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
US09977705B2	Wireless communication device According to an embodiment, a wireless communication device, which complies with plural communication methods, includes a storing circuit and a received data selection determining circuit. The storing circuit sequentially stores a first received data until the first received data reaches a predetermined data size. When it is assumed that a radio signal complies to a second communication method, a first period is longer than a second period. The first period is a period from a first time when a reception of the radio signal is started to a second time when the first received data with the data size is stored. The second period is a period from the first time to a time when a second reception start signal is detected. The received data selection determining circuit determines a selection of the first received data, when the second reception start signal is not detected at the second time.
US09977704B1	Automated backup and replication of virtual machine data centers Embodiments are described for automatic backup and replication of virtual machines in a virtual center. A system or processor-based operation defines policies governing backup conditions and criteria for backing up and recovering the virtual machines, continuously polls the VMs of the virtual center to determine the health or change in each virtual machine. A backup component backs up at least one VM by copying or transferring data including content and state information of the VM to a storage device or other virtual center. The system detects if a failure condition or change in excess of a defined threshold value exists for any virtual machine, and if so, initiates a recovery operation, and then sends a message to the system administrator regarding the backup and recovery.
US09977703B2	Subscriber-based event subscription An event subscriber subscribes to an event. When the event occurs, the publisher calls into a framework to look for subscriber attributes on program entities and raises the event with program entities that contain the correct attributes.
US09977702B2	Event processing networks A hybrid event processing network (EPN) having at least one event processing agent (EPA) consists of a first set of EPAs defined declaratively and a second set of EPAs defined dynamically at runtime via an interface. Deploying the hybrid EPN includes loading the hybrid EPN, constructing an EPN structure, and creating indexes of nodes of the EPN structure. Deploying the hybrid EPN further includes representing an event in a hybrid EPN, and, in response to the event occurrence at an event source, receiving a notification from the hybrid EPN based on the event, and publishing the notification in an event channel. Embodiments of the invention includes propagating the event received within the hybrid EPN, determining a subsequent EPA associated with the event within the hybrid EPN, and propagating the event to the subsequent EPA in the hybrid EPN until the last element of the hybrid EPN is reached.
US09977692B2	Methods and systems for provisioning a virtual resource in a mixed-use server A method for provisioning a virtualized resource includes directing, by a provisioning machine, a server-executed hypervisor to provision a virtual machine. The provisioning machine directs generation of an organizational unit within a first organizational unit within a multi-tenant directory service separated from a second organizational unit in the multi-tenant directory service by a firewall. The provisioning machine associates the virtual machine with the first organizational unit. The provisioning machine establishes at least one firewall rule on the virtual machine restricting communications to the virtual machine to communications from explicitly authorized machines, which including at least one other machine within the organizational unit. The provisioning machine receives a request to provision a virtualized resource for at least one user. The provisioning machine updates data associated with the organizational unit to include an identification of the at least one user. The provisioning machine directs the virtual machine to host the virtualized resource.
US09977688B2	Live migration of virtual machines across virtual switches in virtual infrastructure Techniques are described for migrating virtual machines (VMs) across virtual switches. To migrate a VM, a destination distributed virtual switch module may, prior to migration, instantiate a distributed virtual port on a destination VM host and reserve the distributed virtual port for each virtual network adapter of the VM. Further, a configuration file for the VM specifying the distributed virtual ports reserved for the virtual network adapters may be copied from a source VM host to the destination VM host or created in the destination VM host. As part of the migration, network state data of the distributed virtual ports used by the VM at the source VM host is copied and applied to the appropriate reserved distributed virtual ports on the destination host. Then, when the migrated VM is powered on at the destination host, the VM configuration specifying the reserved distributed virtual ports is used to attach the virtual network adapters of the VM to the reserved distributed virtual ports.
US09977687B2	Virtual server agent load balancing Virtual machine (VM) proliferation may be reduced through the use of Virtual Server Agents (VSAs) assigned to a group of VM hosts that may determine the availability of a VM to perform a task. Tasks may be assigned to existing VMs instead of creating a new VM to perform the task. Furthermore, a VSA coordinator may determine a grouping of VMs or VM hosts based on one or more factors associated with the VMs or the VM hosts, such as VM type or geographical location of the VM hosts. The VSA coordinator may also assign one or more VSAs to facilitate managing the group of VM hosts. In some embodiments, the VSA coordinators may facilitate load balancing of VSAs during operation, such as during a backup operation, a restore operation, or any other operation between a primary storage system and a secondary storage system.
US09977681B2	System and method for partition startup/shutdown in a multitenant application server environment In accordance with an embodiment, described herein is a system and method for supporting partition and resource group shutdown and startup in an application server environment. A method can provide one or more partitions, wherein each partition provides an administrative and runtime subdivision of a domain, and one or more resource groups, wherein each of the one or more resource groups is associated with one of the one or more partition. The method receive, from an administrator, a request to perform a startup or shutdown, the startup or shutdown action being targeted to one of the one or more partition. The method can provide a lifecycle object, at an administration server, the lifecycle object associated with the one of the one or more partitions. The method can provide a monitoring object where the monitoring object can allow the administrator to monitor a status of the startup or shutdown action.
US09977677B2	Execution slice with supplemental instruction port for an instruction using a source operand from another instruction port Supplemental instruction dispatch may be used in some instances in a parallel slice processor to dispatch additional instructions, referred to as supplemental instructions, to supplemental instruction ports of execution slices and using primary instruction ports of one or more execution slices to supply one or more source operands for such supplemental instructions. In addition, in some instances, in lieu of or in addition to supplemental instruction dispatch, selective slice partitioning may be used to selectively partition groups of execution slices in a parallel slice processor based upon a threading mode within which such execution slices are executing.
US09977673B1	Systems and methods for providing a platform-specific porting layer for multi-level software stacks Systems and methods are disclosed for providing a platform-dependent porting layer. The method includes receiving source code, provided by a user, comprising a plurality of generic instructions. The method includes determining a platform type of a target platform for executing the source code. The method includes retrieving, based on the platform type, a porting layer, associated with the target platform, comprising a plurality of platform-specific instructions. The method includes mapping each generic instruction of the plurality of generic instructions to a platform-specific instruction of the plurality of platform-specific instructions.
US09977663B2	Technologies for optimizing sparse matrix code with field-programmable gate arrays Technologies for optimizing sparse matrix code include a target computing device having a processor and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). A compiler identifies a performance-critical loop in a sparse matrix source code and generates optimized executable code, including processor code and FPGA code. The target computing device executes the optimized executable code, using the processor for the processor code and the FPGA for the FPGA code. The processor executes a first iteration of the loop, generates reusable optimization data in response to executing the first iteration, and stores the reusable optimization data in a shared memory. The FPGA accesses the optimization data in the shared memory, executes additional iterations of the loop, and optimizes the additional iterations of the loop based on the optimization data. The optimization data may include, for example, loop-invariant data, reordered data, or alternate data storage representations. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US09977660B2	Method of controlling and managing electronic device and control system using same In a method of controlling and managing an electronic device, which is executed by at least one control device to control and manage at least one electronic device, a projectable space instance is provided for each the at least one control device to create a workspace, wherein at least one unified tool for driving the at least one electronic device is selectively added to the projectable space instance. The projectable space instance is then parsed with a projector by the corresponding control device to automatically generate a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace to be created via the projectable space instance, wherein the at least one unified tool drives the at least one electronic device to execute at least one task in response to an operation on the corresponding control device.
US09977659B2	Managing data set objects Managing data set objects for graph-based data processing includes: storing a group of one or more data set objects in a data storage system, the data set objects each representing a respective data set; and generating an association between at least a first data set object in the group and at least a first node of a dataflow graph for processing data in a data processing system, the first node representing a source or sink of data in a flow of data represented by a link in the dataflow graph, and the first data set object including a plurality of modes in which different transformational logic is applied to data processed by the first node.
US09977657B2	Application dashboard for website development and management A web editing server includes an app dashboard module that provides a dashboard user interface for presenting information provided by apps installed on users' websites. In one embodiment, the app dashboard module organizes the information as a series of cards, with each card providing information for an associated app. A user can select a card to obtain more information from the app. An app developer system allows an app developer to create and/or service an app in the app center. App developers may create cards by selecting one or more components from a card definition module. The app developer system may determine data attributes from received app data, which can be used to automatically create cards for the app dashboard.
US09977654B2	Method of developing an application for execution in a workflow management system and apparatus to assist with generation of an application for execution in a workflow management system This disclosure provides techniques for facilitating workflow design and modification in a workflow management system. In one embodiment, software provides a design interface to an application developer to streamline transition definition and associated conditions and other parameters between phases of a workflow (and related rework for workflow modification), without requiring substantial manual recoding. The workflow management system accepts consequent data as metadata, which the system uses to enforce both state and required transition conditions to regulate how end-users interact with a database. The metadata is invoked during workflow execution in a manner tied to any desired condition and, thus, desired context.
US09977645B2	Dynamic modification of audio content A method for dynamic modification of audio content. An audio content theme includes audio information relating to at least one theme variation. The method includes the steps of: receiving an intensity parameter indicative of an amount of audio information being played and a variation parameter indicative of at least one theme variation of the audio information being played; modifying, based on said intensity parameter, the amount of audio information being played, and, based on said variation parameter, the at least one theme variation of the audio information being played. Also described is a computer program configured to be executed on a computer device for dynamic modification of an audio content theme.
US09977643B2	Providing beat matching Implementations generally relate to providing beat matching. In some implementations, a method includes determining beat characteristics of at least one soundtrack. The method further includes selecting video clips based on one or more selection criteria. The method further includes adjusting a length of one or more of the video clips based on one or more beat matching policies. The method further includes combining the video clips to be played with the at least one soundtrack.
US09977642B2	Methods and apparatuses for supporting screen sharing The invention relates to an encoder and a decoder and methods therein for supporting screen sharing, where the screen sharing comprises encoding pictures F representing pixels of a shared screen, providing said pictures to a decoder where they are decoded. The method performed by the encoder comprises deriving information related to an object which is moved on the shared screen between two pictures Fn and Fn+1. At least part of the derived information is related to an intermediate position of the object, on the shared screen, between the two pictures Fn and Fn+1. The method further comprises providing said information to the decoder, thereby enabling the decoder to generate intermediate pictures, FIMD, in addition to the pictures, F, based on the provided information, wherein the object is generated in different positions in said intermediate pictures, FIMD, thus reconstructing the movement of the object between two provided pictures Fn and Fn+1.
US09977639B2	Network system, device server, and network system control method Using a web browser, a client terminal accesses a web application server on which a web application operates and controls an image input device. A displayed web page from the server has an embedded image input control script that operates on the web browser and controls image input. Under the control of the image input control script, an image acquisition request is sent to the image input device when a specific operation is performed on the displayed web page, and, as a response, an image is acquired from the image input device. Under control of the image input control script, a selection window is displayed for selecting whether or not to stop operation of the image input device when an event changing the web page occurs while such device is operating, and a stop operation request is sent to the image input device when stopping its operation is selected.
US09977634B2	Communication method having a plurality of connection establishment methods between image forming apparatus and communication device In a communication system, an image forming apparatus sends an address of a receiving section to a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal receives a selection of an image data among plural thumbnails displayed on a display section, and wirelessly sends the selected image data to the image forming apparatus with the address. The image forming apparatus receives the selected image data sent with the address by the mobile terminal, and prints an image based on the selected image data. A communication between the mobile terminal and the image forming apparatus is performed wirelessly with an IEEE 802.11 standard. The image forming apparatus continuously performs a second printing, when the receiving section receives a selected image data again in a condition that the communication with the mobile terminal is continuously established by the receiving section after the printing of the received image data is finished.
US09977633B1	Method and apparatus of processing information in an environment with multiple devices and resources A method and apparatus are disclosed that provide processing data associated with a job request. In one example, the job request may be a printer job to print a particular document based on predefined settings. The data processing operation may include determining at least one job specific resource available to fulfill the job request, and performing at least one of a prioritization computation, a job specific requirement computation, and a geographical determination computation. Additional operations may include selecting at least one appropriate device to fulfill the job request based on the at least one computation operation and the at least one available job specific resource, and processing and completing the job using the at least one appropriate device based on the at least one computation.
US09977629B2	Method and image forming apparatus using near field communication A method of forming an image using a mobile terminal supporting near field communication (NFC) includes launching a mobile application corresponding to an application identifier of tag information of an NFC tag obtained through first NFC tagging, generating data of a job to be performed by an image forming apparatus through the mobile application when the NFC tag is detected again through second NFC tagging, the job being determined according to a state of the mobile application during the second NFC tagging, and transmitting the generated data to the image forming apparatus.
US09977627B1	Memory device and memory controlling method A memory device includes a memory unit including a plurality of memory cells, and a controller including a storage unit that stores a plurality of operation selections each corresponding to a property of at least one selected memory cell among the plurality of memory cells.
US09977625B2	Data processing system A data processing system may include at least two memory systems including first and second memory systems to which a logical address and a command are applied in parallel from a host. The first memory system may store a plurality of first physical addresses for physically indicating a plurality of first pages included in a first non-volatile memory device as a first table, and determines whether to perform a preset operation corresponding to the applied command according to whether a physical address generated by performing a preset operation on the applied logical address exists in the first table, and the second memory system may store a plurality of second physical addresses for physically indicating a plurality of second pages included in a second non-volatile memory device as a second table, and determines whether to perform the preset operation corresponding to the applied command according to whether a physical address generated by performing the preset operation on the applied logical address exists in the second table.
US09977615B2	Smart refresh of data on flash devices A method and apparatus for refreshing flash memory are disclosed herein. The method includes allocating a different and increasing sequence number to each of a plurality of physical blocks of the flash memory and storing each of the sequence numbers in connection with each of a corresponding one of the physical blocks in non-volatile memory. A refresh-sequence number equal to the highest sequence number in the non-volatile memory is also stored, and in response to a refresh trigger, data in each of the physical blocks that has a sequence number less than the refresh-sequence number is copied to a corresponding one of a plurality of new physical blocks. A new sequence number is then allocated to each of the new physical blocks.
US09977613B2	Systems and methods for zone page allocation for shingled media recording disks In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a disk drive system may include a RAID subsystem comprising a pool of storage and a disk manager having at least one disk storage system controller. The at least one disk system controller may be configured to create a plurality of zones in the pool of storage, each zone comprising a plurality of stripes, each of the plurality of stripes striped across all of the physical disks within a logical disk comprising the zone, and manage pages of write input/output operations in order to group pages of write input/output operations together within the plurality of stripes of a zone.
US09977610B2	Data storage device to swap addresses and operating method thereof A data storage device includes a first multi-chip set which includes a first volatile memory, a first non-volatile memory, and a first core configured to control the first volatile memory and the first non-volatile memory, a second multi-chip set which includes a second volatile memory, a second non-volatile memory, and a second core configured to control the second volatile memory and the second non-volatile memory. A controller is connected to the first multi-chip set and the second multi-chip set and configured to swap a first logical address of a first storage region of the first non-volatile memory with a second logical address of a second storage region of the second non-volatile memory.
US09977606B2	Memory system A memory system includes: a first memory device including a first memory and a first memory controller suitable for controlling the first memory to store data; a second memory device including a second memory and a second memory controller suitable for controlling the second memory to store data; and a processor suitable for executing an operating system (OS) and an application to access a data storage memory through the first and second memory devices.
US09977605B2	Memory system A memory system includes: a first memory device including a first memory and a first memory controller suitable for controlling the first memory to store data; a second memory device including a second memory and a second memory controller suitable for controlling the second memory to store data; and a processor suitable for executing an operating system (OS) and an application to access a data storage memory through the first and second memory devices.
US09977604B2	Memory system A memory system includes: a first memory device including a first memory and a first memory controller suitable for controlling the first memory to store data; a second memory device including a second memory and a second memory controller suitable for controlling the second memory to store data; and a processor suitable for executing an operating system (OS) and an application, and accessing data storage memory through the first and second memory devices.
US09977603B2	Memory devices for detecting known initial states and related methods and electronic systems A memory device includes a memory array having non-volatile memory cells, and a memory controller configured to detect a known state to enter based, at least in part, on communication with a host device, and reconfigure the memory device to prepare for the known state. A host controller is configured to communicate with the memory device to support a feature and protocol for detecting the known state for operation of the memory device. Related methods and systems are also disclosed.
US09977601B2	Data load for symmetrical filters A system and method for symmetrical filtering of an input string may include loading, into at least one vector register, in a single read cycle, a subset of right-side data elements and a subset of left-side data elements of the input string. The input string may be stored sequentially in a memory unit. The right-side data elements and the left-side data elements may be equally distant from the center of the input string and may be separated by a whole number of rows in the memory. The system and method may include performing filtering of the input string using a symmetrical filter with the loaded right-side data elements and left-side data elements.
US09977599B2	Data deduplication with support for both thick and thin provisioning of storage objects Techniques for implementing data deduplication in conjunction with thick and thin provisioning of storage objects are provided. In one embodiment, a system can receive a write request directed to a storage object stored by the system and can determine whether the storage object is a thin or thick object. If the storage object is a thin object, the system can calculate a usage value by adding a total amount of physical storage space used in the system to a total amount of storage space reserved for thick storage objects in the system and further subtracting a total amount of reserved storage space for the thick storage objects that are filled with unique data. The system can then reject the write request if the usage value is not less than the total storage capacity of the system.
US09977595B2	Keyboard with a suggested search query region A computing device is described that includes a presence-sensitive display component, at least one processor, and a memory. The memory stores instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to output, for display, a graphical keyboard comprising a plurality of keys and a search element, and determine, based at least in part on a selection of one or more keys from the plurality of keys, a query suggestion. The instructions, when executed, further cause the at least one processor to receive an indication of input selecting the search element, and responsive to receiving the indication of input, output, for display, an updated graphical keyboard that includes a selectable link associated with the query suggestion.
US09977591B2	Image with audio conversation system and method A system and method are presented to allow audio communication between users concerning an image. The originator of the communication uses a mobile device app to select an image and record an audio commentary. The image, audio commentary, and metadata are submitted to a cloud server for storage. The app uses the server to analyze a recipient address to determine the preferred mode of delivery. If the recipient is a known user of the app, the file is delivered without combining the image, audio commentary, and metadata into a standard movie file. Otherwise, the originator's app delivers the file through MMS or e-mail for the recipient as a movie file for viewing using a standard video player.
US09977587B2	Fitness overlay and incorporation for home automation system Methods and non-transitory, machine-readable media for displaying fitness information with an electronic device may include receiving multimedia content at an input of the electronic device. The electronic device may provide the audiovisual content to a display device. The electronic device may also receive fitness information, and may provide this fitness information to the display device.
US09977584B2	Navigating media playback using scrollable text A computing device can periodically acquire a current track time for a media content item being played. The device can periodically compare the current track time with a respective start time and a respective end time for each line (or segment) in a plurality of lines of text (or segments of text) associated with the media content item. If the device determines that the current track time is between start and end times for a given line of text, then the device can display the given line of text. A user of the device can scroll through the lines of text associated with the media content item. If the user selects a particular line of text, the device can identify a start time for the selected line of text. The device can then play the media content item at the identified start time of the selected line of text.
US09977583B2	System, method and apparatus for displaying a non-biasing and self-adjusting visual analog scale on a computing device A system and method for displaying a non-biasing VAS that automatically adjusts to different screen aspect ratios/resolutions of a computing device, while preserving the reliability of the VAS. The system and method can calculate a number of pixels available on a screen display to display a VAS. Further, the system and method can generate a VAS comprising equally sized intervals of distance to fit the available screen display. In addition, the system and method can include an anchor line at each end of the VAS that indicates an upper and lower value of a range of values measured by the VAS. The system and method can also include a unit cursor on the VAS that allows a subject to indicate, by pixel, interval or target area, a position on the VAS.
US09977579B2	Reduced-size interfaces for managing alerts An electronic device with a display can receive an alert comprising information, and in response to receiving the alert, issue a perceptual output. The device can detect a user input and determine whether the user input was detected within a predetermined time interval after the perceptual output. In accordance with a determination that the user input was detected within the predetermined time interval, the device can display a notification on the display, wherein the notification comprises a first portion of the information. If the device continues to detect the user input after a second predetermined time period, the device can display a second portion of the information, where the second portion is different from the first portion.
US09977578B1	Inadvertent dismissal prevention for graphical content A computing device includes at least one processor; a display device; and at least one module. The at least one processor may be operable to store data that defines a plurality of discrete graphical elements (DGE's), wherein the plurality of DGE's includes at least one root DGE, and wherein dismissal of the root DGE causes dismissal of all of the plurality of DGE's. The at least one module may be operable to output a particular DGE of the plurality of DGE's; output, for display, the root DGE, responsive to receiving a first indication of user input of a particular input type; and ignore the second indication of user input to refrain from dismissal of the root DGE, responsive to receiving a second indication of user input of the particular input type within a threshold time duration that is initiated responsive to outputting the root DGE.
US09977572B2	Augmented reality appearance enhancement Systems, methods, and devices are provided for altering an appearance of acquaintances when viewed through smart glasses, which may be altered using augmented reality technology. In particular, an embodiment of the invention is directed to allowing users to specify their appearances to others when viewed by others wearing smart glasses. The others viewing the user through smart glasses include friends, family, contacts, or other acquaintances, which may be specified in one or more social networks or contacts databases. The altered appearance that is displayed may be based on the particular relationship between the user and the viewer. For example, a user may appear as a particular superhero to his friends on a social network website, as having a cartoon feature (such as an enormous head) to his children, as normal to his mother and business contacts, and as wearing a Hawaiian shirt to his closest buddies.
US09977568B2	Method and device for optimizing arrangement of an icon on display unit of device Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a method, non-transitory computer readable medium and computing device for optimizing arrangement of an icon on a display unit of a device. The method comprises determining a cumulative position score of each of plurality of grids on the display unit. The method further comprises determining a cumulative acquaintance score of the icon on the display unit. The method further comprises deriving a compatibility score between each of the plurality of grids and the icon based on the cumulative position score and the cumulative acquaintance score. The method further comprises optimizing the arrangement of the icon on the display unit based on the compatibility score.
US09977564B2	Physics based graphical program editor and use 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.
US09977551B2	Capacitance to code converter with sigma-delta modulator Apparatuses and methods of converting a capacitance measured on a sense element to a digital value are described. One apparatus includes a modulator having a modulator capacitor, a sense element selectively coupled in a feedback loop of the modulator to operate as a switching capacitor. The apparatus also includes a first switch coupled between a voltage source and a first node of the switching capacitor and a second switch coupled between the first node of the switching capacitor and a first node of the modulator capacitor. The switching capacitor provides a charge current to the modulator capacitor via the second switch. The modulator measures a capacitance of the sense element and converts the measured capacitance to a digital code representing the capacitance.
US09977546B2	Determining finger separation through groove analysis in a touch screen device Groove analysis in a device having a tactile input surface suited to detect more than one tactile input at a time. Using groove analysis allows a touch screen device a more robust and efficient algorithm for distinguishing between two different tactile inputs. The touch screen device may include a touch screen controller that includes an analysis circuit for determining grooves between touch inputs. Generally, when a touch input is received at the surface of a touch screen device, the touch screen may register touch strength signals at each of a plurality of touch regions. A groove may be generally defined as a touch region that exhibits a touch strength signal that is less than surrounding touch regions. Once all touch regions are analyzed by a groove analysis, various touch regions determined to grooves may be eliminated from a further analysis to determine the XY coordinates of actual touch inputs.
US09977542B2	Electronic device, calibration method, and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium Provided is an electronic device, a calibration method, and a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that increase user-friendliness of a touch sensor. An electronic device includes a physical key sensor which is configured to detect an operation to a pressable physical key, a touch sensor, which is disposed in vicinity of the physical key sensor, and a controller. The controller performs calibration of the touch sensor in accordance with releasing of the physical key.
US09977540B2	Touch display device with light sensor module A touch display device and a light sensor module are discussed. The touch display device includes i light sensor modules, where i is a natural number greater than 1, for sensing a touch applied to a touch display panel, and a malfunction recovery unit for determining whether each of the i light sensor modules malfunctions and restarting at least one of the i light sensor modules when the at least one light sensor module is determined to malfunction.
US09977534B2	Touchscreen panel A touchscreen panel includes a base film having a bezel area and a free form active area; first touch electrodes and second touch electrodes crossing each other in the active area; first touch pads and second touch pads in the bezel area, and a guard pad between adjacent first and second touch pads; first routing lines in the bezel area, connecting the first touch electrodes and the second touch pads; second routing lines in the bezel area, connecting the second touch electrodes and the second touch pads; a guard line extending from the guard pads and disposed between adjacent first and second routing lines; and a bridge pattern over an insulating film that covers the first routing lines, second routing lines, and guard line, wherein one or more of the first routing lines and one or more of the first touch electrodes that correspond to each other are attached to the bridge pattern via contact holes penetrating the insulating film and electrically connected together.
