最新美国发明专利第2018-05-22期 - 专利汇|PatentHub专利检索|专利查询网|发明专利查询分析

Document	Document Title
US09978996B2	Method for producing an optoelectronic component In various exemplary embodiments, a method for producing an optoelectronic component is provided. In this case, a high temperature solid is provided which is stable at least up to a predefined first temperature. A liquid glass solder having a second temperature, which is lower than the first temperature, is applied to the high temperature solid in a structured fashion. The glass solder is solidified, as a result of which a glass solid is formed. An optoelectronic layer structure is formed above the glass solid. The glass solid and the optoelectronic layer structure form the optoelectronic component. The optoelectronic component is removed from the high temperature solid.
US09978994B2	Organic light emitting display panel and display apparatus The present disclosure relates to an organic light emitting display panel and a display apparatus. The organic light emitting display panel includes: a first substrate provided with a plurality of pixels each comprising an organic light emitting diode; a second substrate having at least one auxiliary electrode electrically connected to a cathode of the organic light emitting diode, each auxiliary electrodes being located on a side of the second substrate facing the first substrate and corresponding to a gap between adjacent pixels on the first substrate; and an antireflection layer formed on the auxiliary electrode for absorbing light rays directed to the auxiliary electrode. In the present disclosure, by the auxiliary electrode formed on the second substrate and electrically connected to the cathode on the first substrate, the voltage drop of the cathode may be significantly reduced, and the uniformity of the display brightness is improved. Meanwhile, by the antireflection layer formed on the auxiliary electrode, light leakage phenomenon due to reflection of a metal auxiliary electrode may be prevented, thereby improving contrast ratio of the display.
US09978985B2	Display device A display device includes a first substrate including a display region arranged with a plurality of pixels arranged with a light emitting element, a second substrate including a light shielding layer having an aperture part corresponding to the pixel and a color filter being arranged in at least the aperture part and including a pigment layer, a seal component including glass, the seal component bonding the first substrate and second substrate, the display region and color filter facing each other, and being arranged on the exterior side of the color filter, and an inorganic insulation layer covering at least an upper surface and end part of the color filter.
US09978977B2	Light-emitting element, light-emitting device, electronic device, and lighting device A light-emitting element with high reliability that can keep favorable characteristics after long-time driving is provided. In addition, a light-emitting device having a long lifetime including the light-emitting element is provided. Moreover, an electronic device and a lighting device having a long lifetime are provided. In a light-emitting element including an EL layer between a pair of electrodes, a light-emitting layer included in the EL layer has a stacked-layer structure which is different from the conventional structure, whereby the light-emitting element can keep favorable characteristics after long-time driving even in the case where carrier balance is changed over time due to driving of the light-emitting element or a light-emitting region is shifted due to the change.
US09978970B2	Organic light emitting device An organic light emitting device including an organic light emitting element having a low driving voltage and a high luminous efficiency is provided. The organic light emitting device includes two or more stack emission units, and a charge generating layer including an N-type charge generating layer and a P-type charge generating layer is disposed between the stack emission units. Herein, the P-type charge generating layer is formed of a material having an LUMO energy level similar to an HOMO energy level of a hole transporting layer injected with holes from the P-type charge generating layer. Accordingly, even if the P-type charge generating layer is not additionally doped with a P-type dopant, it is possible to readily inject holes into a stack emission unit adjacent to the P-type charge generating layer.
US09978966B2	Stretchable display device A display device includes a stretchable display panel including a first display area and a second display area, the second display area extending from the first display area in a horizontal direction substantially parallel to the first display area, and a frame including a first coupling part and a second coupling part spaced apart from the first coupling part in the horizontal direction, the second coupling part being moveable in a vertical direction normal to the horizontal direction, wherein the first and second display areas are respectively coupled to the first and second coupling parts, and the second display area is elongated in the vertical direction when the second coupling part moves in the vertical direction.
US09978965B2	Rollable OLED display A rollable display includes a frontplane having multiple OLED pixels and a backplane having a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate has a perimeter and a thin film transistor array operably connected to the OLED pixels. At least one rigid band of drivers is operably connected to the backplane and positioned along an edge of the substrate perimeter. The flexible substrate includes a material having a glass transition temperature of less than 200 degrees Celsius. A method of fabricating a rollable display is also disclosed.
US09978962B2	Organometallic iridium complex, light-emitting element, light-emitting device, electronic device, and lighting device To provide a long-lifetime organometallic iridium complex exhibiting yellow light emission with high emission efficiency as a novel substance. The organometallic iridium complex includes a ligand in which an unsubstituted phenyl group is bonded to each of the 2-position and the 5-position of pyrimidine. The organometallic iridium complex has a structure represented by General Formula (G1).
US09978960B2	Organometallic iridium complex, light-emitting element, light-emitting device, and lighting device An organometallic iridium complex that has high emission efficiency and a long lifetime and emits deep red light (emission wavelength: around 700 nm) is provided. The organometallic iridium complex has a ligand that is represented by General Formula (G0) and has at least a dimethyl phenyl group and a quinoxaline skeleton. In the formula, R1 to R3 separately represent an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, a phenyl group, or a phenyl group having an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms as a substituent.
US09978953B2	Substituted biphenyl compounds for use in light-emitting devices This disclosure relates to compounds for use in light-emitting devices are described herein. These compounds may include a biphenyl that includes four substituents, such as benzoxazolyl, benzothiazolyl, or benzimidazolyl substituents, such as a compound represented by Formula 1. These compounds can incorporated into a nanostructure material or a plurality of nanostructures, which can be useful for light-scattering or light-extraction, for example, to increase the efficiency of light-emitting devices.
US09978951B2	Perylene-based materials for organic photoelectric conversion layers The present disclosure relates to perylene-based molecules and their use in photoelectric conversion layer(s) and/or an organic or hybrid image sensor. The present disclosure also relates to absorption layer(s) and photoelectric conversion layer(s) comprising a molecule according to the present disclosure. The present disclosure also relates to a device, comprising a photoelectric conversion layer comprising at least one perylene-based molecule. Moreover, the present disclosure relates to an organic image sensor or a hybrid Silicon-organic image sensor comprising photoelectric conversion layer(s) according to the present disclosure.
US09978946B2	Spirobifluorene compound for light emitting devices A compound represented by Formula (I) or (II). wherein A is a single bond or a divalent residue of biphenyl, triphenyl, in each of which one or more hydrogen atoms attached in the carbon atoms may be replaced by a substituent other than hydrogen, wherein Z is any one selected from N, O, S, and SiR, Y is N—R, O, S, Si(R)2 where R is C1-20 alkyl or aryl, R1 and R2 are independently selected from hydrogen or C1-20 alkyl; X1 to X4 are independently selected from substituents other than spirobifluorenyl, A, B1 or B2 l, p and q are integers of from 0 to 4; m is an integer of from 0 to 3, wherein B1 and B2 are independently selected from hydrogen and a heterocyclic group; r is an integer of from 0 to 3; and X1 to X4, m, p, and q are as defined in Formula (I), with the proviso that B1 and B2 are not hydrogen simultaneously. The use of such compounds in OLEDs is also claimed.
US09978942B2	Correlated electron switch structures and applications Subject matter disclosed herein may relate to devices formed from correlated electron material.
US09978939B2	Resistive random-access memory with implanted and radiated channels Resistive RAM (RRAM) devices having increased uniformity and related manufacturing methods are described. Greater uniformity of performance across an entire chip that includes larger numbers of RRAM cells can be achieved by uniformly creating enhanced channels in the switching layers through the use of radiation damage. The radiation, according to various described embodiments, can be in the form of ions, electromagnetic photons, neutral particles, electrons, and ultrasound.
US09978935B2	Perpendicular magnetic anisotrophy free layers with iron insertion and oxide interfaces for spin transfer torque magnetic random access memory A method of making a spin-torque transfer magnetic random access memory device (STT MRAM) device includes forming a tunnel barrier layer on a reference layer; forming a free layer on the tunnel barrier layer, the free layer comprising a cobalt iron boron (CoFeB) alloy layer and an iron (Fe) layer; and performing a sputtering process to form a metal oxide layer on the Fe layer.
US09978933B2	Storage element and memory A storage element including a storage layer configured to hold information by use of a magnetization state of a magnetic material, with a pinned magnetization layer being provided on one side of the storage layer, with a tunnel insulation layer, and with the direction of magnetization of the storage layer being changed through injection of spin polarized electrons by passing a current in the lamination direction, so as to record information in the storage layer, wherein a spin barrier layer configured to restrain diffusion of the spin polarized electrons is provided on the side, opposite to the pinned magnetization layer, of the storage layer; and the spin barrier layer includes at least one material selected from the group composing of oxides, nitrides, and fluorides.
US09978929B2	Electronic component and method for manufacturing the same An electronic component includes a package substrate, an electronic component element mounted on the package substrate and includes an element substrate, a support layer, and a cover member, and a mold resin layer provided on the package substrate so as to seal the electronic component element. The cover member includes a first cover member provided on the package substrate and a second cover member provided on the first cover member. The glass transition temperature of a resin material of the first cover member is higher than that of a resin material of the second cover member.
US09978927B2	Acoustic wave element, duplexer and communication device An elastic wave element has a piezoelectric substrate; an excitation electrode which is located on an upper surface of the piezoelectric substrate and generates an acoustic wave, and two reflectors which are located on the upper surface of the piezoelectric substrate and sandwich the excitation electrode in the propagation direction of the acoustic wave. The excitation electrode has a main region located between the two end parts of the propagation direction and outer regions located on two sides of the main region. When the number of the electrode fingers of the outer region is “m”, an electrode finger interval of the main region is “a”, and an interval between the electrode finger of the main region on the outer region side and the reflector electrode finger of the reflector is “x”, 0.5×a×(m+1)
US09978922B2	Heat sink using graphite and light emitting device A heat sink can include a fin using graphite, and a base with a high heat dissipation film formed on its surface to be provided with a high heat dissipation performance. The heat sink can include a base made of metal and a fin fixed to the base. The fin can include a graphite sheet. The base has a surface coated with a film having a higher heat dissipation property than that of the metal constituting the base. The film of the base is removed from at least the region where the fin is fixed, so that the fin is fixed to the metal constituting the base.
US09978920B2	Package, light-emitting device, and method for manufacturing the same A package includes a plurality of electrode pairs, each electrode pair including a first electrode on one side and a second electrode on another side in a plan view. The first electrode is electrically connected to the second electrode included in an electrode pair adjacent to a first or second lateral side of the one electrode pair, and is not electrically connected to the first electrode included in the electrode pair adjacent to the first or second side of the one electrode pair. The second electrode is electrically connected to the first electrode included in an electrode pair adjacent to a lower side of the one electrode pair, and is not electrically connected to the second electrode included in the electrode pair adjacent to the first or second lateral side of the one electrode pair.
US09978917B1	Light-emitting diode package structure having plane light source and method for manufacturing the same The present invention provides a light-emitting diode (LED) package structure and the method for manufacturing the same. First, a ceramic substrate is provided. Then, an ultraviolet (UV) LED chip, a light-guiding layer, and a metal reflective layer are disposed on the substrate sequentially. By means of the metal reflective layer, the emission light of the UV LED from the light-emitting side is reflected laterally and thus making the UV LED package structure output a plane light source.
US09978910B2	Light-emitting diode with improved light extraction efficiency According to the present invention, a light-emitting diode with improved light extraction efficiency comprises: a semiconductor laminated structure including an N-layer, a light-emitting layer, and a P-layer formed on a substrate; an N-type electrode formed on the N-layer; and a P-type electrode formed on the P-layer, wherein the N-type electrode and the P-type electrode include a pad electrode and a dispersion electrode, and the N-type electrode and/or the P-type electrode includes a reflective electrode layer for reflecting light onto the dispersion electrode. Thus, the light-emitting diode has a reflective electrode layer on the electrode so as to improve light extraction efficiency. Further, a reflective layer is patterned beneath a pad unit, thus forming roughness and improving adhesion.
US09978906B2	Semiconductor light-emitting element A semiconductor light-emitting element includes a first semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type; a light-emitting functional layer that includes a light-emitting layer; and a second semiconductor layer that is formed on the light-emitting functional layer and is of a conductivity type opposite to a conductivity type of the first semiconductor layer. The light-emitting layer includes a base layer which has a composition subject to stress strain from the first semiconductor layer and has a plurality of base segments that are partitioned in a random net shape; and a quantum well structure layer composed of at least one quantum well layer and at least one barrier layer. The base layer has a composition of AlxGa1−xN (0≤x≤1), and the barrier layer has a composition of AlyGa1−yN (0≤y<1), and the composition x and the composition y satisfy a relation of x>y.
US09978905B2	Semiconductor structures having active regions comprising InGaN and methods of forming such semiconductor structures Semiconductor structures include an active region between a plurality of layers of InGaN. The active region may be at least substantially comprised by InGaN. The plurality of layers of InGaN include at least one well layer comprising InwGa1−wN, and at least one barrier layer comprising InbGa1−bN proximate the at least one well layer. In some embodiments, the value of w in the InwGa1−wN of the well layer may be greater than or equal to about 0.10 and less than or equal to about 0.40 in some embodiments, and the value of b in the InbGa1−bN of the at least one barrier layer may be greater than or equal to about 0.01 and less than or equal to about 0.10. Methods of forming semiconductor structures include growing such layers of InGaN to form an active region of a light-emitting device, such as an LED. Luminary devices include such LEDs.
US09978904B2	Indium gallium nitride light emitting devices InGaN-based light-emitting devices fabricated on an InGaN template layer are disclosed.
US09978898B2	Photovoltaic cells with improved multilayer backsheet Disclosed are multilayer structures comprising polyamide-ionomer compositions suitable for use in a backsheet in a photovoltaic module comprising a polymer component comprising a polyamide and an ionomer; 0 to 20 weight % of pigment; and 0 to 40 weight % of filler; preferably wherein the combination of pigment and filler comprises 8 to 50 weight % of the composition; and 0 to 5 weight % of weatherability additives.
US09978896B2	Encapsulant bonding methods for photovoltaic module manufacturing Various improved approaches to prevent solar cell motion during manufacturing of PV laminates and modules are described herein. Disclosed contactless heating methods comprise positioning a plurality of solar cells on a layer of encapsulant and heating an encapsulant bonding region within the first encapsulant layer to a temperature sufficient to adhere the plurality of solar cells to the superstrate. Compared to some heat-tacking methods and manual taping, the contactless heating methods described herein provide an accurate, high-throughput approach to inhibiting solar cell shifting during PV module manufacture.
US09978894B2	Materials, structures, and methods for optical and electrical III-nitride semiconductor devices The present invention provides materials, structures, and methods for III-nitride-based devices, including epitaxial and non-epitaxial structures useful for III-nitride devices including light emitting devices, laser diodes, transistors, detectors, sensors, and the like. In some embodiments, the present invention provides metallo-semiconductor and/or metallo-dielectric devices, structures, materials and methods of forming metallo-semiconductor and/or metallo-dielectric material structures for use in semiconductor devices, and more particularly for use in III-nitride based semiconductor devices. In some embodiments, the present invention includes materials, structures, and methods for improving the crystal quality of epitaxial materials grown on non-native substrates. In some embodiments, the present invention provides materials, structures, devices, and methods for acoustic wave devices and technology, including epitaxial and non-epitaxial piezoelectric materials and structures useful for acoustic wave devices. In some embodiments, the present invention provides metal-base transistor devices, structures, materials and methods of forming metal-base transistor material structures for use in semiconductor devices.
US09978891B2	Solar cell module A solar cell module includes: solar cells each having a first main surface and a second main surface; a front-side transparent protective member disposed on a first main surface-side of the solar cells; a front-side transparent encapsulant layer disposed between the front-side transparent protective member and the solar cells; a back-side protective member disposed on a second main surface-side of the solar cells; a back-side white encapsulant layer disposed between the back-side protective member and the solar cells; and a back-side transparent encapsulant layer disposed between the back-side white encapsulant layer and the solar cells, wherein a thickness of the back-side transparent encapsulant layer in a vicinity of an edge portion of the second main surface of the solar cells is less than a thickness of the back-side transparent encapsulant layer in a region between the solar cells that are neighboring to each other.
US09978889B2	Conductive contact for solar cell Conductive contacts for solar cells and methods of forming conductive contacts for solar cells are described. For example, a solar cell includes a substrate. A conductive contact is disposed on the substrate. The conductive contact includes a layer composed of a first metal species having a plurality of pores. The conductive contact also includes a second metal species disposed in the plurality of pores. Portions of both the first and second metal species are in contact with the substrate.
US09978888B2	Solar cell and method for manufacturing the same A method for manufacturing a solar cell, the method including: preparing a semiconductor substrate; ion-implanting a pre-amorphization element to form an amorphous layer at at least a part of one surface of the semiconductor substrate; ion-implanting a first conductive type dopant to the one surface of the semiconductor substrate to form a first dopant layer; and forming a first electrode electrically connected to the first dopant layer, wherein a concentration of the pre-amorphization element in one portion of the first dopant layer is different from a concentration of the pre-amorphization element in another portion of the first dopant layer.
US09978885B1	Thermo-compensated silicon photo-multiplier with on-chip thermistor A silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) device is provided with a SiPM matrix fabricated on a substrate, a bias power supply connected to the SiPM matrix, and a compensation circuit coupled to the bias power supply. The bias power supply provides a bias voltage to the SiPM matrix. The compensation circuit can adjust the bias voltage applied to the SiPM matrix in response to temperature changes at the substrate. The compensation circuit includes a resistor fabricated on the substrate with the SiPM matrix. The resistor can have a resistance that varies in response to temperature changes at the substrate.
US09978884B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes an anode electrode, a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type, a second semiconductor region of a second conductivity type, a conductive portion and a cathode electrode. The first semiconductor region is electrically connected to the anode electrode. The second semiconductor region is provided on the first semiconductor region. The conductive portion is provided in the first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region with an insulating layer interposed between the conductive portion and the first and second semiconductor regions. The cathode electrode is electrically connected to the conductive portions and is electrically isolated from the second semiconductor region.
US09978882B2	Method of manufacturing semiconductor device and glass film forming apparatus Provided is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present invention, a ring-shaped electrode plate 18 with an opening having a diameter smaller than a diameter of a semiconductor wafer W is disposed between a first electrode plate 14 and a second electrode plate 16, the semiconductor wafer W is arranged between the ring-shaped electrode plate 18 and the second electrode plate 16, and a glass film is formed on a glass film forming scheduled surface in a state where a potential lower than a potential V2 of the second electrode plate 16 is applied to the ring-shaped electrode plate 18. According to the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention, even when the glass film forming step is performed using the semiconductor wafer where the base insulating film is formed on the glass film forming scheduled surface as the semiconductor wafer, lowering of deposition efficiency of fine glass particles on the outer peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer can be suppressed and hence, highly reliable semiconductor devices can be manufactured with high productivity.
US09978878B2	Manufacturing method of semiconductor device Disclosed is a semiconductor device using an oxide semiconductor, with stable electric characteristics and high reliability. In a process for manufacturing a bottom-gate transistor including an oxide semiconductor film, dehydration or dehydrogenation is performed by heat treatment and oxygen doping treatment is performed. The transistor including a gate insulating film subjected to the oxygen doping treatment and the oxide semiconductor film subjected to the dehydration or dehydrogenation by the heat treatment is a transistor having high reliability in which the amount of change in threshold voltage of the transistor by the bias-temperature stress (BT) test can be reduced.
US09978875B2	Thin film transistor and method for manufacturing the same, array substrate and display device The present disclosure provides a thin film transistor and a method for manufacturing the same, an array substrate and a display device. The method for manufacturing a TFT includes forming a source electrode and a drain electrode, forming a metal layer on the source and drain electrodes, and forming a metal oxynitride semiconductor layer on the metal layer or on the source and drain electrodes and the metal layer. The metal layer is capable of being oxidized by oxygen ions in the metal oxynitride semiconductor layer.
US09978874B2	Gate-all-around fin device A gate-all around fin double diffused metal oxide semiconductor (DMOS) devices and methods of manufacture are disclosed. The method includes forming a plurality of fin structures from a substrate. The method further includes forming a well of a first conductivity type and a second conductivity type within the substrate and corresponding fin structures of the plurality of fin structures. The method further includes forming a source contact on an exposed portion of a first fin structure. The method further comprises forming drain contacts on exposed portions of adjacent fin structures to the first fin structure. The method further includes forming a gate structure in a dielectric fill material about the first fin structure and extending over the well of the first conductivity type.
US09978870B2	FinFET with buried insulator layer and method for forming A fin structure suitable for a FinFET and having a buried insulator layer is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, a semiconductor device comprises a substrate with a first semiconductor material and having a fin structure formed thereupon. The fin structure includes a lower region proximate to the substrate, a second semiconductor material disposed on the lower region, a third semiconductor material disposed on the second semiconductor material, and an insulating material selectively disposed on the second semiconductor material such that the insulating material electrically isolates a channel region of the fin structure and further such that the insulating material exerts a strain on the channel region. The semiconductor device further comprises an isolation feature disposed adjacent to the fin structure.
US09978867B1	Semiconductor substrate structures, semiconductor devices and methods for forming the same A semiconductor substrate structure includes a substrate having a first conductivity type, an oxide layer disposed on the substrate, and a semiconductor layer disposed on the oxide layer. The semiconductor substrate structure also includes a first buried layer disposed in the semiconductor layer, having a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type. The semiconductor substrate structure further includes a second buried layer disposed in the semiconductor layer and above the first buried layer, having the first conductivity type, wherein the first buried layer and the second buried layer are separated by a distance.
US09978866B2	Semiconductor structure and manufacturing method thereof A semiconductor structure includes a substrate, a first semiconductor fin, a second semiconductor fin, and a first lightly-doped drain (LDD) region. The first semiconductor fin is disposed on the substrate. The first semiconductor fin has a top surface and sidewalls. The second semiconductor fin is disposed on the substrate. The first semiconductor fin and the second semiconductor fin are separated from each other at a nanoscale distance. The first lightly-doped drain (LDD) region is disposed at least in the top surface and the sidewalls of the first semiconductor fin.
US09978864B2	Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same A semiconductor device is provided. The semiconductor device includes a substrate including a first conductive type well region; a gate structure; a lightly-doped drain region and a lightly-doped source region disposed at two opposite sides of the gate structure; a second conductive type first doped region disposed in the lightly-doped drain region, wherein the doping concentration of the second conductive type first doped region is less than the doping concentration of the lightly-doped drain region; a heavily-doped source region disposed in the lightly-doped source region; and a heavily-doped drain region disposed in the second conductive type first doped region. The present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device.
US09978862B2	Power transistor with at least partially integrated driver stage A semiconductor die includes a semiconductor substrate having a first region and a second region isolated from the first region. A power transistor disposed in the first region of the semiconductor substrate has a gate, a source and a drain. A gate driver transistor disposed in the second region of the semiconductor substrate has a gate, a source and a drain. The gate driver transistor is electrically connected to the gate of the power transistor and operable to turn the power transistor off or on responsive to an externally-generated control signal applied to the gate of the gate driver transistor. A first contact pad is electrically connected to the source of the power transistor, and a second contact pad is electrically connected to the drain of the power transistor. A third contact pad is electrically connected to the gate of the gate driver transistor for receiving the externally-generated control signal.
US09978861B2	Semiconductor device having gate in trenches A semiconductor device is disclosed. The semiconductor device includes a substrate having an isolation region and an active region defined by the isolation region. At least one trench is formed in the active region and extends along a first direction. A gate layer is disposed on the active region and extends along a second direction, wherein the gate layer conformably fills the at least one trench and covers a bottom surface and sidewalls of the at least one trench. The disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device.
US09978860B2	Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer. A first conductivity type region is formed on a base layer portion of the semiconductor layer. A body region of a second conductivity type is formed on the semiconductor layer to be in contact with the first conductivity type region. A trench in which a gate electrode is embedded through a gate insulating film is formed on the semiconductor layer. The trench penetrates through the body region, so that a deepest portion thereof reaches the first conductivity type region. A source region of the first conductivity type is formed on a surface layer portion of the semiconductor layer around the trench. The gate insulating film includes a thick-film portion having a relatively large thickness on a bottom surface of the trench.
US09978857B2	Semiconductor device To improve the performance of a semiconductor device having an IGBT. A p+-type collector layer is formed on the back surface side of a semiconductor substrate. A back electrode is formed over the back surface of the semiconductor substrate. Within the semiconductor substrate, an n−-type drift region is formed over the p+-type collector layer, and a first IGBT cell region and a second IGBT cell region are formed on the surface side of the semiconductor substrate. An embedded insulating film is formed on the surface side of the semiconductor substrate between the first IGBT cell region and the second IGBT cell region. An interlayer insulating film is formed over the first IGBT cell region, the second IGBT cell region, and the embedded insulating film. An emitter electrode is formed over the interlayer insulating film.
US09978854B2	Fin field-effect transistor An etching method adapted to forming grooves in Si-substrate and FinFET transistor manufactured thereof are provided. The etching method includes providing a silicon substrate, at least two gate structures formed on the silicon substrate and at least two gate spacer structures disposed on the silicon substrate; performing a first etching process on the silicon substrate to form a first groove, which has a base and two inclined sidewalls, ascending to respective bottoms of the gate structures, and are interconnected with the base, respectively; and performing a second etching process on the silicon substrate at the base of the first groove, so as to form a second groove in a trench shape, wherein the two inclined sidewalls of the first groove are interconnected with the second groove respectively, and the first etching process is substantially different from the second etching process.
US09978848B2	UTBB FDSOI split gate devices An Ultra Thin Body and Box (UTBB) fully depleted silicon on insulator (FDSOI) field effect transistor (FET) employing a split gate topology is provided. A gate dielectric layer is disposed beneath a gate structure and in contact with a channel layer of the device. The gate dielectric layer contains two portions, a thin portion and a thick portion. The thin portion is arranged and configured to reduce a trans-conductance of the device, while a thick portion is arranged and configured to increase the break down voltage of the device. The device further contains a bulk region that can be electrically connected to voltage source to provide control over the threshold voltage of the device.
US09978843B2	Silicon carbide semiconductor device An embodiment of a silicon carbide semiconductor device includes one or more inner cells each having a MOSFET and one or more outer peripheral cells that does not have a MOSFET structure, and the area (surface area) of the p+ contact region of each of the outermost peripheral cells is less than the surface area of an p+ contact region of each of the inner cells, for example, so that a unit total resistance of p+ contact regions of the outermost peripheral cells, as measured in a depth direction of the semiconductor substrate with respect to a unit area in a surface of the semiconductor substrate, is greater than a unit total resistance of the p+ contact regions of the inner cells, as measured in the depth direction of the semiconductor substrate with respect to the unit area in the surface of the semiconductor substrate.
US09978839B2	Method of manufacturing a MOSFET on an SOI substrate Occurrence of short-channel characteristics and parasitic capacitance of a MOSFET on a SOI substrate is prevented.A sidewall having a stacked structure obtained by sequentially stacking a silicon oxide film and a nitride film is formed on a side wall of a gate electrode on the SOI substrate. Subsequently, after an epitaxial layer is formed beside the gate electrode, and then, the nitride film is removed. Then, an impurity is implanted into an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate with using the gate electrode and the epitaxial layer as a mask, so that a halo region is formed in only a region of the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate which is right below a vicinity of both ends of the gate electrode.
US09978836B1	Nanostructure field-effect transistors with enhanced mobility source/drain regions Structures and fabrication methods for vertical-transport field-effect transistors. A nanostructure, a gate structure coupled with the nanostructure, and a source/drain region coupled with an end of the nanostructure are formed. The source/drain region is comprised of a first layer of a first semiconductor material having a first electronic band gap and a second layer of a second semiconductor material having a second electronic band gap that is wider than the first electronic band gap of the first semiconductor material.
US09978832B1	Wide bandgap semiconductor device with vertical superjunction edge termination for the drift region A vertical superjunction edge termination structure for the drift region of wide bandgap semiconductor devices that provides a low resistance and high off voltage allowing the breakdown voltage of the superjunction drift region to be raised.
US09978825B2	Curved display device A curved display device including a display area and a non-display area is provided. The curved display device includes a first direction area configured to maintain a flat state and a bending area connected to the first direction area. A thin film transistor (TFT) layer, a passivation layer, a sealing layer, and an upper film are provided on a base substrate in an area where the display area overlaps the bending area, and the sealing layer and the upper film extend to an area where the non-display area overlaps the bending area.
US09978824B2	Organic light emitting display device An organic light emitting display device including a substrate, a first semiconductor element, a first lower electrode, a protection member, a first light emitting layer, a second lower electrode, and a second light emitting layer. The substrate has a first pixel region in which a light is emitted in a first direction, and a second pixel region in which a light is emitted in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction.
US09978818B2	Display panel, display device and manufacturing method of display panel The present disclosure discloses a display panel, a display device and a manufacturing method of a display panel. The display panel includes: a substrate; a pixel definition layer disposed on the substrate, with a plurality of pixel regions being defined in the pixel definition layer; and an organic common layer disposed on the pixel regions and the pixel definition layer; wherein, a thickness of at least one portion of the organic common layer corresponding to the pixel definition layer is less than that of at least one portion of the organic common layer corresponding to the pixel region; or at least one recess is disposed in a portion of the pixel definition layer between adjacent pixel regions or in every pixel definition layer between two adjacent pixel regions, and the organic common layer covers the recess.
US09978816B2	Organic light emitting diode display and manufacturing method thereof An organic light emitting diode display according to one or more embodiments of the present invention includes: a substrate; a plurality of organic light emitting elements disposed on the substrate and configured to emit light; a touch panel on the plurality of organic light emitting elements; a window on the touch panel; and a first light blocking layer at a surface of the window and corresponding to paths of light emitted from the plurality of organic light emitting elements and having an exposed region exposing a portion of the window.
US09978814B2	Organic light emitting display device An organic light-emitting display device. A substrate is divided into a plurality of subpixels generating different colors of light. A light leakage prevention layer is disposed on a portion of the substrate corresponding to a light-emitting area of at least one subpixel of the plurality of subpixels. An overcoat layer is disposed on a portion of the substrate corresponding to at least one subpixel of the plurality of subpixels, and includes microlenses having a plurality of concave portions or a plurality of convex portions. An organic electroluminescent device is disposed on the overcoat layer.
US09978813B2	Organic light-emitting display apparatus An organic light-emitting display apparatus including: a pixel including a first region realizing an image and a second region through which external light is transmitted, a driving circuit unit disposed in the first region, a wire area including a third region and a fourth region, a wire for transferring a signal to the driving circuit unit, a first electrode disposed in the first region and electrically connected to the driving circuit unit, a pixel defining layer disposed in the first region and including a first opening and a second opening, a second electrode disposed in the first region opposite the first electrode, an organic emission layer disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and an insulating structure disposed between the substrate and the pixel defining layer and including at least one insulating layer that includes a third opening corresponding to the second region and the fourth region.
US09978812B2	Organic electroluminescent display panel The organic EL display panel includes: a substrate; and an organic electroluminescent element disposed on the substrate, the organic electroluminescent element including, in the given order: an anode; a light-emitting layer; and a cathode, the light-emitting layer including multiple light-emitting portions, the multiple light-emitting portions each providing a luminescent color different from the luminescent color of the adjacent light-emitting portion, the multiple light-emitting portions each containing a luminescent dopant material, the concentration of the luminescent dopant material in each light-emitting portion changing in the thickness direction of the light-emitting portion and being at a local maximum in the vicinity of a first interface on the anode side and in the vicinity of a second interface on the cathode side, the local maximum in each light-emitting portion being 20% by weight or higher of the total weight of the light-emitting portion.
US09978811B2	Light emitting device and method of manufacturing the same A light-emitting device structured so as to increase the amount of light taken out in a certain direction is provided as well as a method of manufacturing this light emitting device. As a result of etching treatment, an upper edge portion of an insulator (19) is curved to have a radius of curvature, a slope is formed along the curved face while partially exposing layers (18c and 18d) of a first electrode, and a layer (18b) of the first electrode is exposed in a region that serves as a light emitting region. Light emitted from an organic compound layer (20) is reflected by the slope of the first electrode (layers 18c and 18d) to increase the total amount of light taken out in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1A.
US09978810B2	Three-dimensional memory apparatuses and methods of use A three dimensional (3D) memory array may include a plurality of memory cells. An example 3D memory array may include an electrode plane and a memory material disposed through and coupled to the electrode plane. A memory cell included in the memory material is aligned in a same plane as the electrode plane, and the memory cell is configured to exhibit a first threshold voltage representative of a first logic state and a second threshold voltage representative of a second logic state. A conductive pillar is disposed through and coupled to the memory cell, wherein the conductive pillar and electrode plane are configured to provide a voltage across the memory cell to write a logic state to the memory cell.
US09978809B2	Systems and methods for fabrication of superconducting integrated circuits Various techniques and apparatus permit fabrication of superconductive circuits and structures, for instance Josephson junctions, which may, for example be useful in quantum computers. For instance, a low magnetic flux noise trilayer structure may be fabricated having a dielectric structure or layer interposed between two elements or layers capable of superconducting. A superconducting via may directly overlie a Josephson junction. A structure, for instance a Josephson junction, may be carried on a planarized dielectric layer. A fin may be employed to remove heat from the structure. A via capable of superconducting may have a width that is less than about 1 micrometer. The structure may be coupled to a resistor, for example by vias and/or a strap connector.
US09978808B2	Monolithic multicolor direct view display containing different color LEDs and method of making thereof A direct view multicolor light emitting device includes blue, green and red light emitting diodes (LEDs) in each pixel. The different light emitting diodes can be formed by depositing different types of active region layers in a stack such that deposition area of each subsequent active region is less than the deposition area of any preceding active region, and by patterning the active region layers into different types of stacks. The active region layers may be formed as planar layers, or may be formed on semiconductor nanowires. The active region layers can emit light at the respective target wavelength range. Alternatively, at least one of green and red phosphor materials, dye materials, or quantum dots may be used instead of or in addition to the active regions that emit light at a wavelength different from a target wavelength of a respective LED.
