing a file including contents data in a storage, send, to a data generating unit, a file which has the same content as the file in the storage, specify a first type of contents data from the file in the storage, store the specified first type of contents data in a memory, obtain access information for accessing the first type of contents data stored in the memory, and output image data representing an image indicating the obtained access information in order to cause a print performing unit to print the image indicating the obtained access information.
US09639300B2 Image forming apparatus and method for activating scanned data processor based on captured image
An image forming apparatus includes an image capture device that captures a user image and generates a captured image, a document holding determination unit that determines whether or not the user appearing in the captured image holds a document based on the captured image, and a scanned data processor that performs processing including scanning the document. The scanned data processor is activated if the document holding determination unit determines that the user holds the document.
US09639299B2 Managing virtual hard drives as blobs
Cloud computing platforms having computer-readable media that perform methods for facilitating communications with storage. A request having a first-interface format to access storage is intercepted. The first interface format of the request supports access to a virtual hard drive (VHD). The request is translated to a blob request having a blob interface format. The blob interface format of the blob request supports access to a plurality of blobs of data in a blob store. The blob request is communicated to a blob interface such that the blob request is executed in managing the plurality of blobs.
US09639290B2 Substitution of a target volume of a secondary storage controller for a source volume of a primary storage controller for executing a write operation
A secondary storage controller receives metadata that uniquely identifies a source volume of a primary storage controller. Data stored in the source volume of the primary storage controller is synchronously copied to a target volume of the secondary storage controller. The secondary storage controller receives a command from a primary host to write selected data to the source volume. In response to receiving the command at the secondary storage controller, the selected data is written to the target volume of the secondary storage controller.
US09639283B2 Offline characterization for adaptive flash tuning
The present invention includes embodiments of systems and methods for increasing the operational efficiency and extending the estimated operational lifetime of a flash memory storage device (and its component flash memory chips, LUNs and blocks of flash memory) by monitoring the health of the device and its components and, in response, adaptively tuning the operating parameters of flash memory chips during their operational lifetime, as well as employing other less extreme preventive measures in the interim, via an interface that avoids the need for direct access to the test modes of the flash memory chips. In an offline characterization phase, “test chips” from a batch of recently manufactured flash memory chips are used to simulate various usage scenarios and measure the performance effects of writing and attempting to recover (read) test patterns written with different sets of operating parameters over time (simulating desired retention periods).
US09639282B2 Variable bit encoding per NAND flash cell to improve device endurance and extend life of flash-based storage devices
Systems, methods, and/or devices are used to implement variable bit encoding to improve device endurance and extend life of storage devices. In some embodiments, the method includes detecting a trigger condition with respect to one or more non-volatile memory portions (e.g., portions configured to store data encoded in a first encoding format) of a plurality of non-volatile memory portions of a storage device. In accordance with detecting the trigger condition, the method includes: determining a current and an estimated endurance metric for the plurality of non-volatile memory portions (e.g., corresponding to estimated endurance after reconfiguration of the one or more portions to store data encoded in a second encoding format), and in accordance with a determination that reconfiguration criteria are satisfied (e.g., the estimated endurance metric comprises an improvement over the current endurance metric), reconfiguring the one or more portions to store data encoded in the second encoding format.
US09639278B2 Set-associative hash table organization for efficient storage and retrieval of data in a storage system
The embodiments described herein are directed to the use of hashing in a file system metadata arrangement that reduces an amount of metadata stored in a memory of a node in a cluster and that reduces the amount of metadata needed to process an input/output (I/O) request at the node. Illustratively, the embodiments are directed to cuckoo hashing and, in particular, to a manner in which cuckoo hashing may be modified and applied to construct the file system metadata arrangement. In an embodiment, the file system metadata arrangement may be illustratively include a hash collision technique that employs a hash collision computation to determine a unique candidate extent key (having a candidate hash table index) in the event of a collision, i.e., a hash table index collides with a slot of a hash table matching a key found in the slot.
US09639276B2 Implied directory state updates
A request is received over a link that requests a particular line in memory. A directory state record is identified in memory that identifies a directory state of the particular line. A type of the request is identified from the request. It is determined that the directory state of the particular line is to change from the particular state to a new state based on the directory state of the particular line and the type of the request. The directory state record is changed, in response to receipt of the request, to reflect the new state. A copy of the particular line is sent in response to the request.
US09639275B2 Managing data within a storage device based on file system metadata
Commands associated with one or more logical block addresses are received via a host interface of a storage device. Based on a timing and sequence of the commands, an extent of a file that contains the logical block addresses is determined, the file being stored on the storage device. The logical block addresses are managed internally as a unitary data structure based on determining an association between the logical block addresses and the file.