US09977533B2	Touch panel with injection molded housing Provided is a touch panel having superior impact resistance and good design on an operation face side without a decorative layer. The touch panel is manufactured by providing a cover member on an operation face of the substrate and at an inner side of a lead-out line wiring region so as to avoid lead-out lines of the first electrodes and the second electrodes, and forming a housing portion by insert injection molding using resin material to the step portion created by disposing the cover member, so as to make a front face of the housing portion flush with a front face of the cover member, and so as to sandwich an outer edge of the substrate from upper and lower sides.
US09977532B2	Input apparatus, control method for input apparatus, apparatus and program causing computer to execute control method for input An input apparatus includes a sensor section configured to include a plurality of detection units, and to control positive and negative polarities of a detection signal at each detection position, a control unit configured to generate a group of combined detection signals in which polarity patterns are different from each other, and a signal reproduction unit configured to reproduce signal levels of a group of detection signals on the basis of a group of combined detection signals and a group of polarity patterns, in which at least some of the plurality of detection units differ in the number of detection positions, and the control unit selects the group of polarity patterns according to the number of detection positions so that the number of positive polarities and the number of negative polarities included in each of the polarity patterns are similar to each other.
US09977527B2	Touch sensing device and method for driving the same A touch sensing device includes a touch screen coupled with a display panel including data lines, gate lines crossing the data lines, and pixels arranged in a matrix form, and a touch sensing circuit which supplies a driving signal to lines of the touch screen and senses a touch input. The touch sensing circuit detects an optimum sensing time, in which changes in a voltage change of the gate lines are maintained within a previously determined allowable range, in a touch screen drive period in which data is not written to the pixels of the display panel. The touch sensing circuit supplies the driving signal to the lines of the touch screen only in the optimum sensing time of the touch screen drive period.
US09977526B1	Display device with high touch detection sensitivity A display device includes a TFT substrate layer, a display material layer, a common electrode layer, a touch electrode layer, a display control circuit and a touch control circuit. The common electrode layer has a common electrode. The touch electrode layer includes plural first touch electrodes and plural second touch electrodes. The display control circuit includes a display power. The touch control circuit includes a touch power independent to the display power. The touch control circuit sequentially or randomly couples a touch stimulation signal to a selected first touch electrode or receives a touch sense signal from a selected second touch electrode. The touch sense signal is driven and coupled to the common electrode layer or a node of the display control circuit for performing a touch detection operation in which there is no current loop between the display control circuit and the touch control circuit.
US09977521B2	Method for controlling an electronic device equipped with sensing components, and associated apparatus A method for controlling an electronic device and an associated apparatus are provided, where the electronic device includes a proximity sensor for performing proximity detection, and the method includes the steps of: determining whether a first condition is satisfied according to an application status; performing a proximity sensor threshold adjustment operation corresponding to the first condition when the first condition is satisfied, to obtain an adjusted proximity sensor threshold for the proximity sensor; and performing proximity detection by utilizing the proximity sensor according to the adjusted proximity sensor threshold. The step of determining whether the first condition is satisfied according to the application status may further include: when a specific application is running in the foreground or launched, determining that the first condition is satisfied. For example, when the specific application is running in the foreground, the proximity sensor threshold adjustment operation corresponding to the specific application can be performed.
US09977520B2	Stylus with capacitive slide and grip sensors Embodiments of a stylus having a capacitive slide sensor and grip sensors are disclosed, for use with electronic devices and particularly with touchscreen devices. The stylus is in signal communication with the electronic device, either wired or wirelessly, and the slide sensor allows a user to generate a sliding data value as well as a contact/no-contact datum; these can be used as scaled control values or as buttonpress control values to control features of applications running on the electronic device. The capacitive sensors are formed on a single flexible PCB wrapped inside the stylus barrel.
US09977514B1	Method and apparatus for digital painting with natural textures The invention provides a digital painting apparatus and method that captures the natural textures in physical painting tools. It is comprised of a plurality of sensors below a painting surface and a light source arranged such that reflective objects near the sensors are imaged, with the nearer parts of the objects forming brighter parts of those images. The images are thresholded to include only the parts of those objects nearest the painting surface and accumulated in a display buffer to leave painted strokes that preserve those textures as the objects are moved. A display is located below the painting surface, substantially coincident with the sensors, and feedback from the display is substantially removed from the sensor images before they are thresholded, providing more uniform sensitivity.
US09977513B1	Conductive optic lens for interaction with capacitive touch screen technology An interactive element for use with an interactive touch screen comprises a conductive body element and a lens. The conductive body element is adapted to interactively engage the interactive touch screen. The lens is supported by the conductive body element. The conductive body element supports the lens relative to the interactive touch screen such that light emitted by the interactive touch screen enters a first portion of the lens and is visible at a second portion of the lens. The conductive body interacts with the interactive touch screen to cause the interactive touch screen to emit light such that light enters the first portion of the lens.
US09977508B2	Methods, systems, and apparatuses to update screen content responsive to user gestures In one embodiment, an electronic device to be worn on a user's forearm includes a display and a set of one or more sensors that provide sensor data. In one aspect, a device may detect, using sensor data obtained from a set of sensors, that a first activity state of a user is active. The device may determine, while the first activity state is active, that the sensor data matches a watch check rule associated with the first activity state. Responsive to the detected match, the device may cause a change in visibility of the display.
US09977499B2	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 one of the first factor or the second factor are determined based on the user input.
US09977494B2	Tracking constellation assembly for use in a virtual reality system Technology is provided for a tracking constellation assembly for use in a virtual reality system. The tracking constellation assembly includes a translucent panel having an outward facing surface, and an inward facing surface and a mounting surface each opposite the outward facing surface. The translucent panel is substantially opaque to visible light and translucent to infrared light. The assembly includes a flexible circuit board including first and second opposed surfaces. A spacer interconnects the first surface of the flexible circuit board and the mounting surface of the translucent panel. Infrared light emitting diodes are connected to the flexible circuit board and positioned to direct light through the translucent panel.
US09977492B2	Mixed reality presentation Embodiments that relate to presenting a mixed reality environment via a mixed reality display device are disclosed. For example, one disclosed embodiment provides a method for presenting a mixed reality environment via a head-mounted display device. The method includes using head pose data to generally identify one or more gross selectable targets within a sub-region of a spatial region occupied by the mixed reality environment. The method further includes specifically identifying a fine selectable target from among the gross selectable targets based on eye-tracking data. Gesture data is then used to identify a gesture, and an operation associated with the identified gesture is performed on the fine selectable target.
US09977483B2	Electronic apparatus and method of controlling power supply To effectively reduce power consumption of a wearable optical device by determining whether the wearable optical device is usable. Provided is an electronic apparatus including a wearable optical device, a state detection unit configured to detect a state relating to the wearable optical device, state determination unit configured to determine that the detected state is at least one of a first state in which the wearable optical device is worn by a user in usable state or a second state in which the wearable optical device is worn or carried by the user in unusable state, and a power supply controller configured to control a power supply state of the electronic apparatus based on a result obtained by the determination.
US09977474B2	Heat dissipating assembly and electronic device using the same A heat dissipating assembly suited for an electronic device is provided. The electronic device has at least one heat source. The heat dissipating assembly includes a first tube, a second tube, and a fluid. The first tube has an inlet and an outlet, wherein a bore size of the inlet is smaller than a bore size of the outlet. Heat generated from the heat source is transferred to the first tube. Two opposite ends of the second tube are connected to the inlet and the outlet such that the first and the second tubes are formed into a closed loop. The fluid is filled in the closed loop. The fluid in the first tube transferred from the inlet toward the outlet absorbs the heat and is transferred to the second tube for heat dissipating. An electronic device is also provided.
US09977473B1	Data storage system enclosure with decoupled divider A decoupled partitioning divider for a data storage system enclosure includes a first leg having proximal and distal halves and a second leg having proximal and distal halves, and in which the first and second legs are coupled together at either the proximal or distal half and uncoupled from each other at the other of the proximal and distal halves, so that the divider legs are decoupled from each other at one half or one end. When installed in a data storage system enclosure between adjacent data storage devices, such as hard disk drives, vibration transfer among the devices housed therein may be inhibited.
US09977471B2	Hinge structure and electronic device A hinge structure includes a shaft, a first locking member, a second locking member, a third locking member and an elastic element. The first locking member, the second locking member and the third locking member are all disposed on the shaft, wherein the first locking member, the second locking member and the third locking member rotate with the shaft as an axis. The elastic element is sleeved on the shaft, wherein a first side edge of the elastic element leans against the second locking member, and a second side edge of the elastic element leans against the third locking member to provide an elastic force between the second locking member and the third locking member, thereby maintaining or restoring a pivoting angle of the second locking member and the third locking member with respect to the axis.
US09977469B2	Modular computing node Techniques related to a modular computing node are disclosed. The modular computing node includes at least a first unit. The first unit includes a memory and one or more processors that execute instructions stored in the memory. The one or more processors are powered by electricity that is converted from solar energy captured by a tubular solar panel. A first interface of the first unit includes one or more first electrical contacts. The first interface forms a watertight seal with a second interface of a second unit based on a twisting motion. Furthermore, a signal bus is formed based on the twisting motion based on aligning the one or more first electrical contacts with one or more second electrical contacts of the second interface.
US09977464B2	Sapphire cover for electronic devices A cover for an electronic device and methods of forming a cover is disclosed. The electronic device may include a housing, and a cover coupled to the housing. The cover may have an inner surface having at least one of an intermediate polish and a final polish, a groove formed on the inner surface, and an outer surface positioned opposite the inner surface. The outer surface may have at least one of the intermediate polish and the final polish. The cover may also have a rounded perimeter portion formed between the inner surface and the outer surface. The rounded perimeter portion may be positioned adjacent the groove. The method for forming the cover may include performing a first polishing process on the sapphire component using a polishing tool, and performing a second polishing process on the groove of the sapphire component forming the cover using blasting media.
US09977462B2	Universal phone battery chargers for mobile cellphones and like devices A universal charging accessory for mobile devices. The accessory has a generally flat and thin body configured to lie flat against the flat rear side of the mobile device and includes an internal rechargeable battery, two charging plugs that are configured to be electronically coupled to the charging plug of the mobile device, with the charging plugs being retrievably stowed inside the body of the accessory and to be withdrawn as needed to charge the mobile device. The accessory has a window formed in the body of the charging accessory which receives, interchangeably, a plug-in module that can be inserted into an AC socket to charge the internal battery as well as the cellphone battery.
US09977454B1	Methods and apparatuses for a CMOS-based process insensitive current reference circuit Disclosed are apparatuses and methods for implementing CMOS-based, process insensitive current reference circuit(s). An apparatus includes a constant transconductance circuitry including a first and second current mirrors and respectively generating constant currents across one or more process corners, a resistive transistor in the constant transconductance circuitry having a resistance, and a feedback circuitry coupled with the resistive transistor and the constant transconductance circuitry to form a constant current source. The apparatus may optionally include a data processing module as well as another constant transconductance circuitry, another resistive transistor, and another feedback circuitry that form another constant current source. A method for implementing a system on chip may identify first and second currents generated by process insensitive current circuits, determine first and second temperature dependent voltages, and generate a digital output by transforming the first and second temperature dependent voltages.
US09977452B2	Multi-input or multi-output energy system architectures and control methods Systems and methods for efficiently controlling energy sources are disclosed. In one example, a system for processing and storing energy may include a plurality of cells that store energy and a plurality of power switches coupled to the cells. The system may also include an inductor coupled to the power switches and a controller, wherein the controller controls the power switches to transfer the energy to a load.
US09977447B2	Demand response dispatch system employing weather induced facility energy consumption characterizations A method for dispatching buildings in a demand response program event including generating data sets for each of the buildings, each set having energy consumption values along with corresponding time and outside temperature values, where the energy consumption values within each set are shifted by one of a plurality of lag values relative to the corresponding time and outside temperature values, and where each of the plurality of lag values is different from other ones of the plurality of lag values; performing a regression analysis on each set to yield regression model parameters and a residual; determining a least valued residual from all residuals yielded, the least valued residual indicating a corresponding energy lag for the each of the buildings; and using energy lags for all of the buildings to generate a dispatch schedule for the demand response program event according to a prioritization of the energy lags.
US09977446B2	Inverting amplifier receiving negative feedback voltage in voltage regulator In the example of a voltage regulator outputting a negative voltage, its feedback voltage will also be negative. The feedback voltage is typically created using a resistor divider. A controller IC is powered by only a positive voltage and receives the negative feedback voltage at a high impedance input of an inverting amplifier. Therefore, the inverting amplifier does not load the resistor divider, resulting in an accurate regulated output voltage. The inverting amplifier converts the negative feedback voltage to a positive feedback voltage for further processing by the controller IC. An error amplifier and a power good monitor receive both the original feedback voltage and the inverted feedback voltage and use whichever feedback voltage is the more positive one. Therefore, the controller IC may be used in voltage regulators that generate either negative or positive output voltages.
US09977437B1	Pilot operated parallel valve An electropneumatic proportional flow control device improves flow control because it incorporates two internal valves in parallel: a first electronically controlled, miniature proportional valve manipulated in parallel with a second and larger pilot -operated valve. The miniature valve allows for precision control of the low-end of the full scale output; the larger mechanical valve allows for the high-end of the full scale output. These valves are encompassed within a valve assembly comprising a valve manifold, a pilot-operated diaphragm, electronic control circuitry, and a flow restrictor.
US09977436B2	Flow rate adjustment apparatus There is provided a flow rate adjustment apparatus in which a flow rate measurement mechanism includes: a thermal flowmeter; and a lower casing, a flow rate adjustment mechanism includes: an electric drive mechanism that moves a valve body part; a control board; a valve main body in which a valve chamber, a second flow passage that communicates with a valve hole, and a third flow passage that is connected to an external flow passage have been formed; and an upper casing that houses the electric drive mechanism and the control board thereinside, the flow rate adjustment mechanism is attached to the flow rate measurement mechanism in a state where a clearance communicating with an outside is provided between the lower casing and the valve main body, and in which the thermal flowmeter has a coupling part that couples the second flow passage to a first flow passage.
US09977430B2	Machine learning navigational engine with imposed constraints Systems and methods are provided for navigating an autonomous vehicle using reinforcement learning techniques. In one implementation, a navigation system for a host vehicle may include at least one processing device programmed to: receive, from a camera, a plurality of images representative of an environment of the host vehicle; analyze the plurality of images to identify a navigational state associated with the host vehicle; provide the navigational state to a trained navigational system; receive, from the trained navigational system, a desired navigational action for execution by the host vehicle in response to the identified navigational state; analyze the desired navigational action relative to one or more predefined navigational constraints; determine an actual navigational action for the host vehicle, wherein the actual navigational action includes at least one modification of the desired navigational action determined based on the one or more predefined navigational constraints; and cause at least one adjustment of a navigational actuator of the host vehicle in response to the determined actual navigational action for the host vehicle.
US09977427B2	System and method for assisted extravehicular activity self-return A system and method for assisted EVA self-return is provided herein. The system estimates a crewmember's navigation state relative to a fixed location, for example on an accompanying orbiting spacecraft, and computes a guidance trajectory for returning the crewmember to that fixed location. The system may account for safety and clearance requirements while computing the guidance trajectory. According to at least one embodiment, the system actuates the crewmember's safety jetpack to follow the prescribed trajectory to the fixed location. In another embodiment, the system provides the crewmember with a directional cue (e.g., a visual, auditory, or tactile cue) corresponding to the prescribed trajectory back to the fixed location. The system may be activated by the crewmember or remotely by another crewmember and/or system.
US09977426B2	Mobile device, controlling terminal, mobile device controlling system and method A mobile device controlling system includes one mobile device of a plurality, a controlling terminal of a plurality, and a server. A method for the system is also described. The one mobile device of the plurality includes a connection establishment module, an information transmission module, and an operation module. The connection establishment module transmits on startup a connection request to a server to establish a connection and the information transmission module transmits mobile device ID and status to the server. The operation module receives feedback from the server as to one verified controlling terminal within the plurality and the mobile device can be exclusively controlled by that terminal according to the feedback.
US09977425B1	Systems and methods for receiving sensor data for an operating manufacturing machine and producing an alert during manufacture of a part Method, and corresponding system, for producing an alert during manufacture of a part formed by a plurality of layers. The method includes determining the sensor data values at the working tool positions of each of the plurality of layers based on a correlation of the values of the sensor data relative to time and the working tool positions of each of the plurality of layers relative to time. During the manufacturing process, the sensor data values at the working tool positions of at least one of the plurality of layers are compared to reference data values at the working tool positions for the at least one layer to determine a comparison measure for the at least one layer. An alert is transmitted if the determined comparison measure of a layer is not within a defined range. A defined action is applied to the manufacturing process based on the transmitted alert.
US09977421B2	Method for machining a blank by means of a tool The present invention relates to a method for machining a blank (10) by means of a tool (12) for producing a finished part, wherein the tool (12) is moved during the machining on a guide path (14) comprising at least three successive path segments (16, 18, 20; 16-1, 18-1, 20-1; 16-2, 18-2, 20-2; 18′) in the form of two machining segments (16, 20; 16-1, 20-1; 16-2, 20-2) and one connecting segment (18; 18-1; 18-2; 18′), which connects the two machining segments (16, 20; 16-1, 20-1; 16-2, 20-2) to one another, and wherein the connecting segment (18; 18-1; 18-2; 18′) of the path segments (16, 18, 20; 16-1, 18-1, 20-1; 16-2, 18-2, 20-2; 18′), which connecting segment connects the two machining segments (16, 20; 16-1, 20-1; 16-2, 20-2), is determined in terms of its shape by the forward feed (F1) of the tool (12) at the end (24) of the first machining segment (16) and by the forward feed (F2) of the tool (12) at the start (30) of the second machining segment (20).
US09977418B2	Control device, control method, information processing program, and recording medium A user can cause a servo motor to perform desired operation without occurrence of overshoot and hunting while being unconscious of a maximum torque that can be output from the servo motor. A control device that implements model following control includes a feedforward controller that implements sliding mode control.
US09977417B2	Method for optimizing utilization of programmable logic elements in control units for vehicles A method and a system for optimizing utilization of a programmable logic element for use in an electronic control unit for vehicles, wherein the programmable logic element has a soft CPU and/or an unused remaining area. A plurality of model variants is generated that reproduce functionality of the control unit, and generate a plurality of soft CPU configurations with differing configuration scope, which occupy an area corresponding to the configuration scope of the programmable logic element, and execute processor-in-the-loop simulations for the plurality of model variants and/or soft CPU configurations after instantiation of the soft CPU corresponding to the soft CPU configuration on a programmable logic element. The profiling data acquired for the soft CPU during the PIL simulation is used with regard to the processing of the input signal for optimizing utilization of the programmable logic element.
US09977416B2	Industrial hardware installation base reporting and failure monitoring An industrial control system includes an industrial controller with a processor executing a program stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and having a user interface and a network interface for communicating over a first control network with another industrial controller having a network interface. The other industrial controller has an additional network interface for communicating over a second control network with an industrial device. The program instructs the processor to retrieve installation information contained in the other industrial controller and the industrial device; build a data structure comprising the retrieved information; periodically monitor for a hardware failure; and send a message alarm in response to detection of a hardware failure. As a result, the installation base of the industrial system and any hardware failures are quickly understood and martial data collection is avoided.
US09977414B2	Network connected weight tracking system for a waste disposal machine A food waste disposal system includes a waste disposal machine, a PLC, which controls the operation of the food waste disposal machine; at least one scale connected to a load cell indicator; door sensors; a minicomputer, a network connection, the minicomputer in data communication with an analytics cloud. The minicomputer includes SSL certificates; validates data communicated to the analytics cloud; stores the data in a centralized database and transmit a successful status code to the mini-computer after determining that the data is valid; and transmits an error code if the data validation fails, or another type of system error occurs; examines, aggregates and processes validated data; and determines the amount of waste dumped into the waste disposal machine based on door-open and door-closed states; and pre-aggregates a weight processed data by time or by digester to provide reporting to an end-user.
US09977411B2	Motor control apparatus with magnetic flux controller and machine learning apparatus and method therefor A machine learning apparatus that learns a condition associated with a gain of a magnetic flux controller and a time constant of a magnetic flux estimator in a motor control apparatus includes: a state observation unit that observes a state variable defined by at least one of data relating to an acceleration of a motor, data relating to a jerk of the motor, and data relating to an acceleration time of the motor; and a learning unit that learns the condition associated with the gain of the magnetic flux controller and the time constant of the magnetic flux estimator in accordance with a training data set defined by the state variable.
US09977409B2	SPC fault detection and diagnostics algorithm A method for diagnosing a fault condition in a climate system is disclosed and a computer program product for doing the same. The climate system may be an HVAC system. The method comprises receiving current data from a climate system in a fault condition, calculating an anomaly score for the climate system from a first set of transition probabilities based on the current data and a second set of transition probabilities based on the climate system operating in a normal condition, and generating automatically a diagnosis of a first problem causing the fault condition when the anomaly score is above a predefined threshold. In an embodiment, the current data may include a plurality of operational Parameters of the climate system.
US09977407B2	Safety relay configuration system for safety mat device using graphical interface A safety relay configuration system for configuring safety functions to be carried out by a safety relay is provided. The configuration system comprises a number of features that facilitate intuitive and simplified configuration of an industrial safety relay, including but not limited to features that guide the user through the configuration process using an intuitive sequential procedure that provides feedback and prompts based on user interaction, enforce design consistency throughout the configuration project by intelligently limiting user selections, and visually organize configuration and status information in a manner that efficiently utilizes display space and allows the user to quickly evaluate available configuration options.
US09977401B2	Multiple laminar flow-based particle and cellular separation with laser steering The invention provides a method, apparatus and system for separating blood and other types of cellular components, and can be combined with holographic optical trapping manipulation or other forms of optical tweezing. One of the exemplary methods includes providing a first flow having a plurality of blood components; providing a second flow; contacting the first flow with the second flow to provide a first separation region; and differentially sedimenting a first blood cellular component of the plurality of blood components into the second flow while concurrently maintaining a second blood cellular component of the plurality of blood components in the first flow. The second flow having the first blood cellular component is then differentially removed from the first flow having the second blood cellular component. Holographic optical traps may also be utilized in conjunction with the various flows to move selected components from one flow to another, as part of or in addition to a separation stage.
US09977396B2	Blade and image forming apparatus incorporating same An elastic blade may include an edge layer and at least one backup layer laminated on the edge layer. The edge layer may include a contact edge to contact a contact object and an opposing face to oppose the contact object, and the backup layer may be greater in elastic power than the edge layer.
US09977388B2	Image forming apparatus that displays a remaining amount of recording material, and control method for displaying a remaining amount of recording material in an image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus for performing image formation using a recording material includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire a remaining amount of the recording material, a prediction unit configured to predict a remaining amount of the recording material based on data used for the image formation, a setting unit configured to set the predicated remaining amount of the recording material as a remaining amount of the recording material to be displayed, and a control unit configured to perform control so that when the predicted remaining amount of the recording material reaches a remaining amount of the recording material to be acquired next by the acquisition unit, the remaining amount of the recording material to be displayed is maintained at the remaining amount of the recording material to be acquired next by the acquisition unit until the acquisition unit acquires the next remaining amount of the recording material.
US09977387B2	Fixing apparatus A fixing apparatus including: an acquiring portion that acquires a difference value between a detection temperature of a first temperature detecting member and a detection temperature of a second temperature detecting member; and an alarming portion that sends a notification of an abnormality in the apparatus. The alarming portion sends the notification of an abnormality in the apparatus according to an amount of change in the difference value acquired during a fixing process.
US09977385B2	Fixing device and image forming apparatus having the same An image forming apparatus includes a fixing film for fixing a toner image formed on a recording material, and first and second fixing heaters configured to heat the fixing film. The first fixing heater has a high heat generation region at a center portion in a width direction of a fixing nip portion and the second fixing heater has a high heat generation region at an end portion in the width direction of the fixing nip portion. A center portion temperature detection unit detects a center portion temperature of a center portion of the fixing film in the width direction. An end portion temperature detection unit detects an end portion temperature of an end portion of the fixing film in the width direction. A size detection unit detects a size of the recording material. A control unit controls a heat generation amount of the fixing heaters.
US09977384B2	Image forming apparatus including scanner unit disposed above sheet ejection tray An image forming apparatus includes a printer unit including a sheet ejection tray located on an upper surface of the printer unit; a scanner unit spaced above the sheet ejection tray of the printer unit in a vertical direction; an operation unit disposed at a front end portion of the scanner unit, the operation unit including a touchscreen; a cover covering a bottom side of the touchscreen in the vertical direction; and a fixing portion fixing the cover to the front end portion of the scanner unit. The cover includes a support portion that, when projected on an imaginary horizontal surface, overlaps a part of the touchscreen. The support portion is shaped like a box extending in the vertical direction and is coupled to a portion of the upper surface of the printer unit adjacent to the sheet ejection tray.
