| Document | Document Title |
|---|---|
| US09774583B2 |
Providing secure seamless access to enterprise devices
In an embodiment, a system includes at least one processor having at least one core including a reservation control logic to receive a request from a user device for access at a future time to an enterprise device. The reservation control logic may grant a reservation to the user device to enable the access and schedule delivery of an authentication message to the user device including a credential to enable the user device to set up an ad hoc wireless connection with the enterprise device at the future time, without involvement of a user of the user device. Other embodiments are described and claimed. |
| US09774580B2 |
Mesh network with personal pre-shared keys
A mesh network with a network-wide pre-shared key (PSK) that can be updated is described. The PSK can be used to establish secure communication between arbitrary electronic devices in the mesh network. In order to prevent electronic devices from being inadvertently ‘stranded,’ i.e., unable to securely communicate with other electronic devices in the mesh network when the PSK is updated, pairs of electronic devices in the mesh network establish personal PSKs (PPSKs). In particular, after securely associating with each other, a given pair of electronic devices may have used the current PSK to authenticate and encrypt their communication. Then, the given pair of electronic devices may define a PPSK, e.g., by exchanging one or more random numbers. If a subsequent attempt at establishing secure or encrypted communication between the given pair of electronic devices fails, these electronic devices may use the PPSK as a backup to establish the encrypted communication. |
| US09774579B2 |
Method for key rotation
A method for key rotation includes initiating key rotation for a user account of a multi-factor authentication platform enabling one-time password authentication using a first symmetric cryptographic key; generating, at an authenticating device, a second symmetric cryptographic key; transmitting, at the authenticating device, the second symmetric cryptographic key to the multi-factor authentication platform; configuring the multi-factor authentication platform and the authenticating device to disable authentication that uses the first symmetric cryptographic key; and configuring the multi-factor authentication platform and the authenticating device to enable authentication that uses the second symmetric cryptographic key. |
| US09774571B2 |
Automatic provisioning of meeting room device
Various embodiments enable meeting room devices to be produced such that, after purchase, the devices can be automatically provisioned by a meeting service. Automatic provisioning takes place over a communication network through a trust relationship that is established between the meeting room device and the meeting service. |
| US09774566B2 |
Communication method and mobile electronic device using the same
A communication method and a mobile electronic device are provided. The communication method includes: receiving a message packet; determining whether or not the received message packet is an abnormal packet; and when the received message packet is determined out as the abnormal packet, increasing a count value; keeping to receive the message packets and determine whether or not the received message packet is an abnormal packet; and when the count value is greater than an upper-limit value, re-deriving an IP address. |
| US09774563B2 |
Packet transmission method, apparatus, and system in multicast domain name system
A packet transmission method, apparatus, and system in a multicast domain name system (mDNS), which are used to resolve a network bandwidth waste problem due to much service information needs to be transmitted in an mDNS-based network. The method includes, converting, by a relay, a known-answer service query packet that is sent by a user terminal and used to query service information in an mDNS, into a unicast known-answer service query packet and sending the unicast known-answer service query packet to a gateway, receiving, by the relay, a unicast known-answer service answer packet that is sent by the gateway and includes service information unknown to the user terminal, and converting, by the relay, the unicast known-answer service answer packet into a multicast known-answer service answer packet and sending the multicast known-answer service answer packet to the user terminal. |
| US09774562B2 |
System and method for automatic configuration of domain names by third parties
Systems and methods for creating custom domain name links are provided. At least one server communicatively coupled to a network receives a request to create a custom domain name link to a third party service. The request identifies a custom domain name. The at least one server retrieves, from a third party service link database, an entry for the third party service specifying how to create the custom domain name link for the third party service and the at least one server creates the custom domain name link in accordance with the entry retrieved from the third party service link database. |
| US09774561B1 |
Customized electronic document distribution
A distribution host may receive an electronic document from a sender device that includes content distribution designations. Based on the content distribution designations, the distribution host may determine that a portion of the electronic document is designated for distribution to multiple recipients. The distribution host may further determine that an additional portion of the electronic document is designated for distribution to a particular recipient of the multiple recipients. Accordingly, the distribution host may distribute the portion as a version of the electronic document to the recipient devices of one or more recipients that does not include the particular recipient. Further, the distribution host may distribute the portion and the additional portion as an additional version of the electronic document exclusively to a recipient device of the particular recipient. |
| US09774560B2 |
People lists
Enabling management of contacts includes passively recognizing a set of contacts that are, as a group, repeatedly sent communications by a member, bringing the member's attention to the recognized set of contacts, enabling the member to name the set of contacts, and enabling the member to address future communications to the set of contacts through use of the name associated by the member with the set of contacts. |
| US09774557B2 |
Method for automated updating status related data on social networking platform
The various embodiments herein disclose a method for sharing a status update automatically over a social networking platform. The method comprises storing a registered user's schedule over a timeline of the social networking platform and seeking permission for tracking a registered user's personal devices. The schedule is modified and saved by the registered user manually. The method further comprises tracking a user activity through a combination of plurality of components installed in the personal devices. The tracking is done in an online as well as an offline mode. The method further comprises analyzing a variation in the user activity and testing a priority of variation in the user activity. The method further comprises sending suggestion to user to attach or post the user activity over the social networking platform and uploading and posting the user activity over the timeline as well as a homepage of the respective user's profile. |
| US09774555B2 |
Computer implemented methods and apparatus for managing objectives in an organization in a social network environment
Disclosed are methods, apparatus, systems, and computer readable storage media for managing objectives in an organization in a social network environment. A server may receive objective data and task data associated with the objective. A message associated with the objective may be published on a social network feed. |
| US09774554B2 |
Device management system, device management apparatus, communication device, and control methods therefor, and storage medium
A device management system including the device management apparatus and a plurality of communication devices capable of communicating with the device management apparatus via the network stores destination information received from a first communication device and first identification information corresponding to the first communication device in association with address information, transmits the address information according to the destination information, transmits screen information to a second communication device in response to access from the second communication device using the address information, stores, when it receives service-related information input according to the screen information from the second communication device, the service-related information in association with second identification information for uniquely specifying the service-related information and the first identification information corresponding to the address information, and notifies the first communication device of the second identification information stored in association with the first identification information. |
| US09774552B2 |
Methods, servers and systems for verifying reported locations of computing devices
Methods, servers and systems are disclosed for authenticating location information in a message from a sending computing device to a receiving computing device. Location information of a sending computing device at an actual location may be incorporated in the message. Location information in a message may be compared with information regarding the actual location of the sending computing device maintained by a server. The location information in the message may be authenticated based on the comparison. |
| US09774550B2 |
Message sending and forwarding method, apparatus, and system
Method and device of processing messages on a social network are disclosed. The method includes: receiving a parameter message from a first social network account, the parameter message specifying a template identifier for a first message template, and a respective value of at least one parameter of the first message template; in accordance with the template identifier specified in the parameter; message, identifying the first message template from a plurality of stored message templates; in accordance with the identified first message template and the value of the at least one parameter, composing a template message; and sending the composed template message to at least a second social network account as a message originated from the first social network account. |
| US09774549B2 |
Method and apparatus for displaying instant messaging (IM) message
A method and an apparatus for displaying an Instant Messaging (IM) message are provided. The method includes, when the size of a picture to be processed is greater than the size of a container, setting the display size of the picture to be processed to be not greater than the size of the container; and drawing the picture to be processed according to the set display size. As such, a picture to be processed having the size greater than the container size can be adapted to the size of a container in IM software, and the IM software can directly display the entirety of the picture that is originally greater than the container size. |
| US09774547B2 |
Segmentation and reassembly of network packets for switched fabric networks
Reassembly of member cells into a packet comprises receiving an incoming member cell of a packet from a switching fabric wherein each member cell comprises a segment of the packet and a header, generating a reassembly key using selected information from the incoming member cell header wherein the selected information is the same for all member cells of the packet, checking a reassembly table in a content addressable memory to find an entry that includes a logic key matching the reassembly key, and using a content index in the found entry and a sequence number of the incoming member cell within the packet, to determine a location offset in a reassembly buffer area for storing the incoming member cell at said location offset in the reassembly buffer area for the packet for reassembly. |
| US09774545B2 |
Method of operating a network according to MMRP standard
A method for operating a network having a plurality of terminals and a plurality of switches connected to one another via data lines has the first step of transmitting a multicast MMRP data packet from a data source via at least one of the switches and one of the data lines to a predetermined terminal intended to receive the multicast data packet. Then one port of a switch to which is connected another terminal that is not MMRP-capable is fed the multicast address as a static entry of the terminal connected to the one port. The multicast address is then transmitted to the at least one switch connected thereto. |
| US09774539B1 |
Systems and methods for reconfiguring data flow across network channels
The disclosed computer-implemented method for reconfiguring data flow across network channels may include (1) monitoring, in a replication environment, a first network channel and a second network channel that transmit replication data, where the first network channel transmits the replication data using a first network protocol and the second network channel transmits the replication data using a second network protocol that is different than the first network protocol, (2) identifying one or more characteristics of the first and second network channels, (3) obtaining one or more performance metrics of the first and second network channels, and (4) reconfiguring data flow within the replication environment based on both the characteristics and the performance metrics of the first and second network channels. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed. |
| US09774536B2 |
Link status buffer flow control management
Generally, this disclosure describes techniques for buffer management based on link status. A host platform may include a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) and a network controller that includes a buffer used by the BMC. When a network controller is in a lower power link state, the BMC may attempt to send data to the link partner which causes the network controller to transition out of the low power state. However, this transition may take longer than the buffer's ability to buffer the incoming flow from the BMC. Accordingly, to avoid the need for larger buffer space, a buffer manager is used to provide flow control management of the buffer based on link status. |
| US09774535B2 |
Flow control for powerline communications
A method of powerline communications in a powerline communications (PLC) network including a first node and at least a second node. The first node transmits a data frame to the second node over a PLC channel. The second node has a data buffer for storing received information. The second node runs a flow control algorithm which determines a current congestion condition or a projected congestion condition of the data buffer based on at least one congestion parameter. The current congestion condition and projected congestion condition include nearly congested and fully congested. When the current or projected congestion condition is either nearly congested or fully congested, the second node transmits a BUSY including frame over the PLC channel to at least the first node. The first node defers transmitting of any frames to the second node for a congestion clearing wait time. |
| US09774533B2 |
Mechanisms to support service chain graphs in a communication network
A novel scheme is defined for supporting service graphs to allow specific service functions to be applied to selected subsets of packet flows. According to one or more embodiments, a service graph is modeled as chains or sequences of “flow steering entities” and “service instances.” According to an embodiment, a flow steering entity (FSE) is configured to identify the flow, and select the next hop service instance in the chain. After a service instance returns the flow packet, the FSE steers the packet to the next FSE in the graph. An initial FSE is used to select matching traffic to enter the service graph. Wherever path forking and merging is required in the service graph, additional classifiers are positioned with the FSE to steer a subset of traffic along different paths of service function instances. |
| US09774530B2 |
Mapping of address and port (MAP) provisioning
Mapping of Address and Port (MAP) provisioning of a device to enable exchange of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) packets with an IP version 6 (IPv6) domain is contemplated. The MAP provisioning may be sufficient to facilitate provisioning of a router to process IPv4 packets for exchange with the IPv6 domain of an associated modem. |
| US09774529B2 |
Method and apparatus for transmitting data frame
The embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for transmitting a data frame. The method comprises: acquiring at least one address of a destination address (DA) and a source address (SA), that are corresponding to data transmission direction information; determining, according to the data transmission direction information, an address field for carrying at least one address of the DA and the SA; and sending the data frame comprising the address field to a receiver. The method and apparatus for transmitting a data frame disclosed by the present invention can reduce overhead of an MAC frame header, improve transmission efficiency, and enable a station to acquire DA and/or SA of a data frame. |
| US09774528B2 |
Method, apparatus and system for transmitting and receiving data packets
A method and an apparatus for routing data packets. The solution in a communication network including a set of nodes, storing information regarding nodes of the network; and when transmitting a data packet to a destination node in the network, determining and including in the data packet the recipient identification; determining and including in the data packet the direction of the destination node in the network; determining and including in the data packet a hop count indicator indicating the number of node-to-node hops to the destination node; setting in the data packet the transmission direction indicator equal to a value corresponding to direction down and transmitting the packet. |
| US09774526B2 |
Operating a port shared by multiple controllers in a software defined network
An instruction from a controller is received at an application executing using a processor, the controller being a Software Defined Network (SDN) controller operating in an SDN. A determination is made, using the processor, that the instruction applies to an identifier located in a data packet, the data packet passing through a shared port, the shared port being shared by the controller and a concurrently operating second controller in the SDN. A period of effectiveness of the instruction is initialized. A command is sent to a switch to apply a network setting configured by the controller to handle the data packet, where the shared port is located at the switch in the SDN. |
| US09774518B1 |
Methods and apparatus for a distributed control plane
In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a first network control entity configured to be implemented at a first edge device. The first network control entity is configured to receive a control packet from a peripheral processing device via a tunnel that is between the peripheral processing device and the first network control entity and that includes at least a portion within a second edge device. The first network control entity is configured to determine routing information associated with the peripheral processing device based on the control packet. The first network control entity is configured to send the routing information to a second network control entity such that the second network control entity routes a data unit addressed to the peripheral processing device to the second edge device without sending the data unit to the first edge device. |
| US09774516B2 |
Trace route command execution from a virtualized environment
A traceroute command may be used to diagnose a computer network or provide additional information regarding a computer network. A traceroute command may be provided to applications executing within a virtualized environment by allowing commands to be passed from the virtualized environment to a host operating system through a network interface. The traceroute command may be executed by the host operating system, and network information returned to the application in the virtualized environment. |
| US09774514B2 |
Automatic health-check method and device for on-line system
The invention provides an automatic health check method for on-line system, comprising the following steps: receiving current status data of the on-line system from the on-line system; updating historical status statistical data based on the current status data, wherein the historical status statistical data is a statistical result for the status data of the on-line system until a previous moment from the moment when the on-line system starts to operate; transmitting the updated historical status statistical data to the on-line system; and the on-line system determining whether it is operating normally according to the updated historical status statistical data. In addition, the present invention correspondingly provides an automatic health check apparatus for on-line system. The method and apparatus according to the present invention can provide an effective and reliable health check mechanism for an on-line system such as bank POS transaction system. |
| US09774513B2 |
Dynamic discovery of applications, external dependencies, and relationships
A monitoring system is arranged for automatically and dynamically discovering local applications running on servers in an enterprise-scale service environment as well as discovering external resources (both partitioned and non-partitioned resources) that the local applications use. The discovered objects and their dependencies are instantiated into a health map and the map is dynamically updated as applications and resources are added to and deleted from the enterprise-scale service environment. Health indicators such as events, performance counters, synthetic transactions, and SysLog and SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) service events for the mapped objects are monitored. The monitored health indicators are attributed to either the health of a local application or that of an external resource. Upon detection of a fault, the health map enables performance of root cause analyses and determination of the impact of the fault on the objects in the environment so that appropriate alerts can be raised. |
| US09774512B1 |
Measuring server availability and managing traffic in adaptive bitrate media delivery
Computer-based systems and methods measure saturation of a media server that transmits media content to a plurality of users via data links. The data buffers of the media server are sampled to ascertain whether they contain data to be transmitted to each buffer's associated destination at the time of the sampling. A saturation score is calculated based on the sampling, such as based on the number of non-empty data buffers. This saturation score can be used in routing new connection requests for the media server. The media server's saturation score can be compared to a threshold saturation score for the media server, with the difference between the scores indicating a present available bandwidth of the data links of the media serve. This process can be repeated periodically so that the saturation score of the media server is continuously updated. |
| US09774510B2 |
Facilitating collection and display of information related to data usage by a plurality of mobile devices
A method for facilitating collection and display of information related to data usage by a plurality of mobile devices is disclosed. The method involves receiving first quantity information and sending a first identifier associated with the plurality of mobile devices and first activity-related information including the first quantity information to a server. The method also involves receiving group activity-related information associated with the plurality of mobile devices, the group activity-related information derived at least in part from second activity-related information including second quantity information, and producing signals for causing a display to display information derived from the group activity-related information. A method of associating a plurality of mobile devices in a group is also disclosed. Systems and computer-readable media for facilitating collection and display of information related to data usage by a plurality of mobile devices and for associating a plurality of mobile devices in a group are also disclosed. |
| US09774509B1 |
Performance tuning of it services
Methods and systems are disclosed for modeling the performance of an IT service. The methods and systems take a holistic approach by treating the entire IT service instead of the individual nodes. In one implementation, the methods and systems provide a tool for mapping the performance of the IT service based on throughput and response time data. The tool may then be used to develop a mathematical model for the performance of the IT service. System parameters that may impact the performance of the IT service may be correlated to variables in the model. The model may then be used to predict the impact changes may have on the performance of the IT service. Performance maps for the same IT service may be compared over time to discern any departure from a norm. A database of performance maps may be established for a particular industry to facilitate intra-industry comparisons. |
| US09774505B2 |
Content delivery in wireless wide area networks
A set of edge servers in a content delivery network is selected to serve a set of users. Selection comprises constructing a trellis having a number of states at least equal to a number of edge servers in the edge-server set, wherein each state comprises a plurality of nodes, each node corresponding to one of a plurality of candidate edge servers. A fitness function is calculated based on network performance improvement and cost corresponding to each candidate edge server. A trellis-exploration algorithm is used to select the edge-server set by identifying a path through the trellis having optimal path metrics derived from the fitness function. The algorithm provides interconnects between each node of a first state to each of a plurality of nodes in a next state, and for each node in a state, a path is selected that corresponds to a best path metric that connects to a node in a previous state, wherein the best path metric comprises the fitness function. Data signals are transmitted to each edge server in the edge-server set for storage, which are then delivered to requesting client devices. |
| US09774502B2 |
Systems and methods for combined software defined networking and distributed network control
A hybrid control method for a network includes operating edge switches under software defined networking control, wherein each of the edge switches is communicatively coupled to a controller for the software defined networking control; operating non-adjacent switches communicatively coupling the edge switches together under distributed control, wherein the non-adjacent switches are not coupled to the controller; and utilizing the controller to route traffic between the edge switches through the non-adjacent switches in a hybrid control scheme including both the software defined networking control and the distributed control. |
| US09774501B2 |
System and method for ensuring subscriber fairness using outlier detection
Various embodiments of the present invention relating to a subscriber fairness solution are disclosed. The subscriber fairness solution contemplates a variety of improved techniques for using a flow-based statistical collection mechanism to monitor subscriber usage across various attributes (e.g., subscriber byte count, flow count, etc.) and maintain subscriber usage information for different time frames. In embodiments, the subscriber fairness solution includes a detection phase and a mitigation phase. In the detection phase, “outliers,” or subscribers who are using more than their fair share of network resources, are identified. In the mitigation phase, appropriate action is taken to resolve the constraints on the network resources, caused by these outliers. The subscriber fairness solution may be embodied in hardware, software, or a composite approach of both hardware and software. |
| US09774497B2 |
System and method for implementing internet of things (IOT) remote control applications
A platform, apparatus and method for Internet of Things Implementations for controlling electronic equipment. For example, one embodiment of a system comprises: an Internet of Things (IoT) hub comprising a network interface to couple the IoT hub to an IoT service over a wide area network (WAN), and at least one IoT device communicatively coupled to the IoT hub over a wireless communication channel, the IoT device comprising an infrared (IR) or radio frequency (RF) blaster to control specified electronics equipment via IR or RF communication with the electronics equipment, the IoT device further comprising at least one sensor to detect current conditions associated with the operation of the electronics equipment, the IoT device to transmit an indication of the current conditions to the IoT hub over the wireless communication channel; and the IoT hub comprising a remote control code database to store remote control codes usable to control the electronics equipment, the IoT hub further comprising control logic to generate remote control commands using the remote control codes, the remote control commands selected by the control logic in response to the current conditions and input from an end user provided via a user device, the IoT hub to transmit the commands to the IoT device over the wireless communication channel; and the IoT device to responsively transmit the commands to the electronics equipment to control the electronics equipment. |
| US09774494B2 |
Method, node, and system for detecting performance of layer 3 virtual private network
Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, apparatus, and system for detecting performance of a layer 3 virtual private network. A first node creates an OAM instance according to OAM configuration information set by a user, and sends the OAM configuration information to a second nodet; the second node creates an OAM instance according to the OAM configuration information; and the first node performs OAM detection by sending an OAM packet to the second node and/or receiving an OAM packet from the second node, where the sending and/or receiving is implemented by using the OAM instance of the first node. According to the present invention, not only an OAM configuration procedure is simplified and manpower is saved, but also consistency of OAM configuration at two ends can be ensured. In addition, a configuration delay in this dynamic configuration manner may be ignored. |
| US09774486B2 |
Registration of SIP-based communications in a hosted VoIP network
Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for implementing a registrar component or functionality in a telecommunications network. In one implementation, the registrar functionality is handled at a Session Border Controller (SBC) or Network Address Translation (NAT) Traversal Manager (NTM) device of the network to alleviate an application server of the network from performing the registration function. |
| US09774485B2 |
Multiplex modules for carrier aggregation receivers
Multiplex modules for use in carrier aggregation receivers are disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus includes an LNA multiplexer configured to receive a plurality of RF signals at a plurality of input terminals and to combine the RF signals into a combined RF signal that is output from an output terminal. The apparatus also includes an LNA demultiplexer configured to receive the combined RF signal at an input port that is connected to the output terminal and to distribute the combined RF signal to a plurality of output ports. |
| US09774484B2 |
Receiver controller
A receiver controller configured to control a receiver in receipt a signal comprising a series of time-consecutive symbols is disclosed. Each symbol includes an FFT window and a guard interval and the guard interval includes a cyclic prefix or postfix. The receiver controller is configured to control the receiver to acquire at least one signal parameter. The receiver controller is also configured to, based on a plurality of samples of the received signal, each sample having a predetermined sample length, determination of a plurality of correlation values based on pairs of the plurality of samples, said pairs of samples separated in time by a predetermined separation number of samples. |
| US09774483B2 |
Communication apparatus, communication system, communication method, and terminal apparatus
A communication apparatus includes a receiver that can receive data that has been divided among multiple communication carriers and transmitted, and that has multiple communication modes, each using a different number of communication carriers for reception; an acquirer that acquires information indicating a change in the communication volume of the receiver; and a switch that switches the communication mode of the receiver, based on the information acquired by the acquirer. |
| US09774479B2 |
Communicating data using backscatter modulation
A system and method for full duplex wireless communication is disclosed. The system utilizes backscatter modulation of a first signal received by a guest device from a basestation to transmit a guest device message to a host basestation. The guest device utilizes the same antenna to both receive and transmit message signals. |
| US09774478B1 |
Low-skew channel bonding using phase-measuring FIFO buffer
Circuits and methods are disclosed for low-skew bonding of a plurality of data channels into a multi-lane data channel. In one embodiment, phase-measuring first-in first-out buffer circuits buffer pre-buffer parallel data signals and generate phase-measurement signals. A channel-bonding control circuit receives the phase-measurement signals and generates bit-slip control signals. Transmission bit-slip circuits slip integer numbers of bits based on the bit-slip control signals. Bypass registers may be used when the integer number of bits is greater or equal to the parallel width of a lane. In another embodiment, the channel-bonding control circuit receives the phase-measurement signals from the phase-measuring FIFO buffer circuits and generates clock-slip control signals. Clock slip circuits controllably slip parallel clock signals by integer numbers of unit intervals of a serial clock signal. Various other aspects, features, and embodiments are also disclosed. |
| US09774476B2 |
Adaptive signal linearization
According to some embodiments, a method of transmitting a radio signal in a first wireless network element comprises receiving, at an input of a radio transmitter, a signal for wireless transmission; selectively performing a signal linearization technique on the signal; amplifying the signal with a non-linear amplifier; and transmitting the amplified signal to a second wireless network element. According to particular embodiments, selectively performing the signal linearization technique comprises determining a modulation order of the received signal and determining the modulation order exceeds a modulation order threshold. |
| US09774474B2 |
Gateway for a motor vehicle and motor vehicle
A connection device for connecting to all bus systems of a motor vehicle is provided for communicating between different vehicle systems and is included in a gateway for the motor vehicle. A computing device designed for controlling the exchange of data between the bus systems is also included in the gateway. The gateway additionally has at least one communication device for wireless Communication in a network having at least one device external to the motor vehicle and the computing device is designed for controlling the data exchange between the several bus systems and the network. |
| US09774469B2 |
System and method for network deployment and management
Systems and methods are disclosed comprising receiving an upstream service signal from a premises. In an aspect, the systems and methods are configured for providing a wireless signal based on the received service signal external to the premises. |
| US09774467B2 |
Distributed intelligent modules system using power-line communication for electrical appliance automation
In a first aspect the invention provides a system that comprising a plurality of electronic modules, each one of the electronic modules configured for enabling automation of an electrical appliance to be connected to the electronic module. Each electronic module comprises at least a communication sub-part configured to enable communication over a power-line network with other modules, at least an acting means configured to act on an electrical voltage to be applied to the electrical appliance, at least a measurement means configured to measure a power consumption to be consumed by the electrical appliance, and an embedded intelligence means configured to process signals providing from or going to the at least one communication sub-part, the at least one acting means and the at least one measurement means. Each one of the plurality of electronic modules is enabled for communication with the others of the plurality of electronic modules over the power-line network by means of its at least one communication sub-part. In each one of the plurality of electronic modules the embedded intelligence means further comprises outgoing message sending means configured to send an outgoing message over the power-line network to at least one of the others of the plurality of electronic modules, ingoing message receiving means configured to receive an ingoing message over the power-line network from at least one of the others of the plurality of electronic modules, identifying means configured to identify an ingoing message relevant to the electronic module, presentation means configured to prepare a presentation message to be sent as outgoing message, the presentation message containing presentation information related to an identity of the electronic module, hierarchical ordering means configured to generate an ordered list of the plurality of modules that comprises the electronic module and the others of the plurality of electronic modules, depending on presentation information from the electronic module and presentation information received from the others of the plurality of electronic modules, and electing means for electing from the ordered list a president electronic module. The presentation means, the hierarchical ordering means and the electing means are configured such that the electing means in each of the plurality of electronic modules find the same president electronic module. The embedded intelligence means are further configured to handle information included an ingoing message sent from the president electronic module according to a determined priority protocol. |
| US09774466B2 |
System and method for broadcasting messages to nodes within a wireless mesh network
A node within a wireless mesh network is configured to forward a high-priority message to adjacent nodes in the wireless mesh network by either (i) transmitting the message during successive timeslots to the largest subset of nodes capable of receiving transmissions during each timeslot, or (ii) transmitting the message on each different channel during the timeslot when the largest subset of nodes are capable of receiving transmissions on each of those channels. |
| US09774462B2 |
Methods and apparatus for requesting message gap fill requests and responding to message gap fill requests
Various embodiments are directed to gap fill methods and apparatus. In an exchange system a device in the exchange may request a message gap fill when it detects that it may be missing one or more messages. The gap fill message may include a range of message identifiers or message counter values identifying the messages which are being requested by the multicast gap fill message. A message logging system included in the exchange may include a plurality of message logging devices. A multicast gap fill message may specify a set of messages to be provided which is very large. Multiple devices may respond to the requesting device with the responding device providing one, multiple or all the messages. Replies to multicast gap fill request messages are sent in the form of unicast messages from directed to the device which sent the multicast gap fill request message. |
| US09774461B2 |
Network switch with dynamic multicast queues
A system for communicating a multicast packet through a network switch fabric is described. The system receives the multicast packet at an input port of the network switch fabric, where the multicast packet is directed to multiple output ports, and where the network switch fabric has a virtual output queue (VOQ)-based architecture, in which each input port maintains a separate VOQ for unicast packets to each output port and one or more VOQs for multicast packets destined to multiple output ports. The system sends the multicast packet by inserting the multicast packet into the one or more VOQs associated with the multiple output ports, so that multicast packets are queued separately from unicast packets. Moreover, the system may optionally dynamically modify a number of the one or more VOQs for the multicast packets based on a number of multicast flows through the network switch fabric. |
| US09774459B2 |
Security system and method using wireless adapters and PoE cameras
A wireless adapter and method for providing a wireless connection to at least one wired security device includes at least one combined data/power physical port to which the wired security device connects. A power supply module receives power from an external power source and a power injector provides power to the combined data/power physical port to thereby power the wired security device. In this way, the wireless adapter supplies both power and data connection at the same physical port/jack of the wired security devices, such as IP security cameras, via an interface cable from the wireless adapter. This configuration has advantages in lowering the manufacturing costs of the cameras and reducing installation costs. Furthermore, the same standard camera can be used for both standard wired connections and wireless connections. |
| US09774457B2 |
Secure time functionality for a wireless device
The present invention is related to a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) for providing advanced security functions. The WTRU includes trusted platform module (TPM) for performing trusted computing operations; and a secure time component (STC) for providing a secure measurement of a current time. The STC and the TPM are integrated to provide accurate trusted time information to internal and external to the WTRU. The STC may be located on an expanded a subscriber identity module (SIM), on the WTRU platform, or two STCs may be used, one in each location. Similarly, the TPM may be located on an expanded SIM, on the WTRU platform, or two TPMs may be used, one in each location. Preferably, the STC will include a real time clock (RTC); a tamper detection and power failure unit; and a time report and sync controller. |
| US09774456B2 |
System and method for interapplication communications
A first executable program on a computer system is enabled to exchange communications with a second executable program on the computer system by determining that the first executable program requests to exchange information with the second executable program, using the second executable program to challenge the first executable program for a digital certificate, and using the second executable program to exchange information with the first executable program when the digital certificate is verified. |
| US09774448B2 |
System and methods for opportunistic cryptographic key management on an electronic device
A system and method for opportunistic cryptographic key management includes generating a security capability assessment on a first electronic device based on security capabilities of the device, selecting a key management mode based on the security capability assessment, generating a cryptographic key based on the key management mode, and storing the cryptographic key based on the key management mode. |
| US09774444B2 |
Decryption engine and decryption method
A decryption engine includes an update circuit, a key generator, a decryption circuit and a detection circuit. The update circuit generates a first updating information based on a premise of that a currently received frame is encrypted, and generates a second updating information based on a premise of that the currently received frame is non-encrypted. The key generator produces a first key according to the first updating information, and produces a second key according to the second updating information. The decryption circuit generates a first decrypted frame according to the first key and the currently received frame, and generates a second decrypted frame according to the second key and the currently received frame. The detection circuit detects whether the currently received frame is decrypted according to the first decrypted frame and the second decrypted frame, to generate an encryption detection result. |
| US09774437B2 |
Component carrier activation and deactivation using resource assignments
This invention relates to a proposal of an uplink resource assignment format and a downlink resource assignment format. Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of the new uplink/downlink resource assignments in methods for (de)activation of downlink component carrier(s) configured for a mobile terminal, a base station and a mobile terminal. To enable efficient and robust (de)activation of component carriers, while minimizing the signaling overhead, the invention proposes a new uplink/downlink resource assignment format that allow the activation/deactivation of individual downlink component carriers configured for a mobile. The new uplink or downlink resource assignment comprises an indication of the activation state of the configured downlink component carriers, i.e., indicate which downlink component carrier(s) is/are to be activated or deactivated. This indication is for example implemented by means of a bit-mask that indicates which of the configured uplink component carriers are to be activated respectively deactivated. |
| US09774433B2 |
Method and device for determining PDSCH transmission resources
The present invention relates to the field of communications, and disclosed are a method and device for determining a PDSCH transmission resource. The method is: in the embodiments of the present invention, a network side determines a mapping relationship between a PDSCH transmission point and a zero-power CSI-RS for UE, and the UE does not receive a PDSCH over a zero-power CSI-RS resource which corresponds to a cell currently transmitting the PDSCH and measures an interference and still receives the PDSCH over a zero-power CSI-RS resource which corresponds to a cell not currently transmitting the PDSCH and measures an interference, thereby ensuring that the UE can accurately measure the interference and further improving the accuracy of CQI estimation; furthermore, the signalling overhead required for realizing the technical solution of the present invention is very small, only some RRC signalings are required, and a dynamic signaling can reuse a current signaling to the greatest extent, in this way, the compatibility of the system is effectively improved and the complexity of implementation is reduced. |
| US09774431B2 |
Hearability improvements for reference signals
Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate providing high reuse for transmitting reference signals, such as positioning reference signals (PRS) and cell-specific reference signals (CRS), to improve hearability thereof for applications such as trilateration and/or the like. In particular, PRSs can be transmitted in designated or selected positioning subframes. Resource elements within the positioning subframe can be selected for transmitting the PRSs and can avoid conflict with designated control regions, resource elements used for transmitting cell-specific reference signals, and/or the like. Resource elements for transmitting PRSs can be selected according to a planned or pseudo-random reuse scheme. In addition, a transmit diversity scheme can be applied to the PRSs to minimize impact of introducing the PRSs to legacy devices. Moreover, potions of a subframe not designated for PRS transmission can be utilized for user plane data transmission. |