US09639272B2 Sliding-window multi-class striping
A sequence of storage devices of a data store may include one or more stripesets for storing data stripes of different lengths and of different types. Each data stripe may be stored in a prefix or other portion of a stripeset. Each data stripe may be identified by an array of addresses that identify each page of the data stripe on each included storage device. When a first storage device of a stripeset becomes full, the stripeset may be shifted by removing the full storage device from the stripeset, and adding a next storage device of the data store to the stripeset. A class variable may be associated with storage devices of a stripeset to identify the type of data that the stripeset can store. The class variable may be increased (or otherwise modified) when a computer stores data of a different class in the stripeset.
US09639270B2 Double-linked lists with reference counters
A system includes, in a first memory location, a pointer to a next one of the plurality of memory locations and a respective reference counter, in each of respective ones of a plurality of memory locations, a pointer to a next one of the plurality of memory locations, a pointer to a previous one of the plurality of memory locations, and a reference counter, and in a last memory location, a pointer to a previous one of the plurality of memory locations and a respective reference counter, and atomically incrementing and decrementing of a reference counter stored in one of the plurality of memory locations.
US09639267B2 Quick gesture input
A computer-implemented user interface method for a computing device is disclosed. The method includes associating each of a plurality of telephone keys with a direction of each key relative to a center of a telephone keypad, receiving a contact from a user of the device at a location on a touchscreen display of a computing device and an input at a direction relative to the location of the user contact, and causing a telephone number to be entered on the computing device based on the direction of each key relative to the center of the telephone keypad corresponding to the direction relative to the location of the user contact.
US09639264B2 Image projector device
An image projector device includes a projection optical unit through which an image is projected and displayed, a recognition unit that recognizes a user's action related to processing of the image, and a control unit that generates and/or edits a drawing image based on the user's action recognized by the recognition unit and projects and displays the drawing image being generated and/or edited as a projected, displayed image through the projection optical unit.
US09639260B2 Application programming interfaces for gesture operations
At least certain embodiments of the present disclosure include an environment with user interface software interacting with a software application to provide gesture operations for a display of a device. A method for operating through an application programming interface (API) in this environment includes transferring a scaling transform call. The gesture operations include performing a scaling transform such as a zoom in or zoom out in response to a user input having two or more input points. The gesture operations also include performing a rotation transform to rotate an image or view in response to a user input having two or more input points.
US09639259B2 Portable electronic device and method for controlling displayed information thereof
A portable electronic device includes a display unit, a sensing unit, and a signal processing unit. The sensing unit includes a proximity sensor. The proximity sensor detects a distance between an object and the portable electronic device. The signal processing unit is electronically connected to the display unit and the proximity sensor. The signal processing unit switches a scrolling mode of an image displayed on the display unit according to a detection of the proximity sensor.
US09639258B2 Manipulation of list on a multi-touch display
Embodiments related to the manipulation of lists via a multi-touch display are disclosed. One disclosed embodiment comprises a computing device having a touch-sensitive display, a processor, and memory. The memory comprises code executable by the processor to display a scrollable list of items on the touch-sensitive display, to detect a first touch gesture over the scrollable list of items on the touch-sensitive display, and, in response, to scroll the scrollable list of items on the touch-sensitive display. The memory further comprises code executable by the processor to detect a second, multi-touch gesture over the scrollable list of items on the touch-sensitive display, and in response to adjust a displayed range of the scrollable list of items.
US09639256B2 Method for starting activity of mobile terminal and the mobile terminal
Some embodiments of the application provide a method for starting an Activity of a mobile terminal and the mobile terminal. The method may comprise: determining a display mode of a new Activity after determining that the new Activity is required to be started; and setting a window flag for starting the Activity according to the determined display mode so as to start the Activity in the display mode indicated by the window flag; where the display mode comprises a window mode and a full-screen mode.
US09639253B2 Supporting a presentation of information to a user
An apparatus presents a plurality of information items to a user. Each information item corresponds to at least on piece of information that is marked by at least one tag in a single source script. The apparatus enables a user to select presented information items. The apparatus further enables a use of a plurality of pieces of information from the source script marked by tags, which correspond to information items selected by a user, for presentation in a single graphical representation to the user. Another apparatus automatically obtains a plurality of pieces of information marked by a plurality of tags included in a single source script that is available at a further apparatus, and presents the plurality of pieces of information in a single graphical representation to a user. The information may represent a plurality of locations, times or an area. The graphical representation may comprise a map or a timeline. The source script may be that of a Web page. A user may be enabled to perform a location based search or a time based search.