US09977383B2	Powder coating apparatus A powder coating apparatus includes: a transport device that transports an object to be coated; an applying unit disposed to be opposed to a surface to be coated of the transported object to be coated and applying a charged thermosetting powder coating material onto the surface to be coated of the object to be coated, that includes an applying section including a cylindrical or columnar applying member that is disposed to be separated from the surface to be coated of the object to be coated, and a supplying section including a cylindrical or columnar supplying member that supplies the powder coating material onto the surface of the applying member; a voltage applying device; and a heating device.
US09977376B1	Method to control transfer of black and color toned images during simplex printing A method for controlling transfer of black color toned images during simplex printing. The method comprises identifying a first image of a print job is a black-only image, determining whether or not the print job includes at least one color image, upon determining that the print job includes at least one color image, rotating only the black photoconductive (PC) drum and transferring a black-only toned first image thereon onto a rotating intermediate transfer member (ITM) belt and subsequently onto a surface of the media sheet at the image transfer roll, and moving color transfer rolls into engagement the color PC drums and pausing their rotation, and, upon determining that the print job does not include at least one color image, moving the color transfer rolls to disengage the ITM belt from the color PC drums and rotating only the black PC drum to sequentially transfer each remaining black-only toned image onto the ITM belt for printing on a surface of a corresponding next sequential media sheet at the image transfer roll.
US09977373B2	Pattern foil printing A printer includes an image formation portion, a feed portion, and a transfer portion. The image formation portion transfers formed first and second patterned marking agent layers from a photoconductor member onto an intermediate transfer member. The feed portion directs a portion of a foil layer to become adhered, according to the pattern, onto the first marking agent layer on the intermediate transfer member before the second marking agent layer is transferred onto, and becomes adhered to, the foil portion. The transfer portion causes transfer of the foil portion from the intermediate transfer member, via transfer of at least the second marking agent layer from the intermediate transfer member, onto a substrate.
US09977371B2	Driving device and image forming apparatus including the same An electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a driving device including a first gear and a second gear, a power transmitter configured to transfer a rotational force applied in one direction from the motor to the first and second gears; a cam configured to set the power transmitter to one of a release mode in which the motor is disconnected from the first and second gears, a first connection mode in which one of the first and second gears is connected to the motor, and a second connection mode in which the other of the first and second gears is connected to the motor; and a clutch configured to selectively transfer the rotational force applied in the one direction from the motor to the cam.
US09977367B2	Toner, toner housing unit, and image forming apparatus A toner includes a toner base particle including a binder resin; a release agent; and an inorganic fine particle, and an external additive. The inorganic fine particle is silica having an average abundance ratio at the surface of the toner base particle of from 70% to 90%. The toner base particle has a BET specific surface area of from 1.0 m2/g to 2.5 m2/g after the external additive is removed from the toner.
US09977365B2	Image forming apparatus with correction of exposure light using measurement image An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, an exposing unit exposes the photosensitive member to exposure light to form an electrostatic latent image, a developing unit develops the electrostatic latent image to form an image, an intermediate transfer member onto which the image on the photosensitive member is transferred, a measurement unit measures a measurement image on the intermediate transfer member, an adjustment unit adjusts gradation characteristics based on the measurement result of the measurement unit, and correction unit corrects intensity of the exposure light for each of a plurality of positions on the photosensitive member in a scanning direction. the correction unit corrects the intensity based on the correction amount with respect to the intensity corresponding to a predetermined position. the predetermine position corresponds to a position in the scanning direction, at which the measurement image is formed.
US09977362B2	Image forming apparatus that applies voltage to primary transfer roller to detect current flowing through primary transfer roller An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum, a primary transfer roller, first and second voltage applicators, first and second voltage controllers, a current detector, and a charging roller. The first voltage controller controls a voltage applied to the primary transfer roller through the first voltage applicator. The current detector detects a current value of a current flowing through the primary transfer roller. The second voltage controller controls a voltage applied to the charging roller through the second voltage applicator. The second voltage controller causes a voltage having a smaller absolute value than a dark potential of the photosensitive drum to be applied to the photosensitive drum during a transfer voltage control period. During the transfer voltage control period, the first voltage controller causes a voltage to be applied to the primary transfer roller, and the current detector detects the current value.
US09977358B2	Image forming device An image forming device continuously forming an image according to a job in a conveying direction of along continuous paper includes: an image formation section forming the image according to the job on the continuous paper; an interval setting section setting a job interval of the image according to the job, which is continuously formed by the image formation section, on the basis of an operation from a user; an image forming process switching section switching two states of a state where the image formation section forms a color image and a state where the image formation section forms a monochromic image; and a switching determination section determining whether or not the two states are switched on the basis of a comparison result between the job interval set by the interval setting section and a paper conveying distance according to a switching time required for switching the two states.
US09977356B2	Cold pressure fix toner compositions based on crystalline polyester and amorphous organic compound mixtures A cold pressure fix toner composition includes at least one crystalline polyester material having a melting point in a range from about 30° C. to about 130° C. and at least one C16 to C80 amorphous organic material having a Tg of from about −30° C. to about 70° C. A method of cold pressure fix toner application includes providing the cold pressure fix toner composition, disposing the cold pressure fix toner composition on a substrate, and applying pressure to the disposed composition on the substrate under cold pressure fixing conditions. A latex can be formed from the cold pressure fix toner composition.
US09977355B2	Toner, one-component developer, and two-component developer A plurality of toner particles each include a toner core, a shell layer covering a surface of the toner core, and a plurality of magnetic particles penetrating the shell layer. Each of the magnetic particles has an embedded portion and a protrusion portion. The embedded portions are embedded in the surface of the toner core. The protrusion portions are located further outward than the embedded portions in a radial direction of the toner particle and protrude outward from a surface of the shell layer in the radial direction of the toner particle. An average Heywood diameter X of the magnetic particles, a shell layer thickness Y, and an average value Z of protrusion heights of the respective magnetic particles satisfy relation (1) and relation (2) shown below. 0
US09977352B2	Exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method A device manufacturing method forms a liquid immersion area under a projection system via which an exposure light is projected, while supplying a liquid via a liquid supply inlet of a liquid retaining member and collecting the supplied liquid along with a gas via a liquid recovery outlet of the liquid retaining member. The liquid retaining member surrounds a tip portion of the projection system, which has a last optical element having a surface. The liquid retaining member has a surface opposite to the surface of the last optical element with a gap between the surfaces. A substrate is exposed with the exposure light through the liquid of the liquid immersion area, while moving the substrate below and relative to the projection system and the liquid retaining member. One of the liquid and the gas is separated from the other which have been collected via the liquid recovery outlet.
US09977351B2	Patterning device support, lithographic apparatus, and method of controlling patterning device temperature A patterning device support for controlling a temperature of a patterning device can include a movable component. The movable component can include a gas inlet for supplying a gas flow across a surface of the patterning device and a gas outlet for extracting the gas flow. The patterning device support can also include a gas flow generator coupled to a duct, for recirculating the gas flow from the gas outlet to the gas inlet.
US09977348B2	Lithographic apparatus and method A lithographic apparatus includes an optical sensor, a movable body, a support, a deflector system, a first drive system and a second drive system. The movable body is moveable relative to the sensor. The support is for holding the sensor. The first drive system is arranged to move the movable body relative to the sensor. The second drive system is arranged to move the first drive system relative to the sensor. The second drive system is arranged to move the deflector system relative to the sensor. A disturbance is induced by a movement of the movable body. The deflector system is arranged to create a deflecting area for reflecting the disturbance away from the support.
US09977344B2	Metrology target, method and apparatus, computer program and lithographic system Disclosed is a substrate comprising a combined target for measurement of overlay and focus. The target comprises: a first layer comprising a first periodic structure; and a second layer comprising a second periodic structure overlaying the first periodic structure. The target has structural asymmetry which comprises a structural asymmetry component resultant from unintentional mismatch between the first periodic structure and the second periodic structure, a structural asymmetry component resultant from an intentional positional offset between the first periodic structure and the second periodic structure and a focus dependent structural asymmetry component which is dependent upon a focus setting during exposure of said combined target on said substrate. Also disclosed is a method for forming such a target, and associated lithographic and metrology apparatuses.
US09977340B2	Method and apparatus for measuring a structure on a substrate, computer program products for implementing such methods and apparatus Diffraction models and scatterometry are used to reconstruct a model of a microscopic structure on a substrate. A plurality of candidate structures are defined, each represented by a plurality of parameters (p1, p2, etc.)). A plurality of model diffraction signals are calculated by simulating illumination of each of the candidate structures. The structure is reconstructed by fitting one or more of the model diffraction signals to a signal detected from the structure. In the generation of the candidate structures, a model recipe is used in which parameters are designated as either fixed or variable. Among the variable parameters, certain parameters are constrained to vary together in accordance with certain constraints, such as linear constraints. An optimized set of constraints, and therefore an optimized model recipe, is determined by reference to a user input designating one or more parameters of interest for a measurement, and by simulating the reconstruction process reconstruction. The optimized model recipe can be determined automatically by a parameter advisor process that simulates reconstruction of a set of reference structures, using a plurality of candidate model recipes. In the generation of the reference structures, restrictions can be applied to exclude unrealistic parameter combinations.
US09977338B2	Projection objective for a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus A projection objective of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus contains a plurality of optical elements arranged in N>−2 successive sections A1 to AN of the projection objective which are separated from one another by pupil planes or intermediate image planes. According to the invention, in order to correct a wavefront deformation, at least two optical elements each have an optically active surface locally reprocessed aspherically. A first optical element is in this case arranged in one section Aj, j=1 . . . N and a second optical element is arranged in another section Ak, k=1 . . . N, the magnitude difference \|k−j\| being an odd number.
US09977336B2	Exposure method, exposure apparatus, and method for producing device A liquid immersion exposure apparatus in which a substrate is exposed with an exposure beam, includes a projection optical system by which the substrate is exposed to the exposure beam, a first inlet disposed at a first position, which is capable of supplying a first liquid to a space adjacent to a bottom surface of the projection optical system, and a second inlet disposed at a second position which is different from the first position, the second inlet being capable of supplying a second liquid that is different from the first liquid to the space.
US09977326B2	Pellicle for EUV A pellicle is proposed in which an adhesive layer which adheres a pellicle film to a pellicle frame is mixed (filled) with powder of thermally conductive material such as metallic compound so that the heat generated by the strong EUV ray is quickly passed to the pellicle frame from the pellicle film lest the latter is deformed by the heat.
US09977325B2	Modifying design layer of integrated circuit (IC) Various embodiments include approaches for modifying a design layer of an integrated circuit (IC). In some cases, an approach includes: identifying at least one empty region in a design layer used to form the IC; determining whether the at least one empty region requires a fill object; placing at least one fill object in the at least one empty region and tagging the at least one fill object in response to determining the at least one empty region requires a fill object; performing a simplified optical proximity correction (OPC) on the tagged at least one fill object and a complete OPC on the design layer; and generating a modified design layer including a corrected version of the design layer and modified fill objects after the performing of the simplified OPC on the tagged at least one fill object and the complete OPC on the design layer.
US09977323B2	Reflective mask and method for manufacturing reflective mask A reflective mask comprises a substrate, first and second stacked bodies, and an intermediate portion. The first stacked body is provided on a surface of the substrate. The first stacked body includes a plurality of first layers and a plurality of second layers. A refractive index for a first electromagnetic ray of the first layer is different from a refractive index for the first electromagnetic ray of the second layer. The second stacked body includes a plurality of third layers and a plurality of fourth layers. A refractive index for the first electromagnetic ray of the third layer is different from a refractive index for the first electromagnetic ray of the fourth layer. A reflectance to the first electromagnetic ray of each of the first stacked body and the second stacked body is higher than a reflectance to the first electromagnetic ray of the intermediate portion.
US09977316B2	Projection apparatus and illumination system thereof An illumination system includes a light integration rod and a light source module. The light integration rod has a light-in end, a light-out end opposite to the light-in end, and phosphor distributed between the light-in end and the light-out end. The light source module is configured to provide a laser beam to enter into the light integration rod through the light-in end thereof. The phosphor is used to convert the laser beam into a first color beam to form an illumination beam. The illumination beam then emits out from the light integration rod through the light-out end thereof. A projection apparatus using the aforementioned illumination system is also provided.
US09977314B1	Light-pipe adjusting apparatus The present application provides a light-pipe adjusting apparatus comprising: a first support; a light-pipe component, slidably connected to the first support via a first rail; and a first drive device, provided on the first support and connected to the light-pipe component for driving the light-pipe component to slide along the first rail. The present application can improve the accuracy and reliability of the position adjustment of the light-pipe component.
US09977312B1	Remote controlled rotating camera mount The invention comprises a small, easily transportable, specially programmed, camera mounting device with a wireless remote control. The camera mounting device is equipped with a ¼-20 stud, the standard type of stud used by tripods, so the user can easily mount a Go-Pro camera or any other kind of presently available small camera on the camera mounting device. Embodiments of the device can rotate the camera up to 360 degrees, left or right, at any of multiple speeds, and can also pause, and rotate the camera up or down, when needed. Embodiments of the device can attach themselves to other surfaces. The invention eliminates the need to use multiple cameras, while making a video, and splice the video together after the fact. This invention also comprises a method of filming, using the camera mount of the present invention, or a comparable camera mount.
US09977309B2	Electrophoretic fluid This invention relates to electrophoretic fluids comprising a solvent, a dye, white particles, and colored particles selected from red, green, blue, magenta, cyan, yellow particles, and mixtures thereof, and electrophoretic display devices comprising such fluids.
US09977302B2	Display device comprising a first common wiring portion having a width larger than a width of a second common wiring portion A display device includes a gate lines extending in a first direction, data lines extending in a second direction, pixel electrodes, a common electrode disposed to face the pixel electrodes, common wirings that are electrically connected to the common electrode; and a common bus line that extends in the first direction outside of a display region and is electrically connected to the common wirings. Each of the common wiring includes a first common wiring portion extending in the first direction and a second common wiring portion that is connected to the first common wiring portion and extends in the second direction outside of the display region. A width of the first common wiring portion in the first direction is larger than a width of the second common wiring portion in the first direction. Both ends of the first common wiring portion in the first direction are electrically connected to the common bus line.
US09977299B2	Static electricity protection circuit, electro-optical apparatus, and electronic equipment A first static electricity protection circuit is provided with a first n-type transistor and a first p-type transistor, a second static electricity protection circuit is provided with at least one of a second n-type transistor and a second p-type transistor, a source is connected with a gate in these transistors, a gate of the first n-type transistor is electrically connected with a low potential power wiring VSS, a drain of the first n-type transistor is electrically connected with a signal wiring SL, a gate of the first p-type transistor is electrically connected with a high potential power wiring VDD, a drain of the first p-type transistor is electrically connected with the signal wiring SL, and a drain of at least one of the second n-type transistor and the second p-type transistor is electrically connected with the low potential power wiring VSS or the high potential power wiring VDD.
US09977297B2	Liquid crystal panel assembly and liquid crystal panel packaging assembly The liquid crystal panel packaging assembly contains a liquid crystal panel assembly and a support tray. The liquid crystal panel assembly contains a liquid crystal panel, a wiring board, and a circuit board. The wiring board has a first end electrically connected to the liquid crystal panel and a second end configured with a first connection element. The circuit board has a second connection element for connection with the first connection element so that the circuit board is electrically connected to the wiring board. The support tray contains a first indentation for receiving the liquid crystal panel, a second indentation for receiving the wiring board, and at least a socket. The second indentation is at a side and is connected to the first indentation. The socket is located at a lateral side of the second indentation, and the circuit board is plugged into the socket.
US09977296B2	LCD device including coupling capacitor and method of manufacturing the same A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate including an electrode structure layer defining a pixel and a switching device configured to switch the pixel, an opposite second substrate facing the first substrate and including a common electrode, and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first and second substrates. The electrode structure layer includes a coupling electrode, a first pixel electrode, a second pixel electrode, and an insulating layer disposed between the coupling electrode and the second pixel electrode. An absolute value difference between a first product RpCp of a resistance Rp and a capacitance Cp defined by the coupling electrode, the insulating layer, and the second pixel electrode, and a second product R2C2 of a resistance R2 and a capacitance C2 defined by the second pixel electrode, the liquid crystal layer, and the common electrode is less than or equal to 10.
US09977290B2	Method for manufacturing liquid crystal display device The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device including a photo-alignment film and capable of sufficiently improving the display quality. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device of the present invention is a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device including a photo-alignment film. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device successively includes a step (1) of forming on a substrate a film from a photo-alignment-film material that contains a solvent, a polymer including a photo-functional group that is capable of causing at least one chemical reaction selected from the group consisting of photodimerization, photoisomerization, and photo-Fries rearrangement, and a polymer including a polyamic acid backbone and free from the photo-functional group; a step (2) of pre-heating the film to evaporate the solvent; a step (3) of irradiating the pre-heated film with polarized light; and a step (4) of main-heating the polarized-light-irradiated film. The liquid crystal display device is of an in-plane switching mode or a fringe field switching mode in each of which a pre-tilt angle is substantially 0°.
US09977289B2	Liquid crystal display having wide viewing angle A tetragonal ring shape aperture is formed in the common electrode on one substrate and a cross shape aperture is formed at the position corresponding to the center of the tetragonal ring shape aperture in the pixel electrode on the other substrate. A liquid crystal layer between two electrodes are divided to four domains where the directors of the liquid crystal layer have different angles when a voltage is applied to the electrodes. The directors in adjacent domains make a right angle. The tetragonal ring shape aperture is broken at midpoint of each side of the tetragon, and the width of the aperture decreases as goes from the bent point to the edge. Wide viewing angle is obtained by four domains where the directors of the liquid crystal layer indicate different directions, disclination is removed and luminance increases.
US09977287B2	Liquid crystal panel with pixel electrode pattern bent at bend point, and electronic apparatus A liquid crystal panel includes: first and second substrates arranged to be opposite each other at a predetermined gap; a liquid crystal layer filled between the first and second substrates; alignment films; a counter electrode pattern formed on the first substrate; and a pixel electrode pattern formed on the first substrate so as to have a plurality of electrode branches, the extension direction of which is bent at one bend point provided near an upper pixel portion from the center of a pixel region, and which are connected at the end portion of at least the upper pixel portion or lower pixel portion, wherein the extension direction of a slit formed near the upper pixel portion from the bend point from among slits formed in the pixel electrode pattern crosses the alignment direction of the liquid crystal layer at an angle of 7° or larger.
US09977279B2	Color filter substrate and manufacturing method thereof, and display device A color filter substrate and a manufacturing method thereof, and a display device are provided. The color filter substrate includes a base substrate and a black matrix arranged on the base substrate, the color filter substrate further includes a via hole arranged in a non-display region, and viewing from a side of the base substrate opposite to the black matrix, the via hole exposes a part of the black matrix in contact with the via hole.
US09977275B2	Filter module comprising first and second conductive patterns embedded in a patterned grooved surface of a coating layer and touch screen having the same The present disclosure relates to a filter module and a touch screen having the filter module. The filter module includes a substrate, the substrate includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the first surface is provided with a shielding matrix and a color resister distributed in the shielding matrix, the shielding matrix includes intersecting grid lines, the grid lines intersect to form grids, the color resister is formed in the grids, the second surface is provided with a conductive layer, the conductive layer comprises a first conductive pattern and a second conductive pattern, the first conductive pattern and the second conductive pattern are spaced apart from each other to form a sensing structure, the conductive layer is coated with a coating layer.
US09977272B2	In-cell touch display panel structure using conductive wires to connect with sensing electrodes An in-cell touch display panel structure includes upper and lower substrates configured therebetween a display material layer, a black matrix sensing electrode layer, a sensing electrode trace layer, and an insulation layer. The black matrix sensing electrode layer is composed of a plurality of opaque conductor lines, which are patterned to form a plurality of sensing electrodes. The sensing electrode trace layer is composed of a plurality of trace conductor lines. The insulation layer is disposed between the sensing electrode trace layer and the black matrix sensing electrode layer. Each sensing electrode is connected with at least one trace conductor line. The plurality of trace conductor lines are disposed at positions corresponding to those of the plurality of opaque conductor lines of the black matrix sensing electrode layer.
US09977268B2	Optical tuning system and method An optical processing system providing a rapid optical response, the system including: a first optical material sensitive to an effective refractive index change under photon absorption; a first optical pump for optically pumping the first optical material at a first frequency so as to cause the first optical material to undergo an effective refractive index change by means of photon absorption; a second optical pump for optically pumping the first optical material at a second frequency so as to cause the first optical material to undergo a rapid second refractive index change by means of stimulated emission.
US09977259B2	Method of controlling a programmable lens device A method of controlling a programmable lens device comprising a programmable lens and an optical function controller, the programmable lens having an optical function and extending between at least one eye of the wearer and the real world scene when the device is used by the wearer, and the optical function controller being arranged to control the optical function of the programmable lens, the method comprising: an optical function data receiving step during which optical function data relating to the optical function of the programmable lens is received by the optical function controller, an optical function modifying step during which the optical function of the programmable electronic lens device is modified by the optical function controller based on the optical function data.
US09977256B2	Methods for manufacturing and programming an energizable ophthalmic lens with a programmable media insert The present invention discloses methods for manufacturing and programming an energizable Ophthalmic Lens with a programmable Media Insert. In some embodiments, a Media Insert may be programmable to allow for further customization of the energized Ophthalmic Lens. The Media Insert may be programmed prior to or during the manufacturing process. Alternatively, the Media Insert may be programmed after the components have been encapsulated, wherein the programming may occur wirelessly. Accordingly, methods of wirelessly programming the Media Insert may be significant.
US09977255B2	Lens moving apparatus An embodiment includes a bobbin provided at an outer circumferential surface thereof with a first coil, a first position sensor disposed on the outer circumferential surface of the bobbin and spaced apart from the first coil, a first magnet disposed so as to be opposite to the first position sensor, a second magnet disposed so as to be opposite to the first coil, the second magnet being configured to move the bobbin in a direction parallel to an optical axis via electromagnetic interaction with the first coil, a housing configured to support the first magnet and the second magnet; and upper and lower elastic members coupled to the bobbin and the housing, wherein the first position sensor is moved along with the bobbin.
US09977252B1	Dark line compensation in polarized three-dimensional viewing Three-dimensional display systems may include polarized displays that polarize light emitted from a first set of areas of the display with a first polarization for a first eye of the viewer and that polarizes light emitted from a second set of areas of the display with a second polarization for a second eye of the viewer. This may result in dark areas being perceived by a viewer when viewed through polarized 3D glasses. Systems and technologies according to this disclosure may include 3D glasses that have a lenses configured to redirect a portion of incoming light in a first axis to at least partially illuminate the dark areas.
US09977245B2	Augmented reality eyewear Eyewear for displaying a virtual image comprising a visor for placement in a field of vision of a wearer, a light source in optical communication with the visor, and a reflective surface situated within the visor and configured to direct light projected into the visor from the light source toward at least one eye of the wearer for display as a virtual image. Another eyewear comprising a visor configured to display a virtual image in a field of vision of a wearer, a frame for supporting the visor, and electronics for operating the eyewear, the electronics being integrally embedded within one or more components of the frame.
US09977244B2	Substrate-guide optical device An optical device, including a light waves-transmitting substrate has two major surfaces and edges, optical means for coupling light into the substrate by total internal reflection, and a plurality of partially reflecting surfaces (22a, 22b) carried by the substrate. The partially reflecting surfaces (22a, 22b) are parallel to each other and are not parallel to any of the edges of the substrate, one or more of the partially reflecting surfaces (22a, 22b) being an anisotropic surface. The optical device has dual operational modes in see-through configuration. In a first mode, light waves are projected from a display source through the substrate to an eye of a viewer. In a second mode, the display source is shut off and only an external scene is viewable through the substrate.
US09977240B2	System for displaying an image on a windshield The invention relates to a screen comprising transparent portions and retroreflective portions distributed over all or part of the surface thereof.
US09977238B2	Virtual image display apparatus An intermediate image is formed inside a first prism, and an image light, which is reflected on the order of a third surface, a first surface and a second surface, is transmitted through the first surface and reaches the eyes of the observer, therefore it is possible to make the entire optical system small and light in weight by making the first prism thin, and realize a high performance display device with a wide angle of view. Further, when an external light is passed through, for example, the first surface and the third surface and observed, a diopter scale is set to approximately zero, and thereby reducing the defocus or distortion of the external light when observed in a see-through manner. And, it is possible such that the shape of the first prism conforms to the face of the observer, the center is also close to the face.
US09977236B2	Optical scanning method and optical scanning apparatus This optical scanning method yields a high quality image. An emission end of an optical fiber is displaced two-dimensionally to scan light emitted from the optical fiber, the emission end being displaced with an optical scanning actuator that includes a first driver and a second driver for driving the emission end in different directions. A circular scanning area is scanned by controlling, with a driver controller, a first drive signal supplied to the first driver and a second drive signal supplied to the second driver so as to rotate a scanning pattern of the light while causing the scanning pattern to reciprocate repeatedly in a nearly parallel manner with constant length.