US09978807B2	Solid state transducer devices, including devices having integrated electrostatic discharge protection, and associated systems and methods Solid state transducer devices having integrated electrostatic discharge protection and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a solid state transducer device includes a solid state emitter, and an electrostatic discharge device carried by the solid state emitter. In some embodiments, the electrostatic discharge device and the solid state emitter share a common first contact and a common second contact. In further embodiments, the solid state lighting device and the electrostatic discharge device share a common epitaxial substrate. In still further embodiments, the electrostatic discharge device is positioned between the solid state lighting device and a support substrate.
US09978805B2	Method for manufacturing image sensor structure having wide contact Methods for forming image sensor structures are provided. The method includes forming an isolation structure in a substrate and forming a first light sensing region and a second light sensing region. The method further includes forming a first gate structure and a second gate structure, and the first gate structure and the second gate structure are positioned at a front side of the substrate. The method further includes forming a first source/drain structure adjacent to the first gate structure and a second source/drain structure adjacent to the second gate structure and forming an interlayer dielectric layer over the front side of the substrate. The method further includes forming a contact trench through the interlayer dielectric layer and forming a contact in the contact trench.
US09978802B2	Multiband optoelectronic device for colorimetric applications and related manufacturing process An optoelectronic device for detecting radiation, comprising a semiconductor body including: a cathode region delimited by a front surface, having a first conductivity type and including a bottom layer; an anode region having a second conductivity type, which extends in the cathode region starting from the front surface and forms a surface junction with the cathode region; and a buried region having the second conductivity type, which extends within the cathode region and forms a buried junction with the bottom layer. The cathode region further includes a buffer layer, which is arranged underneath the anode region and overlies, in direct contact, the bottom layer. The buffer layer has a doping level higher than the doping level of the bottom layer.
US09978798B2	Sensors with variable sensitivity to maximize data use Recording photons incident on an image sensor; and storing the recorded photons on the image sensor in varying densities, wherein the photons are recorded in varying densities by storing electrons non-linearly. Key words include a sensor and storing non-linearly.
US09978792B2	Solid-state image sensor and camera which can detect visible light and infrared light at a high S/N ratio A solid-state image sensor includes a plurality of first pixels and a plurality of second pixels. Each of the plurality of first pixels includes a first filter having a visible light transmittance higher than an infrared light transmittance, and a first photoelectric converter configured to receive visible light transmitted through the first filter, and each of the plurality of second pixels includes a second filter having an infrared light transmittance higher than a visible light transmittance, and a second photoelectric converter configured to receive infrared light transmitted through the second filter. The plurality of second pixels are divided into a plurality of groups each includes at least two second pixels. The solid-state image sensor includes a synthesizer configured to synthesize a signal from signals of the at least two second pixels included in each group.
US09978790B2	Image sensor and method for manufacturing thereof An image sensor is provided including a substrate, an array of photosensitive units, a grid and a plurality of color filters. In the image sensor, the grid has a first portion and a second portion disposed on the first portion. The second portion of the grid can cause reflection or refraction of incident lights targeted for one image sensor element back into the same image sensor element, so as to avoid crosstalk occurred. Further, a method for manufacturing the image sensor also provides herein.
US09978787B1	Image sensor and method for fabricating the same An image sensor includes a substrate including a photoelectric conversion element; a transfer gate formed over the photoelectric conversion element; and a channel layer controlled by the transfer gate, wherein the channel layer includes a first region which is in contacts with the photoelectric conversion element and a second region which is separated from the photoelectric conversion element, and the first region and the second region have different crystalline states from each other.
US09978786B2	Solid-state image-capturing device and production method thereof, and electronic appliance A high degree of phase difference detection accuracy can be obtained using a phase difference pixel (2B) with a simpler configuration. A solid-state image-capturing device includes a pixel array unit in which a plurality of pixels including a phase difference pixel (2B) which is a pixel for focal point detection and an image-capturing pixel (2A) which is a pixel for image generation are arranged in a two-dimensional array. In this case, a predetermined layer (50) between a light shielding layer (47) and a micro lens (52) formed in the image-capturing pixel has a higher refraction index than a refraction index of the predetermined layer (51) formed in the phase difference pixel. The technique of the present disclosure can be applied to, for example, a back-illuminated-type solid-state image-capturing device and the like.
US09978783B2	Semiconductor device and manufacturing method of semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes first and second photo-electric conversion elements, each having a light-receiving surface, disposed adjacent to each other, each outputting a light current that is a current corresponding to an intensity of received light, a first filter disposed on the light-receiving surface of the first photo-electric conversion element, a second filter disposed on the light-receiving surface of the second photo-electric conversion element, and a third filter disposed on the light-receiving surface of the second photo-electric conversion element and being in contact with the second filter, one end of the second filter and one end of the third filter overlapping one end of the first filter at a vicinity of a boundary between the first photo-electric conversion element and the second photo-electric conversion element.
US09978779B2	Display device and fabrication method thereof A display device having a display area and a non-display area includes a substrate, a pixel at the display area, a signal line on the substrate and electrically connected to the pixel, and a static electricity prevention capacitor at the non-display area and including a lower pattern having a first region and a second region that have different electrical conductivities from each other, an insulating layer on the lower pattern, and an upper pattern including a portion of the signal line and overlapping the first region of the lower pattern in a plan view.
US09978775B2	FinFET device with abrupt junctions A plurality of semiconductor fins is formed on a surface of an insulator layer. Gate structures are then formed that are orientated perpendicular and straddle each semiconductor fin. A dielectric spacer is then formed on vertical sidewalls of each gate structure. Next, an etch is performed that removes exposed portions of each semiconductor fin and a portion of the insulator layer not protected by the dielectric spacers and the gate structures. The etch provides semiconductor fin portions that have exposed vertical sidewalls. A doped semiconductor material is then formed from each exposed vertical sidewall of each semiconductor fin portion, followed by an anneal which causes diffusion of dopants from the doped semiconductor material into each semiconductor fin portion and the formation of source/drain regions. The source/drain regions are present along the sidewalls of each semiconductor fin portion and are located beneath the dielectric spacers.
US09978773B2	Pads and pin-outs in three dimensional integrated circuits A three dimensional semiconductor device, comprising: a substrate including a plurality of circuits; a plurality of pads, each pad coupled to a circuit; and a memory array positioned above or below the substrate and coupled to a circuit to program the memory array.
US09978770B2	Semiconductor memory device According to an embodiment, a semiconductor memory device comprises a substrate, a plurality of first conductive layers, a memory columnar body, a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer and a contact. The plurality of first conductive layers are stacked upwardly of the substrate. The memory columnar body extends in a first direction intersecting an upper surface of the substrate and a side surface of the memory columnar body is covered by the first conductive layers. The first semiconductor layer is connected to a lower end of the memory columnar body and extends in a second direction intersecting the first direction. The second conductive layer is provided between the first semiconductor layer and the first conductive layers. The second conductive layer is connected to the memory columnar body and extending in the second direction. The contact is connected to the second conductive layer and extends in the first direction.
US09978768B2	Method of making three-dimensional semiconductor memory device having laterally undulating memory films A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a stack of alternating layers comprising insulating layers and spacer material layers over a substrate, forming a memory opening through the stack, forming a layer stack including a memory material layer, a tunneling dielectric layer, and a first semiconductor material layer in the memory opening, forming a protective layer over the first semiconductor channel layer, physically exposing a semiconductor surface underneath the layer stack by anisotropically etching horizontal portions of the protective layer and the layer stack at a bottom portion of the memory opening, removing a remaining portion of the protective layer selective to the first semiconductor channel layer, and forming a second semiconductor channel layer on the first semiconductor channel layer.
US09978764B2	Integrated circuit and method of manufacturing the same An integrated circuit includes a high-voltage MOS (HV) transistor and a capacitor supported by a semiconductor substrate. A gate stack of the HV transistor includes a first insulating layer over the semiconductor layer and a gate electrode formed from a first polysilicon. The capacitor includes a first electrode made of the first polysilicon and a second electrode made of a second polysilicon and at least partly resting over the first electrode. A first polysilicon layer deposited over the semiconductor substrate is patterned to form the first polysilicon of the gate electrode and first electrode, respectively. A second polysilicon layer deposited over the semiconductor substrate is patterned to form the second polysilicon of the second electrode. Silicon oxide spacers laterally border the second electrode and the gate stack of the HV transistor. Silicon nitride spacers border the silicon oxide spacers.
US09978761B2	Self-aligned flash memory device The present disclosure relates to an improved integrated circuit having an embedded flash memory device with a word line having its height reduced, and associated processing methods. In some embodiments, the flash memory device includes a gate stack separated from a substrate by a gate dielectric. The gate stack includes a control gate separated from a floating gate by a control gate dielectric. An erase gate is disposed on a first side of the gate stack and a word line is disposed on a second side of the gate stack that is opposite to the first side. The word line has a height that monotonically increases from an outer side opposite to the gate stack to an inner side closer to the gate stack. A word line height at the outer side is smaller than an erase gate height.
US09978760B2	Semiconductor device and related manufacturing method A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device may include the following steps: providing a spacer structure on a first side of a stack structure, wherein the stack structure includes a mask and a conductor; providing an etch stop layer, wherein a portion of the etch stop layer directly contacts both the mask and a portion of the spacer structure; providing a dielectric material member on the etch stop layer; partially removing the first dielectric material member to expose the portion of the etch stop layer; removing the portion of the etch stop layer to expose the portion of the spacer structure; removing the portion of the spacer structure to expose a side of the mask and to form a first spacer; and providing a second spacer, which directly contacts both the first spacer and the side of the mask.
US09978752B2	Three-dimensional (3D) semiconductor memory devices A three-dimensional (3D) semiconductor memory device may include a substrate including a cell array region and a connection region, an electrode structure including pluralities of first and second electrodes that are vertically and alternately stacked on a surface of the substrate, extending in a first direction that is parallel to the surface of the substrate, and may include a stair step structure on the connection region, first and second string selection electrodes that extend in the first direction on the electrode structure and spaced apart from each other in a second direction that is parallel to the surface of the substrate and perpendicular to the first direction. The first and second string selection electrodes may each include an electrode portion on the cell array region and a pad portion that extends from the electrode portion in the first direction and on the connection region. Widths in the second direction of the pad portions may be different from widths in the second direction of the respective electrode portions.
US09978751B2	Semiconductor structure A semiconductor structure is provided. The semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor substrate, a well region on the semiconductor substrate, a radio frequency circuit, a first guard ring adjacent to the RF circuit, and a first isolation region directly disposed between the RF circuit and the first guard ring. The well region has a first conductive type. The RF circuit includes a FIN field-effect transistor having a plurality of first fins and a plurality of first polys on the well region, wherein the first polys are perpendicular to the first fins. The first guard ring includes a plurality of second fins and a pair of second polys on the well region, wherein the second polys are perpendicular to the second fins. The first fins are arranged parallel to the second fins, and the first fins are separated from the second fins by the first isolation region.
US09978740B2	Uni-directional transient voltage suppressor (TVS) A unidirectional transient voltage suppressor (TVS) device is formed with first and second NPN transistors that are connected in parallel to each other. Each NPN transistor includes a collector region, an emitter. The first and second NPN structures are formed on a common substrate. The first NPN transistor has a floating base and the second NPN transistor has a base shorted to an emitter.
US09978739B2	Semiconductor arrangement facilitating enhanced thermo-conduction A semiconductor arrangement includes a well region and a first region disposed within the well region. The first region includes a first conductivity type. The semiconductor arrangement includes a first gate disposed above the well region on a first side of the first region. The first gate includes a first top surface facing away from the well region. The first top surface has a first top surface area. The semiconductor arrangement includes a first gate contact disposed above the first gate. The first gate contact includes a first bottom surface facing towards the well region. The first bottom surface has a first bottom surface area. The first bottom surface area covers at least about two thirds of the first top surface area.
US09978735B2	Interconnection of an embedded die Devices and methods related to an integrated circuit device are provided. The integrated circuit device includes a mother die and a daughter die, in which the daughter die embedded is in a substrate of the integrated circuit device. Micro bumps of the mother die and the daughter die interface together to form a direct down connection between the mother die and the daughter die.
US09978731B1	Fan-out semiconductor package module A fan-out semiconductor package includes a first connection member having a through-hole, a semiconductor chip with connection pads on its active surface disposed in the through-hole and a first encapsulant encapsulating at least portions of the first connection member and the semiconductor chip. A second connection member is disposed below the first connection member and the semiconductor chip. A first heat dissipation member is formed in the first connection member. A component package is disposed on the fan-out semiconductor package and includes a wiring substrate connected to the first connection member through connection terminals, electronic components disposed on the wiring substrate, a second encapsulant encapsulating at least portions of the electronic components, and a second heat dissipation member formed in the wiring substrate. At least one of the electronic components is connected to the first heat dissipation member through the second heat dissipation member.
US09978721B2	Apparatus for stacked semiconductor packages and methods of fabricating the same An apparatus includes a first substrate having a first land and a second substrate having a second land. A first molding compound is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. A first semiconductor chip is disposed on the first substrate and in contact with the first molding portion. A first connector contacts the first land and a second connector contacts the second land. The second connector is disposed on the first connector. A volume of the second connector is greater than a volume of the first connector. A surface of the first semiconductor chip is exposed. The first molding compound is in contact with the second connector, and at least a portion of the second connector is surrounded by the first molding compound.
US09978719B2	Electronic component, arrangement and method A method includes applying solder paste to a portion of a circuit board, arranging a first contact pad of a first electronic component adjacent the layer of solder paste, the first electronic component comprising a dielectric layer, at least one semiconductor die embedded in the dielectric layer, the at least one first contact pad being electrically coupled to the semiconductor die and arranged on a lower side of the dielectric layer, and at least one second contact pad positioned on an upper side of the dielectric layer, and melting the solder paste to produce a molten solder that flows onto at least one of the first contact pad and the second contact pad of the first electronic component.
US09978717B2	Multilayer semiconductor integrated circuit device The invention relates to a multilayer semiconductor integrated circuit device which is provided with a smaller space for a three-dimensional multilayer configuration at a lower cost and with a sufficient power supply quality. A first semiconductor integrated circuit device is provided with a first penetrating semiconductor region that penetrates through the first semiconductor body in the thickness direction and that is connected to the first power supply potential, and a second penetrating semiconductor region that penetrates through the first semiconductor body in the thickness direction and that is connected to the second power supply potential. A second semiconductor integrated circuit device having a first electrode and a second electrode is layered on top of the first semiconductor integrated circuit device so that the first electrode and the second electrode are respectively connected to the first penetrating semiconductor region and the second penetrating semiconductor region.
US09978716B2	Package structure and method for manufacturing the same A package structure includes a molding material, at least one through-via, at least one conductor, at least one dummy structure and an underfill. The through-via extends through the molding material. The conductor is present on the through-via. The dummy structure is present on the molding material and includes a dielectric material. The underfill is at least partially present between the conductor and the dummy structure.
US09978714B1	Structure and method of bonding chip with electronic circuit A bonding structure of a chip and an electronic circuit contains: a chip holder, a chip accommodated in the chip holder, multiple conductive feet electrically connected with the chip, and an electronic circuit. The chip and the multiple conductive feet are covered by a packaging material, and a part of each of the multiple conductive feet exposes outside the packaging material to form an extension. The electronic circuit includes a porous substrate and an electric circuit connected on the porous substrate, wherein the electric circuit is formed from conductive inks which penetrate into the porous substrate, and the extension is inserted through the electric circuit, hence the extension is electrically connected with the electric circuit.
US09978713B2	Method of manufacturing semiconductor device and wire bonding apparatus A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: a wire tail forming step of forming a wire loop 130 between a first bonding point and a second bonding point with a bonding tool 40, and then cutting a portion of a wire 42 extending from a tip of the bonding tool 40 to thereby form a wire tail 43 at the tip of the bonding tool 40; and a wire tail bending step of bending the wire tail 43 so as to direct a tip 43a of the wire tail 43 upward by descending the bonding tool 40 toward the second bonding point with the wire loop 130 formed thereat and pressing the wire tail 43 against a portion of the wire loop 130 located above the second bonding point. Thus, the wire tail can be bent easily and efficiently.
US09978710B2	Method for self-aligned solder reflow bonding and devices obtained thereof A method for producing a stack of semiconductor devices and the stacked device obtained thereof are disclosed. In one aspect, the method includes providing a first semiconductor device comprising a dielectric layer with a hole, the hole lined with a metal layer and partially filled with solder material. The method also includes providing a second semiconductor device with a compliant layer having a metal protrusion through the compliant layer, the protrusion capped with a capping layer. The method further includes mounting the devices by landing the metal protrusion in the hole, where the compliant layer is spaced from the dielectric layer. The method includes thereafter reflowing the solder material, thereby bonding the devices such that the compliant layer is contacting the dielectric layer.
US09978705B2	Semiconductor substrate and semiconductor package structure having the same A semiconductor package structure includes a substrate, a semiconductor chip, and a solder material. The substrate includes an insulating layer, a conductive circuit layer, and a conductive bump. The conductive circuit layer is recessed from a top surface of the insulating layer. The conductive circuit layer includes a pad, and a side surface of the pad extends along a side surface of the insulating layer. The conductive bump is disposed on the pad. A side surface of the conductive bump, a top surface of the pad and the side surface of the insulating layer together define an accommodating space. A solder material electrically connects the conductive bump and the semiconductor chip. A portion of the solder material is disposed in the accommodating space.
US09978704B2	Semiconductor devices with ball strength improvement A semiconductor device includes a contact region over a substrate. The semiconductor device further includes a metal pad over the contact region. Additionally, the semiconductor device includes a post passivation interconnect (PPI) line over the metal pad, where the PPI line is in contact with the metal pad. Furthermore, the semiconductor device includes an under-bump-metallurgy (UBM) layer over the PPI line. Moreover, the semiconductor device includes a plurality of solder balls over the UBM layer, the plurality of solder balls being arranged at some, but not all, intersections of a number of columns and rows of a ball pattern.
US09978699B1	Three-dimensional complementary-conducting-strip structure The invention discloses a three-dimensional complementary-conducting-strip (CCS) structure. Some two-dimensional mesh metal layers are stacked vertically and connected mutually via numerous vias to form a three-dimensional network structure, and one or more signal lines with three-dimensional trace style(s) are positioned inside and separated away the three-dimensional network structure. Moreover, each two-dimensional mesh metal layer is a planar metal layer with one or more empty areas. The three-dimensional network structure is grounded, the signal lines(s) is electrically connected to the device(s) and/or terminal(s) respectively, and the dielectric material(s) is used to electrically insulate the signal line(s) from the three-dimensional network structure.
US09978696B2	Single lead-frame stacked die galvanic isolator Isolators for providing electrical isolation between two circuits operating at different voltages are described, in which multiple semiconductor dies including the isolator components and the components of the two circuits are stacked on top of each other to provide a laterally-compact arrangement. An isolation barrier electrically separates the two circuits, and the isolator may provide a communication channel for transfer of information and/or power between the two circuits. The isolator may be included in an integrated device having a stacked die configuration where a first semiconductor die includes the isolator and components of the first of the two circuits, and a second semiconductor die positioned over the first semiconductor die includes components of the second of the two circuits. Two components of the isolator may be formed in separate layers of the first semiconductor die.
US09978693B2	Integrated circuit package, method of fabricating the same, and wearable device including integrated circuit package An integrated circuit package includes at least one first chip mounted in a first region of a mounting surface of a printed circuit board, a molding unit covering the mounting surface and surrounding the at least one first chip, an electromagnetic shielding film covering a surface of the molding unit and surrounding the at least one first chip, and a second chip mounted in a second region of the mounting surface. The second chip is exposed outside the electromagnetic shielding film and is spaced apart from the printed circuit board, with the molding unit being between the second chip and the printed circuit board.
US09978692B2	Integrated circuit, electronic device and method for transmitting data in electronic device An integrated circuit is provided. The integrated circuit includes a control circuitry, a plurality of pins, and a plurality of driving units coupled to the pins. The control circuitry provides a plurality of control signals according to data to be transmitted. The pins are coupled to a device via a plurality of conductive traces of a printed circuit board (PCB). The control signals control each of the driving units to selectively provide the data or one specific shielding pattern via the corresponding pin and the corresponding conductive trace of PCB to the device.
US09978686B1	Interconnection of semiconductor devices in extreme environment microelectronic integrated circuit chips A process of fabrication and the resulting integrated circuit device is made of patterned metal electrical interconnections between semiconductor devices residing on and forming extremely harsh environment integrated circuit chips. The process enables more complicated wide band gap semiconductor integrated circuits with more than one level of interconnect to function for prolonged time periods (over 1000 hours) at much higher temperatures (500 C).
US09978685B2	Conformal amorphous silicon as nucleation layer for W ALD process Methods for depositing a metal film comprising forming an amorphous silicon layer as a nucleation layer and/or glue layer on a substrate. Some embodiments further comprise the incorporation of a glue layer to increase the ability of the amorphous silicon layer and metal layer to stick to the substrate.
US09978683B2	Method for making semiconductor device with stacked analog components in back end of line (BEOL) regions A method for making a semiconductor device may include forming a first dielectric layer above a semiconductor substrate, forming a first trench in the first dielectric layer, filling the first trench with electrically conductive material, removing upper portions of the electrically conductive material to define a lower conductive member with a recess thereabove, forming a filler dielectric material in the recess to define a second trench. The method may further include filling the second trench with electrically conductive material to define an upper conductive member, forming a second dielectric layer over the first dielectric layer and upper conductive member, forming a first via through the second dielectric layer and underlying filler dielectric material to the lower conductive member, and forming a second via through the second dielectric layer to the upper conductive member.
US09978682B1	Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) standard cell circuits employing metal lines in a first metal layer used for routing, and related methods Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) (CMOS) standard cell circuits employing metal lines in a first metal layer used for routing, and related methods are disclosed. In one aspect, a CMOS standard cell circuit includes first supply rail, second supply rail, and metal lines disposed in the first metal layer. One or more of the metal lines are dynamically cut corresponding to a first cell boundary and a second cell boundary of the CMOS standard cell such that the metal lines have cut edges corresponding to the first and second cell boundaries. Metal lines not cut corresponding to the first and second cell boundaries can be used to interconnect nodes of the CMOS standard cell circuit. Dynamically cutting the metal lines allows the first metal layer to be used for routing, reducing routing in other metal layers such that fewer vias and metal lines are disposed above the first metal layer.
US09978680B2	Semiconductor device and method A structure and method for the formation and use of fuses within a semiconductor device is provided. The fuses may be formed within the third metal layer and are formed so as to be arranged perpendicularly to active devices located on an underlying semiconductor substrate. Additionally, the fuses within the third metal layer may be formed thicker than an underlying second metal layer.
US09978679B2	Fuse structure and method of manufacturing the same A fuse structure may include an anode pattern, a cathode pattern and a connection member. The anode pattern may be formed on a semiconductor substrate. The cathode pattern may be formed on the anode pattern. The connection member may be electrically connected between the anode pattern and the cathode pattern. The connection member may have different widths.
US09978676B2	Sub-terahertz/terahertz interconnect An interconnect is described that comprises an interconnect channel, and two channel couplers coupled to the two ends of the interconnect channel through respective stoppers that provide a gap between the channel couplers and the interconnect channel. Each channel coupler can comprise a coplanar waveguide, a microstrip line, and a patch-antenna based coupler. The interconnect can enable communication between integrated circuits using signal waves having a frequency between 100 GHz and 3 THz.
US09978668B1	Packaged semiconductor devices with laser grooved wettable flank and methods of manufacture In a general aspect, a packaged semiconductor device can include a semiconductor device and a metal leadframe structure having a signal lead that is electrically coupled with the semiconductor device. The device can also include a molding compound encapsulating at least a portion of the metal leadframe structure. At least a portion of the signal lead can be exposed outside the molding compound. The device can further include a solder plating disposed on exposed portions of the metal leadframe structure. In the device, a flank of the signal lead can have a surface area. At first portion of the surface area of the flank can be defined by the solder plating, and a second portion of the surface area of the flank can be defined by exposed metal of the metal leadframe structure. A perimeter of a surface of the exposed metal can have at least one curved edge.
US09978665B2	Semiconductor device and method of forming low profile fan-out package with vertical interconnection units A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor die. A first interconnect structure is disposed over a peripheral region of the semiconductor die. A semiconductor component is disposed over the semiconductor die. The semiconductor component includes a second interconnect structure. The semiconductor component is disposed over the semiconductor die to align the second interconnect structure with the first interconnect structure. The first interconnect structure includes a plurality of interconnection units disposed around first and second adjacent sides of the semiconductor die to form an L-shape border of the interconnection units around the semiconductor die. A third interconnect structure is formed over the semiconductor die perpendicular to the first interconnect structure. An insulating layer is formed over the semiconductor die and first interconnect structure. A plurality of vias is formed through the insulating layer and into the first interconnect structure with the second interconnect structure disposed within the vias.
US09978664B2	Semiconductor module To bond a layered substrate and a cooling chamber having different linear expansion coefficients while preventing cracking and breaking, provided is a semiconductor module including a layered substrate formed by layering a circuit board, an insulating board, and a metal board; a semiconductor chip mounted on the circuit board; and a cooling chamber bonded to the metal board by solder. The cooling chamber includes a first board portion bonded to the metal board; a second board portion facing the first board portion; and a plurality of zigzag fins arranged between the first board portion and the second board portion. The plurality of zigzag fins are joined to the first board portion and the second board portion, and a flow path through which a coolant passes is formed by the first board portion, the second board portion, and the plurality of zigzag fins.
US09978661B2	Packaged semiconductor chips having heat dissipation layers and ground contacts therein Semiconductor packages and methods of fabricating the same are disclosed. The semiconductor package may include a package substrate, a semiconductor chip, which is mounted on the package substrate to have a bottom surface facing the package substrate and a top surface opposite to the bottom surface, a mold layer provided on the package substrate to encapsulate the semiconductor chip, and a heat dissipation layer provided on the top surface of the semiconductor chip. The mold layer may have a top surface substantially coplanar with the top surface of the semiconductor chip, and the top surfaces of the semiconductor chip and the mold layer may have a difference in surface roughness from each other.
US09978651B2	Silicon carbide single crystal substrate, silicon carbide semiconductor device, and method for manufacturing silicon carbide semiconductor device A silicon carbide single crystal substrate includes a first main surface and a second main surface opposite to the first main surface. The first main surface includes a central square region and an outer square region. When viewed in a thickness direction, each of the central square region and the outer square region has a side having a length of 15 mm. The first main surface has a maximum diameter of not less than 100 mm. The silicon carbide single crystal substrate has a TTV of not more than 5 μm. A value obtained by dividing a LTIR in the central square region by a LTV in the central square region is not less than 0.8 and not more than 1.2. A value obtained by dividing a LTV in the outer square region by the LTV in the central square region is not less than 1 and not more than 3.
US09978646B2	Interconnect structures and fabrication method thereof An interconnect structure is provided. The interconnect structure includes a substrate; and at least a first interconnect component having a first contact region and a second interconnect component having a second contact region. The interconnect structure also includes an interlayer dielectric layer formed on the semiconductor substrate at a same layer as the first interconnect component and the second interconnect component. Further, the interconnect structure includes an interconnect line layer electrically connecting the first contact region and the second contact region formed inside the interlayer dielectric layer.
US09978644B1	Semiconductor device and manufacturing method Methods of dicing a wafer into a plurality of singulated dies are disclosed. Some methods coating sidewalls of the singulated dies with a polymer. The polymer may cover cracks formed in the sidewalls as result of dicing the wafer. Other methods may fill cracks formed in the sidewalls with a polymer. Such coating and/or filling of cracks may increase the structural integrity of the die.
US09978636B2	Isolated and bulk semiconductor devices formed on a same bulk substrate Isolated and bulk semiconductor devices formed on a same bulk substrate and methods to form such devices are described. For example, a semiconductor structure includes a first semiconductor device having a first semiconductor body disposed on a bulk substrate. The first semiconductor body has an uppermost surface with a first horizontal plane. The semiconductor structure also includes a second semiconductor device having a second semiconductor body disposed on an isolation pedestal. The isolation pedestal is disposed on the bulk substrate. The second semiconductor body has an uppermost surface with a second horizontal plane. The first and second horizontal planes are co-planar.
US09978631B2	Wafer pick-and-place method and system A wafer pick-and-place method and system is provided. During the wafer pick-and-place operation, the distance between the fork of the robot and the target wafer is detected to determine whether the robot will collide with the target wafer. Furthermore, the tilted angle of the target wafer relative to the fork is calculated to determine whether the wafer will slip off. If collision or wafer slippery may occur, the pick-and-place operation is stopped. Therefore, wafer damages due to unexpected contact between the fork and the wafer can be avoided, and wafer handling safety can be improved.
US09978630B2	Curved wafer processing method and apparatus An apparatus for and a method of forming a semiconductor structure is provided. The apparatus includes a substrate holder that maintains a substrate such that the processing surface is curved, such as a convex or a concave shape. The substrate is held in place using point contacts, a plurality of continuous contacts extending partially around the substrate, and/or a continuous ring extending completely around the substrate. The processing may include, for example, forming source/drain regions, channel regions, silicides, stress memorization layers, or the like.
US09978627B2	System and method for selective zapping A system for zapping a wafer, the system includes a pulse generator; a sensor; a first conductive interface; a second conductive interface; a controller; wherein the pulse generator is configured to generate zapping pulses; wherein the first conductive interface is configured to provide the zapping pulses to a first location of a backside insulating layer of a wafer; wherein the sensor is configured to monitor a coupling between the first conductive interface and the second conductive interface to provide a monitoring result; wherein the monitoring occurs while the second conductive interface contacts a second location of the backside insulating layer; and wherein the controller is configured to control a generation of the zapping pulses in response to the monitoring result.
US09978626B2	Carrier wafer, method for holding a flexible substrate and method for the manufacture of a carrier wafer Carrier wafers are used to hold thin and ultra-thin substrates such as semiconductor components, for example. The carrier wafer of the invention has a plurality of electrodes insulated on all sides (floating electrodes). This plurality of floating electrodes, but at least 50 floating electrodes, are located next to one another with reference to the plane of the first surface of the carrier wafer. Each of these floating electrodes can be charged, for example by means of Fowler-Nordheim tunnels or by the injection of hot charge carriers, in particular of hot electrons or hot holes. Also provided are a method for holding a flexible substrate by means of a carrier wafer of this type and a method for the manufacture of a carrier wafer of this type.
US09978624B2	Device for at least emptying a transport container A device for at least emptying a transport container having a stack of plate-shaped items, including semiconductor wafers and/or packaging material, includes at least one measuring device and a holder at least part of which can travel into the transport container. The holder has a holding surface, a number of holding nozzles for at least holding an item in the stack, and, in the region of the holding surface, at least one recess for the measuring device for acquiring measurement data from the item in the stack. At least one separating nozzle is arranged on the holder outside the holding surface such that the nozzle(s) can move between rest and separating positions. In the separating position, a gas stream directed towards the end face of the stack is formed, to release at least one item in the stack that is adhered to the item held by the holder.
US09978623B2	Side opening unified pod A substrate processing system including a processing section arranged to hold a processing atmosphere therein, a carrier having a shell forming an internal volume for holding at least one substrate for transport to the processing section, the shell being configured to allow the internal volume to be pumped down to a predetermined vacuum pressure that is different than an exterior atmosphere outside the substrate processing system, and a load port communicably connected to the processing section to isolate the processing atmosphere from the exterior atmosphere, the load port being configured to couple with the carrier to pump down the internal volume of the carrier and to communicably connect the carrier to the processing section, for loading the substrate into the processing section through the load port.
US09978620B2	Method and apparatus for reducing radiation induced change in semiconductor structures Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus and a method for reducing the adverse effects of exposing portions of an integrated circuit (IC) device to various forms of radiation during one or more operations found within the IC formation processing sequence by controlling the environment surrounding and temperature of an IC device during one or more parts of the IC formation processing sequence. The provided energy may include the delivery of radiation to a surface of a formed or a partially formed IC device during a deposition, etching, inspection or post-processing process operation. In some embodiments of the disclosure, the temperature of the substrate on which the IC device is formed is controlled to a temperature that is below room temperature (e.g., <20° C.) during the one or more parts of the IC formation processing sequence.
US09978618B2	Hot plate with programmable array of lift devices for multi-bake process optimization Embodiments of systems and methods for substrate thermal processing using a hot plate with a programmable array of lift devices for multi-bake process optimization are presented. In an embodiment, an apparatus includes a base with an upper surface configured to receive the substrate. The base may include at least one heater for heating the substrate while on or in the vicinity of the base, and a plurality of lift devices configured to selectively extend from the upper surface of the base to support the substrate above the base when extended, and allow the substrate to rest on the upper surface of the base when retracted, each lift device being actuated independently of the other lift devices by an actuating mechanism. Additionally, the apparatus may include a controller for controlling the plurality of actuating mechanisms.
US09978617B2	Substrate cleaning apparatus and substrate processing apparatus The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning apparatus for performing scrub cleaning of a surface of a substrate by rotating both of the substrate and a roll cleaning member while keeping the roll cleaning member in contact with the surface of the substrate. The substrate cleaning apparatus includes a roll holder (42) configured to support and rotate a roll cleaning member (46), a vertical movement mechanism (60), having a vertically movable unit (58) vertically movable by actuation of an actuator (56) having a regulating device (62), configured to vertically move the roll holder (42) coupled to the vertically movable unit (58) so that the roll cleaning member (46) applies a roll load to the substrate W at the time of cleaning the substrate, a load cell (54) provided between the vertically movable unit (58) of the vertical movement mechanism (60) and the roll holder (42) and configured to measure the roll load, and a controller (66) configured to perform feedback control of the roll load through the regulating device (62) of the actuator (56) based on a measured value of the load cell (54).