US09639249B2 Engineering tool providing human interface among plurality of human interfaces according to user skill level
To provide an engineering tool including a basic processing unit that performs a process of program editing according to an input operation by an input device, and a display processing unit that displays an operation screen for the program editing on a display device. The basic processing unit can accept the input operation by a plurality of input devices, as a plurality of human interfaces, and when a human interface corresponding to a level of operation skill in the input operation is selected from the human interfaces, the basic processing unit performs a process in accordance with the input operation by an input device corresponding to the selected human interface, and the display processing unit displays the operation screen corresponding to the selected human interface on the display device.
US09639248B2 Autohiding video player controls
Methods are described for maximizing the size of a video displayed in a display area of a video player. The maximum height of the video is determined using its aspect ratio and the dimensions of the display area in the video player. The control panel is removed from the display in the video player if this allows the video to be shown at its maximum height while preserving the video's resolution. The control panel is displayed in the video player if the video can be shown at its maximum height without removing the control panel from the display.
US09639247B2 Information processing device, information processing method, and computer-readable medium
An information processing device includes a first output unit and a second output unit. The first output unit displays a start screen including a first image for giving an instruction for switching to a screen corresponding to a user, and a second image for giving an instruction for switching to an edit screen. If the second image is selected, the second output unit outputs an edit screen including, in the same arrangement as the first image, a third image for switching to a screen for editing the screen corresponding to a user.
US09639246B2 Seamless playback of composite media
A streaming composition system is described herein that provides easy workflow and playback capabilities for content producers to create composite media assets from existing and on-going media content and for streaming clients to seamlessly playback composite multimedia streams provided from different sources. These assets provide broadcasters an option to quickly turn around highlights for an on-going event. The streaming composition system allows a producer to identify clips within existing media assets and compose the clips into a new unified streaming presentation. For producers that already have smooth streaming media assets, the system leverages these assets to provide seamless playback across clip boundaries including advanced playback support for advertisement insertion, fast forward, rewind, and so on.
US09639245B2 System and method for interactively delivering expert information to remote outlets
A networked interactive expert system is disclosed for selectively providing relevant expertise when a user requires such assistance. System provides a set of networked facilities for determining an expertise needed by a customer based on a location. Such location can be either physical or logical. A physical “location” corresponds, for example, to a department within a retail outlet. Examples of logical “locations” are ones corresponding to a web-page, a product identification code of interest, a customer identification code, and/or explicit knowledge category selected by the customer. An expert studio, from a list of expert studios providing expertise corresponding to the identified location associated with the customer's request, is matched up with the request. Thereafter, a primary connection, supporting an interactive videoconference session, is established between a first networked node associated with the customer and a second networked node associated with the designated expert studio.
US09639238B2 Modification of a characteristic of a user interface object
Multiple operations can be determined based on different gestures received at a single control. An operation can be a selection or a de-selection (or activation and deactivation) of a feature (or tool) while another operation can be a configuration of a characteristic associated with the feature. The other operation can set a configuration of the characteristic associated with the feature such that upon re-activation of the feature, the configured characteristic may be persisted. Embodiments provide a UI control that can receive multiple types of gestures and determine an operation to perform based on the type of gesture. For instance, in response to receiving a gesture input at a single control, an application may cause a display panel on a GUI to be displayed. The panel configuration (e.g., size of the panel, size of objects in the panel) can be modified in response to receiving another gesture input at the control.
US09639235B2 Selection of borehole and well data for visualization
A visualization system for providing a preview of data obtained in a borehole and available for selection and a helmet for visualization and monitoring are described. The visualization system includes a processor configured to process the data based on user input and instructions and provide output for display on a display device; a computer-readable medium configured to store the instructions, the instructions including commands to output values of two or more types of parameters at two or more depth values for display; and a helmet including a visor configured to display the values of the two or more types of parameters at the two or more depth values.
US09639227B2 Electroconductive laminate and touch panel using thereof
The electroconductive laminate according to the present invention is obtained by laminating a hard coat layer and an electrically conducting layer on at least one surface of a polycarbonate base. This electroconductive laminate is characterized in that the hard coat layer is formed from a hard coating composition which contains (A) a phenolic novolac acrylate having two or more acrylate groups, (B) an orthophenyl phenol acrylate containing 1-2 mol of an ethylene oxide structure in each molecule and (C) a bisphenol skeleton-containing diacrylate containing 2-4 mol of an alkylene oxide structure having two or three carbon atoms in each molecule.