US09977235B2	Variable total internal reflection electrowetting lens assembly for a detector Disclosed are examples of optical/electrical devices including a variable TIR lens assembly having a transducer, an optical lens and an electrowetting cell coupled to an exterior wall of the lens. The electrowetting cell contains two immiscible liquids having different optical and electrical properties. One liquid has a high index of refraction, and the other liquid has a low index of refraction. At least one liquid is electrically conductive. A signal causes the high index of refraction and the low index of refraction liquids to assume various positions within the electrowetting cell along the exterior wall. The properties of the optical lens, e.g. its total internal reflectivity, change depending upon the position of the respective liquids along the exterior wall. The light detection characteristics of the assembly change to receive an input light beam over a range of inputs or over a range of fields of view.
US09977234B1	Electrowetting display pixel walls and spacers having surface features A display device includes a first support plate and an opposing second support plate. A wall is formed on the first support plate. A portion of the wall is associated with an electrowetting pixel. A distal end of the wall portion forms a non-planar contact surface having a first surface feature. A spacer is positioned between the second support plate and the wall portion. The spacer has a distal end forming a non-planar contact surface with a second surface feature complementary to the first surface feature. The non-planar contact surface of the spacer contacts the non-planar contact surface of the wall portion.
US09977229B2	Inner layer measurement method and inner layer measurement device In an inner layer measurement method, first irradiation light and second irradiation light having a peak wavelength longer than that of the first irradiation light are formed by changing at least one of a position where light emitted from a lamp is transmitted through a short pass filter and a position where light emitted from a lamp is transmitted through a long pass filter. Then, a first XY sectional surface of a semitransparent body is measured by irradiating the first XY sectional surface with the first irradiation light. A second XY sectional surface positioned on a layer deeper than the first XY sectional surface is measured by irradiating the second XY sectional surface with the second irradiation light. Each of the short pass filter and the long pass filter can transmit the light and has properties of changing a cutoff wavelength according to the position where the light is transmitted.
US09977225B2	Photographing optical lens assembly, image capturing unit and electronic device A photographing optical lens assembly includes, in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens element, a second lens element, a third lens element, a fourth lens element, a fifth lens element, a sixth lens element and a seventh lens element. The first lens element with refractive power has an object-side surface being convex in a paraxial region thereof. Each second, third, fourth and fifth lens element has refractive power. The sixth lens element with negative refractive power has an object-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof and an image-side surface being convex in a paraxial region thereof, and both of the surfaces of the sixth lens element are aspheric. The seventh lens element with refractive power has an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof, wherein the image-side surface has at least one convex shape in an off-axis region thereof.
US09977224B2	Optical imaging system, imaging apparatus and electronic device An optical imaging system includes, in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens element having positive refractive power, a second lens element having negative refractive power, a third lens element, a fourth lens element, a fifth lens element having both an object-side surface and an image-side surface being aspheric, and a sixth lens element having both an object-side surface and an image-side surface being aspheric, wherein the optical imaging system has a total of six lens elements; at least one lens element among the first lens element, the second lens element, the third lens element, the fourth lens element, the fifth lens element, and the sixth lens element has at least one inflection point.
US09977223B2	Optical image capturing system A six-piece optical lens for capturing image and a six-piece optical module for capturing image are provided. In order from an object side to an image side, the optical lens along the optical axis includes a first lens with refractive power, a second lens with refractive power, a third lens with refractive power, a fourth lens with refractive power, a fifth lens with refractive power and a sixth lens with refractive power. At least one of the image-side surface and object-side surface of each of the six lens elements is aspheric. The optical lens can increase aperture value and improve the imagining quality for use in compact cameras.
US09977221B2	Interactive lens assembly Provided is an interactive lens assembly, including first lens, a second lens, an aperture stop, a third lens and a filter from an object side of the interactive lens assembly to an image side of the interactive lens assembly in turn. The first lens is of a negative focal power, an image side surface of the first lens is concave; the second lens is of a focal power; the third lens is of a positive focal power, an image side surface of the third lens is convex, and each of the first lens, the second lens and the third lens is made of a plastic material; the interactive lens assembly meets the following formulas: (CT1+CT2)/CT3<0.9; and ImgH/(f*TTL)≥0.4 mm−1.
US09977219B2	Unit for actuating lens, camera module, and optical apparatus A lens actuating unit is provided. The lens actuating unit includes: a bobbin configured to accommodate a lens module at an inner side of the bobbin; a first coil unit disposed at the bobbin; a housing disposed at an outer side of the bobbin; and a magnet unit configured to move the first coil unit through electromagnetic interaction with the first coil unit, wherein the housing includes a hole formed by being recessed from an inner side to an outer side to accommodate the magnet unit.
US09977217B2	Imaging device An imaging device comprises a lens barrel including an optical system that collects light from a predetermined viewing area and that defines an optical axis; an imaging unit that receives the light collected by the optical system and generates image data, the image data defining a main image that includes a determined sub area; a ring-shaped operation ring that is provided on an outer circumference of the lens barrel and that is manually rotatable about the optical axis of the optical system; and an area change unit that changes at least one of (A) a size of the determined sub area, or (B) a position of the determined sub area, responsive to a manual operation of the operation ring.
US09977215B2	Lens barrel A lens tube includes: a cylindrical exterior member having one axial end disposed on an object side and the other axial end disposed on an image side; a cylindrical protective member including an elastic body protecting the exterior member; and a cylindrical attachment-mounting member disposed on the inside of the exterior member and configured to mount an attachment, the protective member including: a cylindrical body disposed between the exterior member and the attachment-mounting member; an exterior-member protection portion provided at an axial end on the object side of the cylindrical body to project to the object side; and a flange portion projecting radially inwardly from an inner periphery of the cylindrical body and facing an axial end surface on the image side of the attachment-mounting member, the cylindrical body and the flange portion having at least three notched portions, the attachment-mounting member including at least three fixing portions.
US09977212B2	Fiber optic distribution system A fiber optic telecommunications system includes a frame and a fiber optic module mounted on the frame via a slide assembly that includes a gear mechanism. The slide assembly is defined by a rack mount portion, a center portion, and a main housing portion. The rack mount portion is stationarily coupled to the frame, the center portion is slidably coupled to the rack mount portion along a sliding direction, and the main housing portion is slidably coupled to the center portion along the sliding direction. The center portion includes a latch for unlatching the center portion for slidable movement, wherein movement of the center portion with respect to the rack mount portion moves the main housing portion relative to the frame along the sliding direction. The main housing portion is configured for mounting adapters that receive connectorized cables for routing through the frame. The main housing portion includes electrical contacts for relaying an electrical connection established between an adapter mounted on the main housing portion and an optical connector inserted into the adapter, the electrical connection relayed from the electrical contacts of the main housing portion to a frame controller mounted on the frame via printed circuit boards.
US09977208B2	Power and optical fiber interface A power and optical fiber interface system includes a housing having an interior. A cable inlet is configured to receive a hybrid cable having an electrical conductor and an optical fiber. An insulation displacement connector (IDC) is situated in the interior of the housing configured to electrically terminate the conductor, and a cable outlet is configured to receive an output cable that is connectable to the IDC and configured to output signals received via the optical fiber.
US09977207B2	Optical fiber cable with bonded core elements An optical communication cable and related systems and methods are provided. The optical cable includes a plurality of wrapped core elements, and the outer surfaces of adjacent wrapped core elements are joined together by discrete bond sections. The discrete bonds sections may be structures such as laser welds, ultrasonic welds, or adhesive material. The discrete bonds hold the wrapped core elements together in the wrapped pattern, such as an SZ stranding pattern.
US09977204B2	Optical apparatus, printed circuit board A printed circuit board includes a main body of laminate structures, and a metal piece. The main body has a first opening and a second opening. The metal piece is held by the laminate structures of the main body. The metal piece has a first face and a second face opposite to the first face. The first opening and the second opening respectively extend to the first face and the second face of the metal piece. A semiconductor optical device can be mounted on the first face of the metal piece, in the first opening.
US09977198B2	High retention force optical coupling A telecommunication enclosure (400) is described herein wherein the telecommunications enclosure (400) is configured for making an external optical connection. The enclosure includes a base (410) having at least one port (420) having an integral exterior section (421) disposed around the port (420) outside of the enclosure (400) and an optical coupling (450) disposed at least partially within the port (420). The optical coupling (450) has a first connector housing (455) disposed within the exterior section of the port (420) and a second connector housing (465) disposed within the interior of the telecommunication enclosure (400). In an exemplary aspect, the optical coupling (450) is secured directly within the port (420) of the telecommunication enclosure (400).
US09977196B2	Optical connector and method for connecting optical fiber cables An optical connector includes a sleeve that positions a front end portion of a first ferrule and a front end portion of a second ferrule so as to face each other on the same axis, a first connection retaining member and a second connection retaining member that maintain a state in which the front end portions of the first and second ferrules contact each other and press against each other, and a coil spring that generates a force with which the front end portions of the first and second ferrules press against each other. Optical fiber cables can be connected to each other by containing the first ferrule and the second ferrule, which are attached to the sleeve, respectively in the first connection retaining member and the second connection retaining member and by coupling the first connection retaining member and the second connection retaining member to each other.
US09977195B2	Optical fiber connector and ferrule Multi-fiber ferrules may be produced with tapered bodies and guide pin holes that have fluted internal surfaces with projections for engaging the guide pins, and channels for capturing any foreign material that may accumulate on or around the guide pins, thereby providing improved consistency in fiber connections during mating of the ferrules.
US09977193B2	Dust cap and optical transceiver The invention provides a dust cap which allows for performing operation test of an optical transceiver without removing the dust cap from the optical transceiver. The dust cap 100 comprises: a connector 110a having an opening on a distal end of the connector 110a, which is pressed into a transmission adapter of the optical transceiver 300; a connector 110b having an opening on a distal end of the connector 110b, which is pressed into a reception adapter of the optical transceiver 300 adjacent to the transmission adapter; a support member 140 connected with proximal ends of the connectors 110a, 110b and configured to support the connectors 110a, 110b; and an optical transmission path 130 configured to pass through the connector 110a, the support member 140, and the connector 110b in that order and to transmit light from the opening of the connector 110a to the opening of the connector 110b.
US09977185B2	Integration of bonded optoelectronics, photonics waveguide and VLSI SOI An optoelectronic device includes an integrated circuit including electronic devices formed on a front side of a semiconductor substrate. A barrier layer is formed on a back side of the semiconductor substrate. A photonics layer is formed on the barrier layer. The photonics layer includes a core for transmission of light and a cladding layer encapsulating the core and including a different index of refraction than the core. The core is configured to couple light generated from a component of the optoelectronic device.
US09977183B2	Optical fiber and optical fiber transmission path The present embodiment relates to an optical fiber having a W-type refractive index d profile or a trench-type refractive index profile and having reduced microbending loss in a wavelength band to be actually used. The optical fiber includes a center core, an inner cladding surrounding the center core, and an outer cladding surrounding the inner cladding. The inner cladding has a refractive index lower than a refractive index of at least the center core and the outer cladding has a refractive index lower than the refractive index of the center core and higher than the refractive index of the inner cladding. Wavelength dependency of microbending loss has a local maximal value and a shortest wavelength λth where the microbending loss becomes 10% of the local maximal value is longer than 1560 nm.
US09977182B2	Multimode optical fibers and methods of manufacture thereof The present invention generally relates to the field of fiber optics, and more specifically to optical fibers, methods of manufacturing optical fibers, and methods of classifying optical fibers. In an embodiment, the present invention is a multimode optical fiber which comprises a core and clad material system where the refractive indices of the core and cladding are selected to minimize chromatic dispersion in the 850 nm wavelength window and the refractive index profile is optimized for minimum modal-chromatic dispersion in channels utilizing VCSEL transceivers. Multimode optical fibers according to this embodiment may have increased channel bandwidth.
US09977181B2	Optical device and optical device manufacturing method Provided is an optical device whose resin member is less likely to reach a high temperature, as compared with that of a conventional optical device. The optical device (1) includes (i) an optical fiber (11) in which a jacket-removed section (I1) is provided and (ii) a resin member (12) in which the jacket-removed section (I1) is embedded. The jacket-removed section (I1) is a section in which a part of a jacket (112) covering an outer surface of a cladding (111b) is removed so that only a part of the outer surface of the cladding (111b) is exposed in a cross section of the optical fiber (11).
US09977179B2	Plastic optical fiber ribbon A plastic optical fiber ribbon excellent in efficiency for positioning to V grooves is provided. The ribbon contains plural plastic optical fibers integrated by a collective coating and arranged so that their center axes are parallel to one another in the same plane. At least one outer surface in the thickness direction of the ribbon has a mountain-valley shape following the outer surfaces of the plastic optical fibers, in which an inclined portion is present where the thickness of the collective coating gradually increases in a direction from the peak toward the valley of the mountain, and in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ribbon, a central angle of the sector formed by connecting an arc from the apex of the mountain to the starting point of the inclined portion and a center of the plastic optical fiber is from 30 to 80°.
US09977178B2	Backlight source and display device The present disclosure provides a backlight source and a display device. A rigid element is arranged between a light strip of the backlight source and a light-entering surface of a light guide plate. One end of the rigid element is fixed onto the light strip, and the other end of the right element is fixed onto the light guide plate, so as to maintain a constant distance between the light strip and the light-entering surface of the light guide plate. An elastic element is arranged between the light strip and a back plate and at a side of the light strip opposite to the light-entering surface of the light guide plate. When the light guide plate is thermally deformed, a deformation force generated by the light guide plate is applied to the rigid element, so push the light strip to press against the elastic element.
US09977176B2	Backlight device and display apparatus Provided are a compact and inexpensive backlight device that can prevent a large movement of an optical sheet, and a display apparatus including the backlight device. In a backlight device, light emitted by the plurality of LEDs enters an upper end face of a light guide plate, and the light guide plate emits the light from one plane. The optical sheet faces one plane of the light guide plate. A cover body is provided between one plane of the light guide plate and the optical sheet, and covers the plurality of LEDs and the circumferential part of one plane of the light guide plate on the LED side. A regulation member is engaged with each of the optical sheet and the cover body to regulate a movement of the optical sheet in the plane direction.
US09977173B2	Display panel unit and display device In an embodiment, a display panel unit includes a reflective polarizing layer, a transparent layer, and a display panel. The polarizing layer transmits a first polarized component of light incident on an incident surface to an exit surface and reflects a second polarized component of the light. The transparent layer transmits the first and second polarized component of the light incident on a second surface to a first surface adhered to the incident surface and transmits the second polarized component reflected by the polarizing layer to be incident on the first surface to the second surface. The panel faces the exit surface, and selectively transmits the light exiting from the exit surface.
US09977172B2	Light guide plate and display device A light guide plate (LGP) and a display device are disclosed. The LGP comprises at least one mesh point; each mesh point is provided with a plurality of microstructures; and all the microstructures on each mesh point are arranged on the same curved surface. The LGP can solve the problem that incident light is subjected to total reflection in the LGP so that the luminous uniformity of the LGP can be improved.
US09977169B2	Lamp for laser applications A lamp and a method for generating high power in laser applications includes a source for emitting optical radiation along an optical path and a holder configured in the optical path having a fluorescent body. The lamp and method further include a collecting unit configured to transmit at least a portion of the optical radiation emitted by the fluorescent body to an output of the lamp. The fluorescent body includes a shape that is elongated in a predetermined direction. Accordingly, providing a small spot and little divergence in conjunction with good heat dissipation leads to a high optical performance.
US09977167B2	Optical film roll An optical film roll is disclosed capable of realizing excellent display characteristics while maintaining manufacturing efficiency. The optical film roll has a width corresponding to a pair of opposite sides of a liquid crystal cell and is used by being cut to a length corresponding to another pair of opposite sides of the liquid crystal cell to be continuously attached to a surface of the liquid crystal cell. The optical film roll includes a long optical film wound into a roll shape, the long optical film being obtained by subjecting a long optical raw film, which is produced by laminating a polarizing film having an absorption axis in its width direction, and a reflective polarizing film having a reflection axis in its width direction, to a slitting process in a machine direction while conveying the long optical raw film in its lengthwise direction.
US09977166B2	Polarizer Provided are a polarizing plate and a display. The illustrative polarizing plate may exhibit desired characteristics in a wide range of wavelengths, and have excellent reflection and visibility at an inclined angle. For example, the polarizing plate may be used in a reflective or transflective liquid crystal display or an organic light emitting device.
US09977165B2	Method of producing optical laminate, optical laminate, polarizing plate and organic el display device The present invention provides an optical laminate which is suppressed in film thickness unevenness of an optically anisotropic layer and is free from point defects, a method of producing the same, and a polarizing plate and an organic EL display device using the optical laminate. The method of producing an optical laminate having an optically anisotropic layer A and an optically anisotropic layer B, includes where the layer A and the layer B are provided in direct contact with each other. The method further includes where both a composition a for forming the layer A and a composition b for forming the layer B contain a fluorine compound, and when the layer A is formed using composition a and layer B is formed using composition b, layer A and layer B are formed in this order under the condition that composition a and composition b satisfy predetermined surface tension relationships.
US09977157B2	Dielectric mirror A dielectric mirror includes a coating having alternating high and low index layers. The mirror coating has no metallic reflective layer, and may have film side and/or glass side visible reflection of from about 50-90% (more preferably from about 60-80% and most preferably from about 65-75%) and visible transmission of from about 10-50% (more preferably from about 20-40%, and most preferably from about 25-35%).
US09977153B2	Stacks of arrays of beam shaping elements including stacking, self-alignment and/or self-centering features Various stacks of arrays of beam shaping elements are described. Each array of beam shaping elements can be formed, for example, as part of a monolithic piece that includes a body portion as well as the beam shaping elements. In some implementations, the monolithic pieces may be formed, for example, as integrally formed molded pieces. The monolithic pieces can include one or more features to facilitate stacking, aligning and/or centering of the arrays with respect to one another.
US09977147B2	Optical module, method of making the same and electronic device including the same An optical module includes a carrier, a light-emitting component disposed over the carrier, an optical sensor disposed over the carrier, a housing, and a lens. The housing is disposed over the carrier and encircles the light-emitting component and the optical sensor. The housing defines a first accommodation space including a first aperture and a second aperture below the first aperture. The housing includes a first sidewall surrounding the first aperture, a second sidewall surrounding the second aperture, and a first support portion where a bottom end of the first sidewall and a top end of the second sidewall meet. The lens is located in the first aperture and is supported by the first support portion. One of the light-emitting component or the optical sensor is located in the first accommodation space.
US09977142B2	Efficient line search methods for multi-parameter full wavefield inversion Method for simultaneously inverting full-wavefield seismic data (51) for multiple classes of physical property parameters (e.g., velocity and anisotropy) by computing the gradient (53), i.e. search direction (54), of an objective function for each class of parameters, then applying (preferably exhaustive) first-pass independent line searches to each parameter class to obtain the corresponding step size (55) along the search direction for each parameter class; then without yet updating the model, using the step sizes to define a relative scaling between gradients of all parameter classes. Next, each scaled search direction is recombined to form a new search direction (56), and a new second-pass line search is performed along the new search direction (57), and all parameters are simultaneously updated with the resulting step size (58). Alternatively to the preceding alternating two-pass embodiment, the model may be updated after each first-pass line search, and no second-pass line search is performed.
US09977140B2	More efficient method and apparatus for detector response correction and material decomposition of projection data obtained using photon-counting detectors An apparatus and method of processing X-ray projection data including spectral computed tomography (CT) projection data. The spectral CT data is decomposed into material projection lengths using a material-decomposition method that includes an initial-estimate method to provide an initial projection-lengths estimate. The initial-estimate method can include first reconstructing an image using non-spectral CT data, and then subdividing the reconstructed image into materials according to the relative attenuation density of areas within the reconstructed image (e.g., high attenuation areas correspond to a high attenuation material such as bone). The projection length estimates of each material are then obtained by forward projecting the corresponding subdivision of the reconstructed image. Also, the initial estimate can be obtained/refined by selecting the projection lengths with smallest cost-function value from randomly chosen projection lengths within a sample space. The initial estimate can also be conditioned on the X-ray flux at the X-ray source.
US09977139B2	Dynamic modeling of imperfections for photon counting detectors An apparatus (T) and method for correcting detector (104) measurement data for errors caused by imperfections in the detector (104) that effect the accuracy of the detector readings.
US09977136B2	Beta and alpha emission tomography for three-dimensional autoradiography The present invention provides methods and systems for 3D imaging of in vivo and ex vivo tissues. The disclosed systems and methods employ an autoradiographic approach where particles emitted by a radioactive composition within the tissue are detected. Once detected, a 3D representation of the source of particles within the tissue is reconstructed for viewing and analysis.
US09977134B2	Portable radiation detection device for operation in intense magnetic fields A portable radiation detection device with a detector unit comprising a scintillator with an array of avalanche photodiodes allows to reliably detect incident ionizing radiation or radiation contamination in the presence of intense magnetic fields of 0.1 Tesla and above.
US09977133B2	Radio access network service-assisted, sensor based indoor navigation Examples are provided that enable a cellular network location assist to confirm a position determined using a sensor of a mobile device. As a result of global positioning system signals becoming unavailable due to the mobile device traveling indoors, the mobile device implements a sensor-based position determination that provides a position of the mobile device as the mobile device travels about a location. In order to confirm the reliability of the sensor-based position determination, the mobile device, after passage of time or after traveling some estimated distance, requests location assistance indications from the cellular network. A processor of the mobile device receives the location assistance indications and generates a directional vector based on several of the location assistance indications. Using the directional vector, the processor confirms the reliability of the dead reckoning position.
US09977131B2	Fast fix using perfect reference in a satellite-based positioning system A satellite-based positioning system (SPS) signal processing technique re-samples a received series of PRN sequences from an SPS satellite to align them with a nominal sampling rate for a corresponding series of perfect reference PRN replica sequences.
US09977129B2	Distance measuring method and apparatus Disclosed are a distance measuring method and a distance measuring apparatus. During the distance measuring, an image is obtained. If the location of a center of gravity of the image is within a first segment, the calculating unit calculates a distance between the object and the distance measuring apparatus corresponding to the projection point, according to a first mapping relationship and the location of a center of gravity of the image. If the location of a center of gravity of the image is within a second segment, the calculating unit calculates a distance between the object and the distance measuring apparatus corresponding to the projection point according to a second mapping relationship and the location of a center of gravity of the image.
US09977128B2	Recording method for at least two TOF cameras The invention relates to a method for recording a scene (3) using at least two time-of-flight cameras (1, 2), which respectively comprise a light source (5) and an image sensor (6), wherein image recording operations which comprise a measuring operation for determining depth information are carried out using each of the at least two time-of-flight cameras (1, 2), wherein the measuring operation comprises the emission of modulated light (11) by the light source (5), the detection of modulated light (12) after the reflection on objects (4) of the scene (3) using the image sensor (6), and the calculation of depth information from the propagation time of the modulated light between the emission and the detection.In order to increase the image quality, a first time-of-flight camera (1) uses the measurement results of the measuring operation carried out by said camera to determine the extent to which modulated light from a second time-of-flight camera (2) was also detected in this measuring operation in addition to the light (11) emitted by its own light source (5), and the first time-of-flight camera (1) changes the recording mode thereof on the basis of the result of this determination.
US09977127B2	Ship draught detection apparatus and its detection method The present invention discloses a ship draught detection apparatus and its detection method. The ship draught detection apparatus includes two servo motors, a guide rail, a sonar detection device, a traction device, a locating device, and a control device. Compared with the provision of a series of sonar detection devices in the prior art, the provision of one sonar detection device reduces the cost and there is no mutual interference between adjacent sonars. Meanwhile, because a lock gate width of a ship lock is greater than a width of the ship, in order to improve the detection precision, the locating device is configured to predict in advance an accurate position of the ship when passing the ship lock according to the position of the ship and the orientation of a ship bow, and the control device controls the rotation speed and the direction of the two servo motors, and makes the sonar detection device move along the guide rail through the ropes, so that the sonar detection device is located just below the ship when the ship passes the ship lock, thereby improving the detection precision.
US09977125B2	Innovative orbit design for earth observation space missions The invention concerns a method for reducing the costs of a satellite remote sensing service. The method comprises providing a satellite remote sensing system that includes only one satellite equipped with a sensor configured to acquire images of areas of the earth's surface, the satellite remote sensing system being designed to provide a satellite remote sensing service based on the images acquired by the sensor on board the satellite. In particular, the satellite follows a predefined orbit around the earth with an orbit repeat cycle shorter than three days, whereby a satellite remote sensing service with very good time performance, excellent interferometric capabilities and with drastically reduced costs is obtained.