US09978614B2	Structure and method to minimize warpage of packaged semiconductor devices A packaged semiconductor device includes a substrate, an electronic device coupled to the substrate, encapsulant including a first major surface surrounding the electronic device, and an oxygen barrier layer within fifty percent of a thickness of the encapsulant from a second major surface of the encapsulant. The oxygen barrier covers at least a portion of an area of the second major surface of the encapsulant to help reduce or eliminate warping of the encapsulant and/or the substrate of the packaged semiconductor device due to oxidation. A thickness of the oxygen barrier layer is less than 100 microns.
US09978613B1	Method for making lead frames for integrated circuit packages Disclosed examples include a method of making a semiconductor die package comprising arranging at least one preformed die attach pad and at least two preformed leads on a lead frame carrier in a predetermined configuration to form a lead frame, attaching a semiconductor die to the at least one preformed die attach pad, wire bonding the semiconductor die to the at least two preformed leads, forming a molding structure including at least part of the semiconductor die and the at least two preformed leads, and removing the molding structure from the lead frame carrier.
US09978599B2	Wafer cooling apparatus and method An ion implantation system has a first chamber and a process chamber with a heated chuck. A controller transfers the workpiece between the heated chuck and first chamber and selectively energizes the heated chuck first and second modes. In the first and second modes, the heated chuck is heated to a first and second temperature, respectively. The first temperature is predetermined. The second temperature is variable, whereby the controller determines the second temperature based on a thermal budget, an implant energy, and/or an initial temperature of the workpiece in the first chamber, and generally maintains the second temperature in the second mode. Transferring the workpiece from the heated chuck to the first chamber removes implant energy from the process chamber in the second mode. Heat may be further transferred from the heated chuck to a cooling platen by a transfer of the workpiece therebetween to sequentially cool the heated chuck.
US09978598B2	Silicon carbide semiconductor device and method of manufacturing silicon carbide semiconductor device A silicon carbide semiconductor device includes a silicon carbide semiconductor substrate; a nickel silicide film provided on a surface of the silicon carbide semiconductor substrate and functioning as an ohmic contact; and an extraction electrode contacting the ohmic contact on a side different from a silicon carbide semiconductor substrate side. The silicon carbide semiconductor substrate side of the ohmic contact is mainly formed from a NiSi phase and an extraction electrode side thereof is mainly formed from a Ni2Si phase. The ohmic contact includes carbon on the silicon carbide semiconductor substrate and includes no carbon on the extraction electrode side.
US09978589B2	Nitrogen-polar semipolar and gallium-polar semipolar GaN layers and devices on sapphire substrates Methods and structures for forming epitaxial layers of semipolar III-nitride materials on patterned sapphire substrates are described. Semi-nitrogen-polar GaN may be grown from inclined c-plane facets of sapphire and coalesced to form a continuous layer of (2021) GaN over the sapphire substrate. Nitridation of the sapphire and a low-temperature GaN buffer layer is used to form semi-nitrogen-polar GaN.
US09978585B2	Organoaminodisilane precursors and methods for depositing films comprising same Described herein are precursors and methods for forming silicon-containing films. In one aspect, there is a precursor of following Formula I: wherein R1 and R3 are independently selected from linear or branched C3 to C10 alkyl group, a linear or branched C3 to C10 alkenyl group, a linear or branched C3 to C10 alkynyl group, a C1 to C6 dialkylamino group, an electron withdrawing and a C6 to C10 aryl group; R2 and R4 are independently selected from hydrogen, a linear or branched C3 to C10 alkyl group, a linear or branched C3 to C10 alkenyl group, a linear or branched C3 to C10 alkynyl group, a C1 to C6 dialkylamino group, an electron withdrawing, and a C6 to C10 aryl group; and wherein any one, all, or none of R1 and R2, R3 and R4, R1 and R3, or R2 and R4 are linked to form a ring.
US09978584B2	Apparatus and method for treating substrate A method for treating a substrate, in which a supercritical fluid is supplied into a chamber, in which the substrate is carried, to treat the substrate, the method including a supply step of supplying the supercritical fluid into the chamber until a pressure of the interior of the chamber reaches a preset pressure, and a substrate treating step of performing a supercritical process while repeating supply and exhaust of the supercritical fluid into and out of the interior of the chamber after the supply step, wherein a flow rate of the supercritical fluid supplied into the chamber in the supply step is variable.
US09978583B2	Opening fill process and structures formed thereby Methods of forming conductive structures and the conductive structures are disclosed. A method includes forming an opening in a dielectric layer over a substrate, performing a cleaning process on the dielectric layer with the opening, forming a nucleation layer in the opening, etching the nucleation layer in the opening, and forming a conductive material in the opening and on the nucleation layer after the etching. An upper portion of the opening is distal from the substrate, and a lower portion of the opening is proximate the substrate. After the etching, a thickness of an upper portion of the nucleation layer in the upper portion of the opening is less than a thickness of a lower portion of the nucleation layer in the lower portion of the opening.
US09978578B2	Segmented linear ion trap for enhanced ion activation and storage A linear ion trap includes at least two discrete trapping regions for processing ions, a RF electrical potential generator, a multi-output DC electrical potential generator, and a control unit. The RF electrical potential generator produces two RF waveforms each applied to a pair of pole electrodes of the linear ion trap forming a RF trapping field component to trap ions radially. The multi-output DC electrical potential generator produces multiple DC field components superimposed to the RF field component and distributed across the length of the linear ion trap to control ions axially. The control unit switches the DC electrical potentials and corresponding DC field components collectively forming a first trapping region populated with ions to alter ion potential energy from a first level to a second level, and enables a first ion processing step in at least one of the first and second levels.
US09978577B2	Orthogonal acceleration coaxial cylinder time of flight mass analyser A Time of Flight mass analyzer is disclosed comprising an annular ion guide having a longitudinal axis and comprising a first annular ion guide section and a second annular ion guide section. Ions are introduced into the first annular ion guide section so that the ions form substantially stable circular orbits within the first annular ion guide section about the longitudinal axis. An ion detector is disposed within the annular ion guide. Ions are orthogonally accelerated in a first axial direction from the first annular ion guide section into the second annular ion guide section. An axial DC potential is maintained along at least a portion of the second annular ion guide section so that the ions are reflected in a second axial direction which is substantially opposed to the first axial direction. The ions undergo multiple axial passes through the second annular ion guide section before being detected by the ion detector.
US09978576B2	Time-of-flight analysis of a continuous beam of ions by a detector array Systems and methods are provided for time-of-flight analysis of a continuous beam of ions by a detector array. A sample is ionized using an ion source to produce a continuous beam of ions. An electric field is applied to the continuous beam of ions using an accelerator to produce an accelerated beam of ions. A rotating magnetic and/or electric field is applied to the accelerated beam to separate ions with different mass-to-charge ratios over an area of a two-dimensional detector using a deflector located between the accelerator and the two-dimensional detector. An arrival time and a two-dimensional arrival position of each ion of the accelerated beam are recorded using the two-dimensional detector. Alternatively, an electric field that is periodic with time is applied in order to sweep the accelerated beam over a periodically repeating path on the two-dimensional rectangular detector.
US09978574B2	Sample collection in compact mass spectrometry systems Mass spectrometry systems include a core featuring an ion source, an ion trap, and an ion detector connected along a gas path, a pressure regulation subsystem connected to the gas path and configured to regulate a gas pressure in the gas path, a sample pre-concentrator connected to the gas path, where the sample pre-concentrator includes an adsorbent material, and a controller connected to the sample pre-concentrator, where during operation of the system, the controller is configured to heat sample particles adsorbed on the adsorbent material to desorb the particles from the adsorbent material and introduce the desorbed particles into the gas path, and a pressure difference between a gas pressure in the sample pre-concentrator and a gas pressure in at least one of the ion source, the ion trap, and the ion detector when the desorbed particles are introduced into the gas path is 50 mTorr or less.
US09978570B2	Reaction chamber and semi-conductor processing device A reaction chamber and a semiconductor processing device, comprise a Faraday shielding ring (21) made of a magnetic insulation material and an insulating ring (22) made of an insulating material; the Faraday shielding ring (21) is provided with a slot thereon passing through a ring surface thereof in an axial direction; both the Faraday shielding ring (21) and the insulating ring (22) are disposed in the reaction chamber surrounding an inner peripheral wall of the reaction chamber, and the Faraday shielding ring (21) is stacked on the insulating ring (22) in a vertical direction. A shielding ring (211) is disposed surrounding an inner peripheral wall of the insulating ring (22), the shielding ring (211) is connected to an area of a lower surface of the Faraday shielding ring (21) adjacent to a center of the reaction chamber, and the shielding ring (211) is made of a magnetic insulation material and provided with a slot thereon passing through a ring surface thereof in an axis direction. The reaction chamber and the semiconductor processing device can not only avoid or reduce the risk of sparking, but also reduce the pollution of the reaction chamber caused by the flaking off of metal particles; and in addition, it is possible to increase an inner diameter and an available space of the reaction chamber.
US09978566B2	Plasma etching method Disclosed is a plasma etching method which is performed using a plasma processing apparatus that is a capacitively coupled plasma processing apparatus, and includes: a processing container; a gas supply unit that supply an etching processing gas into the processing container; a placing table including a lower electrode; an upper electrode provided above the placing table; and a plurality of electromagnets including a plurality of coils, or a plurality of electromagnets each including a coil, on the upper electrode. The plasma etching method includes generating plasma of the processing gas to perform a plasma etching on a single film of a workpiece placed on the placing table; and controlling a current supplied to the plurality of electromagnet to change a distribution of an etching rate of the single film in the diametric direction with respect to the central axis during the generating of the plasma of the processing gas.
US09978565B2	Systems for cooling RF heated chamber components In one embodiment, a plasma processing device may include a dielectric window, a vacuum chamber, an energy source, and at least one air amplifier. The dielectric window may include a plasma exposed surface and an air exposed surface. The vacuum chamber and the plasma exposed surface of the dielectric window can cooperate to enclose a plasma processing gas. The energy source can transmit electromagnetic energy through the dielectric window and form an elevated temperature region in the dielectric window. The at least one air amplifier can be in fluid communication with the dielectric window. The at least one air amplifier can operate at a back pressure of at least about 1 in-H2O and can provide at least about 30 cfm of air.
US09978562B2	Method for exposing a wafer A method for exposing a wafer according to pattern data using a charged particle lithography machine generating a plurality of charged particle beamlets for exposing the wafer. The method comprises providing the pattern data in a vector format, rendering the vector pattern data to generate multi-level pattern data, dithering the multi-level pattern data to generate two-level pattern data, supplying the two-level pattern data to the charged particle lithography machine, and switching on and off the beamlets generated by the charged particle lithography machine on the basis of the two-level pattern data, wherein the pattern data is adjusted on the basis of corrective data.
US09978561B2	Post column filter with enhanced energy range The invention relates to a post-column filter (a PCF) for a (Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscope (a (S)TEM). Traditionally these filters use excitations of the optical elements before the slit plane that are identical in both the EFTEM and the EELS mode. Although this eases the task for the person skilled in the art of developing and tuning a PCF, as it reduces the number of degrees of freedom to a manageable amount. Inventors found ways to determine settings of the optical elements before the slit plane for EELS mode that are different from the EFTEM mode and where the performance of the PCF in EELS mode is improved (especially the relative energy range that can be imaged) without degrading the performance of the PCF in EFTEM mode.
US09978559B2	Method and device for time-resolved pump-probe electron microscopy A method of time-resolved pump-probe electron microscopy, comprises the steps of irradiating a sample (1) with a photonic pump pulse (2) being directed on a pump pulse path (3) from a photonic source to the sample (1), irradiating the sample (1) with an electron probe pulse (4) being directed on an electron pulse path (5) from an electron pulse source (10) to the sample (1), wherein the photonic pump pulse (2) and the electron probe pulse (4) arrive at the sample (1) with a predetermined temporal relationship relative to each other, and detecting a sample response to the electron probe pulse (4) irradiation with a detector device (20), wherein the photonic source comprises a photonic lattice structure (30) being arranged adjacent to the electron pulse path (5), and the photonic pump pulse (2) is created by an interaction of the electron probe pulse (4) with the photonic lattice structure (30). Furthermore, an electron microscopy apparatus, configured for time-resolved pump-probe electron microscopy, and a sample supply device (200) for an electron microscopy apparatus (100) are described.
US09978557B2	System for orienting a sample using a diffraction pattern A method and apparatus are provided for aligning a sample in a charged particle beam system. The charged particle beam is directed toward the sample to obtain a sample diffraction pattern. The sample diffraction pattern is compared with reference diffraction patterns having known misalignments to determine which reference pattern most closely matches the sample pattern. The known alignment of the best-matching reference diffraction pattern is used to correct the tilt of the sample. The “patterns” compared can be lists of bright spots with corresponding intensities rather than images.
US09978556B2	Parallelizing electrostatic acceleration/deceleration optical element Provided herein are approaches for controlling a charged particle beam using a series of electrodes including a plurality of different shapes. In one approach, an electrostatic optical element includes a first set of electrodes having a first electrode shape for parallelizing and deflecting the charged particle beam using a first set of electrodes having a first electrode shape, such as a concave or convex profile. The electrostatic optical element further includes a second set of electrodes adjacent the first set of electrodes for accelerating or decelerating the charged particle beam along a beamline, wherein the second set of electrodes include a cylindrical shape. In one approach, a power supply is electrically connected to the first and second sets of electrodes, the power supply arranged to enable independent voltage/current control.
US09978555B2	Ion source liner having a lip for ion implantation systems An ion source has an arc chamber having a body defining and interior region. A liner defined an exposure surface of the interior region that is exposed to a plasma generated within the arc chamber. An electrode has a shaft with a first diameter that passes through the body and the liner. The electrode is electrically isolated from the body where the liner is a plate having a first surface with an optional recess having a second surface. A hole is defined through the recess for the shaft to pass through. The hole has a second diameter that is larger than the first diameter, and an annular gap exists between the plate and the shaft. The plate has a lip extending from the second surface toward the first surface that surrounds the hole within the recess and generally prevents particulate contaminants from entering the annular gap.
US09978553B2	Apparatus, system and method for total protection from electrical faults Electrical fire risks and consumer safety are major concerns driving regulators worldwide to implement more stringent electrical code and enforcement. While there are many commercially available protective devices available, none affords total protection, and they are made and classified only to protect circuits from specific or limited number of faults. This invention is about an apparatus, system and method for protection of electrical circuits and consumers from literally all known electrical faults in Direct Current (DC) and Alternating Current (AC) single and multi-phase systems such as and including Arc Faults, Ground and Leakage Faults, Surge, Overload, Short Circuit, Glowing Connections, Miswired Connections, overvoltage, undervoltage and Phase-Loss. Said apparatus, system and method come in the form of or in a housing as a Circuit Breaker, Receptacle, Convenience Outlet, Attachment Plug, Equipment Controller, a circuit, or a system integrated with another system, device or apparatus.
US09978551B2	Circuit breaker A circuit breaker having a first micro switch, a second micro switch and a transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism drives the first micro switch and the second micro switch, which are arranged in a circuit breaker shell. The first micro switch and the second micro switch are arranged on one side of the shell side by side, and a corresponding first transmission rod and a corresponding second transmission rod in the transmission mechanism respectively drive the first micro switch and the second micro switch. Since the circuit breaker is provided with no external device, the space occupied by the circuit breaker is reduced, thereby facilitating construction and installation. Since the two micro switches are built-in side by side, different signals can be simultaneously output.
US09978550B2	Current sensor and contactor apparatus A current sensor and contactor apparatus reduces the space required for arranging a current sensor and a contactor. This current sensor and contactor apparatus comprises a current sensor, a contactor and a substrate. The current sensor has a current sensor element, the current sensor detects a current value of power inputted from the outside and outputs a detection signal indicating the current value from the current sensor element. The contactor turns on and off a power line through which the power flows based on a control signal inputted from the outside. On the substrate, the current sensor element of the current sensor is installed and also a plurality of signal lines connecting the current sensor element and the contactor are formed. The current sensor, the contactor and the substrate are integrated.
US09978546B2	Anti-explosion rotary switch, provided with visual signaling means and control means A rotary switch (4) comprising a switch body (8) which identifies an inner space (10) which rotatably houses a shaft (12) operatively connected to an actuator device external to the switch (4), a distribution valve (32) positioned outside said inner space (10), a pneumatic connector (36) and at least one control means (40), such as a solenoid, operatively connected to the pneumatic connector (36), arranged in the inner space (10). The control means (40) is operatively connected to the external device, the distribution valve (32) is operatively connected to the control means (40) by means of the pneumatic connector (36). Advantageously, the pneumatic connector (36) defines at least one connection channel (44) placing the distribution valve (32) in fluidic connection with the control means (40), wherein inside the connection channel (44) at least one anti-explosion means (52) is inserted, positioned coaxially to the connection channel (44) so as to reduce the through cross-section (56) thereof by a predefined length of the connection channel (44), said through cross-section (56) being confined on an outer circular crown of the connection channel (44), delimited between an inner side wall (60) of the connection channel (44) and an external lateral wall (64) of the anti-explosion means (52).
US09978544B2	Keyboard apparatus and upper cover for keyboard A keyboard apparatus of an electronic apparatus includes a key-switch structure including a membrane switch having contact points, keycaps for operating the contact points of the membrane switch, and actuators configured to urge the keycaps upwardly upon the keycaps being pressed down, and an upper cover configured to be part of a housing of the electronic apparatus and having a mount part, the mount part supporting the key-switch structure that is placed on an upper surface of the mount part, wherein the mount part is formed integrally with the upper cover.
US09978535B2	Reduction of leakage current from supercapacitor by modifying electrode material A composite material of an electrode unit includes: a porous electrode material being 50˜95 wt % of the composite material; an electret material being greater than 0 wt % and less than 15 wt % of the composite material; a dispersant material being 0˜15 wt % of the composite material; an adhesive material being 0˜15 wt % of the composite material; an electric conduction auxiliary agent being greater than 0 wt % and less than 30 wt % of the composite material. The porous electrode material includes porous particles and the electret material is distributed among the porous particles.
US09978532B2	Maximizing the power conversion efficiency of a tin perovskite/silicon thin-film tandem solar cell A bi-facial tandem solar cell and a method of making a non-toxic perovskite/inorganic thin-film tandem solar cell stable, having matching bandgaps and a hysteresis free design including the steps of depositing a textured oxide buffer layer on an inexpensive substrate, depositing a metal-inorganic film from a eutectic alloy on the buffer layer; and depositing perovskite elements on the metal-inorganic film, thus forming a perovskite layer based on a metal from the metal-inorganic film, incorporating the metal into the perovskite layer wherein said perovskite layer is stable, hysteresis-free, and has a bandgap that matches the bandgap of the metal-inorganic.
US09978530B2	Method of nano-patterning a foil surface A method for patterning a metal substrate includes a series of surface treatments to control tunnel initiation at a micron or sub-micron level. In particular, the series of surface treatments include forming a hydration layer which acts as a mask while etching the surface of the metal substrate. The hydration layer mask enables control of the tunnel initiation on a micron or sub-micron level because the etching does not undercut the interface between the metal substrate and the hydration layer. As a result, the tunnels can be initiated in an orthogonal direction and closer together, thereby increasing the tunnel density.
US09978529B2	Oxide on edges of metal anode foils A capacitor and a method of processing an anode metal foil are presented. The method includes electrochemically etching the metal foil to form a plurality of tunnels. Next, the etched metal foil is disposed within a widening solution to widen the plurality of tunnels. Exposed surfaces of the etched metal foil are then oxidized. The method includes removing a section of the etched metal foil, where the section of the etched metal foil includes exposed metal along an edge. The section of the etched metal foil is placed into a bath comprising water to form a hydration layer over the exposed metal on the section of the etched metal foil. The method also includes assembling the section of the etched metal foil having the hydration layer as an anode within a capacitor.
US09978528B2	High voltage capacitor having a dual tantalum anode/cathode current collector electrode assembly housed in a dual separator envelope design A capacitor having at least two side-by-side anodes with a cathode current collector disposed between the anodes and housed inside a casing is described. Cathode active material is supported on the opposed major faces of the current collector and the current collector/cathode active material subassembly is housed in a first separator envelope. The first separator envelope is positioned between the side-by-side anodes and this electrode assembly is then contained in a second separator envelope. The two anodes can be connected in parallel inside or outside casing, or they can be unconnected to each other. There is also cathode active material supported on inner surfaces of the casing in a face-to-face alignment with an adjacent one of the anodes. That way, the second separator envelope also prevents direct physical contact between the anode pellets and the cathode active material supported on the casing sidewalls.
US09978525B2	Multilayer ceramic electronic component A multilayer ceramic electronic component includes: a capacitor set including a plurality of multilayer ceramic capacitors connected in series and accommodated in an insulation case while exposing external electrodes provided on both end portions thereof; and a pair of metal terminals connected to the external electrodes exposed outside of the insulation case, respectively. One end portion of the capacitor set is elastically supported by one of the pair of metal terminals.
US09978524B2	Multilayer ceramic capacitor and manufacturing method therefor A multilayer ceramic capacitor that includes a laminated body of multiple dielectric layers and internal electrodes laminated alternately therewith. The dielectric layers contain Ba, Sr, Ti, Ca, Zr, Mg, and R, where R represents at least one element of Y, La, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb. When Ti is 100 parts by mol, the dielectric layers contain Sr at 0.5 to 3.0 parts by mol; Ca at 3 to 15 parts by mol; Zr at 0.05 to 3.0 parts by mol; Mg at 0.01 to 0.09 parts by mol; and R at 2.5 to 8.4 parts by mol.
US09978521B2	Multilayer electronic component A multilayer electronic component includes an element body having an internal electrode layer and a dielectric layer. These layers are substantially parallel to a plane including a first axis and a second axis and are alternately laminated along a third axis direction. A pair of side surfaces facing each other in the first axis direction of the element body is respectively equipped with an insulating layer. A pair of end surfaces facing each other in the second axis direction of the element body is respectively equipped with an external electrode electrically connected to the internal electrode layer. The insulating layer has a mountain portion formed on a peripheral edge of the side surface and a plane portion of a central portion of the side surface.
US09978520B2	Multilayer ceramic capacitor and method of manufacturing the same A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a body portion and an external electrode. The body portion has an active region in which capacitance is formed by a plurality of stacked internal electrodes having dielectric layers therebetween, a cover region disposed above the topmost and below the bottommost internal electrodes, and a side margin region disposed laterally adjacent to the active region. The plurality of internal electrodes are not formed in the cover and side margin regions. The body portion may have different additive concentrations depending on a thickness direction, and a concentration of the additive in a region of the side margin laterally adjacent to a dielectric layer of the body portion may be higher than a concentration of the additive in another region of the side margin laterally adjacent to an internal electrode of the body portion.
US09978518B2	Multilayer ceramic capacitor In a multilayer ceramic capacitor, each outer electrode includes a first outer electrode layer that contains Ni and that is disposed on each main surface of a multilayer body and a second outer electrode layer that contains a glass component and Cu and that covers one end portion of the first outer electrode layer which is closer to an end surface of the multilayer body, the first and second outer electrode layers are joined together in a region including an edge shared by the main surface and the end surface, the other end portion of the first outer electrode layer is exposed from the second outer electrode layer, and Ni of the first outer electrode layer is diffused in the second outer electrode layer and is dissolved in Cu of the second outer electrode layer to define a solid solution in the region including the edge.
US09978517B2	Electro-polarizable compound and capacitor An electro-polarizable compound has the following general formula: Core1 is an aromatic polycyclic conjugated molecule having two-dimensional flat form and self-assembling by pi-pi stacking in a column-like supramolecule, R1 is a dopant group connected to Core1; a number m of R1 groups is 1, 2, 3 or 4. R2 is a substituent comprising one or more ionic groups connected to Core1; a number p of ionic groups R2 is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4. The fragment marked NLE has a nonlinear polarization effect. Core2 is an electro-conductive oligomer self-assembling by pi-pi stacking in a column-like supramolecule, a number n of such oligomers is 0, 2, or 4. R3 is a substituent comprising one or more ionic groups connected to Core2; a number s of the ionic groups R3 is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4. R4 is a resistive substituent providing solubility of the compound in a solvent and electrically insulating the column-like supramolecules from each other. A number k of substituents R4 is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8.
US09978513B2	Method for making amorphous metal transformer cores According to an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for assembling an amorphous metallic transformer core from a plurality of amorphous metallic strip packets comprises an unwinding section comprising a plurality of uncoilers. Each of the plurality of uncoilers operated to unwind a coil comprising a single-ply continuous strip of a metallic material. A collection tray is configured to transport a composite metallic strip from the unwinding section, the composite metallic strip comprising a plurality of single ply metallic strips that are unwound from the plurality of uncoilers of the unwinding section. A shearing section operably coupled to the collection tray and configured to receive the composite metallic strip from the unwinding section, the shearing section configured to shear the composite metallic strip into a plurality of packets, the shearing section comprising an accumulator for holding the plurality of the packets of the composite metallic strips. A winding section is configured to receive the plurality of the packets of the composite metallic strips from the shearing section, the winding section forming a metallic transformer core from the plurality of packets of the composite metallic strips.
US09978503B2	Transformer winding, transformer having the same and manufacturing method thereof The present application provides a transformer, a transformer winding component and manufacturing methods thereof. The transformer winding component comprises a bobbin and at least two windings, wherein the bobbin includes a cylinder, and the at least two windings are wound on the outside of the cylinder. The at least two windings are sequentially disposed from inside to outside relative to the cylinder, and comprise a first fold winding. The transformer winding component further comprises an insulation layer and a fold tape. The insulation layer is adjacently disposed on the outside of the first fold winding. A portion of fold tape is located on the inner side of the first fold winding, and another portion of fold tape is located on the outside of the insulation layer. The transformer comprises a core and the transformer winding component.
US09978500B2	Yoke clamp component for a transformer core A yoke clamp bracket for a transformer core. The yoke clamp bracket may comprise a body portion having a plurality of center holes near each end, a plurality of slots for coil barriers, a plurality of slots for wiring, and attachment points for side brackets and vertical supports. The yoke clamp bracket may be mounted to a transformer core by connectors extending through the plurality of center holes. The yoke clamp bracket may be constructed from a lightweight material with low density such that it displaces a larger quantity of tank oil and reduces the weight of a distribution transformer.
US09978495B2	Current converter with interchangeable head The subject matter herein pertains to a current transformer, comprising a secondary coil, connection contacts for establishing electrically conductive contact with the secondary coil from the outside, and a housing having a housing body and a housing head, wherein the secondary coil is accommodated in the housing body and/or is attached to the housing body, and the connection contacts of the secondary coil are provided on the housing head. According to one implementation, a connecting mechanism is provided, by means of which the housing head and the connection contacts can be mechanically or electrically conductively detachably connected to the housing body and to the secondary coil. A current transformer is therefore provided, which is cost-effective to produce and is flexible in terms of the use thereof.
US09978490B2	Compact, method for producing compact A low-loss compact and a method for producing the compact are provided.A method for producing a compact by using coated soft magnetic powder that includes coated soft magnetic particles constituted by soft magnetic particles and insulating coatings coating outer peripheries of the soft magnetic particles includes a raw material preparation step and an irradiation step. In the raw material preparation step, a raw compact is prepared by press-forming coated soft magnetic powder. In the irradiation step, part of a surface of the raw compact is irradiated with a laser. Irradiating a part of a surface of a raw compact with laser increases the number of disrupted portions of conductive portions where constituent materials of the soft magnetic particles at the surface of the raw compact have become conductive to each other, and the loss of the compact can be decreased.
US09978488B2	Method for producing semi-processed non-oriented electrical steel sheet having excellent magnetic properties A steel slab having a chemical composition including C: not more than 0.005 mass %, Si: not more than 4 mass %, Mn: 0.03-2 mass %, P: not more than 0.2 mass %, S: not more than 0.004 mass %, Al: not more than 2 mass %, N: not more than 0.004 mass %, Se: not more than 0.0010 mass % and the balance being Fe and inevitable impurities is subjected to hot rolling, cold rolling and recrystallization annealing up to 740° C. at an average heating rate of not less than 100° C./s to produce a semi-processed non-oriented electrical steel sheet being high in the magnetic flux density and low in the iron loss after stress relief annealing.
US09978487B2	Method for fabricating a functionally-graded monolithic sintered working component for magnetic heat exchange and an article for magnetic heat exchange An article for magnetic heat exchange includes a functionally-graded monolithic sintered working component including La1-aRa(Fe1-x-yTyMx)13HzCb with a NaZn13-type structure. M is one or more of the elements from the group consisting of Si and Al, T is one or more of the elements from the group consisting of Mn, Co, Ni, Ti, V and Cr and R is one or more of the elements from the group consisting of Ce, Nd, Y and Pr. A content of the one or more elements T and R, if present, a C content, if present, and a content of M varies in a working direction of the working component and provides a functionally-graded Curie temperature. The functionally-graded Curie temperature monotonically decreases or monotonically increases in the working direction of the working component.
US09978485B2	Non-contact linear potentiometer This invention discloses a type of noncontact linear potentiometer; the potentiometer comprises a slider, a rotating shaft, a guide rod, a tunneling magnetoresistive sensor, a permanent magnet, a printed circuit board, and two support structures. In this configuration the slider moves along the guide rod and the rotating shaft, causing the rotation of the rotating shaft; the permanent magnet is attached to an end of the rotating shaft, and it therefore rotates as the shaft rotates. A tunneling magnetoresistive sensor is located adjacent to the permanent magnet, soldered onto a printed circuit board, and it is used to measure the angle of rotation of the permanent magnet. The guide rod constrains the sliding direction of the slider, and the two support structures are located at the opposite ends of the guide rod and rotating shaft, and they are used to support the rotating shaft and guide rod. Located between the slider and rotating shaft is a ball bearing, a pin and a leaf spring assembly. This potentiometer has several advantages, including a compact structure, easy fabrication, long service life, in addition to providing smooth slider motion that provides a pleasing user experience.
US09978484B2	Metal nitride film for thermistor, process for producing same, and thermistor sensor of film type Provided are a metal nitride film for a thermistor, which has an excellent bending resistance and can be directly deposited on a film or the like without firing, a method for producing the same, and a film type thermistor sensor. The metal nitride film for a thermistor, which consists of a metal nitride represented by the general formula: TixAlyNz (where 0.70≤y/(x+y)≤0.95, 0.4≤z≤0.5, and x+y+z=1), wherein the crystal structure thereof is a hexagonal wurtzite-type single phase, and the peak ratio of the diffraction peak intensity of a-axis orientation (100) relative to the diffraction peak intensity of c-axis orientation (002) (i.e., the diffraction peak intensity of a-axis orientation (100)/the diffraction peak intensity of c-axis orientation (002)) is 0.1 or lower in X-ray diffraction.
US09978482B2	Die assembly with cooled die land A die assembly (10) for extruding a polymeric coating onto a wire so as to impart a matte finish to the coating surface is provided. The die assembly (10) comprises: A) a die tip (13) comprising a tubular channel (22) through which a wire can pass, the channel (22) positioned along the central longitudinal axis (26) of the die assembly (10); B) a die body (12) comprising a trunk (15) and a head (16), the head (16) comprising a tubular channel (20), the head tubular channel (20) comprising a die land (21), the trunk (15) positioned about the die tip (13) so as to define an annular space (25) between the exterior surface (23) of the die tip (13) and the interior surface (24) of the trunk (15); C) a die holder (11) positioned about and in contact with the exterior surface (17) of the trunk (15); and D) a radiator (14) positioned about and in contact with the exterior surface (19) of the die land (21) of the die head (16).
US09978478B2	Polymer composition for electrical devices The present invention relates to a polymer composition, to the use of the composition for producing an electrical device, as well as to a cable surrounded by at least one layer including the polymer composition.
US09978477B2	Dielectric fluids The present invention relates to dielectric fluids and esters, particularly to ester compositions suitable for use in dielectric fluid compositions as well as to dielectric fluid compositions, methods of manufacturing ester compositions and dielectric fluid compositions, and to electrical apparatus containing the dielectric fluids.
US09978475B2	Production method for conductive resin composition, and conductive resin composition Provided by the present invention is a conductive resin composition which has, by adding small amount of a carbon nanotube thereto, high conductivity and superior processability including moldability while keeping original physical properties owned by the thermoplastic resin itself. Provided is a method for producing a conductive resin composition, that is, a method for producing a conductive resin composition which contains a carbon nanotube and a thermoplastic resin, wherein the method contains following steps of (A) and (B); namely, (A) a step of mixing and dispersing the carbon nanotube, a solvent, and the thermoplastic resin, thereby obtaining a carbon nanotube resin mixture, and (B) a step of removing the solvent while kneading the carbon nanotube resin mixture. Provided further is a conductive resin composition obtained by the said production method.
US09978474B2	Conductive open frameworks The disclosure relates generally to materials that comprise conductive covalent organic frameworks. The disclosure also relates to materials that are useful to store and separate gas molecules and sensors.
US09978468B2	Lifting shackle of head assembly for nuclear reactor A lifting shackle of a head assembly for a nuclear reactor according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a first member and a second member which extend in parallel to each other in a predetermined thickness and length and respectively have an upper portion and a lower portion; a first connection member which connects the upper portion of the first member and the upper portion of the second member to each other and is coupled to a hook; coupling sections which are respectively provided at the lower portions of the first member and the second members and has a hollow portion so as to be coupled to the head assembly for a nuclear reactor via pins; and stress reducing sections which are formed at the upper portions of the first member and the second member such that the stress reducing sections extend from the first connection member to the first member and the side end of the second member at a predetermined curvature and protrudes upwards so as to reduce bending stress that is applied to the first connection member.
US09978466B2	Self-contained in-ground geothermal generator and heat exchanger with in-line pump A method of harnessing geothermal energy to produce electricity by lowering a geothermal generator deep into a pre-drilled well bore below the Earth's surface. The Self Contained In-Ground Geothermal Generator (SCI-GGG) includes a boiler, a turbine compartment, an electricity generator, a condenser and produces electricity down at the heat sources and transmits it up to the ground surface by cable. The Self Contained Heat Exchanger (SCHE) is integral part of (SCI-GGG) system and can function independently. It consists of a closed loop system with two heat exchangers. No pollution is emitted during production process. There is no need for hydro-thermal reservoirs although not limited to hot rocks. It can be implemented in many different applications. The SCHE also includes an in-line water pump operatively coupled to the closed loop system and can be used in many different applications.