| US09774425B2 |
Frame transmitting method and frame receiving method
A frame transmitting method by a device in a wireless communication network is provided. The device generates a symbol using a part of a plurality of resource units having a different number of tones and transmits a frame including the symbol. A length of symbol duration excluding a guard interval in the symbol is 12.8 μs. The plurality of resource units includes a first resource unit having 26 tones and a second resource unit having 52 tones. Two tones in the 26 tones of the first resource unit are used as pilot tones, and four tones in the 52 tones of the second resource unit are used as pilot tones. |
| US09774422B2 |
Method and apparatus for allocating HARQ-ACK channel resources supporting transmit diversity and channel selection
Examples of the present invention provide a method for allocating Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) channel resources supporting transmit diversity and channel selection. The method includes: receiving, by a UE, Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) information and Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) data from a base station through two Carrier Components (CCs); obtaining, by the UE according to specific indication information, Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) channel resources required for transmitting HARQ-ACK feedback information using a transmit diversity technique; and transmitting, by the UE, the HARQ-ACK feedback information on the obtained PUCCH channel resources adopting the transmit diversity technique. According to the method provided by the examples of the present invention, it is possible to allocate HARQ-ACK channel resources to the UE reasonably and avoid waste of channel resources in the premise that channel selection and SORTD technique are supported. |
| US09774416B2 |
Mobile communication terminal
A mobile communication terminal calculates an interference rejection combining reception weight matrix so as to reduce interference with a desired beam by another beam, in which the desired beam is a beam of radio waves transmitted from a desired base station. The mobile communication terminal estimates an interference and noise power expected when the IRC is implemented based on the interference rejection combining reception weight matrix and calculates a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio expected when the IRC is implemented based on the interference and noise power. The mobile communication terminal measures or calculates received signal qualities relative to radio waves received from a plurality of base stations, to compensate for the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio or the interference and noise power. |
| US09774410B2 |
Radiobeacon data sharing by forwarding low energy transmissions to a cloud host
Remote actuation of machines or machine systems is realized by a system for coupling a radiobeacon to a smart device and in turn to a broader network. The smart device is configured as a proximity-actuated “community nodal device” by an application that operates as part of the system. The community nodal device is given instructions to function as a “soft switch”: to automatically “upswitch”, amplify, and broadcast low energy, local area radiobeacon “messages” to a cloud-based server, where the message is interpreted according to rules or policies established by an operator, and a command is transmitted for execution to a remote device. Conventional smart devices generally discard data not addressed to the owner of the smart device. Instead of discarding third party messages, the system preempts their handling, and using a soft switch formed from background resources, anonymously, without access to the message by a user interface of the proxy device, and without waiting for a network query from the host, engineers an “upswitched transmission” of radiobeacon-generated data to a cloud host. Advantageously, confidential sharing of ad hoc community resources results in a negligible load on background resources of the community nodal device. Messages may include a sensor data payload. Bit overloading enables a sensor data payload to be compressed into a few hundred bytes or less. |
| US09774406B2 |
System and method for testing radio frequency wireless signal transceivers using wireless test signals
A system and method for facilitating wireless testing of a radio frequency (RF) signal transceiver device under test (DUT). Using multiple antennas within a shielded enclosure containing the DUT, multiple wireless RF test signals resulting from a RF test signal radiated from the DUT can be captured and have their respective signal phases controlled in accordance with one or more signal characteristics, including their respective signal power levels, their respective signal phases as received, and a signal power level of a combination of the received signals. Such phase control of the captured wireless RF test signals can be performed individually for any DUT tested within the shielded enclosure, thereby providing compensation for the multipath signal environment within the shielded enclosure irrespective of the placement of the DUT, and thereby simulating a wired test signal path during wireless testing of the DUT. |
| US09774405B2 |
Systems and methods for frequency-isolated self-interference cancellation
A system for frequency-isolated self-interference cancellation includes a transmit coupler, that samples an RF transmit signal to create a sampled RF transmit signal having a first RF carrier frequency, an RF self-interference canceller that transforms the sampled RF transmit signal to an RF self-interference cancellation signal, a receive coupler, that combines the RF self-interference cancellation signal with an RF receive signal to form a reduced-interference receive signal, and a frequency shifter. |
| US09774404B2 |
Apparatus and method for recognizing optical connector connection
Provided is an apparatus of recognizing optical connector connection including an IC tag connection unit configured to provide bus power and detect whether the optical connector is connected to an optical adapter, an IC tag configured to store an IC tag ID uniquely given to the optical connector, which is connected to a corresponding optical cable, and to receive the bus power to be driven for bus communication, and an IC tag ID obtaining unit configured to obtain the IC tag ID stored in the IC tag through the IC tag connection unit, when the optical connector is connected to the optical adapter. |
| US09774396B2 |
Use of very high frequency switching power converters for also modulating light output from solid state emitter to communicate data
An example of a power and modulation circuit utilizes a very high frequency switching power converter to supply drive current power to cause a solid state light source to emit light. The power converter is configured to convert power from a power source to direct current to supply via the output to the light source, at least in part by a switching function of the power converter at a very high frequency rate. The circuit, in such an example, also includes a control circuit coupled to be responsive to input data and control operation of the power converter so that the current output to drive the light source modulates the light emitted from the light source to also carry the input data. |
| US09774390B2 |
Fiber link recognition method, device, and system
A fiber link recognition method, device, and system, to recognize different fiber links where the method includes sending, by a link recognition device, a first test optical signal, receiving a second test optical signal that is returned after the first test optical signal is sent to a connection port of a first optical node, acquiring a reflection peak of the second test optical signal on a fiber link, determining a port identifier of the connection port of the first optical node according to the reflection peak of the second test optical signal on the fiber link, and recognizing, the fiber link corresponding to the second test optical signal that is returned by the connection port of the first optical node. The method embodiment is used to recognize a fiber link. |
| US09774384B2 |
Multi-beam antenna system and method for controlling output power thereof
Disclosed are a multi-beam antenna system and a method of controlling an output power thereof. An embodiment of the present invention includes a beam forming network configured to receive a plurality of signals to be a plurality of beams, to divide each of the plurality of signals to a plurality of divided signals, and to output a plurality of excited signals by adjusting and combining amplitude and phase of each of the plurality of divided signals, an MPA set having a plurality of MPAs configured to receive corresponding excited signals among the plurality of excited signals from the beam forming network and to control output powers of the received excited signals according to communication traffic, and a feed array having a plurality of feeds configured to form a multi-beam by being excited according to the amplitude and phase of the excited signals from the MPA set. |
| US09774381B2 |
Transmitter, relay, receiver, and cooperative communication system using network compress-and-forward scheme
A cooperative communication system is provided. The cooperative communication system includes a transmitter that generates a codeword from data blocks based on a long message encoding scheme, and multicasts a signal including the codeword; relays, each relay configured to receive the multicasted signal, encode the multicasted signal using a encoding scheme independent from encoding schemes of other relays to generate a random-mapped signal of the data blocks, and relay the random-mapped signal of the data blocks; and a receiver that receives signals relayed by the relays, and generates the data blocks from the signals based on a joint decoding scheme. |
| US09774379B2 |
Beam-forming in a combined radio cell
The present disclosure relates to radio communication and, more particularly, to beam-forming in a combined radio cell deployment. In one example embodiment, the disclosure presents a method performed by a network node operating in a combined radio cell, wherein the method comprises creating a probing pilot (e.g., a F-CPICH) which is multiplied with a beam-forming vector weight; and transmitting a first radio signal to a UE, the first radio signal comprising the created probing pilot multiplied with the beam-forming vector weight. |
| US09774375B2 |
Method, system, and device for determining pre-coding matrix
A method, system, and device for determining a pre-coding matrix that can be used to determine an integral pre-coding matrix. The method of the embodiments of the present invention comprises: a user device determines a third pre-coding matrix according to a first pre-coding matrix and a second pre-coding matrix; an integral pre-coding matrix is determined according to the determined third pre-coding matrix, the integral pre-coding matrix being a sub-matrix of the third pre-coding matrix; integral pre-coding matrix information is determined according to the integral pre-coding matrix, and is transmitted to the network device. Because the user device determines that the integral pre-coding matrix is a sub-matrix of the third pre-coding matrix, which is determined according to the first pre-coding matrix and the second pre-coding matrix, the integral matrix code can be determined, thereby enhancing data transmission efficiency and system performance. |
| US09774371B1 |
Near field communication device and system
A Near Field Communication (NFC) device includes an NFC processing chip, a voltage conversion chip, a first transformer, and a connector. The NFC processing chip receives and transmits NFC signals. The first transformer is coupled to the NFC processing chip. The connector is coupled to the NFC processing chip and the first transformer, the connector transmits the NFC signals and transmits voltage signals to the first transformer. The first transformer transmits the voltage signal to the voltage conversion chip to supply an operating voltage to the NFC processing chip and the first transformer further transmits alternating current signals to the connector. An NFC system is also provided. |
| US09774370B1 |
Signal feedback circuit in power-line-communication systems
An apparatus is provided for data communication over power lines in a PLC system. The apparatus includes a data-coupling circuit configured to provide data to the power lines for transmission. The data-coupling circuit includes a DC-isolation circuit configured to isolate circuitry of the data-coupling circuit from the power lines. The apparatus also includes a feedback circuit connected to the DC-isolation circuit. The feedback circuit has a power-tap circuit on an endpoint side of the feedback circuit. The power-tap circuit is configured to indicate/estimate of an amount of power, current, and/or voltage provided from the data-coupling circuit through the DC-isolation circuit and to the power lines. Based on the feedback the signal, the strength of a transmitted may be adjusted (e.g., to maintain constant signal strength). |
| US09774364B2 |
Interference phase estimate system and method
A method for operating a transceiver includes generating, by the transceiver, a first signal that includes an estimate of an interference signal leaked from a transmit path to a receive path of the transceiver. Generating the first signal includes obtaining a baseband transmit signal that includes a baseband of a transmit signal transmitted via the transmit path. Generating the first signal also includes calculating a harmonic phase that includes a phase of a harmonic of the baseband transmit signal. Generating the first signal also includes estimating a phase shift in accordance with an envelope of the baseband transmit signal. Generating the first signal also includes determining a phase of the first signal in accordance with the estimated phase shift and the calculated harmonic phase such that interference of a receive signal received via the receive path is reduced according to the first signal. |
| US09774361B2 |
Portable device and method for transmitting signals for communication
A portable device and a method for transmitting signals at maximum data transmission rate are disclosed herein. The method includes checking minimum transmission power levels of first and the second transmission signals to prevent interrupted transmissions; determining the power levels of the first and the second transmission signals having the maximum data transmission rate based on the minimum transmission power levels and highest transmission power levels satisfying the specific absorption rate (SAR) regulations according to a stored SAR table; transmitting the first and the second transmission signals at the respective determined power levels using a main antenna; and transmitting the second transmission signal using an auxiliary antenna. |
| US09774358B2 |
Ultrasonic sensor and electronic device
An ultrasonic sensor includes a plurality of ultrasonic wave elements each including a first electrode and a second electrode, and a control circuit configured to switch parallel connection and serial connection of the plurality of the ultrasonic wave elements. |
| US09774353B2 |
Generating apparatus, generating method and recording medium
Provided is a generating apparatus generating error-correcting code for data packet including: a first determining unit configured to determine a redundancy range for the error-correcting code; a second determining unit configured to determine a combination of a plurality of interleaving lengths indicating an interval of a plurality of data packets for which the error-correcting code is generated; and a generating unit configured to generate the error-correcting code for the data packet, based on a combination of the plurality of interleaving lengths determined by the second determining unit, wherein the second determining unit determines the combination of the plurality of interleaving lengths, such that a total redundancy of the error-correcting codes for the data packets corresponding to the combination of the plurality of interleaving lengths falls within a range of redundancy determined by the first determining unit. |
| US09774350B2 |
Apparatus and method for compressing continuous data
Disclosed are an apparatus and method for compressing continuous data. The apparatus for compressing continuous data may include a data generator configured to calculate differences between adjacent values in original continuous data and generate data based on the calculated differences. |
| US09774340B2 |
Semiconductor device and error correcting method
A semiconductor device includes a comparison circuit that compares an input analog voltage with a plurality of reference voltages, which are arranged in an ascending order in voltage level, to thereby obtain a plurality of comparison signals arranged in an order corresponding to the order of the reference voltage, a first correction circuit that corrects each of the comparison signals using another one of the comparison signals adjacent to the each comparison signal at a first side thereof, to thereby output a plurality of first correction signals arranged in an order corresponding to the order of the comparison signals, and a second correction circuit that corrects each of the first correction signals using another one of first correction signals adjacent to the each first correction signal at a second side thereof, to thereby output a plurality of second correction signals. The second side is different from the first side. |
| US09774334B2 |
Clock recovery circuit, optical module, and clock recovery method
A VCO generates a clock signal. A phase and frequency detector compares phases and frequencies of the clock signal generated by the VCO and an input signal. A charge pump adjusts a control voltage of the VCO based on an output of the phase and frequency detector. An identical digit detector generates a first signal by delaying a rising timing of the input signal by a first time, generates a second signal by delaying a falling timing of the input signal by a second time, detects succession of identical digits in the input signal based on the first signal and the second signal, and stops adjustment of the control voltage by the charge pump when the identical digits succeed by a predetermined number of identical digits or more. |
| US09774333B2 |
Counter circuit
A counter circuit includes a first Johnson counter circuit and a second Johnson counter circuit coupled in cascade. Each Johnson counter circuit includes a clock input, a data input, a first clock data output, a second clock data output and a feedback from the second clock data input to first data input. The clock input of the first Johnson counter circuit is configured to receive an input clock signal. The clock input of the second Johnson counter circuit is connected to the second clock data output of the first Johnson counter circuit. A ripple counter circuit has a clock input and additional clock data outputs. The clock input of the ripple counter circuit is connected to the second clock data output of the preceding Johnson counter circuit. |
| US09774326B2 |
Circuit and method for generating clock-signals
The present disclosure provides circuits and methods for generating clock-signals. An exemplary clock-signal generation circuit includes a delay buffer unit; an inverter unit coupled to the delay buffer unit; a first delay unit having a first NAND Boolean calculation sub unit, a first sub delay unit and a first level shift unit sequentially connected in serial, coupled to the inverter unit and configured for generating a first delayed clock-signal; and a second delay unit having a second NAND Boolean calculation sub unit, a second sub delay unit and a second level shift unit sequentially connected in serial, coupled to the inverter unit and configured for generating a second delayed clock signal. |
| US09774324B2 |
Biasing scheme for high voltage circuits using low voltage devices
Some embodiments include apparatus and methods having a first node to receive a supply voltage, a second node to receive a first bias voltage, a third node to receive ground potential, a first circuit branch coupled between the first and second nodes, and a second circuit branch coupled between the first and third nodes. The first bias voltage is provided to a gate of a first transistor among a plurality of transistors coupled in series. The first and second circuit branches are arranged to provide a second bias voltage to gate of a second transistor among the plurality of transistors. The value of the second bias voltage is based on a value of the first bias voltage. |
| US09774323B2 |
Load drive circuit
A load drive circuit shuts off power supply to a load when a semiconductor relay is off. The load drive circuit includes: the semiconductor relay which is turned off when a predetermined operation voltage cannot be secured; a low-voltage detection circuit which detects that the operation voltage is a predetermined value or less; a negative-voltage generation circuit which generates a negative voltage; and a switch unit which is turned on and connects between the negative-voltage generation circuit and a ground terminal of the semiconductor relay, in a case where the low-voltage detection circuit detects that the operation voltage is the predetermined value or less. |
| US09774315B2 |
Method for increasing active inductor operating range and peaking gain
Methods and apparatus are described for a differential active inductor load for inductive peaking in which cross-coupled capacitive elements are used to cancel out, or at least reduce, the limiting effect of the gate-to-drain capacitance (Cgd) of transistors in the active inductor load. The cross-coupled capacitive elements extend the range over which the active inductor load behaves inductively and increase the quality factor (Q) of each active inductor. Therefore, the achievable inductive peaking of the load is significantly increased, which leads to providing larger signal swing across the load for a given power or, alternatively, lower power for a given signal swing. |
| US09774314B2 |
Surface acoustic wave filter device and duplexer
A surface acoustic wave filter device includes surface acoustic wave filters, one of which includes a longitudinally coupled resonator-type first filter section and a longitudinally coupled resonator-type second filter section. The second filter section is electrically connected in parallel or series with the first filter section on at least one of an input signal side and an output signal side. The first filter section includes a first IDT group including three IDTs. The second filter section includes a second IDT group including three IDTs. Another surface acoustic wave filter includes a third IDT group that is cascade connected to the first filter section and the second filter section and includes IDTs arranged in order in a line in a surface acoustic wave propagation direction. |
| US09774313B1 |
Laterally-doped MEMS resonator
A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) resonator includes a substrate having a substantially planar surface and a resonant member having sidewalls disposed in a nominally perpendicular orientation with respect to the planar surface. Impurity dopant is introduced via the sidewalls of the resonant member such that a non-uniform dopant concentration profile is established along axis extending between the sidewalls parallel to the substrate surface and exhibits a relative minimum concentration in a middle region of the axis. |
| US09774310B2 |
Common mode noise suppressing device
An all-pass filtering module of a common mode noise suppressing device includes first and second differential transmission circuits coupled to a reference node. Each of the first and second differential transmission circuits has an input terminal and an output terminal, and includes: first and second capacitive elements coupled in series between the input terminal and the output terminal; a first inductor coupled between the input terminal and the output terminal; and a third capacitive element and a second inductor coupled in series between the reference node and a common node between the first and second capacitive elements. |
| US09774308B2 |
Automatic gain control in a heterogeneous mobile communication network
The invention refers to performing an automatic gain control—AGC—with respect to a received signal comprising a plurality of consecutive subframes (S1 S12), comprising identifying subframes that are associated to a first subset of the consecutive subframes (S1, S3, S4, S5, S7. S8, S9, S11, S12), performing a first (10) signal power measurement with respect to the received signal during the first subset of the consecutive subframes, and performing the AGC according to the first signal power measurement. The invention further refers to a user equipment and to a corresponding computer program. |
| US09774307B2 |
Power amplifier having biasing with selectable bandwidth
Power amplifier having biasing with selectable bandwidth. In some embodiments, a power amplifier can include an amplifying transistor having a base for receiving a signal to be amplified, and a bias circuit configured to bias the amplifying transistor. The bias circuit can include a reference transistor having a base coupled to the base of the amplifying transistor and a collector coupled to a reference current source. The bias circuit can further include a coupling circuit that couples the collector and the base of the reference transistor. The coupling circuit can include a switchable element configured to allow the coupling circuit to be in a first state to provide a first bandwidth for the bias circuit or a second state to provide a second bandwidth for the bias circuit. |
| US09774304B2 |
Trans-impedance amplifier arrangement and control module
A trans-impedance amplifier arrangement has an input configured to receive an output from a photo-detector, a current monitoring circuit configured in use to provide a current monitor signal dependent on a current through the photo-detector, and an output configured to output said current monitor signal to a control module, said output further configured to receive control information from said control module. A control module is configured to receive the current monitor signal and to provide the control information. |
| US09774300B2 |
Transformer-based doherty power amplifier
Transformer-based Doherty power amplifier (PA). In some embodiments, a Doherty PA can include a carrier amplification path having an output that includes a carrier transformer, and a peaking amplification path having an output that includes a peaking transformer. The Doherty PA can further include a combiner configured to combine the outputs of the carrier and peaking amplification paths into an output node. The combiner can include a quarter-wave circuit implemented between the carrier and peaking transformers. |
| US09774299B2 |
Modifiable signal adjustment devices for power amplifiers and corresponding methods and apparatus
An embodiment of an amplifier system includes a modifiable signal adjustment device with an RF signal adjustment circuit coupled between first and second nodes. The RF signal adjustment circuit includes an adjustable phase shifter and an adjustable attenuator coupled in series with each other. The device also includes a memory and a controller circuit. The controller circuit retrieves a phase shift value and an attenuation value from the memory. The controller circuit then controls the adjustable phase shifter to apply a phase shift corresponding to the phase shift value to an input RF signal received at the first node, and controls the adjustable attenuator to apply an attenuation corresponding to the attenuation value to the input RF signal. Applying the phase shift and the attenuation results in an output RF signal at the second node. |
| US09774293B2 |
Bracing assembly
The invention includes a solar canopy a brace assembly for stabilizing a foldable solar canopy structure including: a first brace clamp comprising a first U-shaped body removable attached to a flat body; a second brace clamp comprising a second U-shaped body removable attached to a flat body, wherein the second brace clamp is adapted to encircle and securely attach to a beam and wherein the first brace clamp is removably attached on one side to the second brace clamp at one side; a third brace clamp comprising a third U-shaped body removable attached to a flat body; and a strut member for attaching the third brace clamp to the second brace claim, removably attached at one end to a side of the third brace clamp at on the opposing end to the side of the second brace clamp opposite the side attached to the first brace clamp, thereby forming a linear assembly. |
| US09774292B2 |
Roofing grommet forming a seal between a roof-mounted structure and a roof
A roof mount assembly mounts a structure to a roof having a rafter and a substrate supported by the rafter. The roof mount assembly includes a piece of flashing positioned on the substrate. The flashing includes a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface and an aperture extending through the flashing. A fastener extends through the flashing aperture. A bracket is connected to the flashing via the fastener, and the bracket is sized to support at least one roof-mounted structure on the roof. A seal is positioned between the flashing aperture and the fastener. The seal is sized to form a water-tight seal with the aperture to inhibit flow of fluid through the aperture. The seal includes a first portion and a second portion, in which the first portion is positioned to abut the flashing first surface and the second portion is positioned to extend through the aperture. |
| US09774290B2 |
Multi-phase multi-pole electric machine
A multi-phase multi-pole electric machine attached to a vehicle. The multi-phase multi-pole electric machine includes rotor, stator with five phase windings, machine controller, and torque sensors. The machine controller controls the flow of current. The torque sensors sense the torque exerted by the vehicle and transmits the information to the machine controller. The machine controller provides four degree of control through injection of five phase currents and thus providing higher torque. |
| US09774288B1 |
Control of switching frequency in electric machine assembly
An electric machine assembly includes an electric machine, an inverter configured to provide pulse-width modulation characterized by a switching frequency and a controller. The controller has a processor and tangible, non-transitory memory on which is recorded instructions for executing a method of controlling the switching frequency to minimize a beat frequency phenomenon. Execution of the instructions by the processor causes the controller to obtain a first function (G1) and a second function (G2) based at least partially on the original pulse ratio (PR0). The original pulse ratio (PR0) is a ratio of the switching frequency and a predefined fundamental frequency. If each of a plurality of conditions are met, a new pulse ratio (PRN) is determined based at least partially on the original pulse ratio (PR0), the first function (G1) and the second function (G2). |
| US09774284B2 |
Rotor position estimation apparatus and methods
Motor drives, methods and estimation systems are presented for estimating a rotor position of a motor load in which four sets of inverter output current samples obtained at four different sample times in a given inverter PWM cycle are converted into a corresponding stationary reference frame current value pairs, and the rotor position estimate is computed according to the stationary reference frame current values. |
| US09774278B2 |
System and method for electric power generation using piezoelectric modules
A piezoelectric power generation system includes a housing and one or more piezoelectric modules disposed within the housing. Each of the one or more piezoelectric modules include a support structure, one or more piezoelectric components, and one or more exciters. The one or more piezoelectric components are disposed on or within the support structure, wherein at least a portion of vibrational motion in the support structure is transferred to the one or more piezoelectric components. The one or more exciters are coupled to the support structure and extend outside of the housing. When the exciters are actuated, they transfer vibrational motion to the one or more piezoelectric components through the support structure. |
| US09774271B2 |
Apparatus and method for multiple primary bridge resonant converters
A converter comprises an input stage coupled to a power source, wherein the input stage comprises a plurality of power switches, a first resonant tank coupled to the input stage, wherein the first resonant tank is of a first Q value, a second resonant tank coupled to the input stage, wherein the second resonant tank is of a second Q value, a transformer coupled to the input stage through the first resonant tank and the second resonant tank and an output stage coupled to the transformer. |
| US09774267B2 |
Power supplies and control methods suitable for sequentially transmitting command bits from secondary side to primary side
A control circuit suitable for a power supply. The power supply has a transformer with a primary winding and a secondary winding magnetically coupled to each other. The transformer is configured to transfer electric energy from a primary side to a secondary side and to build an output power source in the secondary side. The control circuit has a primary-side controller and a secondary-side controller. The primary-side controller is in the primary side, configured to control a current through the primary winding. In the secondary side, the secondary-side controller is powered by the output power source and configured to provide a command code with several command bits sequentially transmitted to the primary-side controller, so as to set an operation mode that the primary-side controller operates in. |
| US09774265B2 |
Wake up management circuit for a power switching converter
A power switching converter includes a switch coupled to an input terminal through a primary winding of a transformer and a control circuit configured to drive the switch to provide a regulated output signal at a secondary winding of the transformer. A wake up circuit is provided to force the switching-on of the switch when the power converter enters in a burst mode. The wake up circuit includes a transmitting section coupled to the secondary winding and a receiving section coupled to an auxiliary winding of the transformer and the control circuit. The transmitting section is configured to provide a wake up signal communicated in a wireless manner to the receiving section when the output signal falls below a threshold value. |
| US09774263B1 |
Power converter with extended hold-up time
According to one aspect, embodiments herein provide an AC-DC converter comprising a rectifier, a capacitor, a DC bus coupled to the capacitor, a plurality of first switches coupled to the DC bus, a plurality of second switches coupled between the rectifier and the first switches, a transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, the primary winding coupled to the plurality of first switches, the plurality of second switches, and the rectifier, and the secondary winding coupled to an output, and a controller configured, in response to a determination that the input AC power is acceptable, to operate the plurality of second switches and the plurality of first switches such that output DC voltage is maintained at a desired output DC voltage level, and operate the plurality of first switches such that a DC bus voltage on the DC bus is maintained at a desired DC bus voltage level. |
| US09774259B1 |
Multistage and multiple-output DC-DC converters having coupled inductors
A multiple-output DC-DC converter has a first and a second DC-DC sub-converter, each DC-DC subconverter may be a buck, boost, or buck-boost converter having a primary energy-storage inductor. Each DC-DC subconverter drives a separate output of the multiple-output converter and typically has a separate feedback control circuit for controlling output voltage and/or current. The converter has a common timing circuit to maintain a phase offset between the first and DC-DC subconverters. The primary energy storage inductors of the first and second DC-DC converter are magnetically coupled to raise an effective ripple frequency of the converter and simplify output filtering. |
| US09774258B2 |
Zero-current crossing detection circuits
Systems and methods for zero-current crossing detection circuits. In some embodiments, a circuit may include a buck converter comprising a high-side switch, a low-side switch, and an inductor; a zero-current crossing detection circuit comprising a reference switch coupled to a current source, where the reference switch is controllable conjointly with the low-side switch; an amplifier coupled to: (a) a first node between the current source and reference switch, where in operation the first node has a positive voltage value during an interval of interest, and a (b) second node between the low-side switch and the inductor, where in operation the second node has a negative voltage value during the interval of interest; and a comparator coupled to the amplifier, the comparator configured to output a flag in response to a detection that a decreasing current through the inductor has reached a predetermined value. |
| US09774255B2 |
Synchronous buck DC-DC converter and method thereof
A synchronous buck direct current to direct current (DC-DC) converter includes a signal output terminal, an output stage circuit, a first comparator, a latch, a control logic circuit, a driver circuit and an on-time control circuit. The output stage circuit provides an output voltage to the signal output terminal according to an input voltage. The first comparator receives a reference voltage and a feedback signal related to the output voltage and outputs a control signal. The latch receives the control signal and a timing signal and outputs an on-enable signal. The control logic circuit receives the on-enable signal and outputs an on-control signal. The driver circuit controls charge/discharge time of the output stage circuit according to the on-control signal. The on-time control circuit receives the on-control signal and the input voltage and outputs the timing signal related to a duty cycle of the output stage circuit. |
| US09774252B2 |
Mode control device, voltage converter, and mode control method
Mode control device, voltage converter, and mode control method. In some embodiments, a voltage converter can include a voltage conversion circuit having an inductor configured to be charged and discharged to facilitate conversion of an input voltage to an output voltage, and a switch configured to allow the inductor to be charged and discharged. The voltage converter can further include a logic drive unit configured to provide a drive signal to the switch to control the charging and discharging of the inductor. The voltage converter can further include a mode control unit configured to provide a mode-switching signal to the logic drive unit to control switching from a continuous control mode to a discontinuous control mode based on a first switching threshold, and from the discontinuous control mode to the continuous control mode based on a second switching threshold that is different from the first switching threshold. |
| US09774251B2 |
Boost converter with improved stability
Systems and methods for providing a boost converter with an improved stability are disclosed. A sample and hold circuit is connected to the output of the boost converter. That sample and hold circuit holds the output voltage before the main switch of the boost converter turns ON and holds the voltage while the main switch is ON. Thus a high frequency oscillation can be eliminated, an increased control bandwidth without stability problems can be achieved, and no complicated additional circuit is required. |
| US09774249B2 |
Power supply apparatus, control apparatus, and program therefor
A power supply apparatus includes: an inductor to which an input voltage is applied; a switching element that switches a current flowing to the inductor on and off so as to cause an induced voltage to be generated; an electrolytic capacitor that smoothes the induced voltage and outputs the voltage to a load; and a control circuit that controls the switching element, wherein the control circuit outputs a second switching control signal obtained by superimposing a degradation detection-purpose signal for detecting degradation of the electrolytic capacitor on a first control signal, detects an output voltage output by switching performed by the switching element controlled by the second control signal, and estimates the degradation of the electrolytic capacitor by using the output voltage detected, a duty cycle of the first control signal, and a frequency component of the degradation detection-purpose signal contained in the output voltage detected. |
| US09774248B2 |
Introducing jitter to a switching frequency by way of modulating current limit
A controller for use in a power converter includes a switch controller coupled to a power switch coupled to an energy transfer element. The switch controller is coupled to receive a current sense signal representative of a drain current through the power switch. The switch controller is coupled to generate a drive signal to control switching of the power switch in response to the current sense signal and a modulated current limit signal to control a transfer of energy from an input to an output of the power converter. A current limit generator is coupled to generate a current limit signal. A jitter generator is coupled to generate a jitter signal. An arithmetic operator circuit is coupled to generate the modulated current limit signal in response to the current limit signal and the jitter signal. |
| US09774247B2 |
Power module cooling system
A direct current (DC) link capacitor operable within an electrically drivable vehicle having a high-voltage battery is provided configured to facilitate output of a DC voltage to an inverter configured to process the DC voltage to facilitate powering an electric motor used to drive the vehicle. The DC link capacitor includes a housing enclosing capacitive elements configured to facilitate capacitive processing between an input and an output, at least a first pair of terminals configured to deliver the DC voltage to the input, the capacitive elements processing the DC voltage received at the input into a capacitive DC voltage, and at least a second pair of terminals configured to output the capacitive DC voltage to the inverter, the inverter relying on the capacitive DC voltage to facilitate powering the electric motor. |
| US09774241B2 |
Power conversion circuit and device
In a multilevel power conversion circuit, output harmonic waves and electromagnetic noise can be reduced as the number of output levels is increased. This, however, increases the number of elements constituting the circuit, causing the degree of difficulty in mounting to increase, cost to increase, and reliability to decrease. It is necessary to provide a circuit configuration, a design method, and a mounting method for obtaining, at low cost, a multilevel power conversion circuit using a large number of elements. A power conversion circuit is used as a unit module and is equipped with input and output terminals each mounted on the main circuit in an open state, wherein the input and output terminals have a mechanism by which the input and output terminals can be flexibly interconnected with the input and output terminals of another same module. A plurality of the highly expandable power conversion circuit modules are used and combined using various connection methods to obtain multilevel power conversion circuits having various configurations. This makes it possible to change power conversion circuit performances and characteristics, such as the number of levels, voltage, current, power, the number of phases, etc., only by reconfiguring the modules and to provide a multilevel power conversion circuit most suitable for various applications at low cost. |
| US09774238B2 |
Linear motor
A linear motor includes a stator and a rotor. The stator includes two opposing plates, a spacing plate positioned between the plates, and a plurality of permanent magnets mounted on the two plates and spaced from each other. The rotor includes a coil portion and an assembly block. The coil portion is positioned between the two plates, and the assembly block is connected to the coil portion and next to the plates. The spacing plate defines a slide groove, and the coil portion includes a plurality of balls mounted at one surface toward the spacing plate. The plurality of balls is partially received in the slide groove in the sliding way. |
| US09774237B2 |
Slide-block-type shaft linear motor platform
A slide-block-type shaft linear motor platform includes a mover and a stator. An air gap is defined between the mover and the stator. The air gap can communicate with outer side via a fluid inlet space. Accordingly, air convection can take place between the heat source, that is, the winding inside the mover and the outer side. Therefore, the heat generated by the winding can be continuously dissipated to prevent the components from deforming due to the heat. In this case, the precision of operation can be ensured and the performance of the motor will not deteriorate due to the heat. |
| US09774235B2 |
Modified wave windings for electric motor
A permanent magnet DC motor with 2P magnetic poles, where P is an integer greater than 1, comprising a stator (100) with a plurality of magnetic components, and a rotor (104) configured to rotate relative to the stator. The rotor may comprise a commutator and a rotor core with a plurality of rotor teeth (106) defining a plurality of rotor grooves (108), wherein the rotor grooves accommodate a plurality rotor windings. In some embodiments, the commutator comprises a plurality m of commutator bars (Z), wherein m is an even number greater than 2. The rotor windings comprises a plurality of coil elements (W), wherein a coil element comprises two ends connecting a pair of commutator bars, such that a first pair of adjacent commutator bars is connected through P−1 serially connected coil elements, and a second pair of adjacent commutator bars is connected through P+1 serially connected coil elements. |
| US09774234B2 |
Permanent magnet and method for manufacturing the same, and motor and power generator using the same
In an embodiment, a permanent magnet includes a composition represented by a composition formula: R(FepMqCur(Co1-sAs)1-p-q-r)z, where, R is at least one element selected from rare earth elements, M is at least one element selected from Ti, Zr, and Hf, A is at least one element selected from Ni, V, Cr, Mn, Al, Si, Ga, Nb, Ta, and W, 0.05≦p≦0.6, 0.005≦q≦0.1, 0.01≦r≦0.15, 0≦s≦0.2, and 4≦z≦9, and a two-phase structure of a Th2Zn17 crystal phase and a copper-rich phase. In a cross-section of the permanent magnet containing a crystal c axis of the Th2Zn17 crystal phase, an average distance between the copper-rich phases is 120 nm or less. |
| US09774229B1 |
Brushless DC motor power tool with combined PCB design
A power tool with a combined printed circuit board (PCB) that reduces internal wiring of the power tool and provides a large amount of air flow to internal components. In some instances, the combined PCB has a surfboard shape and includes a motor control unit and power switching elements (Field Effect Transistors or FETs). The combined surfboard PCB is located above the trigger, but below the motor and drive mechanism. In other instances, the combined PCB has a doughnut shape and is located coaxially with a motor shaft. The combined PCB may be positioned between a doughnut-shaped control PCB and the motor. |
| US09774228B2 |
Drive system in the form of a torque motor
A drive system in the form of a torque motor, comprising a stator (1), a rotor (3) and exciter coils (2) on the stator and permanent magnets (4) on the rotor (3), the magnets being located radially opposite one another across an air gap such that electrical excitation of the exciter coils (2) creates magnetic fields extending across the gap and rotating the rotor (3) relative to the stator (1), characterized in that, with the drive system arranged/oriented for normal operation and with the rotor (3) located on the inside, a lower half of the stator (1) has a smaller number of exciter coils than an upper half and, with the stator (1) located on the inside, the upper half of the stator (1) has a smaller number of exciter coils than the upper half. |