US09639223B2 Display device with touch detection function and electronic apparatus
According to an aspect, a display device with a touch detection function includes a display area; a pixel electrode; a plurality of scan lines; a plurality of data lines; an auxiliary wiring that is a wiring of a metal material having an electrical resistance lower than that of a material of the drive electrodes, is arranged so as to extend in the row direction for each row of the pixels, and is electrically coupled to the drive electrode; a control device that performs image display control and touch detection control; a touch detection electrode that faces the drive electrodes and forms a capacitance with the drive electrodes; and a touch detection unit that detects a position of a proximity object based on a detection signal sent from the touch detection electrode.
US09639220B2 Touch screen and display device
Disclosed are a touch screen and a display device. In the touch screen, the first electromagnetic touch electrodes (210) and the capacitive touch sensing electrodes (110) are disposed in the same layer, the second electromagnetic touch electrodes (220) and the capacitive touch driving electrodes (120) are disposed in the same layer, such that it is possible to simplify layer structures of the touch screen to a great extent, thereby reducing the thickness of the entire touch screen, while guaranteeing electromagnetic touch effect and capacitive touch effect, and simplify the manufacturing process and in turn save the production costs of the entire touch screen.
US09639218B2 Liquid crystal panel, display device and scanning method thereof
A liquid crystal panel, a display device and a scanning method thereof is disclosed. The liquid crystal panel includes a CF substrate, a TFT substrate and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the CF substrate and the TFT substrate; the CF substrate includes a transparent substrate and an integrated capacitive-electromagnetic composite touch layer located at the inner side of the transparent substrate to identify touch signals; wherein, the integrated capacitive-electromagnetic composite touch layer includes a capacitive touch structure and an electromagnetic touch structure electrically insulated from each other. According to the embodiments of the present invention, the integrated capacitive-electromagnetic composite touch layer is integrated to the inner of the CF substrate, so that the liquid crystal display including the liquid crystal panel of the embodiments of the present invention has capacitive and electromagnetic touch functions and is relatively thin.
US09639217B2 Digitiser
A digitiser includes a grid of conductors having excitation conductors and detection conductors. Excitation circuitry applies excitation signals to selected excitation conductors; measurement circuitry obtains measurements from selected detection conductors; and processing circuitry processes measurements obtained by the measurement circuitry to detect one or more objects positioned adjacent the grid of conductors. The excitation circuitry may be arranged to operate in a cyclic manner to select each of the excitation conductors during an excitation cycle, wherein an excitation cycle includes a sequence of excitation intervals during each of which a different pair of neighboring excitation conductors is selected by the excitation circuitry and to which complementary excitation signals are applied. The excitation circuitry is arranged to polarity modulate each excitation signal using a polarity control signal so that the polarity of the excitation signal applied to a selected conductor changes during a time that the excitation conductor is selected.
US09639216B2 Touch-control display device with integration of capacitive and electromagnetic touch units
A touch-control display device is disclosed. The display device includes first, second, and third touch-control structures, a first plate, and a second plate opposing the first plate. The first and second touch-control structures form a capacitive touch-control structure, the third touch-control structure is an electromagnetic touch-control structure, and the first, second and third touch-control structures are respectively disposed on an inner side of the first plate, on an external side of the first plate, and on an inner or external side of the second plate. In addition, the first, second, and third touch-control structures are separated by one or more insulating layers.
US09639215B2 Touch screen
A touch screen, includes a position sensing assembly and a display assembly. The position sensing assembly includes: a substrate, a first polymer layer and a second polymer layer, the first polymer layer is formed on a surface of the substrate, a conductive material is embedded in the first polymer layer to form a first conductive area and a first lead on a surface of the first polymer layer, the second polymer layer is formed on a surface of the first polymer layer; a conductive material is embedded in the second polymer layer to form a second conductive material and a second lead on a surface of the second polymer layer. The touch screen omits a transparent conductive film, and achieves an effect of conducting through embedding a conductive material in the first and second polymer layer, thus material cost is relatively low and the producing process is relatively simple.
US09639205B2 Touch sensor integrated display device
A touch sensor integrated display device is provided comprising gate lines and data lines formed on a substrate to be intersected with each other, a plurality of pixel electrodes formed at intersections between the gate lines and the data lines, and a common electrode formed to overlap the plurality of pixel electrodes through an insulating film disposed between the common electrode and the plurality of pixel electrodes, wherein the common electrode includes at least two touch electrodes, each of which is connected to at least one of signal lines arranged in one of a first direction and a second direction crossing the first direction.