US09978463B2	Semiconductor apparatus and repair method thereof A semiconductor apparatus includes a memory region; a fuse array including a plurality of fuse groups, each fuse group being configured to store a failed address of the memory region; a remaining-fuse information storage unit configured to store remaining-fuse information on a fuse group that includes a fuse corresponding to the failed address among the plurality of fuse groups; and a control unit configured to perform a control operation for updating the remaining-fuse information for the fuse group that includes a fuse corresponding to the failed address among the plurality of fuse groups and for storing the failed address when the failed address is detected.
US09978459B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a memory array including a plurality of memory blocks, wherein the memory blocks are grouped into sub-block groups, and the sub-block groups are grouped into main block groups; an operation circuit suitable for performing a read operation and a test read operation on memory cells included in the memory block; and a read counter suitable for counting a first number of read operations for each word line in the respective main block groups and a second number of read operations for the respective sub-block groups.
US09978455B2	Semiconductor device An object of the present disclosure is to provide a semiconductor having high security. A semiconductor device includes: a memory region having a plurality of memory cells capable of storing data; a read circuit capable of switching a reference current reading method of reading data by comparing current flowing a memory cell to be read in the memory region with a reference current, and a complementary reading method of reading data by comparing currents flowing in first and second memory cells in which complementary data to be read in the memory region is stored; a register setting a security state; a mode controller setting a mode; and a control circuit controlling the reference current reading method and the complementary reading method of reading the data in the read circuit on the basis of a signal of setting a mode from the mode controller and a value of the register.
US09978453B2	Memory device and method of operating the same A memory device with a plurality of memory block may include a plurality of memory cells constituting a memory blocks, and two or more select transistors coupled to the plurality of memory cells constituting the memory block and configured to select the memory block, the two or more select transistors having different threshold voltages from one another.
US09978451B2	Connection for quick search of regular expressions in data The presented connection processes a stream data by a computer. The data is split into blocks called packets and the task is to search for a match of the data in packets with specified patterns—regular expressions, useful in the field of telecommunication technology and services. The connection may be formed within a semiconductor circuit, which serves for receiving, processing, and sending packets. This semiconductor circuit may be implemented by an FPGA-type circuit. In this way, instead of one circuit implementing the automaton with a total data width Sc, a set of simultaneously operating circuits is implemented forming several identical automata at a smaller data width Sn. This eliminates the exponential rise in the number of symbols in the automaton and at the same time it allows achieving a high throughput of the entire connection.
US09978449B2	Path isolation in a memory device Embodiments of the present disclosure describe techniques and configurations for word-line path isolation in a phase change memory (PCM) device. In one embodiment, a memory device includes a memory cell of a memory device, a bit-line coupled to the memory cell, a word-line coupled to the memory cell, a bit-line electrode coupled to the bit-line, a word-line electrode coupled to the word-line, current-limiting circuitry of a selection module coupled to one of the word-line electrode and the bit-line electrode having a lower potential, the current-limiting circuitry to facilitate a selection operation of the memory cell by the selection module, sensing circuitry coupled to the one of the word-line electrode and the bit-line electrode having the lower potential, the sensing circuitry to perform a read operation of the memory cell, and write circuitry coupled to the one of the word-line electrode and the bit-line electrode having the lower potential, the write circuitry to perform a write operation of the memory cell. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
US09978448B2	Memory controller, storage device, information processing system, and memory controlling method To perform refresh without saving data, and prevent corruption of data in non-volatile memories. A number-of-write-operations information holding unit holds number-of-write-operations information, which is the number of write operations of a non-volatile memory to which access is made in units of pages which are divided by a page size. A determination unit determines whether or not refresh, which is reversing of values of all memory cells constituting the pages, is necessary on the basis of the held number-of-write-operations information. A write control unit further performs the refresh in addition to writing when the refresh is necessary on the basis of a result of the determination at a time of the writing with respect to the pages.
US09978446B2	Memory with regulated ground nodes and method of retaining data therein A memory device includes: memory cells arranged in rows and columns; and regulated ground circuits corresponding to the columns. Each regulated ground circuit includes: a column ground node; at least three low-side voltage sources; at least three switches, each of the at least three switches being coupled between the column ground node and a corresponding one of the at least three voltage sources; and each of the at least three switches being controlled by a corresponding one of different control signals; Each memory cell includes: a high-side voltage source; an internal ground node coupled to the column ground node; and a cross latch having output and output_bar nodes. The cross latch is coupled between the high-side voltage source and the internal ground node, and is configured to selectively connect the output and output_bar nodes to corresponding bit and bit_bar lines.
US09978443B2	Method of controlling auxiliary branches for SRAM cell A method includes: during a read operation of a first storage node and a second storage node formed by cross-coupled inverters, based on data stored in the first storage node and the second storage node, causing a first auxiliary branch or a second auxiliary branch to assist a corresponding one of the cross-coupled inverters in holding data; and during a write operation of the first storage node and the second storage node, based on data to be written to the first storage node and the second storage node, causing the first auxiliary branch or the second auxiliary branch to assist a corresponding one of the cross-coupled inverters in flipping data.
US09978441B2	Semiconductor memory device According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell, a sense amplifier, a first transfer transistor, a second transfer transistor, and a controller. The memory cell can store a first value and a second value. The sense amplifier amplifies the first value or the second value read from the memory cell to the sense node. The first transfer transistor has a first control terminal connected to the sense node. The second transfer transistor has a second control terminal connected to the sense node. The controller applies a backgate potential to backgate terminals of the first transfer transistor and the second transfer transistor.
US09978439B1	Line defect detection circuit and semiconductor memory device including the same The semiconductor memory device includes a cell array unit comprising a plurality of cell mats; a column decoder suitable for outputting a plurality of column selection signals based on a column address to a plurality of column selection lines, respectively, during a normal operation, and for applying a signal having a first logic level to the plurality of column selection lines during a test operation; and a line defect detection circuit suitable for detecting whether a defect is present in the plurality of column selection lines in response to signals of the plurality of column selection lines, and outputting a defect detection signal based on the detection result, during the test operation.
US09978436B2	Refresh verification circuit, semiconductor apparatus and semiconductor system A refresh verification circuit may include a filtering circuit configured to receive a refresh pulse and to generate a filtering pulse in response to a duration of the enable period of the refresh pulse.
US09978435B1	Memory device and operation methods thereof A memory device includes a memory array including a plurality of memory cells coupled to a plurality of bitlines and a plurality of wordlines and a plurality of sense amplifier circuits coupled to the plurality of bitlines. Each sense amplifier circuit includes a sense amplifier configured to sense and amplify a voltage difference between two of the bitlines coupled thereto. The memory device further includes an address decoder to receive and decode addresses of memory cells to enable corresponding bitlines and wordlines, a refresh controller to control data refreshing of the memory cells, and a mode controller to control the memory device to operate in different operating modes including a deep power down (DPD) mode. The mode controller controls data of a group of the memory cells, sensed by corresponding ones of the sense amplifier circuits, to be latched in the corresponding sense amplifier circuits when entering the DPD mode.
US09978432B2	Write operations in spin transfer torque memory Apparatus, systems, and methods for write operations in spin transfer torque (STT) memory are described. In one embodiment, a memory comprises at least one spin-transfer torque (STT) memory device, temperature sensor proximate the STT memory device and a controller comprising logic, at least partially including hardware logic, to monitor an output of the temperature sensor, implement a first write operation protocol when the output of the temperature sensor fails to exceed a threshold temperature, and implement a second write operation protocol when the output of the temperature sensor exceeds the threshold temperature. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed.
US09978428B2	Semiconductor device and power distribution network In a semiconductor device, some regions of a memory cell array region may be used as reservoir regions. A semiconductor device may include at least one reservoir cell disposed with the memory cells in a cell array region.
US09978419B2	Disk drive thermal performance testing devices and methods thereof A disk drive thermal performance testing device includes a drive housing, an electrical connector and an adjustable power loading device. The drive housing is at least partially made of a thermally conductive material. The electrical connector is in the drive housing and provides an external connection. The adjustable power loading device is located in the drive housing, is coupled to the electrical connector, and is thermally coupled to the drive housing.
US09978416B2	Reproducing device A reproducing device (100) includes (i) an optical pickup (6) for irradiating, with reproduction light, an optical disk (1) which is a super-resolution medium, (ii) an RF signal processing circuit (9) for converting, into a reproduction signal, light which reflected off optical disk (1), (iii) an i-MLSE detecting section (141) for evaluating quality of the reproduction signal, and (iv) a spherical aberration correcting section (142) for correcting a spherical aberration by using a result of evaluation of the quality of the reproduction signal.
US09978414B1	Magnetic tape device and head tracking servo method The magnetic tape device includes: a magnetic tape; and a servo head, in which a magnetic tape transportation speed of the magnetic tape device is equal to or lower than 18 m/sec, the servo head is a magnetic head including a tunnel magnetoresistance effect type element as a servo pattern reading element, the magnetic tape includes a non-magnetic support, and a magnetic layer including ferromagnetic hexagonal ferrite powder, non-magnetic powder, and a binding agent on the non-magnetic support, the magnetic layer includes a servo pattern, and a tilt cos θ of the ferromagnetic hexagonal ferrite powder with respect to a surface of the magnetic layer acquired by cross section observation performed by using a scanning transmission electron microscope is 0.85 to 0.95.
US09978412B1	Transparent thermocouple for heat-assisted magnetic recording device A slider is configured for heat-assisted magnetic recording and comprises an NFT and a transparent thermocouple configured to produce a signal indicative of temperature at the NFT. A detector can be coupled to the thermocouple and configured to detect one or both of spacing changes and contact between the slider and a magnetic recording medium.
US09978409B2	Offset waveguide system with a mode converter and a tapered bend A read/write head has an input coupler that receives light at a fundamental mode from an energy source. A mode converter of the read/write head converts light from the fundamental mode to a higher-order mode. The read/write head has a bent waveguide coupled to the mode converter at an interface. The bent waveguide includes a curve with a taper. The taper nullifies the fundamental mode generated in the curve and recovers the higher-order mode at an output of the bent waveguide. A near-field transducer that receives the output of the bent waveguide is offset from the facet of the input coupler in a cross-track direction.
US09978408B1	Thin-film piezoelectric material element having a solder regulating part formed on a pad surface being a surface of an electrode pad A thin-film piezoelectric material element includes a piezoelectric part having a laminated structure which a lower electrode film, a piezoelectric material film and an upper electrode film are laminated sequentially, and electrode pads connected with the piezoelectric part. The thin-film piezoelectric material element has solder regulating parts formed on pad surfaces being surfaces of the electrode pads. The solder regulating parts have peripheral edge parts and crossing edge parts connected with the two outer edge parts, and formed to cross the pad surfaces. The crossing edge parts are formed in a bow like curve-shape having curved parts, being gradually distant from the shortest line as they are distant more from the outer edge parts.
US09978407B2	Integrated optical nanoscale probe A diamond probe is suitable to be attached to an Atomic Force Microscope and is created with a tip that incorporates a one or more Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) centers located near the end of the tip. The probe arm acts as an optical waveguide to propagate the emission from the NV center with high efficiency and a beveled end directs excitation light to the NV center and directs photoluminescence light emanating from the NV center into the probe arm. The light source (or a portion of the light source), a detector, as well as an RF antenna, if used, may be mounted to the probe arm. The probe with integrated components enable excitation of photoluminescence in the NV center as well as optically detected Electron Spin Resonance (ODMR) and temperature measurements, and may further serve as a light probe utilizing the physical effect of Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED).
US09978406B2	Magnetic sensor device having a magneto-resistive structure that generates a vortex magnetization pattern An embodiment relates to a magnetic sensor device, comprising a magneto-resistive structure. The magneto-resistive structure comprises a magnetic free layer configured to spontaneously generate a closed flux magnetization pattern in the magnetic free layer. The magneto-resistive structure also comprises a magnetic reference layer having a non-closed flux reference magnetization pattern. The magnetic sensor device further comprises a magnetic biasing structure configured to generate a biasing field in the magnetic free layer, the biasing field having a non-zero magnetic biasing field component perpendicular to the reference magnetization pattern.
US09978403B1	Changing write coil current in response to reader instability Data is written to a recording medium via a read/write head. Subsequent to the writing, the data is read via a read transducer of a read/write head. An instability indicator is derived based on measurements performed while the reading the data. If the instability indicator exceeds a threshold, a current applied to a write coil of the read/write head is changed for subsequent write operations.
US09978402B2	Magnetic head, hard disk device, and method for transferring two-dimensional atomic crystal layer to head slider of magnetic head A magnetic head includes a head slider. The head slider includes a contact surface corresponding to a disk body, and the contact surface is a flat surface. The contact surface is coated with at least one smooth atomic-scale coating formed by a two-dimensional atomic crystal material. The head slider atomically contacts with the disk body.
US09978400B2	Method and apparatus for frame loss concealment in transform domain The present document discloses a method and apparatus for compensating for a lost frame in a transform domain, comprising: calculating frequency-domain coefficients of a current lost frame using frequency-domain coefficients of one or more frames prior to the current lost frame, and performing frequency-time transform to obtain an initially compensated signal; and performing waveform adjustment, to obtain a compensated signal. Alternatively, extrapolation is performed for all or part of frequency points of the current lost frame using phases and amplitudes of corresponding frequency points of a plurality of previous frames to obtain phases and amplitudes of the corresponding frequency points of the current lost frame, to obtain frequency-domain coefficients of the corresponding frequency points, and frequency-time transform is performed to obtain a compensated signal. The above methods can be selected through a judgment algorithm to compensate for the current lost frame, thereby achieving a better compensation effect.
US09978395B2	Method and system for mitigating delay in receiving audio stream during production of sound from audio stream A communication component modifies production of an audio waveform at determined modification segments to thereby mitigate the effects of a delay in processing and/or receiving a subsequent audio waveform. The audio waveform and/or data associated with the audio waveform are analyzed to identify the modification segments based on characteristics of the audio waveform and/or data associated therewith. The modification segments show where the production of the audio waveform may be modified without substantially affecting the clarity of the sound or audio. In one embodiment, the invention modifies the sound production at the identified modification segments to extend production time and thereby mitigate the effects of delay in receiving and/or processing a subsequent audio waveform for production.
US09978391B2	Method, apparatus and server for processing noisy speech According to an embodiment, a power spectrum iteration factor is determined according to a noisy speech and a background noise, and a moving average power spectrum of the speech is obtained according to the power spectrum iteration factor. A server is able to trace the noisy speech according to the power spectrum iteration factor.
US09978386B2	Voice processing method and device A voice processing method and device, the method comprising: detecting a current voice application scenario in a network (S1); determining the voice quality requirement and the network requirement of the current voice application scenario (S2); based on the voice quality requirement and the network requirement, configuring voice processing parameters corresponding to the voice application scenario (S3); and according to the voice processing parameters, conducting voice processing on the voice signals collected in the voice application scenario (S4).
US09978381B2	Encoding of multiple audio signals A device includes an encoder and a transmitter. The encoder is configured to determine a mismatch value indicative of an amount of temporal mismatch between a reference channel and a target channel. The encoder is also configured to determine whether to perform a first temporal-shift operation on the target channel at least based on the mismatch value and a coding mode to generate an adjusted target channel. The encoder is further configured to perform a first transform operation on the reference channel to generate a frequency-domain reference channel and perform a second transform operation on the adjusted target channel to generate a frequency-domain adjusted target channel. The encoder is also configured to estimate one or more stereo cues based on the frequency-domain reference channel and the frequency-domain adjusted target channel. The transmitter is configured to transmit the one or more stereo cues to a receiver.
US09978378B2	Apparatus and method for improved signal fade out in different domains during error concealment An apparatus for decoding an audio signal is provided, having a receiving interface, configured to receive a first frame having a first audio signal portion of the audio signal, and configured to receive a second frame having a second audio signal portion of the audio signal; a noise level tracing unit, wherein the noise level tracing unit is configured to determine noise level information depending on at least one of the first audio signal portion and the second audio signal portion; a first reconstruction unit for reconstructing, in a first reconstruction domain, a third audio signal portion of the audio signal depending on the noise level information; a transform unit for transforming the noise level information to a second reconstruction domain; and a second reconstruction unit for reconstructing, in the second reconstruction domain, a fourth audio signal portion of the audio signal depending on the noise level information.
US09978377B2	Apparatus and method for generating an adaptive spectral shape of comfort noise An apparatus for decoding an encoded audio signal to obtain a reconstructed audio signal is provided, having: a receiving interface for receiving one or more frames, a coefficient generator, and a signal reconstructor. The coefficient generator is configured to determine one or more first audio signal coefficients, and one or more noise coefficients. Moreover, the coefficient generator is configured to generate one or more second audio signal coefficients, depending on the one or more first audio signal coefficients and depending on the one or more noise coefficients. The audio signal reconstructor is configured to reconstruct a first portion of the reconstructed audio signal depending on the one or more first audio signal coefficients and the audio signal reconstructor is configured to reconstruct a second portion of the reconstructed audio signal depending on the one or more second audio signal coefficients, if the current frame is not received by the receiving interface or if the current frame being received by the receiving interface is corrupted.
US09978370B2	Insertion of characters in speech recognition One embodiment provides a method, including: receiving, from an audio capture device, speech input; converting, using a processor, the speech input to machine text; receiving, from an alternate input source, an input comprising at least one character; identifying, using a processor, a location associated with the machine text to insert the at least one character; and inserting, using a processor, the at least one character at the location identified. Other aspects are described and claimed.
US09978364B2	Pronunciation accuracy in speech recognition A reading accuracy-improving system includes: a reading conversion unit for retrieving a plurality of candidate word strings from speech recognition results to determine the reading of each candidate word string; a reading score calculating unit for determining the speech recognition score for each of one or more candidate word strings with the same reading to determine a reading score; and a candidate word string selection unit for selecting a candidate to output from the plurality of candidate word strings on the basis of the reading score and speech recognition score corresponding to each candidate word string.
US09978360B2	System and method for automatic detection of abnormal stress patterns in unit selection synthesis Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for detecting and correcting abnormal stress patterns in unit-selection speech synthesis. A system practicing the method detects incorrect stress patterns in selected acoustic units representing speech to be synthesized, and corrects the incorrect stress patterns in the selected acoustic units to yield corrected stress patterns. The system can further synthesize speech based on the corrected stress patterns. In one aspect, the system also classifies the incorrect stress patterns using a machine learning algorithm such as a classification and regression tree, adaptive boosting, support vector machine, and maximum entropy. In this way a text-to-speech unit selection speech synthesizer can produce more natural sounding speech with suitable stress patterns regardless of the stress of units in a unit selection database.
US09978356B2	System and method for actively influencing sound A system includes a sound generator (20) that generates sound superimposed to sound to be manipulated. An error sensor (50) measures superimposed sound and outputs a corresponding feedback signal (e′(n)). A signal generator (91) generates a sound signal (y(n)). A controller (92) generates a control signal (λ(n)) representing a value of a sequence of rational numbers. A weighter (93) weights the generated sound signal (y(n)) with the control signal (λ(n)) and inverts it. An adder (94) adds the weighted/inverted sound signal to the feedback signal (e′(n)) and outputs a modified feedback signal (e(n)) to the signal generator (91). A weighter (95) weights the generated sound signal (y(n)) with the difference from one and with the control signal (λ(n)) and outputs the sound signal y′(n). The generated sound signal (y(n)) is a function of the modified feedback signal (e(n)).
US09978349B2	Drum accessory and drumming method A clamp is attachable to a rim or rim region of a drum, and is suited for resiliently retaining an ancillary drumstick such that a terminal end of the ancillary drumstick is positioned above a skin of the drum, and advantageously spaced apart from the skin by a selected distance, allowing a single drumstick strike to the ancillary drumstick by another drumstick held by the drummer to create multiple hits by the clamped ancillary drumstick in response to a drum strike by the hand-held drum stick.
US09978348B2	Thumb guard apparatus and method of using same A thumb guard apparatus comprising a flat panel portion with a front and back side is disclosed. In one embodiment, the thumb guard apparatus comprises a curved portion or lip contiguous to the flat panel portion, wherein the curved portion or lip extends from the flat panel portion and curves away from the back side of the flat panel portion creating a channel. The channel creates a space which guards the thumb of a guitar player and prevents the thumb from moving on or over the top of the neck of the guitar. The flat panel portion of the apparatus may be attached to the back of the neck of the guitar. A method of use is also disclosed.
US09978346B2	Stringed musical instrument for generating sound from two sound boards on opposite sides of the instrument and a method of construction A stringed musical instrument and method of constructing a stringed musical instrument, having a body with a hollow or semi-hollow interior, a front and rear sound board disposed on opposite sides of the hollow interior, a single set of strings and a dual bridge and saddle assembly extending between the front and rear sound board with the dual bridge and saddle assembly including a first bridge and saddle mounted upon the front sound board, a second bridge and saddle mounted upon the rear sound board and with said single set of strings being strung such that the single set of strings interconnect the first bridge and front sound board to the second bridge and rear sound board through the interior body of the musical instrument for generating sound from each sound board respectively.
US09978345B2	Piano plate assembly and method of manufacturing same The present invention relates to improved musical instrument components. In certain embodiments, the present invention relates to a piano plate assembly, wherein the plate assembly comprises a core at least partially surrounded by a shell, wherein the shell comprises a composite fiber material impregnated with a polymeric resin material. In another aspect, the present invention relates to methods of producing such piano plate assemblies.
US09978342B2	Image processing method controlling image display based on gaze point and recording medium therefor An information processing device communicably connected to a head mounted display including a display device displaying an image and a sight line detector detecting a user's line of sight is caused to function as a drawing control part. The drawing control part controls drawing of the image such that the drawing is simplified in a peripheral region of a user's gaze point as compared to a vicinity region of the gaze point based on information on the user's line of sight detected by the sight line detector.
US09978333B2	Timing sequences generation circuits and liquid crystal devices The present disclosure discloses a timing sequences generation circuit and a LCD. The timing sequences generation circuit includes a PWM chip, N number of voltage input ends, N number of voltage output ends, N number of switch circuits, and N number of time delay circuits, and N is an integer larger than or equals to 2. The PWM chip includes N number of PWM output pins, and each of the PWM output pins respectively connects to one switch circuit and one time delay circuit to respectively control turn-on sequences of the N number of switch circuits. The N number of switch circuits respectively connects to the N number of voltage input ends and N number of voltage output ends.
US09978332B2	Display device and driving method thereof in which bias current of data driver is controlled based on image pattern information A display device including: a display panel including pixels and data lines; a data driver configured to apply data voltages to the data lines; an image pattern determiner configured to determine an image pattern based on an input image signal and to generate image pattern information; and a bias current control signal generator configured to generate a bias current control signal for determining a magnitude of a bias current of the data driver based on the image pattern information.
US09978328B2	Scan driver which reduces a voltage ripple There is provided a scan driver. The scan driver includes stages. An ith (i is a natural number) stage circuit includes an output unit, a controller configured to control the voltage of the second node in response to a kth (k is a natural number) clock signal supplied to a second input terminal, and an input unit configured to control the voltages of the first node and the second node in response to a carry signal of a previous stage that is supplied to a third input terminal and a carry signal of at least one next stage. The kth clock signal maintains a gate on voltage at a point of time at which a voltage of the jth clock signal is changed to a gate on voltage.
US09978327B2	Gate driving circuit and a display device including the gate driving circuit A gate driving circuit includes driving stages. Each of the driving stages applies each of gate signals to each of gate lines of a display panel. A k-th (k is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) driving stage includes a first output transistor, a capacitor, and first and second control transistor. The first output transistor includes a control electrode connected to a first node, an input electrode receiving a clock signal, and an output electrode outputting a k-th gate signal. The capacitor is connected between the output electrode of the first output transistor and the control electrode of the first output transistor. The first control transistor applies a first control signal to a second node to control a voltage of the first node before the k-th gate signal is output. The second control transistor is diode-connected between the second node and the first node.
US09978326B2	Liquid crystal display device and driving method thereof A liquid crystal display device, including a display panel including data lines and gate lines intersecting the data lines, a gate driver configured to sequentially apply a scan signal to the gate lines, a data driver configured to apply data voltages corresponding to each gate lines to the data lines, a timing controller configured to control the gate driver and the data driver, a power source supply circuit configured to supply a positive power source and a negative power source, a common voltage feedback circuit configured to receive the positive power source and the negative power source from the power source supply circuit, receive a reference voltage and a common voltage from the display panel, and output an amplified feedback signal corresponding to a voltage level difference between the reference voltage and the common voltage.
US09978319B2	Display device and control method thereof with brightness and transmittance control Provided is a display device including: a first panel of which light transmittance is controlled; a second panel of which light transmittance is controlled, the second panel being disposed on the rear surface side of the first panel; a light emitting unit of which brightness is individually controlled for each divided area, the light emitting unit being disposed on the rear surface side of the second panel; a second panel control unit configured to control the transmittance of the second panel based on a brightness distribution of the light emitting unit so that the brightness of the transmitted light of the second panel becomes uniform; and a first panel control unit configured to control the transmittance of the first panel based on image data.
US09978318B2	Electronic paper display device and manufacturing method thereof An electronic paper display device includes a display region, a signal-sending region, data lines, scan lines, selection-line regions, and a repair line. The signal-sending region is located at a side of the display region. The scan lines intersect the data lines to divide the display region into pixel regions. Each of the selection-line regions is located at a side of one of the scan lines. Disposed on two sides of each of the scan lines are respectively one of the pixel regions and one of the selection-line regions. Each of the selection-line regions has selection lines. The selection lines intersect the data lines. The repair line is between the signal-sending region and the display region. The repair line intersects the selection lines. The repair line and the data lines are selectively electrically connected to one of the selection lines.
US09978317B2	Electro-optic mirror having user-adustable dimming with visual feedback A rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes an electro-optic mirror element that reflects images from the rear of the vehicle, wherein the reflected images may be dimmed in response to a detection of glare from trailing vehicle; a display positioned behind the mirror element for displaying images of a rearward scene; a user input for receiving user adjustment of an extent to which the mirror element is to be dimmed to reduce glare from trailing vehicles; and a processor coupled to the mirror element and the user input for adjusting the extent to which the mirror element is dimmed in response to user adjustment via the user input. Wherein, when user adjustment is made via the user input, the processor causes simulated images of vehicle headlights to be displayed on the display where the simulated images are dimmed to a level selected by the user.
US09978316B2	Display apparatus and backlight drive method A display apparatus including a drive control section that performs control to repeatedly switch between a drive time period during which a backlight emits light and a rest time period during which the backlight does not emit light, in an alternating manner with a prescribed period. The drive control section controls a ratio between the drive time period and the rest time period, and controls the amount of drive current supplied to the backlight during the drive time period. The drive control section sets the rest time period to be a prescribed time period and controls the amount of the drive current for a range where an adjustment value is less than a prescribed value, and sets the drive current to a prescribed value and makes the rest time period shorter than the prescribed time period for a range where the adjustment value is greater than the prescribed value.
US09978313B2	Organic light emitting diode display, driving method thereof, and manufacturing method thereof An organic light emitting diode display includes a semiconductor pattern which includes a plurality of channel regions. A first gate insulating layer is on the semiconductor pattern, a first gate conductive layer is on the first gate insulating layer, a second gate insulating layer is on the first gate conductive layer, and a second gate conductive layer is on the second gate insulating layer. The channel regions include a first channel region that overlaps the first gate conductive layer and a second channel region that does not overlap the first gate conductive layer. The first channel region and the second channel region have different doping concentrations.
US09978306B2	Display apparatus A display apparatus includes first pixel groups each including first pixels disposed in a display area, and sub-pixel groups each including second pixels disposed at an outermost area of the display area and surrounding the first pixels, in which each of the second pixels has a size smaller than a size of each of the first pixels, the second pixels in each of the sub-pixel groups are respectively connected to each other in parallel.
US09978297B2	Adaptive feedback system for compensating for aging pixel areas with enhanced estimation speed A local priority-based scanning scheme that focuses scanning to areas of a display panel whose measured characteristics are under continuous change (e.g., aging or relaxation). The algorithm identifies areas or regions needing compensation, using a current measurement from a single pixel in an area as a candidate to determine whether the rest of the region needs further compensation. The algorithm thus detects newly changed areas quickly, focusing time-consuming measurements on those areas that need high attention. Optionally, neighboring pixels sharing the same state (e.g., aging or overcompensated) as the measured pixel can be adjusted automatically given the likelihood that the neighboring pixels will also require compensation if the measured pixel needs compensation.
US09978296B2	Method and device for detecting defect of display panel A method and device for detecting a defect of a display panel, the method comprises steps of: connecting at least one electrical test pad on the display panel to a first detecting terminal, and connecting another at least one electrical test pad on the display panel to a second detecting terminal; providing a preset voltage between the first detecting terminal and the second detecting terminal; and, detecting whether magnitudes of currents passing through the first detecting terminal and the second detecting terminal within a predetermined time are less than a preset current threshold, and if not, then determining there is a defect on the display panel. The present disclosure can implement effective detection and interception of a progressive defect or badness in the display panel.
US09978291B2	Label, especially for a reusable container A proposal is made for a label (1) which can be adhered to an article (5), more particularly to a beverage bottle, and can be detached again in a washing liquid at a washing temperature of at least 50° C., in the form of a laminate at least with the following layers: a biaxially stretched polymeric film layer (9) which shrinks at the washing temperature, a printed decoration layer (11), and an adhesive layer (13), more particularly a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, for adhering the label (1) to the article (5). The polymeric film layer (9) is designed in such a way that in the laminate at the washing temperature within a maximum time span of less than 5 minutes, in particular less than 3 minutes, it attains degrees of contraction in its two stretching directions which differ from one another by less than 50% and are lower than 50%. As a result of this, whereas the adhesive force between the label (1) and the article (5) is high, the label (1) can be washed off from the article (5) without splitting.
US09978289B2	Communication device for primates, in particular persons, and method for operating such a device Communication device for primates, in particular persons, including at least one electrically conductive first surface to be touched by a first primate, at least one electrically conductive second surface to be touched by at least one second primate, and at least primary electronic circuit electrically connecting said first surface and said second, said primary electronic circuit having: at least one detection element for measuring at least one resistance value of a secondary electronic circuit formed by at least the primary electronic circuit, a first primate touching said first surface, at least one second primate touching said second surface, and the first primate and the other least second primate touching each other, and at least one output for producing a specific signal representing the specific resistance value detected by said at least one detection element.
US09978283B2	Method and apparatus for dynamic talk group formation as a function of subscriber unit movement relative to a defined incident location A process for dynamic talk group formation in a wireless communication system as a function of subscriber unit movement relative to a defined incident location includes receiving, at an infrastructure controller device from one of a third subscriber unit and a dispatch console, a request for forming a new talk group relative to a defined incident location. The infrastructure controller device determines a direction of movement of a plurality of subscriber units relative to the defined incident location. The infrastructure controller device then forms a talk group including a first subscriber unit from the plurality of subscriber units determined to be moving towards the defined incident location and not including a second subscriber unit from the plurality of subscriber units determined to not be moving towards the defined incident location.
US09978279B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information processing system An advice target location at which a user had a predetermined emotion, for example, is determined based on location information, user biological information, and user transportation means information, which have been acquired by a terminal device (20) being used by the user. Advice information containing information indicating an advice presentation region set by a server device (50) is generated based on the advice target location. This advice information is supplied from the server device (50) to the terminal device (20), so that the terminal device (20) presents advice. With this, advice as to locations pedestrians find dangerous can be presented to drivers, and advice as to locations drivers find dangerous can be presented to pedestrians. Accordingly, accidents and the like can be prevented.
US09978278B2	Vehicle to vehicle communications using ear pieces A system includes a vehicle, a vehicle network disposed within the vehicle, and at least one earpiece for use within the vehicle. The vehicle is configured to wirelessly communicate with the at least one wireless earpiece within the vehicle. The vehicle is configured to wirelessly communication with at least one wireless earpiece within a separate and independent vehicle. A method includes sensing data with a sensor of a wireless earpiece within a first vehicle to provide sensed data, determining by the wireless earpiece within the first vehicle an alert condition based on the sensed data, and wirelessly communicating a message from a wireless earpiece within a first vehicle to a wireless ear piece within a second vehicle, the message indicating occurrence of the alert condition.
US09978269B2	Site-specific traffic analysis including identification of a traffic path A device for site-specific traffic analysis includes: a radar sensor at a traffic space; and an evaluation unit configured to (i) ascertain object trajectories from chronological sequences of object positions of respective objects detected by the radar sensor and moving in the traffic space, (ii) identify the location of at least one traffic path based on a concentration of object trajectories, and (iii) assign further detected objects to a respective traffic path whose location has been identified.
US09978267B2	Systems and methods using acoustic communication A method and a system for remote controlling one or more service providing devices, including a mobile device operative to control a service providing device within a first range, where the mobile device is operative to interrogate the one or more service providing devices within a second range being smaller than the first range, where, responsive to the interrogation by the mobile device, the service providing device identifies itself to the mobile device, and where the mobile device is operative to present to a user a list including one or more of the service providing devices within the second range.
US09978266B2	Wireless switch assembly, relay retransmission control system and memory card A wireless switch assembly, including: a wireless switch having a control switch; a wireless transmitter connected to the control switch and transmitting a corresponding control signal according to the instruction of the control switch; a first identification card pluggably mounted in the wireless switch and connected to the wireless transmitter; a wireless receiver connected to a controller of a controlled piece and communicating with the wireless switch through radio frequency signal or optical signal. The wireless receiver has a second identification card pluggably mounted therein. The wireless assembly can achieve a remote control by a low power consumption wireless transceiver module and matches the wireless switch to the wireless receiver via the identification cards, thus eliminating the need for complicated control wiring, therefore greatly reducing the complexity of wiring, saving electric wires and cables, and reducing cost.