| US09774226B2 |
Component configured to stiffen an electric motor assembly
An apparatus includes a first component and a second component. The second component is located at a first position. The second component includes a first connection to the first component. The first position and the first connection are configured to stiffen an electric motor assembly. |
| US09774225B2 |
Motor used in an environment having a pressure different from atmospheric pressure
A motor (100) is used for driving a member in a container regulated to a pressure different from the atmospheric pressure. The motor (100) includes a rotor (10), a stator (18), and a case (34). The rotor (10) is located in an environment having a pressure different from the atmospheric pressure. The stator (18) is located opposedly to the rotor (10). The case (34) contains the rotor (10) and the stator (18). In the motor (100), a space in the case (34) opposed to the rotor (10) is filled with a resin. |
| US09774217B2 |
System, device and method for configuring and powering a batteryless device
System for configuring and powering a wireless batteryless device, the system comprising: a wireless batteryless device (A) comprising: a built-in harvester (12) for harvesting energy from a first energy source, for example ambient energy, means for communicating wirelessly, —and an external device (B) comprising: —a second power source (16), —means (17) for converting energy supplied by the second power source into energy suitable for being harvested in the harvester of the batteryless device, means (18) for wirelessly supplying the batteryless device with the converted energy via the built-in harvester, and means for communicating with the batteryless device. The invention also relates to an external device therefore, and a method for configuring and powering a batteryless device. |
| US09774216B2 |
System and method for controlling power system
To control a power state of a power system properly according to a communication state. A system for controlling a power system includes a plurality of sensor devices configured to output measurement data; a first control apparatus configured to estimate a first power state of the power system by using the measurement data obtained by the plurality of sensor devices, calculate a first controlled variable according to the estimated first power state, and output the calculated first controlled variable; and at least a second control apparatus configured to execute a predetermined control operation according to either the first controlled variable calculated in the first control apparatus, or a second controlled apparatus calculated in the second control apparatus. When it is not able to obtain part of the measurement data, the first control apparatus estimates the first power state by using predetermined measurement data among the obtained measurement data. |
| US09774213B2 |
Vehicle-mounting structure for wireless power reception device
A vehicle-mounting structure for a wireless power reception device includes: a power-reception-side coil unit (23) including a power-reception-side coil (49) configured to wirelessly receive power transmitted from a power-supply-side coil; and a junction box (13) accommodating a rectifier (45) and mounted on a front part of the upper surface (23a) of the power-reception-side coil unit (23). A floor tunnel part (7) and the power-reception-side coil unit (23) form a closed-cross-section part (61), and the junction box (13) is accommodated in the closed-cross-section part (61). A rear part of the upper surface (23a) of the power-reception-side coil unit (23) is formed as an upward-airflow generation surface (47) configured to generate an upward airflow with heat of the power-reception-side coil (49). |
| US09774208B2 |
NFC assisted wireless charging
A charging system may include a charging apparatus having a controller and a power transmitter. The controller may be configured to initiate authentication of a device by communicating with the device via a first electromagnetic field. The transmitter, in response to the authentication, may be configured to transmit power to the device via a second electromagnetic field. |
| US09774207B2 |
Time-domain multiplexing of power and data
Circuits, methods, and apparatus that may allow an electronic device to control a power adapter. One example may provide an electronic system where an electronic device may control a power adapter through a communication channel. Data transferred in the communication channel may include the temperature of the power adapter, the charging capability of the adapter, and other types of data. In one example, power and data may share the same two wires, and the power and data may be time-division multiplexed. That is, the two wires may convey power and data at different times. Another example may include circuitry to detect a connection between the electronic device and the power adapter. Once a connection is detected, power may be transferred from the power adapter to the electronic device. This power transfer may be interrupted on occasion to transfer data between the power adapter to the electronic device. |
| US09774205B2 |
System and method for monitoring a battery in an uninterruptible power supply
An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) includes an input to receive input power, a power supply circuit coupled to the input, to convert input power received from the input, a battery coupled to the power supply circuit, to provide battery power to the power supply circuit as an alternative to input power, and an output coupled to the power supply circuit, to provide output power derived from at least one of the battery and the input power. The UPS also includes a controller, supported by the housing and coupled to the power supply circuit, the controller being configured to receive, from at least one sensor coupled to the controller, information relating to one or more environmental parameters of the uninterruptible power supply and adjust one or more test parameters of a battery test based on the one or more environmental parameters. |
| US09774204B2 |
Electrically rechargeable, dual chemistry, battery system for use in plug-in or hybrid electric vehicles
An apparatus, method and system are disclosed, relating to a dual-chemistry battery subsystem having different battery chemistries and performance properties, and relating to an algorithm of charging and discharging the battery subsystem. For an EV application, the battery subsystem is a tailored solution that combines two different battery configurations, a first battery configuration and a second battery configuration, to satisfy the unique needs of different driving modes and performance profiles of an EV, such as a typical workday commute versus an occasional extended range trip on the weekend. The present disclosure provides intelligent control and heuristics to maximize useful energy on a wide variety of battery applications. |
| US09774199B2 |
Press-to-hide style USB hand controller
The present invention discloses a press-to-hide USB hand controller, wherein, it comprises a remoter body, where a lifter mechanism is configured in the said remoter body and a USB interface is configured in the said lifter mechanism, while the said USB interface connects to a charging circuit. The said press-to-hide style USB hand controller in the present invention, adds a USB charging function, which can not only fulfill the regular remoter control function, but its USB interface is able to charge almost all intelligent devices in the market, comprising almost all cell phones and tablets, thus when people are using intelligent devices while experiencing home furnishing, they will no longer worry about short of batteries. The telescopic pop-out structure makes the product save more spaces, be used conveniently and coordinate with the whole product structure, which is a more clever design. |
| US09774197B1 |
Battery internal short-circuit detection method based on cell charge balancing
An internal short-circuit detection method for a battery cell of a battery pack is determined using a battery cell charge balancing resistor and switch. The switch is used for connecting or disconnecting the battery cell charge balancing resistor to the battery cell. Evolution of discharging of the battery with the battery cell-charge balancing resistor connected to the battery cell is monitored to measure an internal short-circuit resistance of the battery cell for estimating the state of the internal short-circuit. |
| US09774193B2 |
Battery cell charge balancing
A method and/or system for charge balancing across one or more modules or cells of a large battery system is described. In one embodiment to balance the modules, the battery management system may monitor the voltage output of the one or more modules of the battery system during recharging of the modules and compare the measured voltages to a set cutoff voltage. When one or more of the modules meets or exceeds the cutoff voltage, the battery system may activate an energy dissipating device associated with the one or more modules that meets or exceeds the cutoff voltage to reduce the voltage output from those modules below the cutoff voltage before the recharging signal is reapplied to the modules. Through multiple iterations of monitoring, charging and reducing the energy from the modules above the target, the SOC of each modules becomes balanced near or at the cutoff voltage. |
| US09774192B2 |
Electronic device case
A case for an electronic device is provided. The case includes a battery and electrical circuitry. The electrical circuitry is configured to receive electrical power from a power source connected to the case, supply the electrical power to the electronic device, and monitor an amount of current of the electrical power used by the electronic device. The electrical circuitry is also configured to charge the battery using a remaining amount of current of the electrical power where the sum of the amount of current used by the electronic device and the remaining amount of current do not exceed a current limit for the power source. |
| US09774191B2 |
Real-time control of microgrids with explicit power setpoints: unintentional islanding
The invention provides a method for coping with an unintentional islanding of an electrical distribution grid within a Commelec-type framework for the real-time control of micro-grids, of Resource Agents (RA) controlled by Grid Agents (GA), comprising at least maintain at any time before the unintentional islanding occurs a rating of all resource agents controlled by a same grid agent in view of their ability to be a slack resource, by computing the rating based on a power availability and on a state-of-energy of each resource, the state-of-energy quantifying an amount of energy that may be withdrawn from a potential slack irrespectively of a PQ profile, whereby the PQ profile describes bounds for active and reactive power that a resource can inject or absorb; and a shedding list of all the resources that have to be shed if a current best candidate slack resource is selected, the current best candidate slack resource being the slack resource having the best rating of all resources as determined in the step of rating all resource agents, the shedding list being obtained by computing from an uncertainty of the resources and a predetermined order of shedding priority. The method further comprises continuously monitor islanding conditions via an available real-time state estimation process, and when an islanding condition is detected, causing the grid agent to shed all resources in the shedding list and choose an initial slack based on the rating obtained before the islanding occurrence from the step of rating of all resource agents. |
| US09774190B2 |
Multi-level medium voltage data center static synchronous compensator (DCSTATCOM) for active and reactive power control of data centers connected with grid energy storage and smart green distributed energy sources
Systems and methods for supplying power (both active and reactive) at a medium voltage from a DCSTATCOM to an IT load without using a transformer are disclosed. The DCSTATCOM includes an energy storage device, a two-stage DC-DC converter, and a multi-level inverter, each of which are electrically coupled to a common negative bus. The DC-DC converter may include two stages in a bidirectional configuration. One stage of the DC-DC converter uses a flying capacitor topology. The voltages across the capacitors of the flying capacitor topology are balanced and switching losses are minimized by fixed duty cycle operation. The DC-DC converter generates a high DC voltage from a low or high voltage energy storage device such as batteries and/or ultra-capacitors. The multi-level, neutral point, diode-clamped inverter converts the high DC voltage into a medium AC voltage using a space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) technique. |
| US09774189B2 |
Method and apparatus for multi-phase power conversion having modified burst current
A method and apparatus for power conversion. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a power conversion module for converting a first current to a second current, where the first current or the second current is an AC current having at least two phases. The apparatus also includes a waveform modification module, coupled to the power conversion module, for modifying the AC current to generate a modified AC current, where each phase of the modified AC current has a value of zero at the beginning of an AC line cycle. |
| US09774187B2 |
Coupling-in and coupling-out of power in a branch of a DC voltage network node comprising a longitudinal voltage source
A device for load flow control of a direct current in a branch of a direct current voltage network node having a longitudinal voltage source which has a coupling device for connection or disconnection of electrical power. The coupling device for connection and disconnection of electrical power are connected to a coupling device for connection and disconnection of electric power of a further load flow control device which is disposed in another branch of the same direct current voltage network node. Thus the device can be used economically and flexibly for control of a load flow on or in a network node. |
| US09774186B2 |
Power supply system with multiple output ports and associated methods for output port power management
A power supply system is operable to contemporaneously supply power to multiple output ports when available power from a power source is insufficient to meet maximum potential power requirements of load devices coupled to the output ports. The power supply system includes a system monitor, multiple power converters, and optional temperature sensing circuits, where each power converter supplies power to a respective output port. The system monitor monitors an output power characteristic of the power source, output powers delivered to the output ports, and/or temperatures detected by the temperature sensing circuits. When the system monitor detects an overload condition is approaching based on the monitored parameter or parameters, the system monitor generates control signals which cause the power converters to maintain or reduce their output powers such that the overload condition is abated and two or more output ports continue to deliver output power to their respective load devices. |
| US09774183B2 |
Methods and systems for subsea direct current power distribution
A subsea power distribution module includes an outer vessel defining an interior chamber and a plurality of power modules disposed within the interior chamber. The outer vessel is configured to maintain a pressure within the interior chamber substantially the same as an ambient pressure outside the outer vessel. Each power module includes a pressure vessel defining an interior chamber and a power converter disposed within the interior chamber of the pressure vessel. Each pressure vessel is configured to maintain a substantially constant pressure within the interior chamber of the pressure vessel. |
| US09774182B2 |
Intelligent solid-state integrated crowbar/circuit breaker
An apparatus comprising: a solid-state series switch positioned between a transmitter's high-voltage, direct current (DC) bus and a high-voltage DC power source, wherein the series switch is configured to establish an open circuit between the transmitter and the power source upon receiving a first trip signal; a solid-state shunt switch operatively coupled in shunt between the transmitter high voltage DC bus and a ground, wherein the shunt switch is configured to provide a short-circuit path from the transmitter to ground upon receiving a second trip signal; and a controller electrically coupled to the series and shunt switches, wherein the controller is configured to generate the first and second trip signals in the event that the controller receives a trouble signal from the transmitter, and wherein the first trip signal is sent to the series switch before the second trip signal is sent to the shunt switch. |
| US09774180B2 |
Circuit breaker
A circuit breaker according to the present invention includes a terminal switching unit mounted in an enclosure thereof, and the terminal switching unit accommodates, in a base as an outer casing thereof, a fixed contactor and a movable contactor contactable with and separated from each other, a sliding unit rotatably supporting the movable contactor, and a detection mechanism to detect a fault current. Radiators are provided at side portions of at least one of a contact portion where the movable contactor comes in contact with the fixed contactor, the sliding unit and the detection mechanism, each radiator radiating heat to the outside of the base. This may prevent an increase in temperature of the circuit breaker within a limited space without an increase in costs. |
| US09774178B2 |
Filler assembly for cable gland
A dispenser apparatus for a curable liquid material is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a flexible bag defining a first compartment for accommodating a first component of a curable liquid material, and a second compartment for accommodating a second component of the curable liquid material and adapted to communicate with the first chamber to enable mixing of the first and second components to initiate curing of the curable liquid material. A first clamp temporarily prevents mixing of the first and second components, and an elongate nozzle communicates with the second compartment to dispense the mixed curable liquid material therefrom. A second clamp temporarily prevents passage of the curable liquid material from the second compartment to the nozzle. |
| US09774177B1 |
Cable distribution assembly
A cable distribution assembly is operable to reel in and pay out a cable through a bore. The alignment of the cable in relation to the cable distribution assembly adjusts to restrict contact between the cable and the bole edge. In this manner, friction between the cable and the bore edge, which may damage the cable, is restricted. A base positions adjacent to the bore, aligning the cable in relation to the bore edge. The base includes a concave contour that enables the cable to pass next to the base from a roller that carries the cable through the bore. A shaft drives the roller. Shaft regulators adjustably move horizontally and vertically along a shaft slot in a sidewall to dictate the position of the shaft and the roller that carries the cable. Fasteners secure the shaft regulator into place. A monitoring device provides information on the use of the assembly. |
| US09774173B2 |
Surge protection device and method
A surge protection device includes, in one embodiment, a reversible surge responder operative to engage an inner conductor engager during a protect mode and disengage the inner conductor engager during a normal mode. The surge responder returns to the normal mode from the protect mode without the intervention of an operator or service technician to replace or re-set the surge responder. |
| US09774172B1 |
Multi-laser package using shared optics
An optical device may include a semiconductor laser chip to independently generate four laser beams at different wavelengths. Each laser beam, of the four laser beams, may be directed to a respective optical output of the optical device with a sub-micron level of tolerance of each laser beam relative to the respective optical outputs of the optical device, and each laser beam, of the four laser beams, may be associated with a different optical path from the semiconductor laser chip to the respective optical output of the optical device. The optical device may include a lens to receive each of the four laser beams. The lens may be positioned to direct each laser beam, of the four laser beams, toward the respective optical output of the optical device. The optical device may include an optical isolator to receive each of the four laser beams. |
| US09774170B2 |
Manufacturable laser diode formed on C-plane gallium and nitrogen material
A method for manufacturing a laser diode device includes providing a substrate having a surface region and forming epitaxial material overlying the surface region, the epitaxial material comprising an n-type cladding region, an active region comprising at least one active layer overlying the n-type cladding region, and a p-type cladding region overlying the active layer region. The epitaxial material is patterned to form a plurality of dice, each of the dice corresponding to at least one laser device, characterized by a first pitch between a pair of dice, the first pitch being less than a design width. Each of the plurality of dice are transferred to a carrier wafer such that each pair of dice is configured with a second pitch between each pair of dice, the second pitch being larger than the first pitch. |
| US09774167B2 |
Method of production of a semiconducting structure comprising a strained portion
A method of production of a semiconducting structure including a strained portion tied to a support layer by molecular bonding, including the steps in which a cavity is produced situated under a structured part so as to strain a central portion by lateral portions, and the structured part is placed in contact and molecularly bonded with a support layer, wherein a consolidation annealing is performed, and a distal part of the lateral portions in relation to the strained portion is etched. |
| US09774165B2 |
Vertical external cavity surface emitting laser devices allowing high coherence, high power and large tunability
A laser device is provided for generating an optical wave at a laser frequency, including (i) a semiconductor element having a gain region with quantum wells, the gain region being located between a first mirror and an exit region defining an optical microcavity, (ii) a second mirror distinct from the semiconductor element and arranged so as to form with the first mirror an external optical cavity including the gain region, (iii) a pump for pumping the gain region so as to generate the optical wave, wherein the optical microcavity with the gain region and the external optical cavity are arranged so that a spectral ratio between the Half Width Half Maximum (HWHM) spectral bandwidth of the modal gain and a free spectral range of the external cavity in the range of 2 to 50. |
| US09774163B2 |
Variable repetition rate and wavelength optical pulse source
Variable repetition rate and wavelength optical pulse source, comprising a fixed or variable repetition rate source of supercontinuum pulses; a wavelength tunable optical bandpass filter to filter the supercontinuum pulses at two or more wavelengths, wherein said source of supercontinuum pulses and said wavelength tunable optical bandpass filter are configured such that the optical pulse source can provide variable repetition rate and variable wavelength optical pulses including a series of repetition rates with selected wavelength-varying pulse trains. |
| US09774160B2 |
Femtosecond laser processing system with process parameters controls and feedback
A femtosecond laser based laser processing system having a femtosecond laser, frequency conversion optics, beam manipulation optics, target motion control, processing chamber, diagnostic systems and system control modules. The femtosecond laser based laser processing system allows for the utilization of the unique heat control in micromachining, and the system has greater output beam stability, continuously variable repetition rate and unique temporal beam shaping capabilities. |
| US09774159B2 |
Deflection compensating press tools
Press tools and particularly crimp tools having a C-frame tool head are described which are configured such that upon a typical use load, the C-frame head deflects to a position in which mating components or surfaces are aligned. Also described are C-frame heads that utilize a particular deflection compensating engagement connection between a piston and a ram die holder. In addition, various methods of compensating for deflection are described. The use of such configurations, engagement connections, and methods enables such tools to be formed from lighter weight materials and/or to incorporate weight optimization designs. |
| US09774156B2 |
Electrical connector
An electrical connector may include a cord comprising wires and a plug extending from the cord. The plug may include a first top row of contacts included in a top portion of the plug and a first bottom row of contacts included in a bottom portion of the plug. The first top row of contacts may be coupled to the plurality of wires and include a first top differential signaling pair configured to carry signals according to a first communication protocol, and a second top differential signaling pair configured to carry signals according to a second communication protocol. The first bottom row of contacts may be coupled to the first top row of contacts and arranged to maintain a same arrangement of contacts and electrical paths the first top row of contacts to the plurality of wires when the plug is rotated one hundred and eighty degrees. |
| US09774154B2 |
Wall socket plates with at least a third receptacle and systems and methods thereof
The invention relates generally to a wall socket plate for replacing existing wall sockets in one simple installation step. The wall socket plate obtains electric current from socket terminal screws to power at least a third receptacle by connecting metal tabs on the back side of the wall socket plate to socket terminals, and transferring electric current from the socket terminals to additional receptacles through conductive material, in accordance with the invention described herein. |
| US09774147B1 |
Cable having an integrated antenna
A cable assembly including a first connector, a second connector, and a cable is disclosed that routes power, and/or information between devices. The cable includes a first group of one or more conductors that are mechanically connected to the first connector and the second connector to route power and/or one or more wired information communications between the devices. The cable also includes a second group of one or more that is mechanically connected to the first connector to provide one or more wireless information communications between the first device and the second device or a third device which is not mechanically connected to the cable assembly. |
| US09774143B1 |
High frequency signal communication connector with improved crosstalk performance
A high frequency signal communication connector with improved crosstalk performance includes an insulated housing, a plurality of first terminals, a plurality of second terminals, a conductive shielding layer, and a metal shell. The insulated housing has two inserting slots. The first and second terminals are disposed in the insulated housing, and have front ends respectively extending into the two inserting slots, and rear ends respectively extending outside a bottom of the insulated housing. The conductive shielding layer is provided on the insulated housing, and is disposed with a plurality of through holes. The first and second terminals respectively pass through the through holes, so that the conductive shielding layer covers a part of the first and second terminals. The first and second terminals have grounding terminals contacting with the conductive shielding layer, so that the terminals have better shielding effectiveness to reduce crosstalk interference. |
| US09774140B2 |
Power receptacle having separable plug retaining frame
A power receptacle having at least one separable plug retaining frame includes a shell body, at least one outlet element and at least one plug retaining frame. The shell body as at least one first through hole, the outlet element is fixed on the shell body and has at least one outlet, and the plug retaining frame has at least one first bending portion, at least one second bending portion and at least one first retaining slot outlet element such that at least one outlet of the outlet element is exposed to the first through hole, and the first and second bending portions are held together by the outlet element and the shell body. As a result, a plug strap can be inserted into the first retaining slot, and the color of the plug retaining frame will indicate the function or the group of the outlet element. |
| US09774137B2 |
Mobile terminal
A mobile terminal according to the present invention may include a terminal body having a socket, a connector having a coupling portion capable of being coupled to the socket, and a moving module capable of moving the coupling portion to be drawn out of or inserted into the connector through an opening formed at the connector. The moving module may include an elastic member disposed within the connector and capable of applying an elastic force to the connecting portion in a direction that the connecting portion is inserted into the connector, a first magnetic member coupled to the terminal body, and a second magnetic member coupled to the coupling portion and capable of generating a magnetic force with the first magnetic member, so as to apply a force to the coupling portion in a direction that the coupling portion is drawn out of the connector. |
| US09774136B2 |
Self-aligning connector
A device may comprise a housing having a straight rounded edge. A self-aligning connector at the straight rounded edge may comprise a cylindrical magnet oriented with its axis substantially parallel to the straight rounded edge. The cylindrical magnet is for magnetically engaging a magnet of another connector so as to align and connect the self-aligning connector with the other connector. The self-aligning connector may comprise mounting structure configured to mount the cylindrical magnet at the straight rounded edge of the housing with the axis of the cylindrical magnet being substantially parallel to the straight rounded edge of the housing. The device may include two such self-aligning connectors, spaced apart from one another, along a single straight rounded edge of the device housing. |
| US09774133B1 |
Screwless terminal block
A screwless terminal block allows easy insertion and removal of a wire. A housing (2) includes a fixture insertion opening (23) through which a rod-like fixture (6) is inserted to come in contact with a contact pressure spring (4) and deform the spring (4) away from a wire (5). When the fixture (6) is inserted through the fixture insertion opening (23), an acute angle of 45° or less is formed by an axis of the fixture (6) and a straight line connecting a contact point A between the housing (2) and a part of the fixture (6) adjacent to the wire insertion opening (24) and a contact point B between the housing (2) and a part of the fixture (6) adjacent to the spring (4) at a cross-section taken along a plane including the axis of the fixture (6) and parallel to a pressing direction of the spring (4). |
| US09774130B2 |
Waterproof electrical connector
An electrical connector with a terminal module enclosed within an insulative shield wherein the terminal module includes a plurality of terminals embedded within an insulative main body. The insulative main body forms a rear mounting standing part and a front mating tongue part extending forwardly from the rear mounting standing part. The insulative shield forms a rearward step against a forward shoulder of the base portion so as to prevent further forward movement of the base portion relative to the insulative shield. The insulative main body forms a protrusion and the insulative shield forms a securing hole to receive said protrusion for securing the insulative shield and the terminal module together. |
| US09774127B2 |
Connector including electric wire cover with catching portion
A connector includes a housing and an electric wire cover assembled with the housing. The housing includes a terminal housing portion and an electric wire leading portion. A locking rib protruding outward is formed on the electric wire leading portion. An assembling portion is formed on an end part of the electric wire cover facing to the housing. The assembling portion includes a locking protrusion and a catching portion protruding more than the locking protrusion in a mounting direction of mounting the electric wire cover on the housing. The catching portion includes a sliding face inclined with respect to the mounting direction. When the electric wire cover is mounted on the housing, the sliding face makes contact with the electric wire leading portion, thereby the assembling portion is displaced outward. |
| US09774126B2 |
Electrical connector which through-holes are partitioned from the adjoining through-hole by a tabular partition that coupled with the operation lever
An actuator includes a tabular partition that partitions, for each beam located at a position that allows the beam to abut the actuator, a through-hole into which one of a pair of beams located at the other-end side and at the position that allows the beam to abut the actuator is inserted to prevent the beam from abutting the actuator, and a wider-width part including a wider-width surface which is disposed at one end of the partition corresponding to an upstream side of a flow of resin flowed to mold the partition when the actuator is molded by the resin containing a filler, and which has a wider width than a width of the one end of the partition. |
| US09774123B2 |
Electrical connector with attitude maintaining structure
A connector is provided with a connecting terminal, a connecting housing, and a front holder. The connecting housing includes a connecting terminal storing chamber, and a lance which is elastically deformable in order to store the connecting terminal into the terminal storing chamber and which is engageable with the connecting terminal in order to prevent the connecting terminal from removing when recovered from an elastic deformation. The front holder is supported to be movable to back and forth along the insertion direction and locked on a front end of the terminal storing chamber. The front holder is moved in the opposite direction to the insertion direction to be actually locked by pressure in a state that the front holder is temporarily locked and contacted with the connecting terminal to hold in a state that the front holder is actually locked. |
| US09774122B2 |
Caged poke home contact
A single element connector includes a first cage-like structure configured to receive a wire. The first cage-like structure includes an insert end and a single contact tine coupled to a top wall of the first cage-like structure. The single contact tine extends downward from the top wall to a base of the single element connector and directs a wire inserted into the single element connector to the base of the single element connector. |
| US09774121B2 |
Contact probe
The present invention intends to suppress a contact probe from interfering with a guide plate to produce shavings. The present invention has stacked structure that sandwiches an intermediate metallic layer 12 between outer metallic layers 11 and 13, and includes: a contact part 2 that is brought into abutting with a test object; an elastic deformation part 4 that is elastically deformed so as to be curved in a predetermine direction of curvature N by compression force in the longer direction; and a fore end part 3 that is formed between the contact part 2 and the elastic deformation part 4 and supported by a through-hole 121 of a guide plate 120 so as to make the contact part 2 movable in the longer direction, in which side surfaces of the fore end part 3 formed in the direction of curvature N and a direction N′ opposite to the N of the elastic deformation part 4 are configured to include the three metallic layers 11 to 13, and on the side surfaces, the intermediate metallic layer 12 is configured to protrude relative to the outer metallic layers 11 and 13. |
| US09774119B2 |
Connector
The connector has a housing and a retainer. The retainer is accommodated in the housing and has a base portion and a front upper beam extending forward from the base portion and positioned above an insertion passage of a flat cable. The upper beam includes a middle portion positioned in the middle of the upper beam and a forward extending portion extending forward from the middle portion. The middle portion has an engaging portion configured to engage an engaged portion of the cable, and at least a portion is positioned in the passage of the cable. A region is provided in the leading end of the extending portion above the leading end of the extending portion for restricting upward movement. The upper beam is elastically deformable so that the middle portion moves upward when the upward movement of the leading end of the extending portion is restricted by the region. |
| US09774114B1 |
Surface-mount-technology-compatible electrical contact
A contact to provide an electrical connection between two circuit boards, such as a rigid circuit board and a flexible circuit board installed in a container, such as an electronic stylus or a cellular telephone. The contact head generally has the shape of an inverted spoon, which allows the contact head to slide smoothly onto a desired electrical contact pad on the flexible circuit board. The contact has a unitary design, including a spring, which reduces the likelihood of damage to the flexible circuit board or to the contact when the rigid circuit board is installed in the electronic stylus. The spring design reduces the likelihood that the contact will be bent when the rigid circuit board is installed, and also allows the contact to be balanced, which is advantageous for wave-soldering operations. The contact also has a pick surface, which is useful in vacuum pick-and-place operations. |
| US09774113B2 |
Grounding plate having an arcuate wall with a soldering notch
A cable connector assembly includes: a shielding shell; an inner circuit board received in the shielding shell and defining a number of grounding pads; a cable electrically connecting to the inner circuit board, the cable including an outer boot, plural pairs of differential signal wires, and a number of grounding wires each corresponding to a respective pair of differential signal wires; and a grounding plate electrically connecting with the grounding pads; wherein the grounding plate includes a number of arcuate walls each having a respective receiving room accommodating a corresponding pair of differential signal wires, a notch is defined on a top of each of the arcuate walls, and the grounding wire is soldered in the notch. |
| US09774110B1 |
Battery post terminal assembly
A battery post terminal assembly includes a conductive band and a clamp mechanism. The conductive band includes a first free end and a second free end. The conductive band defines an aperture for receiving a battery post of a battery. The clamp mechanism includes a wedge member that defines a recess between a first surface and a second surface thereof. The recess has an open end and a closed end that is narrower than the open end. The first surface is convex. The first free end and the second free end are positioned in the recess. The first free end is movable along the first surface toward the closed end to be moved by the first surface toward the second free end to tighten the conductive band around the battery post. |
| US09774108B2 |
Electrical connection device, terminal block including same, photovoltaic power generation system, and electrical appliance
There is provided an electrical connection device (100) including a male portion including a head (21) having a groove for insertion of a driver, and a body portion (24) having a spirally penetrating first guide hole (26a) formed from a lower end and a second guide hole (26b); a female portion (116) having a hole portion (118) into which the body portion (24) is inserted; an elastic portion (40) to be disposed on an outer circumference of the body portion (24) when the body portion (24) is inserted into the hole portion (118); and a movable body (30) which is disposed below the elastic portion, and engages and penetrates through the first guide hole (26a) when the body portion (24) is inserted into the hole portion (11), in which a first conductive member (50) and a second conductive member (60) are interposed between an upper end of the elastic portion (40) and the head (21), and with the movable body (30) engaged in the first guide hole (26a), as the head (21) rotates to a predetermined rotation angle relative to the hole portion (118), a biasing force of the elastic portion (40) is increased due to a rise of the movable body (30) in contact with a lower end of the elastic portion (40), and when a rotation angle of the head (21) relative to the hole portion (118) exceeds the predetermined rotation angle, the movable body (30) engages in an end portion (29) of a second guide hole (26b) leading to the first guide hole (26a), the second guide hole being provided in a direction in which the biasing force is reduced, to suppress rotational movement of the movable body (30) relative to the body portion (24). |
| US09774107B2 |
Socket having a connection fitting with a divided spring member
A socket includes: a base; a connection fitting including a bracket and a spring member, configured to form pressure springs by dividing the spring member into two in a width direction by a slit provided to the spring member, and assembled to an upper surface of the base; and a case cover configured to fit to the base and to cover the connection fitting. The pressure springs of the spring member are pressed and elastically deformed by an operation driver inserted through an operation hole provided to the case cover, to sandwich between the bracket and the pressure springs a lead inserted through an insertion hole provided to the case cover. A guide partition wall configured to engage with the slit of the spring member is integrally molded with an inner surface of the case cover. |
| US09774104B2 |
Ground connection structure and ground terminal fitting
A ground connection structure includes a stud bolt (11) standing on a ground surface (10A), and a non-circular rotation stopping portion (12) is formed on a base part of the stud bolt (11). A ground terminal fitting (20) is to be connected conductively to the ground surface (10). The ground terminal fitting (20) has a non-circular rotation stopping hole (25) that is fit to the rotation stopping portion (12) with relative rotation restricted. Resilient contact pieces (27) extend in an axial direction of the stud bolt (11) from an edge of the rotation stopping hole (25). A nut (15) is screwed onto the stud bolt (11) and causes the resilient contact pieces (27) to be deflected resiliently between the nut (15) and the ground surface (10). |
| US09774102B2 |
Connector for magnetic coil
A connector for connecting to a magnetic coil wound onto a support is disclosed. The connector comprises a first resilient body formed of a conductive material and having a plurality of cutters disposed on a plurality of inner walls of the first resilient body. The first resilient body is inserted onto the support and held in an open position during insertion. The first resilient body is biased into a closed position. In the closed position, the plurality of cutters cut an insulating layer on the magnetic coil and the first resilient body retains the magnetic coil on the support while electrically connecting the magnetic coil and the support. |
| US09774101B2 |
Crimp terminal
A water stop member of a crimp terminal is affixed to the inner wall surface of an electric wire connecting portion of a terminal fitting before crimping and forms into a first water stop area, a second water stop area, and a third water stop area after the crimping. The first water stop area suppresses entering of water from a space between the outer wall surface of a first barrel piece and the inner wall surface of a second barrel piece in the electric wire connecting portion. The second water stop area suppresses entering of water from the side closer to a terminal connecting portion of the terminal fitting than the distal end position of a core wire. The third water stop area suppresses entering of water from a space between the inner wall surface of a cover crimping portion of the electric wire connecting portion and a cover. |
| US09774099B2 |
Structure for connecting crimping terminal and electric wire
A structure for connecting a crimping terminal and an electric wire, includes: the crimping terminal that is provided with an electric wire connection section to be crimped to the electric wire, the electric wire connection section including a conductor crimping section and a sheath crimping section which are successively disposed to each other; a waterproof material that includes an opening for allowing the conductor and the conductor crimping section to make contact with each other, has a size to surround the conductor and the sheath which are to be crimped, and is installed between the electric wire connection section and the electric wire; and a recess that is formed on at least one of the electric wire connection section and the sheath, and a bulged and deformed section of the waterproof material deformed by the electric wire connection section which is caulked and crimped enters. |
| US09774098B2 |
Wireless communication node with 4TX/4RX triple band antenna arrangement
A node in a wireless communication network, includes a 4TX/4RX triple band antenna arrangement with at least three antenna columns, each antenna column includes two sets of subarrays. Each set of subarrays has at least two subarrays with at least one antenna element each. Each set of subarrays includes antenna elements having one of a first polarization and a mutually orthogonal second polarization. For each subarray, the antenna elements are connected to a combined port of a corresponding filter device. Each filter device has a first filter port and a second filter port. For each set of subarrays, the first filter ports of each pair of filter devices that are connected to said set of subarrays are pair-wise connected to a corresponding phase altering device. The second filter ports of each pair of filter devices connected to the set of subarrays are pair-wise connected to another corresponding phase altering device. |
| US09774097B2 |
Communication system with broadband antenna
A communications system including an antenna array and electronics assembly that may be mounted on and in a vehicle. The communication system may generally comprise an external subassembly that is mounted on an exterior surface of the vehicle, and an internal subassembly that is located within the vehicle, the external and internal subassemblies being communicatively coupled to one another. The external subassembly may comprise the antenna array as well as mounting equipment and steering actuators to move the antenna array in azimuth, elevation and polarization (for example, to track a satellite or other signal source). The internal subassembly may comprise most of the electronics associated with the communication system. |
| US09774095B1 |
Antenna system with multiple independently steerable shaped beams
An antenna system having a main reflector and at least two subreflectors is configured to provide at least two independently steerable beams. Each subreflector is configured to illuminate the main reflector, and each subreflector is configured to be illuminated by a respective dedicated feed element or dedicated feed array. At least one of the subreflectors is configured to steer a first beam, without affecting the shape or orientation of any other beam. One or more of the beams may also be independently shaped, by a contoured surface of one or more subreflectors and/or the main reflector. |
| US09774087B2 |
Wireless electronic device with magnetic shielding layer