US09977120B2	Method and apparatus for producing an acoustic field A plurality of control points are defined having a known spatial relationship relative to an array of transducers. An amplitude is assigned to each control point. A matrix is produced containing elements which represent, for each of the control points, the effect that producing a modeled acoustic field having the assigned amplitude with a particular phase at the control point has on the consequential amplitude and phase of the modeled acoustic field at the other control points. Eigenvectors of the matrix are determined, each eigenvector representing a set of phases and relative amplitudes of the modeled acoustic field at the control points. One of the sets is selected and the transducer array is operated to cause one or more of the transducers to output an acoustic wave each having an initial amplitude and phase such that the phases and amplitudes of the resultant acoustic field at the control points correspond to the phases and relative amplitudes of the selected set.
US09977113B2	Method of determining position and cooperative positioning system using same A positioning system is disclosed. The positioning system has a map database, a processing engine and a plurality of wireless communication devices including at least a first wireless communication device at a known position and a second wireless communication device at an unknown position. The processing engine determines the position of the second device based on the RSS measurements of a wireless signal transmitted between the first and second devices, the inertial measurements from the second device and the position of the first wireless communication device.
US09977109B2	Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and operating method for the same Provided is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus. The MRI apparatus includes: a storage configured to store a plurality of MR signal data sets generated by applying a plurality of values of a first MR parameter and a plurality of values of a second MR parameter to an MR signal data generation model; a data acquisition unit configured to acquire an MR signal data set for a specific position of an object by undersampling an MR signal, based on the values of the first MR parameter; and an image processor configured to extract an MR signal data set that matches the MR signal data set acquired by undersampling the MR signal (hereinafter referred to as the ‘undersampled MR signal data set’) from among the stored MR signal data sets, obtain a value of the second MR parameter for the undersampled MR signal data set based on the extracted MR signal data set, and interpolate unsampled MR signal data in the undersampled MR signal data set (hereinafter, referred to as the ‘interpolated MR signal data set’) by using the value of the second MR parameter.
US09977098B2	MRI with automatic adjustment of imaging conditions to not exceed SAR and SAE limits Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is configured to carry out sequential imaging, to acquire an actual SAR measurement value at a predetermined timing during the sequential imaging, and to update a subsequent predicted SAE value each time the actual SAR measurement value is acquired.
US09977097B1	Micro-scale piezoelectric resonating magnetometer A magnetometer has a resonating structure which is naturally resonant in at least first and second resonant modes, a resonant frequency of the second mode being at least an order of magnitude greater than a resonant frequency of the first mode, the resonating structure having two sense electrodes disposed on opposing major surfaces of the resonating structure and having a conductive path formed as a loop, the loop being disposed near or at edges of the resonating structure and the two sense electrodes being formed inwardly of the edges of the resonating structure and also inwardly of said loop. First and second oscillators are provided, the first oscillator being coupled to the loop for applying an oscillating current to the loop, the oscillating current having a frequency essentially equal to the resonant frequency of the first mode of the resonating structure, the second oscillator being coupled to said sense electrodes, the second oscillator oscillating with a fundamental frequency corresponding to the resonant frequency of the second mode of the resonating structure, the second oscillator also producing sidebands indicative of the magnetometer sensing an external magnetic field.
US09977094B2	Islanding operation detection and islanding operation detection method An islanding operation detection device for a distributed power supply comprising an inverter connected to a commercial system power supply comprises: a commercial system frequency measurement circuitry; a reactive power injection amount calculation circuitry to calculate an amount of reactive power injection; a feedback signal generation circuitry; a reactive current control circuitry to feedback-control an output current command value to the inverter; an output current control circuitry to update the reactive current command value when a phase angle of the commercial system voltage is in the range of 90N°±Δφ so as to control an output current value of the inverter to follow the output current command value; and an islanding operation detection circuitry to detect whether or not the distributed power supply is in islanding mode, based on a commercial system frequency when the reactive power corresponding to the calculated amount of reactive power injection is injected.
US09977092B2	Voltage monitoring device A voltage monitoring device has a capacitor circuit having capacitors connected in series, first switches connecting end terminals of the capacitor circuit to specific electrode terminals of unit cells in a battery pack, second switches connecting remaining electrode terminals of the unit cells to the connection nodes between the capacitors, first voltage detection sections corresponding to each of the capacitors, a second voltage detection section connected to the end terminals of the capacitor circuit, and a microcomputer which selectively performs a first process of charging each capacitor, and a second process of charging the capacitors simultaneously. The respective specific electrode terminals correspond to the unit cells, and are arranged at an interval corresponding to the number of connection nodes formed between the capacitors. The microcomputer performs a polarity switching process of adjusting for the adjacent capacitors to have a same polarity of the charged voltage before performing the second process.
US09977085B2	Method and system for determining a synchronous machine fault condition A method and system of determining an electro-mechanical fault condition in a synchronous machine having a stator, a rotor, and exciter. The method includes: a) obtaining an exciter current signal which is a measurement of an exciter current through stationary windings of the exciter, b) transforming the exciter current signal to obtain an exciter current frequency spectrum, and c) determining whether an electro-mechanical fault condition is present, and a type of the electro-mechanical fault condition, based on harmonic content related to the frequency of the stator, of the exciter current frequency spectrum.
US09977079B2	Operating two tap system after detecting shared bus synchronization sequence A method comprises a system comprising a host device coupled to a first remote device actively operating according to a state diagram that the host device and all remote devices follow during operation of the system. The method further comprises powering up a second remote device while the host device and first remote device are actively operating according to the state diagram. The second remote device determines whether to initialize to a standard protocol or to an advanced protocol. Upon determining to initialize to the advanced protocol, the second remote device then waits for a synchronization point sequence.
US09977074B2	Semiconductor device, semiconductor apparatus and method for manufacturing semiconductor device A semiconductor device includes a board, an electronic component, an evaluation component, a wiring, and a groove portion. The board includes a product area, a non-product area, and a boundary area between the product area and the non-product area. The electronic component is mounted in the product area. The evaluation component is mounted in the non-product area. The wiring electrically connects the electronic component and the evaluation component. The groove portion is formed in the boundary area of the board so as to overlap at least a part of the wiring in a plan view. The non-product area is surrounded by the groove portion and at least a portion of sides of the board.
US09977072B2	Semiconductor structure and method for operating the same An integrated circuit (IC) and a method for operating the IC are provided. The IC comprises a device under test and a first heater. The first heater is located at a first side of the device and provides heat to control a temperature of the device. The first heater comprises a semiconductor device having a first doped region and a second doped region having a conductivity type opposite to that of the first doped region, the first doped region interfacing with the second doped region.
US09977066B2	Systems, methods, and devices for diagnosing integrity of electrical conductor-carrying systems A system for diagnosing integrity of an electrical conductor-carrying system can include an electrical conductor-carrying network having a number of electrical conductor-carrying devices mechanically coupled to each other, where at least a portion of the electrical conductor-carrying network is made of electrically conductive material. The system can also include a number of sensor modules coupled to the electrical conductor-carrying network. The system can further include a control unit communicably coupled to the sensor modules. The sensor modules can measure at least one impedance in the electrical conductor-carrying devices of the electrical conductor-carrying network.
US09977061B2	Capacitive position sensor system A capacitive position sensor system for determining the position of an object, in particular on a surface of a contactless smartcard, is provided. The object is positioned within a sensitive area of the capacitive position sensor system and changes the capacitance of capacitors being arranged underneath the object. The capacitive position sensor system comprises a set of sensing elements being arranged in the form of a column. Each sensing element includes a first capacitor having a first electrode and a second electrode and a second capacitor having a first electrode and a second electrode. A specific weighting factor is assigned to each capacitor. A control unit is adapted to determine the position of the object in one dimension by analyzing the results of a plurality of sensed voltage levels for the first capacitors and the second capacitors of a plurality of integration cycles.
US09977060B2	Channel integrity detection A computer-implemented method can include determining an amplitude for each of a plurality of input channels, corresponding to respective nodes. A measure of similarity can be computed between the input channel of each node and the input channel of its neighboring nodes. The method can also include comparing an amplitude for each node relative to other nodes to determine temporary bad channels. For each of the temporary bad channels, a measure of similarity can be computed between the input channel of each node and the input channel of its neighboring nodes. Channel integrity can then be identified based on the computed measures of similarity.
US09977057B2	Input current compensation during current measurement A current measurement circuit may include unbuffered inputs, and the current may be sampled directly from the input pins. The input current created from each sample may be cancelled by injecting opposite charge on the subsequent sample. This direct sampling from the pins increases the common mode input range of the sense path without having to build high linearity rail-to-rail input buffers, hence lowering cost and power consumption of the current measurement path. It also allows for high-impedance input sampling. The measurement circuit may include multiple sampling stages, with a first sampling stage implemented as a switched-capacitor based circuit. A compensator circuit coupled in a feedback loop from the output of the first sampling stage to the input pins may be operated to provide the equivalent charge back to the input pins every cycle to cancel the input current required to charge the sampling capacitors of the first sampling stage.
US09977054B2	Etching for probe wire tips for microelectronic device test Etching for probe wire tip is described particularly well suited to microelectronic device test. In one example, wires of a probe head are covered with an encapsulation material, the wires being attached to a test probe head substrate, each of the wires having two ends, the first end being attached to the substrate and the second end being opposite the substrate, each wire having an outer coating around a core. The wires are etched to remove the outer coating at the second end of the wires. The encapsulation material is then removed.
US09977052B2	Test fixture An example test fixture, which interfaces a tester and a unit under test (UUT), includes the following: first electrical contacts that face the tester; second electrical contacts that face the UUT; a substrate made of sections of printed first material, with the first material being electrically non-conductive, and with the substrate being between the first electrical contacts and the second electrical contacts; and structures through the substrate, with the structures including sections of second material, with the second material being electrically conductive, and with at least one of the structures electrically connecting a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact.
US09977049B2	Scanning probe microscope and control method thereof A scanning probe microscope includes a cantilever having a probe at a free end thereof; a scanner to three-dimensionally relatively move the probe and a sample; a vibrator to vibrate the cantilever based on a vibrating signal; a displacement detector to detect a displacement of the cantilever and to output a displacement signal indicating the displacement; and a phase difference information detecting section to generate a phase signal including information of a phase difference between the vibrating signal and the displacement signal. The phase difference information detecting section includes a phase regulating portion to provide, to the phase difference, a phase offset to cancel an initial phase difference present in a state in which the probe is not in contact with the sample.
US09977041B2	Automatic analysis device It is determined whether an automatic analysis device is in a state where it is necessary to perform periodic cleaning or periodic replacement on a B/F separation passage of a reaction liquid suction nozzle 120 for B/F separation or the like and a detection passage of a reaction liquid suction nozzle 123 for detection, a detection unit 124, and the like, based on the properties of a specimen, a reagent, and a reaction liquid which is obtained by reacting the specimen and the reagent, an analysis protocol which defines treatment conditions of these solutions, and the number of times of dispensing, feeding, and measuring the solutions; and the determined result is displayed on a display 130 as a signal. Accordingly, the automatic analysis device is provided so as to be able to perform adequate maintenance in accordance with analysis conditions.
US09977037B2	Capillary network devices and methods of use Artificial microvascular network (AMVN) devices are provided and related methods of making and methods of using such devices are provided. The present disclosure generally relates to an AMVN device comprising a substrate including a capillary network configured so as to simulate those actually encountered in the circulation of various humans and animal model systems. In certain aspects, the AMVN devices may be used, e.g., to investigate the effect of storing RBCs under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. However, the use of such AMVN devices is not so limited.
US09977036B2	Diagnostic markers for multiple sclerosis Biomarkers and uses thereof, as well as methods for using same for diagnosing first-attack multiple sclerosis are described herein.
US09977033B2	Methods for assessing cancer recurrence Certain embodiments are directed to methods of identifying a subject having a higher risk of prostate cancer recurrence. The methods can include the step of measuring levels of one or more of FLIP, transcription factor Sp1, and transcription factor Sp3 in a prostate sample from the subject, wherein elevated levels of FLIP, transcription factor Sp1, and transcription factor Sp3 identify a subject as high risk for prostate cancer recurrence.
US09977029B2	Diagnostic blood test for sarcoidosis Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disease characterized by granulomatous inflammation in affected organs. The present invention discloses kits and a system for a blood test using mycobacterial catalase-peroxidase that has a high positive predictive value for confirming a diagnosis of sarcoidosis.
US09977027B2	Apparatus and method for preparing a ninhydrin reagent A method for analyzing one or more nitrogen-containing compounds is disclosed. In the method, a ninhydrin-containing composition is irradiated with UV light in an activation zone to produce a ninhydrin reagent containing hydrindantin. The ninhydrin reagent is passed to a reaction zone. In the reaction zone the ninhydrin reagent is contacted with the nitrogen-containing compounds.
US09977026B2	Detection of elevated levels of phosphorylated MCM and method of increasing MCM phosphorylation capacity Identified herein is a novel post-translational modification of Mcm2, wherein the residue of serines 53 and 108 are phosphorylated. DDK phosphorylates Mcm2 at serines 53 and 108 when stimulated by Treslin. DDK is overexpressed in many human cancers, including colorectal cancer, suggesting that monitoring the phosphorylation of Mcm2 at serines 53 and 108 may detect early cancer with high sensitivity and specificity. It was also found that the homologous modification in budding yeast is required for DNA replication, and the modification occurs in cells during active DNA replication only. In an embodiment, the current invention is an antibody specific for human Mcm2 that is phosphorylated at serines 53 and 108. This antibody was found to be overexpressed in colon cancer cell line HCT 116, as well as other cancer cell lines, compared to normal cells.
US09977025B2	System for immunotherapy targeting tumor propagation and progression Finding biologically relevant cancer markers is key to developing an effective treatment. Once specific antigens have been identified that are present on the cell population responsible for propagating tumors, T cells can be genetically altered to target these antigens and then used for personalized T cell therapy. A method to identify and select peptide antigens that effectively associate with and are presented by host HLA surface molecules originating from tumor cells responsible for the persistence and propagation of a cancer has been developed. The system of using these data to produce T cells engineered to express T cell receptors recognizing the peptide antigens is used in the production of a personalized adoptive T cell therapy for cancer that eliminates the cells capable of tumor propagation and cancer progression. The system is especially useful in the production of cancer treatments to achieve complete durable remission of cancers of epithelial origin.
US09977023B2	Probes and methods for the detection of a virus that causes acute enteritis The present invention relates to a composition comprising a probe for detecting six representative causative viruses of acute enteritis (norovirus genogroup I and genogroup II, rotavirus, hepatitis A virus, coxsackievirus, astrovirus, and adenovirus), and a DNA microarray, a kit, and a detection method comprising the composition. The present invention is effective due to high specificity and sensitivity to viruses. In addition, since the causative viruses can simply be detected at low cost compared to conventional detection methods, without expensive diagnosis devices or specialists, the present invention may be effectively used as a method for diagnosing viruses causing acute enteritis.
US09977021B2	CD127 expression inversely correlates with FoxP3 and suppressive function of CD4+ tregs The invention provides methods of isolating CD127lo/− immunosuppressive regulatory T cells which can be greatly enriched for FoxP3, methods of expanding the isolated cells, pharmaceutical compositions of such cells, and methods of their use in the treatment of autoimmune and other immune system mediated disorders.
US09977018B2	Electrochemical lateral flow bioassay and biosensor An electrochemical lateral flow biosensor (ELFB) includes an ELFB strip and electronic detector unit coupled to the strip. The strip includes a polymeric hydrophobic membrane, conjugation pad, sampling pad, screen-printed electrode (SPE), and wick pad. The membrane provides a solid support and enables capillary flow along the strip. The conjugation pad is placed on the membrane at one end of the strip and contains adsorbed dehydrated labelled conjugate particles that are coated with the biorecognition element and coated or filled with the electrochemically active component. The sampling pad is placed on the conjugation pad and provides adsorption of the liquid sample. The SPE is coated with immobilized capture antibodies. The wick pad is placed on the SPE and provides absorption of excess reagents maintaining a lateral flow along the strip. The ELFB can be used for rapid and early detection and quantity analysis of biological liquids and wastewater.
US09977012B2	Select on of extracellular matrix components and or matricellular proteins for improved post-cryopreservation cell viability and retention A method for cryopreservation of adherent cells attached to a substrate and a method for identifying one or more extracellular matrix (ECM) components and/or matricellular proteins that improves viability and retention of the cryopreserved cells on the substrate. The method for cryopreservation includes treating a substrate with at least one ECM component and/or adding at least one matricellular protein to the substrate or cell culture media, plating the cells on the treated substrate, and cryopreserving the cells. One or more ECM components and/or matricellular proteins that improves cell viability and retention can be identified by evaluating the cells that have been thawed from the cryopreservation temperature to determine cell viability and retention.
US09977009B2	Planar patch clamp device and planar patch clamp system A planar patch clamp device comprising: an electrical insulating substrate (2) having a first surface having a cell arrangement region and a second surface of the opposite surface and having a through hole (3) in the cell arrangement region which does not pass cells, but pass liquid; a first reservoir (6) provided at the first surface side (2S) of the electrical insulating substrate (2) to be able to communicate with the through hole (3) and hold a first conductive liquid; a first electrode part (7) arranged to be able to be electrically conductive with the first reservoir (6) through the first conductive liquid;a second reservoir (6′) provided at the second surface side (2S′) of the electrical insulating substrate to be able to communicate with the through hole (3) and hold a second conductive liquid; a second electrode part (7′) arranged to be able to be electrically conductive with the second reservoir (6′) through the second conductive liquid; a supply path (8) connected to the second reservoir (6′) and supplying the second conductive liquid to the second reservoir; a discharge path (9) connected to the second reservoir and discharging the second conductive liquid from the second reservoir (6′); and a valve (10) provided in the supply path and/or discharge path, able to allow or stop the flow of the second conductive liquid, and also able to allow or stop electrical conduction between the second reservoir (6′) and the second electrode part (7′).
US09977008B2	Method and apparatus for analyzing anomalies in concrete structures Embodiments relate to a method and apparatus for investigating the uniformity of concrete and/or grout. Embodiments can identify the existence of one or more anomalies in the uniformity of concrete and/or grout, and/or determine or estimate the size, shape, type, and/or location of one or more anomalies in the uniformity of concrete and/or grout. Embodiments can utilize a string of temperature measuring sensors placed within one or more access bore(s), such as tube(s), positioned at least partially within the concrete and/or positioned proximate the concrete. The measurements obtained from the temperature measuring sensors can then be used to assist in the identification of existence of, size of, type of, shape of, and/or location of anomalies in the concrete and/or grout.
US09976999B2	Method and device for carrying out thin-layer chromatography A method for performing thin-layer chromatography applies a liquid sample to a separating layer. A mobile phase is subsequently applied to the separating layer and brought into contact with the liquid sample. After a developmental phase, a thin-layer chromatogram is produced. The liquid sample is taken up from a sample storage container with the aid of an autopipette using a new pipette tip for each sample application operation and applied to the separating layer. A device for performing the method includes a support plate for the accommodation of the separating layer, a first storage container for the accommodation of the sample, and a second storage container for the accommodation of the mobile phase.
US09976998B2	System and method for controlling liquid chromatograph Provided is a liquid chromatograph control system for controlling an operation of a liquid chromatograph according to a method file containing a plurality of analysis parameters representing configuration items which determine operational conditions of the liquid chromatograph, including: a) a display section for displaying, for each of the analysis parameters, selectable values of the analysis parameter on a condition-setting screen; b) a grouping section for allowing a user to prepare grouping information for the values of the analysis parameter displayed on the condition-setting screen, the grouping information determining whether or not one value of one analysis parameter and one value of another analysis parameter can be included in one group; and c) a file-creating section for extracting, from the values of the analysis parameters, such values that can be included in one group according to the grouping information, and for creating a method file containing the extracted values.
US09976997B2	Data processing device for quantitation When there are a plurality of concentration value candidates, an extreme value of the calibration curve is detected, and the number of calibration points respectively contained in a region having a low concentration and a region having a high concentration is calculated using the extreme value as a boundary. If there is a difference between the numbers of calibration points of both regions, a concentration value candidate present in the region having a larger number of calibration points is selected as a quantitation result. When the numbers of calibration points are the same, the sign of the coefficient of the term of the second degree of the calibration curve is assessed, and a concentration value candidate present in a region in which the relationship between peak area values and concentration values is monotonically increasing is selected as a quantitation result.
US09976996B2	Vacuum ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy system and method An efficient absorption spectroscopy system is provided. The spectroscopy system may be configured to measure solid, liquid or gaseous samples. Vacuum ultra-violet wavelengths may be utilized. Some of the disclosed techniques can be used for detecting the presence of trace concentrations of gaseous species. A preferable gas flow cell is disclosed. Some of the disclosed techniques may be used with a gas chromatography system so as to detect and identify species eluted from the column. Some of the disclosed techniques may be used in conjunction with an electrospray interface and a liquid chromatography system so as to detect and identify gas phase ions of macromolecules produced from solution. Some of the disclosed techniques may be used to characterize chemical reactions. Some of the disclosed techniques may be used in conjunction with an ultra short-path length sample cell to measure liquids.
US09976992B2	Ultrasonic device, method for manufacturing the same, probe, and electronic apparatus An ultrasonic device that has high accuracy with respect to frequency and sensitivity and that can achieve a reduction of crosstalk is provided. A substrate of an ultrasonic device has a first surface and a second surface on a side opposite to the first surface, and has a first opening and a second opening that are separated from each other by a wall portion. A first vibration film and a second vibration film that close the first opening and the second opening, respectively, are disposed on the first surface of the substrate. A first piezoelectric element and a second piezoelectric element are provided on the first vibration film and the second vibration film, respectively. A recess that opens in the second surface of the substrate is demarcated in the wall portion.
US09976990B2	Vibration measuring apparatus using parametric speaker and two-dimensional scanning mirror A vibration measuring apparatus comprises a wave transmission section configured to vibrate a measurement object with sound wave output from a parametric speaker towards the measurement object and an optical measurement section configured to emit laser light towards the measurement object, receive the laser light reflected from the measurement object and measure vibration of the assumed object (measurement object) according to the received laser light. The wave transmission section and the optical measurement section are mounted integrally, and the optical measurement section makes an optical axis of laser light emitted to/received from the measurement object coincident with a central axis of the sound wave output from the parametric speaker.
US09976989B2	Monitoring systems and methods for electrical machines A monitoring system includes an acoustic emission monitoring system including acoustic emission sensors, a partial discharge monitoring system including partial discharge sensors and synchronized with the acoustic emission monitoring system, and a computer receiving acoustic emission data from the acoustic emission sensors and electrical data from the partial discharge sensors. The computer is configured to classify a first statistical event as a fatigue cracking event by pattern recognition of the acoustic emission data and determine a first location and a first damage condition resulting from the fatigue cracking event, classify a second statistical event as a partial discharge event by pattern recognition of the acoustic emission data or the electrical data, and fuse the acoustic emission data and the electrical data for the second statistical event and determine a second location and a second damage condition resulting from the partial discharge event. Methods of monitoring are also disclosed.
US09976988B2	Apparatus and method for inspecting a laminated structure Disclosed is an apparatus, method and system for inspecting structures, and more particularly for evaluating the condition of a structure. The disclosed nondestructive inspection testing method and apparatus enables an operator to assess the condition of a structure, such as a composite laminate part and determining the location and depth of anomalies. The method includes generating a subsurface longitudinal ultrasonic wave signal at a high incidence angle into a structure being evaluated and collecting at least one of any front, back or side reflected wave data. The method may include processing the reflected wave data to determine the condition of the structure, including any anomalies that may have been detected and their location, size and shape.
US09976987B2	Systems for tracking corrosion within enclosures using sacrificial loop targets A corrosion tracking system within an enclosure can include an electrical circuit through which a first current flows, where the first current creates a magnetic field. The system can also include a target component disposed proximate to the electrical circuit, where the magnetic field induces a number of second currents to flow within the target component. The system can further include a sensor that measures the plurality of second currents flowing within the target component to generate a plurality of measurements. The measurements can indicate whether the target component is experiencing corrosion.
US09976984B2	Free-standing microfluidic gel electrophoresis devices and methods Provided are devices that include a support, a free-standing polymeric separation medium associated with the support and configured to separate a sample along a directional axis, and a sample-loading element associated with the polymeric separation medium. Systems that include the devices, as well as methods of using the devices, are also provided. Embodiments of the present disclosure find use in a variety of different applications, including detecting whether an analyte is present in a fluid sample.
US09976975B2	Method of making thin film humidity sensors The method of making thin film humidity sensors uses thermal vapor deposition or drop casting techniques to fabricate nickel phthalocyanine-fullerene-based (NiPc-C60) quick response humidity sensors with negligible hysteresis. Prior to the deposition of aluminum electrodes, a glass substrate is cleaned by using acetone in an ultrasonic bath for 10 minutes. After cleaning, the substrate is washed with de-ionized water and then dried. A gap is created between two electrodes by masking the glass substrate with copper wire. This assembly is plasma-cleaned for 5 minutes in a thermal evaporator. Subsequently aluminum (Al) thin films are deposited on the assembly. Next, a mixture of equal parts NiPc-C60 is deposited onto the gap between the Al electrodes by thermal vapor deposition or by drop casting. A method of forming NiPc-graphene oxide (NiPc-GO) humidity sensors without using instrumentation drop casts an NiPc-GO suspension onto aluminum foil electrodes taped to a substrate.