US09978264B2	Method for device interaction and identification A method is provided for device interaction and identification by detecting similar or synchronous movements of two or more electronic devices using two or more Movement Data from two or more involved electronic devices to interact with each other and detect when the movement or motion of involved devices corresponds with certain multi-device gestures or activities.
US09978263B2	System and method for simplified setup of a universal remote control A system and method for enabling set up of a controlling device capable of controlling a plurality of appliances, via an interactive instruction set and associated programming. The programming is accessible by a STB or other controllable appliance and is configured to appropriately display interactive instructions and prompts to a user during a user initiated set up procedure for configuration of another controllable device (e.g., DVD, VCR, DVR, etc) available to the user. Appropriate set up data, generally in the form of command library codes, is displayed to the user by the interactive instruction set and associated programming for entry and trial by the user in set up of the desired appliance(s).
US09978259B2	Information processing apparatus, information processing method and program There is provided an information processing apparatus including a matter extracting unit extracting a predetermined matter from text information, an action specifying unit specifying one or multiple action patterns associated with the predetermined matter, an action extracting unit extracting each of the action patterns associated with the predetermined matter, from sensor information, and a state analyzing unit generating state information indicating a state related to the matter, based on each of the action patterns extracted from the sensor information, using a contribution level indicating a degree of contribution of each of the action patterns to the predetermined matter, for a combination of the predetermined matter and each of the action patterns associated with the predetermined matter.
US09978253B2	Wireless communication energizer and monitoring unit for electric fencing and method therefor An electric fence monitoring unit and an integrated energizer/monitoring unit with remote control and communication capability using GSM based cellular technology, and a method for the use thereof, is provided. A simple set of commands can be used and sent, such as through text messaging (SMS) or a smartphone application, to control and/or receive information from the monitoring unit including alerts sent to the user in the case of faults or changes in fence loading. The monitoring unit includes a safety mode that uses time dependent voltage detection to detect when a sudden and significant drop in fence voltage has occurred, as may result when an animal becomes trapped or entangled in the fence. When such a large and rapid voltage drop is detected and the safety mode is enabled, the unit automatically de-energizes the electric fence and an alert is sent to the user advising that the fence should be looked at without delay.
US09978247B2	Smart fabric that detects events and generates notifications Various technologies described herein pertain to smart fabric that includes a sensor array, which includes sensor nodes arranged at respective sites in the fabric. The sensor nodes are configured to output signals indicative of detected conditions at the respective sites in the fabric. The fabric can further include a transmitter and a control unit. The control unit can be configured to receive the signals indicative of the detected conditions at the respective sites in the fabric from the sensor nodes, and transmit, using the transmitter, data specifying the detected conditions at the respective sites in the fabric. The data can be transmitted to a computing system for analyzing a state of the fabric to detect an occurrence of an event. The event can be a tear of the fabric, a torsion in the fabric greater than a threshold torsion, a strain in the fabric greater than a threshold strain.
US09978246B2	Alert system for detecting rising water levels A portable, self-contained flood alarm which alleviates the shortcomings of the alarms of the prior art and offers an easy-to-use and reliable flood and water level alarm which will adequately warn users of potential flood conditions and possibly save their personal belongings, equipment and lives.
US09978245B2	Systems for sensing pool occupants and regulating pool functions An ultrasonic pool occupant sensing device capable of using ultrasonic pulses to analyze the occupancy level of a swimming pool. An ultrasonic transducer sends and receives ultrasonic pulses. A front end electronics has a driver for controlling the transducer, a pre-amplifier, band-pass filter, and amplifier combination for filtering received signals. The digital processing unit contains a timer unit for generating pulses, an AD converter for digitizing received pulses, a signal processor for determining data about the return pulse, and an I/O unit for transmitting data to the central processing unit. The data may be an estimate of the number of people in the sensor range, or it may be data about the return pulse that can be analyzed by the central processing unit.
US09978244B2	Occupant falls risk determination systems, methods and devices A method comprises determining a person's level of risk for developing an adverse condition; selecting a care protocol based on the level of risk; displaying a proposed configuration of a person support structure corresponding to the care protocol for a caregiver to approve; and upon approval by the caregiver, implementing the configuration.
US09978239B2	Electric shock warning distribution board system including wearable device for warning electric shock and distribution board linked thereto The present invention relates to an electric shock warning distribution system. The electric shock warning distribution system of the present invention may include: a distribution board; and a wearable device configured to monitor bioelectric currents flowing through the body of an operator that operates the distribution board, classify degrees of hazard of the operator according to values of the monitored bioelectric currents, and to warn the operator of levels of electric shock hazard situations according to the classified degrees of hazard, wherein the wearable device is worn by each operator, each wearable device transmits, to other wearable devices located nearby, a warning message that warns other operators of an electric shock hazard situation when the operator is in the hazard situation, and the distribution board receives information on an electric shock hazard situation from each wearable device to warn the hazard situation of the operator.
US09978238B2	Visitor options at an entryway to a smart-home This patent specification relates to apparatus, systems, methods, and related computer program products for providing home security/smart home objectives. More particularly, this patent specification relates to a plurality of devices, including intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected devices, that communicate with each other and/or with a central server or a cloud-computing system to provide any of a variety of useful home security/smart home objectives.
US09978234B2	Method for manufacturing housing of radiation detection cassette Provided is a method for manufacturing a housing of a radiation detection cassette that can appropriately form a recess without a housing material depositing on an end mill or the like, in a case where a recess is formed by working the housing material formed of an alloy containing Mg and Li. A method for manufacturing a housing of a radiation detection cassette that houses a radiation detector in the housing includes preparing a housing material that is formed of an alloy containing Mg and Li and contains 0.1 mass % or more of Li, forming a recess using a working method other than cutting work on a surface of the housing material, and performing cutting work on the formed recess to shape the recess.
US09978226B1	Remotely-driven haptic device A device for haptically communicating to an individual includes a haptic unit that is operatively coupled to a remotely located actuator to effect a haptic pulse signal.
US09978224B2	Method and apparatus for delivering audible information from an electronic device Embodiments of the invention generally include an alarm system and method of using an alarm system to reliably provide an alarm to a user at a desired time or at the occurrence of some desired action. In some embodiments, the apparatus and methods include a media output device that can receive information about an alarm event and then automatically provide an alarm prompt at the time when the alarm event is to occur. In one configuration, a media output device is configured to communicate and synchronize with a portable electronic device, so that a reliable and coordinated delivery of an alarm prompt can be obtained by these devices. Some aspects of the invention may include an apparatus, method and/or computing device software application configured to more easily setup and reliably deliver the alarm signal information to the user using one or more media output devices that are used in combination with an input device.
US09978221B2	Gaming system and method for providing a multiple dimension symbol game with expanding wild symbols Gaming systems and methods for providing a multi-dimensional symbol game with expanding wild symbols.
US09978216B2	Method of gaming, a gaming system and a game controller A method of gaming comprising conducting one or more paid game rounds initiated in response to the payment of a wager by a player and a series of one or more free game rounds initiated in response to a free game series trigger event, the method comprising: in each paid game round, selecting a set of paid game round symbols for display to the player, determining a paid game round outcome based on the selected symbols, and incrementing a jackpot by a paid game jackpot increment; in each free game round, selecting a set of free game round symbols for display to the player, determining a free game round outcome based on the selected symbols, and incrementing the jackpot by a free game jackpot increment; and awarding the jackpot on the occurrence of a jackpot award event.
US09978207B2	Game machine, dice game system, and station machine A game environment where an operation status of a player's own station machine can be easily monitored and operated and an operation status of other station machines can be also easily monitored. A game machine capable of executing a specified game by connecting a plurality of station machines to enable communications between them, wherein each station machine includes a display panel that displays an image indicating progress of the game including a player's own operation status; and wherein the station machine is configured to be capable of: generating a first display image including the player's own operation status; generating a second display image including the player's own operation status and an operation status of other station machines; and switching between a first display mode to display the first display image on the display panel and a second display mode to display the second display image on the display panel.
US09978206B2	Match evolution interleaved wagering system A match evolution interleaved wagering system is disclosed. The match evolution interleaved wagering system includes a display and a user input device connected to an interactive processing device, where the interactive processing device is connected to a wager controller by a process controller. The wager controller is also connected to credit input and credit output devices. A user inputs credit items into the match evolution wagering system providing wagering credits for a match evolution game. The interactive device hosts an interactive application providing a match evolution game where an interactive game board, including a grid and symbols, is displayed to a user, who selects and places a symbol on the board. When a specified number of matched symbols within the grid on the board is determined, a credit wager is executed in the wager controller, resulting in a credit wager outcome utilizing a random number generator and paytable.
US09978205B2	Location based restrictions on networked gaming A system and method for peer-to-peer gaming is described. One embodiment includes a system for peer-to-peer gaming, the system comprising an at least one gaming client, wherein the at least one gaming client is configured to accept a selection of an at least one gaming option from a player, and allow the player to play a game based on the selection of the at least one gaming option; an administration server, wherein the administration server is configured to receive the selection of the at least one gaming option from the at least one gaming client, and initiate the game for the player based on the selection of the at least one gaming option; and an at least one gaming server, wherein the at least one gaming sever is configured to run the game and transmit data about the game to the administration server.
US09978204B2	Gaming machine A gaming machine includes a controller and a spinnable reel having a plurality of symbols. The controller determines a symbol to be displayed when the reel stops and determines a spinning manner of the reel displaying the symbol when stopped based on the symbol. The controller spins the reel in the determined spinning manner and stops the reel so that the determined symbol is displayed.
US09978203B2	Effect assemblage for gaming machine In an effect assemblage for a gaming machine which is configured to display a process of determining win/loss and a result of the win/loss by moving a first object image and a second object image relative to each other and stopping the first object image at a predetermined part of the second object image, after the first object image and the second object image move relative to each other, the movement of the second object image is corrected, with the result that a predetermined part of the second object image reaches the end of the movement locus at a timing at which the first object image reaches the end of the movement locus.
US09978202B2	Wagering gaming apparatus for detecting user interaction with game components in a three-dimensional display A wagering gaming apparatus is provided, comprising a 3-dimensional (3D) display device configured to create for a player a visual illusion of a 3D scene for a wagering game, the 3D scene having perceived depth in a z-direction perpendicular to a physical screen having width in an x-direction and height in a y-direction; one or more sensor devices configured to sense a physical location of one or more anatomical features of the player; at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions. The processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform various adjustments regarding the 3D scene based on the sensed physical location of an anatomical feature of the player.
US09978201B2	Gaming system, gaming device and method providing a first game and a plurality second wagering games each associated with a separate activatable component of the first game A gaming system having a first skill, partial skill, or pseudo skill based game having a plurality of individually activatable designated components and a plurality of second chance based games each respectively associated with a different one of the individually activatable components of the skill based game. When each designated component of the first game is activated through one or player inputs, a corresponding chance based game associated with that designated component is activated. Each chance based game randomly determines whether the player wins an award. In one embodiment, the likelihood of activating each designated component is different and the chance based game associated with each different designated component is different.
US09978194B2	Low power credential detection device for access control system An access control device including a credential reader circuit configured to enter a standby mode, awaken from a standby mode, and receive data from a nearby credential. The access control device further includes a credential detection circuit having a memory configured to store program instructions, an antenna, and a processor electrically coupled to the antenna and to the credential reader circuit, wherein the processor is configured to execute the stored program instructions to: transmit an interrogation signal, receive a reflected interrogation signal with the antenna, transmit an activation signal to the credential reader circuit in response to the received reflected interrogation signal wherein the reflected interrogation signal includes I and Q values, receive a false detection signal from the credential reader circuit, and adjust at least one of the I and Q threshold values of the reflected interrogation signal.
US09978184B2	Methods and apparatuses for marking target in 3D image The present disclosure provides method and apparatus for marking a target in a 3D image. The method include steps of: acquiring Computed Tomography (CT) image data of a scene; rendering a 3D image of the scene using ray casting based on the CT image data; removing a transparent region from the 3D image based on a fixed 2D transfer function; and marking the target in the 3D image.
US09978179B2	Computer graphics presentation systems and methods A data processing unit generates graphics data that are sent to a display screen of a head-mountable structure worn by a user. Thereby, the user can observe the image data, which reflect a virtual reality environment implemented by the data processing unit, namely image data representing a field of view as seen by the user from a particular position and in a particular direction in the virtual reality environment. The head-mountable structure includes a first light source projecting a well-defined light pattern on a light-reflecting surface. The data processing unit is associated with an image registering unit recording image data representing the first well-defined light pattern. The data processing unit calculates the graphics data based on the image data.
US09978175B2	Real time concurrent design of shape, texture, and motion for 3D character animation Systems and methods for automatically generating animation-ready 3D character models based upon model parameter, clothing selections, and texture-region color component selections are described. One embodiment of the invention includes an application server configured to receive the user defined model parameters and the at least one texture selection via a user interface. In addition, the application server includes a generative model and the application server is configured to generate a 3D mesh based upon the user defined model parameters using the generative model and to apply texture to the generated mesh based upon the at least one texture selection.
US09978169B2	Method and apparatus for creating a computer simulation of an actor A method for creating a computer simulation of an actor having a first foot, a second foot and a body including the steps of planting the first foot as a support foot along a space time-varying path. There is the step of stopping time regarding placement of the first foot. There is the step of changing posture of the first foot while the first foot is planted. There is the step of moving time into the future for the second foot as a lifted foot and changing posture for the lifted foot. An apparatus for creating a computer simulation of an actor depicting the actor based on a plurality of postural parameters of the actor. A method for creating a computer simulation of a crowd.
US09978166B2	Speed display The invention relates to a method for the computer-controlled display of speed information, which represents the movement speed of a real moving object relative to the surroundings of the object, using an image display device. The speed information is displayed by generating one or more visually perceptible moving graphical patterns using the image display device, wherein the movement speed of the real moving object is reproduced by the one or more graphical patterns in a qualitative manner. The invention further relates to a device for the computer-controlled display of speed information, to a flying object with such a device, and to a computer program for this purpose.
US09978161B2	Supporting a creation of a representation of road geometry A system including at least one apparatus creates a representation of a road geometry from a plurality of sets of data, each set of data including at least an indication of a position and an indication of a heading of a mobile object. The system detects an intersection in the representation of the road geometry. The system defines at least one Bézier curve representing a trajectory between an entry to and an exit from the intersection. The system replaces at least a part of the created representation of the road geometry for the intersection by the at least one defined Bézier curve.
US09978157B2	Method and system for x-ray CT imaging Methods and systems for performing x-ray computerized tomographic (CT) reconstruction of imaging data on a rotatable portion of the system, such as a ring-shaped rotor. The rotor may include an x-ray source, and x-ray detector system and a processor, coupled to the detector system, for performing tomographic reconstruction of imaging data collected by the detector system.
US09978154B2	Distance measurement device base on phase difference and distance measurement method thereof A distance measurement device including a pixel array and a cover layer is provided. The cover layer is covered on the pixel array. The cover layer includes a first cover pattern covering on a first area of a plurality of first pixels and a second cover pattern covering on a second area of a plurality of second pixels. The first area and the second area are rectangles of mirror symmetry along a first direction.
US09978150B2	Method and system for spatial segmentation of anatomical structures Spatial segmentation of lymph nodes in a 3-D medical image is automatically determined, based on a set of inputs provided by a user which define a low number of initial conditions for segmentation. In some embodiments, the automation comprises producing a lymph node segmentation from the 3-D image based on a 2-D image slice and a representative line segment on that slice. In some embodiments, segmentation comprises a two tiered approach (2-D segmentation, followed by 3-D segmentation) based on adaptation of the level set framework to the particular conditions of lymph node segmentation.
US09978149B1	System and method for door detection for corridor exploration Described is a system for door detection for use with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The system receive a video input image from a single monocular camera. Edge points are detected in the video, with the edge points connected to form long edge lines. Orientations of the long edge lines are determined, such that long edge lines having a substantially vertical orientation are designated as initial door line candidates and long edge lines having a non-vertical, non-horizontal orientation are designated for use in detecting a vanishing point. A vanishing point is then detected in the video frame. Thereafter, intensity profile and line properties of the door line candidates are calculated. Finally, it is verified if the door line candidates are real world door lines and, if so, an area between the real world door lines is designated as an open door.
US09978146B2	Data-processing system and method for calibration of a vehicle surround view system A method of operating data-processing system for calibration of a vehicle surround view based on images captured of one or more 2D calibration patterns located at arbitrary positions in an overlapping field of view between two or more cameras fixed to the vehicle. The calibration patterns are arbitrary orientated in respect to the vehicle or other calibration patterns. Each calibration pattern is laying in the plane Z=0 on which the vehicle having surround view system is parked. The images of any calibration pattern j positioned in an overlapping field of view between two or more cameras are taken simultaneously establishing connected topological structure of the form: . . . —camera i—pattern j—camera i′—pattern j^′—camera i″— . . . The data-processing results with the corrected extrinsic camera i parameters Ri,Ci for the vehicle coordinate system.
US09978139B2	Method and apparatus for monitoring, documenting and assisting with the manual compounding of medications The invention is a method and system for monitoring, documenting and assisting with the manual preparation and/or administration of medications. The invention accomplishes these goals via constant surveillance of the preparation/administration process using one or more digital cameras and software and hardware that processes the images and compares data from the processed images with information relative to the patient, to the drug components and composition of the medicament, and to non-drug items needed in the preparation that the system automatically or manually retrieves from various sources, e.g. internal or external data banks, from the technician/pharmacist, or by scanning the prescription.
US09978138B2	Image comparison device, image sensor, processing system, and image comparison method An image comparison device includes: a storage in which a model image is stored, the model image including a position of a feature point of a comparison object and a luminance gradient direction at the position of the feature point; a feature amount acquisition unit configured to acquire the position of the feature point and the luminance gradient direction at the position of the feature point from an input image; and an image comparison unit configured to compare the model image and the input image. The image comparison unit performs image comparison by providing an allowable range in both the position of the feature point and the luminance gradient direction at the position of the feature point position.
US09978137B2	Imaging system for fuel tank analysis A method can include generating image data of an interior of a fuel tank disposed within a wing of an aircraft, and determining, by a processing device, an amount of wing bending of the wing of the aircraft based on the generated image data of the interior of the fuel tank. The method can further include producing, by the processing device, a fuel measurement value representing an amount of fuel contained in the fuel tank based on the amount of wing bending of the wing of the aircraft, and outputting, by the processing device, an indication of the fuel measurement value.
US09978136B2	Medicine packet inspection apparatus and method A medicine packet inspection apparatus is provided. The medicine packet inspection apparatus includes a transfer unit configured to transfer medicine packets containing medicines, a photographing unit configured to photograph each medicine packet, a lighting unit configured to provide light to the medicine packet, and a controller configured to control the lighting unit to sequentially provide lights of different colors to the medicine packet and to control the photographing unit to photograph the medicine packet plural times corresponding to the lights of different colors.
US09978133B2	Ejection controller and ejection control method for injection molding machine In an ejection controller for an injection molding machine, an image of an ejection process for a molded article is captured, a point in time when the molded article starts to drop from a mold is obtained as a drop start time point, an ejection stop time point is set based on the obtained drop start time point, and an ejection operation of an ejection device is interrupted at the set time point. Thus, the ejection is interrupted in a predetermined position, so that an operator can manually remove the molded article.
US09978130B2	High dynamic range image generation and rendering Techniques and tools for high dynamic range (HDR) image rendering and generation. An HDR image generating system performs motion analysis on a set of lower dynamic range (LDR) images and derives relative exposure levels for the images based on information obtained in the motion analysis. These relative exposure levels are used when integrating the LDR images to form an HDR image. An HDR image rendering system tone maps sample values in an HDR image to a respective lower dynamic range value, and calculates local contrast values. Residual signals are derived based on local contrast, and sample values for an LDR image are calculated based on the tone-mapped sample values and the residual signals. User preference information can be used during various stages of HDR image generation or rendering.
US09978125B1	Generating and distributing image filters Systems and methods for generating and distributing photo filters are described. A photo filter publication application receives filter data and object criteria and generates a photo filter based on the filter data. The photo filter is associated with satisfaction of the object criteria. A photo filter engine then identifies that a client device has taken a photograph. The photo filter engine then provides the photo filter to the client device based on the photograph including an object that satisfies the object criteria. The photo filter may then be displayed as an option on a user interface of the client device. The object criteria may include associations between an object and a source of image data, for example, a brand of a merchant in which case the associated photo filter may include images associated with the brand of the merchant.
US09978115B2	Sprite graphics rendering system A set of tools, in the form of a software developers kit (SDK) for a graphics rendering system, is provided to improve overall graphics operations. In general, the tools are directed to analyzing a scene tree and optimizing its presentation to one or more graphics processing units (GPUs) so as to improve rendering operations. This overall goal is provided through a number of different capabilities, each of which is presented to software developers through a new applications programming interface (API).
US09978112B2	System and method for digital watermarking Some implementations may provide a method that includes: receiving, at a mobile device, data encoding a first digital watermark present on the identification document; extracting a first portion of personally identifiable information encoded by a spatial luminance pattern associated with the first digital watermark; receiving, at a mobile device, data encoding a second digital watermark present on the identification document; extracting a second portion of personally identifiable information encoded by a spatial luminance pattern associated with the first digital watermark; and validating the identification document based on at least one of the first portion of personally identifiable information or the second portion of personally identifiable information.
US09978111B2	Method and system for recommending one or more vehicles for one or more requestors The disclosed embodiments illustrate methods and systems for recommending one or more vehicles, commuting on a predefined route, for one or more requestors. The method includes determining a first additional distance traversable by each vehicle apart from the predefined route to accommodate each requestor. Further, a graph comprising a first set of nodes representing the one or more requestors, and a second set of nodes representing the one or more vehicles, is generated. Thereafter, a mapping between the first set of nodes and the second set of nodes is determined based on the first additional distance. The mapping corresponds to an allocation of a requestor to a vehicle such that an additional distance traversable by the vehicle is less than an additional distance traversable by remaining vehicles apart from the predefined route. Thereafter, the one or more vehicles are recommended for the one or more requestors based on the mapping.
US09978105B1	Automated claims adjustment using 3D scanning Automated claims adjustment is engineered to receive submission of two-dimensional data or three-dimensional data from a structured-light scan and other pieces of information directly via a mobile device. Upon receiving sufficient information to open a claim, automated claims adjustment and settlement processes are executed aiding and guiding a claimant. This reduces the time involved by the claimant in waiting for a claims adjuster to manually review a specific case file.
US09978104B2	System and method for displaying and analyzing financial correlation data A method for displaying a matrix of correlations or other statistical measures of co-movement associated with a plurality of financial instruments, portfolios, indices, or asset classes is disclosed. The method includes: converting the matrix of correlations or other co-movement measures into a probability transition matrix; defining a corresponding abstract distance measurement between any two of the plurality of financial instruments, portfolios, indices, or asset classes based on the probability transition matrix; assigning coordinates in a Euclidean space to each of the plurality of financial instruments, portfolios, indices, or asset classes, wherein a Euclidean distance between any two financial instruments, portfolios, indices, or asset classes in the Euclidean space corresponds to the corresponding abstract distance measurement; and displaying on a display device the plurality of financial instruments, portfolios, indices, or asset classes based on more significant dimensions of the Euclidean space.
US09978099B2	System and method for providing purchase history to an account holder The system and methods provide an account holder with a mobile spend feed. The systems and methods include a database that stores information associated with at least one previous financial transaction performed via a financial account held by the account holder, a transaction processor that receives transaction data associated with a financial transaction performed by the account holder using the financial account, and stores the transaction data in the database, and a purchase history processor creates a spend feed based at least in part on the transaction data and the previous transaction information, and provides the spend feed to the account holder.
US09978097B1	Accruals processing within an electronic invoicing and budgeting system A facility for conveying accrual amounts through an intermediary service is described. The facility permits vendors to each upload unbilled amounts for one or more matters for a client according to vendor-specific matter identifiers. The facility maps the vendor-specific identifiers for the uploaded unbilled amounts to client-specific identifiers. When the facility receives a request from the client to be you unbilled amounts for one or more matters, the facility displays to a client user the unbilled amounts for the requested matters according to the client-specific identifiers associated with the requested matters.
US09978095B2	Methods and arrangements including data migration among computing platforms, E.G. through use of steganographic screen encoding An illustrative implementation of the technology includes three primary components: a desktop application, a mobile phone application, and connections to retailer inventory and pricing APIs (e.g., for Walmart and/or Best Buy). The experience begins with the consumer going to an online retailer's website (e.g., Amazon) to search for a product. The desktop application automatically searches for product matches using the APIs of affiliated retailers. If matches and near-matches of the product are found, the product name, model, price, and local availability at affiliate locations is shown. With a mobile phone camera-scan of the product page, relevant information is transferred to the consumer's phone. From there, the consumer can interact with the options on the mobile phone to be directed to the nearby brick and mortar store of choice carrying that product at the price they want. Along the way, the retailer can present offers and additional product information directly to the consumer. A great variety of other technologies and arrangements are also detailed.
US09978094B2	Tokenization revocation list A method for providing a token revocation list is disclosed. The method includes maintaining a status for each of a plurality of tokens in a token revocation database. Token validation requests are received, and the statuses of payment tokens can be determined. Response messages with the statuses of the payment tokens are then sent to token status requesters so that they may make decisions on whether or not to use them to process transactions.
US09978090B2	Shopping optimizer A method, system, and/or computer program product optimizes shopping for one or more desired items. An identification of a desired item, which is initially available for purchase at a first physical store, is received. An identity of a second shopper, who also wants the desired item and is currently shopping for the desired item, is received. One or more processors then determine a likelihood of the first shopper arriving at the first physical store before the second shopper purchases a last available instance of the desired item in the first physical store. In response to determining that the first shopper will arrive at the first physical store before the last available instance of the desired item has been purchased by the second shopper, the first shopper is provided with an identity of the first physical store.
US09978084B1	Configurable relevance service test platform In general, embodiments of the present invention provide systems, methods and computer readable media for a configurable test environment within which a relevance service can be invoked to execute one or a combination of test scenarios, each test scenario respectively being configured to exercise one or a combination of features of the relevance service. In embodiments, a test scenario may be configured to use test data that can be simulated and/or be derived from one or a combination of user models and promotion models, and/or be based on aggregated data that has been collected from previous production runs of the relevance service. In embodiments, each test scenario is described as a set of test configuration data. In some embodiments, the test configuration data are represented in a data interchange format that is both human and machine-readable, e.g., JavaScript Object Notation (JSON).
US09978079B1	Content selection based on connection information Methods, systems, and apparatus include computer programs encoded on a computer-readable storage medium for providing content. A method includes: receiving a first request for an advertisement to be presented in a slot on a web resource that is to be displayed by an access device; identifying an advertisement to serve; determining an amount of time required to deliver the advertisement to the access device including determining a connection speed; storing connection information including at least the connection speed; subsequent to the storing, receiving a second request for a second advertisement from the access device; using the stored connection information to determine one or more of an advertisement eligibility, an advertisement type, or an advertisement size, including selecting a second advertisement responsive to the second request that meets at least one of the determined eligibility, size or type; and providing the second advertisement responsive to the second request.
US09978069B2	Selective presentation of real-time contact options based on user and system parameters Embodiments for presenting real-time contact options are described generally herein. The system receives information from a first user about an offered item via a web page and communication preferences for use with a real-time contact option to be presented on the web page, whereby the communication preferences including a first-user-defined real-time contact option presentation condition. The system selectively presents to a second user the information about the offered item and the real-time contact option based on a determination that the first-user-defined real-time contact option presentation condition is satisfied. The system enables the second user to select the real-time contact option. In response to the second user selecting the real-time contact option, the system communicates to the first user a real-time contact request and information identifying the second user.
US09978068B2	Obtaining recipient information during an electronic remittance transaction One or more embodiments described herein include methods and systems for remitting funds via a social networking system. More specifically, systems and methods described herein provide users the ability to remit funds to co-users utilizing social network profiles and notifications. Additionally, systems and methods described herein determine one or more risk levels for a remittance request based on a variety of social network factors.
US09978065B2	Voice filter system Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems and methods for voice filtering. In some embodiments, an original voice segment from a user may be received. The received original voice segment may be modified using a first predetermined algorithm. The modified voice segment may be sent to an authentication server. At the authentication server, the modified voice segment may be reconstructed into the original voice segment using a second predetermined algorithm. The user may be authenticated for a transaction based at least in part on the reconstructed original voice segment.
US09978062B2	Mobile tokenization hub Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for implementing a mobile tokenization hub with a common tokenization capabilities (CTC) module that may provide tokenization for various entities in various contexts. For example, the CTC module can provide and store tokens for mobile payment transactions, transit transactions, digital wallet applications, merchant point of sale (POS) applications, personalization services, and the like.
US09978061B2	Method for processing transaction using dynamic pan A method for processing a transaction using a dynamic PAN (Primary Account Number), performed by a payment device that provides a card reader with ISO (International Standardization Organization) standards of track 2 information. A PAN area of the track 2 information is divided into a first area, in which a BIN (Bank Information Number) is included, and a second area, in which the BIN is not included. A dynamic area is formed by encrypting the second area and a dynamic PAN area is formed by combining the first area with the dynamic area. Track 2 information (which includes the dynamic PAN area) is provided to the card reader.
US09978059B2	Systems, apparatus and methods for mobile companion prepaid card Methods and systems for a mobile companion prepaid card purchase transaction. In an embodiment, a process includes a wallet provider computer receiving, via an application program interface (API) Web request from an issuer financial institution (FI) processor, mobile companion prepaid card data and purchase transaction data and then verifying the availability of funds in a mobile wallet prepaid card account. The process also includes authorizing the purchase transaction based on the verification, debiting an open to buy amount of the mobile companion prepaid card account, and then transmitting a purchase transaction authorization response to the issuer FI processor.
US09978058B2	System, method, and apparatus for a dynamic transaction card A dynamic transaction card that includes a number of layers, each of which may be interconnected to one another. For example, a dynamic transaction card may include an outer layer, a potting layer, a sensor layer, a display layer (including, for example, LEDs, a dot matrix display, and the like), a microcontroller/microprocessor storing firmware, Java applets, Java applet integration, and the like, an EMV processor, an energy storage component, one or more antenna (e.g., Bluetooth antenna, NFC antenna, and the like), a power management component, a flexible printed circuit board (PCB), a chassis, and/or a card backing layer. A display layer may include enhanced features such as the use of display components as a barcode generator.
US09978057B2	Gift card conversion and digital wallet A method and a system convert the value of a gift card for use with a mobile device. The value of the gift card is determined from an issuer of the gift card. The value of the gift card is stored in a digital payment account in a storage device. The digital payment account stores values of gift cards from issuers. A financial transaction corresponding to the issuer of the gift card is performed on the digital payment account. The value of a first gift card from a first issuer of a first digital payment account is exchanged with the value of a second gift card from a second issuer of a second digital payment account.
US09978055B2	Watch with a function of a mobile payment instrument and payment method of the same Disclosed are a watch with a function of a mobile payment instrument and a method of the same. The watch with a function of a mobile payment instrument includes a Real Time Clock RTC unit providing real time information, a communication unit 14 receiving payment request information or a payment process result, or transmitting card information with a PIN, a display unit displaying the real time information, the payment request information or the payment process result, a reader reading a card, an input unit inputting a PIN, and a controller controlling the communication of the communication unit, the display of the display unit, a collecting of the card information read by the reader or a collecting of the PIN inputted by the input unit.
US09978054B2	Acceptance quality improvement using localization data to adjust contactless payment A method may include requesting payment infrastructure data from a payment device reader. The method may further includes receiving payment infrastructure data from the payment device reader. The payment infrastructure data that is received may be indicative of a country in which the payment device reader is installed. In addition, the method may include selecting data for transmission to the payment device reader based at least in part on the received payment infrastructure data.
US09978053B1	Dynamic promotion code insertion in contactless payment transaction A portable electronic device is provided comprising a processor, a memory, a first radio transceiver, a second radio transceiver, and an application stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, receives a first rule associated with a first commercial promotion via the first radio transceiver. The application also determines, based on the first rule and information specific to the device, that the device is qualified to exercise a right associated with the first commercial promotion. The application also transmits to a server via the first radio transceiver a message indicating that the device has qualified to exercise the right associated with the first commercial promotion and associating a code with the first commercial promotion. The application also completes a payment transaction for one of a product or a service via the second radio transceiver, wherein the payment transaction comprises transmitting the code associated with the first commercial promotion.
US09978052B2	Multi-payer payment system A method for providing multi-payer, location-based payments includes detecting at least one mobile device using a near field communication device. At least one of a plurality of secondary payers that is associated with a social network of a primary payer is determined to also be associated with the at least one detected mobile device. A first current location is determined, a first payee associated with the first current location is retrieved, and a preferred payment account for each secondary payer associated with a detected mobile device is retrieved. A payment application is then provided that allows payments to be made to the first payee from the primary payer via a first primary payer preferred payment account and from each secondary payer associated with a detected mobile device via a respective secondary payer preferred payment account.
US09978050B2	Object recognizing apparatus, method of indicating a recognition result, and computer readable recording medium An object recognizing is provided, which comprises a storing unit for storing feature values of objects in each classification of plural objects, wherein the feature value is used as a reference for specifying an object, an object recognizing unit for photographing an object placed within a prescribed area with a photographing device to specify a placing position of the object from an image of the photographed object, and referring to the feature values stored in the storing unit to recognize the classification of the photographed object, and a recognition result indicating unit for making a light emitting device emit light toward the specified placing position of the object to indicate whether or not the object recognizing unit has recognized the classification of the object photographed by the photographing device.
US09978049B2	Remote configuration of a point-of-sale device A method of remotely configuring a point-of-sale device that is configured with resident executable program code involves the resident executable program code transmitting a framework update request to a computer server. The resident executable program code imposes a security requirement prohibiting unauthorized change of the resident executable program code. The resident executable program code also defines an operational framework of at least one allowed mode of operation for the point-of-sale device. The framework update request includes a credential. In accordance with a validity of the credential, the point-of-sale device receives a framework update payload in response to the framework update request, and installs the framework update payload into the point-of-sale device. The resident executable program code together with the framework update payload define an updated version of the operational framework. The updated version of the operational framework maintains the imposed security requirement.