US09639204B2 Touch type distinguishing method and touch input device performing the same
A method for distinguishing a touch type in a touch input device including a touch screen may be provided that includes: determining whether a touch on the touch screen includes a time interval during which the touch has a pressure greater than a first pressure within a first time period; and distinguishing the touch type in accordance with whether or not the touch includes a time interval during which the touch has a pressure greater than the first pressure within the first time period.
US09639201B2 Touch panel, position sensing method of touch panel, and integrated circuit
A touch panel according to the disclosure includes a touch screen including a plurality of X electrode lines and Y electrode lines, which are alternately disposed with each other, and generating signals that vary depending on a touch position; and a plurality of comparators connected between first and second Y electrode lines adjacent to each other, wherein the touch position on the touch screen is detected based on output codes prepared by using output values of the comparators. A method for detecting a position of a touch panel according to the disclosure includes the steps of generating a position signal that varies according to a touch position between a plurality of X electrode lines and first and second Y electrode lines, which are adjacent to each other and alternately disposed with X electrode lines; detecting adjacent signals from a Y electrode line adjacent to a left of the first Y electrode and a Y electrode line adjacent to a right of the second Y electrode line; inputting the adjacent signal as an input signal of the comparator; overlapping the position signal on one of the detected adjacent signals; and comparing the input signal using the comparator. An integrated circuit according to the disclosure includes a plurality of comparators including a positive input terminal receiving a first input signal that varies depending on a touch position, a negative input terminal receiving a second input signal, and an output terminal outputting a comparison signal of the first and second input signals; and an operation unit generating a position signal by reading out the comparison signal of the comparators.
US09639195B2 Method using finger force upon a touchpad for controlling a computerized system
A method for controlling an input from a user to a computerized system including a touchpad is presented. The method includes obtaining data from the touchpad. The data is associated with the location and force of a finger and/or a hand of the user upon the touchpad and not associated with an image of the finger from an image sensor, when the user operates the computerized system using the touchpad. The method further includes communicating the data from the touchpad to the computerized system and analyzing the data in accordance with a model of a human hand. The method further includes determining, using the model, that at least one finger of the user is touching a first control region of the touchpad using a first force.
US09639193B2 Touch-control pixel driving circuit, touch-control pixel driving method, array substrate and liquid crystal display (LCD) device
A touch-control pixel driving circuit, a touch-control pixel driving method, an array substrate and a liquid crystal display (LCD) device are provided and involve LCD field, the arrangement of additional driving electrodes and sensing electrodes can be avoided, and the manufacturing process can be simplified, and consequently the costs can be reduced. The touch-control pixel driving circuit comprises a pixel electrode (3), a transmissive common electrode (1), a reflective common electrode (2), a gate line (G1), a reset signal line (G2), a reset control line (G3), a read control line (G4), a dual-purpose data line (G5), a first switching transistor (M1), a second switching transistor (M2), an amplifying transistor (T) and a third switching transistor (M3). Of the first switching transistor (M1), a first end is connected to the pixel electrode (3), a second end is connected to the dual-purpose data line (G5), and a control end is connected to the gate line (G1). Of the second switching transistor (M2), a first end is connected to the reflective common electrode (2), a second end is connected to the reset signal line (G2), and a control end is connected to the reset control line (G3). Of the amplifying transistor (T), a first end is connected to the reset signal line (G2) (G2), and a control end is connected to the reflective common electrode (2). Of the third switching transistor (M3), a first end is connected to a second end of the amplifying transistor (T), a second end is connected to the dual-purpose data line (G5), and a control end is connected to the read data line (G4).
US09639192B2 Multi-touch system and method for controlling liquid crystal capacitors to reduce touch sensing interference
A multi-touch system for controlling liquid crystal capacitors to reduce touch sensing interferences includes K gate driving lines, which are divided into N groups each corresponding to a common voltage conductive line. When a display driving signal is applied to an i-th group of gate driving lines for performing a display driving, the liquid crystal capacitor corresponding to the i-th group is set to a predetermined voltage, where i=1 to N. Finally, a touch driving signal is applied to an i-th common voltage conductive line corresponding to the i-th group for sensing touch points, so as to reduce touch sensing affections caused by noises of the liquid crystal display.