An electronic device may have a housing, electrical components, and other electronic device structures. A display may be mounted in the housing. The display may have a transparent display cover layer and a display layer such as an organic light-emitting diode display layer that is mounted to the underside of the transparent display cover layer. A flexible printed circuit with metal traces may be mounted under the organic light-emitting diode display layer. The metal traces may form coils for a near-field communications inductive loop antenna. A magnetic shielding layer may be interposed between the housing and the flexible printed circuit. The magnetic shielding layer may include a polymer magnetic shielding layer having magnetic material particles embedded in a polymer matrix. The magnetic shielding layer may also have a polymer-binder-free magnetic shielding layer. |
| US09774079B2 |
Capacitively-coupled isolator assembly
An isolator assembly includes a capacitively-coupled isolator assembly. In some implementations, the capacitively-coupled isolator element may provide multi-band isolation by having an electrically-floating conductive coupling element with a length that is ½ or ¼ of a carrier wavelength. In other implementations, multiple capacitively-coupled elements may be employed to achieve multi-band isolation. |
| US09774076B2 |
Compact millimeter-wave radio systems and methods
A compact millimeter-wave radio system is comprised of an antenna body with reflector region and waveguide region all made from a single piece of material, and a radio receiver that is mounted on a substrate which is mechanically fixed to and held by the waveguide region. The system presents compact, relatively inexpensive, and relatively effective heat dissipation, solution for receiving and transmitting millimeter waves. |
| US09774073B2 |
Mobile device and multi-band antenna structure therein
A mobile device includes a ground plane, a grounding branch, a connection element, a first radiation branch, and a second radiation branch. The grounding branch is coupled to the ground plane. A first open slot is formed and substantially surrounded by the grounding branch and the ground plane. The first radiation branch is coupled through the connection element to the grounding branch. A second open slot is formed and is substantially surrounded by the first radiation branch and the grounding branch. The second radiation branch is disposed in the second open slot and is coupled to the grounding branch. A multi-band antenna structure is formed by the grounding branch, the connection element, the first radiation branch, and the second radiation branch. |
| US09774070B2 |
High-frequency signal line and manufacturing method thereof
In a high frequency signal line, a first signal line extends along a first dielectric element assembly, a first reference ground conductor extends along the first signal line, a second signal line is provided in or on the second dielectric element assembly and extends along the second dielectric element assembly, a second reference ground conductor is provided in or on the second dielectric element assembly and extends along the second signal line. A portion of a bottom surface at an end of the first dielectric element assembly and a portion of the top surface at an end of the second dielectric element assembly are joined together such that a joint portion of the first and second dielectric element assemblies includes a corner. The second signal line and the first signal line are electrically coupled together. The first and second reference ground conductors are electrically coupled together. |
| US09774069B2 |
N-way coaxial-to-coaxial combiner/divider
An impedance matching power combining/dividing system and a method for combining power combiners/dividers are presented. The impedance matching power combiner comprises a cylindrical matching cavity, two or more coaxial inputs, each of the two or more coaxial inputs having an inner input conductor and an outer input conductor and having a source impedance, a coaxial output having an inner output conductor and an outer output conductor and having a load impedance and a circular matching plate suspended inside the cylindrical matching cavity, wherein the inner input conductors and the inner output conductor are electrically connected to the matching plate, the outer input conductors and the outer output conductor are electrically connected to the cylindrical matching cavity and the cylindrical matching cavity at least partially matches the source impedance with the load impedance. The system and method to combine/divide groups of power combiners/dividers to handle high power are also presented. The power combiners/dividers have a small transverse dimension that they easily fit in a phased array lattice structure and operate at high frequencies. |
| US09774064B2 |
Battery pack
A battery pack having a first battery cell, a first cooling fin, and a housing is provided. The first cooling fin has a rectangular-shaped sheet, and at least first, second, and third tabs disposed perpendicular to first and second major surfaces of the first battery cell. A first side of the rectangular-shaped sheet of the first cooling fin contacts the first major surface of the first battery cell. The first battery cell and the first cooling fin are disposed within an interior region of the housing. The housing has a first flow path within the interior region between a top edge of the first battery cell and a top wall of the housing, such that air flowing through the first flow path contacts the first, second, and third tabs of the first cooling fin to conduct heat energy away from the first cooling fin to reduce a temperature level of the first battery cell. |
| US09774059B2 |
Lithium reservoir system and method for rechargeable lithium ion batteries
A lithium-ion battery cell includes at least two working electrodes, each including an active material, an inert material, an electrolyte and a current collector, a first separator region arranged between the at least two working electrodes to separate the at least two working electrodes so that none of the working electrodes are electronically connected within the cell, an auxiliary electrode including a lithium reservoir, and a second separator region arranged between the auxiliary electrode and the at least two working electrodes to separate the auxiliary electrode from the working electrodes so that none of the working electrodes is electronically connected to the auxiliary electrode within the cell. |
| US09774058B2 |
Polymer composition with electrophilic groups for stabilization of lithium sulfur batteries
A polymer to be used as a binder for sulfur-based cathodes in lithium batteries that includes in its composition electrophilic groups capable of reaction with and entrapment of polysulfide species. Beneficial effects include reductions in capacity loss and ionic resistance gain. |
| US09774056B2 |
Fuel cell stack assembly
A fuel cell stack assembly comprises a plurality of fuel cells in a stack, the stack defining two opposing parallel end faces. An end plate is disposed at each opposing end face of the stack. Each end plate defines a compression surface adjacent to and in compressive relationship with a respective one of the two opposing parallel end faces. A coupling mechanism is attached to the end plates to thereby maintain the fuel cells in the stack under compression. At least one, preferably both, of the end plates comprise a preformed element defining the compression surface, the preformed element being configured with a predetermined curvature such that the compression surface is a convex surface when the preformed element is not under load whereas, under the application of the load to maintain the fuel cells under compression, flexure of the preformed element between elements of the coupling mechanism causes the compression surface to become a substantially planar surface. This provides uniform pressure distribution across the end faces of the fuel cell stack using fewer and lighter weight components. |
| US09774053B2 |
Integrated power generation and carbon capture using fuel cells
Systems and methods are provided for capturing CO2 from a combustion source using molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs). At least a portion of the anode exhaust can be recycled for use as part of anode input stream. This can allow for a reduction in the amount of fuel cell area required for separating CO2 from the combustion source exhaust and/or modifications in how the fuel cells can be operated. |
| US09774050B2 |
Apparatus and methods for mixing reformable fuels and an oxygen-containing gas and/or steam
The present teachings provide apparatus and methods for mixing a reformable fuel and/or steam with an oxygen-containing gas and/or steam to provide a gaseous reforming reaction mixture suitable for reforming with a reformer and/or a fuel cell stack of a fuel cell unit and/or fuel cell system. |
| US09774048B2 |
Fuel cell vehicle and moving body
A data signal accurately reflecting the actual state of a storage vessel is sent to a station side. A fuel cell system (1) includes a hydrogen supply line (32) that connects a tank main body (311) and a fuel cell stack (2), and a main stop valve provided to the hydrogen supply line (32). A communicative filling system (6) generates a data signal based on the state of a hydrogen tank (31), and sends the generated data signal to a station (9). A vehicle (V) includes an FCV-ECU (11) that assumes processing related to control of the fuel cell system (1), and a communicative filling ECU (61) that assumes processing related to control of the communicative filling system (6). Then, the communicative filling ECU inhibits start of communication with the station (9) at least when determined that a main stop valve (312) is in a completely closed state. |
| US09774046B2 |
Humidification system and method for a fuel cell
A humidification system for a fuel cell may include a condenser configured to receive fluid output from a cathode of the fuel cell and cool the fluid to extract water from it. A heat exchanger operable to transfer heat from a heat source to an airflow flowing through the heat exchanger may also be included. When the heated airflow is brought into contact with at least some of the extracted water, the airflow is humidified prior to its entering the cathode. |
| US09774041B2 |
Mixed-ionomer electrode
A membrane electrode assembly includes a membrane, an anode catalyst layer and a cathode catalyst layer. The anode catalyst layer is on a first side of the membrane and the cathode catalyst layer is on a second side of the membrane, wherein the second side of the membrane is opposite the first side of the membrane along a first axis. The cathode catalyst layer includes agglomerates formed of a catalyst support supporting catalyst particles, an agglomerate ionomer and an inter-agglomerate ionomer. The agglomerate ionomer surrounds the agglomerates and the inter-agglomerate ionomer is in regions between the agglomerates surrounded by the agglomerate ionomer. The agglomerate ionomer is different than the inter-agglomerate. Methods to produce the catalyst layer are also provided. |
| US09774039B2 |
Negative electrode material for electric storage device, negative electrode for electric storage device, electric storage device, and vehicle
It is an assignment to provide the following: a negative-electrode material for electric storage device, a negative electrode for electric storage device, and an electric storage device, negative-electrode material, negative electrode and electric storage device in which SiOx is used as a negative-electrode active material, which excel in the conductivity, and which can inhibit the discharge capacity from declining; as well as a vehicle having the electric storage device on-board. In the negative-electrode material for electric storage device, acetylene black is used as a conductive additive; and, when a sum of contents of SiOx, graphite, conductive additive and a binder resin is taken as 100% by mass, the contents are made so as to be as follows: a content of a negative-electrode active material including the SiOx and graphite is 70% by mass or more; the content of the SiOx is from 17% by mass or more and 40% by mass or less; a sum of the contents of the conductive additive and binder resin is from 8% by mass or more to 20% by mass or less; and the content of the conductive additive is from 6% by mass or more to 12% by mass or less. |
| US09774035B2 |
Doped nickelate compounds
The invention relates to novel materials of the formula: A1-δM1VM2WM3XM4YM5ZO2 wherein A is one or more alkali metals comprising sodium and/or potassium either alone or in a mixture with lithium as a minor constituent; M1 is nickel in oxidation state +2; M2 comprises a metal in oxidation state +4 selected from one or more of manganese, titanium and zirconium; M3 comprises a metal in oxidation state +2, selected from one or more of magnesium, calcium, copper, zinc and cobalt; M4 comprises a metal in oxidation state +4, selected from one or more of titanium, manganese and zirconium; M5 comprises a metal in oxidation state +3, selected from one or more of aluminum, iron, cobalt, molybdenum, chromium, vanadium, scandium and yttrium; wherein 0≦δ≦0.1 V is in the range 0 |
| US09774034B2 |
Lithium-manganese composite oxide and secondary battery
To increase the amount of lithium ions that can be received in and released from a positive electrode active material to achieve high capacity and high energy density of a secondary battery. A lithium manganese oxide particle includes a first region and a second region. The valence number of manganese in the first region is lower than the valence number of manganese in the second region. The lithium manganese oxide has high structural stability and high capacity characteristics. |
| US09774032B2 |
Active substance
According to one embodiment, there is provided an active substance. The active substance includes secondary particles and a carbon material phase formed on at least a part of a surface of each of the secondary particles. Each of the secondary particles is constructed by aggregated primary particles of an active material. The primary particles of the active material includes a niobium composite oxide represented by LixM(1−y)NbyNb2O(7+δ), wherein M is at least one selected from the group consisting of Ti and Zr, and x, y, and δ respectively satisfy 0≦x≦6, 0≦y≦1, and −1≦δ≦1. The secondary particles have a compression fracture strength of 10 MPa or more. |
| US09774031B2 |
Negative electrode composition, and negative electrode and lithium battery containing the same
Provided are a composition for a negative electrode, and a negative electrode and lithium battery including the composition. The composition includes a negative active material that contains one or more of a metal or a metalloid, an acrylate-based binder, and a guanidine carbonate. |
| US09774030B2 |
Nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery and battery pack
A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery of an embodiment includes an exterior member; a positive electrode housed in the exterior member, a negative electrode containing an active material and housed in the exterior member so as to be spatially separated from the positive electrode via a separator, and a nonaqueous electrolyte filled in the exterior member. The negative electrode includes a negative electrode current collector and a negative electrode active material layer on the negative electrode current collector. A tensile strength of the negative electrode is 400 N/mm2 or more and 1200 N/mm2 or less. A peel strength between the negative electrode current collector and the negative electrode active material layer is 1.5 N/cm or more and 4 N/cm or less. |
| US09774027B2 |
Method for producing lithium-ion batteries
A method for producing lithium-ion batteries comprising the steps of (a) forming, on a substrate, a cathode current collector layer and a stack of a cathode layer made from a material capable of inserting lithium ions, an electrolyte layer and an anode layer, (b) depositing a lithium layer on the anode layer in order to form a lithium alloy, (c) short-circuiting the anode and cathode layers by depositing an anode current collector layer on the anode layer, thereby causing the diffusion of the lithium ions from the anode layer to the cathode layer, and (d) separating the batteries, resulting in the opening of the short-circuit between the anode and cathode layers in all the batteries. The method simplifies and improves the method for producing lithium-ion microbatteries and improves the diffusion of the lithium ions from the anode layer to the cathode layer after short-circuiting these two layers. |
| US09774025B2 |
Power storage apparatus
Two or more module batteries are arranged in an array and connected through wiring. The outer surface of a first side wall of a case faces in a first direction without facing the others of the two or more module batteries. Second and third side walls of the case are spaced from each other in a second direction. The first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. Two or more string groups are arranged linearly in the second direction. The positive electrode current collecting part extends along the inner surface of the second side wall, the positive electrode extension part extends along the inner surface of the first side wall, and the positive electrode feedthrough part penetrates through the first side wall. The positive electrode current collecting part, the positive electrode extension part, the positive electrode feedthrough part, and the wiring are electrically connected to one another. |
| US09774023B2 |
Battery module
A battery module includes a first battery cell, the first battery cell having a first electrode terminal and a second electrode terminal, a first end block adjacent to the first battery cell, the first end block having a first power terminal portion, and a connection portion electrically connecting the first electrode terminal to the first power terminal portion. |
| US09774013B2 |
Organic light emitting display device
Disclosed is an organic light emitting display device. The organic light emitting display device includes a first emission part between a first electrode and a second electrode, a second emission part on the first emission part, and a first charge generation layer and a second charge generation layer between the first emission part and the second emission part. The first emission part includes a first organic layer, and the second emission part includes a second organic layer. A first thickness includes the first emission part and the first charge generation layer, and a second thickness includes the second emission part and the second charge generation layer. The first thickness is equal to or greater than the second thickness. |
| US09774008B2 |
OLED display device including transflective layer and method of manufacturing the same
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display device includes a substrate; a transistor device disposed on the substrate; a first electrode electrically connected to the transistor device; an organic light-emitting layer disposed on the first electrode; and a second electrode disposed on the organic light-emitting layer. The OLED display device further includes a transflective layer contacting a lower surface of the first electrode and having a relatively higher refractive index than the first electrode. |
| US09774007B2 |
Organic light-emitting device and organic display apparatus
A display panel includes a EL panel part, a CF panel part, and a resin layer. Light is extracted from a luminous part including an organic luminous layer in the EL panel part in a direction of an arrow. The resin layer is formed to cover an upper surface of the EL panel part. Transmittance of the light from the EL panel part is 80% or higher. The resin layer includes a resin part and a plurality of particles dispersed in the resin part. The particles are formed of synthetic zeolite having a refractive-index ratio to the resin part of 1.0 or more and a particle size of 2 μm or more. |
| US09774003B2 |
Organic electroluminescent element and electronic instrument
The first electrode has a convexo-concave structure including a plurality of convex portions and a plurality of concave portions at an interface with the organic compound layer. The convexo-concave structure has at least one cross section in a thickness direction of the light-transmissive substrate, the cross section being shaped in a sine-wave curve or a curve represented by a sum of a plurality of sine waves having different amplitudes or angles. A distance between a convex portion and an adjacent convex portion forming the convexo-concave structure is equal to or more than a peak wavelength of light radiated from the emitting layer and is equal to or less than a propagation distance (Lsp) of surface plasmon at the interface between the first electrode having the convexo-concave structure and the organic compound layer. |
| US09773997B2 |
Adhesive composition and display device
An adhesive composition includes: a binder component; a photo-initiator component; and an anaerobic-initiator component. The binder component includes a monomer, an oligomer, and a plasticizer; the photo-initiator component includes a photo-radical initiator and a photo-base generator (PBG); and the anaerobic-initiator component includes a metal reactive initiator, an accelerator, and an inhibitor. |
| US09773991B2 |
Non-hydrolytic metal oxide films for perovskite halide overcoating and stabilization
A method of protecting a perovskite halide film from moisture and temperature includes positioning the perovskite halide film in a chamber. The chamber is maintained at a temperature of less than 200 degrees Celsius. An organo-metal compound is inserted into the chamber. A non-hydrolytic oxygen source is subsequently inserted into the chamber. The inserting of the organo-metal compound and subsequent inserting of the non-hydrolytic oxygen source into the chamber is repeated for a predetermined number of cycles. The non-hydrolytic oxygen source and the organo-metal compound interact in the chamber to deposit a non-hydrolytic metal oxide film on perovskite halide film. The non-hydrolytic metal oxide film protects the perovskite halide film from relative humidity of greater than 35% and a temperature of greater than 150 degrees Celsius, respectively. |
| US09773989B2 |
Method for producing metal thin film and conductive structure
The metal thin film production method of the present invention includes, in the following order, the steps of: preparing a substrate (1) having thereon an underlayer (2) formed of an insulating resin; subjecting a surface of the underlayer (2) to a physical surface treatment for breaking bonds of organic molecules constituting the insulating resin; subjecting the substrate (1) to a heat treatment at a temperature of 200° C. or lower; applying a metal nanoparticle ink to the underlayer (2); and sintering metal nanoparticles contained in the metal nanoparticle ink at a temperature equal to or higher than a glass transition temperature of the underlayer (2). A fused layer (4) having a thickness of 100 nm or less is formed between the underlayer (2) and a metal thin film (3) formed by sintering the metal nanoparticles. |
| US09773983B2 |
Organic light emitting diode device
An organic light emitting diode device is disclosed. There is an organic light emitting diode device that comprises a first light emitting part between an anode and a cathode, the first light emitting part including a first light emitting layer, a second light emitting part comprising a second light emitting layer on the first light emitting part, and a first charge generation layer between the first light emitting part and the second light emitting part, wherein the first charge generation layer comprises at least two hosts, and at least one of the at least two hosts includes a pyrene compound. |
| US09773979B2 |
Materials for electronic devices
The present invention relates to a compound of the formula (I), (II) or (III), to the use of the compound in an electronic device, and to an electronic device comprising a compound of the formula (I), (II) or (III). The present invention furthermore relates to a process for the preparation of a compound of the formula (I), (II) or (III) and to a formulation comprising one or more compounds of the formula (I), (II) or (III). |
| US09773977B2 |
Phase change memory cells
A phase change memory cell has first and second electrodes having phase change material there-between. The phase change memory cell is devoid of heater material as part of either of the first and second electrodes and being devoid of heater material between either of the first and second electrodes and the phase change material. A method of forming a memory cell having first and second electrodes having phase change material there-between includes lining elevationally inner sidewalls of an opening with conductive material to comprise the first electrode of the memory cell. Elevationally outer sidewalls of the opening are lined with dielectric material. Phase change material is formed in the opening laterally inward of and electrically coupled to the conductive material in the opening. Conductive second electrode material is formed that is electrically coupled to the phase change material. Other implementations are disclosed. |
| US09773976B2 |
Transistors and methods of forming transistors
Some embodiments include a transistor having a drain region and a source region. A conductive gate is between the source and drain regions. First channel material is between the gate and the source region. The first channel material is spaced from the gate by one or more insulative materials. Second channel material is between the first channel material and the source region, and directly contacts the source region. The first and second channel materials are transition metal chalcogenide. One of the source and drain regions is a hole reservoir region and the other is an electron reservoir region. Tunnel dielectric material may be between the first and second channel materials. |
| US09773974B2 |
Polishing stop layer(s) for processing arrays of semiconductor elements
Described embodiments can be used in semiconductor manufacturing and employ materials with high and low polish rates to help determine a precise polish end point that is consistent throughout a wafer and that can cease polishing prior to damaging semiconductor elements. The height of the low polish rate material between the semiconductor elements is used as the polishing endpoint. Because the low polish rate material slows down the polishing process, it is easy to determine an end point and avoid damage to the semiconductor elements. An additional or alternative etch end point can be a thin layer of material that provides a very clear spectroscopy signal when it has been exposed, allowing the etch process to cease. |
| US09773973B2 |
Process for producing magnetoresistive effect element and device producing method
A production process in which in an element isolation process for a magnetoresistive effect element, a re-deposited film adhered to a side wall of the element is efficiently removed by ion beam etching. Ion beam etching is performed while a substrate located being inclined relative to the grid is rotated. In the ion beam etching, an energy amount of an ion beam entering from a direction in which a pattern groove formed on the substrate extends is increased larger than the energy amount of the ion beam entering from another direction by controlling a rotation speed of the substrate, and the re-deposited film adhered to the side wall of the magnetoresistive effect element formed on the substrate is efficiently removed by etching. |
| US09773969B2 |
Electrostrictive element manufacturing method
Provided is a method of manufacturing an electrostrictive element by which an electrostrictive element including an expandable and contradictable film electrode having a thin and uniform thickness can be easily formed. In a method of manufacturing an electrostrictive element 1, screen printing is performed while a first jig 12 contacts with a face of a dielectric film 2 opposite to a face where screen printing is performed such that the first jig 12 surrounds an area where the screen printing is performed. Thus, a film electrode 3 is formed. |
| US09773966B2 |
Piezoelectric sensor for bicycle component
A piezoelectric material contains ferroelectric particles and an adhesive resin. The ratio of the ferroelectric particles relative to the total mass of the ferroelectric particles and the adhesive resin is 40 mass % or greater and 98 mass % or less. |
| US09773964B2 |
Electronic component
An electronic component has a support member, an SAW element which is mounted on the support member with a space S therebetween and which has a facing surface which faces the support member, and a resin portion which covers the SAW element and which is provided so as to seal the space S. The SAW element has a piezoelectric substrate, an IDT provided on the facing surface of the piezoelectric board, an wiring (an outer wiring) which is provided on the facing surface of the piezoelectric board and extends from the IDT toward the periphery side of the piezoelectric board, and a dam member which is adjacent to a lateral edge portion of the wiring and which is provided locally relative to the circumferential direction which surrounds the IDT. |
| US09773963B2 |
Method for connecting piezoelectric element and cable substrate, piezoelectric element having cable substrate, and inkjet head including piezoelectric element with cable substrate
A connection method includes softening a resin film of a thermosetting resin by heating an element electrode of a piezoelectric body and a substrate electrode of a flexible cable to be connected to the piezoelectric body with the element electrode and the substrate electrode being pressed into contact with each other via the resin film; partially pushing out the molten resin film from an opposing position of the element electrode and the substrate electrode so as to bring a solder layer provided on the substrate electrode into contact with the element electrode; curing the resin film and melting solder in the solder layer by further raising a heating temperature; discharging excess solder in a direction defined by the cured resin film; and then solidifying the solder in the solder layer so as to solder the element electrode and the substrate electrode together. |
| US09773962B2 |
Formation of bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide superconductors
A BÏ2212 article may be formed by mixing metallic precursor powders including bismuth, strontium, calcium and copper in an oxygen-free atmosphere, mechanically alloying the metallic precursor powders in an oxygen-free atmosphere, and heating the metallic precursor alloy according to a temperature profile. The profile may include a ramp-up stage during which the alloy is heated to a peak temperature in an oxygen-free atmosphere, a dwell stage during which the alloy is held at the peak temperature for a dwell time, and a ramp-down stage during which the alloy is cooled from the peak temperature. During at least a portion of the dwell stage, the oxygen-free atmosphere is switched to an oxygen-inclusive atmosphere, wherein the alloy is oxidized to form a superconducting oxide, which may be sintered during or after oxidation. The alloy may be formed into a shape, such as a wire, prior to oxidizing. |
| US09773960B2 |
Lead frame for mounting LED elements, lead frame with resin, method for manufacturing semiconductor devices, and lead frame for mounting semiconductor elements
A lead frame for mounting LED elements includes a frame body region and a large number of package regions arranged in multiple rows and columns in the frame body region. The package regions each include a die pad on which an LED element is to be mounted and a lead section adjacent to the die pad, the package regions being further constructed to be interconnected via a dicing region. The die pad in one package region and the lead section in another package region upward or downward adjacent to the package region of interest are connected to each other by an inclined reinforcement piece positioned in the dicing region. |
| US09773953B2 |
Organic phosphor-functionalized nanoparticles and compositions comprising the same
Provided is a phosphor-functionalized nanoparticle that includes an inorganic nanoparticle core; surface polymer brushes that include a plurality of long-chain polymers bonded to the surface of the inorganic nanoparticle core, said long-chain polymers each having molecular weight greater than 500, and a plurality of short-chain polymers bonded to the surface of the inorganic nanoparticle core, said short-chain polymers each having molecular weight less than 0.5 times the average molecular weight of the long-chain polymers; and one or more organic phosphors bonded to at least one of the inorganic nanoparticle core and one or more of the plurality of short-chain polymers. Graft density of the short-chain polymers on the surface of the inorganic nanoparticle core (σSC) is greater than graft density of the long-chain polymers on the surface of the inorganic nanoparticle core (σLC). Also provided are polymer matrices, LED's, optical systems, lighting devices, and fixtures that include the inventive nanoparticle. |
| US09773952B2 |
Die emitting white light
Various methods and apparatuses are disclosed. A method may include disposing at least one die on a location on a carrier substrate, forming at least one stud bump on each of at least one die, forming a phosphor layer on the at least one stud bump and the at least one die, removing a top portion of the phosphor layer to expose the at least one stud bump, and removing a side portion of the phosphor layer located between two adjacent dies. An apparatus may include a die comprising top, bottom, and side surfaces. A phosphor layer may be disposed on the top, bottom, and side surfaces of the die. The phosphor layer may have substantially equal thicknesses on the top and side surfaces of the die as well as one or more stud bumps disposed on the top surface of the die. |
| US09773950B2 |
Semiconductor device structure
The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device structure, comprising the steps of: securing the position of a semiconductor device on a plate; securing the positions of electrodes such that the electrodes face the plate; covering the semiconductor device with an encapsulating material; and separating, from the plate, the semiconductor device covered with the encapsulating material. |
| US09773947B2 |
Light-emitting device and production method therefor
An emission efficiency of a light-emitting device is improved by reducing strains applied to a light-emitting layer. On a sapphire substrate, an n-type contact layer, an nESD layer, an n-type cladding layer, a light-emitting layer, a p-type cladding layer, and a p-type contact layer, are sequentially deposited. The light-emitting layer has a MQW structure in which a layer unit of a well layer, a capping layer, and a barrier layer sequentially deposited is repeatedly deposited. Of the well layers, the In composition ratio of only first well layer is reduced than the In composition ratios of other well layers, and the In composition ratios of the other well layers are equal to each other. The In composition ratio of the first well layer is designed so that the emission wavelength of the first well layer is equal to the emission wavelengths of other well layers. |
| US09773945B2 |
Method for producing a semiconductor component and a semiconductor component
A method for producing a plurality of semiconductor components and a semiconductor component is disclosed. In some embodiment, the method includes forming a semiconductor layer sequence, structuring the semiconductor layer sequence by forming trenches thereby structuring semiconductor bodies, applying an auxiliary substrate on the semiconductor layer sequence, so that the semiconductor layer sequence is arranged between the auxiliary substrate and the substrate and removing the substrate from the semiconductor layer sequence. The method further comprises applying an anchoring layer covering the trench and vertical surfaces of the semiconductor bodies, forming a plurality of tethers by structuring the anchoring layer in regions covering the trench, locally detaching the auxiliary substrate from the semiconductor bodies, wherein the tethers remain attached to the auxiliary substrate and selectively picking up a semiconductor body by separating the tethers from the auxiliary substrate, the semiconductor body including a portion of the layer sequence. |
| US09773942B2 |
Quantum dot having core-shell structure
A quantum dot having core-shell structure includes a core formed of ZnOzS1-z, and at least one shell covering the core, and formed of AlxGayIn1-x-yN, wherein at least one of x, y, and z is not zero and is not one. |
| US09773937B2 |
Information acquisition apparatus
An biological body information acquisition apparatus includes an imager including light emitting devices that are arranged in a plane and emit light toward a human body and light receiving devices that are arranged in a plane and receive light from the human body and a light guide plate that is layered on the imager on the side thereof facing the human body and has light transmissivity in the direction of a normal to the light receiving devices and the light emitting devices. The light guide has a first portion (holes) and a second portion (substrate) that are arranged in a plane and have refractive indices different from each other. The first portion (holes) is so disposed as to coincide with the light receiving devices in a plan view, and the second portion (substrate) is so disposed as to coincide with the light emitting devices in the plan view. |
| US09773935B2 |
Light detection device including a semiconductor light detection element, and a semiconductor light detection element having a through-hole electrode connection
A semiconductor light detection element includes a plurality of avalanche photodiodes operating in Geiger mode and formed in a semiconductor substrate, quenching resistors connected in series to the respective avalanche photodiodes and arranged on a first principal surface side of the semiconductor substrate, and a plurality of through-hole electrodes electrically connected to the quenching resistors and formed so as to penetrate the semiconductor substrate from the first principal surface side to a second principal surface side. A mounting substrate includes a plurality of electrodes arranged corresponding to the respective through-hole electrodes on a third principal surface side. The through-hole electrodes and the electrodes are electrically connected through bump electrodes, and a side surface of the semiconductor substrate and a side surface of a glass substrate are flush with each other. |
| US09773933B2 |
Space and energy efficient photovoltaic array
In an embodiment, a solar energy system includes multiple photovoltaic modules, each oriented substantially at a same angle relative to horizontal. The angle is independent of a latitude of an installation site of the solar energy system and is greater than or equal to 15 degrees. The solar energy system defines a continuous area within a perimeter of the solar energy system. The solar energy system is configured to capture at the photovoltaic modules substantially all light incoming towards the continuous area over an entire season. |
| US09773932B2 |
Epitaxial wafer and method for manufacturing same
An epitaxial wafer which allows manufacture of a photodiode having suppressed dark current and ensured sensitivity, and a method for manufacturing the epitaxial wafer, are provided. The epitaxial wafer of the present invention includes: a III-V semiconductor substrate; and a multiple quantum well structure disposed on the substrate, and including a plurality of pairs of a first layer and a second layer. The total concentration of elements contained as impurities in the multiple quantum well structure is less than or equal to 5×1015 cm−3. |
| US09773930B2 |
Integrated circuit with reflective material in trenches and related methods
An IC may include a substrate and a layer, and an array of GMAPDs in the layer. The layer may have trenches extending between adjacent GMAPDs. The IC may include an optically reflective material within the trenches. The optically reflective material may also be electrically conductive. For example, the optically reflective material may comprise a metal. Also, the trenches may be arranged in a honeycomb pattern. |
| US09773928B2 |
Solar cell with electroplated metal grid
One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for fabricating solar cells. During operation, an anti-reflection layer is deposited on top of a semiconductor structure to form a photovoltaic structure, and a front-side electrode grid comprising a metal stack is formed on top of the photovoltaic structure. The metal stack comprises a metal-adhesive layer comprising Ti or Ta, and a conducting layer comprising Cu or Ag situated above the metal-adhesive layer. |
| US09773923B2 |
Semiconductor device
Provided is a semiconductor device and a method for forming the same. The device has a substrate including one and another surfaces. A first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type is formed in the substrate. A second conductivity type, second semiconductor region is provided in a first surface layer, that includes the one surface, of the substrate. A first electrode is in contact with the second semiconductor region to form a junction therebetween. A first conductivity type, third semiconductor region is provided in a second surface layer, that includes the another surface, of the substrate. The third semiconductor region has a higher impurity concentration than the first semiconductor region. A fourth semiconductor region of the second conductivity type is provided in the first semiconductor region at a location deeper than the third semiconductor region from the another surface. A second electrode is in contact with the third semiconductor region. |
| US09773919B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof
A minute transistor is provided. A transistor with low parasitic capacitance is provided. A transistor having high frequency characteristics is provided. A transistor having a high on-state current is provided. A semiconductor device including the transistor is provided. A semiconductor device having a high degree of integration is provided. A semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor; a second insulator; a second conductor; a third conductor; a fourth conductor; a fifth conductor; a first conductor and a first insulator embedded in an opening portion formed in the second insulator, the second conductor, the third conductor, the fourth conductor, and the fifth conductor; a region where a side surface and a bottom surface of the second conductor are in contact with the fourth conductor; and a region where a side surface and a bottom surface of the third conductor are in contact with the fifth conductor. |
| US09773918B2 |
Metal oxide TFT with improved stability and mobility
A thin film circuit includes a thin film transistor with a metal oxide semiconductor channel having a conduction band minimum (CBM) with a first energy level. The transistor further includes a layer of passivation material covering at least a portion of the metal oxide semiconductor channel. The passivation material has a conduction band minimum (CBM) with a second energy level. The second energy level being lower than, equal to, or no more than 0.5 eV above the first energy level. The circuit is used for an electronic device including any one of an AMLCD, AMOLED, AMLED, AMEPD. |
| US09773915B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof
A semiconductor device using oxide semiconductor with favorable electrical characteristics, or a highly reliable semiconductor device is provided. A semiconductor device is manufactured by: forming an oxide semiconductor layer over an insulating surface; forming source and drain electrodes over the oxide semiconductor layer; forming an insulating film and a conductive film in this order over the oxide semiconductor layer and the source and drain electrodes; etching part of the conductive film and insulating film to form a gate electrode and a gate insulating layer, and etching part of the upper portions of the source and drain electrodes to form a first covering layer containing a constituent element of the source and drain electrodes and in contact with the side surface of the gate insulating layer; oxidizing the first covering layer to form a second covering layer; and forming a protective insulating layer containing an oxide over the second covering layer. |
| US09773914B2 |
Optical sensing device and fabricating method thereof
An optical sensing device includes a thin film transistor disposed on a substrate, an optical sensor, a planar layer, and an organic light emitting diode. The optical sensor includes a metal electrode disposed on a gate dielectric layer of the thin film transistor and connecting to a drain electrode of the thin film transistor, an optical sensing layer disposed on the metal electrode, and a first transparent electrode disposed on the optical sensing layer. The planar layer covers at least a part of the thin film transistor and the optical sensor. The organic light emitting diode is disposed on the planar layer. The anode electrode and the cathode electrode of the organic light emitting diode are electrically coupled to a gate line and a data line respectively. |
| US09773912B2 |
Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof
A semiconductor device includes a substrate, at least one active region, at least one gate structure, and an insulating structure. The active region is present at least partially in the substrate. The gate structure is present on the active region. The gate structure has at least one end sidewall and a top surface intersecting to form a top interior angle. The top interior angle is an acute angle. The insulating structure is present adjacent to the end sidewall of the gate structure and on the substrate. |
| US09773911B2 |
Fin field effect transistor and fabricating method thereof
A FinFET including a substrate, a plurality of insulators and a gate stack is provided. The substrate includes a plurality of trenches and at least one semiconductor fin between the trenches. The insulators are disposed in the trenches. The semiconductor fin includes a first portion embedded between the insulators; a necking portion disposed on the first portion, the necking portion being uncovered by the insulators; and a second portion disposed on the necking portion, wherein a width of the necking portion is less than a width of the first portion. The gate stack partially covers the semiconductor fin, the at least one recess and the insulators. |
| US09773909B2 |
Silicon-containing, tunneling field-effect transistor including III-N source
Tunneling field-effect transistors including silicon, germanium or silicon germanium channels and III-N source regions are provided for low power operations. A broken-band heterojunction is formed by the source and channel regions of the transistors. Fabrication methods include selective anisotropic wet-etching of a silicon substrate followed by epitaxial deposition of III-N material and/or germanium implantation of the substrate followed by the epitaxial deposition of the III-N material. |
| US09773893B1 |
Forming a sacrificial liner for dual channel devices
Semiconductor devices and methods of forming the same include forming a liner over one or more channel fins on a substrate. An etch is performed down into the substrate using the one or more channel fins and the liner as a mask to form a substrate fin underneath each of the one or more channel fins. An area around the one or more channel fins and substrate fins is filled with a flowable dielectric. The flowable dielectric is annealed to solidify the flowable dielectric. The anneal oxidizes at least a portion of sidewalls of each substrate fin, such that each substrate fin is narrower in the oxidized portion than in a portion covered by the liner. |
| US09773886B1 |
Nanosheet and nanowire devices having doped internal spacers and methods of manufacturing the same
A method of forming a horizontal nanosheet device or a horizontal nanowire device includes forming a dummy gate and a series of external spacers on a stack including an alternating arrangement of sacrificial layers and channel layers, deep etching portions of the stack between the external spacers to form electrode recesses for a source electrode and a drain electrode, performing an etch-back on portions of the sacrificial layers to form internal spacer recesses above and below each of the channel layers, forming doped internal spacers in the internal spacer recesses, and forming doped extension regions of the source electrode and the drain electrode by outdiffusion of dopants from the doped internal spacers. The method may also include epitaxially regrowing the source electrode and the drain electrode in the electrode recesses. |