US09978045B2	Funding transactions in a modular learning system A modular learning system is provided for enabling funding of learners in the modular learning system. The modular learning system provides learning services to users by enabling learning users to access learning applications and select tutors and learning facilities to enable the user to perform the learning applications. A funding user provides funds to the modular learning system and provides parameters for selecting learning users for funding. The modular learning system identifies learning users who match the parameters and enable the learning users to receive funding for eligible learning applications. The modular learning system disperses funding after determining particular learning performance requests are eligible items for funding.
US09978043B2	Automatic event scheduling Some embodiments provide a method for creating a new appointment for an electronic calendar. The method receives a set of proposed attendees for the new appointment. The method retrieves and analyzes calendars of the proposed attendees. The method proposes a time for the new appointment at which all proposed attendees, including an organizer of the appointment, are available to attend the new appointment. In some embodiments, the proposed time is an earliest future time at which all proposed attendees are available to attend the new appointment. In some embodiments, the method also proposes a second time for the new appointment at which a subset of the proposed attendees are available to attend the new appointment.
US09978042B2	Social network for reciprocal data sharing A method, apparatus, and system are directed towards seeding a user's contacts for their online social network. The invention is arranged to automatically recommend to the user a set of seed contacts that the user may employ to invite to join their social network. The set of seed contacts may be harvested from the user's existing portal activities, as well as other sources. In one embodiment, the invention analyzes portal activity, such as email exchanges with the user, and the like, to determine a frequency of contact with the user. Other sources may include but not be limited to emails, names within an address book of the user, names within an address book of another person, a buddy list, an instant messaging list, an activity, a mailing list, an online discussion group, a membership in a category, chat group, and the like.
US09978040B2	Collaboration sessions in a workspace on a cloud-based content management system Systems and methods for providing discussion workspaces linked to workspaces containing work items stored in a web-based content management system with collaboration environment are disclosed. Workspaces can be organized hierarchically. Designated collaborators of a workspace containing work items can participate in an online discussion in the linked discussion workspace regarding the work items.
US09978039B1	Document gateway system to cloud-based document repository A document management system includes a document gateway disposed between a document provider and a printer. When the document gateway receives a print-ready document from the document provider, the document gateway determines whether to cause the document to be uploaded to a cloud-based document repository or to be printed to yield a hardcopy document. This determination is made based on an indication from a document consumer and using a consumer device such as a smartphone or customer card, that the document consumer wishes a digital copy of the document. If the document is uploaded, the consumer benefits from having documents uploaded to a centralized repository, while the vendor benefits from obtaining consumer profile information at negligible acquisition cost. Additional embodiments are disclosed.
US09978038B2	Automated systems for reducing computational loads in the mass execution of analytical models using scale-out computing Disclosed embodiments provide systems and techniques for mass execution of analytical models across multiple dimensions of client, collateral, deal structure, third party, and other data relevant to predicting optimal decisions in real-time. In some embodiments, disclosed systems and techniques increase decisioning speed through the reduction of computational loads on disclosed decisioning systems. Further disclosed systems and techniques may scale-out analytical modeling computations through, among other technological solutions, advanced execution environments that are asynchronous and non-blocking in nature so as to allow the execution of a plurality of analytical models in parallel and optimizing the results.
US09978036B1	Methods and systems for unit of use product inventory Method and systems for product inventory are described. In one embodiment, an inventory surface unit retains a plurality of products in an unordered state. An inventory identification unit acquires information for an orientation, and location of the plurality of products on the inventory surface unit. The inventory identification unit is disposed above the inventory surface unit. An inventory pick unit is adapted to pick a product among the plurality of products from the inventory surface unit based on the orientation and location acquired by the inventory identification unit. The inventory pick unit is disposed proximal the inventory surface unit, and the inventory pick unit is communicatively connected to the inventory identification unit. Additional methods and systems are disclosed.
US09978024B2	Workflow integration with Adobe™ Flex™ user interface A method, system, apparatus, and article of manufacture provides the ability to visualize master data management (MDM) data as part of a MDM workflow user interface (UI) in a computer system. MDM data resides in one or more tables of a relational database management system. An MDM system maintains, as part of a process and framework, a first process workflow to manage relationship data. The relationship data is data required to manage an association of one piece of MDM data to another piece of MDM data. A first process workflow provides a UI node that contains a link to a file that describes UI components to display when the first process workflow is executed. A first component of the UI component identifies an Adobe™ Flex™ based UI component. The Adobe™ Flex™ based UI component enables the representation and viewing of the MDM data in a hierarchy.
US09978022B2	Providing context relevant search for a user based on location and social information A social networking system provides relevant third-party content objects to users by matching user location, interests, and other social information with the content, location, and timing associated with the content objects. Content objects are provided based on relevance scores specific to a user. Relevance scores may be calculated based on the user's previous interactions with content object notifications, or based on interests that are common between the user and his or her connections in the social network. Context search is also provided for a user, wherein a list of search of results is ranked according to the relevance score of content object associated with the search results. Notifications may also be priced and distributed to users based on their relevance. In this way, the system can provide notifications that are relevant to user's interests and current circumstances, increasing the likelihood that they will find content objects of interest.
US09978016B2	Pneumatic valve system, method for controlling an actuator in a pneumatic valve system, and non-transitory computer readable medium A pneumatic valve system that includes an actuator that pneumatically actuates a valve, and circuitry that calculates a control signal to control the actuator by compensating for nonlinear dynamic of the actuator using a stable inverse model of the valve, optimizes parameters of the stable inverse model such that a difference between output information of the pneumatic valve system and desired reference information is reduced, and outputs the control signal to control the actuator.
US09978007B2	Thermal scale radio frequency label A thermal scale radio frequency label which includes a top layer of thermal paper of 20-60 lb weight with an RF antenna mounted on the thermal paper. The RF antenna includes a single turn inductor coil having a width of not less than 5 mm and not more than 13 mm. The inductor coil has a thickness in the range of 30-60 um and covers an area of at least 55×49 mm. A capacitative layer is provided having a thickness in the range of 30-60 um. A dielectric layer is positioned between the capacitative layer and the inductor coil. A plurality of electrical connections are provided between the capacitative layer and the inductor coil. The electrical connections are capable of being deactivated by RF energy.
US09978006B2	Output apparatus, system, and non-transitory computer readable storage medium that outputs document data having an output time limit An output apparatus includes an acquiring unit that acquires document data having an output time limit which is a time limit in which output the document data is permitted, and an output unit that outputs the document data in a mode different from an output mode of the document data before the output time limit elapses, when the output time limit has elapsed.
US09978002B2	Object recognizer and detector for two-dimensional images using Bayesian network based classifier System and method for determining a classifier to discriminate between two classes—object or non-object. The classifier may be used by an object detection program to detect presence of a 3D object in a 2D image. The overall classifier is constructed of a sequence of classifiers, where each such classifier is based on a ratio of two graphical probability models. A discreet-valued variable representation at each node in a Bayesian network by a two-stage process of tree-structured vector quantization is discussed. The overall classifier may be part of an object detector program that is trained to automatically detect different types of 3D objects. Computationally efficient statistical methods to evaluate overall classifiers are disclosed. The Bayesian network-based classifier may also be used to determine if two observations belong to the same category.
US09977998B2	Method and system for processing one or more multi-channel images Various aspects of a method and device to process one or more multi-channel images are disclosed herein. The method to process one or more multi-channel images is executed within an electronic device. A channel distance value between each channel of a target patch and corresponding channel of one or more neighbor patches of one or more multi-channel images is determined. The determination of the channel distance value is based on channel data in each channel of the one or more multi-channel images. Based on relative signal information in each channel of the target patch, a channel weight for each channel is dynamically determined. Based on the determined channel distance value and the dynamically determined channel weight for each channel, a patch matching score is determined.
US09977995B2	Image clustering method, image clustering system, and image clustering server An image clustering method, an image clustering system, and an image clustering server are provided. The method includes: extracting a GIST feature of a first image and a GIST feature of a second image; obtaining an image fingerprint of the first image based on the GIST feature of the first image, and obtaining an image fingerprint of the second image based on the GIST feature of the second image; calculating a similarity between the first image and the second image, based on the image fingerprint of the first image and the image fingerprint of the second image; and determining whether the similarity between the first image and the second image is larger than a predetermined similarity threshold, and classifying the two image as a same category of image if the similarity between the first image and the second image is larger than the predetermined similarity threshold.
US09977994B2	Configurable histogram-of-oriented gradients (HOG) processor Embodiments relate to a histogram-of-oriented gradients (HOG) module. The HOG module is implemented in hardware rather than software. The HOG module applies an algorithm to an image to identify gradient orientation in localized portions of the image. The HOG module creates a histogram-of orientation gradients based on the identified gradient orientations.
US09977992B2	Identifying points of interest in an image Points of interest are identified in an image to characterize that image by dividing the image tiles consisting of adjacent pixels; finding within each tile the position of a pixel with an extremum value and ascribing that extremal value to the tile; identifying a tile with an extremal value which is more extreme than that of all adjacent tiles; and selecting as a point of interest the position within the image of the pixel with the extremum value in that identified tile.
US09977991B2	Secure and private tracking across multiple cameras A technique for multi-camera object tracking is disclosed that preserves privacy of imagery from each camera or group of cameras. This technique uses secure multi-party computation to compute a distance metric across data from multiple cameras without revealing any information to operators of the cameras except whether or not an object was observed by both cameras. This is achieved by a distance metric learning technique that reduces the computing complexity of secure computation while maintaining object identification accuracy.
US09977990B1	Cognitive method for visual classification of very similar planar objects A cognitive system and method for visual classification of similar planar objects is disclosed. The method uses a query image and a list of candidate templates as the input, and produces the most probable candidate for the query image. The system uses the mutual saliency among a sample of points in the query templates, and selects those points with the highest saliency. The corresponding candidate templates to the points with the highest saliency are then compared to the query image, and those with the highest similarity are kept. The system has applications to industrial and commercial settings where processes require object recognition from image data.
US09977986B2	Method and apparatus for switching a region of interest A method of vehicle monitoring includes: obtaining a frame of an image before exposure; outputting a luminance value of each partition of the image, accumulation number of pixels lower than a first set threshold, accumulation number of pixels higher than a second set threshold, to generate an evaluation data; generating eigenvalues of a plurality of illuminance evaluation areas based on the evaluation data and the preset illuminance evaluation area distribution table; estimating the illuminance of an environment of a vehicle according to the eigenvalues of the plurality of illuminance evaluation areas and differentiation characteristics between normal illuminance and low illuminance; switching the region of interest of a current exposing image based on the estimating results, generating a weight table based on the content of the current exposing image and the switched region of interest, controlling the exposing of the region of interest based on the weight table.
US09977981B2	Method and apparatus for calibrating a three-dimensional (3D) image in a tiled display Provided are methods and apparatuses for calibrating a three-dimensional (3D) image in a tiled display including a display panel and a plurality of lens arrays. The method includes capturing a plurality of structured light images displayed on the display panel, calibrating a geometric model of the tiled display based on the plurality of structured light images, generating a ray model based on the calibrated geometric model of the tiled display, and rendering an image based on the ray model.
US09977980B2	Food logging from images A “Food Logger” provides various approaches for learning or training one or more image-based models (referred to herein as “meal models”) of nutritional content of meals. This training is based on one or more datasets of images of meals in combination with “meal features” that describe various parameters of the meal. Examples of meal features include, but are not limited to, food type, meal contents, portion size, nutritional content (e.g., calories, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, salt, etc.), food source (e.g., specific restaurants or restaurant chains, grocery stores, particular pre-packaged foods, school meals, meals prepared at home, etc.). Given the trained models, the Food Logger automatically provides estimates of nutritional information based on automated recognition of new images of meals provided by (or for) the user. This nutritional information is then used to enable a wide range of user-centric interactions relating to food consumed by individual users.
US09977978B2	Image station matching, preprocessing, spatial registration and change detection with multi-temporal remotely-sensed imagery A method for collecting and processing remotely sensed imagery in order to achieve precise spatial co-registration (e.g., matched alignment) between multi-temporal image sets is presented. Such precise alignment or spatial co-registration of imagery can be used for change detection, image fusion, and temporal analysis/modeling. Further, images collected in this manner may be further processed in such a way that image frames or line arrays from corresponding photo stations are matched, co-aligned and if desired merged into a single image and/or subjected to the same processing sequence. A second methodology for automated detection of moving objects within a scene using a time series of remotely sensed imagery is also presented. Specialized image collection and preprocessing procedures are utilized to obtain precise spatial co-registration (image registration) between multitemporal image frame sets. In addition, specialized change detection techniques are employed in order to automate the detection of moving objects.
US09977976B2	Path score calculating method for intelligent character recognition Disclosed herein is a method that improves the performance of handwriting recognition by calculating path scores so as to identify the path with the highest score as the basis for interpreting handwritten characters. Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: detecting connected regions in an input image comprising handwritten characters; determining a plurality of segmentation positions of the input image; obtaining a plurality of recognition results for each segment of each path in the input image, wherein each recognition result represents a character candidate for the segment and each path comprises one or more segments; obtaining a plurality of scores corresponding to the recognition results; calculating scores for each path in the input image based on segment lengths and the scores corresponding to the recognition results; and using the path with the highest score to interpret the handwritten characters in the input image.
US09977975B2	Traffic light detection using multiple regions of interest and confidence scores Described herein is a device for traffic light detection. The device comprises a memory and a traffic light detection module. The memory may store information, the information comprising first traffic light data of a first traffic light and second traffic light data of a second traffic light. The traffic light detection module may receive an image comprising a first candidate and a second candidate; determine a first region of interest based, at least in part, on the first traffic light data, the first region of interest comprising the first candidate; determine a second region of interest based, at least in part, on the second traffic light data, the second region of interest comprising the second candidate; and determine a confidence score for a first state of the first candidate, the confidence score based, at least in part, on a spatial relationship factor between the first candidate and the second candidate.
US09977973B2	Vehicle driving assist apparatus A vehicle driving assist apparatus executes a vehicle collision prevention control when a target object distance from a vehicle to a target object is equal to or smaller than a predetermined distance. The apparatus acquires the target object distance on the basis of a position of the target object in a camera image taken by a camera and a height of the camera in a situation that a movable load of the vehicle is a maximum load capacity.
US09977970B2	Method and system for detecting the occurrence of an interaction event via trajectory-based analysis Disclosed is a method and system for detecting an interaction event between two or more objects in a surveillance area, via the application of heuristics to trajectory representations of the static or dynamic movements associated with the objects. According to an exemplary embodiment, trajectory interaction features (TIFs) are extracted from the trajectory representations and heuristics are applied to the TIFs to determine if an interaction event has occurred, such as a potential illegal drug deal involving two or more pedestrians.
US09977969B1	Track fusion using SIGINT or estimated speed Generally discussed herein are systems and apparatuses that are configured to and techniques for matching track fragments. According to an example, a technique can include receiving data indicating a first and second actual ToA of first and second SIGINT signals at a collector, estimating first and second sets of estimated ToAs of the first and second SIGINT signals at a collector, respectively, each of the first and second sets of estimated ToAs based on a different track fragment of a first plurality of track fragments active at the first time and a different track fragment of a second plurality of track fragments active at the second time, respectively, or matching a track fragment of the first plurality of track fragments with a track fragment of the second plurality of track fragments based on the first and second sets of estimated ToAs and the first and second actual ToAs.
US09977968B2	System and method for relevance estimation in summarization of videos of multi-step activities A method and system for identifying content relevance comprises acquiring video data, mapping the acquired video data to a feature space to obtain a feature representation of the video data, assigning the acquired video data to at least one action class based on the feature representation of the video data, and determining a relevance of the acquired video data.
US09977964B2	Image processing device, image processing method and recording medium In the image processing device, the image processing method and the recording medium, the instruction acquiring section acquires the instruction input by the first user. The image group selecting section selects, as the second image group, a part of images from the first image group owned by the first user based on the instruction. The image analyzer carries out image analysis on images contained in the first image group. And the image group extracting section extracts, as the third image group, at least a part of images having relevance to images contained in the second image group from the first image group except the second image group based on the result of image analysis on images contained in the first image group.
US09977958B2	Method and system for assisting determination of a medical condition The present invention relates to a method for assisting a user in determining a medical condition in a subject from one or more medical images by presenting the user with a list of questions, LOQ, about the subject that are to be answered with an affirmative indication (Y), a negative indication (N) or an unknown indication (X) by input by the user. In response to receiving an answer to one question, the method presents the user with a ranked list of conditions, LOC, and also with an updated LOQ wherein at least the answered question has been removed i.e. the LOQ iteratively collapses or reduces in length. An earlier step of selecting a foundation observation, FO, about the subject reduces the initial LOQ and the possible conditions.
US09977950B2	Decoy-based matching system for facial recognition Techniques are provided for facial recognition using decoy-based matching of facial image features. An example method may include comparing extracted facial features of an input image, provided for recognition, to facial features of each of one or more images in a gallery of known faces, to select a closest gallery image. The method may also include calculating a first distance between the input image and the selected gallery image. The method may further include comparing the facial features of the input image to facial features of each of one or more images in a set of decoy faces, to select a closest decoy image and calculating a second distance between the input image and the selected decoy image. The method may further include recognizing a match between the input image and the selected gallery image based on a comparison of the first distance and the second distance.
US09977949B2	Impersonation detector A detector in embodiments includes a processor. The processor acquires an image including a face of a person. The processor acquirer depth information of the face in the image from a distance measuring module. The processor sets a deficient area indicating an area where the depth information fails to be acquired. The processor detects the face area from the image. The processor acquires a reference image generated based on a probability set to the deficient area in the image, and calculates a degree of similarity between the face area where the deficient area is set and the reference image. The processor determines whether the image is impersonation based on the degree of similarity.
US09977948B2	Method for the localization of gripping points of objects The invention relates to a method for the localization of gripping points of objects, wherein the objects are scanned by means of a 3D sensor and the objects are illuminated by means of at least one first illumination unit while the objects are detected by means of a camera, wherein the relative positions of the 3D sensor, of the first illumination unit and of the camera with respect to one another are known and the 3D sensor, the first illumination unit and the camera are arranged in a fixed position with respect to one another. In this respect, the boundary of the objects is determined from a two-dimensional image generated by the camera, a spatial position is determined from detected distance information of the 3D sensor and of the two-dimensional image and the gripping points for the objects are determined from the boundaries and from the spatial position of the objects.
US09977944B2	Determining fingerprint scanning mode from capacitive touch sensor proximate to lens A photography subsystem is configured to be operated in fingerprint scanning mode and a normal mode. An autofocus module may be initialized to control a lens with an initial focal length set according to received instructions indicating one of the modes of operation. An image signal processor associated with the photography subsystem may process images received from the photography subsystem and, if necessary, process the images to form a candidate digital fingerprint for use in an authentication process.
US09977943B2	Biological information recognition apparatus and scanning method of the biological information recognition apparatus The present invention relates to a method a biological information recognition apparatus and a method for activating, by the biological information recognition apparatus, a recognition row and a recognition column including a plurality of piezoelectric elements in various patterns. More specifically, the present invention relates to a biological information recognition apparatus which may be used to identify a user by recognizing biological information, such as the fingerprint, blood vessels, and bones of the user and a method for driving the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a methodology in which a plurality of recognition rows and recognition columns within the biological information recognition apparatus are activated according to a specific pattern and when each of the recognition rows or recognition columns is activated, biological information, such as the fingerprint, blood vessels, and bones of a user, is scanned in various patterns by selectively activating piezoelectric elements forming each recognition row or recognition column.
US09977941B2	Barcode scanner illumination Disclosed is a barcode scanner. The barcode scanner can include a scanning tower and a first reflector. The scanning tower can define a scanning window. The first reflector can be located within the scanning tower proximate an illumination source. The first reflector can be configured to redirect light towards into a scanning volume.
US09977940B2	Scanner with hosted server interface A scanner is integrated into a Point-Of-Sale (POS) terminal; the scanner provides scanning information during POS transactions over a POS connection and provides a server interface for connecting and communicating with an external and remote connected device independent of the POS connection.
US09977934B2	Reading device and control program for reading device A reading device includes an antenna having a signal radiating surface and configured to output a linearly polarized wave from the radiating surface, a movable and rotatable stage supporting the antenna and configured to move the antenna along a first direction parallel to the radiating surface of the antenna and rotate the antenna on an axis that is normal to the radiating surface of the antenna, and a tag reader connected to the antenna and configured to supply signals to the antenna for reading information from a wireless tag and to receive signals from the antenna including information read from the wireless tag.
US09977933B2	Electronic device suitable for writing information to wireless tags and information update method Provided is an electronic device that increases operability when writing information (for example, unique user information) that allows writing to a wireless tag from the outside. The electronic device of the present disclosure includes a storage device that stores first registered information; a wireless tag that stores second registered information; and a system-control unit that updates contents of the second registered information based on the first registered information; wherein the system-control unit updates contents of information other than information that allows writing when there is writing to the wireless tag from the outside.
US09977923B2	Pin-pad and security method thereof A pin-pad and pin-pad security method are provided. The pin-pad includes: a keypad module including a plurality of buttons; a main board comprising an encryption circuit configured to encrypt a key signal input from the keypad module; a first flexible circuit board to protect an upper portion of the main board; a second flexible circuit board to surround a side surface of the main board; a double cover to block access to a circuit in the main board; and an information blocking circuit unit configured to erase information stored therein to block leakage of the information when disconnection or a short-circuit of an electric circuit is detected from at least one of the main board and the first and second flexible circuit boards. When the pin-pad is disassembled or cut, information stored in an internal memory is erased to block leakage of the information remaining in the internal memory.
US09977922B2	Multi-tier storage based on data anonymization Examples disclosed herein relate to a multi-tier storage based on data anonymization. A processor may store data in a first data tier. The processor may anonymize the data according to a first anonymization level and store the anonymized data in a second data tier. The processor may associate a first user with the first data tier and associate a second user with the second data tier.
US09977921B2	Security systems and methods for encoding and decoding digital content Systems and methods may be provided for masking data on public networks. At a publishing node, the system may monitor data input fields in a webpage, and intercept and encode content, such as text, images, and video input at the data input fields, prior to the content being posted online on a public service provider's website. A policy may be defined to control which users are permitted access to a key to decode the encoded content. The policy may defer to a third party policy node in determining key access. An account for a controlling entity, such as a guardian or employer, may be configured to control the encoding status of posts made by another. The controlling entity may control who has key access to decode posts made by the other account. The guardian account may be configured to have preemptive rights over posting decisions made by the minor.
US09977919B2	Separate privacy setting control of multiple communication clients of a user One or more terminals that are coupled to a packet-based network are installed with a first instance and/or a second instance of a communication client application of a first user. At times, the communication client application can be configured to enable the first user to communicate with other users using a first communication system implemented over the packet-based network. In some cases, a controller coupled to the packet-based network can be used to maintain separate privacy settings for each of the first and second instances, and thereby control the privacy of the first user in relation to the other users within the first communication system in dependence on which of the first and second instances is active.
US09977918B2	Method and system for verifiable searchable symmetric encryption A method for verification of search results in an encrypted search process includes transmitting a search query including the encrypted keyword from a client to a server, and receiving a response to the search query and a first plurality of hash values from at least one hash tree from the server. The method further includes generating, a first message authentication code (MAC) based on the response, generating a first regenerated root node hash value using the first MAC, the first plurality of hash values, and a predetermined hash function, and generating an output message with the client indicating that the response is invalid in response to the first regenerated root node hash value not matching a predetermined first root node hash value stored in the memory of the client.
US09977915B2	System for controlling database security and access Systems for controlling access to a database are provided. A system may include a computing platform that may receive a request to access a database from a computing device. A unique identifier of the computing device may be compared to pre-registered device identifiers to determine whether the computing device is authorized to access the database. If not, the computing platform may prevent the computing device from accessing the database. If the computing device is authorized to access the database, the system may receive credentials from a user associated with the computing device. The system may determine whether the credentials of the user match credentials of a user authorized to access the database. If not, the system may prevent the user from accessing the database. If the user authorized to access the database, the system may determine one or more types of data the user is authorized to access.
US09977913B2	Devices with profile-based operating mode controls A device (e.g., a phone) can be provided by an entity (e.g., a business) to a user (e.g., an employee). The device includes a profile manager that allows the user to configure a personal profile comprising any of applications, settings, and stored data. The device is also configurable with an entity profile determined by the entity that also may include applications, settings, and stored data. The user can select from operating modes comprising at least a personal mode, and a unity mode; an entity mode also may be available for selection. The profile manager, based on the selected mode, determines whether entity profile data and applications are available to the user, and which applications from either profile may conduct user-perceptible activities. The profile manager may periodically verify entity profile rights with a server, and if verification fails, then the profile manager can restrict entity profile data and applications access, regardless of operating mode.
US09977907B2	Encryption processing method and device for application, and terminal Provided are an encryption processing method and device for an application, and a terminal. In the method, a first application to be encrypted is acquired, wherein the first application to be encrypted is selected by a user of the terminal; the user is prompted to input first information; a first key is generated according to the first information; the first application is encrypted by using the first key and the first key is stored in the first application. The technical solution can encrypt an application.
US09977906B2	Method and apparatus for protecting digital content using device authentication A user device may strengthen the protection level of a digital content by dividing the security and normal modes and performing an operation. In order to further strengthen the protection level of the digital content, the user device may determine whether the main operating system is hacked or not, and blocks the operation in the secure mode. Otherwise, the device authorization information indicating the device security level of the user device is authorized by the content service server, and the user device blocks the operation in the secure mode according to the result.
US09977904B2	Systems and methods for automated detection of application vulnerabilities Disclosed are systems and methods for performing automatic, large-scale analysis mobile applications to determine and analyze application vulnerability. The disclosed systems and methods include identifying potentially vulnerable applications, identifying the application entry points that lead to vulnerable behavior, and generating smart input for text fields. Thus, a fully automated framework is implemented to run in parallel on multiple emulators, while collecting vital information.
US09977901B2	Technologies for protecting systems and data to prevent cyber-attacks Technologies for protecting systems and data of an organization from malware include a data integrity server configured to receive a data file for import from an external source. The data integrity server analyzes the received data file with multiple anti-malware engines to determine whether the data file includes hidden malware. The data integrity server discards the data file in response to a determination that the data file includes hidden malware. Additionally, the data integrity server verifies the type of the received data file based on the file extension associated with the received data file. The data integrity server cleans the received data file in response to verification of the file type. The cleaned data file is transmitted to a computing device to be imported. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09977900B2	Identifying web pages in malware distribution networks Technologies pertaining to analyzing content extracted from web pages by a static crawler to determine whether respective web pages are members of a malware distribution network (MDN) are described. A set of features is learned based upon output of a dynamic crawler over known landing pages of a particular MDN, wherein the set of features are indicative of membership in the MDN. Using such set of features, additional members of the MDN (not subjected to crawling by a dynamic crawler) are identified.
US09977898B1	Identification and recovery of vulnerable containers The present embodiments relate to security in a virtualized operating system environment with an active host based Intrusion Detection System (IDS). More specifically, the IDS identifies any infected container operating on the shared kernel and remedies the infected container. In an operating system virtualization, one or more containers are started in virtual memory utilizing the same operating system kernel. When a container starts any resource not specified in the container configuration is shared with the host operating system. The shared IDS provides security of the namespaces of all containers operating on the shared kernel.
US09977891B2	Anonymous authentification method and authentification system using the same An anonymous authentication method is implemented by an authentication device that has a key array. The key array has multiple array dimensions each having multiple device keys. The method includes: receiving ciphertexts from a chip that has multiple chip keys; acquiring authentication keys by: for each of the ciphertexts, performing trails of decryption using the device keys of one of the array dimensions that corresponds to one of the chip keys used to generate the ciphertext one by one until obtaining one of the device keys that successfully decrypts the ciphertext to serve as one of the authentication keys; and obtaining, for authentication, information associated with the chip according to the authentication keys.
US09977889B2	Device for checking the authenticity of a fingerprint Disclosed is a checking device that is intended to check the authenticity of a fingerprint of a finger and which includes, among other things, a capture system for capturing an image of the finger and of the fingerprint, and acquisition means for acquiring a three-dimensional model of the finger. The checking device also includes means for determining the core on the image of the fingerprint, for locating the crown of the three-dimensional model, for determining the orientation and position of the end of the finger and for determining the relative positions of the end, the crown and the core. From these elements, the checking device can decide whether the fingerprint is real or false.
US09977886B2	Methods, apparatus and computer programs for entity authentication An identity of an entity (120) is authenticated at an authentication device (110) using at least one authentication process. The result of the authentication is indicated. The authentication result identifies at least the identity of the entity (120) and the at least one authentication process used to authenticate the identity of the entity (120).
US09977880B2	Systems and methods for enforcing software license compliance with virtual machines A virtualization system supports secure, controlled execution of application programs within virtual machines. The virtual machine encapsulates a virtual hardware platform and guest operating system executable with respect to the virtual hardware platform to provide a program execution space within the virtual machine. An application program, requiring license control data to enable execution of the application program, is provided within the program execution space for execution within the virtual machine. A data store providing storage of encrypted policy control information and the license control data is provided external to the virtual machine. The data store is accessed through a virtualization system including a policy controller that is selectively responsive to a request received from the virtual machine to retrieve the license control data dependent on an evaluation of the encrypted policy control information.
US09977877B2	System and method for terminating copyright infringement by BitTorrent users A system and method that tracks copyright infringing BitTorrent users is presented. The system searches torrent file websites for a torrent file according to specified search criteria and verifies that the torrent file corresponds to a media file containing the copyrighted work. The system obtains tracker server information from the torrent file and obtains the IP addresses of participants currently connected to the torrent file from the tracker server, attempts to establish a connection with a participant based on an IP address selected from the IP addresses and, if successful, receives a data piece with a cryptographic hash from the participant. The cryptographic hash is verified to correctly match with the torrent file. The system then verifies that the participant is sharing the media file, obtains the participant's geographic data and associates the participant to a legal jurisdiction based on the geographic data.
US09977874B2	User interface for remote joint workout session Example embodiments relate to a system, method, apparatus, and computer readable media configured to generate a multiple renditions of a user interface that is updated based upon athletic movements of two or more users remotely located from each other. The UI may be configured to simultaneously display energy expenditure values in real-time. In further embodiments, a joint energy expenditure values determined from multiple remote users may be simultaneously displayed.
US09977866B2	Search engine systems for matching medical providers and patients In one embodiment, a method comprises receiving a set of parameters for selecting a physician from an administrator of a matching-engine system. The matching-engine system stores the parameters in a data store of the matching-engine system. The matching-engine system receives from a user a search query with a location of the user and a user-specified symptom or treatment. The matching-engine system determines a base-concept of a medical diagnosis or medical procedure based on the search query. The matching-engine system may identify a set of physicians to be recommended to the user based on the parameters, and a performance-score and experience-score associated with the base-concept for each physician. The matching-engine system may send a search-results page to the user listing the recommended physicians.
US09977863B2	Medical system, image processing device, terminal device, server device, and information display method An image processing device includes: a reading unit that reads an image, image identification information (image ID), and medium identification information (medium ID) from the removable medium; a transmitting unit that transmits, to a server, the image ID and the medium ID that have been read by the reading unit; a receiving unit that receives, from the server, the patient information that corresponds to the image ID and the medium ID that have been transmitted by the transmitting unit, or information indicating no existing corresponding patient information; and a display control unit that displays, on a display device, the image read by the reading unit and the patient information received by the receiving unit, or the image read by the reading unit.
US09977861B2	Methods and systems for determining haplotypes and phasing of haplotypes The present disclosure provides methods and systems for determining and/or characterizing one or more haplotypes and/or phasing of haplotypes in a nucleic acid sample. In particular, the disclosure provides methods for determining a haplotype and/or phasing of haplotypes in a nucleic acid sample by incorporating synthetic polymorphisms into fragments of a nucleic acid sample and utilizing the synthetic polymorphisms in determining one or more haplotypes and/or phasing of haplotypes.
US09977849B2	Method and apparatus for calculating delay timing values for an integrated circuit design A method and apparatus for calculating delay timing values for at least a part of an integrated circuit design. The method comprises applying a first Negative/Positive Bias Temperature Instability compensation margin to delay values for elements within the at least part of the IC design, identifying at least one lower-rate switching element within the at least part of the IC design, and applying at least one further, increased N/PBTI compensation margin to the delay value(s) for the at least one identified lower-rate switching element.
US09977848B1	Method and system for predicting rocket nozzle deformation during engine start-up and shut-down transients Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) computations are performed at time increments using structural properties of the nozzle and flow properties of combustion products flowing through the nozzle. Each CFD computation accounts for movement of the wall geometry of the rocket nozzle due to the flowfield. Structural dynamics computations are performed at each time increment using the CFD computations in order to describe the movement of the wall geometry. Mesh dynamics computations at each time increment redefine the flowfield to account for the movement of the wall geometry. The mesh dynamics computations are based on a spring analogy process. The computations are iterated to solution convergence at each time increment with results being output to an output device.
US09977843B2	Systems and methods for providing a lighting control system layout for a site Methods and systems for providing a lighting control system layout for a site. The site includes a plurality of floors and a plurality of lighting control system components. In response to a request from a user for the lighting control system layout, a user interface may be provided. The user interface includes a three-dimensional representation of the site. The three-dimensional representation includes a plurality of layers representative of the plurality of floors and a plurality of icons representative of the plurality of lighting control system components. The user may, in turn, perform one or more actions in connection with the provided interface. In response, different and/or additional information about the site, particularly the lighting control system, may be provided in the user interface. The provided lighting control system layout allows users, such as, for example, site managers, to easily navigate, maintain, and mange a lighting control system for a site.
US09977841B1	System and method of virtual determination design allowables for composite materials A method for determining virtually a set of design allowables for a composite material is disclosed. The method includes receiving information about the composite material and a given set of architectures, available test data of the composite material, and a test matrix identifying desired tests to be performed virtually on the composite material and different set of architectures. Using the material information and available test data, a reverse engineering process is used to determine micromechanical material properties. Finite element models of relevant test specimens are generated according to the test matrix and integrating the micromechanical material properties, and are analyzed. A set of allowables and associated properties is generated based on the finite element analyses results.