US09639189B2 Conductive pattern formation method, conductive pattern-bearing substrate, and touch panel sensor
A conductive pattern formation method of the present invention includes a first exposure step of radiating active light in a patterned manner to a photosensitive layer including a photosensitive resin layer provided on a substrate and a conductive film provided on a surface of the photosensitive resin layer on a side opposite to the substrate; a second exposure step of radiating active light, in the presence of oxygen, to some or all of the portions of the photosensitive layer not exposed at least in the first exposure step; and a development step of developing the photosensitive layer to form a conductive pattern following the second exposure step.
US09639180B2 Computer system and a control method therefor
A computer system that includes a data-processing unit, a touch-sensitive, position-resolving input surface in data communication with the data-processing unit, and a freely movable input device, by which the input surface is to be touched for the purpose of inputting into the data-processing unit. The freely movable input device is a computer mouse, which is in data communication with the data-processing unit. With comparatively low sensor complexity, inter alia, both the absolute position of the computer mouse and also subtle position changes of the computer mouse can therefore be very easily detected by the data-processing unit.
US09639178B2 Optical stylus
An optical stylus and host computing system is provided, as are methods related to the operation thereof. In particular, in an example embodiment, a method of operating the optical stylus is provided that includes determining when the optical stylus is in contact with a surface based on signals received by a processor from a pressure sensor of the optical stylus and capturing an image while the optical stylus is in contact with the surface using a camera of the optical stylus. The captured image is then transmitted to a host system.
US09639174B2 Mobile device display content based on shaking the device
When a user shakes a mobile device, such as a smart phone, new content is shown on the display of the mobile device. In one embodiment, the content depends on the page or location the user is currently on within the mobile app or mobile browser page and can depend also on the history or experience level of the user.
US09639165B2 Position detection system and control method of position detection system
A projection system includes a light emitting apparatus that emits detection light to a detection area for detecting indication positions of indicators, and a projector that detects the indication positions of the indicators in the detection area. The projector includes an imaging portion that captures an image of the detection area, and a position detection portion that detects at least one of an image of light generated by the indicator and an image of the detection light reflected on the indicator from data of a captured image of the imaging portion, and discriminates and detects the indication positions of the indicator and the indicator based on light emission timings of the indicator and the light emitting apparatus.
US09639161B2 Gesture recognition module and gesture recognition method
A gesture recognition module for recognizing a gesture of a user is disclosed. The gesture recognition module comprises an image capturing unit, for capturing a first pixel value, a second pixel value, a third pixel value and a fourth pixel value sequentially of images of the gesture of the user; a computing unit, coupled to the image capturing unit, for determining a first minimum surrounding shape comprising a first pixel difference between the first pixel value and the second pixel value, and determining a second minimum surrounding shape comprising a second pixel difference between the third pixel value and the fourth pixel value; and a determining unit, coupled to the computing unit, for determining the gesture according to a relation between the first minimum surrounding shape and the second minimum surrounding shape.
US09639160B2 Tactile sensation providing device
A tactile sensation providing device can provide a user with an appropriate tactile sensation by efficiently vibrating a panel and is waterproof or dustproof. The tactile sensation providing device includes a panel; a tactile sensation provider, which provides a tactile sensation by vibrating the panel; a housing; and silicon rubber with a general U-shaped cross-section, disposed between the panel and the housing, for suppressing intrusion of dust or water from outside the housing to inside the housing.
US09639159B2 Physical surface interaction
In accordance with an example aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one receiver configured to receive an identifier of an accessory and sensor information, at least one processing core configured to obtain, based at least in part on the sensor information, a location of the apparatus on a physical surface and a second location in a virtual space, the first location corresponding to the second location via a mapping, and to cause transmission of the identifier of the accessory and information identifying the second location.
US09639155B2 Biosignal interface apparatus and operation method of biosignal interface apparatus
A biosignal interface apparatus includes a sensor configured to detect a target in contact with the sensor, a position identifier configured to identify a position of the sensor on the target, and a controller configured to control an operation mode of the sensor based on the identified position.
US09639148B2 Mobile information terminal
A terminal apparatus includes a display module including a window glass, a touch panel, and a display panel; a display holding frame that secures the display module, the display holding frame having a screw accepting part on a rear surface which is opposite to the display panel; a cabinet case, which encloses the display holding frame, and which has a screw hole corresponding to the screw accepting part of the display holding frame; and a bolt or screw inserted into the screw accepting part of the display holding frame through the screw hole in the cabinet case.