| US09773885B2 |
Self aligned gate shape preventing void formation
A semiconductor device that includes a first fin structure in a first portion of a substrate, and a second fin structure in a second portion of the substrate, wherein the first portion of the substrate is separated from the second portion of the substrate by at least one isolation region. A gate structure present extending from the first fin structure across the isolation region to the second fin structure. The gate structure including a first portion on the first fin structure including a first work function metal having at least one void, an isolation portion that is voidless present overlying the isolation region, and a second portion on the second fin structure including a second work function metal. |
| US09773881B2 |
Etch stop for airgap protection
A semiconductor device that includes a gate structure on a channel region of a semiconductor device. Source and drain regions may be present on opposing sides of the channel region. The semiconductor device may further include a composite gate sidewall spacer present on a sidewall of the gate structure. The composite gate sidewall spacer may include a first composition portion having an air gap encapsulated therein, and a second composition portion that is entirely solid and present atop the first composition portion. |
| US09773879B2 |
Semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the same
A semiconductor device includes a fin structure, first and second gate structures, a source/drain region, a source/drain contact, a separator, a plug contacting the source/drain contact and a wiring contacting the plug. The fin structure protrudes from an isolation insulating layer and extends in a first direction. The first and second gate structures are formed over the fin structure and extend in a second direction crossing the first direction. The source/drain region is disposed between the first and second gate structures. The interlayer insulating layer is disposed over the fin structure, the first and second gate structures and the source/drain region. The first source/drain contact is disposed on the first source/drain region. The separator is disposed adjacent to the first source/drain contact layer. Ends of the first and second gate structures and an end of the source drain contact are in contact with a same face of the separator. |
| US09773877B2 |
Wide bandgap field effect transistors with source connected field plates
A field effect transistor comprising a buffer and channel layer formed successively on a substrate. A source electrode, drain electrode, and gate are all formed in electrical contact with the channel layer, with the gate between the source and drain electrodes. A spacer layer is formed on at least a portion of a surface of the channel layer between the gate and drain electrode and a field plate is formed on the spacer layer isolated from the gate and channel layer. The spacer layer is electrically connected by at least one conductive path to the source electrode, wherein the field plate reduces the peak operating electric field in the MESFET. |
| US09773873B1 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes a substrate having an upper surface layer of a second conduction type formed at an upper surface side, a drift layer of a first conduction type formed under the upper surface layer, a buffer layer of the first conduction type formed under the drift layer, and a lower surface layer of the second conduction type formed under the buffer layer, the buffer layer includes a plurality of upper buffer layers provided apart from each other, and a plurality of lower buffer layers provided apart from each other between the plurality of upper buffer layers and the lower surface layer, wherein the plurality of upper buffer layers are formed so that average impurity concentrations in first sections each extending from the upper end of one of the upper buffer layers to the next lower buffer layer are unified as a first concentration. |
| US09773870B1 |
Strained semiconductor device
A semiconductor device comprises a first semiconductor fin having a first width, the first semiconductor fin is arranged on a first portion of the strain relaxation buffer layer, where the first portion of the strain relaxation buffer layer has a second width and a second semiconductor fin having a width substantially similar to the first width, the second semiconductor fin is arranged on a second portion of the strain relaxation buffer layer, where the second portion of the strain relaxation buffer layer has a third width. A gate stack is arranged over a channel region of the first fin and a channel region of the second fin. |
| US09773869B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same
A semiconductor device is provided. A substrate includes a fin. The fin extends in a first direction. A gate structure is disposed on a first region of the fin. The gate structure extends in a second direction crossing the first direction. A source/drain is disposed on a second region of the fin. The first source/drain is disposed on at least one sidewall of the gate structure. A top surface of the first region is lower than a top surface of the second region. |
| US09773867B2 |
FinFET semiconductor devices with replacement gate structures
A device includes first and second fins defined in a semiconductor substrate and a raised isolation post structure positioned between the first and second fins, wherein an upper surface of the raised isolation post structure is at a level that is approximately equal to or greater than a level corresponding to an upper surface of each of the first and second fins. A first space is defined by a sidewall of the first fin and a first sidewall of the raised isolation post structure, a second space is defined by a sidewall of the second fin and a second sidewall of the raised isolation post structure, and a gate structure is positioned around a portion of each of the first and second fins and around a portion of the raised isolation post structure, wherein at least portions of the gate structure are positioned in the first and second spaces. |
| US09773865B2 |
Self-forming spacers using oxidation
A method of forming a self-forming spacer using oxidation. The self-forming spacer may include forming a fin field effect transistor on a substrate, the fin field effect transistor includes a gate on a fin, the gate is perpendicular to the fin; forming a gate spacer on the gate and a fin spacer on the fin, the gate spacer and the fin spacer are formed in a single step by oxidizing an exposed surface of the gate and an exposed surface of the fin; and removing the fin spacer from the fin. |
| US09773860B1 |
Capacitor and method for fabricating the same
A method for fabricating a capacitor is disclosed. First, a substrate is provided, a bottom electrode and a capacitor dielectric layer are formed on the substrate, a conductive layer is formed on the capacitor dielectric layer, a patterned hard mask is formed on the conductive layer, a patterned hard mask is used to remove part of the conductive layer to form a top electrode, the patterned hard mask is removed, and a protective layer is formed on a top surface and sidewalls of top electrode. Preferably, the protective layer includes metal oxides. |
| US09773855B2 |
Array substrate, fabricating method thereof, and display device
An array substrate, a method for fabricating the array substrate, and a related display device are provided. The array substrate comprises: a base substrate with a plurality of first via holes; a plurality of first signal lines on a first side of the base substrate; and a plurality of first signal driver lines on a second side of the base substrate; wherein each first signal line is connected with at least one first signal driver line through at least one first via hole. |
| US09773853B2 |
Organic light-emitting diode display with bent substrate
A display may have an array of organic light-emitting diodes that form an active area on a flexible substrate. Metal traces may extend between the active area and an inactive area of the flexible substrate. Display driver circuitry such as a display driver integrated circuit may be attached to a flexible printed circuit that is attached to the flexible substrate in the inactive area. The metal traces may extend across a bend region in the flexible substrate. The flexible substrate may be bent in the bend region. The flexible substrate may be locally thinned in the bend region. A neutral stress plane adjustment layer may cover the metal traces in the bend region. The neutral stress plane adjustment layer may include polymer layers such as an encapsulation layer, a pixel definition layer, a planarization layer, and a layer that covers a pixel definition layer and planarization layer. |
| US09773851B2 |
OLED display device comprising an insulative layer of varying thickness and manufacturing method thereof
The present invention provides an OLED display device and a manufacture method thereof. By locating a thickness of a part of the second insulative layer correspondingly positioned above the bottom layer wiring in the white sub pixel area is larger than a thickness of other part of the second insulative layer in the white sub pixel area, increase a vertical distance from the bottom layer wiring to the first electrode in the white sub pixel area, and thus, the short circuit, the overcurrent between the first electrode and the bottom layer wiring of the white sub pixel area can be prevented. The manufacture method of the OLED display device is simple, easy for operation, and the manufactured OLED display device can prevent the short circuit or the overcurrent between the first electrode and the bottom layer wiring of the white sub pixel area occur and raise the manufacture yield of the OLED display device. |
| US09773846B2 |
Blue organic light emitting device and display device including the same
A blue organic light emitting device including a first electrode, a second electrode facing the first electrode, a first charge generating layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, a first emission layer disposed between the first electrode and the first charge generating layer and emitting first blue light having a first wavelength region, and a second emission layer disposed between the first charge generating layer and the second electrode and emitting second blue light having a second wavelength region different from the first wavelength region. The blue organic light emitting device finally emits blue light. |
| US09773843B2 |
Electronic memory using memristors and crossbars with three or more in-series activated memristors
A memory system comprising a plurality of layers of spaced-apart row electrodes, each having a dorsal and a ventral side, a plurality of layers of spaced-apart column electrodes, each having a dorsal and a ventral side is, and a plurality of layers of spaced-apart memristors arranged so that each of the row electrodes and each of the column electrodes is in contact with at least one memristor on the dorsal side thereof and with at least one memristor on the ventral side thereof. |
| US09773839B2 |
Memory device having self-aligned cell structure
Some embodiments include apparatus and methods having a memory device with diodes coupled to memory elements. Each diode may be formed in a recess of the memory device. The recess may have a polygonal sidewall. The diode may include a first material of a first conductivity type (e.g., n-type) and a second material of a second conductive type (e.g., p-type) formed within the recess. |
| US09773837B2 |
Scalable orthogonal spin transfer magnetic random access memory devices with reduced write error rates
A magnetic device includes a pinned polarizing magnetic layer having a magnetic vector parallel to a plane of the pinned polarizing magnetic layer. The magnetic device also includes a free layer, separated from the polarizing magnetic layer by a first non-magnetic layer, having a magnetization vector with a changeable magnetization direction. The changeable magnetization vector is configured to change to a first state upon application of a first current of a first polarity and to change to a second state upon application of a second current of a second, opposite polarity. The magnetic device also has a reference layer having a magnetic vector perpendicular to the plane of the reference layer and separated from the free layer by a second non-magnetic layer. |
| US09773828B2 |
Image sensor device and method of forming same
An image sensor device includes a first substrate, an interconnect structure, a conductive layer, a conductive via and a second substrate. The first substrate includes a first region including a pixel array and a second region including a circuit. The interconnect structure is over the pixel array or the circuit. The interconnect structure electrically connecting the circuit to the pixel array. The conductive layer is on the interconnect structure. The conductive via passes through the second substrate and at least partially embedded in the conductive layer. The second substrate is over the conductive layer. |
| US09773827B2 |
Solid-state image sensor and camera where the plurality of pixels form a pixel group under a single microlens
An image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate having first and second faces. The sensor includes a plurality of pixel groups each including pixels, each pixel having a photoelectric converter and a wiring pattern, the converter including a region whose major carriers are the same with charges to be accumulated in the photoelectric converter. The sensor also includes a microlenses which are located so that one microlens is arranged for each pixel group. The wiring patterns are located at a side of the first face, and the plurality of microlenses are located at a side of the second face. Light-incidence faces of the regions of the photoelectric converters of each pixel group are arranged along the second face such that the light-incidence faces are apart from each other in a direction along the second face. |
| US09773826B2 |
Solid-state imaging apparatus
A solid-state imaging apparatus includes: a solid-state imaging device photoelectrically converting light taken by a lens; and a light shielding member shielding part of light incident on the solid-state imaging device from the lens, wherein an angle made between an edge surface of the light shielding member and an optical axis direction of the lens is larger than an incident angle of light to be incident on an edge portion of the light shielding member. |
| US09773822B2 |
Array substrate, display device having the same, and manufacturing method thereof
The present application discloses an array substrate comprising a first layer comprising a data line; at least one second layer comprising at least one data line overlapping area on intersections between the first layer and the at least one second layer; and a spacer layer between the first layer and the second layer. The spacer layer comprises a plurality of spacer units spaced apart from each other. Each of the plurality of spacer units is in an area corresponding to the overlapping area. |
| US09773818B2 |
Display device having transparent conductive film and metal film
It is an object of the present invention to form a pixel electrode and a metal film using one resist mask in manufacturing a stacked structure by forming the metal film over the pixel electrode. A conductive film to be a pixel electrode and a metal film are stacked. A resist pattern having a thick region and a region thinner than the thick region is formed over the metal film using an exposure mask having a semi light-transmitting portion. The pixel electrode, and the metal film formed over part of the pixel electrode to be in contact therewith are formed using the resist pattern. Accordingly, a pixel electrode and a metal film can be formed using one resist mask. |
| US09773812B2 |
Integrated circuit with heterogeneous CMOS integration of strained silicon germanium and group III-V semiconductor materials and method to fabricate same
A structure includes an off-axis Si substrate with an overlying s-Si1−xGex layer and a BOX between the off-axis Si substrate and the s-Si1−xGex layer. The structure further includes pFET fins formed in the s-Si1−xGex layer and a trench formed through the s-Si1−xGex layer, the BOX and partially into the off-axis Si substrate. The trench contains a buffer layer in contact with the off-axis Si substrate, a first Group III-V layer disposed on the buffer layer, a semi-insulating Group III-V layer disposed on the first Group III-V layer and a second Group III-V layer disposed on the semi-insulating Group III-V layer, as well as nFET fins formed in the second Group III-V layer. The s-Si1−xGex layer has a value of x that results from a condensation process that merges an initial s-Si1−xGex layer with an initial underlying on-axis <100> Si layer. A method to fabricate the structure is also disclosed. |
| US09773811B2 |
Reducing antenna effects in SOI devices
It is provided a semiconductor device comprising a power line, a Silicon-on-Insulator, SOI, substrate comprising a semiconductor layer and a semiconductor bulk substrate comprising a first doped region, a first transistor device formed in and above the SOI substrate and comprising a first gate dielectric formed over the semiconductor layer and a first gate electrode formed over the gate dielectric, a first diode electrically connected to the first gate electrode and a second diode electrically connected to the first diode and the power line; and wherein the first and second diodes are partially formed in the first doped region. |
| US09773807B1 |
Conductive components and memory assemblies
Some embodiments include a memory assembly having memory cells proximate a conductive source. Channel material extends along the memory cells and is electrically coupled with the conductive source. The conductive source is over an insulative material and includes an adhesion material directly against the insulative material. The adhesion material comprises one or more of metal, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, silicon carbide, metal silicide, metal carbide, metal oxide, metal oxynitride and metal nitride. The conductive source includes metal-containing material over and directly against the adhesion material. The metal-containing material consists essentially of metal. The conductive source includes a metal-and-nitrogen-containing material over and directly against the metal-containing material, and includes a conductively-doped semiconductor material over the metal-and-nitrogen-containing material. |
| US09773806B1 |
Semiconductor device
A semiconductor device includes gate electrodes and interlayer insulating layers alternately stacked on a substrate, a channel layer penetrating through the gate electrodes and the interlayer insulating layers, and a gate dielectric layer disposed on an external surface of the channel layer between the gate electrodes and the channel layer. In addition, the channel layer includes a first region extended in a direction perpendicular to a top surface of the substrate and a second region connected to the first region in a lower portion of the first region and including a plane inclined with respect to the top surface of the substrate. |
| US09773803B2 |
Non-volatile memory device and method of manufacturing same
According to an embodiment, a non-volatile memory device includes a first conductive layer, electrodes, an interconnection layer and at least one semiconductor layer. The electrodes are arranged between the first conductive layer and the interconnection layer in a first direction perpendicular to the first conductive layer. The interconnection layer includes a first interconnection and a second interconnection. The semiconductor layer extends through the electrodes in the first direction, and is electrically connected to the first conductive layer and the first interconnection. The device further includes a memory film between each of the electrodes and the semiconductor layer, and a conductive body extending in the first direction. The conductive body electrically connects the first conductive layer and the second interconnection, and includes a first portion and a second portion connected to the second interconnection. The second portion has a width wider than the first portion. |
| US09773802B2 |
Method of fabricating synapse memory device
Example embodiments relate to a method of fabricating a synapse memory device capable of being driven at a low voltage and realizing a multi-level memory. The synapse memory device includes a two-transistor structure in which a drain region of a first transistor including a memory layer and a first source region of a second transistor share a source-drain shared area. The synapse memory device is controlled by applying a voltage through the source-drain shared area. The memory layer includes a charge trap layer and a threshold switching layer, and may realize a non-volatile multi-level memory function. |
| US09773800B1 |
Non-volatile memory structure and manufacturing method thereof
The present invention provides a non-volatile memory structure, which includes a substrate, a gate dielectric layer disposed on the substrate, two charge trapping layers, disposed on two sides of the gate dielectric layer respectively and disposed on the substrate, a gate conductive layer disposed on the gate dielectric layer and on the charge trapping layers, wherein a sidewall of the gate conductive layer is aligned with a sidewall of one of the two charge trapping layers, and at least one vertical oxide layer, disposed beside the sidewall of the gate conductive layer. |
| US09773796B2 |
Non-volatile memory device
A non-volatile memory device including a cell array area including a plurality of memory cells and word lines and bit lines, which are connected to the plurality of memory cells, a core circuit area including a page buffer circuit and a row decoder circuit, the pager buffer circuit configured to temporarily store data input to and output from the plurality of memory cells, and the row decoder circuit configured to select some of the word lines corresponding to an address input thereto, and an input/output circuit area including a data input/output buffer circuit, the data input/output buffer circuit configured to at least one of transmit data to the page buffer circuit and receive data from the page buffer circuit, and the input/output circuit area including at least one asymmetrical transistor having a source region and a drain region asymmetrically disposed with respect to the gate structure may be provided. |
| US09773794B2 |
Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same
An embodiment of a semiconductor device includes a plate line that is connected to ferroelectric capacitors selected from a plurality of ferroelectric capacitors and covers the selected ferroelectric capacitors and regions between the selected ferroelectric capacitors from above top electrodes. |
| US09773791B2 |
Layout of static random access memory cell
A static random access memory (SRAM) cell is defined by first and second boundaries disposed opposite to each other and third and fourth boundaries disposed opposite to each other and intersected by the first and second boundaries. The SRAM cell includes a first invertor including a first P-type pull-up transistor and a first N-type pull-down transistor, a second invertor including a second P-type pull-up transistor and a second N-type pull-down transistor and cross-coupled to the first invertor, and first and second pass-gate transistors connected to the cross-coupled first and second invertors. Source regions of the first and second P-type pull-up transistors are formed by a main source active region extending continuously between the first and second boundaries. Source regions of the first and second pass-gate transistors and the first and second N-type pull-down transistors are formed by different source active regions spaced apart from each other. |
| US09773790B1 |
Semiconductor device and method for forming the same
A semiconductor device includes a substrate including at least a memory region defined therein and a plurality of memory cells formed in the memory region, a plurality of first connecting structures, a plurality of second connecting structures, a plurality of dummy nodes respectively disposed on the first connecting structures, and a plurality of first storage nodes respectively disposed on the second connecting structures. The first connecting structures respectively include a conductive portion and a first metal portion, and the second connecting structures respectively include the conductive portion and a second metal portion. The first metal portion and the second metal portion include the same material. And the first metal portion and the second metal portion include different heights. |
| US09773786B2 |
FETs and methods of forming FETs
An embodiment is a method including forming a first fin and a second fin on a substrate, the first fin and the second fin each including a first crystalline semiconductor material on a substrate and a second crystalline semiconductor material above the first crystalline semiconductor material. Converting the first crystalline semiconductor material in the second fin to a dielectric material, wherein after the converting step, at least a portion of the first crystalline semiconductor material in the first fin remains unconverted. Forming gate structures over the first fin and the second fin, and forming source/drain regions on opposing sides of the gate structures. |
| US09773784B2 |
Semiconductor structure and method for manufacturing the same
A semiconductor structure and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The semiconductor structure comprises a substrate, a device region, a first doped region and a gate structure. The first doped region is formed in the substrate adjacent to the device region. The gate structure is on the first doped region. The first doped region is overlapped the gate structure. |
| US09773781B1 |
Resistor and capacitor disposed directly upon a SAC cap of a gate structure of a semiconductor structure
A semiconductor structure includes a substrate. A gate structure is disposed over the substrate. The gate structure includes: a pair of gate spacers extending generally vertically from the substrate, gate metal disposed between the spacers, and a self-aligned contact (SAC) cap disposed over the gate metal to form a top of the gate structure. A first capacitor plate is disposed directly upon the SAC cap such that no additional layer is disposed between the resistor and SAC cap. An insulator layer and a second capacitor plate are disposed on the first capacitor plate forming a MIM capacitor. A pair of capacitor plate contacts are electrically connected to the first capacitor plate and the second capacitor plate. |
| US09773766B2 |
Semiconductor device including independent film layer for embedding and/or spacing semiconductor die
A semiconductor package including a plurality of stacked semiconductor die, and methods of forming the semiconductor package, are disclosed. In order to ease wirebonding requirements on the controller die, the controller die may be mounted directly to the substrate in a flip chip arrangement requiring no wire bonds or footprint outside of the controller die. Thereafter, a spacer layer may be affixed to the substrate around the controller die to provide a level surface on which to mount one or more flash memory die. The spacer layer may be provided in a variety of different configurations. |
| US09773761B2 |
Ultra-small LED electrode assembly and method for manufacturing same
Provided are a nano-scale LED assembly and a method for manufacturing the same. First, a nano-scale LED device that is independently manufactured may be aligned and connected to two electrodes different from each other to solve a limitation in which a nano-scale LED device having a nano unit is coupled to two electrodes different from each other in a stand-up state. Also, since the LED device and the electrodes are disposed on the same plane, light extraction efficiency of the LED device may be improved. Furthermore, the number of nano-scale LED devices may be adjusted. Second, since the nano-scale LED device does not stand up to be three-dimensionally coupled to upper and lower electrodes, but lies to be coupled to two electrodes different from each other on the same plane, the light extraction efficiency may be very improved. Also, since a separate layer is formed on a surface of the LED device to prevent the LED device and the electrode from being electrically short-circuited, defects of the LED electrode assembly may be minimized. Also, in preparation for the occurrence of the very rare defects of the LED device, the plurality of LED devices may be connected to the electrode to maintain the original function of the nano-scale LED electrode assembly. |
| US09773760B2 |
LED packages and luminaires incorporating same
According to one aspect, an LED package comprises a plurality of LEDs and a primary optic disposed adjacent the LEDs wherein the primary optic includes protrusions for mixing light developed by the plurality of LEDs. |
| US09773757B2 |
Devices, packaged semiconductor devices, and semiconductor device packaging methods
Devices, packaged semiconductor devices, and methods of packaging semiconductor devices are disclosed. In some embodiments, a device includes a first interconnect structure, a first integrated circuit die coupled to the first interconnect structure, and a second integrated circuit die disposed over and coupled to the first integrated circuit die. A second interconnect structure is disposed over the second integrated circuit die. First through-vias are coupled between the first interconnect structure and the second interconnect structure, and second through-vias are coupled between the first integrated circuit die and the second interconnect structure. A molding material is disposed around the first integrated circuit die, the second integrated circuit die, the plurality of first through-vias, and the plurality of second through-vias. |
| US09773753B1 |
Semiconductor devices and methods of manufacturing the same
A semiconductor device includes a first die, a second die, an encapsulant, a first dielectric layer, and at least one first trace. The first die includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface and includes at least one first pad disposed adjacent to the first surface of the first die. The second die includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface and includes at least one second pad disposed adjacent to the first surface of the second die. The first dielectric layer is disposed on at least a portion of the first surface of the first die and at least a portion of the first surface of the second die. The first trace is disposed on the first dielectric layer, which connects the first pad to the second pad, and the first trace comprises an end portion disposed adjacent to the first pad and a body portion, and the end portion extends at an angle θ1 relative to a direction of extension of the body portion. |
| US09773750B2 |
Method of transferring and bonding an array of micro devices
Electrostatic transfer head array assemblies and methods of transferring and bonding an array of micro devices to a receiving substrate are described. In an embodiment, a method includes picking up an array of micro devices from a carrier substrate with an electrostatic transfer head assembly supporting an array of electrostatic transfer heads, contacting a receiving substrate with the array of micro devices, transferring energy from the electrostatic transfer head assembly to bond the array of micro devices to the receiving substrate, and releasing the array of micro devices onto the receiving substrate. |
| US09773749B2 |
Warpage control of semiconductor die package
Various embodiments of mechanisms for forming a die package using a compressive dielectric layer to contact and to surround through substrate vias (TSVs) in the die package are provided. The compressive dielectric layer reduces or eliminates bowing of the die package. As a result, the risk of broken redistribution layer (RDL) due to bowing is reduced or eliminated. In addition, the compressive dielectric layer, which is formed between the conductive TSV columns and surrounding molding compound, improves the adhesion between the conductive TSV columns and the molding compound. Consequently, the reliability of the die package is improved. |
| US09773748B2 |
Bonding wire for semiconductor device
A bonding wire for a semiconductor device including a coating layer having Pd as a main component on the surface of a Cu alloy core material and a skin alloy layer containing Au and Pd on the surface of the coating layer has a Cu concentration of 1 to 10 at % at an outermost surface thereof and has the core material containing a metallic element of Group 10 of the Periodic Table of Elements in a total amount of 0.1 to 3.0% by mass, thereby achieving improvement in 2nd bondability and excellent ball bondability in a high-humidity heating condition. Furthermore, a maximum concentration of Au in the skin alloy layer is preferably 15 at % to 75 at %. |
| US09773747B2 |
Wiring substrate and method for manufacturing wiring subtrate
A wiring substrate includes a core substrate. The core substrate includes a first surface, a second surface, and an opening extending through the core substrate between the first and second surfaces. A first conductive film is formed on the first surface and covers the opening. A second conductive film is formed on the second surface. The second conductive film covers the opening. An electronic component is arranged in the opening and connected to the first conductive film. An insulator fills the opening. A first wiring portion includes alternately stacked insulative layers and wiring layers and covers the first surface of the core substrate and the first conductive film. A second wiring portion includes alternately stacked insulative layers and wiring layers, and covers the second surface of the core substrate and the second conductive film. |
| US09773743B2 |
Versatile and reliable intelligent package
A package comprises a body, and an electrically conductive pattern supported by said body. An interface portion is configured to receive a module to a removable attachment with the package. The electrically conductive pattern comprises, at least partly within said interface portion, a wireless coupling pattern that constitutes one half of a wireless coupling arrangement. |
| US09773738B2 |
Circuit substrate for semiconductor package with multiple circuit substrate units and semiconductor package therefor
Provided is a circuit substrate for a semiconductor package used for mounting a plurality of semiconductor devices. The circuit substrate including: a first circuit substrate unit; and a second circuit substrate unit that is formed on the first circuit substrate unit, wherein Young's modulus of a first dielectric material composing the dielectric layer of the first circuit substrate unit is higher than Young's modulus of a second dielectric material composing the dielectric layer of the second circuit substrate unit, and a coefficient of thermal expansion of the first dielectric material composing the dielectric layer of the first circuit substrate unit is smaller than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the second dielectric material composing the dielectric layer of the second circuit substrate unit. |
| US09773736B2 |
Intermediate layer for copper structuring and methods of formation thereof
A method of forming a metallization layer over a semiconductor substrate includes depositing a blanket layer of a diffusion barrier liner over an inter level dielectric layer, and depositing a blanket layer of an intermediate layer over the diffusion barrier liner. A blanket layer of a power metal layer including copper is deposited over the intermediate layer. The intermediate layer includes a solid solution of a majority element and copper. The intermediate layer has a different etch selectivity from the power metal layer. After depositing the power metal layer, structuring the power metal layer, the intermediate layer, and the diffusion barrier liner. |
| US09773735B1 |
Geometry control in advanced interconnect structures
A via opening is provided in an interconnect dielectric material. Prior to line opening formation, a continuous layer of a sacrificial material is formed lining the entirety of the via opening. An organic planarization layer (OPL) and a photoresist that contains a line pattern are formed above the interconnect dielectric material. The line pattern is then transferred into an upper portion of the interconnect dielectric material, while maintaining a portion of the OPL and a portion of the continuous layer of sacrificial material within a lower portion of the via opening. The remaining portions of the OPL and the sacrificial material are then removed from the bottom portion of the via opening. A combined via opening/line opening is provided in which the via opening has a well controlled profile/geometry. An interconnect metal or metal alloy can then be formed into the combined via opening/line opening. |
| US09773733B2 |
Semiconductor device
There is provided a semiconductor device including a memory region and a logic region. The memory region includes a transistor (memory transistor) that stores information by accumulating charge in a sidewall insulating film. The width of the sidewall insulating film of the memory transistor included in the memory region is made larger than the width of a sidewall insulating film of a transistor (logic transistor) included in the logic region. |
| US09773726B2 |
Three-dimensional integrated circuit integration
Wiring structures, methods for providing a wiring structure, and methods for distributing currents with a wiring structure from one or more through-substrate vias to multiple bumps. A first current is directed from a first through-substrate via of a first electrical resistance through a first connection line to a first bump and directing a second current from the first through-substrate via through a second connection line of a second electrical resistance to a second bump. The first connection line has a first length relative to a first position of the first bump and a first cross-sectional area, the second connection line has a second length relative to a first position of the second bump and a second cross-sectional area, the second length is different from the first length, and the second cross-sectional area is different from the first cross-sectional area. |
| US09773720B2 |
Power module and fabrication method for the same
A power module includes: an insulating layer; a first metallic plate disposed on the insulating layer; a first semiconductor chip disposed on the first metallic plate; a first adhesive insulating layer and a second adhesive insulating layer disposed on the first metallic plate; a first metallic land for main electrode wiring disposed on the first adhesive insulating layer; and a first metallic land for signal wiring disposed on the second adhesive insulating layer. There can be provided a power module having reduced cost, reduced warpage of the whole of a substrate, stabilized quality, and improved reliability; and a fabrication method for such a power module. |
| US09773713B2 |
Electronic component, method for manufacturing electronic component, electronic apparatus, and moving object
To provide an electronic component in which the bonding position and bonding strength of a lead terminal can be maintained even if re-heated, a crystal oscillator as an electronic component includes: a first substrate having a connection terminal; and a lead terminal having a connection pad connected to the connection terminal of the first substrate via an electrically conductive bonding member. The electrically conductive bonding member has a part overlapping with the connection terminal and the connection pad, and a part arranged on the outside of the connection pad, as viewed in a plan view. The connection pad is provided with a first area overlapping with the connection terminal and a second area extending from the first area. The second area is connected to the first substrate via an insulative bonding member. |
| US09773710B2 |
Method for evaluating concentration of defect in silicon single crystal substrate
A method for evaluating concentration of defect in silicon single crystal substrate, defect being formed by particle beam irradiation in silicon single crystal substrate, including the steps of: measuring a resistivity of silicon single crystal substrate, followed by irradiating silicon single crystal substrate with particle beam, re-measuring resistivity of silicon single crystal substrate after irradiation; determining each carrier concentration in silicon single crystal substrate before and after irradiation on basis of measured results of resistivity before and after particle beam irradiation to calculate rate of change of carrier concentration; and evaluating concentration of VV defect on basis of rate of change of carrier concentration, VV defect being made of a silicon atom vacancy and being formed by particle beam irradiation in silicon single crystal substrate. The method can simply evaluate concentration of VV defect formed in silicon single crystal substrate by particle beam irradiation. |
| US09773709B2 |
Forming CMOSFET structures with different contact liners
A method of making a semiconductor device includes forming a first trench contact over a first source/drain region of a first transistor; forming a second trench contact over a second source/drain region of a second transistor; depositing a first liner material within the first trench contact; and depositing a second liner material within the second trench contact; wherein the first liner material and the second liner material include different materials. |
| US09773704B2 |
Method for the reuse of gallium nitride epitaxial substrates
A method for the reuse of gallium nitride (GaN) epitaxial substrates uses band-gap-selective photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching to remove one or more epitaxial layers from bulk or free-standing GaN substrates without damaging the substrate, allowing the substrate to be reused for further growth of additional epitaxial layers. The method facilitates a significant cost reduction in device production by permitting the reuse of expensive bulk or free-standing GaN substrates. |
| US09773700B1 |
Aligning conductive vias with trenches
A method for forming conductive contacts on a wafer comprises forming a first hardmask, planarizing layer, second hardmask, and a layer of sacrificial mandrel material, and removing portions of the layer of sacrificial mandrel material to expose portions of the second hardmask and form a first and second sacrificial mandrel. Spacers are formed adjacent to the sacrificial mandrels. A filler material is deposited on the second hardmask, and a first mask is formed on the filler material. An exposed portion of the second sacrificial mandrel is removed to form a first cavity. The depth of the first cavity is increased. The first mask, portions of the first and second sacrificial mandrels, the filler material, portions of the second hardmask, the spacers, portions of the planarization layer and the first hardmask are removed. A second cavity is formed and the first and second cavities are filled with a conductive material. |
| US09773698B2 |
Method of manufacturing an ultra low dielectric layer
An article may include a structure including a patterned metal on a surface of a substrate, the patterned metal including metal features separated by gaps of an average dimension of less than about 1000 nm. A porous low dielectric constant material having a dielectric value of less than about 2.7 substantially occupies all gaps. An interface between the metal features and the porous low dielectric constant material may include less than about 0.1% by volume of voids. A method may include depositing a filling material including a silicon-based resin having a molecular weight of less than about 30,000 Da and a porogen having a molecular weight greater than about 400 Da onto a structure comprising a patterned metal. The deposited filling material may be subjected to a first thermal treatment to substantially fill all gaps, and subjected to a second thermal treatment and a UV radiation treatment. |
| US09773697B2 |
Method of manufacturing semiconductor device
According to an embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a first opening that extends from a second surface of a semiconductor substrate opposite to a first surface toward the first surface and extending to a first insulating layer in the semiconductor substrate, performing a first annealing process in a first gas atmosphere that contains hydrogen after formation of the first opening, forming a second insulating layer on a side wall of the semiconductor substrate in the first opening, performing a second annealing process after formation of the second insulating layer, forming a second opening that extends to the conductive layer in the first insulating layer through the first opening, and forming a via that is connected to the conductive layer in the first and second openings. |
| US09773696B2 |
Semiconductor structure and manufacturing method thereof
The present disclosure provides a semiconductor structure having a semiconductor layer; a gate with a conductive portion and a sidewall spacer; an interlayer dielectric (ILD) surrounding the sidewall spacer; and a nitrogen-containing protection layer, positioning at least on the top surface of the conductive portion of the gate. A top surface of the conductive portion and a top surface of the sidewall spacer are substantially coplanar. The nitrogen-containing protection layer is not covering the sidewall surface of the sidewall spacer. The present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure. The method includes forming a metal gate structure having a conductive portion and a sidewall spacer surrounded by a first ILD; forming a protection layer over the metal gate structure, and the protection layer is formed to cover at least the conductive portion of the metal gate structure; and forming a second ILD over the metal gate structure. |
| US09773694B2 |
Method for manufacturing bonded wafer
A method for manufacturing a bonded wafer, includes: ion-implanting a gas ion such as a hydrogen ion from a surface of a bond wafer, thereby forming an ion-implanted layer; bonding the bond wafer and a base wafer; producing a bonded wafer having a thin-film on the base wafer by delaminating the bond wafer along the ion-implanted layer; and performing an RTA treatment on the bonded wafer in a hydrogen gas-containing atmosphere; wherein a protective film is formed onto the surface of the thin-film in a heat treatment furnace in the course of temperature-falling from the maximum temperature of the RTA treatment before the bonded wafer is taken out from the heat treatment furnace; and then the bonded wafer with the protective film being formed thereon is taken out from the heat treatment furnace, and is then cleaned with a cleaning liquid which can etch the protective film and the thin-film. |
| US09773692B2 |
In-situ removable electrostatic chuck
Embodiments described herein generally relate to an electrostatic chuck (ESC). The ESC may contain a first plurality of electrodes adapted to electrostatically couple a substrate to the ESC and a second plurality of electrodes adapted to electrostatically couple the ESC to a substrate support. Instead of being integrally disposed within the substrate support, the ESC may be easily removed from the substrate support and removed from a chamber for maintenance or replacement purposes. |
| US09773690B2 |
Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing system, and method of detecting abnormality in transport container
A substrate processing apparatus includes: a load port into and out of which the transport container is carried; and an apparatus controller that controls operations in the load port. The apparatus controller includes a storage unit that stores transition data of parameter values sent from outside based on a transport container identification code. The transition data of the parameter values each comprises a usage count of the transport container and a corresponding parameter value that quantifies a result of at least one of an operation performed to remove the lid after the transport container is carried into the load port and an operation performed to carry the container out of the load port. The apparatus controller further includes a determination unit that determines, after a transport container is carried into the load port, presence or absence of an abnormality in that transport container based on a parameter value associated with at least one of carrying-in or carrying-out of that transport container, and past transition data of parameter values associated with that transport container. |