US09977839B2	Improving accuracy of time of event determination at sensor device Systems, devices, methods, and computer-program products for reducing sensor reading time error and estimating the time of an event sensed by a sensor are presented. According to implementations, a sensor indicates to a system with which it interacts, the time when an event occurred. In some implementations, the sensor can generate an interrupt that is usable by the system to estimate the time when the event occurred. In implementations, the sensor can output a correction value that is usable by the system to estimate when the event occurred.
US09977838B2	Content distribution The invention introduces a method to inform/configure a peer-to-peer application environment such that an application can find good alternatives for peer selection and data exchange taking the network configuration conditions including caching strategies and deployment into account. In use, a mobile operator stores a tracker file that is used to provide information of likely locations of a data file sought by an end user. The mobile operator provides instructions to a mobile communication device of the end user regarding the location of a tracker file that is available for use by said mobile communication device. In this way, the mobile operator controls the peer-to-peer environment available to the end user.
US09977833B2	Graphical user interface for filtering items of interest Disclosed herein is a graphical user interface (GUI) for filtering items of interest. In various embodiments, the GUI may be implemented as a method on a hardware-based system such as a computer server or other computing device. In one embodiment, the method includes defining a library of available criteria to be used in filtering a population of items for an end-user to identify items of interest. Each of the available criteria has a graphical representation. A GUI is presented to the end-user of the filtering criteria for constructing a graphical filter builder. An indication is received of each of the selected set of criteria from the end-user to construct and display a graphical representation of the filter. A query is constructed to identify the items of interest using the selected set of criteria. The identified items of interest are generated and displayed to the end-user.
US09977827B2	System and methods of automatic query generation In a particular embodiment, a system is disclosed that includes processing logic and memory accessible to the processing logic. The memory includes instructions executable by the processing logic to receive data related to search results and to automatically generate a query based on the received data and without explicit user query input. The memory also includes instructions executable by the processing logic to generate at least one visualization of second data related to search results from the generated query.
US09977822B2	Migration of feedback data to equivalent digital assets Methods and systems for managing for migrating feedback data from one digital asset to another digital asset are disclosed. Typically, the one digital asset is available for distribution from a network-based media distribution system, but then subsequently is removed from distribution for any of a number of reasons. However, since the one digital asset has been in use at the network-based media distribution system, it has accumulated feedback data. Hence, if the another digital asset serves (e.g., due to equivalency) to replace the one digital asset, then the accumulated feedback data from the one digital asset can be transferred to the another digital asset. As a result, the another digital asset can benefit from the feedback data that was previously associated with the one digital assert.
US09977820B1	System and method for synchronizing states in associated data records A system for synchronizing states in associated for data records has been developed. The system includes a first data repository (R1) containing a first data record (DR1) and a second data repository (R2) containing a second data record (DR2). The system also includes a synchronizer that initiates synchronization activity between DR1 and DR2. Upon change in DR1, the system generates a listing of all possible target states for DR2 and determines the correct target state of DR2 from the listing of possible target states. The system then determines if DR2 is in the correct target state. If not, the system transitions DR2 to the correct target state, and synchronizes the data of DR2 with DR1.
US09977815B2	Generating secured recommendations for business intelligence enterprise systems In one embodiment a computer-implemented method for recommending documents to a user, the method comprises determining, by a computer, audit logs entries that are associated with members of a group that includes the user as a member, each audit log entry is associated with a file that a member of the group has accessed; analyzing, by the computer, the associated audit log entries; and generating, by the computer, a recommendation of at least one file for the user based on the analyzing of the associated audit log entries.
US09977814B2	Custom metadata in loosely coupled triggers A database system that supports associating a custom metadata type with loosely coupled triggers may be implemented to include instructions to receive a definition of a custom metadata type, the definition comprising at least one relationship field associated with a triggerable database object. The database system may also include instructions to associate the definition of the custom metadata type with a loosely-coupled trigger, and to cause the loosely-coupled trigger to execute based on generating a custom metadata record of the custom metadata type. The custom metadata record including a triggerable database object value for the relationship field.
US09977813B2	Storage device and data migration method As a method for migrating data of a volume adopting a snapshot function to a new storage system, in order to perform migration without depending on a method for compressing snapshot data of a migration source storage system, and without stopping transmission and reception of data between the host computer and the storage system, at first, after migrating data of a volume being the source of snapshot (PVOL), migration is performed sequentially from newer generations. At this time, migration target data of each SVOL is all the data within the migration source storage system. The SVOL data copied to a migration destination storage is compared with one-generation-newer SVOL data within the migration destination storage system, and based on the comparison result, a difference management information is created. If there is difference, a VOL allocation management table is updated, and difference data is stored in the area allocated within the pool.
US09977810B2	Multi-user search system with methodology for personal searching A multi-user search system with methodology for personal searching. In one embodiment, for example, a system for personal searching includes a plurality of index servers storing a plurality of index shards. Each index shard of the plurality of index shards indexes a plurality of documents. Each document of the plurality of documents belongs to one of a plurality of document namespaces assigned to the index shard. The system further includes a front-end server computer for receiving a search query from an authenticated user; an access control server for determining an authorized document namespace the authenticated user is authorized to access; and a query processor for answering the search query and restricting, based on an identifier of the authorized document namespace, an answer to the search query to identifying only documents satisfying the search query and belonging to the authorized document namespace.
US09977808B2	Intent based real-time analytical visualizations Various embodiments of systems and methods to provide intent based real-time analytical visualizations are described herein. In one aspect, a requirement statement is received at real-time to generate visualization analysis. Further, an analytical requirement statement is generated from the received requirement statement by natural language processing. The analytical requirement statement is mapped with a unique analytical profile of a user associated with the requirement statement and corresponding business data artifacts, and the visualization analysis is generated based on the mapping information. The generated visualization analysis is displayed on a computer generated graphical user interface (GUI).
US09977807B1	Distributed data set indexing An apparatus including a processor to: receive search criteria including a data value; in response to receiving the search criteria, generate a hash value from the data value of the search criteria, and for each data cell of a super cell, compare the hash value to hash values within a hash values vector in the corresponding cell index to determine whether the data cell includes at least one data record meeting the search criteria, and in response to determining that the data cell includes at least one of such data record, search the data records to identify one or more data records meeting the search criteria; and in response to identifying at least one data record within at least one data cell of the super cell meeting the search criteria, provide results data indicative of the super cell including at least one of such data record.
US09977806B2	System and method for skyline queries A skyline query is a query on a set of tuples which are not dominated by other tuples. The skyline query system includes a sky quad tree generator that generates a quad tree from data, and marks a leaf node, which cannot include a local skyline, as being dominated; a local skyline calculator that computes a local skyline of each leaf node, which is not marked as being dominated, in the sky quad tree; and a global skyline calculator that computes a global skyline by using the local skyline. A quad tree is a tree where each internal node has exactly four children. The skyline query is a query for calculating a skyline, a dynamic skyline, or a reverse skyline from the data, where a dynamic skyline includes dynamic attributes and a reverse skyline identifies queries corresponding to certain skyline results.
US09977804B2	Index updates using parallel and hybrid execution A method can include receiving a request to execute a database command identifying a target table; identifying a plurality of rows to insert into the target table based in part on the database command; writing rows, from the plurality of rows, into a data page until the data page is full; determining, by an index thread manager, a number of threads to use for updating indexes defined for the target table; and upon determining the data page is full, updating, in parallel, the indexes defined for the target table using the number of threads.
US09977803B2	Column-based table manipulation of event data A search interface is displayed in a table format that includes a plurality of columns, each column including data items of an event attribute, the data items being of a set of events, each column being selectable by a user, and a plurality of rows forming cells with the one or more columns, each cell comprising one or more of the data items of the event attribute of a corresponding column. Based on the user selecting one or more of the columns, a list of options is displayed corresponding to the selected one or more columns, and one or more commands are added to a search query that corresponds to the set of events. The one or more commands are based on at least an option that is selected from the list of options and the event attribute of each of the selected one or more columns.
US09977802B2	Large string access and storage Techniques for handling large string values in a string dictionary within an in-memory database system are presented. The string dictionary can be a paged-column main dictionary. For example, a value block of a dictionary may be loaded into memory, where the dictionary stores values for dictionary compression. The value block may include a first portion of a large string value and one or more logical pointers to one or more large string pages containing a remainder of the large string value. The large string value may be materialized into a contiguous location in memory, and a pointer to the materialized large string value may be created.
US09977801B2	Paged column dictionary A request for an entry of a dictionary having multiple dictionary blocks may be received, where the dictionary stores string values associated with corresponding value identifiers (IDs) for dictionary compression. One of the dictionary blocks may be selectively loaded into memory, and the dictionary block that has been loaded into memory may be searched. A value ID directory may be constructed in memory, where the value ID directory includes last value IDs for the dictionary blocks, and each of the last value IDs is mapped to an index of one of the dictionary blocks that includes a string value for that last value ID. A separator directory may also be constructed in memory, where the separator directory includes separators for the dictionary blocks, and each of the separators is mapped to an index of one of the dictionary blocks that includes a string value for that separator.
US09977798B2	Data migration and table manipulation in a database management system A method for migrating data between tables. The method includes, receiving a Structured Query Language (SQL) statement, where the SQL statement identifies a source table and a destination table, and the source table contains source data divided into columns with a set of column names. A database management system identifies a set of instructions for manipulating the source data. The database management system generates an interim SQL statement, based on the SQL statement. The database management system executes the interim SQL statement, which copies the manipulated source data into a set of columns of the destination table.
US09977796B2	Table creation for partitioned tables A table creation request pertaining to a table in a database maintained on a multi-node data partitioning landscape that comprises a plurality of processing nodes can specify a number of partitions to be generated. At run time, a currently available number of processing nodes in the multi-node data partitioning landscape can be queried, and this currently available number of processing nodes can be compared with the specified number of partitions to be generated for the created table. The table can be generated with the specified number of partitions such that the generated partitions are located across the plurality of partitions according to a load balancing approach if the number of processing nodes equals the number of partitions to be generated or according to other information in the table request if the number of processing nodes does not equal the specified number of partitions.
US09977793B2	Information processing system, information processing method, and information processing apparatus An information processing system includes an information processing apparatus and one or more terminal devices. The information processing system includes: an image transmitting unit configured to transmit an image; an image acquiring unit configured to acquire the image transmitted by the image transmitting unit, and assign unique identification information to the acquired image; a feature information extracting unit configured to extract feature information from the image acquired by the image acquiring unit; a first image storage unit configured to store therein the feature information and the identification information in an associated manner; and a managing unit configured to, when an amount of the feature information stored in the first image storage unit exceeds a threshold, change the first image storage unit into a second image storage unit, generate a new first image storage unit, and prohibit the second image storage unit from storing therein new feature information.
US09977790B2	Automatically obtaining real-time, geographically-relevant product information from heterogeneus sources Techniques for obtaining geographically-relevant product inventory information, in real-time, from heterogeneous data sources are described. Product inventory information, including the volume of available products in specific geographical locations, is obtained from at least three different sources. First, one or more data feeds may be received. Second, a data obtaining module uses one or more APIs to obtain product inventory information from one or more third-party inventory management systems. Finally, a structured data mining module uses a web crawler, at the direction of a crawler configuration, to systematically obtain product inventory information from various third-party websites. Accordingly, a user's search query is processed to provide geographically relevant product inventory information in near real time.
US09977789B2	Hierarchical grid for spatial querying Techniques are provided for improving performance of spatial queries by defining a grid that divides the domain space into cells, and then using a cell-to-item mapping to determine which items do not have to be individually evaluated against the location criteria of the spatial queries. Based on the cell to which an item belongs, the item may automatically qualify as a match, be automatically disqualified, or require item-specific evaluation. To account for items with size, the query window of a spatial query may be expanded. To limit the degree to which the query window is expanded, a plurality of grids may be established for the domain space, where each grid has differently sized cells, and items are assigned to grids based on the size of the items.
US09977787B2	Machine maintenance optimization with dynamic maintenance intervals The present description provides data analysis for machine maintenance scheduling. For example, dynamic maintenance intervals are assigned for each machine being scheduled. Then, a system is provided for implementing a particle swarm optimization for finding an optimized maintenance schedule. In the optimization, an objective function is defined for maximizing production while minimizing relative maintenance cost.
US09977786B2	Distributed code repository with limited synchronization locking A system for a distributed repository includes an input interface and a processor. The input interface is to receive a request to change a portion of code. The processor is to determine a change reference and an existing reference, indicate to lock one or more repositories, determine whether swapping references is approved by a vote, and in the event that swapping references is approved by a vote, swap the references and indicate to unlock the one or more repositories.
US09977784B2	Presenting images of multiple media entities Methods and systems for presenting multiple images of entities associated with media items in a media list are provided. A method may include identifying a first entity associated with a first media item in a media list. The first media item may be associated with a first time period. A second entity associated with a second media item may be identified in the media list. The second media item may be associated with a second time period. Next, from a database of entity images, a first image of the first entity may be selected based on the first time period and a second image of the second entity may be selected based on the second time period. As a result, the first image and the second image may be presented in an interface during activation of the media list.
US09977776B2	Input support apparatus, information processing system, method, and storage medium An input support apparatus includes a processor and a memory configured to store association information in which a character string decided to be inputted on a screen is associated with coordinates at which the character string is inputted on the screen. The processor configured to execute a process including searching the association information for a character string that corresponds to the coordinates of an operation position on the screen for input operation, and outputting the searched-out character string.
US09977775B2	Structured dictionary A dictionary data structure is described. The data structure is made up of first, second, and third tables. The first table is comprised of entries each representing a natural language term, each entry of the first table containing a term ID identifying its term. The second table is comprised of entries each representing a definition, each entry of the second containing a definition ID identifying its definition. The third table is comprised of entries each representing correspondence between a terminate definition defining the term, each entry of the third table containing term ID identifying the defined term and a definition ID identifying the defining definition. The contents of the data structure are usable to identify any definitions corresponding to a term.
US09977774B2	Blending customized user dictionaries based on frequency of usage A set of customized dictionaries may be constructed for a particular user, each of the customized dictionaries including a different blending of one or more frequently used words collected from texts submitted by one or more users. A copy of the customized dictionaries may be sent to each of a plurality of electronic devices associated with the particular user to be stored on the electronic device and to aid the particular user in inputting text to the electronic device.
US09977766B2	Keyboard input corresponding to multiple languages A method and system for displaying words with a script corresponding to the language of the words, where an input word is received and the system determines whether the word is in a first language list. If the word is in the first language list, the word is displayed in a first script. If the word is not in the first language list, the word is converted to a different script corresponding to a different language, and displayed in the different script.
US09977755B2	Mobile device with multiple communication capabilities An interface unit of a mobile device coupled to an auxiliary device, the interface unit including: a first plurality of switches configured for power delivery to the auxiliary device; at least one isolation unit coupled to the first plurality of switches, the at least one isolation unit configured to isolate the multiple signals and to prevent disruption of data communication between the mobile device and the auxiliary device; and a second plurality of switches configured for the data communication between the mobile device and the auxiliary device, the second plurality of switches configured to bypass the at least one isolation unit.
US09977754B2	Electronic system with diagnostic interface mechanism and method of operation thereof A electronic system includes: an integrated circuit including: an internal data path, configured to drive a functional output, a universal streaming and logging interface, coupled to the internal data path, to generate a trace data bus, and a direct memory access (DMA) controller, coupled to the universal streaming and logging interface, to manage the storage of the trace data bus; a support circuit, coupled to the integrated circuit, configured to receive the trace data bus; and a support processor chip, coupled to the support circuit, configured to analyze the trace data bus for identifying a failure mode of the integrated circuit.
US09977753B2	Semiconductor device A semiconductor device is provided, which can supply efficiently plural pieces of data required for operation to an arithmetic unit processing plural pieces of data concurrently. The microcomputer includes a data transfer controller and a filter arithmetic unit. The data transfer controller transfers plural pieces of data from a source address area to a destination address area continuously, based on data transfer information, when a start request is received. The filter arithmetic unit performs operation using concurrently plural pieces of data received from the data transfer controller.
US09977750B2	Coherent memory interleaving with uniform latency A data processing system includes a network of interconnected switch points having a plurality of edge switch points located at an edge of the network; a plurality of network interface controllers, wherein each edge switch point of the plurality of edge points is coupled to a corresponding network interface controller of the plurality of network interface controllers; a plurality of target controllers; and a crossbar switch coupled between the plurality of network interface controllers and the plurality of target controllers. The crossbar switch is configured to communicate read/write signals between any one of the plurality of network interface controllers and any one of the plurality of target controllers.
US09977747B2	Identification of page sharing opportunities within large pages Memory performance in a computer system that implements large page mapping is improved even when memory is scarce by identifying page sharing opportunities within the large pages at the granularity of small pages and breaking up the large pages so that small pages within the large page can be freed up through page sharing. In addition, the number of small page sharing opportunities within the large pages can be used to estimate the total amount of memory that could be reclaimed through page sharing.
US09977742B2	Cache coherency A cache coherency controller comprises a directory indicating, for memory addresses cached by a group of two or more cache memories in a coherent cache structure, which of the cache memories are caching those memory addresses, the directory being associative so that multiple memory addresses map to an associative set of more than one directory entry; and control logic responsive to a memory address to be newly cached, and configured to detect whether one or more of the set of directory entries mapped to that memory address is available for storage of an indication of which of the two or more cache memories are caching that memory address; the control logic being configured so that when all of the set of directory entries mapped to that memory address are occupied, the control logic is configured to select one of the set of directory entries as a directory entry to be overwritten and the corresponding cached information to be invalidated, the control logic being configured to select a directory entry to be overwritten, from the set of directory entries, in dependence upon which of the group of two or more cache memories is indicated by that directory entry, according to a likelihood of selection amongst the two or more cache memories.
US09977740B2	Nonvolatile storage of host and guest cache data in response to power interruption A computer, on which a plurality of operating systems run, wherein the plurality of operating systems includes a first operating system and a second operating system configured to generate a plurality of virtual computers. The first operating system runs on a first logical resource, and the second operating system runs on a second logical resource. A third operating system runs on each of the plurality of virtual computers. The third operating system secures a cache memory area in a virtual memory. The second operating system generates location information, which indicates a location of the cache memory area in a physical address space that the second operating system manages. The first operating system obtain data stored in the cache memory area based on the location information.
US09977734B2	Information processing device, non-transitory computer readable recording medium, and information processing system According to one embodiment, an information processing device includes a nonvolatile memory, assignment unit, and transmission unit. The assignment unit assigns logical address spaces to spaces. Each of the spaces is assigned to at least one write management area included in a nonvolatile memory. The write management area is a unit of an area which manages the number of write. The transmission unit transmits a command for the nonvolatile memory and identification data of a space assigned to a logical address space corresponding to the command.
US09977731B2	Bridging device having a configurable virtual page size A composite memory device including discrete memory devices and a bridge device for controlling the discrete memory devices. The bridge device has memory organized as banks, where each bank is configured to have a virtual page size that is less than the maximum physical size of the page buffer. Therefore only a segment of data corresponding to the virtual page size stored in the page buffer is transferred to the bank. The virtual page size of the banks is provided in a virtual page size (VPS) configuration command having an ordered structure where the position of VPS data fields containing VPS configuration codes in the command correspond to different banks which are ordered from a least significant bank to a most significant bank. The VPS configuration command is variable in size, and includes only the VPS configuration codes for the highest significant bank being configured and the lower significant banks.
US09977729B1	Testing applications with a defined input format A system and method are provided for testing the performance of applications. By way of example only, the method may include training a neural network with documents containing text elements that are arranged in accordance with a defined format and using the neural network to determine the predictability of the value of individual text elements within a test document. When the neural network indicates that the value of a text element is unlikely, the value may be modified and the modified document may be used to test an application that processes documents in accordance with the defined format.
US09977714B2	Methods for programming a storage unit of a flash memory in multiple stages and apparatuses using the same An embodiment of a method for accessing a storage unit of a flash memory, performed by an arbiter, includes at least the following steps. After transmitting data to first storage units each connected to one of storage-unit access interfaces in a first batch, the arbiter issues a data write command to each first storage unit, thereby enabling each first storage unit to start a physical data programming. During the physical data programming of each first storage unit, data is transmitted to second storage units each connected to one of the storage-unit access interfaces in a second batch.
US09977713B2	LDPC decoder, semiconductor memory system and operating method thereof An operation method for a low density parity check (LDPC) decoder which includes performing an initial update operation to variable nodes by updating a codeword to the variable nodes, performing a decoding operation to the codeword based on an original parity check matrix, generating a modified parity check matrix by changing data of rows of the original parity check matrix corresponding to check nodes with dummy data, performing a node update operation based on the modified parity check matrix and performing a predetermined number of single iterations of the above processes until the decoding operation is successful.
US09977707B1	Method and fault detection device for automatic fault detection and analysis in video conferencing systems This disclosure relates to a method and device for detecting and analyzing faults in video conferencing systems. The method includes extracting a diagnostic log that includes unstructured textual information for at least one video conference session from a video conferencing system. The method further includes converting the diagnostic log into a uniform time zone diagnostic log that includes structured textual information. The method includes collecting Quality of Service (QoS) metrics associated with the at least one video conference session and event parameters associated with at least one live event within the at least one video conference session. The method includes processing the uniform time zone diagnostic log, the QoS metrics, and the event parameters based on at least one of a plurality of analytics rules stored in an analytics rule database. The method further includes performing at least one predefined action based on a result of the processing.
US09977706B2	System and method of validating data for incremental format of backup archive A system and method is provided for partially validating data archive for an incremental data backup scheme. According to one aspect, the method includes generating the backup data file of electronic data stored electronic memory by transferring the electronic data to a data storage, generating initial incremental backup data of the electronic data where the incremental backup data includes changes made to the electronic data after the backup data file is generated, and comparing a first portion of the backup data file with a corresponding first portion of the electronic data during the generating of the incremental backup data. Furthermore, the method includes determining whether the first portion of the backup data file is valid based on the comparison and, if the first portion of the backup data file is invalid, generating another backup of the first portion of the electronic data.
US09977701B2	Remote communication and remote programming by application programming interface Methods and systems are provided for Remote Application Programming Interface (RAPI) communications between server and client devices. In an embodiment, server and client devices comprise memories and hardware processors coupled to the memories. The hardware processors execute instructions to perform operations that instantiate access point instances on both server side and client side. The instructions are generated from compiling API interface classes with remote communication classes, wherein the compiling includes a procedure of creating new classes through double inheritance. By receiving an API connection message from a client device, the server device clones a default relayer access point instance and assigns the cloned relayer access point instance to process API requests received thereafter from the client device.
US09977697B2	Task management system for a modular electronic device Systems and methods are provided for managing task performance for a modular electronic device. In one implementation, a modular electronic device can include one or more electronic modular components. The modular electronic device can identify a computational task associated with the modular electronic device and identify one or more computing devices that are available to perform at least a portion of the computational task. The modular electronic device can obtain one or more sets of data associated with one or more computational resources of the computing devices. The modular electronic device can determine a potential benefit to the modular electronic device associated with the performance of the computational task by the computing devices. The modular electronic device can perform at least a portion of the computational task with the computing devices based, at least in part, on the sets of data associated with the computational resources and the potential benefit.
US09977694B2	System and method for supporting transaction affinity based on resource manager (RM) instance awareness in a transactional environment A system and method can support transaction processing in a transactional environment. A transactional system operates to route a request to a transactional server, wherein the transactional server is connected to a resource manager (RM) instance. Furthermore, the transactional system can assign an affinity context to the transactional server, wherein the affinity context indicates the RM instance that the transactional server is associated with, and the transactional system can route one or more subsequent requests that are related to the request to the transactional server based on the affinity context.
US09977691B2	Adjusting variable limit on concurrent code executions based on communication between frontends Systems and methods are described for adjusting a number of concurrent code executions allowed to be performed for a given user on an on-demand code execution environment or other distributed code execution environments. Such environments utilize pre-initialized virtual machine instances to enable execution of user-specified code in a rapid manner, without delays typically caused by initialization of the virtual machine instances. However, to improve utilization of computing resources, such environments may temporarily restrict the number of concurrent code executions performed on behalf of the given user to a number less than the maximum number of concurrent code executions allowed for the given user. Such environments may adjust the temporary restriction on the number of concurrent code executions based on the number of incoming code execution requests associated with the given user and based on communication among the frontends processing the incoming code execution requests.
US09977689B2	Dynamic scaling of management infrastructure in virtual environments Methods, systems, and computer programs for performing management tasks in a virtual infrastructure are presented. The method includes detecting a change, beyond a predetermined threshold, in a number of tasks waiting to be processed by a plurality of management modules executing as execution environments in the virtual infrastructure, each of the plurality of management modules being a management execution environments for the managed objects. If the detected change is a decrease, the method includes selecting one or more of the management modules to be removed and distributing managed objects handled by the selected management modules to one or more non-selected management modules. If the detected change is an increase, the method includes spawning one or more additional management modules executing as execution environments and distributing selected managed objects from the existing management modules to the additional management modules.
US09977684B2	Self-learning localization service The disclosure generally describes computer-implemented methods, software, and systems for self-learning localization services. A computer-implemented method includes: identifying, at a location remote from a first application, a request for localization of a string value associated with the first application from a source language to a target language, sending the string value to a translation request buffer in response to a determination that the localization of the string value in the target language is unavailable, and triggering, in response to satisfaction of at least one heuristic analysis, a translation process of the string value from the source language into the target language where the string value is retrieved from the translation request buffer. In some instances, the location remove from the first application is a centralized localization service accessible by remote requests from a plurality of applications.
US09977678B2	Reconfigurable parallel execution and load-store slice processor A processor core having multiple parallel instruction execution slices and coupled to multiple dispatch queues by a dispatch routing network provides flexible and efficient use of internal resources. The configuration of the execution slices is selectable so that capabilities of the processor core can be adjusted according to execution requirements for the instruction streams. Two or more execution slices can be combined as super-slices to handle wider data, wider operands and/or vector operations, according to one or more mode control signal that also serves as a configuration control signal. The mode control signal is also used to partition clusters of the execution slices within the processor core according to whether single-threaded or multi-threaded operation is selected, and additionally according to a number of hardware threads that are active.
US09977676B2	Vector processing engines (VPEs) employing reordering circuitry in data flow paths between execution units and vector data memory to provide in-flight reordering of output vector data stored to vector data memory, and related vector processor systems and methods Vector processing engines (VPEs) employing reordering circuitry in data flow paths between execution units and vector data memory to provide in-flight reordering of output vector data stored to vector data memory are disclosed. Related vector processor systems and methods are also disclosed. Reordering circuitry is provided in data flow paths between execution units and vector data memory in the VPE. The reordering circuitry is configured to reorder output vector data sample sets from execution units as a result of performing vector processing operations in-flight while the output vector data sample sets are being provided over the data flow paths from the execution units to the vector data memory to be stored. In this manner, the output vector data sample sets are stored in the reordered format in the vector data memory without requiring additional post-processing steps, which may delay subsequent vector processing operations to be performed in the execution units.
US09977671B2	Methods for multi-source configuration of mobile applications Disclosed are apparatus and methods for processing configuration data sets. A computing device can retrieve configuration data set(s) from data storage. A configuration data set can include key-value pairs related to configuring a software application, where a key-value pair can include a key name and an associated value. The computing device can merge the configuration data set(s) into a merged configuration data set by at least: determining whether multiple key-value pairs of the configuration data set(s) are in conflict; after determining that multiple key-value pairs of the configuration data set(s) are in conflict, determining a representative key-value pair to represent the multiple key-value pairs; and adding the representative key-value pair to the merged configuration data set. The computing device can provide the merged configuration data set to the software application.
US09977670B2	Application programming interface for providing access to computing platform definitions Aspects of the disclosure are directed to providing access to the contents of a computing platform definition. A computing platform definition includes entries indicating devices and executables to deploy to a computing platform. An orchestration engine is communicatively connected to a computing platform that implements the computing platform definition. An interface includes callable units that provide access to the computing platform definition which may be invoked by the orchestration engine during execution of a stage of an orchestration pipeline performed with respect to the computing platform. The interface receives from the orchestration engine a request indicating one of the callable units. In response to the request, the interface retrieves the portion of the computing platform definition that is associated with the callable unit indicated and provides that portion of the computing platform definition to the orchestration engine for use during execution of the stage of the orchestration pipeline.
US09977669B2	Online computing system An online computing system hosting a plurality of computing projects in the form of database records allows users to search computing projects by search keys, project ID or category names, conduct computation for found projects, and create new computing projects at client computers. Each computing job is performed by searching the database, selecting a computing project by clicking on one of the found links on the search result page, and providing data in a computing data input form for submission. A large number of computing projects can be created by a plurality of users on client computers.
US09977666B2	Add a new instance to a series Adding an instance to a series in a fashion that preserves the series for both modern and legacy systems, even when the addition would not ordinarily be compatible with the legacy system. A method includes identifying a master message. The master message includes default values for events in the series. The method further includes identifying user input for a new event in the series. The user input identifies exceptions to the default values. The method further includes creating an instance message that includes default values from the master message for which there are no exceptions identified in the user input and includes the exceptions from the user input.
US09977665B2	Satisfying application dependencies The dependencies of an application are identified by intercepting application programming interface calls made by an application. A determination is then made at the runtime of the application as to whether the dependencies of the application are present. If the dependencies are not present, a client device upon which the application is executing is configured such that the dependencies are present and are made available only to the authorized application. If the dependencies are present and the application is authorized to interact with the dependencies, the application is permitted to execute.
US09977662B2	Dynamic adapter design pattern A method for a dynamic adapter design pattern is described. The method comprises receiving an object comprising object data, wherein the object is associated with an application context. A first type of the object is determined, and the object data is depicted in a first manner determined by the first type. A target type is determined based on the application context. A conversion mechanism is selected from a plurality of conversion mechanisms based on the first type and the target type. The conversion mechanism is applied to the object of the first type to create a new object of the target type. To apply the conversion mechanism, the object is converted from the first type to the target type, wherein the object data is depicted in a second manner determined by the target type, and a field of object data is modified based on the target type.
US09977652B2	System, method, and computer-readable medium for high throughput pseudo-random number generation Disclosed embodiments include systems, methods, and computer-readable media for generating pseudo-random numbers. Disclosed embodiments may receive, by the at least one processor, range data indicating a range of numbers. Disclosed embodiments may generate, based on the range data and by the at least one processor, a digitized finite state machine configured to produce pseudo-random output within the range of numbers. Further, disclosed embodiments may provide, by the at least one processor to a specialized pattern-matching device, programmable instructions to implement the digitized finite state machine on the specialized pattern-matching device. Disclosed embodiments may transmit, by the at least one processor to the specialized pattern-matching device, a pseudo-random bit stream for processing by the digitized finite state machine. Disclosed embodiments may receive, by the at least one processor from the specialized pattern-matching device, pseudo-random output from the digitized finite state machine.
US09977650B2	Mesh network of nearby mobile devices as a combined speaker system for audio Implementations disclose a mesh network of nearby mobile devices as a combined speaker system for audio. A method includes receiving a prompt to join a speaker mesh network as a master computing device of the speaker mesh network, the speaker mesh network comprising one or more other computing devices detected within a geographic vicinity of a computing device, generating, by the computing device acting as the master computing device, playback synchronization instructions for the one or more other computing devices, the playback synchronization instructions to cause playback of a media item to be synchronized at a playback timestamp relative to a clock time, and transmitting the generated playback synchronization instructions to the one or more other computing devices.
US09977647B2	Audio content auditioning by playback device A first playback device plays first audio content in synchrony with at least one second playback device. One or more commands is received that define a duration of time. The first playback device stops playback of the first audio content based on the received one or more commands. After stopping playback of the first audio content, second audio content is played for the duration of time defined by the one or more commands. After playing the second audio content for the duration of time, the first playback device resumes playback of the first audio content in synchrony with the at least one second playback device.
US09977641B2	Display system and method for portable device A display system is disclosed. The display system includes a processor. The display system also includes a first display device having a first display surface and receiving display data from the processor. The display system also includes a second displayed device having a display area smaller then the first display device and moveable over the surface of the first display device. The display system also includes a sensor in communication with the processor and communicating location data to the processor. The location data is representative of the relative location of the first display to the second display. Further still, the display system includes a program running on the processor and providing display data to the first and second display devices. The display data is provided to the second display device based on the location data.
US09977640B2	Image display device, image transmission device, and image display system using these devices An image display system 1 in accordance with the present invention is configured with a navigation device 2 and an image display device 4 which are connected to each other via a network 3. The navigation device 2 transmits a drawing setting for specifying a method of drawing a vertex string showing a feature of a component of an image when a network connection with the image display device 4 is established, and transmits image data including the vertex string when the image display device draws an image, and the image display device receives the drawing setting from the image transmission device, corrects the drawing setting on the basis of the display ability of the image transmission device and its own display ability, and, when receiving the image data from the image transmission device, draws and display the image by using the above-mentioned drawing setting corrected thereby.
US09977635B2	Electronic device including Java platform and Java application and being capable of receiving both panel login and background login and electronic device system provided with same An electronic device includes an operating device, a communication device, and a control section. The control section includes a login control section and an operation executing section. The login control section is capable of receiving both of a login through the operating device and a login through the communication device. The operation executing section: executes only an operation corresponding to a request received through the operating device when the login through the operating device is successful; and executes only an operation corresponding to a request received through the communication device when the login through the communication device is successful. The electric device may comprise a multi-function printer or image forming apparatus, and the operating device may comprise a control panel, in some embodiments.
US09977631B2	Parsing a multidimensional object for printing in various runs A first complexity estimate may be generated for a first portion of a multidimensional object. The first complexity estimate may be for use in estimating a complexity of the first portion of the multidimensional object. A printing capability may be determined for the multidimensional printer. The multidimensional printer may be for use in printing the multidimensional object. The printing capability may be compared with the first complexity estimate. A first failure probability estimate may be generated based on the comparing. The failure probability estimate may be for use in determining a likelihood that the multidimensional printer will print the first portion with an accuracy that exceeds an accuracy threshold.