US09639145B2 Method for determining whether to enter a S3 state based on user-defined permissible S3 period during an always on mode
In one example in accordance with the present disclosure, a computing device is provided. The computing device includes an interface module and a power management module. The interface module is to provide a user interface that facilitates enabling and disabling of an always on feature, and further facilitates configuration of a permissible advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI) S3 state period. The power management module to receive a request to enter an ACPI S3 state, determine whether the always on feature is enabled, and in response to determining that the always on feature is enabled, determine whether the computing device is within a user-defined permissible ACPI S3 state period. In response to determining that the computing device is within the user-defined permissible ACPI S3 state period, the power management module is to set a wake event and cause the computing device to enter the ACPI S3 state.
US09639140B2 Power management of interactive workloads driven by direct and indirect user feedback
A method of managing power state transitions for an interactive workload includes storing one or more parameters, each representing an electrical operating characteristic that controls power consumption of the processing unit, receiving a first user input requesting execution of a task by the processing unit, in response to receiving a second user input, modifying at least one of the one or more parameters, and executing the task in the processing unit while operating the processing unit according to the at least one modified parameter.
US09639138B2 Electronic device that ensures reduced unnecessary recovery
An electronic device includes a main system, a sub system, and a response availability information storage unit. The response availability information storage unit stores response availability information indicating in which communication protocol the response data is generable by the main system. The sub system causes the main system not to recover to a normal state when the main system is in an energy saving state and the electronic device receives the information request data from the outside, if the sub system determines that the response data is not generable by the main system, based on the communication protocol of the information request data and the response availability information stored in the response availability information storage unit, and even if the response data is not generable by the sub system.
US09639137B2 Control method and electronic device
A control method and an electronic device using the control method are described. The control method includes, when the processing unit is in a first state, the communicating unit receives current network data; the communicating unit determines whether a communication state of the network data satisfies a predetermined condition; if the communication state does not satisfy the predetermined condition, then the communicating unit stores the current network data into a cache module of the communicating unit; and if the communication state satisfies the predetermined condition, then the communicating unit transmits the current network data to the processing unit, so that the processing unit changes from the first state to a second state, wherein power consumption in the first state is lower than that in the second state.
US09639135B2 Power consumption limit associated with power over ethernet (PoE) computing system
A computing system is associated with power consumption based on Power over Ethernet (PoE). Power consumption is compared to a threshold, and a signal is asserted that power consumption is to be limited based on the comparison to the threshold.
US09639130B2 Parallel control of multiple uninterruptable power modules (“UPMs”)
Systems, methods, and devices of the various embodiments enable parallel control of multiple uninterruptable power modules (“UPMs”) connecting multiple power sources to a bus in parallel. A UPM may be comprised of at least one controller coupled to at least one inverter, and the UPM may be configured to convert the DC voltage output from a DC source to an AC voltage, such as an AC voltage suitable for output to an AC bus. A UPM may receive a power sharing command and control its at least one inverter based at least in part on the received power sharing command to output a voltage to a bus.
US09639126B2 Apparatus for cooling a computer
An apparatus including a tube to encase a fluid, a first portion of the tube disposed in a base portion of a mobile computing device, a second portion of the tube disposed in a display portion of the mobile computing device, the second portion of the tube including metal and a pump coupled to the tube and operable to circulate the fluid in the tube. A mobile computing device including a base portion; a display portion; a tube to encase a fluid, a first portion of the tube disposed in the base portion, a second portion of the tube disposed in the display portion and including metal, the base portion and the display portion coupled by a hinge; and a pump coupled to the tube and operable to circulate the fluid in the tube.
US09639122B2 Stretchable display
A stretchable display is disclosed. In one aspect, the stretchable display includes a display unit that is stretchable and a rotation member arranged below the display unit and connected to the display unit. The rotation member is configured to tension the display unit. The stretchable display further includes a fixing member arranged below the rotation member and defining a rotation axis. The rotation member is further configured to rotate about the rotation axis so as to tension the display unit.
US09639117B2 Electronic device having expansion interface
An electronic device having an expansion interface includes a shell, a button, a circuit board, switch and a voltage adjusting unit. The shell defines a through hole. The button is movably received in the through hole. The button includes a first electroluminescent portion and a second electroluminescent portion. The switch is electrically connected to the circuit board and is activated by the button to control whether to load a same voltage to the first electroluminescent portion and a second electroluminescent portion to drive them to emit light of equal brightness. The voltage adjusting unit changes the voltage loaded to the second electroluminescent portion to drive the second electroluminescent portion to emit light having a different brightness from the light emitted from the first electroluminescent portion when an expansion device is connected to the expansion interface.