| US09773689B2 |
Semiconductor die singulation method using varied carrier substrate temperature
In one embodiment, die are singulated from a wafer having a back layer by placing the wafer onto a first carrier substrate with the back layer adjacent the carrier substrate, forming singulation lines through the wafer to expose the back layer within the singulation lines, and using a mechanical device to apply localized pressure to the wafer to separate the back layer in the singulation lines. The localized pressure can be applied through the first carrier substrate proximate to the back layer, or can be applied through a second carrier substrate attached to a front side of the wafer opposite to the back layer. A support structure is used to heat and/or cool at least the first carrier-substrate while the localized pressure is applied. |
| US09773687B2 |
Liquid processing apparatus
A liquid processing apparatus performs a liquid processing on a rotating substrate by supplying a processing liquid. Surrounding members surround a region including an upper space of a cup body surrounding the rotating substrate and provided with an opening above the substrate. An air flow forming portion forms a descending air flow from an upper side of the cup body. A bottom surface portion blocks between the cup body and the surrounding member along a circumferential direction. An exhaust port is provided above the bottom surface portion and outside the cup body to exhaust an atmosphere in a region surrounded by the surrounding members and the bottom surface portion. |
| US09773686B2 |
Substrate cleaning apparatus and substrate processing apparatus
A substrate cleaning apparatus for reducing a limitation of a layout of a chemical liquid nozzle and a rinsing liquid nozzle, while enabling a load cell to be installed at an optimal location and achieving a larger adjustment range, is disclosed. The substrate cleaning apparatus includes a roll assembly including at least a roll cleaning member to be brought into contact with a substrate and a roll arm that rotatably supports the roll cleaning member, a support arm for supporting the roll assembly; an adjustment screw extending through the support arm and screwed into the roll assembly; and a screw support that fixes a relative position of the adjustment screw in a vertical direction with respect to the support arm and rotatably supports the adjustment screw. |
| US09773680B1 |
Advanced method for scaled SRAM with flexible active pitch
Devices and methods of fabricating scaled SRAM with flexible active pitch are provided. One method includes, for instance: obtaining an intermediate semiconductor device having a first portion and a second portion, including a plurality of layers and a patterned mandrel; forming a first set of spacers surrounding the patterned mandrel; etching the dielectric layer; depositing a photoresist layer; opening the photoresist layer over the first portion and not the second portion, removing the patterned mandrel in the open areas; etching the dielectric layer in the open areas; removing the photoresist layer, the remaining patterned mandrels, and the first set of spacers in the first and second portion, etching the silicon layer and MTO layer to form a pattern; forming a second set of spacers around the pattern; and etching a set of fins into the substrate and oxide layer. |
| US09773677B2 |
Semiconductor device structures with doped elements and methods of formation
Methods of forming doped elements of semiconductor device structures include forming trenches having undercut portions separating stem portions of a substrate. The stem portions extend between a base portion of the substrate and overlying broader portions of the substrate material. A carrier material including a dopant is formed at least on the sides of the stems in the undercut portions of the trenches. The dopant is diffused from the carrier material into the stems. As such, the narrow stem portions of the substrate become doped with a targeted dopant-delivery method. The doped stems may form or be incorporated within buried, doped, conductive elements of semiconductor device structures, such as digit lines of memory arrays. Also disclosed are related semiconductor device structures. |
| US09773668B2 |
Apparatus for forming a transition metal chalcogenide thin-film
Provided is a method of forming a transition metal chalcogenide thin-film and the method includes preparing a first substrate having formed thereon a transition metal-containing precursor thin-film; displacing a second substrate separately with a constant distance from the first substrate by using a bridge unit while the second substrate is facing the first substrate, thereby securing a gas flowing path between the first substrate and the second substrate; heating the first and second substrates to a reaction temperature; and introducing a chalcogen-containing gas from an end of a reactor, such that the chalcogen-containing gas flows via the path. |
| US09773662B1 |
Method for fabricating a fine structure
In a method for fabricating a fine structure, a metal oxide layer is formed by using an atomic layer deposition over a substrate, and the metal oxide layer is removed. An interfacial oxide layer is formed between the metal oxide layer and the substrate. The interfacial oxide layer is an oxide of an element constituting the substrate, and the interfacial oxide layer is removed. |
| US09773659B2 |
Metal halide lamp with ceramic discharge vessel
A discharge lamp and a method for forming the lamp, the lamp including a ceramic discharge vessel defining at least part of a cavity containing a metal halide (MH) chemical filling having a power factor of between about 0.75 and 0.85 located within the cavity; and one or more feedthroughs having first and second ends, the first end located in the cavity. The cavity may have an internal length LINT and an internal diameter DINT that are proportional to each other, such that an aspect ratio defined as LINT/DINT is less than or equal to two. The lamp may be started and operated with a probe-start ballast without an internal igniter circuit or without a starting electrode (or internal igniter). |
| US09773654B2 |
Fe-Co-based alloy sputtering target material, and method of producing same
Provided is a Fe—Co-based alloy sputtering target material having a composition represented as an atomic ratio by the compositional formula: (Fea—Co100-a)100-b-c-d—Tab—Nbc-Md, wherein 0 |
| US09773652B2 |
MgO target for sputtering
Disclosed is an MgO target for sputtering, which can accelerate a film formation rate even when MgO is used as a target for sputtering in the formation of an MgO film. The MgO target for sputtering, which includes MgO and an electroconductive material as main components, and in which the electroconductive material is capable of imparting orientation to a MgO film when the MgO film containing the electroconductive material is formed by a DC sputtering. |
| US09773650B2 |
Method and device for generating an electrical discharge
A device and method for generating an electrical discharge are described. A first electrode (30) is operated to be a cathode relative to a second electrode (16). A gas is introduced into the chamber (14) by the first electrode (30). The first electrode (30) has a closed antechamber (32) with a metal wall (34). A tube (36) consisting of a different material than the wall (34) is provided through which the gas from the antechamber (32) is conducted into the chamber (14). A front portion of the tube (36) is embedded in the wall (34) of the antechamber (32). In its rear portion, the tube (36) has a free end projecting into the antechamber (32). A stable electrical discharge can be generated thereby in a particularly easy manner. |
| US09773644B2 |
Power generator with frequency tuning for use with plasma loads
A generator and method for tuning the generator are disclosed. The method includes setting the frequency of power applied by the generator to a current best frequency and sensing a characteristic of the power applied by the generator. A current best error based upon the characteristic of the power is determined, and the frequency of the power at the current best frequency is maintained for a main-time-period. The frequency of the power is then changed to a probe frequency and maintained at the probe frequency for a probe-time-period, which is less than the main-time-period. The current best frequency is set to the probe frequency if the error at the probe frequency is less than the error at the current best frequency. |
| US09773641B2 |
Method and apparatus for observing defects
Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for observing defects by using an SEM, wherein, in order to observe defects on a wafer at high speed and high sensitivity, positional information of defects on a sample, which has been optically inspected and detected by other inspecting apparatus, and information of the conditions of the optical inspection having been performed by other inspecting apparatus are obtained, and optically detecting the defects on the sample placed on a table, on the basis of the thus obtained information, and on the basis of the detected positional information of the defect on the sample placed on the table, the positional information of the defect having been inspected and detected by other inspecting apparatus is corrected, then, the defects on the sample placed on the table are observed by the SEM using the thus corrected positional information of the defects. |
| US09773640B2 |
Sample holder, charged particle beam apparatus, and observation method
An object of the present invention is to provide a sample holder that can carry out a series of observations in which a rotational series image at arbitrary angles, namely, from −180° to +180° around the x-axis of an observation region and a rotational series image at arbitrary angles, namely, from −180° to +180° around the y-axis are obtained without taking a sample out of a sample chamber.A sample holder includes a power unit, a power separator, a rotational movement transmission mechanism, and a linear movement transmission mechanism. The power separator separates one movement of the power unit to be distributed to the rotational movement transmission mechanism and the linear movement transmission mechanism. The rotational movement transmission mechanism provides a rotational movement around a second rotational axis. The linear movement transmission mechanism provides a linear movement around the second rotational axis. |
| US09773639B2 |
Electron microscope
There is provided an electron microscope capable of easily achieving power saving. The electron microscope (100) includes a controller (60) for switching the mode of operation of the microscope from a first mode where electron lenses (12, 14, 18, 20) are activated to a second mode where the electron lenses (12, 14, 18, 20) are not activated. During this operation for making a switch from the first mode to the second mode, the controller (60) performs the steps of: closing a first vacuum gate valve (50), opening a second vacuum gate valve (52), and vacuum pumping the interior of the electron optical column (2) of the microscope by the second vacuum pumping unit (40); then controlling a heating section (26) to heat an adsorptive member (242); then opening the first vacuum gate valve (50), closing the second vacuum gate valve (52), and vacuum pumping the interior of the electron optical column (2) by the first vacuum pumping unit (30); and turning off the electron lenses (12, 14, 18, 20). |
| US09773638B2 |
Specimen preparation device
A specimen preparation device prepares a cross section of a specimen by applying an ion beam, the specimen preparation device including: an ion beam generator that generates the ion beam; a specimen holder that holds the specimen; a shield plate that shields part of the specimen from the ion beam; and a tilted plate that is placed to intersect a path of the ion beam on a downstream side of the specimen, and has an incidence surface that is tilted relative to a direction in which the ion beam is incident. |
| US09773629B1 |
Magnetic sensing switch
A magnetic sensing switch includes switch body having a hollow tube and an opening. A magnetic reed switch is disposed in the tube and includes two conductive points. The plug having an elastic clamping force is fixed in the opening by interference fit. The plug including a sealant injection portion and a retaining portion communicating with the tube. The two wires are inserted in the tube, one end of each wire is connected to one conductive point, and the other end passes through the retaining portion to protrude out of the tube. A sealant is injected into the tube via the sealant injection portion to entirely wrap the magnetic reed switch and the wires inside the tube, and the sealant partially protrudes out of the sealant injection portion. |
| US09773627B2 |
Shape memory circuit breakers
A shape memory circuit breaker includes a shape memory substrate having first and second opposed substrate ends. The shape memory substrate is configured to transition from a strained conductive configuration to a fractured non-conductive configuration. An isolation housing is coupled with the shape memory substrate. The isolation housing includes first and second anchors coupled near the first and second substrate ends. A brace extends between the first and second anchors, and the brace statically positions the first and second anchors and the respective first and second substrate ends. The shape memory substrate is configured to transition from the strained conductive configuration to the fractured non-conductive configuration at or above a specified temperature range corresponding to a specified overload current range or voltage range, and the first substrate end fractures from the second substrate end at or above the specified temperature range resulting in an open circuit. |
| US09773626B1 |
Keyboard
A keyboard includes a base plate, plural keycaps, plural scissors-type connecting elements and a sliding plate. Each scissors-type connecting element has a bulge. The gliding plate has plural position-limiting structures. The keyboard is installed on a notebook computer and connected with a top cover of the notebook computer. For operating the keyboard, the bulge is received in a first step part of the position-limiting structure. Consequently, the keycap is at a higher height. Since the keycap is at a higher height, the movable distance of the keycap is large enough to provide better tactile feel. For storing the keyboard, the bulge of the scissors-type connecting element is moved to the second step part of the position-limiting structure. Consequently, the height of the keycap is reduced, and the keyboard has a slim appearance. |
| US09773625B2 |
Device for protecting an electrical circuit fed by an alternating current which can be integrated into a contactor
Device for protecting an electrical circuit fed by an alternating current, comprising a housing and a fuse element disposed in the housing. The housing comprises a first portion and a second portion which are mobile in relation to one another, and elastic means suitable for causing the first portion to bear against the second portion and causing the housing to be set in a closed state. |
| US09773619B2 |
Multilayer capacitor and installation structure of multilayer capacitor
In a multilayer capacitor, a multilayer capacitor main body includes first and second main surfaces, first and second side surfaces, and first and second end surfaces, the first and second main surfaces extending in a length direction and a width direction, the first and second side surfaces extending in the length direction and a thickness direction, and the first and second end surfaces extending in the width direction and the thickness direction. The second main surface is depressed in a portion extending from opposite ends of the second main surface toward a center of the second main surface in the length direction. |
| US09773614B2 |
Thin film capacitor
A thin film capacitor includes a pair of electrode layers, a dielectric layer existing between the pair of electrode layers, and a ceramic layer disposed on a surface opposite to the dielectric layer of at least one of the electrode layers. |
| US09773608B2 |
Insulation structure for transformer, method for insulating a transformer, and transformer comprising insulation structure
A transformer includes a transformer core, a first wire, which forms a first winding, and a second wire, which forms a second winding. The first and second windings are wound around the transformer core. A preformed insulation structure is arranged between the first and second winding and designed to space apart the second winding from the first winding and the transformer core. The preformed insulation structure further includes a first shell which at least partially encloses the transformer core with the first winding, and a second shell which at least partially encloses the transformer core with the first winding. The first and second shells are identical. One or more holes are defined in the first shell and the second shell. The one or more holes cover more than 10% of a surface of the preformed insulation structure. |
| US09773598B2 |
Cover for an electronic device
A magnetic attachment mechanism and method is described. The magnetic attachment mechanism can be used to releasably attach at least two objects together in a preferred configuration without fasteners and without external intervention. The magnetic attachment mechanism can be used to releasably attach an accessory device to an electronic device. The accessory device can be used to augment the functionality of usefulness of the electronic device. |
| US09773596B2 |
Powder for magnetic core and powder magnetic core
Provided is a powder for a magnetic core (1), including a soft magnetic metal powder (2); and an insulating coating film (3) covering a surface of the soft magnetic metal powder (2), in which the insulating coating film (3) is formed of an aggregate of crystals (4) obtained by cleaving a layered oxide. The crystals (4) are obtained by, for example, cleaving a swellable smectite-group mineral, which is one kind of swellable layered clay mineral as the layered oxide. |
| US09773592B2 |
Permanent magnet, and motor and generator using the same
A permanent magnet of an embodiment includes: a composition represented by a composition formula: R(FepMqCurCo1-p-q-r)z, where R is at least one element selected from rare-earth elements, M is at least one element selected from Zr, Ti, and Hf, and relations of 0.3≦p≦0.4, 0.01≦q≦0.05, 0.01≦r≦0.1, and 7≦z≦8.5 (atomic ratio) are satisfied; and a structure including a cell phase having a Th2Zn17 crystal phase, and a cell wall phase existing to surround the cell phase. An average magnetization of the cell wall phase is 0.2 T or less. |
| US09773589B1 |
PTC circuit protection device
A PTC circuit protection device includes a PTC element and two electrodes attached to the PTC element. The PTC element includes a polymer matrix and a particulate conductive filler dispersed in the polymer matrix. The polymer matrix is made from a hetero-phase rheological polymer composition that contains first, second and third polyolefin components, the first, second and third polyolefin components being co-melted together and then solidified to form the polymer matrix. The first polyolefin component has a melt flow rate ranging from 0.1 to 2.5 g/10 min, the second polyolefin component has a melt flow rate ranging from 20 to 30 g/10 min, and the third polyolefin component has a melt flow rate of less than 0.00001 g/10 min measured under a temperature of 190° C. and a load of 2.16 Kg. |
| US09773581B2 |
Cathode material for a Li—S battery and the method for preparing the same, a cathode made of the cathode material and a Li—S battery comprising the cathode
The present invention provides a cathode material for a Li—S battery. The cathod material comprises dehydrogenized acrylonitrile based polymer, sulfur and GNS (Graphene NanoSheet), wherein the cathode material particles are spherical, the content of dehydrogenized acrylonitrile based polymer is 20-79 wt %, the content of sulfur is 20-79 wt % and the content of GNS is 1-30 wt %. Also provided a method for preparing a cathode material, a cathode made of the cathod material and a Li—S battery comprising the cathode. |
| US09773579B2 |
Single component, low temperature curable polymeric composition and related method
Electrically conductive polymeric compositions curable at temperatures below 250° C. are disclosed. The compositions are particularly well suited for forming electrodes used in association with certain solar cells. |
| US09773574B2 |
Systems and methods for enhancing isolation of high-temperature reactor containments
A high-temperature containment-isolation system for transferring heat from a nuclear reactor containment to a high-pressure heat exchanger is presented. The system uses a high-temperature, low-volatility liquid coolant such as a molten salt or a liquid metal, where the coolant flow path provides liquid free surfaces a short distance from the containment penetrations for the reactor hot-leg and the cold-leg, where these liquid free surfaces have a cover gas maintained at a nearly constant pressure and thus prevent high-pressures from being transmitted into the reactor containment, and where the reactor vessel is suspended within a reactor cavity with a plurality of refractory insulator blocks disposed between an actively cooled inner cavity liner and the reactor vessel. |
| US09773567B1 |
Reduced silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) flash memory program disturb
A method and apparatus for balancing voltage stress at a silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) flash memory array is disclosed. A particular cell of the SONOS flash memory array is selected for programming. A first voltage stress associated with a first SONOS transistor is determined if the particular cell is programmed. The first SONOS transistor is included in a first unselected cell of the SONOS flash memory array. A second voltage stress associated with a second SONOS transistor is determined if the particular cell is programmed. The first voltage stress and the second voltage stress are balanced prior to programming the particular cell. |
| US09773564B2 |
Memory read apparatus and methods
Apparatus and methods are disclosed, including a method that raises an electrical potential of a plurality of access lines to a raised electrical potential, where each access line is associated with a respective charge storage device of a string of charge storage devices. The electrical potential of a selected one of the access lines is lowered, and a data state of the charge storage device associated with the selected access line is sensed while the electrical potential of the selected access line is being lowered. Additional apparatus and methods are described. |
| US09773559B2 |
Flash memory device
A flash memory device includes a first page buffer, a second page buffer neighboring the first page buffer, a source-pick-up region disposed between the first page buffer and the second page buffer, and a source line extending in a direction. The source line includes a first portion that corresponds to the first page buffer and a second portion that corresponds to the second page buffer. A first resistance value of the first portion is substantially the same as a second resistance value of the second portion. |
| US09773558B2 |
Memory as a programmable logic device
Methods for operating memory cells include applying a respective minterm, comprising a plurality of variables, to control gates of series strings of memory cells, each series string programmed as a plurality of pairs of complementary memory cells such that certain ones of the plurality of variables are enabled, and logically combining each of the minterms into a logic function output. Memories include a plurality of memory cells configured in series strings of memory cells, wherein each series string of memory cells is configured to provide a minterm comprising a plurality of variables, each variable enabled responsive to a state of an associated, respective memory cell. |
| US09773557B2 |
Multi-plane data order
Systems, methods and computer program products for programming data into a multi-plane memory device employ a multi-plane data order. To allow multiple data pages to be programmed without a need to increase the size of page buffers, in some implementations, a data transfer scheme at which the data pages are programmed can be manipulated. Specifically, data across all channels can first be programmed into a first plane of the multi-plane flash memory device in parallel. While the data transfer program operation is in progress, data to be programmed into a succeeding plane (e.g., plane “1”) can be read into and cached in one or more page buffers. After the data transfer program for the first plane is complete, data cached in the page buffers can be immediately latched and programmed into the multi-plane flash memory device. |
| US09773554B2 |
Composite impurity scheme for memory technologies
An integrated circuit comprises a memory array including diffusion bit lines having composite impurity profiles in a substrate. A plurality of word lines overlies channel regions in the substrate between the diffusion bit lines, with data storage structures such as floating gate structures or dielectric charge trapping structures, at the cross-points. The composite impurity diffusion bit lines provide source/drain terminals on opposing sides of the channel regions that have high conductivity, good depth and steep doping profiles, even with channel region critical dimensions below 50 nanometers. |
| US09773551B2 |
Memory programming methods and memory systems
Memory programming methods and memory systems are described. One example memory programming method includes first applying a first signal to a memory cell to attempt to program the memory cell to a desired state, wherein the first signal corresponds to the desired state, after the first applying, determining that the memory cell failed to place in the desired state, after the determining, second applying a second signal to the memory cell, wherein the second signal corresponds to another state which is different than the desired state, and after the second applying, third applying a third signal to the memory cell to program the memory cell to the desired state, wherein the third signal corresponds to the desired state. Additional method and apparatus are described. |
| US09773548B2 |
Electronic device and method for driving the same
An electronic device includes a semiconductor memory that includes: a memory cell coupled between a first line and a second line; a first selection block configured to select the first line; a second selection block configured to select the second line; an alternate current supply block configured to supply, during a read operation, an alternate current corresponding to a resistance state of the memory cell; and a sensing block configured to sense, during the read operation, at least one of a cell current flowing through the memory cell and the alternate current. |
| US09773543B1 |
Effective clamshell mirroring for memory interfaces
Methods and apparatus are described for pinning out multiple memory devices using shared conductors therebetween and providing multiple chip select signals to indicate to which of the memory devices address signals on the shared conductors apply. In the case of a clamshell configuration with a top memory device having a corresponding bottom memory device and shared vias coupled therebetween, sharing two address signals for each shared via in this manner reduces the total number of vias used, thereby reducing routing congestion and enabling the addition of ground vias around the shared vias to reduce crosstalk for the address signals. |
| US09773542B2 |
Source-synchronous data transmission with non-uniform interface topology
A source-synchronous system is provided in which a non-uniform interface may exist in a data source endpoint as well as in a data sink endpoint. |
| US09773540B2 |
Skyrmion based universal memory operated by electric current
A method for generating a skyrmion, comprising: depositing a vertical metallic nanopillar electrode on a first side of a helimagnetic thin film, the helimagnetic thin film having a contact on a second side to provide a current drain; injecting a current through the vertical metallic nanopillar electrode to generate a rotating field; and applying a static upward magnetic field perpendicular to the helimagnetic thin film to maintain an FM phase background. |
| US09773538B2 |
Nonvolatile semiconductor memory
According to one embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory includes a resistance-change element having first and second terminals, a transistor having third and fourth terminals and a control terminal, the third terminal being electrically connected to the second terminal, and a driver electrically connected to the first and fourth terminals, applying one of a first potential and a second potential to the first terminal and the other of the first and second potentials to the fourth terminal in writing, and applying one of the first and second potentials to the first terminal and the other of the first and second potentials to the fourth terminal in reading. |
| US09773535B2 |
Semiconductor integrated circuit including at least one master chip and at least one slave chip
A semiconductor integrated circuit including first semiconductor chip and second semiconductor chip that are vertically stacked, wherein the first semiconductor chip includes a first column data driving circuit configured to transmit internal data to the second semiconductor chip in a DDR (double data rate) scheme based on an internal strobe signal, and a first column strobe signal driving circuit configured to generate first column strobe signals that are source-synchronized with first column data transmitted to the second semiconductor chip by the first column data driving circuit, based on the internal strobe signal, and transmit the first column strobe signals to the second semiconductor chip. |
| US09773532B2 |
Updating a refresh period and an update period in a wideio device stacked on a system on a chip
An information processing apparatus, equipped with a WideIO memory device stacked on an SOC die including a CPU, and a method of controlling the same, are provide. The apparatus obtains temperature information of each of a plurality of memories of the WideIO memory device, and generates temperature distribution information of the WideIO memory device in accordance with respective execution of a plurality of function modules. Then, the apparatus determines a refresh rate of the WideIO memory device based on the maximum temperature of the WideIO memory device, decides a period, at which the refresh rate is determined, based on an operation mode of the information processing apparatus and a change rate of the maximum temperature for a predetermined time interval, and refreshes the WideIO memory device in accordance with the determined refresh rate. |
| US09773530B1 |
Semiconductor devices and semiconductor systems relating to the prevention of a potential difference between signals from being reversed
A semiconductor device may be provided. The semiconductor device may be configured to adjust a level of a first strobe signal to a predetermined level during a first time period. The semiconductor device may be configured to adjust a swing width of the first strobe signal during a second time period. |
| US09773522B2 |
Digital information recording apparatus, reproducing apparatus and transmitting apparatus
A digital information recording apparatus includes a recording circuit for recording information of a retention period included in the digital information and indicating a period for permitting the digital information to be held in the recording medium, starting with a time at which the digital information is recorded on the recording medium; and information of a playback permission period included in the digital information and indicating a period for permitting the digital information to be played back starting with a time at which the information is reproduced initially following recording of the digital information on the recording medium, permitting temporary recording or copying for the information permitted for “copy never” or “copy one generation.” |
| US09773514B2 |
Magnetic head for perpendicular magnetic recording that includes a sensor for detecting contact with a recording medium
A magnetic head for perpendicular magnetic recording includes a read head unit, a write head unit disposed forward of the read head unit along the direction of travel of a recording medium, a heater that generates heat for causing the medium facing surface to protrude in part, an expansion layer that makes part of the medium facing surface protrude, and a sensor that detects contact of the part of the medium facing surface with the recording medium. The write head unit includes a main pole, a write shield, and a return path section. The return path section includes a yoke layer located backward of the main pole along the direction of travel of the recording medium, a first coupling part that couples the yoke layer and the write shield to each other, and a second coupling part that is located away from the medium facing surface and couples the yoke layer and the main pole to each other. |
| US09773512B2 |
Storage device head using high magnetic moment material including a rare earth material and a transition metal
A write pole structure includes a write pole and a trailing shield wherein the write pole includes a high magnetic moment (HMM) material layer on a surface of the write pole facing the trailing shield, wherein the HMM material layer includes a laminated layer including a rare earth material layer and a transition metal layer. |
| US09773507B2 |
Apparatus and method for determining weighting function having for associating linear predictive coding (LPC) coefficients with line spectral frequency coefficients and immittance spectral frequency coefficients
Proposed is a method and apparatus for determining a weighting function for quantizing a linear predictive coding (LPC) coefficient and having a low complexity. The weighting function determination apparatus may convert an LPC coefficient of a mid-subframe of an input signal to one of a immittance spectral frequency (ISF) coefficient and a line spectral frequency (LSF) coefficient, and may determine a weighting function associated with an importance of the ISF coefficient or the LSF coefficient based on the converted ISF coefficient or LSF coefficient. |
| US09773506B2 |
Sound system
Methods and systems for processing audio data, such as spatial audio data, which modify sound characteristics of a given component of a spatial audio signal based on a relationship between a direction characteristic of the given component and a defined range of direction characteristics. A spatial audio in a format using a spherical harmonic representation of sound components is decoded by performing a transform on the spherical harmonic representation, where the transform is based on a predefined speaker layout and a predefined rule, the predefined rule indicating a speaker gain of each speaker arranged according to the predefined layout, when reproducing sound incident form a given direction to provide alternatives to existing methods of decoding spatial audio streams, which focus on soundfield reconstruction. A plurality of matrix transforms is combined into a combined transform that is performed on an audio signal; this saves processing resources of the audio system. |
| US09773501B1 |
Transcription of communication sessions
A method to transcribe a communication session may include establishing a communication session between a first device and a second device such that first device audio is sent from the first device to the second device and second device audio is sent from the second device to the first device. The method may also include generating first transcript data that may include a transcription of the first device audio. The method may also include generating, in substantially real-time, second transcript data that may include a transcription of the second device audio. The generation of the first transcript data may not occur in substantially real-time such that the generation of the first transcript data is delayed from the generation of the second transcript data. The method may also include routing the second device audio to the first device and routing the first device audio to the second device. |
| US09773499B2 |
Entity name recognition based on entity type
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for recognizing names of entities in speech. In one aspect, a method includes actions of receiving an utterance that includes (i) a first term that indicates a particular entity type, and (ii) a second term that indicates an entity name. Additional actions include obtaining a phonetic representation of the second term and determining that the phonetic representation of the second term matches a particular phonetic representation of a particular canonical name of a set of canonical names associated with a particular entity. Further actions include outputting a reference name associated with the particular entity as a transcription of the second term. |
| US09773494B2 |
Active noise reduction system for creating a quiet zone
The present invention provides a system to create a quiet zone by suppressing background noise near a user's head. The present invention utilizes two microphones; one microphone receives environmental noise and the other one is located close to a person's head. A parabolic dish loudspeaker creates a uniform sound field near a user's head. A high performance frequency-domain filtered-x least mean square with band selection (FD-FX-LMS-BS) algorithm is utilized to generate the anti-phase noise signals. The algorithm has high noise reduction performance and also allows selection of specific frequency bands for noise reduction. The FD-FX-LMS-BS algorithm is performed by a field programmable gate array (FPGA) chip, which has minimal delay in algorithm processing. |
| US09773493B1 |
Power management of adaptive noise cancellation (ANC) in a personal audio device
A personal audio device, such as a wireless telephone, includes an adaptive noise canceling (ANC) circuit that adaptively generates an anti-noise signal from an output of a microphone that measures ambient audio. The anti-noise signal is combined with source audio to provide an output for a speaker. The anti-noise signal causes cancellation of ambient audio sounds that appear at the microphone. A processing circuit estimates a level of background noise from the microphone output and sets a power conservation mode of the personal audio device in response to detecting that the background noise level is lower than a predetermined threshold. |
| US09773490B2 |
Source audio acoustic leakage detection and management in an adaptive noise canceling system
A personal audio device, such as a wireless telephone, includes an adaptive noise canceling (ANC) circuit that adaptively generates an anti-noise signal from a reference microphone signal and injects the anti-noise signal into the speaker or other transducer output to cause cancellation of ambient audio sounds. An error microphone is also provided proximate to the speaker to provide an error signal indicative of the effectiveness of the noise cancellation. A secondary path estimating adaptive filter is used to estimate the electro-acoustical path from the noise canceling circuit through the transducer so that source audio can be removed from the error signal. A level of the source audio with respect to the ambient audio is determined to determine whether the system may generate erroneous anti-noise and/or become unstable. |
| US09773489B2 |
Active vibration noise control apparatus
A first control signal filter to which a cosine wave oscillating at a control frequency is input; a second control signal filter to which a sine wave oscillating at the control frequency is input; a control signal adder for outputting a control signal generated by adding an output of the first control signal filter and an output of the second control signal filter; a filter coefficient update unit for updating filter coefficients of the first control signal filter and the second control signal filter; and a frequency correction value calculation unit for calculating a frequency correction value for correcting the control frequency on the basis of the control signal and the control frequency. |
| US09773488B2 |
Pickup assembly for an electrical stringed musical instrument
A pickup for a musical instrument includes a first assembly, a housing, and a magnet. The first assembly comprises a base plate, a pole that extends from the base plate, and a coil of wire wrapped around the pole. A first lead wire extends from a first coil end and a second lead wire extends from a second coil end. The housing is user attachable to, and detachable from, the top of the first assembly, independently of any electrical connections made to electronics of the musical instrument. Moreover, the housing attaches to and detaches from the first assembly such that when attached, the pole of the first assembly is in magnetic cooperation with the magnet. Also, the housing is removable, thus allowing the magnet to be changed out to another magnet without removing strings or other hardware of the musical instrument. |
| US09773486B2 |
Vocal improvisation
The present disclosure is directed at methods and systems for implementing and scoring a vocal improvisation feature in a music video game. This feature can allow players of music video games to sing improvised harmonies for a song using a microphone controller. The improvised harmonies can be musically consonant with a pre-authored melody track programmed into the music video game. The improvised harmonies can comprise pre-authored notes programmed into the pre-authored melody track, or can be generated by the music video game during run-time based on the pre-authored melody track. The music video game can also display guidelines visually showing permissible harmony tracks in relation to the pre-authored melody track. |
| US09773483B2 |
Automatic transcription of musical content and real-time musical accompaniment
In at least one embodiment, a method of performing automatic transcription of musical content included in an audio signal received by a computing device is provided. The method includes processing, using the computing device, the received audio signal to extract musical information characterizing at least a portion of the musical content and generating, using the computing device, a plurality of musical notations representing alternative musical interpretations of the extracted musical information. The method further includes applying a selected one of the plurality of musical notations for transcribing the musical content of the received audio signal. |
| US09773482B2 |
Musical instrument structures for permanent installation in an outdoor environment
A metallophone structure configured for permanent installation in an outdoor environment is provided. The metallophone structure comprises a mounting structure. The metallophone structure also comprises a set of tone producing devices each coupled to the mounting structure by a fastener, wherein each tone producing device is configured to, when actuated, produce a sound frequency. The tone producing device is coupled in a location, by the fastener, as to reduce the effect on the quality of sound produced. The metallophone structure also comprises a mallet cradle configured to receive a mallet. The mallet is configured to actuate one of the tone producing devices. The metallophone structure is configured to be weather resistant such that each tone producing device still produces the sound frequency after an outdoor exposure period. |
| US09773476B2 |
Cache memory system for a pixel shader and method of operating the same
A cache memory apparatus including a cache memory including a bank, a partition configuration unit configured to divide the cache memory into partitions by allocating the bank to a texture among textures for rendering, and a controller configured to receive a partition ID, of texture data requested by a device that performs the rendering, determine whether the requested texture data is stored in a partition corresponding to the partition ID among the plurality of partitions, and output the requested texture data to the device based on a result of the determination. |
| US09773475B2 |
System and method for displaying layered images
A system and method for displaying layered images is provided. A rear display element displays a first image including a background. A transmissive display element displays a third image and a fourth image, the third image being displayed contemporaneously with the first image. The transmissive display element has a front surface and a rear surface. The rear surface is placed a predetermined distance from the rear display element such that images displayed by the rear display element and by the transmissive display element can be viewable through the front surface of the transmissive display element. A lighting element provides backlight illumination to the transmissive display element contemporaneously with the fourth image. The lighting element can provide the backlight illumination by having the system display a second image at the rear display element for transmitting a backlight illumination from the rear display element contemporaneously with the fourth image. |
| US09773474B1 |
Grey level-based page turn adjustment
A content item to be displayed via a display of an electronic device may be associated with a first set of grey values or a set of color values. The electronic device may generate, maintain, or at least have access to one or more mappings that map the set of color values and/or the first set of grey values to a second set of grey values. Based on the one or more mappings, the electronic device may convert a color value of the set of color values or a first grey value of the first set of grey values to a second grey value of the second set of grey values. The content item may then be displayed utilizing the second grey value. |
| US09773472B2 |
Text extraction from graphical user interface content
Systems and methods for extracting text from images rendered on a display screen, the method comprising capturing a color image rendered on a display screen; and transforming the color image to binary color image, preserving text-like graphic components and filtering out non-text-like graphical components. The transforming comprises scanning one or more areas of the color image; and detecting continuous bi-tonal regions in the scanned one or more areas, wherein the continuous bi-tonal regions have large variances. |
| US09773468B2 |
Display driving device for driving each of more than two pixels, display apparatus and method for operating the same
A display driving device includes a first source amplifier that receives first display data and supplies a first pixel voltage to a first pixel based on the received first display data, and a second source amplifier that receives second display data and first control data and supplies a second pixel voltage to a second pixel based on the received second display data and first control data. The second source amplifier has a first stage in which a first process is performed on an input signal based on the second display data, and a second stage in which a second process is performed on the first processed input signal to output the second pixel voltage. The first source amplifier may be configured to conditionally supply the first pixel voltage to the second pixel. |
| US09773467B2 |
Charging scan and charge sharing scan double output GOA circuit
The present invention provides a charging scan and charge sharing scan double output GOA circuit to combine the time sequence and circuit. The nth stage GOA unit circuit receives the first, the second low frequency clock signals (LC1, LC2), the direct current low voltage signal (Vss), the Mth, M−2th high frequency clock signals (CK(M), CK(M−2)), a stage transfer signal (ST(n−2)) generated by the n−2th stage GOA unit circuit, a charging scan signal (CG(n−2)) generated by the n−2th stage GOA unit circuit and a stage transfer signal (ST(n+2)) generated by the n+2th stage GOA unit circuit, the charging scan signal (CG(n)), a charge sharing scan signal (SG(n−2)) generated by the n−2th stage GOA unit circuit and the stage transfer signal (ST(n)) are respectively outputted with different TFTs; the nth stage GOA unit circuit comprises a transmission module (100), a transfer regulation module (200), an output module (300), a rapid pull-down module (400) and a pull-down holding module (500). |