US09976973B2	Counting particles using an electrical differential counter This disclosure relates to methods and devices to count particles of interest, such as cells. The methods include obtaining a fluid sample that may contain particles of interest; counting all types of particles in a portion of the sample using a first electrical differential counter to generate a first total; removing any particles of interest from the portion of the fluid sample; counting any particles remaining in the portion of the fluid sample using a second electrical differential counter after the particles of interest are removed to generate a second total; and calculating a number of particles of interest originally in the fluid sample by subtracting the second total from the first total, wherein the difference is the number of particles of interest in the sample. These methods and related devices can be used, for example, to produce a robust, inexpensive diagnostic kit for CD4+ T cell counting in whole blood samples.
US09976972B2	Thermal control apparatus A thermal control apparatus adapted for use with a pressurized air supply for controlling temperature of a component includes a vortex tube having an inlet adapted for connection with the pressurized air supply, a cold air outlet, and a hot air outlet, and a heat exchanger in fluid communication with the cold air outlet of the vortex tube, the heat exchanger being in thermal contact with the component and thereby controlling the temperature of the component. The heat exchanger further includes a post-heat-exchange exhaust air outlet in fluid communication with an exhaust air inlet adapted to direct the exhaust air along an outside of the vortex tube.
US09976971B2	Systems and methods for X-ray diffraction An x-ray diffraction system includes an x-ray source having a first interchangeable x-ray generating component, a second interchangeable x-ray generating component, an actuator and a controller operatively connected to the actuator. The first and second interchangeable x-ray generating components are interchangeable with one another. The actuator is operatively connected to the first and second interchangeable x-ray generating components. A method for non-destructive x-ray diffraction includes emitting a first x-ray beam from an x-ray source with a first interchangeable x-ray generating component based on a first desired depth to measure a crystallographic signature of a sample at the first desired depth, interchanging the first interchangeable x-ray generating component with a second interchangeable x-ray generating component to form a modified x-ray source, and emitting a second x-ray beam from the modified x-ray source based on a second desired depth, to non-destructively measure a crystallographic signature of the sample at the second desired depth.
US09976964B2	Method of measuring a parameter of a composite moulding material A method of controlling a process for the manufacture of a multicomponent sheet material having a desired pre-determined parameter comprising applying electromagnetic energy to interact with the sheet material whereby the interaction modifies the applied energy, detecting the modified energy, comparing the modified energy or data derived from it with data relating to the pre-determined parameter and modifying at least one step of the process whereby the data relating to the modified energy is modified towards the data relating to the pre-determined parameter.
US09976958B2	Method for detecting curing of the binder in a mineral fiber product The present invention relates to a method for detecting curing and/or the local distribution of curing of the binder material, in particular for detection of anomalies of the cured binder, in a mineral fiber product. The present invention also relates to a reagent, in particular for use in such a method and the use of this reagent in the quality control of bonded mineral fiber products.
US09976957B2	Device for measuring floating micro-organisms and air conditioner including device for measuring floating micro-organisms A device for measuring floating micro-organisms and an air conditioner including a device for measuring floating micro-organisms are provided. The device for measuring floating micro-organisms may include an air flow path through which air including floating micro-organisms may flow, a first main body provided at a first side of the air flow path and having a first space and a second space, a second main body provided at a second side of the air flow path and in which a collecting portion to collect the floating micro-organisms may be provided, a light emitter provided in the first space that emits a predetermined wavelength range of light toward the collecting portion, and a light receiver provided in the second space that detects a fluorescence signal generated from light which acts on riboflavin contained in the floating micro-organisms.
US09976955B2	Sub-doppler intermodulated laser-induced-fluorescence spectrometer Optical spectroscopy system and method possessing spectral selectivity sufficient to distinguish isotopic line of the metal of interest. Each of the light beams, counter-propagating through vial with vapor of the sample, has been originated from the same light output of the laser source and modulated at a corresponding judiciously-determined frequency. The light-output, in turn, possesses a carrier frequency and two side-band frequencies defined with respect to a mean value of excitation frequencies of isotopes in the vapor.
US09976954B2	Microfluidic device and method of detecting sample supplied to the same A microfluidic device includes a chamber configured to accommodate a sample and air, and a detection device provided with a light emitter configured to emit light towards the chamber on a light transmission path and a light receiver configured to receive the light, and further configured to measure an optical density of the chamber to determine whether the sample is accommodated in the chamber based on the received light. A boundary between the sample and the air accommodated in the chamber is provided on the light transmission path.
US09976952B2	Flexible or stretchable sensor for use in detecting a substance and/or electromagnetic radiation, and a method for detecting thereof In general, this disclosure is directed to a flexible or stretchable sensor and a method of detecting a substance and/or electromagnetic radiation using said sensor. The sensor comprises a flexible or stretchable substrate, a pair of terminal electrodes disposed on the flexible or stretchable substrate in mutually spaced apart and opposing relation, and a sensing element applied to the flexible or stretchable substrate, between and in electrical contact with the pair of terminal electrodes, wherein the sensing element is responsive to a substance and/or electromagnetic radiation impinging thereon, and wherein when a voltage is applied across the sensor, an electrical signal is generated that is proportional to a resistance value corresponding to a sensing of the substance and/or electromagnetic radiation impinging on the sensing element.
US09976950B2	Optical detector module, measurement system and method of detecting presence of a substance in a test material Embodiments of the invention comprise apparatus and methods for detecting the presence of a substance in a test material using a plurality of wavelength-specific couplers (e.g. tilted fiber gratings) which provide a spatially distributed multi-node all-optical measurement system. Each node of the measurement system can comprise an optical module that is sensitive to the intensity of a limited band of wavelengths. The node is thus capable of detecting the presence of an absorption peak in a spectrum without having to obtain the full spectrum. By providing a plurality of optical modules that are sensitive to different wavelengths, the spectral signature of different substances may be monitored without having to measure full spectra. The measurement system may be particularly useful in a process control environment where it is desirable to take measurements of one or more substances in different locations.
US09976947B1	Position measurement device A device capable of measuring one or more degrees of freedom with respect to a beam of light is described. The angle of rotation around the beam is obtained with a polarized beam of light and a polarizing optic and a sensor. A control system holds a sensor reading to a predetermined value. Therefore as the device is rotated around the beam, the optic will be rotated to maintain the sensor reading and an encoder provides the measurement of the amount of rotation. A position sensing device provides transverse information about the location of the beam and rotation of the device around two other axes. A second position sensing device at a difference distance from the light transmitter allows for the separation of transverse and rotational measurements. Alternately, the transverse measurement can be obtained by a light transmitter capable of making the measurement on a reflected beam.
US09976944B2	Collection and measurement of exhaled particles Particles are exhaled in the breath of animals. The nature and amounts of the particles can be indicative of certain medical conditions. They can therefore be collected, sorted according to size or mass and used in the diagnosis of one or more medical conditions. The invention provides a method and system for collecting and sorting exhaled particles and a method for diagnosis using said exhaled particles.
US09976942B2	Cryogenic tissue sample embedding storage system A cryogenic tissue sample embedding storage system belongs to the field of cryopreservation of biological tissue samples, which in particular, relates to a cryogenic tissue sample embedding storage system. The present invention provides a cryogenic tissue sample embedding storage system that can avoid the confusion of samples, prevent damage to identifier information in the cutting process, and has high embedding efficiency. The present invention comprises an embedded label, a label cover, and an embedding base, and in terms of its structure, the embedding base is provided with a groove structure for placing and limiting the position of the embedded label, and an embedding enclosure wall flexibly connected to the embedding base is disposed above the groove structure.
US09976939B2	3D laser ablation tomography A laser ablation tomography system includes a specimen stage for supporting a specimen. A specimen axis is defined such that a specimen disposed generally on the axis may be imaged. A laser system is operable to produce a laser sheet in a plane intersecting the specimen axis and generally perpendicular thereto. An imaging system is operable to image the area where the laser sheet intersects the specimen axis.
US09976934B2	Sensor A sensor includes: a detection element; a separator including an insertion portion into which a rear side of the detection element is inserted, and a plurality of terminal housing portions that are disposed surrounding a circumference of the insertion portion around an axial direction, and extend in the axial direction; and a connection terminal that is electrically connected to an electrical connection terminal portion to form a current path. The connection terminal includes a frame body portion and an element contact portion. The sensor further includes a first regulation portion that is located at a position closer to the detection element relative to the frame body portion, in a direction in which a first main surface and a second main surface oppose each other, and regulates the movement of the frame body portion in a direction approaching the detection element.
US09976932B2	Method for operating a plurality of measuring machines and apparatus comprising multiple measuring machines A method for operating a plurality of measuring machines (20.1, 20.2), wherein measuring machines (20.1, 20.2) of the same type are concerned which are designed for the measurement of same parts (4), having the following steps: —measuring a first quantity of same parts (4) in a first measuring machine (20.1); —measuring a second quantity of same parts in a second measuring machine (20.2); —performing a comparison process, wherein within the scope of said comparison process at least one value (W1) of the first quantity is correlated with at least one respective value (W2) of the second quantity in order to determine therefrom; and deviations between measurements of the first measuring machine (20.1) and measurements of the second measuring machine (20.2).
US09976931B2	Optical imaging arrangement with multiple metrology support units An optical imaging arrangement includes an optical projection system and a support structure system. The optical projection system includes a group of optical elements configured to transfer, in an exposure process using exposure light along an exposure light path, an image of a pattern of a mask onto a substrate. The support structure system includes an optical element support structure and a metrology support structure. The optical element support structure supports the group of optical elements, while the metrology support structure supports a group of metrology devices associated with the group of optical elements and configured to capture status information representative of at least one of a position and an orientation of each of the optical elements in at least one degree of freedom up to all six degrees of freedom.
US09976930B2	Apparatus and methods for measuring thermally induced reticle distortion An apparatus and method for measuring thermo-mechanically induced reticle distortion or other distortion in a lithography device enables detecting distortion at the nanometer level in situ. The techniques described use relatively simple optical detectors and data acquisition electronics that are capable of monitoring the distortion in real time, during operation of the lithography equipment. Time-varying anisotropic distortion of a reticle can be measured by directing slit patterns of light having different orientations to the reticle and detecting reflected, transmitted or diffracted light from the reticle. In one example, corresponding segments of successive time measurements of secondary light signals are compared as the reticle scans a substrate at a reticle stage speed of about 1 m/s to detect temporal offsets and other features that correspond to spatial distortion.
US09976928B2	Test flange assemblies and related methods Test flange assemblies comprise a flange body and a piston. The piston is configured to translate relative to the flange body and has an outer surface facing away from the flange body and an inner surface facing toward the flange body. The outer surface defines a circular seal channel for receiving a seal structure between the piston and a flange surface of a flanged component. The outer surface radially inward from the circular seal channel has a surface area that is less than a surface area of the inner surface. Methods of testing pressure containing structures comprise operatively positioning the test flange assembly, positioning a seal structure within the circular seal channel of the piston, coupling the flange body to a flanged component, and pressurizing a volume between the piston and the flange body so that the piston compresses the seal structure between the piston and the flanged component.
US09976927B2	Method for inspecting a connection seal between two parts A method for checking a connection seal between two elements of a part, includes dipping the part to be checked in a penetrant having a compound suitable for reacting to light excitation; cutting the part at the connection to be checked; and checking for the presence of penetrant under a light capable of exciting the penetrant.
US09976920B2	Detection of strain in fiber optics cables induced by narrow-band signals A method may include transmitting a narrowband signal into a formation using a transmitter located in a wellbore. The narrowband signal is modified by passage of through the formation and the formation reflects at least a portion of the narrowband signal back to the wellbore resulting in a modified narrowband signal having a first frequency. The method also includes sensing the modified narrowband signal with an optical waveguide positioned in the wellbore, transmitting a source signal along a length of the optical waveguide, and obtaining a backscattered return signal from the optical waveguide. The backscattered return signal is sampled at a second frequency that is less than the Nyquist rate of the modified narrowband signal. The method further includes processing the backscattered return signal to obtain an amplitude of the modified narrowband signal.
US09976910B2	Infrared detector and detection method thereof, and electronic apparatus An infrared detector includes a source region and a drain region which are formed on a semiconductor substrate, an infrared ray absorbing film as a gate insulating film formed on the semiconductor substrate, and a gate electrode which is formed of a transparent electrode for infrared rays on the gate insulating film, in which, when a predetermined voltage is applied to the gate electrode, a predetermined current flows between the source region and the drain region.
US09976905B2	Surface characteristic measurement device Since both gloss and a reflection characteristic are measured by one surface characteristic measurement device, a gloss measurement target area and a reflection characteristic measurement target area are appropriately set. A gloss measurement instrument and a color measurement instrument are integrated with a gloss colorimeter. The gloss measurement instrument illuminates an illumination target face by illumination light, receives reflected light generated by a regular reflection of the illumination light on the illumination target face, and outputs a measurement result for the reflected light. A size of the gloss measurement target area can be changed. The color measurement instrument illuminates the illumination target face by annular illumination light, receives reflected light generated by a reflection of the annular illumination light on the illumination target face, and outputs a measurement result for the reflected light. A size of the reflection characteristic measurement target area can be changed.
US09976900B2	Spectrometer, and spectrometer production method A spectrometer includes a light detection element provided with a light passing part and a light detection part, a support fixed to the light detection element such that a space is formed between the light passing part and the light detection part, a first reflection part provided in the support and configured to reflect light passing through the light passing part in the space, a second reflection part provided in the light detection element and configured to reflect the light reflected by the first reflection part in the space, and a dispersive part provided in the support and configured to disperse and reflect the light reflected by the second reflection part to the light detection part in the space.
US09976899B2	Spectroscopic measurement device, image forming apparatus, and spectroscopic measurement method A printer includes a spectroscope that includes a wavelength-selective interference filter on which light from a measurement target is incident and a carriage moving unit that moves the spectroscope in an X direction with respect to the measurement target. The wavelength-selective interference filter includes a pair of reflecting films and an electrostatic actuator that changes a gap dimension between the pair of reflecting films. A first spectroscopic measurement process that performs spectroscopic measurement while the gap dimension between the reflecting films is decreasing and a second spectroscopic measurement process that performs spectroscopic measurement while the gap dimension is increasing are alternately performed during the movement of the spectroscope by the carriage moving unit in the X direction.
US09976896B2	Utilizing a quench time to deionize an ultraviolet (UV) sensor tube Utilizing a quench time to deionize an ultraviolet (UV) sensor tube are described herein. One method includes monitoring firing events within a UV sensor tube, where a particular firing event initiates arming the UV sensor tube, initiating a quench time to deionize the UV sensor tube, where the quench time includes, disarming the UV sensor tube to prevent a firing event.
US09976893B2	Method for measuring permittivity of material A method for measuring a permittivity (ε) of a material (30) includes following steps. A sensing rod (14) of a material level sensor (10) inserts into a tank (20). The material level sensor (10) proceeds with a material level measurement of the material (30) to obtain a first feature value. The material level sensor (10) is vertically moved with a vertical distance (Hair). The material level sensor (10) proceeds with the material level measurement to obtain a second feature value, and subtracts the first feature value by the second feature value to obtain a feature value variation, and calculates the feature value variation to obtain the permittivity (ε) of the material (30).
US09976888B2	Flow measuring device A flow measuring device includes an output portion that outputs an electric signal having a shape of rectangle wave with an edge rising or falling in a signal value. The electric signal corresponds to a flow rate of intake air drawn into an internal-combustion engine. The output portion applies or stops a control voltage to a switching element disposed in an output wiring through which the electric signal is output so as to form the edge. The output portion has an edge relief part that changes the control voltage with progress of time so as to gradually increase or decrease the signal value at the edge.
US09976885B2	Ultrasonic measurement system and measurement method thereof An ultrasonic measurement system and a measurement method thereof are disclosed. The system includes a subsystem summarization processing device, and at least two measurement subsystems mounted on different regions to be measured, each measurement subsystem includes a primary measurement sensor and a secondary measurement sensor, the primary measurement sensor includes a first housing, and a first transduction element, a measurement processing element and a signal control element mounted within the first housing respectively, the signal control element is coupled to the first transduction element and the measurement processing element respectively, the first transduction element is mounted on a bottom end surface of the first housing, the secondary measurement sensor includes a second housing and a second transduction element mounted on a bottom end surface of the second housing, the second transduction element is coupled to the signal control element, and the measurement processing element of each of the measurement subsystems is coupled to the subsystem summarization processing device respectively. The measurement accuracy can be improved by implementing the present invention.
US09976881B2	System and method for analyzing product flow signal for an agricultural implement A system and method are provided for quantifying a degree of discontinuity of material flow from a meter roller. A flowable particulate material is fed into a meter roller rotated at a constant speed while a camera takes pictures or images of the product dispensed from the roller. The images of the product taken by the camera are analyzed to determine the area of the image represented by the product. The areas of product within the images are then compared with one another to determine how continuous the area of product is in the respective frames. The area measurement for each image is calculated at a frame rate for the camera that, when compared to the flute frequency range of the roller, provides a frame per flute ratio that ensures all particles of product dispensed from the roller are captured in an image without overlap of product between frames.
US09976880B2	Sensor fiber having a multicore optical waveguide including fiber Bragg gratings A sensor fiber for the detection of changes of temperature, bending, and/or torsion includes a multicore optical waveguide with a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) structure. One embodiment contains at least two FBG cores and a surrounding cladding. The sensor fiber is characterized by one or more distinction and orientation means which produce a marker zone to assign and label each individual FBG core.
US09976879B2	Color wheel rotation speed detecting module A color wheel rotation speed detecting module is disclosed and includes a color wheel, a motor, a rotation speed detector and a processor. The color wheel includes a first segment and at least one second segment. The motor drives the color wheel to rotate. The rotation speed detector includes an emitter and a receiver. The emitter outputs a light signal to the first segment or the second segment of the color wheel when the color wheel is rotated. When the receiver receives the light signal reflected from the second segment, the receiver outputs a detecting signal correspondingly. When the light signal passes through the first segment and the receiver fails to receive the light signal, the receiver interrupts the output of the detecting signal. The processor receives the detecting signal from the receiver, and obtains the rotating speed of the color wheel according to the detecting signal varied with time.
US09976878B2	Absolute measuring length measuring system In a length or position measuring system which has an at least locally substantially linear measuring gauge and at least one sensor to be moved relative to the measuring gauge, wherein the measuring gauge includes an incremental track and at least one absolute track and wherein the incremental track and the at least one absolute track have poles arranged in the longitudinal direction of the measuring gauge, the poles of the at least one absolute track form at least two regions in the sensor with different field strengths or signal amplitudes.
US09976877B2	Non-contact sensor for electromagnetic actuator assembly for a locking assembly The present invention relates to sensing engaged/disengaged modes of an electromagnetic actuator assembly, such as can be used in a locking differential or other locking gearset. Described herein is a sensor for sensing such engagement/disengagement and methods of using such a sensor. The sensor has a magnet having a north and south pole, a Hall element, and a ferrous target, wherein the ferrous target moves relative to the Hall element and magnet as a result of a position of the locking gearset.
US09976875B2	Systems and methods for landing identification Systems and methods disclosed herein may be useful for use in landing identification. In this regard, a method is provided comprising receiving pulse information over a first time period, wherein the pulse information is indicative of an angular distance traveled by a first wheel, comparing the pulse information to a threshold value, and determining a likelihood of a landing event based upon the comparison. In various embodiments, a system is provided comprising a monostable multivibrator in electrical communication with a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), a resistor-capacitor network in electrical communication with the MOSFET, and a comparator that receives a voltage from the resistor-capacitor network and a reference voltage.
US09976871B2	Solid-state register initiated poll of status information Methods, computer-readable storage media, and systems for signaling a communication device through an AMR interface for an immediate read of status information. It is determined whether the AMR interface is in an idle state, and if the interface is idle, the communication device is signaled to initiate retrieval of the status information through a data line of the AMR interface. Once the communication device initiates communication through the AMR interface, the data line is released.
US09976866B2	Electronic apparatus, control method thereof, computer program, and computer-readable recording medium Provided herein is a control method of an electronic apparatus. The control method of an electronic apparatus includes: determining a position of a vehicle that is being operated; determining a terrain height in a region positioned within a predetermined distance from the determined position of the vehicle; comparing a terrain height at the position of the vehicle and the terrain height in the region with each other to calculate a terrain height difference; and generating an information object including guidance information of the vehicle and displaying the generated information object through augmented reality by reflecting the terrain height difference.
US09976860B2	Seamless transition from outdoor to indoor mapping Techniques are described for seamlessly transitioning from a map that displays out-of-doors elements to a map that displays indoor elements, in response to detecting a transition event. The transition event may be, for example, that a navigation system that is generating the out-of-doors map has moved to an indoors location. Techniques are also provided for navigating to a parking spot in a parking structure. Specifically, users may search for parking spots that satisfy specific criteria. The search for a parking spot that satisfies the criteria may be initiated at the time a trip begins, or may be automatically triggered by some event. For example, a search for available parking spots near a designated destination may be automatically initiated as a user comes within a predetermined distance of the designated destination.
US09976859B2	Navigation API based on virtual tables Methods, apparatuses, and systems are provided which receive requests for map data, and generate virtual tables for accessing underlying navigational map data. Navigational functionality may be offered through structured query language (SQL) commands for all kinds of navigation data by the use of virtual tables. By offering functionality through SQL commands map developers benefit because there is no difference in accessing low-level data of the navigation database and higher-level functionality such as displaying map components. The commands used to send information to the graphic user interface, the navigation core, as well as the data access layer may all be accessed using virtual tables and SQL commands.
US09976855B1	Column installation kit A top mounted column placement element includes a plumb bob hanging element to allow a plumb bob to hang from the top mounted column placement element and identify a corresponding portion of a bottom mounted column placement element. The top mounted column placement element defines a column perimeter. The bottom mounted column placement element also defines a column perimeter. Once the top mounted column placement portion and bottom mounted column placement element are in place, the column can be placed and set to conform to both defined column perimeters, ensuring the column is properly positioned.
US09976847B2	Polarization independent optical shutter using cholesteric liquid crystals and three-dimensional image acquisition apparatus employing the same Example embodiments relate to an optical shutter including a first polarization filter having a nanopore-cholesteric liquid crystal layer, which includes a cholesteric liquid crystal matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal nanopores embedded in the cholesteric liquid crystal matrix, and having a reflective wavelength band that varies according to electrical control, and a second polarization filter that is parallel to the first polarization filter, includes a nanopore-cholesteric liquid crystal layer, which includes a cholesteric liquid crystal matrix and a plurality of liquid crystal nanopores embedded in the cholesteric liquid crystal matrix, and has a reflective wavelength band that varies according to electrical control.
US09976844B2	Miniaturized OCT package and assembly thereof A chip package includes a housing, one or more electrical connections coupled to an exterior of the housing, a photonic integrated circuit, and a scanning unit. Both the photonic integrated circuit and the scanning unit are disposed within the housing. The photonic integrated circuit has at least one waveguide designed to guide a beam of light. The scanning unit is designed to laterally scan the beam of light across a focal plane outside of the housing. The scanning unit is aligned with the photonic integrated circuit such that the beam of light is coupled between the photonic integrated circuit and the scanning unit.
US09976842B2	Device and method for detecting defects during sealing of a package comprising a foil A device for detecting defects during sealing of a package including a foil, and a method for detecting defects during sealing of a package including a foil which makes use of such a device. The device may include a distance sensor for determining the distance between at least two clamping elements, and a control unit coupled to the distance sensor for comparing the measured distances to predefined references. Such a device may be operated by, for example, positioning a foil and another part of a package to be connected to the foil between the clamping elements, moving the clamping elements toward one another until a connection between the foil and the other part of the package is formed, determining the distance between the clamping elements over a period, moving the clamping elements apart, and removing the package.
US09976835B2	Broadhead collars Collars are provided for broadheads. In some embodiments, the collars are shock collars with frangible tabs which restrain the blades of an expandable broadhead during flight, stabilizing the flight path of the expandable broadhead. The frangible tabs break off of the shock collar upon impact, allowing the blades of the expandable broadhead to deploy and increase the size of the entrance hole made in the target. In some embodiments, the collars center a ferrule of a broadhead within an insert of an arrow.
US09976834B1	Flip-up gun sight A flip up gun sight includes a sight body which includes: a sight housing having a pivotal end; a base member having a right tab and a left tab slidably connected with the pivotal end of the sight housing; a supporting member having a first supporting end pivotally connected with the sight housing, and a second supporting end pivotally connected with the base member; and a locking and folding mechanism which includes a pair of sliding slots formed on the right and left tabs, and a first mounting pin adapted to pivotally connect with the sight housing and sight base member to guide the sight housing for operating between a raised position and a down position.