US09977628B2	Storage module and method for configuring the storage module with memory operation parameters A storage module and method for configuring the storage module with memory operation parameters are provided. In one embodiment, a storage module is provided comprising a memory and a controller. The controller is configured to receive a selection of one of a plurality of sets of memory operation parameters stored in the storage module and perform at least one of a read operation and a write operation on the memory in accordance with the selected set of memory operation parameters.
US09977626B2	Implementing scattered atomic I/O writes Methods, systems, and computer-readable storage media for performing scattered atomic I/O writes in a storage device. A list of block I/O write requests to be completed as an atomic unit is received from a requester with at least two of the block I/O write requests specifying non-contiguous data locations on a storage media. The plurality of block I/O write requests are buffered in a write buffer with each buffer entry marked as having an invalid state, wherein marking a buffer entry as having an invalid state prevents it from being flushed to the storage media. Upon buffering all of the plurality of block I/O writes, all of the buffer entries are marked as having a valid state at the same time. Upon marking all of the buffer entries as having a valid state, successful completion of the list of block I/O write requests is acknowledged to the requester.
US09977621B2	Multimedia data backup method, user terminal and synchronizer The present disclosure discloses a multimedia data backup method, a user terminal and a synchronizer. The method includes: triggering a first user operation, which is used for acquiring configuration data; displaying the configuration data in the display area in response to the first user operation, and selecting a backup mode from the configuration data; triggering a second user operation, which is used for executing data backup processing corresponding to the backup mode; and searching multimedia data corresponding to the backup mode in response to the second user operation, and backing up the multimedia data to the storage medium when it is detected that an amount of free storage space of the storage medium is matched with an amount of the searched multimedia data.
US09977620B2	Storage device and storage system A storage device includes a memory device and a processor. The memory device is configured to store therein a plurality of data pieces. The processor is configured to determine overlapping degrees of the plurality of data pieces stored in the memory device. The processor is configured to determine, on basis of the determined overlapping degrees, an order in which a plurality of information pieces for identifying the respective data pieces are to be sent to another storage device.
US09977598B2	Electronic device and a method for managing memory space thereof The present invention provides a method for managing memory space in an electronic device including: selecting a candidate page from a first memory space for swapping the candidate page out of the first memory space into the second memory space; compressing the candidate page to obtain a first compressed page and a first hash value of the first compressed page; performing a comparison using the first hash value of the first compressed page and the hash values of the pages stored in a second memory space to find whether the pages have the same content as the first compressed page or the candidate page; and if a page is found to have the same content as the first compressed page or the candidate page, mapping a virtual address of the first compressed page or the candidate page to the found page.
US09977597B2	Enhanced read recovery based on write time information Systems and methods for enhanced read recovery based on write time information are described. In one embodiment, the systems and methods include opening a block of flash memory cells for programming, tracking a block open time, and performing a read operation of a programmed page from the block based at least in part on the block open time. In some embodiments, the block includes a plurality of pages, each page including a plurality of flash memory cells. In some cases, the block open time includes an amount of time between the block opening for programming to a time the block closes for programming.
US09977594B2	Keyboard having touch screen mounted thereon, control method therefor, and method for controlling computing device using keyboard The present disclosure provides a keyboard having a touch screen mounted thereon. A keyboard according to the present disclosure comprises: a key button unit comprising a plurality of key buttons; a touch screen unit comprising at least one touch screen installed at the lower end of the key button unit; a sensing means for sensing whether the key button unit is being used; and a keyboard control unit for sending signals inputted through the key button unit and the touch screen unit to a computer device, and interworking with the sensing means to control input or output of the touch screen unit, wherein the keyboard control unit controls a screen displayed on the touch screen unit to be displayed on a display of the computer device when the sensing means senses that the key button unit is being used.According to the present disclosure, a touch screen mounted on the keyboard is used as an auxiliary input device and an auxiliary display of a computer. Therefore, the present disclosure can provide a more convenient I/O interface to a user, thereby enabling the user to use a multi-tasking function of the computer more easily and variously.
US09977590B2	Mobile terminal and method for controlling the same A mobile terminal and a method for controlling the same are disclosed. The mobile terminal includes: a display configured to output a specific image in the image view mode; an extractor that extracts a specific area from the specific image, based on a touch gesture on the specific image; and a controller that creates a thumbnail of the specific image from an image of the extracted specific area, and when the image preview function is executed, outputs a thumbnail list that displays the created thumbnail of the specific image to be visually distinct from the thumbnails of other images.
US09977589B2	Mobile terminal and method of controlling the same Disclosed is a mobile terminal which provides a plurality of home screen pages where application-related graphic objects have been arranged. The mobile terminal includes: a display unit configured to output one of the plurality of home screen pages; a sensing unit configured to sense a touch to the display unit, in a state where one of the plurality of home screen pages has been output; and a controller configured to output graphic objects arranged on the plurality of home screen pages to a single page, in response to a preset type of touch to the display unit, wherein at least one graphic object arranged on said one home screen page, and at least one graphic object arranged on one or more other home screen pages rather than said one home screen page among the plurality of home screen pages are together output to the single page.
US09977586B2	Display control device, display control method, and program There is provided a display control device including an operation detection unit configured to detect an enlargement operation on any image displayed within a display screen among a plurality of images having a predetermined relation, and a display control unit configured to determine a display area of the image based on the detected enlargement operation and to cause a portion corresponding to the display area to be enlarged and displayed for each of the images displayed within the display screen.
US09977582B2	Window display method and apparatus of displaying a window using an external input device A window display method and apparatus of an electronic device is provided for displaying windows according to a signal input from an external input device. When a predetermined input of a function key is received for generating a new window within a display screen from the external input device, during a window generation mode, generating and displaying the new window including at least one of menu items, icons, and files that are preselected when such a request for generating a window is received from the external input device.
US09977577B2	Communication terminal, communication function starting method, and computer-readable recording medium A communication terminal includes a display control unit configured to display, on a display unit, a function selecting screen that contains a first icon for receiving a selection of a first communication function and a second icon for receiving a selection of a second communication function. The first communication function is to provide communication using a signaling protocol for connecting to or disconnecting from a destination of communication and an encoding protocol for encapsulating communication data in IP packets. The second communication function is to provide communication using the same signaling protocol and a different encoding protocol. The communication terminal also includes a receiving unit configured to receive a selection of the first icon or the second icon; and a starting unit configured to start the first communication function and the second communication function in response to the selection of the first icon and the second icon, respectively.
US09977576B2	Method and apparatus for managing an application being executed in a portable terminal A method and an apparatus are provided for preventing battery power consumption and degradation of system performance due to the system resources being utilized by applications being executed, while providing a multi-tasking function through a plurality of applications. In the method, when a plurality of applications are executed, such execution of the plurality of applications is reported to the user, so as to enable the user to terminate one or more applications, thereby preventing unnecessary consumption of battery power.
US09977575B2	Chromeless user interface Techniques are described to implement a user interface for a display of a mobile device. In an implementation, the user interface may include a chromeless menu configured to be displayed when menu-based user input to the mobile device is available; a system tray configured to be displayed on the display when a notice containing status information affecting operability of the mobile device is available; and a task switcher module operable to cause a chromeless overlay be displayed over an active application being executed by the mobile device to allow selection of one or more applications of the mobile device.
US09977573B2	Facilitating interaction between users and their environments using a headset having input mechanisms A headset is described herein for presenting audio information to the user as the user interacts with a space, e.g., as when a user navigates over a route within a space. The headset may include a set of input mechanisms for receiving commands from the user. The commands, in turn, invoke respective space-interaction-related functions to be performed by a space interaction (SI) module. The headset may operate with or without a separate user computing device.
US09977571B2	Method and apparatus for sharing contents of electronic device A method of and apparatus for sharing contents of an electronic device are provided. The method includes displaying contents; if a touch input for sharing the contents is generated, displaying an application list including applications and an execution item for each application which displays a number of contents previously shared with an application; if an execution item of an application in the application list is selected, sharing the contents with an application, and updating and displaying the execution item.
US09977570B2	Digital image tagging apparatuses, systems, and methods In an exemplary embodiment, user input is received, a selected portion of a digital image is identified based on the user input, a data instance is selected, and a tag is applied to the selected portion of the digital image. The applied tag provides an association between the selected portion of the digital image and the data instance. In certain examples, a visual indicator representative of the tag is provided for display together with the tagged digital image.
US09977569B2	Contextually changing omni-directional navigation mechanism Systems and methods for omnidirectional application navigation are provided. In example embodiments, a navigation icon associated with a first user interface context is caused to be displayed on a device. A change is sensed, by a device, of a change from the first user interface context to a second user interface context. A graphics database is accessed. From the graphics database, a graphic which is associated with the second user interface context is identified. Responsive to the change from the first user interface context to the second user interface context, the navigation icon is changed using the identified graphic from the graphics database.
US09977567B2	Graphical user interface The disclosed technology includes controlling the differentiation of gestures in a graphical user interface (GUI). In one implementation, a GUI has a first region including a first interactive user interface object, a second region including a second interactive user interface object, and a third region without any interactive user interface objects. The method can include receiving an indication of a first input at the first user interface object within the first region, and increasing, in response and for a dwell time, a size of the third region, wherein the resized third region overlays a portion of the second region. After resizing, the GUI may decline to perform an action associated with the second user interface object in the second region when a second input is received near the second user interface object and within the resized third region.
US09977566B2	Computerized systems and methods for rendering an animation of an object in response to user input Computer-implemented systems and methods are provided for rendering an animation of an object in response to a user selection in a user interface. In accordance with some embodiments, an indication of a selection of a user interface element may be received, and characteristics of the user interface element may be identified. Coordinates corresponding to a spatial location of the user selection may be determined. An animation of an object that changes over time may then be rendered based on the user coordinates and the identified characteristics of the user interface element.
US09977563B2	Physics based graphical diagram editor System and method for editing a graphical diagram. A graphical diagram, such as a graphical program, is displayed on a display device. User input may be received editing the graphical diagram, thereby generating an edited graphical diagram. Placement of one or more elements in the graphical diagram may be adjusted in response to the editing based on determined forces applied to the one or more elements in the edited graphical diagram based on the said editing, resulting in an adjusted edited graphical diagram. The adjusted edited graphical diagram may be displayed on the display device, which may include displaying an animation illustrating the movement of the elements to an equilibrium state in which the forces balance and movement ceases. The editing, adjusting, and displaying may be performed sequentially and/or concurrently, as desired.
US09977562B2	System and method for facilitating an interactive engagement of a user with an online application System and method for facilitating an interactive engagement of a user with an online application is disclosed. The method comprises presenting one or more first questions, to the user, associated with the online application. For the one or more first questions, a first response is received from the user. The first response indicates behavioral characteristics of the user. The method comprises assigning a first engagement metric based on the first response. Further, one or more second questions are presented, to the user, associated with the online application. The one or more second questions are dynamically restructured based on the first engagement metric. The method comprises receiving a second response corresponding to the one or more second questions. The method further comprises modifying the first engagement metric into a second engagement metric based on the second response. The method further comprises calculating a score based on the second engagement metric.
US09977561B2	Systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to provide guest access An example method includes displaying a playback queue for a media playback system to a first and second controller via a first user interface associated with the first controller and a second user interface associated with the second controller, the first controller granted a first access to the system and the second controller granted a second access to the system, the first controller displaying a subset of information available to the second controller. The example method includes displaying a plurality of controls for the system via the second user interface of the second controller, the controls associated with the second access. The example method includes displaying a subset of the controls via the first user interface, the subset including at least one control available via the second controller and associated with the first access. The example method includes facilitating control via the first user interface according to the first access.
US09977560B2	Touch control structure and liquid crystal display having the touch control structure The present invention provides a touch control structure, comprising a touch control zone, and the touch control zone comprises touch control units and first lead wires corresponding to the touch control units, and the touch control units are arranged in array having a plurality of column of the touch control units, and the touch control units of each column are aligned in spaces from top to bottom in the touch control structure, and the first lead wires sequentially penetrate the touch control units in each column from top to bottom in the touch control structure, and the first lead wire is electrically coupled to one touch control unit, and is disconnected with the next touch control unit, which is adjacent to the touch control unit in the same column and close to the top of the touch control structure.
US09977559B2	Display device Provided herein is a display device including a display unit for displaying an image, the display unit including light emitting regions; a touch sensor arranged on a rear surface of the display unit; and a coil unit arranged on a front surface of the display unit, and including a plurality of auxiliary coils.
US09977557B2	Flexible touch sensor and display device including the flexible touch sensor This disclosure is related to the field of semiconductor technology, more specifically, to a flexible touch sensor and display device including the flexible touch sensor. The flexible touch sensor is formed through the construction of chain structure formed by flexible conductors and rigid conductors, that is, based on the principle of chains, connecting the rigid conductors and flexible conductors in an interval way, to form a chain structure, and making the manufactured sensor and the display device reach the purpose of being flexible, and the problem caused by the immature of the development of flexible materials that the flexible sensor can't be mass-produced can be effectively solved.
US09977555B2	Capacitive touch sensor apparatus A capacitive touch sensor apparatus includes a viewing area and a border area. Electrical sensing nodes or electrodes are disposed in both the viewing area and the border area.
US09977553B2	Touch panel and manufacturing method thereof A touch panel includes a substrate, a first signal line, and a second signal line. The first signal line extends on the substrate in a first direction and includes a first height from the substrate. The second signal line extends on the substrate in a second direction crossing the first direction and includes a second height from the substrate. The second signal line is disposed in the same layer as the first signal line. The second height is greater than the first height.
US09977552B2	Touch control device A touch control device includes a touch control circuitry and a plurality of touch control electrodes electrically coupling with the touch control circuitry. Each touch control electrode includes a plurality of micro electrodes. Each micro electrode has a first length along a first direction and a second length along a second direction which is perpendicular to the first direction. Both the first and second lengths are equal to or smaller than 80 micrometer and equal to or larger than 50 micrometers.
US09977550B2	Active one-layer multi-touch sensor panel device An active one-layer multi-touch sensor panel device includes a one-layer multi-touch sensor panel, a die of touch controller IC, and a flexible printed circuit board. The one-layer multi-touch sensor panel has a plurality of conductive lines for forming a plurality of touch sensing areas thereon. The die of touch controller IC is bonded onto the one-layer multi-touch sensor panel by a chip-on-glass method. The die of touch controller IC is connected to the plurality of conductive lines to drive the plurality of conductive lines and receive sensing signals associated with the plurality of conductive lines for detecting touch positions on the one-layer multi-touch sensor panel. The flexible printed circuit board is electrically connected to the die of touch controller IC by the one-layer multi-touch sensor panel to transmit the sensing signals received.
US09977549B2	Single substrate touch sensor The embodiments described herein are related to capacitive input device, including a substrate, first sensor electrodes deposited on the substrate and arranged in a first direction, an insulating layer, connecting elements deposited on the insulating layer, and second sensor electrodes. The second sensor electrodes includes sensor electrode elements deposited on the substrate ohmically isolated from the first sensor electrodes. Each of the sensor electrode elements are connected to at least one other sensor electrode element. The capacitive input device may further include a routing elements deposited on the insulating layer, where each of the routing elements are coupled to one of the second sensor electrodes and is substantially disposed in the first direction.
US09977548B2	Touch panel and touch electrode structure thereof A touch panel and a touch electrode structure thereof are provided. The touch electrode structure defines position units and includes electrodes electrically insulated from each other. Each of the electrodes covers more than one of the position units and comprises a plurality of sub-electrodes electrically insulated from each other. Each of the sub-electrodes includes sub-electrode units. Each of the position units is corresponding to at least one of the sub-electrode units of at least one of the sub-electrode, and combinations of the sub-electrode units of the different sub-electrodes in the respective position units are different. In the touch electrode structure, each electrode can be electrically independent without needing to dispose a jumper and an insulating layer, thus simplifying process steps and improving a yield rate at the same time.
US09977547B1	Home automation input interfaces based on a capacitive touchscreen for detecting patterns of conductive ink A smart home controller receives information from an electronic device with a two-dimensional capacitance sensing area. The received information is based on a predefined capacitance distribution detected for an object placed on or near the two-dimensional capacitance sensing area. In response to receiving the information from the electronic device with the two-dimensional capacitance sensing area, the smart home controller is at least conditionally configured, such that the smart home controller changes from operating in a first configuration to operating in a second configuration, distinct from the first configuration, based on the received information.
US09977545B2	Display device with touch detection function and electronic apparatus According to an aspect, a display device with a touch detection function includes: a substrate; a display area in which pixels each constituted by different color regions are arranged in a matrix and that includes color columns in which the color regions of the same colors extend side by side; a touch detection electrode that includes a plurality of conductive thin wires; and a drive electrode. Each of the conductive thin wires includes a plurality of portions at each of which the conductive thin wire extends in a direction at an angle with respect to a direction of extension of the color regions, and a plurality of bent portions at each of which the conductive thin wire is bent with the angle changed. The conductive thin wires include portions each overlapping all of the color columns in a direction orthogonal to the surface of the substrate.
US09977544B2	Touch device and method for fabricating thereof The present disclosure relates to touch technology, and more particularly to a touch device and a method of fabricating the same. The disclosure provides a touch device comprising a protective cover having a sensing area and a peripheral area surrounding the sensing area; a first decoration layer disposed on the peripheral area; a sensing electrode layer comprising a sensing portion disposed on the sensing area and an extension portion extending from the sensing area to the first decoration layer; a second decoration layer disposed on the first decoration layer; a signal line formed on the second decoration layer and connected to the extension portion of the sensing electrode layer. By the design of the foregoing first and second decoration layers, the broken state or interruption of the sensing electrode layer can be prevented. In addition, the disclosure also provides the fabricating method for the foregoing touch device.
US09977541B2	Mobile terminal and method for controlling the same A mobile terminal including a body forming an external appearance of the terminal; a window; a touch screen containing a first display region and a second display region and including a touch sensor and disposed in the body; the touch screen deposed below the window; a first sensing layer configured to sense a change of capacitance on the first sensing layer for detecting a pressure of a touch input; and a controller configured to display a virtual keyboard in the second display region for a text input, display text in the first display region based on a first touch input applied to the virtual keyboard in the second display region, display an indicator in the first display region based on a second touch input applied to the virtual keyboard in the second display region, if the second touch input is determined as a pressure touch based on the sensed change of the capacitance of the second touch input via the first sensing layer, and move the indicator in the first display region based on a movement of the second touch input in the second display region.
US09977539B2	Mobile terminal and method for controlling the same A force sensitive touch screen device can include a device body including a first region and a second region, a window on the device body and corresponding to the first and second regions, a display unit below the window corresponding to the first region, a key input unit on the second region, and a touch sensor including a first touch sensing layer, a second touch sensing layer, and a force sensing layer, in which the first and second touch sensing layers are between a polarizer layer and a thin film transistor (TFT) layer that can detect a position of a touch input by sensing a change of capacitance on the first sensing layer and the second sensing layer, the force sensing layer can detect a force of the touch input by sensing capacitance on the third sensing layer, and a finger scan sensor is installed in the key input unit.
US09977538B2	Touch display substrate, touch display panel and touch display apparatus A touch display panel is provided. The touch display panel includes a plurality of touch driving electrodes and a plurality of touch sensing electrodes intersecting with and electrically insulated from the plurality of the touch driving electrodes. An individual touch driving electrode of the plurality of touch driving electrodes has an outer contour and an inner contour, the inner contour at least partially defining an area allowing a common electrode to be disposed therein, and an area of the individual touch driving electrode is substantially less than that defined by the outer contour.
US09977536B2	Mobile terminal performing a different operation based on a type of a tap applied to a display and control method thereof An electronic device including a display; a touch sensor configured to detect a touch input on the display; and a controller configured to activate the display and periodically drive the touch sensor with a first period; deactivate the display in response to a predetermined condition and periodically drive the touch sensor with a second period greater than the first period; wherein when the display is deactivated, the touch sensor is divided into a first region and a second region; in response to a first tap input applied on the touch sensor in a state of the deactivated display, determine a region of the touch sensor that corresponds to the first tap input; if the region of the touch sensor that corresponds to the first tap input is the first region of the touch sensor, activate the display and periodically drive the touch sensor with the first period; and if the region of the touch sensor that corresponds to the first tap input is the second region of the touch sensor, maintain the deactivation of the display and periodically drive the touch sensor with the second period.
US09977535B2	Method of driving touch panel, capacitance-type touch panel, and display apparatus with detection function A capacitance-type touch panel, allowing disturbance noise and touch detection time to be reduced and having a simple configuration, is provided. The capacitance-type touch panel including: a plurality of drive electrodes each having a strip shape; a drive control circuit performing control such that a drive signal for touch detection is selectively applied to the drive electrodes; a plurality of touch detection electrodes arranged to intersect with the drive electrodes in such a manner that capacitance is formed in each intersecting part, and each outputting a detection signal in synchronization with the drive signal; and a detection circuit detecting an external proximity object based on the detection signal. The drive control circuit controls application of the drive signal in such a manner that the detection signal is a polarity-alternating signal including a positive-negative asymmetrical signal component which is due to presence of the external proximity object.
US09977529B2	Method for switching digitizer mode A method and a user device for controlling a mode of a digitizer are provided. The method and the user device includes detecting an input unit by scanning the digitizer, measuring at least one parameter corresponding to the input unit, and controlling switching of the digitizer to a mode according to a result of the measurement of the at least one parameter.
US09977525B2	Display device and manufacturing method thereof A manufacture method for display device includes the steps of: (a) forming a metal film on a substrate; (b) forming a metal layer by patterning the metal film; and (c) following the step (b) and forming, on the metal layer, a low reflection layer of a resin. The step (b) includes the steps of: (b1) forming an etching protection film; (b2) patterning the etching protection film; and (b3) following the step (b2) and etching the metal film.
US09977523B2	Apparatus and method for displaying information in a portable terminal device A method and apparatus are provided for displaying information in a portable device. The method includes displaying content on a first display area of a display unit; displaying information related to the content on a second display area; detecting a touch interaction on the displayed information; selecting information corresponding to the detected touch interaction; detecting a movement of the touch interaction in a movement direction; and displaying sub information of the selected information based on the detected movement of the touch interaction in the movement direction.
US09977522B2	Touch panel and method of manufacturing the same A touch panel and a method of manufacturing the touch panel are provided. The touch panel includes a substrate comprising a wiring area and a sensor area, a sensing pattern located on a surface of the substrate in the sensor area, and a wiring line located on the surface of the substrate in the wiring area and electrically connected to the sensing pattern. The sensing pattern includes a plurality of first fine metal lines arranged irregularly in a mesh, and a first photosensitive layer pattern residue located between at least two of the first fine metal lines.
US09977519B2	Active pen with bidirectional communication A processing system for an input device, the processing system including: a sensor module coupled to sensor circuitry and configured to: initiate a current beacon period including a plurality of timeslots by broadcasting a current beacon signal to a plurality of active pens; receive, during a first timeslot, a first downstream packet from a first active pen transceiver; and receive, during a second timeslot, a second downstream packet from a second active pen transceiver; and a determination module configured to: determine an attribute of a first active pen including the first active pen transceiver from at least the first downstream packet.
US09977512B2	Open loop correction for optical proximity detectors An optical proximity detector includes a driver, light detector, analog front-end, sensor(s) that sense correction factor(s) (e.g., temperature, supply voltage and/or forward voltage drop), and a digital back end. The driver drives the light source to emit light. The light detector produces a light detection signal indicative of a magnitude and a phase of a portion of the emitted light that reflects off an object and is incident on the light detector. The analog front-end receives the light detection signal and outputs a digital light detection signal, or digital in-phase and quadrature-phase signals, which are provided to the digital back-end. The digital back-end performs closed loop correction(s) for dynamic variation(s) in gain and/or phase caused by a portion of the analog front-end, uses polynomial equation(s) and sensed correction factor(s) to perform open loop correction(s) for dynamic variations in temperature, supply voltage and/or forward voltage drop, and outputs a distance value.
US09977507B2	Systems and methods for proximity sensor and image sensor based gesture detection Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media are disclosed. For example, a dual sensor control device is disclosed that includes at least one processor for receiving information from a proximity sensor and an image sensor. The processor may be configured to receive first data from the proximity sensor while the image sensor is in a first state, determine, using the first data, a presence of an object in proximity to the proximity sensor. The processor may also be configured to output, based on the determined presence of the object in proximity to the proximity sensor, a signal to the image sensor to cause the image sensor to enter a second state, different from the first state. The processor may also be configured to receive second data from the image sensor in the second state, and output at least one of a message and a command associated with the second data.
US09977505B2	Controlling inadvertent inputs to a mobile device Embodiments described herein provide approaches for controlling inadvertent inputs to a mobile device. Specifically, at least one approach includes: detecting an operating mode of a mobile device by determining if a user is currently interacting with the mobile device; detecting an operating environment of the mobile device; receiving an input resulting from a physical gesture to an input area of a mobile device; comparing the input to a past history of inputs received by the mobile device; and determining whether the physical gesture is intended by the user based on the operating mode of the mobile device, the operating environment of the mobile device, and the past history of inputs (e.g., per device application). In one approach, an input controller selects logic to be applied in processing gestures based on a combination of user customization, interaction history, and environment characteristics. The selected logic is applied to subsequent gestures.
US09977504B2	Method and apparatus for operating additional function in mobile device A method and apparatus for easily operating an additional function associated with an application are provided in a mobile device. In the method, the apparatus detects a gesture inputted while a specific application is running, and invokes an additional function corresponding to the detected gesture. Also, the apparatus displays an execution screen that contains at least one link item for offering a connection with the specific application. Furthermore, when a signal for selecting the link item is inputted, the apparatus applies an execution result of the additional function to the specific application. The inventive method and apparatus thus enhance a user's convenience.
US09977501B2	Video buttons for a stage lighting console Video buttons controlling stage lights. Each of the buttons includes a video part, which displays either video or an image that previews the function that is carried out by the button when it is pressed. The buttons can be full-color buttons that show full color videos. An array of buttons can be grouped together, so that the array can operate in different modes, one of which in which the array shows an overall display, and another of which in which the array shows a single function per button. Different technologies including analog switches, touch screens, and the like can be used.
US09977500B2	Thresholds for determining feedback in computing devices The present application is related to a computer for providing output to a user. The computer includes a processor and an input device in communication with the processor. The input device includes a feedback surface and at least one sensor in communication with the feedback surface, the at least one sensor configured to detect a user input to the feedback surface. The processor varies a down-stroke threshold based on a first factor and varies an up-stroke threshold based on a second factor. The down-stroke threshold determines a first output of the computing device, the up-stroke threshold determines a second output of the computing device, and at least of the first factor or the second factor are determined based on the user input.
US09977497B2	Method for providing haptic effect set by a user in a portable terminal, machine-readable storage medium, and portable terminal A portable terminal and a method for providing a haptic effect in the portable terminal are provided. The method includes displaying an application on a touch screen, detecting a touch in a haptic providing region set by a user, and providing a haptic effect corresponding to the haptic providing region in response to the detected touch.
US09977493B2	Hybrid display system Embodiments are disclosed for a display system having multiple fields of view. An example display system comprises a first display configured to produce images across a first field of view, a second display configured to produce images across a second field of view, the second field of view being larger than the first field of view, and a controller configured to selectively present a virtual object via one or more of the first display and the second display based on a feature of the virtual object as displayed within a user's viewspace.
US09977490B2	Dual mode input apparatus, electronic apparatus having the same, and control method thereof An input apparatus, an electronic apparatus having the same, and a control method thereof are provided. The input apparatus includes a body, a first input unit provided in first end of the body and configured to input information to a first medium, and a second input unit detachably coupled to one of the first input unit and a second end of the body and configured to provide information input to a second medium. An input mode of the input apparatus is selectively set to one of the first input unit and the second input unit according to a coupling position of the second input unit.
US09977489B2	Compressed sampling and memory Aspects of a low power memory buffer are described. In one embodiment, a sampling rate of a signal is adjusted to identify extrema of a signal. An extrema pulse is generated and, in response to the extrema pulse, a time segment and potential value of the signal are stored in a memory. In other aspects, rising and falling slopes of the signal are tracked to identify a local maximum and a local minimum of the signal. In this scenario, an extrema pulse is generated for each of the local maximum and minimum, and time segment and potential values are stored for the local maximum and minimum. Generally, the storage of analog values of the signal at an adjusted sampling rate is achieved with low power, and the signal may be reconstructed at a later time.
US09977488B1	Electronic device with smart power management system Described herein are a method and a system for smart power management in electronic devices. Specifically, an electronic device with multiple processors is designed for fitness and health monitoring of a subject. When the device receives a task, it determines whether the task is high power consuming. In response to the determining that the task is high power consuming; the device enables a high-speed processor for the task. Otherwise the device enables a low-speed processor to perform the task.
US09977487B2	Dynamic non-volatile memory operation scheduling for controlling power consumption of solid-state drives A memory device and a method for rescheduling memory operations is disclosed. The method includes receiving memory operations for memory arrays of a memory device; storing the memory operations in queues associated with the memory array; estimating power consumption for each of the memory operations queued in the queues based on a power model; determining that a memory operation causes an estimated power consumption of the memory device to be exceeded over an allowable power budget within a first time window; determining a candidate memory operation in the queues that is scheduled to operate in a second time window after the first time window, wherein the candidate memory operation has less power consumption than the memory operation according to the power model; and dynamically reordering the memory operations in the queues and generating rescheduled memory operations by reordering the memory operation out of the first time window and reordering the candidate memory operation into the first time window.
US09977486B2	Communication device including two controllers, a method for customizing the same, and computer-readable storage medium for computer program A communication device includes a main controller and a second controller that responds, independently of the main controller, to received data based on a proxy program. The communication device also includes a storage that stores, every time data is received, a combination of attributes of the data and details of a response to the data made by the main controller. The communication device also includes a generating circuit that determines at least one pattern with which a response, independently of the main controller, is possible based on a plurality of combinations stored in the storage to generate the proxy program based on the pattern determined. The communication device also includes an applying circuit that applies the proxy program generated by the generating circuit to the second controller.
US09977485B2	Cache array with reduced power consumption Embodiments of the disclosure include a cache array having a plurality of cache sets grouped into a plurality of subsets. The cache array also includes a read line configured to receive a read signal for the cache array and a set selection line configured to receive a set selection signal. The set selection signal indicates that the read signal corresponds to one of the plurality subsets of the cache array. The read line and the set selection line are operatively coupled to the plurality of cache sets and based on the set selection signal the subset that corresponds to the set selection signal is switched.
US09977479B2	System and method for network enabled wake for networks A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes receiving a message at a network element configured for routing packets, where the message directs a network device to change its power state; identifying the network device as being associated with a network for which the network element has responsibility; and communicating at least a portion of the message from the network element to the network device.
US09977478B1	Memory device and method with backup energy reservoir to write in-flight data in non-volatile memory Provided is a memory device, comprising a non-volatile memory, an energy store coupled to the non-volatile memory, and a power management module configurable to power up the non-volatile memory and provide read access to the non-volatile memory, in response to the energy store being charged to at least a first predetermined level. Provided also is a computational device that includes the memory device. Provided also is a method in which an energy store coupled to a non-volatile memory of a memory device is charged to at least a first predetermined level. The non-volatile memory is powered up and read access is provided to the non-volatile memory, in response to charging the energy store to at least the first predetermined level.
US09977477B2	Adapting operating parameters of an input/output (IO) interface circuit of a processor In an embodiment, processor includes at least one logic circuit to generate information to be output from the processor; an input/output (IO) interface circuit coupled to the at least one logic circuit to receive and transmit the information; a voltage regulator to provide an operating voltage to the IO interface circuit; and a controller to control the voltage regulator to provide the operating voltage at an adjusted level from a nominal operating voltage based on a process variation of at least a portion of a die including the IO interface circuit. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09977476B2	Power supply apparatus Disclosed herein is a power supply apparatus that includes a main board, a power unit, a control unit, pads and a pin. The control unit and the power unit are stacked on the main board and at a position in adjacent to a load; the plurality of pads are distributed along the lateral side of the power unit and the lateral side of the control unit; the plurality of pins and pads are electrically coupled and electrically coupled with the main board, the control unit and the power unit; the control unit is configured to control the power unit, so that the power unit supplies electricity to the adjacent load.
US09977470B2	Glass articles exhibiting improved fracture performance Embodiments of this disclosure pertain to a strengthened glass article including a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface defining a thickness (t) of about less than about 1.1 mm, a compressive stress layer extending from the first surface to a depth of compression (DOC) of about 0.1·t or greater, such that when the glass article fracture, it breaks into a plurality of fragments having an aspect ratio of about 5 or less. In some embodiments, the glass article exhibits an equibiaxial flexural strength of about 20 kgf or greater, after being abraded with 90-grit SiC particles at a pressure of 25 psi for 5 seconds. Devices incorporating the glass articles described herein and methods for making the same are also disclosed.
US09977468B2	Portable electronic apparatus A portable electronic apparatus includes a display panel which is flexible and thus prevents or protects a defect from occurring when the portable electronic apparatus is bent. The portable electronic apparatus includes: a display panel configured to display an image; a window that is disposed over an image display surface of the display panel; a functional plate that is disposed between the display panel and the window; and a first adhesive layer that is patterned and is disposed between the display panel and the functional plate or between the functional plate and the window.
US09977467B2	Electronic device with an enclosure stiffener An electronic device can include a processor, output device(s) coupled thereto, and an outer housing or enclosure containing these and other electronic and/or optical items. The enclosure can include a substantially thin contoured component having an external surface exposed to a user and an internal surface. A stiffening plate situated with respect to the internal surface provides a substantial increase in the torsional stiffness and/or bending stiffness of the enclosure. The stiffening plate and contoured component can form a cavity therebetween, and one or more ridges, fins, plates, foam structures and/or other structural items can be located within the cavity. In various embodiments, the device can be a laptop computer and the contoured component can be a dome shaped outer housing behind the display portion thereof.

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