| US09773466B2 |
Display apparatus
A display apparatus comprising gate control lines and a plurality of gate driving units, and further comprising a plurality of compensation units (2), wherein each of the compensation units (2) is connected to output terminals of two gate driving units (1) and connected to one of gate control lines. In the display apparatus, the space occupied by gate drivers is reduced and the product size of the display apparatus is decreased by changing the conventional structure of dual gate driving units for two sides to a new structure of a single gate driving unit for two sides (1) plus a compensation unit (2). |
| US09773461B2 |
Display module, and cellular phone and electronic device provided with display module
It is an object to achieve downsizing and a thin shape of a display module and an electronic device provided with the display module. The display module includes a first display panel in which a first display screen is formed on one main side; and a second display panel that is smaller than and overlapped with the first display panel, in which a second display screen is formed on an opposite side of the one main side. The display module includes, over a sealing substrate of the first display panel and/or the second display panel, at least one integrated circuit, which is connected to input terminals of the first display panel and the second display panel and controls operation of the both panels, arranged in a peripheral portion of the second display panel, which is a surface on an opposite side of a display surface of the first display panel. |
| US09773458B2 |
Display apparatus and control method thereof
A display apparatus according to the present invention includes: a light emission unit; a display unit configured to display an image on a screen by modulating light from the light emission unit; an acquisition unit configured to acquire base image data and difference data used in an expansion process for expanding at least one of a dynamic range and a color gamut of image data; a control unit configured to control light emission of the light emission unit, based on the difference data; and a generation unit configured to generate display image data outputted to the display unit, based on the base image data. |
| US09773449B2 |
Pixel circuit with organic light emitting diode
A pixel circuit with an organic light emitting diode (OLED) compensates a threshold voltage of the driving switch therein by controlling the connection relationship between a first capacitor and a second capacitor therein. As such, the compensation time of the pixel circuit may be different from the data writing time of the same. Also, the capacitance to be written with the data may be less than that in the conventional technique so that the time needed for the data writing is then reduced and the pixel circuit in the present invention can be used in a display device with a high refresh rate. |
| US09773448B2 |
Display device, electronic apparatus, and method for displaying image
According to an aspect, a display device includes: an image display unit provided with a plurality of pixels each including a first sub-pixel for displaying a first color component, a second sub-pixel for displaying a second color component, a third sub-pixel for displaying a third color component, and a fourth sub-pixel that has higher luminance or higher power efficiency for display than that of the first sub-pixel, the second sub-pixel, and the third sub-pixel, and displays an additional color component different from the first sub-pixel, the second sub-pixel, and the third sub-pixel; a replacement ratio calculation unit that calculates a replacement ratio, generates an output signal based on the replacement ratio, and outputs the generated output signal to a drive circuit. |
| US09773438B1 |
System and method for providing views of virtual content in an augmented reality environment
A system configured for providing views of virtual content in an augmented reality environment may comprise one or more of a first display, a second display, an optical element, one or more processors, and/or other components. The first display and second display may be separated by a separation distance. The first display and second display may be arranged such that rays of light emitted from pixels of the first display may travel through the second display, then reflect off the optical element and into a user's eyes. A three-dimensional light field perceived with a user's field-of-view may be generated. Distances of the first display and/or second display to the optical element may impact a perceived range of the three-dimensional light field. The separation distance may impact a perceived depth of the three-dimensional light field and/or a resolution of virtual content perceived with the three-dimensional light field. |
| US09773436B2 |
Bedding product with age indicator
A mattress age indicating device includes an enclosure and an indicating assembly contained within the enclosure. The age indicating device may be configured to present an indication related to the mattress's age and may be coupled to the mattress or other bedding or seating product. |
| US09773432B2 |
Lightweight cryptographic engine
One embodiment provides an apparatus. The apparatus includes a lightweight cryptographic engine (LCE), the LCE is optimized and has an associated throughput greater than or equal to a target throughput. |
| US09773430B2 |
Medical hand controller for disabilities
The present invention provides a medical hand controller for disabilities, including a hand controller body; a control button, arranged on the body and applied to control a motor terminal; a voice broadcast device installed inside the hand controller body and applied to voice broadcast a function of the button when the control button is pressed and lasted for an overlong period exceeding a preset value, wherein, the voice broadcast device connects to the control button electrically; and an emboss, set on the control button, applied to mark the function. When a blind or a user with poor eyesight is operating the hand controller, if a control button is pressed, the function of the button will be voice broadcasted, also, the function could be identified through touching the embosses set on the control button, which has facilitated the usage of any users with abnormal eyesight. |
| US09773429B2 |
System and method for manual welder training
A method for manual welder training that includes providing a welding training apparatus that includes both hardware and software components and that is operative to gather and process data in real time, wherein the data is derived from an actual training exercise conducted by a welding trainee; selecting training objectives from a predetermined number of predefined objectives; initializing a curriculum, wherein the curriculum is based on the selected training objectives; performing at least one training exercise, wherein the training exercise is a component of the curriculum; providing real-time feedback to the trainee, wherein the real-time feedback is based on the performance of the trainee during the training exercise; evaluating the performance of the trainee based on data gathered and processed during the training exercise; optionally, adapting the curriculum based on the trainee's performance evaluation; and awarding credentials or certifications to the trainee following successful completion of the curriculum. |
| US09773427B2 |
Calorie balance system
A calorie balance system is designed for consumers who are interested in having a proper and adequate diet while monitoring daily activities. Disclosed embodiments enable consumers to be continuously aware of their caloric intake and to compare their caloric intake with current calories expended. Calories burned or expended may be measured by fitness tracking devices. Enabled utensils such as cups, spoons and forks are equipped with means of wireless communication, an accelerometer, a three axis slope meter sensor, a microcontroller, a scale, an analog to digital converter and a microcontroller. Enabled utensils measure the weight of food consumed are report to the consumer's personal electronic device. The system is further enabled by consumers talking to an enabled utensil to report the type of food being consumed. The reported food weight is mapped to the type of food consumed and relevant food data is displayed. |
| US09773425B2 |
Choice question creating apparatus
Provided is a choice question creating apparatus creating a choice question on a question document.It includes an image reading part reading a question document to acquire image data; a character recognizing part executing recognition on image data, acquiring document text data; a sentence extraction part extracting from document text data; a correct answer identifying part identifying word as correct answer from sentence; a word dictionary database in which words are classified into categories and registered; a choice creating part selecting specific number of words from category in word dictionary database including correct answer, and arranges words selected, and word as correct answer identified by correct answer identifying part to create choice group; a question sentence transforming part deleting correct answer from sentence to transform it into question sentence, and a layout part arranging transformed question sentence, and created choice group to create a choice question. |
| US09773419B1 |
Pre-positioning aerial drones
A method, system, and/or computer program product pre-positions an aerial drone for a user. A model of a user is used as a basis for predicting a future task to be performed by the user at a future time and at a particular location. One or more processors identify sensor data that will be required by the user in order to perform the future task at the future time and at the particular location, where the sensor data is generated by one or more sensors on the aerial drone. A transmitter then transmits a signal to the aerial drone to pre-position the aerial drone at the particular location before the future time. |
| US09773417B2 |
Enhanced park assist system
A vehicle park assist system may include a sensor, a signal device, and a controller configured to locate via the sensors an available parking place and activate the signal device in response to locating the available parking place and recognizing a park trigger indicative of a desire to park in the available parking place upon passing the available parking place. |
| US09773410B2 |
System and method for processing, receiving, and displaying traffic information
A system for sharing and processing traffic and/or road condition information includes a number of traffic and/or road condition information computer systems within individual vehicles and/or devices and/or a virtual traffic information server on a mobile network. The traffic and/or road condition information computer systems may be each connected through a peer-to-peer radio, cellular, Wi-Fi, or other similar types of communications network, and which each operate with a database for displaying road maps, with a database storing average speed data for directions of travel along roadways, and with a location sensor used to determine the location and average speed of the vehicle or device, which may be transmitted to other vehicles. The virtual server returns average speed data for road segments, which is displayed on the road maps. The system includes sharing average speed data calculated as well average speed data received from the plurality of vehicles to other vehicles, thereby enhancing the real-time communication of traffic and/or road condition data. |
| US09773409B1 |
Automatically configuring a remote control for a device
Intuitive methods of automatically configuring a remote control for multiple electronic devices are disclosed. The remote control can be automatically configured with the help of a first electronic device that is connected to one or more additional electronic devices. The first electronic device aids in the configuration of the remote control by gathering information about the one or more additional electronic devices and configuring the remote control in accordance. The information about the one or more additional electronic devices may be gathered from the devices themselves, from additional remote controls associated with the devices, and/or from a user, among other possibilities. |
| US09773398B2 |
Localized flood alert system
A flood warning system and method are described. The system obtains localized flood depth information and, based upon alert parameter information provided by registered users, creates personalized flood alerts for the registered users. The method uses ultrasound derived localized flood depth information and alert parameter information provided by registered users to provide personalized flood alerts to the registered users. |
| US09773397B2 |
Method for detecting falls and a fall detection system
There is provided a fall detection system comprising a user device configured to be worn or carried by a user, the user device comprising a proximity sensor for measuring the proximity of the user device to the ground or a floor; and a movement sensor for measuring the movements of the user; the fall detection system further comprising a processing unit configured to process the measurements from the movement sensor to detect a potential fall; activate the proximity sensor if a potential fall is detected; and process the measurements from the proximity sensor to determine if the user has fallen. |
| US09773396B2 |
Portable monitoring devices and methods of operating the same
In one aspect of the disclosed implementations, a device includes one or more motion sensors for sensing motion of the device and providing activity data indicative of the sensed motion. The device also includes one or more feedback devices for providing feedback, a notice, or an indication to a user based on the monitoring. The device also includes one or more processors for monitoring the activity data, for determining one or more activity metrics based on the activity data, and for causing one or more of the feedback devices to produce an indication to the user that an activity goal has been achieved by the user based on one or more of the activity metrics. The device further includes a portable housing that encloses at least portions of the motion sensors, the processors and the feedback devices. |
| US09773394B2 |
Content reproduction apparatus, mobile appliance, and abnormality detection method
There is provided a content reproduction apparatus including a content reproduction unit for reproducing content, a habit detection unit for detecting a reproduction habit regarding content that uses the content reproduction unit, and an abnormality determination unit for determining there is an abnormality, in a case a reproduction action estimated from the reproduction habit detected by the habit detection unit is not carried out. |
| US09773393B2 |
Flow alarm
Described are gas flow disruption alarms. The alarms can include a gas inlet; a gas outlet configured to couple to a gas delivery device; and a vibration member between the gas inlet and the gas outlet configured to produce an audible sound when a gas delivery device is removed from the gas outlet. |
| US09773392B2 |
Offender monitor with managed rate of location reading
A portable device, for example an offender monitor, can utilize a location detector, such as a GPS receiver, to provide location information for the device. The portable device can utilize geofences in connection with managing device location and can communicate over a cellular network, for example using a radio to transmit location readings over the network. The location detector and the radio can draw power from an onboard battery. To conserve battery life, the rate of acquiring location readings can be adjusted according to distance between the device and a geofence of interest. For example, a GPS data acquisition rate can increase as the device approaches a geofence and decrease as the device moves away from the geofence. |
| US09773388B1 |
Accessibility-layered communication service using lighthouse
Methods, computer program products, and systems are presented. The methods include, for instance: providing social media feed cognizant lighthouse display service for communicating to spectators, information in regard to social response to an event, the lighthouse display service further including a private display for subscribed event details as encoded with a key to make inaccessible to the spectators but to be decoded on a user device with the key. |
| US09773382B1 |
Computer-implemented system and method for making multiple-game sporting event wagers
A system and method for effecting a multiple-arm wager incorporating a plurality of events, such as sporting events, includes accessing a wagering system of the type including a central computer accessible by at least one network terminal interconnected thereto and hosting an executable instruction set for computing intermediate revised odds between a minimum and a maximum as a function of bettor-selected point shades to modify the line applicable to selected individual competing event teams for determining whether the selected teams have won the games for purposes of the wager. The line for each team is individually selectively point-shaded in accordance with the wishes of the bettor, and the betting odds for the wager are calculated as a function of the total number of points shaded for the selected teams. |
| US09773378B2 |
Wagering game having player-directed population of a bonus feature
A gaming system presents a wagering game that includes a bonus wheel having a plurality of wheel segments. A player directs the placement of at least one award marker on a wheel segment of the plurality, and the wagering game randomly selects a winning wheel segment of the plurality. |
| US09773377B2 |
Gaming system and method for accumulating and redeeming community game tokens
A gaming system which displays a community game to one or more participating players. During the community game, the gaming system accumulates one or more community game tokens for one or more participating players. The gaming system subsequently assigns a value to each community game token redeemed by each participating player. |
| US09773376B2 |
System and method for using casino-printed tickets to play casino on-line games
Disclosed is a method for enabling a player to use tickets printed at a casino when the player wants to play games in an on-line casino associated with the land-based casino using a virtual ticket system. The method includes: installing a mobile application for the virtual ticket system on a player's mobile device; registering the player with the virtual ticket system using a mobile number of the mobile device; sending a validation key to the mobile number to validate the mobile device; enabling the player to plays a game on a gaming machine at the land-based casino; after the player has completed game play in the land-based casino, providing the player with an opportunity to create an electronic ticket that is usable in the on-line casino; and enabling the player to engage in game play in the on-line casino using the player's mobile device or a desktop computer platform. |
| US09773373B2 |
Systems for implementing enhanced gaming and prizing parameters in an electronic environment
System and methods are provided for effecting user experience in an electronic game environment through use of virtual currency or vCoins. In a multi-level game, the systems and methods include memory for storing information on game play, the information including input received from the user, information relating to levels within the multi-level game and game display information for output to the user. A processor is coupled to the memory for generating game play information, preferably including game play with virtual money. The virtual money is acquired through game play or cash purchase. The virtual money is convertible into a non-cash good comprising advancement to another level within the game. |
| US09773368B2 |
Gaming machine
To provide a gaming machine which holds a player's attention until symbols are rearranged by reel actions. The operation of the scroll of symbols of a first scroll line is changed under a condition that predetermined symbols are arranged on a pay line in a state where symbols of at least one first scroll line among a plurality of scroll lines are scrolled and symbols of remaining second scroll lines are stopped. |
| US09773365B2 |
Money handling apparatus
A money handling apparatus that handles money includes an inlet for taking in money; a money storing unit that stores therein the money; an outlet for dispensing the money; a money transport unit that transports the money between the inlet and the outlet, and the money storing unit; a money recognition unit that is provided to the transport unit and recognizes the money; a check receiving port for receiving a check; a scanner that scans the check to acquire a check image; a check transport unit that transports the check between the check receiving port and the scanner; a check recognition unit that recognizes check information that includes at least a check amount from the check image acquired by the scanner; and a control unit that dispenses money equivalent to an amount of difference between a transaction amount acquired from outside the money handling apparatus and a sum of the check amount and an amount of the deposited money. |
| US09773364B2 |
Security and public safety application for a mobile device with audio/video analytics and access control authentication
An access control system utilizes authorized users' mobile electronic devices for transmitting biometric identifiers in combination with using a key card, for authenticating the user's access privileges for unlocking a secure door. The system may further verify proximity of the user's device to the access control reader, which verifies correspondence of the key card with the transmitted biometric characteristics. The system may further require entry of a PIN into the user's device, for its transmission to the access control system for access confirmation. A scanner scans the area around its geographic location for search signals emitted by mobile electronic devices, and identifies a position, a type, and an address of each device, using characteristics of the search signals. Audio analytics detect/identify a position of sudden sound fluctuations indicating a gunshot/fight incident, and correlates the incident location to a device location. Video analytics correlate imaged people with detected electronic devices. |
| US09773362B2 |
Directional sensing mechanism and communications authentication
The present invention is directed toward a communication device in communication with a motion sensing mechanism or other utility. The motion sensing mechanism or other utility is adapted to provide data to the communication device. The data is used to selectively allow or restrict the communication device's ability to transmit messages, which may include sensitive data, to a second electronic device. Thus, the motion sensing mechanism or other utility is utilized to limit access to data on the communication device to only instances when the utility provides the communication device with a recognized data input. |
| US09773353B2 |
Wireless automotive interface device
A method of automatically establishing a data connection between a wireless automotive interface component and a mobile communication device, comprising: providing a wireless automotive interface component connected to a vehicle's On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port, the interface component comprising: a short range communication module; and a vehicle network protocol interface; providing a mobile communication device running a gateway module; representing an automatically recognizable Bluetooth profile and a Serial Port Profile (SPP) by the wireless interface component; detecting the automatically recognizable profile by the mobile communication device; searching for the SPP profile by the mobile communication device; and automatically establishing a data connection between the wireless interface component and the mobile communication device via the SPP profile. |
| US09773351B2 |
Parking meter system
A parking meter includes a housing, processor, memory, network interface, graphical user interface, first camera disposed in the housing and facing outward from the first side of the housing, microphone, speaker, second camera disposed in the housing and facing outward from the housing towards a parking space, a status light, and a payment acceptor. The meter is configured to sense a vehicle's presence in the parking space, capture an identification of the vehicle, transmit the identification to a remote networked computer system, determine that a parking violation has occurred, transmit the notice to the remote computer system, accept payment of fines, transmit notice of fine payment to the remote computer system, transmit a time of the vehicle's exit from the first parking space to the remote computer system via the network interface, and reset the parking time period to zero upon the vehicle's exit from the parking space. |
| US09773350B1 |
Systems and methods for greater than 360 degree capture for virtual reality
Systems and methods for capturing video information in the real world use a set of cameras that are supported, carried, and/or worn by a subject. Virtual reality content is generated based on the captured video and audio information, which provides a true point-of-view (POV) experience. Virtual reality content is played back for other users to have an experience based on the subject's experience. |
| US09773349B2 |
Active parallax correction
Techniques of active parallax correction are disclosed. In some embodiments, a first gaze direction of at least one eye of a user is determined. A determination about virtual content can then be made based on the first gaze direction, and the virtual content can be caused to be presented to the user based on the determination. In some embodiments, making the determination comprises determining a first location on a display surface at which to display the virtual content. In some embodiments, the virtual content can be caused to be displayed on the display surface at the first location. |
| US09773348B2 |
Head mounted device and guiding method
A head mounted device suitable for guiding an exhibition is disclosed. The head mounted device includes an image capturing unit, a process module and an information interface. The process module includes a recognition unit, a computing unit and a control unit. The image capturing unit captures an input image in invisible spectrum. The recognition unit recognizes an invisible code from the input image. The computing unit calculates a relative distance and a relative angle between the head mounted device and an exhibition object. By comparing the relative distance with a threshold distance, the control unit determines whether to trigger the information interface and present an exhibit-object introduction based on relative distance and relative angle. |
| US09773347B2 |
Interacting with a three-dimensional object dataset
A system (20) for interacting with a three-dimensional object dataset comprises a signal input (21) for receiving a signal from an interaction device (34) comprising a touch sensitive surface (35) having a typical shape of at least part of an object represented by the three-dimensional object dataset, wherein the signal is indicative of a location on the touch sensitive surface (35) that is touched. The system further comprises a mapping unit (22) for mapping the touched location to a corresponding point of the object represented by the three-dimensional object dataset. The three-dimensional object dataset is based on a signal obtained from a scanner (24) arranged for scanning the object. |
| US09773346B1 |
Displaying three-dimensional virtual content
A computing device can determine its position relative to a reference point. The device can render a portion of content too large to be suitably displayed in full on a display of the device. The device can render the content in full to appear (i.e., can virtually position the entire content) to be located in a stationary position relative to the reference point. The device can detect a change to its position, such as a movement of the device caused by a user of the device. Based on the detected change to the device's position, the device can modify which portion of the entire content to render. The rendered portion of the entire content can change corresponding to where and how the device moves. |
| US09773345B2 |
Method and apparatus for generating a virtual environment for controlling one or more electronic devices
An approach is provided for generating a virtual environment for controlling one or more electronic devices. A mapping platform causes, at least in part, a rendering of a user interface depicting a virtual environment comprising one or more representations of one or more devices, one or more accessory devices associated with the one or more devices, or a combination thereof. The mapping platform then determines one or more interactions with the user interface, the virtual environment, the one or more representations, or a combination thereof. Further, the mapping platform processes and/or facilitates a processing of the one or more interactions to cause, at least in part, a controlling of the one or more devices, the one or more accessory devices, or a combination thereof. |
| US09773340B2 |
Rendering using ray tracing to generate a visibility stream
A method and apparatus for ray tracing may include a method, manufacture and apparatus for ray tracing that may include dividing a render target into a plurality of bins. Next, a visibility pass is performed using ray tracing to generate a visibility stream such that the visibility stream indicates, for each bin of the plurality of bins, which primitives are visible in the bin. Then, for at least one bin of the plurality of bins, each primitive in the bin that is indicated in the visibility stream as being visible in the bin is rendered. |
| US09773337B2 |
Three dimensional animation of a past event
Methods and systems are disclosed for rendering a three dimensional animation of a past event. A request is received, at a processor, for re-creation of a past event associated with a job site. Input data is accessed, at the processor, regarding the past even associated with the job site wherein the input data pertains to past movements and lifts of at least one lifting device associated with the job site. A three dimensional (3D) animation is generated, at the processor, of the past event involving the past movements of the at least one lifting device. The 3D animation is displayed, on a display, depicting the past event wherein the displaying comprises playback controls for controlling the displaying. |
| US09773335B2 |
Display control device and method
A display control device includes circuitry configured to acquire a movement distance of an imaging device configured to acquire a plurality of images including a first image and a second image, calculate, when a specific object is detected from the first image, a first positional relationship between the specific object and the imaging device, control a display to superimpose a specific image corresponding to the specific object on the first image based on the first positional relationship, and control the display to superimpose the specific image on the second image based on the first positional relationship, when the specific object is not detected from the second image and the movement distance is smaller than a specific value, the movement distance being from a first position where the first image is captured by the imaging devise to a second position where the second image is captured by the imaging devise. |
| US09773331B2 |
Methods and systems for efficient graphics rendering
Methods and systems are disclosed for generating a polygon mesh that may have concavities and/or holes. One example of such a method includes generating a polygon grid, adjusting the grid to fit input image dimensions, adjusting the polygons within the grid to fit detected pixels of interest, simplifying the resulting polygon collection to reduce the total number of polygons, and generating a polygon mesh based on the simplified collection of polygons. |
| US09773330B1 |
Systems and methods for real-time data quantification, acquisition, analysis, and feedback
This disclosure relates to systems, media, and methods for quantifying and monitoring exercise parameters and/or motion parameters, including performing data acquisition, analysis, and providing scientifically valid, clinically relevant, and/or actionable diagnostic feedback. Disclosed embodiments may receive real-time sensor data from a motion sensor or sensors mounted on a user and/or equipment while a user performs a test motion. Disclosed embodiments may also calculate a test motion profile based on the real-time sensor data, the test motion profile describing a multi-dimensional representation of the test motion performed by the user or computed motion profiles. Disclosed embodiments may include comparing the test motion profile to a template motion profile to determine a deviation amount for the test motion profile indicating how the test motion deviated from the template motion profile. Still further embodiments may correlate test motion profiles over time with health indicators. |
| US09773327B2 |
Modified flow graph depiction
A method and apparatus apply a transition to an initial information integration flow graph to form a modified information integration flow graph which is visually depicted in a modified design canvas. The initial information integration flow graph has nodes, each node having initial location coordinates for visual depiction in an initial design canvas, wherein nodes of the modified information integration flow graph having location coordinates based upon the initial location coordinates. |
| US09773326B2 |
Method and device for calibrating computerized tomography (CT) image and CT system including the same
The present invention provides a CT image calibration method and device and a CT system. The method includes: arranging a fixed calibration element at the outside of a channel area and within the maximal reconstruction area of a CT scanning device, and storing the theoretical value of the fixed calibration element; collecting the projection data of the fixed calibration element to obtain the actual reconstructed image of the fixed calibration element; and comparing the actual reconstructed image with the stored corresponding theoretical value, to establish a mapping function for correcting the actual reconstructed image into the theoretical value. By adopting the present invention, the calibration quality can be effectively improved, the image calibration effect is enhanced, the reliability of the CT scanning device is improved and the maintenance cost is saved, thus the practical application value is very high. |
| US09773323B2 |
Method for calibrating a digital imager
A method for calibrating a digital imager using a sequence of P input images, to which images a calibrating image is applied to obtain a sequence of P output images is provided. The calibration is performed by updating the calibrating image by estimating, in an iteration n, n being an integer higher than or equal to 1, an image representative of the calibrating image. |
| US09773322B2 |
Image processing apparatus and image processing method which learn dictionary
An image processing apparatus includes a plurality of dictionaries configured to store a feature of an object and information on an imaging direction in a scene for each kind of imaged scene, a detecting unit configured to detect an object with reference to at least one of the plurality of dictionaries in the scene in which the object has been imaged and which is to be learned, an estimating unit configured to estimate the imaging direction the detected object, a selecting unit configured to select one dictionary from the plurality of dictionaries based on the imaging direction estimated by the estimating unit and the information on the imaging direction in each of the plurality of dictionaries, and a learning unit configured to learn the dictionary selected by the selecting unit, based on a detection result produced by the detecting unit. |
| US09773315B2 |
Device and method for computing amount of drift and charged particle beam system
A drift amount computing device (100) computes an amount of drift between a first image and a second image, and comprises a correlation function computing section (112) for calculating a correlation function between the first and second images, a local maximum position searching section (114) for searching a range of positions of the correlation function for local maximum positions, a local maximum position determining section (116) for assigning weights to intensities of plural local maximum positions according to the distance from the center of the correlation function, comparing the weighted intensities of the local maximum positions, and determining one of the maximum local positions which corresponds to the amount of drift, and a drift amount computing section (118). |
| US09773313B1 |
Image registration with device data
Systems and methods for image registration using data collected by an electronic device, such as a mobile device, capable of simultaneous localization and mapping are provided. An electronic device, such as a mobile device, can be can be configured to collect data using a variety of sensors as the device is carried or transported through a space. The collected data can be processed and analyzed to generate a three-dimensional representation of the space and objects in the space in near real time as the device is carried through the space. The data can be used for a variety of purposes, including registering imagery for localization and image processing. |
| US09773309B2 |
Method of obtaining and analyzing data from an upright MRI from the spinal region of a subject
A method of analyzing a spinal region of a subject. The method includes steps of obtaining a first sagittal image of the spinal region of the subject using an upright magnetic resonance imaging unit; identifying a first vertebral edge on a first side of a first disc in the first sagittal image; identifying a second vertebral edge on a second side of the first disc in the first sagittal image; and determining a first angle between the first vertebral edge and the second vertebral edge for the first disc. |
| US09773305B2 |
Lesion diagnosis apparatus and method
A lesion diagnosis apparatus and a lesion diagnosis method are provided. A lesion-surrounding area determination unit is configured to determine an existence of a lesion-surrounding area from continuous medical images. A feedback provision unit is configured to generate feedback information about a presence of a lesion in the lesion-surrounding area. |
| US09773299B2 |
Method for correcting fragmentary or deformed quadrangular image
The present invention relates to a method for correcting a fragmentary or deformed quadrangular image. The method comprises five steps, i.e. detection of an edge point, elimination of an abnormal edge point, straight-line fitting, vertex calculation and image correction. The method for correcting a fragmentary or deformed quadrangular image is applied to a recognition method and a recognition system for papers, such as valuable documents, bills, identity cards, etc., and can rapidly conduct edge detection and tilt correction on images of valuable documents, bills or papers which are fragmentary or deformed. |
| US09773294B2 |
Graphics processing system for determining whether to store varying variables into varying buffer based at least partly on primitive size and related graphics processing method thereof
A graphics processing system includes a decision logic and a varying buffer control circuit. The decision logic sets a control signal by checking at least one criterion, wherein the at least one criterion includes a first criterion, and a checking result of the first criterion depends on a size of a primitive. The varying buffer control circuit refers to the control signal to determine whether to store varying variables of the primitive into a varying buffer. |
| US09773292B2 |
Graphics workload submissions by unprivileged applications
Methods and systems may provide for receiving, at a controller, a notification of a workload submission by an application lacking system level privileges. Additionally, the controller may be used to schedule a transfer of the workload submission to a graphics hardware component for execution, wherein the controller has system level privileges. In one example, the transfer bypasses an operating system and a kernel mode driver associated with the graphics hardware component. |
| US09773290B2 |
Content watermarking
In an embodiment, a method of decoding a watermarked video includes receiving a video including a watermark and three or more pilot signals. The method includes attempting to detect the watermark and retrieve a corresponding message in the video based on one or more decoding starting points of the video. The method includes outputting the message if the attempt is successful. If the attempt fails, the method includes detecting the pilot signals in the video; based on the detected pilot signals, estimating a geometric distortion of the video; inverting the geometric distortion for the video to generate a warped video; and attempting to detect the watermark and retrieve the corresponding message in the warped video based on one or more decoding starting points of the warped video. |
| US09773288B2 |
Radial data visualization system
A method for interactive visualization of a decision assessment on a graphical user interface, including generating, by a computer processor, that includes generating, by a computer processor, the decision assessment model having a first set of circular sectors on a first ring, a second set of circular sectors on a second ring wherein each of the second set of circular sectors is related to a corresponding first circular sector, and a third set of circular sectors on a third ring wherein each of the third circular sectors is related to a corresponding second circular sector. The first set of circular sectors, the second set of circular sectors and the third set of circular sectors include concentric rings with a common center. |
| US09773287B1 |
Weapon management system using police officer black-box, method and apparatus for police officer black-box
Disclosed herein are a weapon management system using a cop's black-box which collects environment information by sensing an aiming movement of a user to a subject according to use of a weapon from a first cop's black-box, and receives, from a plurality of second cop's black-boxes located within a preset radial distance from the user, external environment information based on the aiming movement of the user, a cop's black-box, and a method for the same. Use of the weapon may be monitored in real time using collected environment information and external environment information such that a further action can be taken. |
| US09773284B2 |
Displaying social networking system user information via a map interface
The invention provides a display interface in a social networking system that enables the presentation of information related to a user in a timeline or map view. The system accesses information about a user of a social networking system, including both data about the user and social network activities related to the user. The system then selects one or more of these pieces of data and/or activities from a certain time period and gathers them into timeline units based on their relatedness and their relevance to users. These timeline units are ranked by relevance to the user, and are used to generate a timeline or map view for the user containing visual representations of the timeline units organized by location or time. The timeline or map view is then provided to other users of the social networking system that wish to view information about the user. |
| US09773280B2 |
Trading interface for facilitating trading of multiple tradeable objects in an electronic trading environment
A system and method are provided for trading multiple tradeable objects. One example method includes displaying at least one combined quantity indicator representing a combined quantity associated with at least two tradeable objects, detecting an input associated with an order for a predetermined order quantity in relation to one of the combined quantity indicators, and allocating the order quantity between the at least two tradeable objects using at least one quantity allocation rule. In one example embodiment, a plurality of quantity allocation rules can be user-configurable, and different rules can be defined and applied in relation to different order types. |
| US09773276B2 |
System and method for forecasting tax effects of financial transactions
A system and method for forecasting tax effects of financial transactions is provided. The system and method include a series of web pages. The web pages allow a user to 1) determine their federal and state tax rates, 2) describe the asset they wish to sell. Additional web pages then display the tax consequences of the sale of the asset along with the details of the calculations used to evaluate those consequences. Still more web pages can be used to describe an asset to buy. In this case, the displayed consequences are expanded to compare the benefit of holding the current asset against the benefit of acquiring the new asset. |
| US09773269B1 |
Image-selection item classification
Systems and methods are disclosed in which thematic image selection challenges including images of items available in an electronic catalog are presented to users. Unclassified items in the electronic catalog may be identified, and the unclassified items may be presented in a thematic image selection challenges to assist in classifying the unclassified items. Classified items may also be presented in the thematic image selection challenge in order to assess the reliability of user input. If a user expresses interest in an item in the thematic image selection challenge, the user may be presented with more information about the item and may also be presented with an option to purchase the item. |
| US09773267B2 |
Presence and proximity driven filtering of applications and media content
Access to certain application programs and/or media content items at or from an online storefront are granted or denied for a requesting computing device based on whether a subject computing device is present at or within a threshold proximity to a reference computing device or a reference location. The requesting computing device may include the reference computing device or another computing device. |
| US09773265B2 |
Method and system for remote orders
A system for and method of processing customer orders are disclosed. The system contains an order entry device, software having a database and at least an interface function, an algorithm adapted for selecting the order processing location and adapted for transmitting customer orders to the order processing device. The method of processing customer orders includes collecting the orders at an order entry device such as a point of sale, prioritizing and queuing the orders, identifying the best point of delivery for each order, transmitting the order to the point of delivery and processing the order at the point of delivery. This saves time for the customer and improves the accuracy of filling the orders. |
| US09773264B2 |
Method for providing composite user interface controls and an online storefront for same
The present disclosure provides a method for providing composite user interface controls and a library or online storefront for same. In one aspect, there is provided a method for a client computer of sharing a custom control, comprising: receiving by a browser an encrypted custom control comprising a number of user interface elements which are positioned in a specified manner with respect to each other, wherein each of the user interface elements has one or more properties; receiving by the browser a decryption key; and decrypting by the browser the encrypted custom control using the decryption key. |
| US09773263B2 |
Customizing products
To customize products, a first entity receives generic products from a supplier entity, wherein the generic products include base software. The first entity provides a customization component for at least a subset of the generic products. Base software in at least the subset of the generic products is executed at the first entity to interact with the customization component to customize at least one feature of at least the subset of generic products. |