US09976832B2	Firearm accessory mounting interface An accessory mounting interface for a firearm, and a related method, are disclosed. The interface has a firearm accessory, a first elongated fastener, and a second fastener rotationally mated to the first elongated fastener. The first elongated fastener has right-handed threading and is arranged through a through hole in the firearm accessory with a first end extending below first and second halves of a first slot protrusion of the firearm accessory. The second fastener has a length greater than a width, the length measured along a longitudinal axis of the second fastener, the second fastener having a plurality of straight edges. At least one of the plurality of straight edges prevents the second fastener from rotating further than a closed position when the at least one of the straight edges abuts a sidewall of an elongated slot in the firearm.
US09976826B2	Kinetic magazine loader An apparatus for loading cartridges into a magazine comprises a setting mechanism including a sleeve, a body, a setting tool, and a link. The body may be slidingly disposed about the sleeve so that the body and the sleeve can slide relative to one another along a sliding axis. The body may translate between an upper position and a lower position along the sliding axis. A first end of the setting tool may be pivotally coupled to the sleeve for relative rotation between the setting tool and the sleeve about a forward axis. The setting tool rotates about the forward axis as the body translates between the upper position and the lower position.
US09976818B2	Cooling tank for rails A cooling tank for the thermal treatment of a rail head provided with a structure comprising a first volume (2), adapted to be filled with a cooling fluid; a second volume (4), arranged above the first volume and communicating therewith, so that the fluid passes from the first to the second volume and the rail head to be thermally treated can be immersed therein; a partition plate (5) between first and second volume, provided with a single row of holes (6), preferably arranged at the center of the width of the second volume, for generating jets of cooling fluid from the first to the second volume; a pair of longitudinal bulkheads (7), arranged in said second volume perpendicular to the plate and symmetrically with respect to the single row of holes, adapted to direct the jets of fluid exiting from the holes vertically upwards.
US09976817B2	Planar element for forming heat exchanger Planar element adapted to form, when stacked with a plurality of other such elements, a heat exchanger, comprising an inlet region, a first zone adapted to direct flow from the inlet region towards a second zone, a second zone comprising at least one cutout in the plane of the planar element, adapted to accommodate a cooling core, a third zone, adapted to direct flow from the second zone towards an outlet region and an outlet region, the planar element comprising a first blockage protrusion disposed along a first group of said side edges, the first group comprising at least a side edge adjacent to said outlet region, and a second blockage protrusion disposed along a second group of said side edges, the second group comprising at least a side edge adjacent to said inlet region.
US09976814B2	Switchably activated heat transfer with magnetic fluid An apparatus includes a heat pipe with a fluid path. A first part of the fluid path is thermally coupled to a first region of a higher temperature and a second part of the fluid path thermally is coupled to a second region of a lower temperature. A difference between the higher temperature and the lower temperature induces a flow of a magnetic fluid in the fluid path. A switchable magnetic device is magnetically coupled to the fluid path. Activation of the switchable magnetic device reduces the flow of the magnetic fluid in the fluid path, which reduces heat transfer from the first region to the second region.
US09976809B2	Condensate and flash steam recovery system A system for recovering flash steam and condensate includes a flash steam recovery unit for recovering steam from a fluid containing flash steam and condensate, a condensate recovery unit positioned below the flash steam recovery unit to receive the condensate by gravity, wherein the condensate recovery unit is operated by pressurized pumping means which are adapted for selectively receiving the condensate into the condensate recovery unit, discharging the condensate to a process equipment through an outlet steam trapping unit, and discharging the exhaust gas via an exhaust gas outlet.
US09976804B2	Vapor supplying apparatus, vapor drying apparatus, vapor supplying method, and vapor drying method When a substrate on which a fine pattern is formed is dried with vapor, prevention of collapse of the pattern due to water originally contained in IPA to be stored has been a problem to be solved. A mixed liquid stored in a mixed liquid storage is vaporized to generate mixed vapor containing the IPA and water (water vapor). Then, a vapor dewatering unit connected to a vapor supply pipe through which the mixed vapor is fed removes water in the mixed vapor. This can reduce the concentration of water originally contained in the IPA to be stored before the IPA is supplied to the substrate, thereby suppressing collapse of the pattern.
US09976803B2	Process and apparatus for producing gaseous oxygen by cryogenic distillation of air Process for producing gaseous oxygen by cryogenic distillation of air, wherein a portion of the feed air flow is brought to a pressure P1, by means of a first compressor, the suction temperature T0 of which is between 0 and 50° C., the gas at the pressure P1 is cooled, in order to generate an air stream at the pressure P1 and the temperature T1 between 5 and 45° C., a portion of the air compressed in the first compressor undergoes an additional compression step starting from the temperature T1 and pressure P1 to a pressure P2 greater than P1, then is cooled, to the temperature T2 where T2 and T1 differ by less than 10° C.
US09976799B2	Refrigerator There is disclosed a refrigerator; a lighting device provided in the storage chamber, a first door rotatably coupled to the case to open and close the storage chamber, an auxiliary storage chamber provided in the first door, a second door, a front panel formed of a transparent material, an evaporation treatment unit evaporated on an overall back surface of the front panel to transmit lights partially, a variable transparency film attached to a back surface of the evaporation treatment unit provided in the front panel to get transparent when the power is supplied, a frame unit with an opening having a corresponding size to an opening provided in the first door, an insulation panel distant from the front panel, a power supply unit for supplying an electric power to the variable transparency film and the lighting device, a proximity sensor provided in the second door to sense a user's approaching.
US09976798B2	Insulating material with renewable resource component An insulated cabinet structure includes an inner liner having a plurality of walls defining a refrigerator compartment, and an external wrapper having a plurality of walls defining a refrigerator compartment receiving area. An insulation gap is formed between the walls of the inner liner and the walls of the external wrapper. A first insulation material is positioned on a wall of the external wrapper and extends outwardly into the insulation gap to partially fill the insulation gap. The first insulation material includes a renewable resource component having a particle size in a range from about 10 microns to about 25 microns. A second insulation material is disposed in the insulation gap, such that the first insulation material and the second insulation material together substantially fill the insulation gap.
US09976791B2	Refrigerator and method of controlling the same A refrigerator includes a main body section having at least one storage chamber, a door section, a cooling cycle section, a temperature measurement section, a defrost section for removing frost adhered to the evaporator and a control unit configured to operate the refrigerator in a power-saving mode when at least one of operation conditions to calculate an operation ratio of the compressor for each predetermined check time in the power-saving mode, and to operate the defrost section when the operation ratio is equal to or greater than a predefined threshold operation ratio.
US09976789B2	Cooler having integrated blender and accessories A portable cooler includes an insulated body that defines a main interior storage space, and a lid structured to at least partially cover the main interior storage space. The lid includes an integrated blender or an integrated blender drive. Components of the blender may include a source of electrical power, an electric motor, and a blender spindle mounted through a surface of the lid and coupled to the electric motor. The integrated blender may also include a blender jar structured to hold food items for blending and one or more blending blades. The lid may further include a blender recess shaped in a negative mold of a collar of the blender jar to prevent the blender jar from rotating during operation.
US09976785B2	Liquid line charge compensator An apparatus for reducing discharge pressure includes a compensator reservoir and a compensator line. The compensator line connects the compensator reservoir and a liquid line. The liquid line connects an outdoor heat exchanger and an indoor heat exchanger of a reversible HVAC system. The compensator line includes a connection to the compensator reservoir and a connection to the liquid line. A first expansion device is disposed in the liquid line and configured to only act on refrigerant flowing towards the outdoor heat exchanger. A second expansion device disposed in the liquid line and configured to only act on refrigerant flowing towards the indoor heat exchanger. The compensator is operable to receive refrigerant, driven by pressure, from the HVAC system, and further operable to allow refrigerant to flow back into the HVAC system.
US09976782B1	Portable instant cooling system with controlled temperature obtained through timed-release liquid or gaseous CO2 coolant for general refrigeration use in mobile and stationary containers Standalone and self-contained cooling systems using compressed liquid and/or gas C02 containers positioned in an insulated or non-insulated vessel and consisting of a specially designed unit where the containers are vertically positioned in an upright or upside-down position. The liquid and/or gas CO2 coolant is then released into capillary tube(s) embedded into a heat transfer plate or heat exchanger thus leveraging the C02 coolant properties. The temperature is controlled by a metering C02 releasing system encompassing an electronic control device which can be operated remotely and/or via a touch screen and which sends alerts when pre-defined thresholds are exceeded. The invention's metering C02 releasing system may be triggered by an electronic or a thermostatic valve or may be triggered manually or by an electronic solenoid. The invention's cooling system also encompasses check valves, which avoid liquid and/or gas C02 from escaping when removing or replacing C02 containers individually.
US09976778B2	Integrated hook and flashing for photovoltaic module installation on tile roofs A bracket for installing photovoltaic modules on a tile roof. The bracket can have a base portion adapted to sit on a flat roof surface below a tile. A pair of curved portions above the base portion can be supported by a pair of vertical portions. A riser portion can be connected to the pair of curved portion and rising in a direction perpendicular to a roof surface. A flange can be connected to and be perpendicular to the riser portion and parallel to the base.
US09976774B1	Heating system, kit and method of using A system and method for improving the responsiveness of forced hot water heat exchangers placed around the baseboards of conditioned living spaces and improving the efficiently of centralized hot water heating systems. The control system may comprise replacement baseboard heat exchanger cover, a blower, a diffuser and a sensor which are mounted to one or more baseboard heat exchangers. When heating system and forced hot water reaches its operating temperature, the blower activates to rapidly transfer energy from the heated water into the air and disperse treated, heated air into the room. After the centralized heating system turns off, the system continues to disperse the treated, heated air until the latent heat of the heating element centralized heating system has been extracted and the return loop temperatures are at levels consistent with optimal boiler performance.
US09976766B2	Air-conditioning apparatus An air-conditioning apparatus includes a time constant calculation unit that estimates a response time constant at a time when an opening degree of an expansion device is changed on the basis of specifications of a compressor that forms a refrigeration cycle of the air-conditioning apparatus, specifications of a load side heat exchanger, and an operating state quantity of the air-conditioning apparatus, a control constant calculation means that calculates at least one of a control gain of the opening degree of the expansion device and a control interval on the basis of a calculation result of the time constant calculation means, and a control constant change means that changes a control constant.
US09976765B2	System and method for controlling operations of air-conditioning system A method controls an operation of an air-conditioning system generating airflow in a conditioned environment. The method updates a model of airflow dynamics connecting values of flow and temperature of air conditioned during the operation of the air-conditioning system. The model is updated interactively iteratively to reduce an error between values of the airflow determined according to the model and values of the airflow measured during the operation. Next, the method models the airflow using the updated model and controls the operation of the air-conditioning system using the model.
US09976763B2	HVAC controller for a variable air volume (VAV) box An HVAC system may include a VAV box including a damper movable between a first damper position and a second damper position and an HVAC controller that is mounted remotely from the VAV box. The HVAC controller may be configured to control the VAV box in accordance with a temperature set point entered into the HVAC controller and may be programmed with a test and balance procedure. In some cases, the HVAC controller may also be programmed with functionality that facilitates an installer or other technician in configuring and/or reconfiguring the VAV box. This may include providing a user interface that supports a test and balance procedure of the VAV box. Such functionality may be user-accessible via the user interface of the HVAC controller, and in some cases, may be used to drive the damper of the VAV box between various damper positions as well as perform other functionality.
US09976762B2	Synthetic jet driven cooling device with increased volumetric flow A synthetic jet driven cooling device includes at least one synthetic jet actuator to generate and project a series of fluid vortices. A manifold coupled to the synthetic jet actuator(s) receives the fluid vortices and generates a primary air stream. An air amplifier connected to the manifold by a connecting pipe receives the primary air stream. The air amplifier includes an air intake oriented perpendicular to the connecting pipe and an air outlet positioned opposite the air intake, with a venturi section positioned between the air intake and air outlet that has a diameter smaller than the air intake diameter. A low pressure region in a center of the venturi section entrains a surrounding air in through the air intake to generate a secondary air stream that combines with the primary air stream to generate a combined air flow that flows through the venturi and exits the air outlet.
US09976758B2	Indoor unit of air conditioning device with insulated air passage An indoor unit of an air conditioning device which is installed on a wall surface of a room includes an air sending fan which sends room air from an air inlet disposed at an upper part to an air outlet disposed at a lower part of a front side; heat exchangers disposed at the upstream side of the air sending fan; and a back case which is located close to the wall surface with respect to the air sending fan and supports the heat exchangers, wherein the back case is composed of an air outlet passage wall member which forms an air outlet passage for air blown out from the air sending fan and an installation member which is located on a back side of the air outlet passage wall member and is mounted on an installation plate which is fixed on the wall surface with the air outlet passage wall member and the installation member being arranged in parallel in the front and back direction, and a first space is formed between a back surface of an air outlet passage wall of the air outlet passage wall member and the installation member.
US09976750B1	Multi-zone food holding bin A multi-zone food holding bin has a continuous food supporting surface with multiple food holding zones. Each food holding zone is independently controllable so that different food temperatures may be maintained in adjacent food holding zones.
US09976748B2	Rotatable switch for appliance valve Embodiments of the invention provide a switch for use with an appliance valve, such as for gas appliances. The switch may comprise a base for coupling the switch to a valve, a rotatable hub in communication with the base and providing rotation therewith, a first protrusion projecting outwardly from the hub, and a detent disposed on the base and in communication with the first protrusion for resisting rotatable motion of the hub. Rotation of the hub in a first direction for turning an appliance valve to an on position requires the first protrusion to flexibly deflect the detent to permit the hub to rotate past the detent. As a result, danger of inadvertent rotation of the switch is reduced.
US09976747B2	Safe venting control for stoves A stove or a stove body has a trigger control that directs toxic fumes to the stovetop during cooking and to a side outdoor venting channel when cooking container is removed from the stovetop to ensure safe release of toxic fumes.
US09976742B1	Crematory A crematory, or crematory accessory, having a nano-emissive thermal enhancement layer disposed therein to generate even heat throughout the crematory heating chamber. A method of making a crematory or crematory accessory involves spraying an hydrous coating containing high emissivity constituents in an admixture on an exposed or unexposed a crematory refractory surface, or crematory accessory, or in a layer therein.
US09976740B2	Burner A superadiabatic burner has a flame holder formed from a porous medium, a fuel inlet coupled to the flame holder, a fuel outlet coupled to the flame holder, a preheater comprising an inlet and an outlet coupled to the fuel inlet, and a radiating rod coupled to the porous medium. The porous medium comprises a first porous section and a second porous section. Methods of using the burner allow preheated air or other mixtures to be provided to the fuel inlet as part of a fuel air mixture for the burner.
US09976739B2	Air nozzle arrangement in a fluidized bed boiler, grate for a fluidized bed boiler, and a fluidized bed boiler An air nozzle arrangement for a fluidized bed boiler, comprising an air feed pipe and an air nozzle which limit an air feed duct configured to supply air to the furnace of the fluidized bed boiler. The air nozzle arrangement comprises a surface configured to guide coarse material along said surface. At least part of said surface is thermally insulated from the air nozzle and/or the air feed pipe. Furthermore, at least part of said surface is configured to protect at least part of said air nozzle and/or air feed pipe. Thus, the temperature of said surface is configured to be high when the fluidized bed boiler is in operation, whereby the solidification of molten material of the fluidized bed in the air nozzle arrangement is reduced.
US09976738B1	Lighting system for a sectional door and method A lighting system attaches to a sectional door. The sectional door has a plurality of hinge-connected panels which roll along left and right tracks which are connected to a structure. Each panel has an inside surface. The sectional door is positionable to a closed position and to an open position. The lighting system includes a light which connects to the inside surface of a panel of the sectional door. A movable electric contactor connects to a panel of the sectional door, and a fixed electric contactor connects to the structure. A holder carries the fixed contactor, the holder is shaped and dimensioned to removably connect to either the left track or to the right track. In the open position of the sectional door the movable electric contactor is configured to contact the fixed electric contactor and energize the light.
US09976736B2	Lighting assembly and associated method A lighting assembly includes: a heat sink having a mounting surface for a light source; a light source board having said light source thereon, said light source board being arranged against said mounting surface and having an outer perimeter edge, and a drive board carrying drive circuitry for said light source, said drive board being fixed onto said heat sink with said light source board sandwiched therebetween, said drive board having an aperture with an inner edge complementary to said outer edge of said light source board, whereby said light source is left uncovered by said drive board, and wherein: said inner edge of said drive board has an inwardly protruding frame formation with said outer perimeter edge of said light source board abutting against said frame formation, and said light source board has a thickness whereby said drive board and said mounting surface have a clearance therebetween.
US09976732B2	Flat panel lighting device and driving circuitry The light fixture includes a frame configured to define a channel, and a substantially flat light emitting diode (LED) panel disposed within the frame. Power circuitry is disposed within the first channel, the power circuitry being configured to electrically couple the substantially flat LED panel to an external AC power supply. The power circuitry is sized to be positioned within the first channel and has a length and a width, the length-to-width ratio being at least 5 to 1, and optionally at least 10 to 1. The power circuitry is configured to convert an AC input into a DC output suitable for powering the substantially flat light emitting diode (LED) panel. The substantially flat light emitting diode (LED) panel includes an optically transmissive panel, and an array of LEDs disposed adjacent to an edge of the optically transmissive panel and disposed adjacent at least one edge of the frame.
US09976730B1	Quick installation LED lamp A quick installation LED lamp includes an aluminum profile having a groove on a top thereof, the aluminum profile being provided with an abutting portion on a bottom thereof; a light source assembly received in the groove, the light source assembly comprising a support strip and a plurality of LED beads arranged spaced and equidistantly on the support strip; a lampshade mounted on the aluminum profile and covering the light source assembly; a connector assembly, and a fixing piece having a base plate and the two side plates extending upwardly from both sides of the base plate, wherein the side plate has a bending portion latching with the abutting portion.
US09976729B2	Pot light accessory adaptor The present invention provides a pot light accessory adapter having a perimeter rim, a flange having an aperture and having means for connecting the adapter to a pot light.
US09976727B2	Strip light arrangement for T bar ceiling grid systems A cross member of a T bar ceiling system is designed to be part of the ceiling grid system and adapted to releasably receive a strip light beneath the cross T member. The strip light provides support flanges beneath the T member for supporting a ceiling panel edge at the conventional height. With this arrangement the grid system can be installed in the normal manner with these cross T's at positions where strip lights are to be secured. The strip lights can be installed at a later point in time. Preferably a push type releasable connection is used.
US09976725B2	Solid-state luminaire with pixelated control of light beam distribution A luminaire having an electronically adjustable light beam distribution is disclosed. In some embodiments, the disclosed luminaire includes a plurality of solid-state lamps mounted on one or more surfaces of a housing. The lamps can be electronically controlled individually and/or in conjunction with one another, for example, to provide highly adjustable light emissions from the luminaire (e.g., pixelated control over light distribution). In some cases, a given solid-state lamp may include tunable electro-optic componentry to provide it with its own electronically adjustable light beam. One or more heat sinks optionally may be mounted on the housing to assist with heat dissipation for the solid-state lamps. The luminaire can be configured to be mounted or as a free-standing lighting device, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the aperture through which the lamps provide illumination is smaller than the distribution area of the solid-state lamps of the luminaire.
US09976722B2	Display device and light conversion member A display device includes a light source, and a light conversion member to convert a wavelength of light generated from the light source. The light conversion member includes a first region to convert first light generated from the light source into a second light, and a second region to convert the first light generated from the light source into a third light. The second light has a wavelength longer than that of the third light. The first region is closer to the light source than the second region.
US09976719B2	Diffusion light distribution optical system and vehicle lighting apparatus In a diffusion light distribution optical system configured such that a plurality of lens bodies are arranged to be aligned in a vehicle width direction, second emission surfaces of the plurality of lens bodies form a continuous emission surface having a semicircular column shape and extending in a line in the vehicle width direction in a state where the second emission surfaces are adjacent to each other, and one or more lens bodies of the plurality of lens bodies are arranged in a state where an optical axis of a first lens unit is slanted with respect to a vehicle travel direction.
US09976715B2	Utility platform assembly A lighting system is configured to provide lighting on an interior of a utility platform. The lighting system comprises a rope light and a power source for installing in or near the utility platform. The rope light includes a plurality of light emitters and a casing. The casing surrounds the plurality of light emitters, which are spread along the rope light. The rope light is configured to provide light to an interior surface of the utility platform. The isolated power source provides electrical power to the rope light, and is configured to prevent a discharge of electricity.
US09976714B2	Luminaire for crosswalk, method for making, and method for controlling The present disclosure describes light delivery and distribution components of a light duct that can be used as a luminaire, such as a bollard-style luminaire that can be useful for the illumination of pedestrian crosswalks, the light engine useful in the luminaire, and methods for making the light engine and the luminaire. The present disclosure further describes methods for crosswalk illumination using the bollard-style luminaires, and methods of communication between bollard luminaires. The bollard luminaire includes a design that generally confines light to illuminate the crosswalk and the pedestrian in the crosswalk, such that light that could produce glare for the pedestrian and/or a driver approaching the crosswalk is minimized.
US09976713B2	Apparatus and method for providing a frequency response for audio signals An apparatus includes a moving mass transducer. The moving mass transducer generates sound by displacement of a surface defined by a piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element is displaced in response to an interaction of a first signal with a magnetic field. The piezoelectric element is configured to be separately driving by a second signal.
US09976712B2	Lamp for use in a lighting strip system and lighting strip system A lamp for use in a lighting strip system which includes a support rail, which extends along a longitudinal axis, and supply lines for supplying power to a light source of the lamp. The lamp has a first unit for arrangement on the support rail and for electrical contact to the supply lines, wherein the first unit includes an operating device for supplying power to the light source of the lamp. The lamp also has a second unit which includes the light source, and a plug connection device, having a first and second plug connection element, via which the second unit can be electrically connected to the first unit. The design having two units which are connected to each other enables the entire weight of the lamp to be divided across the two units. The two units can thus each be more easily handled, for assembly on the support rail.
US09976709B2	Method for making an LED lighting fixture A method for making an LED lighting fixture includes the steps of: a) cutting a flat blank to form a flat plate including a central piece having a central region and a circumferential region, and a plurality of peripheral extensions; b) forming on the flat plate a patterned circuit which includes a plurality of electrical contact pairs that are formed on the central piece or the peripheral extensions; c) bringing a plurality of LED dies into electrical contact with the electrical contact pairs, respectively; and d) bending the peripheral extensions rearwardly relative to the central piece and toward the central axis to form a shell.
US09976708B2	Lighting means having a specifiable emission characteristic and production method for an optical element The invention relates to a lighting means (1), comprising: an optical element (3), which has a main extension direction (Z), a radiation inlet surface (3a), and a radiation outlet surface (3b); and at least two light-emitting diodes (2), which each comprise at least one light-emitting diode chip (21) and a radiation passage surface (2a), which extends along a main extension plane (XZ); wherein the at least two lighting-emitting diodes (2) are arranged along the main extension direction (Z) of the optical element (3), the radiation inlet surface (3a) of the optical element (3) faces the radiation passage surfaces (2a) of the at least two light-emitting diodes (2), the optical element (3) is formed as a solid body, the radiation inlet surface (3a) of the optical element (3) is flat or convexly curved, and the radiation outlet surface (3b) of the optical element (3) comprises at least one recess (4) in the optical element (3).
US09976707B2	Color mixing output for high brightness LED sources A mixing optic combines a variety of features to enhance the brightness and uniformity of the light emitted from a combination of different color light emitting sources. The mixing optic may include a parabolic reflector that redirects low-angle emissions, a reflective waveguide that mixes the light spatially, and a diffuser plate that mixes the light angularly. In an embodiment, the output of the mixing optic exhibits a substantially Lambertian output pattern of a substantially uniform mix of colors, exhibiting, for example, the light output pattern of a single white light source.
US09976701B2	Tank A tank or tank system for storing a cryogenic liquid exhibiting at least one collecting container with an upper region and a lower region, so as to hold the cryogenic liquid, at least one arrangement for feeding and discharging liquids and at least one arrangement for feeding and discharging gases, wherein the tank further exhibits at least one frame structure comprising a thermal insulation material.
US09976694B2	Two-axis mounting base A mounting base for supporting and rotating an instrument about two perpendicular axes is disclosed. The mounting base includes a vertical column; a rotatable platform attached to the column by a revolute joint; a rail around the column; at least one rod, an end of the at least one rod connecting with the revolute joint; at least one sliding mechanism, connecting with the other end of the at least one rod, the sliding mechanism sliding on the rail. The mounting base is light and easily controlled with arbitrary azimuth.
US09976692B1	Angularly adjustable housing mount assembly A bracket assembly is used to secure a housing to a support structure such as a post, wall or ceiling. The bracket assembly includes an inner bracket, an outer bracket and a connector. The inner bracket is configured to be mounted on the support structure separately from the outer bracket, and the outer bracket is configured to be quickly mounted on the inner bracket. The outer bracket and connector are joined by a ball and socket joint. Angular adjustment of the ball relative to the socket is made prior to mounting of the outer bracket on the inner bracket, and the desired orientation is maintained using a clamping assembly. The bracket assembly includes sealing features that prevent moisture from entering the assembly.