US09639109B2 Input unit for an operating element that can be actuated by pressure or rotation
An input unit for an operating element that can be actuated by pressure or rotation includes a housing having a recess portion, a carrier having a detent projection, and an input member (e.g., an actuator). The carrier is displacable relative to the housing. The input member is rotatably mounted on the carrier to be rotatable. The input member has a body with a cavity therein and a detent curve body movably arranged in the cavity such that the detent curve body is displaceable relative to the body of the input member. A first end of the detent curve body has a detent curve engaging the detent projection of the carrier. A second end of the detent curve body is adjacent to the housing part and has projections. The input member further has a spring that acts on the detent curve body to press the detent curve against the detent projection.
US09639108B2 Power supply circuit
A power supply circuit 1 includes an output circuit that generates an output voltage by performing a power supply operation based on an input voltage, an output terminal to which, after start-up of the power supply operation, the output voltage is applied, and a control circuit that causes a test current to flow between the output terminal and a ground. The control circuit detects, as a test voltage, a voltage at the output terminal in a test period in which the test current is caused to flow. When the test voltage at a predetermined judgment timing is lower than a judgment voltage, the control circuit judges that an output capacitor is connected and thus enables the power supply operation.
US09639099B2 Method for regulating the room temperature in a room or in a group comprising multiple rooms, and apparatus for carrying out the method
The present disclosure provides methods and systems for regulating the room temperature in a room or in a plurality of rooms, the room temperature can be regulated by regulating the mass flow of a heat-carrying fluid flowing through a heat exchanger according to a determined current room temperature. In accordance with some embodiments, a temperature sensor in the room can be dispensed that can determine the current room temperature, in each case the mass flow of the heat carrying fluid through the heat exchanger and the flow temperature prevailing at the input to the heat exchanger and the return temperature prevailing at the output of the heat exchanger are measured, and that a temperature assigned to the determined values of the mass flow, the flow temperature and the return temperature is output as the current room temperature and used for regulation.
US09639098B2 Thermostat and messaging device and methods thereof
Thermostat and messaging devices (TMDs) and associated platforms for providing monitor and control functionality are disclosed. A TMD can be in communication with one or more sensors to facilitate intelligent heating and cooling as well has home automation. The TMD can facilitate communication with a plurality of different networking protocols such that it can receive communication signals from a plurality of different sensors and devices that operate using varying communication techniques. The TMD can also be configured to assist with geolocating a person who is calling for emergency services.
US09639097B2 Component temperature control by coolant flow control and heater duty cycle control
Methods and systems for controlling temperatures in plasma processing chamber for a wide range of setpoint temperatures and reduced energy consumption. Temperature control is coordinated between a coolant liquid loop and a heat source by a control algorithm implemented by the plasma processing module controller. The control algorithm may completely stop the flow of coolant liquid to a temperature-controlled component in response to a feedback signal indicating an actual temperature is below the setpoint temperature. The control algorithm may further be based at least in part on a feedforward control signal derived from a plasma power or change in plasma power input into the processing chamber during process recipe execution.
US09639094B2 Electronic pneumatic pressure controller
An electronic device for controlling pressure regulators, enabling remote adjustments and corrections for pressure drops and supply line expansion is provided.
US09639087B1 Emergency landing using inertial sensors
An emergency landing procedure that includes a sequence of control settings is continuously generated. An aircraft is landed, including by using the sequence of control settings and a set of one or more inertial sensors to control an actuator.
US09639083B2 System and method for programming workpiece feature inspection operations for a coordinate measuring machine
A system and method are provided for programming workpiece feature inspection operations for a coordinate measuring machine. An editing environment is operated to display a 3-dimensional workpiece representation comprising a first surface feature of a workpiece. A first feature surface sampling pattern is created having at least one pattern parameter adjusted to correspond to a first surface feature of the workpiece. A corresponding representation of the sampling pattern includes operative sampling pattern locations located proximate to the first surface feature. User operations in the GUI further adjust pattern parameters of the sampling pattern. The further adjustment of the pattern parameters simultaneously affects a plurality of the sampling pattern locations. The sampling pattern representation may include various types of operative and inoperative sampling pattern locations, which may be displayed in a manner that distinguishes them from one another, such as by being represented with different colors, shapes or patterns.
US09639072B2 Temperature gradient reduction using building model and HVAC blower
A system is provided for reducing temperature gradients within a building. For example, temperature gradients between the air temperature measured at a thermostat controlling an HVAC system and the air temperature in one or more rooms of the building can be reduced. A model of the building is created by measuring the temperature gradient between the thermostat and one or more rooms of the building. This model is used to determine the operation of the HVAC system so as to reduce one or more of such temperature gradients.