| US09773262B2 |
Integrated file structure useful in connection with apparatus and method for facilitating account restructuring in an electronic bill payment system
An electronic funds transfer bill payment operation of a financial institution receives first information, representing an account restructuring of a biller which uses the bill payment operation, which information is combined with second information, which is formatted differently than the first information, into a uniformly formatted file. The second information includes card update information for recurring payment card payments made with payment cards issued by the financial institution. The uniformly formatted file is transferred to an operator of a payment network of a kind configured to facilitate transactions between multiple issuers and multiple acquirers, and it specifies at least one old account number associated with a biller and at least one new account number associated with the biller. The payment network operator operates both a recurring payment transaction system for card-not-present recurring payments and an electronic funds transfer account conversion application in accordance with the uniformly formatted file. |
| US09773256B1 |
User-based ad ranking
Advertisement quality measures (e.g., predicted click through rates) are modified in accordance with a user's preferences with respect to domains to which the advertisements relate. |
| US09773251B2 |
Apparatus and system for generating vehicle usage model
A vehicle computer system configured to communicate with a mobile device, comprising a wireless transceiver configured to communicate with the mobile device. The vehicle computer system also includes a processor in communication with the wireless transceiver. The processor is configured to receive information from one or more vehicle sensors regarding vehicle usage, send the information to an off-board server via the wireless transceiver, wherein the information is utilized in a damages-model regarding the vehicle, and output the information concerning the damages-model to a user display. |
| US09773248B2 |
Troubleshooting a problem with user equipment based on a location of a user
A device may be configured to receive a technical support request from a mobile device. The technical support request may request troubleshooting for a problem with user equipment. The device may receive location information from the mobile device indicating a mobile device location. The device may determine whether the mobile device is at a user equipment location based on the mobile device location. The device may select a troubleshooting routine based on whether the mobile device is at the user equipment location. The device may cause an agent device to execute the troubleshooting routine. The device may provide, to an agent device, the troubleshooting routine to cause the agent device to troubleshoot the user equipment using the troubleshooting routine. |
| US09773247B1 |
Adaptive and customizable account interface system and method
The invention is directed to a method and system for providing an interface including modular customizable elements for implementation by a system user. The method and system have particular application for financial accounts, such as credit card accounts. The interface may adapt in response to user behaviors. However, the user may also customize features of the interface. Thus, a behavioral monitoring and analysis system is provided for monitoring account holder spending behaviors and analyzing the spending behaviors. Account holder customization tools may be presented to the account holders through a user interface, the account holder customization tools allowing account holders to modify a user interface display of account related parameters by inputting parameters into a computing system. An experience customization engine may be implemented by a processor for receiving input from both the behavioral monitoring and analysis system and the account holder customization tools in order to formulate the user interface display of related account parameters. User interface presentation components may be provided for presenting the account holder with a user interface display of account parameters and the account holder customization tools for allowing the account holders to modify the presented user interface display. |
| US09773244B2 |
Tracking points related to a user account for online redemption
A computer to track earned points accumulated, to an online user account, related to a completed task is disclosed. More points may be earned based on a criteria level related to each category of dynamically changing categories. Earned points may be reduced based on redemption used to purchase and download to a mobile client computer music, video, or games provided on a custom menu. |
| US09773243B1 |
System for structured encryption of payment card track data with additional security data
A system may include a point-of-sale system that gathers payment card track data from a payment card and a payment gateway that processes the track data to authorize purchase transactions. Discretionary data in a discretionary field of the track data may be compressed to create space that may be used to accommodate additional security data. The sensitive information may be moved to the discretionary field. The compressed discretionary data and the sensitive information may be encrypted using a structure preserving encryption algorithm and a managed encryption key. The managed encryption key or other additional security data may be added the discretionary field. Track data that has been modified in this way may be conveyed to the payment gateway for processing. The payment gateway may extract the key management data, decrypt the encrypted data, and reconstruct the original track data by decompressing the discretionary data and replacing the sensitive track data. |
| US09773241B2 |
Dynamic boost of near field communications (NFC) performance/coverage in devices
Described herein are architectures, platforms and methods for dynamic amplification/boosting of near field communications (NFC) antenna transmission power in a device during NFC related functions that require increase in an NFC antenna transmission power such as a payment transaction. For example, to comply with Europay MasterCard and Visa (EMVco) standards with regard to higher NFC antenna transmission power during the EMVco transactions, the NFC antenna transmission power may be dynamically controlled to maximize efficiency of a battery/power supply of the device. |
| US09773239B2 |
Method for secure transactions
The present invention relates to a method for a secure transaction utilizing a portable radio communication device (10), wherein both parts in the secure transaction are protected against fraudulent actions, among other things by use of a common transaction identity on a predefined transaction server. |
| US09773238B2 |
Vehicle-based order entry and processing mechanism
The present invention uses an order processing server to transmit an electronic menu to a customer. When a vehicle comes within range of the server's transceiver, the menu is received by the particular customer device, and the order is formulated and transmitted back to the server. |
| US09773236B2 |
Systems, devices, and methods for processing payments for a card
Embodiments of the disclosure include systems, methods, and devices for processing payments for a card. Such embodiments include receiving payment information from a payor at an intermediate entity server as well as authorizing the payment transaction, by the intermediate entity server, based on the payment information. Further such embodiments include providing instructions, by the intermediate entity, to debit a payor card account and credit payee shadow ledger account based on the payment information as well as providing instructions, by the intermediate entity, to debit the payee shadow ledger account and to credit the payee card account based on payment rules. |
| US09773234B2 |
Smart phone system and method
A system and method for remediation, curing concerns, and transferring information associated with declined transactions is disclosed. The present disclosure generally relates to electronic commerce, and more particularly, to a system and method of validation and efficiency associated with electronic commerce. |
| US09773232B1 |
Payment without account creation
Technology is disclosed for a convenient money transfer without requiring any account login and/or creation activities. The disclosed technology enables a sender to transfer a specified amount of currency to one or more recipients through a payment application. In response to a request from the sender, the technology provides a user interface to collect a numerical value corresponding to the specified amount of currency, accesses a list of contacts in a database of the sender's mobile device, and then provides the list of contacts to the sender. The technology enables the sender to manually select recipients from the provided list of contacts and can accordingly initiate a payment process based on statuses of selected recipients. |
| US09773231B2 |
Content associations and sharing for scheduled events
Sharing content includes verifying occurrence of an event, determining participants of the event, gathering related content generated by the participants, where the related content corresponds to the event, and disseminating the related content to the participants. The event may be a business meeting. Verifying occurrence of an event may include determining scheduled participants, scheduled location, and scheduled time of the event using an electronic calendar of one of the scheduled participants. Participants may include the scheduled participants and other participants that are not listed in the electronic calendar where the other participants attend the event. Verifying occurrence of an event may also include confirming that at least an event organizer is at the scheduled location at the scheduled time and there is at least one other one of the participants. The content may include documents, photos, scanned images, audio clips, video clips, types notes, and/or handwritten notes. |
| US09773226B2 |
System and method for servicing customized mobile content
Disclosed are a system and a method for servicing a customized mobile content that can allow a user to easily download and use various mobile contents regardless of a type of his/her own terminal by: verifying user information by using metadata and a template that are stored in advance from information published by a content publishing institution, generating a mobile content suitable for types of the content publishing institution and a user terminal and transmitting the generated mobile content to the user terminal, downloading the mobile content through a program for the mobile content installed in the user terminal, and displaying the downloaded mobile content to the user. |
| US09773224B2 |
Shelf-monitoring system
A system and method for monitoring shelf inventory that combines bar code and RFID technologies to permit electronic data entry of item shelf assignments and real time reporting of item removal from display/dispensing storage shelves. |
| US09773222B2 |
Externally augmented asset management
A system and method for externally augmented asset management is disclosed. According to one embodiment, information from a first reporting source about an asset is received. In addition, information from a second reporting source about the asset is also received. Information from a third reporting source about at least one environmental condition is also received. A database is then populated with the information from the first reporting source, the information from the second reporting source and the third reporting source such that information from the first reporting source, the information from the second reporting source and the third reporting source can be collected or accessed from the database. |
| US09773221B1 |
Machine or group of machines for monitoring location of a vehicle or freight carried by a vehicle
A machine or group of machines for monitoring location of at least one of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle includes a server comprising a central processing unit, a memory, a clock, and a server communication transceiver that receives location information of a mobile device, the mobile device comprising a GPS receiver, a microprocessor and a wireless communication transceiver coupled to the GPS receiver, the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver programmed to receive data sent by a plurality of GPS satellites, calculate location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver and transmit the location information. |
| US09773219B2 |
Systems and methods for using geometry sensitivity information for guiding workflow
Systems and methods are disclosed for using geometry sensitivity information for guiding workflows in order to produce reliable models and quantities of interest. One method includes determining a geometric model associated with a target object; determining one or more quantities of interest; determining sensitivity information associated with one or more subdivisions of the geometric model and the one or more quantities of interest; and generating, using a processor, a workflow based on the sensitivity information. |
| US09773213B2 |
Spinning off chat threads
A solution for providing an instant messaging (IM) space, such as for a chat session, is provided, which includes provisions for spinning off of chat threads. An embodiment of the invention provides a method of providing an IM space, the method comprising: providing a first graphical user interface (GUI) space for an IM conversation; obtaining a selected portion of the IM conversation represented on the first GUI; and creating a second GUI space for a second IM conversation based on the portion selected. |
| US09773208B2 |
Quantum information processing
Quantum information processing apparatus and methods are described. The apparatus comprises a device for defining a qubit and a reflectometry circuit for reading out a state of the qubit. The device comprises a semiconductor nanowire extending along a first direction having first and second obtuse or acute edges running along the first direction, gate dielectric overlying the first and second edges of the nanowire and a split gate running across a section of the nanowire in a second, transverse direction, the split gate comprising first and second gates overlying the first and second edges respectively. The reflectometry circuit comprises a resonator coupled to the first or second gate. |
| US09773207B2 |
Random fact checking method and system
An efficient fact checking system analyzes and determines the factual accuracy of information and/or characterizes the information by comparing the information with source information. The efficient fact checking system automatically monitors information, processes the information, fact checks the information efficiently and/or provides a status of the information. |
| US09773205B1 |
Distributing digital-works and usage-rights via limited authorization to user-devices
Method for automatically distributing, as needed, a user's digital-works and usage-rights to one or more user-devices. A definition of the usage-rights for a digital-work may be stored at one or more locations on a network. A version of said digital-work suitable for a user-device may be provided by one or more locations on said network. When a user who is authorized to utilize said digital-work is active at a user-device, a version of said digital-work and authorization to utilize is automatically transferred when needed to a user-device. The digital-work and authorization may be automatically transferred as needed to any user-device where an authorized user is active. The usage-rights may only be valid for one or more specific users. The usage authorization at each user-device may be less than defined in the full usage-rights maintained on the network. Authorization to utilize said digital-work at a user-device may be extended from time to time by exchanging user-device status across the network. Digital-works are automatically provided as needed to any user-device that an authorized user is using. |
| US09773203B2 |
Creating antennas connected to printed chips by post processing with a laser or other cutting device
An RFID antenna structure for use with an RFID device is disclosed. A printed electronic circuit (PEC) is assembled onto an area of a conductor that is initially substantially flat, with minimal apertures cut into it. The substantially flat conductor makes the printing of the functional chip/circuit easier. Then, the conductor is cut post process with a laser or other cutting tool to create the interconnection. In another embodiment, the conductors of the PEC bridge the position where an aperture should be to create part of an RFID antenna. Further, the conductive layer and the PEC are then cut post process to create an antenna for the RFID device. |
| US09773198B2 |
Print control apparatus, print control method, and storage medium
A printing apparatus to communicate with a terminal apparatus, includes a storing unit, an acquiring unit, a receiving unit, and a printing unit. The storing unit stores information for specifying first paper types selectable in the terminal apparatus. The terminal apparatus acquires the information from the printing apparatus and displays the first paper types as selection candidate paper types. The acquiring unit acquires a second paper type. The receiving unit receives a first paper type from the first paper types for printing of an image. The printing unit prints the image where the first paper type corresponding to second paper types is received and any of the second paper types corresponding to the first paper type is acquired, and does not print the image where the first paper type corresponding to second paper types is received and another second paper type different from the second paper types is acquired. |
| US09773192B2 |
Fast template-based tracking
Techniques to identify and track a pre-identified region-of-interest (ROI) through a temporal sequence of frames/images are described. In general, a down-sampled color gradient (edge map) of an arbitrary sized ROI from a prior frame may be used to generate a small template. This initial template may be used to identify a region of a new or current frame that may be overscan and used to create a current frame's edge map. By comparing the prior frame's template to the current frame's edge map, a cost value or image may be found and used to identify the current frame's ROI center. The size of the current frame's ROI may be found by varying the size of putative new ROIs and testing for their congruence with the prior frame's template. Subsequent ROI's for subsequent frames may be identified to, effectively, track an arbitrarily sized ROI through a sequence of video frames. |
| US09773190B2 |
Precision calibration method for high-precise rotary encoder
The present invention mainly provides a precision calibration method for being applied in a high-precise rotary encoder system, wherein the primary technology feature of the precision calibration method is that: using a laser speckle image capturing module to capture N frames of laser speckle image from an optical position surface of a rotary encoding body, and then using image comparison libraries and particularly-designed mathematical equations to calculate N number of image displacements, so as to eventually calculate N number of primary variation angles and sub variation angles corresponding to the N frames of laser speckle image. Therefore, after the rotary encoding body is rotated by an arbitrary angle, an immediate angle coordinate can be precisely positioned according to the primary variation angles, the secondary variation angles and the N number of image displacements. |
| US09773189B2 |
Recognition apparatus and recognition method
A recognition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a candidate region extraction unit configured to extract a subject candidate region from an image; a feature value extraction unit configured to extract a feature value related to an attribute of the image from the subject candidate region extracted by the candidate region extraction unit; an attribute determination unit configured to determine an attribute of the subject candidate region extracted by the candidate region extraction unit on the basis of the feature value extracted by the feature value extraction unit; and a determination result integration unit configured to identify an attribute of the image by integrating determination results of the attribute determination unit. |
| US09773188B2 |
Information processing apparatus, imaging apparatus, information processing system, information processing method, and program for removing unwanting objects from images
A camera includes an unwanted object shape acquisition unit, a viewpoint selection unit, and an unwanted object removal unit. The viewpoint selection unit selects a plurality of viewpoints based on information regarding a shape of an unwanted object in a subject, which is acquired by the unwanted object shape acquisition unit. The unwanted object removal unit performs unwanted object removal processing with use of images corresponding to the viewpoints selected by the viewpoint selection unit. |
| US09773186B2 |
Methods for mobile image capture of vehicle identification numbers in a non-document
Various embodiments disclosed herein are directed to methods of capturing Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) from images captured by a mobile device. Capturing VIN data can be useful in several applications, for example, insurance data capture applications. There are at least two types of images supported by this technology: (1) images of documents and (2) images of non-documents. |
| US09773181B2 |
Intelligent entrance guard unlocking system and unlocking method thereof
An intelligent entrance guard unlocking method includes: transmitting electric energy by wireless electromagnetic radiation via a transmit coil; receiving the electric energy via a receive coil; capturing a vein image of a part of a user via a number of small cameras by Infrared scanning technology and filtering noises from the vein image to get a filtered vein image; transmitting a wireless signal containing the filtered vein image to an intelligent entrance guard; comparing the filtered vein image with a predefined vein image; unlocking the intelligent entrance guard when the filtered vein image matches with the predefined vein image and not unlocking the intelligent entrance guard when the filtered vein image does not match with the predefined vein image. |
| US09773179B2 |
Vehicle operator monitoring system and method
A method for monitoring a vehicle operator can be executed by a controller and includes the following steps: (a) receiving image data of a vehicle operator's head; (b) tracking facial feature points of the vehicle operator based on the image data; (c) creating a 3D model of the vehicle operator's head based on the facial feature points in order to determine a 3D position of the vehicle operator's head; (d) determining a gaze direction of the vehicle operator based on a position of the facial feature points and the 3D model of the vehicle operator's head; (e) determining a gaze vector based on the gaze direction and the 3D position of the vehicle operator's head; and (f) commanding an indicator to activate when the gaze vector is outside a predetermined parameter. |
| US09773178B2 |
Vehicle tracking
Techniques are described for vehicle or entity tracking. In one example, techniques include receiving a first set of data, said data comprising video or images from a first mobile data source, determining that said first set of data matches a second set of data in a first data source, the second set of data corresponding to a vehicle or entity being tracked; requesting a third set of data, said data comprising video or images from a second mobile data source, and determining a confidence level based on how well said first and third data sets match said second data set. |
| US09773177B2 |
Surrounding environment recognition device
A surrounding environment recognition device includes: an image acquisition unit that obtains a photographic image from a camera for capturing, via a camera lens, an image of a surrounding environment around a mobile object; an image recognition unit that recognizes an object image of an object present in the surrounding environment based upon the photographic image obtained by the image acquisition unit; an accumulation detection unit that detects accumulation settled on the camera lens based upon the photographic image obtained by the image acquisition unit; a suspension decision-making unit that makes a decision, based upon detection results provided by the accumulation detection unit, whether or not to suspend operation of the image recognition unit; a tracking unit that detects a characteristic quantity in a tracking target image from a specific area in an image captured by the image acquisition unit for a reference frame, determines through calculation an estimated area where the characteristic quantity should be detected in an image captured by the image acquisition unit for a later frame relative to the reference frame and makes a decision as to whether or not the characteristic quantity for the tracking target image is also present in the estimated area; and a resumption decision-making unit that makes a decision, based upon at least decision-making results provided by the tracking unit and indicating whether or not the characteristic quantity for the tracking target image is present, as to whether or not to resume the operation of the image recognition unit currently in a suspended state. |
| US09773176B2 |
Image processing apparatus and image processing method
According to one embodiment, an image processing apparatus and an image processing method includes a processed image generation unit, a provisional detection unit, and a final detection unit. The processed image generation unit generates a processed image for detection processing from an image around a vehicle taken by a camera provided on the vehicle. The provisional detection unit scans a scanning frame of a predetermined size according to a detection target object on the processed image, and detects a plurality of position candidate regions of the detection target object within the processed image by determining a feature value for respective scanning positions using a dictionary of the detection target object. The final detection unit determines an overlapping region of the plurality of position candidate regions, and determines a final detection position of the detection target object within the processed image based on the overlapping region and the plurality of position candidate regions. |
| US09773169B1 |
System for capturing a biometric image in high ambient light environments
The invention provides an image capture system, apparatus and method for capturing a biometric image in high ambient light environments. Reflections from ambient light can introduce unwanted environmental pattern noise that can interfere with extracting information from a captured biometric image. The invention performs attenuation of ambient light without requiring employment of shielding to prevent ambient light from reflecting off of a surface being imaged. As a result, the invention can be deployed into environments with varied indoor or outdoor lighting characteristics. |
| US09773162B2 |
User discovery via digital ID and face recognition
Accumulating contact information of a member of a group of participants includes determining contact information that includes facial image information for each of a set of participants that are in close physical proximity to a user, where the set of participants is a subset of potential participants that include people that are not in close proximity to the user. The user obtains a facial image of the member. The facial image of the member is compared to facial images of the set of participants. In response to matching the facial image of the member to a facial image of a particular one of the set of participants, contact information is requested for the particular one of the set of participants to be added to contact information maintained by the user and/or a contact management system accessible by multiple users. |
| US09773157B2 |
System and method for face capture and matching
According to an example, a face capture and matching system may include a memory storing machine readable instructions to receive captured images of an area monitored by an image capture device, and detect one or more faces in the captured images. The memory may further store machine readable instructions to track movement of the one or more detected faces in the area monitored by the image capture device, and based on the one or more tracked detected faces, select one or more images from the captured images to be used for identifying the one or more tracked detected faces. The memory may further store machine readable instructions to select one or more fusion techniques to identify the one or more tracked detected faces using the one or more selected images. The face capture and matching system may further include a processor to implement the machine readable instructions. |
| US09773156B2 |
Grouping and ranking images based on facial recognition data
Technologies for grouping images, and ranking the images and the groupings, based on entities shown in the images. Images may be grouped based on faces shown in the images. Different images with faces that indicate the same entity (e.g., Adam) may be automatically grouped together. Different images with faces that indicate the same multiple entities (e.g., the people in my family) may also be automatically grouped together. Such automatic grouping may be based on facial recognition technologies. Further, images and groups of images may be automatically ranked based on the faces shown and entities represented. Such rankings may also be influenced by adjacent data that indicates family and friends and the like, and that can be used to identify such entities in the images. |
| US09773155B2 |
Depth from time of flight camera
Region of interest detection in raw time of flight images is described. For example, a computing device receives at least one raw image captured for a single frame by a time of flight camera. The raw image depicts one or more objects in an environment of the time of flight camera (such as human hands, bodies or any other objects). The raw image is input to a trained region detector and in response one or more regions of interest in the raw image are received. A received region of interest comprises image elements of the raw image which are predicted to depict at least part of one of the objects. A depth computation logic computes depth from the one or more regions of interest of the raw image. |
| US09773149B2 |
Fingerprint identification module, drive control circuit, display substrate and display device
The present disclosure relates to a fingerprint identification module, including: a plurality of sensing units, wherein each sensing unit receives modulation signal when turned on, the modulation signal covers at least one first time interval and at least one second time interval, and the voltages during the first and second time intervals are respectively first and second voltages; a collecting unit for collecting output signals of the sensing units in the same column in all the first time intervals as a first signal and those in all the second time intervals as a second signal; and a calculating unit for determining the difference between the first and second signals to obtain a third signal and obtaining the fingerprint information sensed on the basis of the third signal. Through the above solution, it is possible to eliminate the influence of the leakage current in the sensing unit, thereby accurately identifying fingerprints. |
| US09773148B2 |
Display device, driving circuit, method for driving display device, and electronic apparatus
A display device is provided. The display device includes: a display panel provided with a plurality of display electrodes, where the display electrodes are configured for displaying images, display electrodes located within a predetermined region of the display panel are defined as first electrodes, the first electrodes are configured for fingerprint sensing, and a stage during which the first electrodes perform the fingerprint sensing is defined as a fingerprint sensing stage; and a driving circuit configured to, provide display signals to the display electrodes to display the images, and provide a fingerprint sensing signal to the first electrodes during the fingerprint sensing stage and perform a self-capacitance detection on the first electrodes, to implement the fingerprint sensing. A driving circuit, a method for driving the display device, a liquid crystal display device and an electronic apparatus including the display device are provided. |
| US09773144B2 |
Communication system, control method for electronic device and communication system, and computer-readable storage medium
A communication system includes a first electronic device and at least one second electronic device. The second electronic device has a communication function section having a function for performing communication and an identification image presentation section which provides, at a position that can be captured from outside, an identification image having device information including the type of a communication standard for the communication to be performed by the communication function section. The first electronic device has a control section and a display section, and the control section acquires the device information from a captured image of the identification image, and causes a combination image that is a combination of an image of the second electronic device and image information correspond to the device information to be displayed on the display section. |
| US09773143B2 |
Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and image processing system
An image processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit that acquires setting information acquired from a captured image, a setting unit that performs, based on the acquired setting information, setting regarding image analysis processing to be performed on a captured image obtained by capturing an image of a predetermined monitoring target range. |
| US09773138B1 |
Optical polling platform methods, apparatuses and media
An image associated with a poll may be acquired via a camera. One or more symbols indicating responses may be found by analyzing the image. The responses specified by the symbols may be determined and saved. The responses may also be displayed to the operator and/or to the respondents. |
| US09773137B2 |
Driver's license detector
A license detector system enables a person such as a police officer to monitor vehicles on the road to ensure drivers have valid licenses. Within each valid license is an RFID tag which contains specific information and each RFID tag is able to send that information to a detector when requested. To use the system, the police officer aims the detector at a vehicle, initiates the signal to be received by the RFID tag within the license and waits to receive a signal back from the RFID tag. If a signal is received, then a valid license has been detected within the vehicle. However, if no signal or an invalid signal is received by the detector, then no one, specifically the driver of the car, has a valid license. Upon discovering such information, the police officer should be justified in stopping the vehicle and taking the necessary police action. |
| US09773129B2 |
Anti-replay protected flash
Embodiments of the present disclosure describe a system and method for providing anti-replay protection. One embodiment describes a system comprising: a security device; and an anti-replay protected flash device comprising: a flash memory array; an authentication unit; and a secure memory, wherein the authentication unit and the secure memory are disposed in a security boundary. |
| US09773127B2 |
Information processing apparatus
An information processing apparatus includes: a memory that stores, for each of a plurality of items that can be described in extensions included in a certificate signing request, item names and item contents with associating each of the item names with a respective one of the item contents; an acquiring unit that acquires specific information; a preparation unit that makes out a specific certificate signing request including specific extensions in which a specific item name and a specific item content are described, according to a condition for making out specific extensions which is determined in response to a user's instruction, by acquiring the specific item name and the specific item content from the memory and using the acquired specific information, specific item name and specific item content; and an output unit that outputs the specific certificate signing request to an outside. |
| US09773126B2 |
Data collection privacy
Various implementations of data collection privacy techniques for web content are described herein. Web content that is authored via content authoring service may be associated with data that describes collection behaviors of the web content in accordance with an established data collection privacy scheme. In one approach, data collection privacy is implemented using mark-up constructs contained in a manifest that is included with or otherwise associated with the web content. A content rendering application, such as a browser, may be configured to parse the content and recognize the collection behaviors based on the corresponding data indicative of the behaviors. The content rendering application may then output a notification to inform the user regarding the collection behaviors and provide a set of options available for management of data collection. |
| US09773123B2 |
Owner privacy in a shared mobile device
Systems and methods that regulate range of access to personal information of a mobile unit's owner. The access control component can designate granularity for access levels and/or a spectrum of access modes—(as opposed to a binary choice of full access or no access at all). Such access can be based on a spectrum and/or discrete trust relationship between the owner and user of the mobile unit. A profile definition component can exploit an owner's trust relationships to designate levels of security. The profile definition component can further define a profile based on a set of applications, such as entertainment mode, browser mode, and the like. |
| US09773121B2 |
Security application for data security formatting, tagging and control
A security program installed or in communication with a computer is provided. The security program is configured to intercept disk (I/O) operations that read/write from/to disk. This allows the security program to confirm and control access to data based on security rules. Further, the security program can categorize data based on security rules and then format and store data on disk in a format that prevents access by application(s) of the computer. The security program is further configured to re-format data to be accessible by the application in a format accessible by the application(s) when a request to access the data complies with security rules. |
| US09773120B1 |
Forensic investigation tool
Methods and systems are disclosed a digital investigation tool capable of recovering and decrypting content. The tool combines digital techniques with decryption capability for a wide range of encryption algorithms. In one implementation, the tool identifies the type and/or vendor of the encryption algorithm used to protect the content. The tool then automatically obtains the decryption information needed to decrypt the content. Depending on the encryption algorithm used, the information may include a master key, user-specific keys, user IDs, passwords, and the like. The decryption information may be accumulated in a local or remote storage location accessible by the tool, or it may be acquired in real time on an as-needed basis from a third-party encryption vendor, a key server, and the like. Such an arrangement allows law enforcement agencies as well as corporate security personnel to quickly recover and decrypt content stored on a computer system. |
| US09773117B2 |
Dissolvable protection of candidate sensitive data items
Reducing risk of data loss by automatically background scanning data to detect a plurality of candidate sensitive data items. For at least some of those candidate sensitive data items that are deemed not to concretely classified as sensitive, a dissolvable encryption is applied to the data item to at least temporarily protect the data item. When the user requests access to the data item, the system determines that the data item has been dissolvably encrypted and that the user is authorized to define the sensitivity of the data item. In response, the user is allowed to direct the system as to whether the data item is to be concretely encrypted (such as if the user was to confirm the data item as sensitive), or whether the dissolvable encryption of the data item is to be dissolved (such as if the user was to confirm the data item as not sensitive). |
| US09773115B2 |
Out of band management of basic input/output system secure boot variables
A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes storing secure boot variables in a baseboard management controller; and sending the secure boot variables to a basic input/output system (BIOS) during a power on self-test, where the BIOS utilizes the secure boot variables during runtime to authenticate drivers and an operating system loader execution. In particular embodiments, the secure boot variables may be included in a white list, a black list, or a key list and, further, stored in erasable programmable read only memory. |
| US09773114B2 |
Method for analysing program code of electronic device and electronic device
A method of analyzing a program code of an electronic device includes configuring a tree by using a key string included in the program code and; in response to a command to find a specific key being received, performing a predetermined order traversal of the tree by using a string included in the specific key; in response to a node which matches a last string included in the specific key having a leaf node as a result of the predetermined order traversal, returning a value of the leaf node; and analyzing the program code by using the return value. |
| US09773112B1 |
Exploit detection of malware and malware families
According to one embodiment, a computerized method comprises, accessing information associated with one or more observed events, wherein one or more of the observed events constitutes an anomalous behavior; accessing a reference model based on a first plurality of events, the reference model comprises a first event of the first plurality of events, a second event of the first plurality of events and a relationship that identifies that the second event of the first plurality of events is based on the first event of the first plurality of events, wherein at least one of the first event and the second event constitutes an anomalous behavior; and comparing the information associated with the one or more observed events with the reference model to determine whether at least one observed event of the one or more observed events matches at least one of the first event of the first plurality of events or the second event of the first plurality of events that constitutes the anomalous behavior is provided. |
| US09773109B2 |
Alternate files returned for suspicious processes in a compromised computer network
Methods and systems are presented of presenting false and/or decoy content to an intruder operating on a computer system by obfuscating critical files on a computer storage device with data that directs subsequent infiltration and propagation to designated decoy hosts and decoy applications.Method and systems are provided for selectively presenting different contents to different viewers/users of application resource files for the purpose of preventing the valuable content from being read, tampered with, exfiltrated, or used as a means to perform subsequent attacks on network resources. |
| US09773104B1 |
Authentication for blocking shoulder surfing attacks
An approach to authenticating a user for resource access. The approach displays independently bi-directionally rotating concentric layers wherein each of the concentric layers are divided into segments and each segment contains a symbol. The approach then allows the user to independently rotate each of the concentric layers until a desired symbol is positioned in a predetermined user specified validation section, i.e., an alignment of segments across the totality of the concentric layers. The approach then generates a password based on concatenating the symbols associated with the segments aligned in the validation section in an order predetermined by the user. The approach then submits the generated password for validation against a user predetermined password locally on a client computer or remotely on a server computer. |
| US09773103B2 |
Operation device and operation method
An operation device includes a screen display section that displays a login screen on a touch panel, a key position changing section, a key information reception section, and a key information determination section. The key position changing section changes positions of a plurality of keys that are displayed on the login screen such that the keys are displayed for a current login process at positions that are different from previous positions at which the keys were displayed for a previous login process. The key information reception section generates input information representing a key pressed on the login screen. The key information determination section allows login of a user when a combination of pieces of input information corresponding to a plurality of key presses performed by the user matches registration information and does not allow login of the user when the combination does not match registration information. |
| US09773098B1 |
Media content feed format for management of content in a content hosting website
A system and method for providing a content feed file for a content file to a content host. The method comprises delivering the content file and the content feed file to the content host, wherein the content feed file comprises one or more policies and the one or more policies direct the content host to manage the content file according to the one or more policies. After the content host processes the content file according to the provided policies, the content owner receives a status report wherein the status report comprises information about actions taken by the content host according to the one or more policies. |
| US09773096B2 |
Means and method for improved glycemic control for diabetic patients
A glycemic control system includes a physician processor, remote processor, and a portable telephone having a data input mechanism, a display, and an internal processor for bi-directional communication with the physician's processor and the remote processor. A patient inputs data to the internal processor responsive to input from the physician's processor and then transmits the information to the remote processor where an optimized number of units to be administered is sent back and displayed on the portable telephone. |
| US09773094B1 |
Methods and systems for pharmacy modeling
Methods and systems for pharmacy modeling are described. The risk adjusted pharmacy predictive model is created from member data, claims data, and population data. This model can be used to compare the actual pharmacy performance to an expected actual pharmacy performance value, which can be used to identify pharmacies at risk or not performing to an acceptable level. The model can be used for adherence and generic drug utilization ratings of pharmacies. The pharmacy can be judged on a therapy class by therapy class basis with factors that reflect the demographic, socio-economic, location, benefits attributes, etc. that actually affect the performance of the pharmacy and may assist in determining the quality of care by a pharmacy. |
| US09773091B2 |
Systems and methods for genomic annotation and distributed variant interpretation
A computer-based genomic annotation system, including a database configured to store genomic data, non-transitory memory configured to store instructions, and at least one processor coupled with the memory, the processor configured to implement the instructions in order to implement an annotation pipeline and at least one module filtering or analysis of the genomic data. |