US09976689B2	Fire protected elastomeric insulation The present invention relates to a versatile multi-layer elastomer or thermoplastic elastomer based thermal and/or sound insulation material with improved fire retardant properties together with low smoke generation, the process for manufacturing of such material and the use of such material and resulting composites.
US09976683B2	Quick fill fluid connector A fluid connector having a longitudinal axis and selective open and closed conditions, includes an elongate conduit member extending along the longitudinal axis, an annular collar disposed about and having axial movement relative to the conduit member between the connector open and closed conditions, and a plurality of split nut members circumferentially distributed about the conduit member and having axial movement relative to the collar between the connector open and closed conditions. The plurality of split nut members and the collar are jointly rotatably about the longitudinal axis, and each split nut member has a distal end defining a threaded nut segment. The split nut member distal ends in the connector closed condition are constrained by the collar against radially separating movement relative to the longitudinal axis and cooperatively define a nut configured to threadedly engage a mating fluid fitting.
US09976679B2	Joint including connection surface, pipe including pipe joint, and piping structure including same A joint having connection surface has a main body including a first connection surface and a second connection surface, each of which is structured to connect to a connection target such as a port of hydraulic equipment, a piping, and a joint, the connection target having a path in which a hydraulic oil flows, a first opening end opened on the first connection surface and connecting to the path, first coupling holes each structured as a threaded hole, which are opened on the first connection surface and arranged on a circle concentric with the first opening end, a second opening end opened on the second connection surface and connecting to the path, and second coupling holes each structured as a through hole or a threaded hole, which are opened on the second connection surface and arranged along a circle concentric with the second opening end.
US09976677B2	Dual use coupling end for pipes and fittings The disclosure relates to a dual use coupling end including a pipe section having an annular recessed cam groove a distance from an annular endwardly facing surface of the pipe section, the cam groove defined by a curved or tapered cam groove surface extending gradually radially inwardly from an annular radial outer surface of the fitting adjacent toward the endwardly facing surface, to an annular clamp groove terminating on an opposite end by a radially outwardly extending annular clamp abutment surface located a distance from the endwardly facing surface. The clamp abutment surface extends a distance radially outwardly from the radial innermost portion to an annular beveled cam abutment surface at an acute angle to the clamp abutment surface and facing radially outwardly from the endwardly facing surface, the cam abutment surface disposed radially outwardly of the cam groove surface and including a radial outward discontinuous extension.
US09976673B2	Miniature fluid control device A miniature fluid control device includes a gas inlet plate, a resonance plate and a piezoelectric actuator. The gas inlet plate includes at least one inlet, at least one convergence channel and a central cavity. A convergence chamber is defined by the central cavity. The resonance plate has a central aperture. The piezoelectric actuator includes a suspension plate, an outer frame and a piezoelectric ceramic plate. A gap is formed between the resonance plate and the piezoelectric actuator to define a first chamber. When the piezoelectric actuator is driven and after the gas is fed into the miniature fluid control device through the inlet of the gas inlet plate, the gas is sequentially converged to the central cavity through the convergence channel, transferred through the central aperture of the resonance plate, introduced into the first chamber, transferred downwardly through the piezoelectric actuator, and exited from the miniature fluid control device.
US09976672B2	Handle lock for valve A valve lock is provided. The valve lock includes a lower lock bracket and an upper lock bracket. The lower lock bracket has a first flange plate having at least one lock hole formed therethrough. A lock plate extends from and is substantially perpendicular to the first flange plate. The lock plate is positioned to abut against a valve body when the valve lock is locked to a valve. The upper lock bracket includes a second flange plate having at least one lock hole aligned with the at least one lock hole of the first flange plate. A pair of upper lock tabs extends vertically from the second flange plate and forms a vertical channel. The vertical channel is sized to receive at least a portion of a valve handle within.
US09976671B2	Valve A valve comprises a housing, a control handle rotatable relative to the housing, a flow control mechanism in the housing and connected with the control handle, stop seats formed on the housing, a locking body in contact with the control handle, stopping portions formed in the locking body and movable between a locking position in which the stopping portions engage the stop seats and a release position in which the stopping portions are moved away from the stop seats, a control surface formed in the handle. The handle is movable between a lowered position towards the housing and a position raised from the housing. In the raised position, the control surface pushes the stopping portions in the locking position and, in the lowered position, the control surface allows the stopping portions to return in the release position.
US09976670B2	Gas cock A gas cock that according to some embodiments includes an electromagnetic actuator having an electrically conductive static element and an electrically conductive moving element. The gas cock has a closure element that is attached to and moves with the moving element. The gas cock has an actuator shaft that in a first position does not contact the moving element, and in a second position pushes against the moving element to cause the moving element to make contact with the static element. The static element is electrically coupled to a signal line. When the actuator shaft is in the second position the closure element is positioned to permit gas flow through the gas cock and the actuator shaft is electrically coupled with the signal line.
US09976667B2	Temperature controlled valves A controller opens or closes a valve in response to the ambient temperature crossing a threshold value, for example to prevent the continued supply of water to pipes that might have frozen and burst. An output shaft (4) acts on a stem of the valve to rotate it between the open and closed positions. A clock spring (8) biases the output shaft towards one of those positions but is restrained by a latch (28) until a thermal actuator (30) operates mechanically to release the latch in response to a change in temperature. The latch may be a pawl (28) acting on a ratchet gear (22) that allows the output shaft (4) to rotate in one direction but not the other. The ratchet gear (22) may be mounted on an input shaft (14), which is connected to the output shaft (4) through a gear train (16-19) to give a mechanical advantage when turning the output shaft (4) against the force of the spring (8).
US09976665B2	Flow meter A flow meter includes a background pattern disposed behind a drip chamber, an image sensor, and a processor. The image sensor has a field of view and is configured to view the drip chamber within the field of view. The processor is coupled to the image sensor to receive image data therefrom and captures, using the image sensor, an image of the drip chamber and at least a portion of the background pattern, examines the image, and adjusts a flow rate of fluid flowing through a fluid line in accordance with the examination of the image.
US09976662B2	Valve with damper A pressure relief valve includes a valve element having, at one end, a flow restricting head and, at an opposed end, a damping head. The damping head includes a damping channel formed therein to allow fluid flow between an inlet chamber and a damping chamber of the valve.
US09976656B2	Control valve for a camshaft adjuster A control valve for a camshaft adjuster is provided. The control valve contains a hollow cylindrical control piston, which has radially arranged piston openings on a piston head of the control piston, which piston head has a reduced diameter in comparison with the adjacent segment. Pressure medium flows along the outer cylindrical surface of the control piston, reaches into the piston openings, and causes a flow force that depends on the relative position of the control piston in the circumferential direction. For the purpose of weakening this dependence, the piston openings and sleeve openings are distributed over the circumference, wherein the angle between the axes of the piston openings differs from the angle between the axes of the sleeve openings and wherein the same angle range covered by the piston openings and sleeve openings at the same time, in dependence on the position of the control piston in relation to the control sleeve, remains approximately the same.
US09976655B2	Valve A valve with an opening surrounded by a seat, and a closure member, which, in a closed position, presses onto the seat and closes the opening and, in an intermediate position, is raised from the seat and overlaps with the opening and, in a maximum opening position, at least partially releases the opening. The valve has a first valve drive for moving the closure member between the maximum opening position and the intermediate position along a first movement track, and a second valve drive for moving the closure member between the intermediate position and the closed position along a second movement track which is at an angle to the first movement track. The valve has at least one transmission part which is provided for reversible deformation by the second valve drive, and the first valve drive acts on the closure member with the interposition of the transmission part.
US09976654B2	Valve device A valve device including: a drive source; a base having a valve seat surface in which a fluid inflow hole and outflow hole are formed; a case body covering the valve seat surface-side of the base, and a valve chamber together with the base; a first valve body for opening and closing the outflow hole; and a second valve body for opening and closing the inflow hole is provided. The output part of the drive source, the first and second valve bodies are housed in the valve chamber. The first valve body is a substantially cylindrical member, one end surface of which is in sliding contact with the peripheral edge of the outflow hole in the valve seat surface, receives the driving force of the drive source and pivots such that the outflow hole is switched between a closed state and a fully or partially opened state.
US09976652B2	Sealing device The present invention relates to a sealing device including a sealing circular piece, an inner ring and an outer ring, with one being able to rotate relative to an axis. The circular piece is arranged between the two rings and comprises two circular lips arranged in a groove inclined with respect to the axis of rotation. The groove is provided on the outer face of the inner ring. An attachment profile is fixed in an orifice formed in the outer ring. The inclination of the groove makes it possible to increase the potential contact surface area perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the crown ring, since, for a given distance between an outer edge and an inner edge of a ring, the groove can be longer, improving the resistance of the top lip to expulsion. The two lips are prestressed in the groove allowing for a better hold.
US09976649B2	Method and arrangement for the deceleration of a hydrostatic transmission Method for deceleration of a hydrostatic transmission 3 driven by a drive motor 2 comprising a closed hydraulic fluid circuit, in which a hydraulic pump 4 coupled mechanically with the drive motor 2 and a hydraulic motor 5 are arranged. Two hydraulic lines 6, 7 connect the hydraulic pump 4 and the hydraulic motor 5 and constitute for the hydraulic motor 5 according to the drive direction of the hydrostatic transmission 3 a supply line 6 and a return line 7. In at least one of the two hydraulic lines 6, 7 a throttle valve 16 is arranged being adjustable in its throttle cross section which, if the corresponding hydraulic line 7 is a return line 7 for hydraulic fluid under high pressure towards the hydraulic pump 4 is being adaptable in its throttle cross section dynamically such that the adjustable hydraulic power in return line 7 downstream of throttle valve 16 at any time during a coasting mode corresponds to the maximum power being supportable at the drive motor 2 in consideration of the power consumption of auxiliary consumers 100 and power losses.
US09976646B2	Angle regulation device An angle regulation device includes a casing, a regulating gear, a driving mechanism, a transmitting mechanism and a powering unit. The regulating gear is pivoted to the casing and is mounted with a radar detector. The driving mechanism includes co-rotatable rotating shaft, and first and second driving members. The transmitting mechanism includes first and second transmitting units each including a transmitting gear that meshes with the regulating gear and that has a gear radius smaller than that of the regulating gear, and a transmitting engaging structure that meshes with a respective one of the first and second driving members. The powering unit is coupled to the rotating shaft for rotating the radar detector relative to the casing.
US09976642B2	Torque converter with improved lock-up clutch An improved torque converter and lock-up clutch assembly includes a sleeve fixed on the sidewall of the lock-up clutch to extend the depth of the clutch, and thereby allow additional clutch packs to be mounted in the cover. The additional clutch packs increase the torque capacity of the assembly. The sleeve includes an annular groove with a snap ring to retain the clutch packs and backing plate in the lock-up clutch cover.
US09976640B1	Drive assembly A variable speed transmission is disposed in a housing of a work vehicle, wherein the housing includes an external mounting surface. At least one axle is driven by the variable speed transmission and extends from the transaxle housing. An operator handle and the prime mover are mounted directly to external surfaces of the transaxle housing to provide a frameless vehicle. The transmission may also drive a power take-off assembly, which is also supported by the transaxle housing, to drive a work tool.
US09976637B2	Rotary electric component A rotary electric component includes: a spring; a rotation body; click pieces; a lever restricting rotation of the rotation body, and has a following part in which a groove is formed and which has an arcuate recessed surface on a part of the lateral surface; a restricting member which has a pin and a drive unit having an arcuate protruding surface as part of the lateral surface, and which constitutes a Geneva drive in which the pin engages in the groove of the lever to rotate the lever and, in a state where the pin has been removed from the groove of the lever, the arcuate protruding surface of the drive unit and the arcuate recessed surface of the following part of lever engage to restrict rotation of the lever; and a housing unit comprising an uneven portion and housing the rotation body, click pieces, lever, and restricting member.
US09976633B2	Planetary gear train of automatic transmission for vehicles A planetary gear train of an automatic transmission includes an input shaft for receiving an engine torque, an output shaft outputting changed torque, a first planetary gear set including a first, second, and third rotation elements, a second planetary gear set including a fourth, fifth, and sixth rotation elements, a third planetary gear set including a seventh, eighth, and ninth rotation elements, a fourth planetary gear set including a tenth, eleventh and twelfth rotation elements, a first shaft connected with the first rotational element, a second shaft interconnecting the second rotational element and the fourth rotational element and connected with the input shaft, a third shaft interconnecting the third rotational element and the tenth rotational element, a fourth shaft interconnecting the fifth rotational element and the eighth element, a fifth shaft connected with the sixth rotational element, and a sixth shaft connected with the seventh rotational element.
US09976632B2	Multi-speed transmission in planetary design A planetary multi-speed transmission for a vehicle with a housing is proposed. A first shaft is provided as a drive (An) and a second shaft is provided as an output (Ab) and is arranged axially parallel to the drive. Three planetary gear sets and additional shafts, along with six shifting elements are provided, through which the actuation of several gears are realized. Machine elements are provided for transfer of torque between the drive (An) and the output (Ab). The first shaft is connectable, as drive (An) to the planetary gear carrier of the first planetary gear set, to the sun gear of the second planetary gear set, to the ring gear of the first planetary gear set, to the planetary gear carrier of the second planetary gear set and to the first spur gear stage. The second shaft is connected or connectable, as a drive (Ab), to the first machine element and to the second machine element.
US09976629B2	Magneto-rheological servo speed regulating and reducing device and assembly and control method therefor A magneto-rheological servo speed regulator-reducer comprises a power output shaft, a planetary gear (2), an eccentric shaft (3), a left speed reduction main shaft (4), a pin gear housing (5), a cycloidal pin (6), a main bearing (7), a right speed reduction main shaft (8), a signal control line (9), a base housing (10), a clutch end plate (11), a coil iron core (12), an excitation coil (13), an input shaft bracket (14), an input bearing (15), a power input shaft (16), an input shaft oil seal (17), magneto-rheological fluid (18), a transmission clutch disc (19), a clutch cavity (20), a transmission oil seal (21), a clutch oil seal (22), an encoder (23), a transmission bearing (24), a cycloidal gear bearing (25), a cycloidal gear (26), a speed reduction main shaft oil seal (27), an eccentric bearing (28) and a transmission main shaft (29).
US09976626B2	Torsional vibration reduction device for torque converter A torsional vibration reduction device provided inside a torque converter includes rolling elements, a plate, and a cover. The plate includes rolling chambers housing the rolling elements. The cover encloses and shields the rolling elements and the plate from a working fluid surrounding the torsional vibration reduction device inside the torque converter. The cover includes first and second covers that are joined together with the plate held between the first and second covers. The first and second covers contact the plate in an axial direction of the torque converter at locations that are, with respect to an axis of the torque converter, on an inner peripheral side and on an outer peripheral side of the rolling chambers. Surfaces of the first and second covers are joined to the plate at least at part of the locations where the first and second covers contact the plate.
US09976621B2	Pre-deformed thermoplastics spring and method of manufacture A thermoplastic spring and a method for manufacturing the thermoplastic spring are provided to reduce the effect of creep during use of the spring. The spring is molded and deformed to final dimensions by pre-inducing creep in the molded body.
US09976615B2	Floating housing force transmitting assembly A force transmitting assembly includes a mounting flange having a central opening to receive a shaft, wherein the mounting flange is mountable on a frame, a rotor disc mountable on the shaft and rotatable with the shaft, the rotor disc having a first planar face and a second planar face, a float plate having a first friction surface engageable with the first planar face, and a pressure plate having a second friction surface engageable with the second planar face. The brake assembly also includes a spring housing, which operates as a piston, and a cylinder coupled to the spring housing to form a fluid pressure chamber, wherein the spring housing moves in a first direction when pressurized fluid enters the fluid pressure chamber and the spring housing moves in a second direction when pressurized fluid exits the fluid pressure chamber. The assembly further includes a plurality of nested tube subassemblies supporting the float plate, the pressure plate, and the spring housing to allow axial movement of at least one of the float plate, the pressure plate, and the spring housing. The nested tube subassemblies also transmit torque from the rotor to the mounting flange during the engaged condition of the brake assembly.
US09976613B2	Wet-running multiple disc brake and system A disc brake runs wet by use of cooling fluid, in particular for a road vehicle, and includes stationary stator discs arranged in parallel to and at a distance from one other, and between which in each case a rotatable rotor disc is arranged. During braking, the radially extending stator discs and rotor discs can be pressed against one another, closing an air gap and, after the brake has been released, can be separated from one another, forming the air gap. The brake is designed such that the rotor discs have cooling channels which can be filled with cooling fluid immediately before or at the start of braking.
US09976611B2	Brake rotor assembly for use with an anti-lock braking system A brake rotor assembly for use with an anti-lock braking system. The brake rotor assembly includes a brake rotor having a pair of braking surfaces; a tone ring having a first end having a plurality of spaced sensing formations disposed thereon and a second end for circumferentially contacting a surface of the brake rotor assembly, the first end thermally insulated from the brake rotor; and a snap ring for connecting the tone ring to the brake rotor assembly. A method of forming a brake rotor assembly is also provided.
US09976606B2	Mechanical combustion-engine-driven fluid pump A mechanical combustion-engine-driven fluid pump includes an input shaft driven by a combustion engine, a pumping unit comprising a pump rotor, and a clutch arranged between the input shaft and the pump rotor. The clutch comprises an input clutch body, an output clutch body, an electroconductive element, a permanent magnet element, and an actuator. The clutch transfers a rotation of the input clutch body to the output clutch body in an engaged clutch state. The closed clutch liquid gap is formed between the input clutch body and the output clutch body, and is filled with a magneto-rheological clutch liquid. The electroconductive element co-rotates with the output clutch body. The permanent magnet element co-rotates with the input clutch body and is shiftable between an engaged position and a disengaged position. The actuator moves the permanent magnet element between the engaged position and the disengaged position.
US09976602B2	Torque transmitting coupling for an electrical submersible pump equipment string A torque transmitting coupling for an electric submersible pump equipment string. A torque transmitting coupling system includes a first adapter including a first inner diameter mated to a first shaft rotatable about a first axis of rotation, and a first splined outer diameter mated to a splined coupling inner surface, a second adapter including a second inner diameter mated to a second shaft rotatable about a second axis of rotation, and a second splined outer diameter mated to the splined coupling inner surface, the first and second splined outer diameter at least partially spherical such that when the first axis of rotation moves with respect to the second axis of rotation, at least one of the splined outer diameters rock along the coupling inner surface.
US09976601B2	Coupling device and method for determining the misalignment of two shafts The invention relates to a coupling device for connecting a first shaft (10) to a second shaft (12) by means of two flanges (16, 18, 22, 24) that are meshed with one another, wherein the flanges are provided or designed with means (30, 32, 111, 211, 311, 317, 319, 321) of enabling the axial and/or radial relative misadjustment thereof due to a misalignment of the shafts to be visually observed. According to one variant, at least one of the flanges or an element (20, 26) meshed with the two flanges is provided with at least one transducer (50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 94) for generating an electrical signal and/or acoustic signal from a mechanical movement, wherein said transducer is designed to generate the signal on the basis of a periodic movement of the flanges relative to one another, at least if the relative movement of the two shafts to one another, which occurs as the shafts rotate due to misalignment of said shafts, exceeds a certain value.
US09976598B2	Roller bearing replacement device and process for replacing roller bearings A roller bearing replacement device with a housing that is sealed off is provided that has a sluice which can be coupled on a roller hearth furnace through which access to a roller bearing of the roller hearth furnace that is to be demounted is possible, and at least one roller bearing handling device which is arranged in a moveable manner inside the housing and can at least partly be moved out of the housing through the sluice. The housing has a cooling chamber designed for cooling of demounted roller bearings in which the at least one roller bearing handling device is constructed so that it can be moved at least between a replacement position and a cooling position.
US09976597B2	Bearing assembly for extractor systems A bearing assembly can be used in liquid service applications where the bearing assembly is intermittently or continuously exposed to liquid, such as below the liquid level of a solid-liquid extractor. In some examples, the bearing assembly includes an annular sleeve and an annular bearing. The annular sleeve is designed to be installed over the end of a rotatable shaft and positioned inside of a housing through which the rotatable shaft at least partially protrudes. The annular sleeve has an outer surface and length parallel to the rotational axis of the rotatable shaft. The outer surface of the annular sleeve may taper radially inwardly along at least a portion of the length of the sleeve. As a result, the bearing assembly and rotatable shaft positioned therein may pivot within housing about the taper of the annular sleeve.
US09976595B2	Hybrid foil bearings having integrated gas flow paths In one embodiment, a hybrid foil bearing includes a bearing sleeve, multiple inner foils provided within the sleeve, the foils having gas outlets from which pressurized gas can be injected into an interior of the bearing, and integrated gas flow paths that radially extend through the bearing sleeve and deliver the gas to the gas outlets.
US09976593B2	Connecting rod and internal combustion engine A connecting rod has a big end bearing eye for attachment to a crankshaft, a small end bearing eye for attachment to a piston of a cylinder, and an eccentric adjusting device for adjusting an effective connecting rod length. The eccentric adjusting device has eccentric rods (15, 16) with first ends that engage on an eccentric lever of the eccentric adjusting device and second ends that engage on pistons (20, 21) guided in hydraulic chambers of the connecting rod. The second ends of the eccentric rods (15, 16) are spherical heads that engage in a corresponding recess (40) in the respective piston (20, 21), and the respective piston (20, 21) further accommodates a retention element (41), one segment of which rests on the spherical-headed end of the respective eccentric rods (15, 16).
US09976592B2	Automatic transmission shift cable clip A shift cable clip for use in automatic transmission vehicles is described. In some embodiments, two clip segments encircle a circumference of a transmission shift-cable conduit end-fitting and attach to a transmission housing. Embodiments of the invention are lightweight, durable, efficient to manufacture, and labor-saving to install.
US09976589B2	Hole punch and also a method for the piercing of a workpiece which is present as a foam material and/or as a sandwich material and also a method for the manufacture of the hole punch A hole punch and a method for piercing a workpiece wherein a hole punch includes a sheet metal part and a piercing body attached thereto which carries out the piercing function and which is provided with a thread cylinder or can be provided with a thread cylinder, for example by pressing a threaded pin into a centrally arranged passage of the hole punch, wherein the hole punch can also be formed in one piece as a piercing body with a sheet metal-like flange. Furthermore a method is claimed for the manufacture of the hole punch.
US09976575B2	Device for feeding a fluid to a container, such as an actuator, assembly for activating or moving an object, as well as lifting device for a tyred wheel or a tyre The present invention relates to a device for feeding a fluid to a container including a supplying line for supplying the fluid, an end for the inlet of the fluid into the supplying line, a dispensing end for dispensing the fluid into the container, and an opening/closing valve member intercepting the supplying line and which is movable between a closing position and an opening position.
US09976574B2	Dual bellows separator for high pressure applications A high pressure separator/accumulator that uses dual bellows is provided. The dual bellows are not mechanically linked but rather operationally coupled through a fluid medium. The high pressure separators includes a housing defining a first internal space. The housing is in fluid communication with a first fluid system and a second fluid system. A first bellows is coupled to the interior of the separator and defines a space with a variable volume. The space is in fluid communication with the first fluid system. A second bellows is coupled to the interior of the separator, generally opposed to the first bellows, and defines a space with a variable volume. The space is in fluid communication with the second fluid system. The two fluid systems, however, are isolated from each other by the separator. The housing is charged with a fluid medium that transmits force between the first and second bellows.
US09976572B2	Vacuum pump protection net, method for manufacturing the same, and vacuum pump A vacuum pump protection net 50 is provided with a peripheral edge section 51 and a flat mesh section 52 which is formed on the inner side of the peripheral edge section 51 and has a plurality of through holes 55. The thickness of the mesh section 52 is equal to or less than half the thickness of the peripheral edge section 51. A first surface of the mesh section 52 is located on the same plane as a first surface of the peripheral edge section 52. A second surface of the mesh section 52 is recessed from a second surface of the peripheral edge section 51.
US09976568B2	Air cycle machine compressor diffuser A diffuser for an air cycle machine defines airflow both to a compressor rotor from the inlet and from the compressor rotor through a plurality of vanes that define radially extending airflow passages. The size and shape of both the inlet and the vanes of the diffuser define and tailor the character of airflow presented to and leaving the compressor rotor to provide a desired change in air flow.
US09976567B2	Rotor of an extractor-fan assembly for agricultural machines The present invention relates to a rotor (90) applied to an extractor-fan assembly (80) for agricultural machines, especially for sugar-cane harvesters, the rotor (90) comprising a set of blades (1) fixed to a hub (2). Each of the blades (1) has such a construction that defines a root angle (3) that may range from 47 to 59 degrees, a medium angle (4) that may range from 53 to 69 degrees and a trailing angle (5) that may range from 66 to 78 degrees. Due to the construction angles of the blades (1), the air flow comes in contact with the rotor (9) smoothly, without any turbulence in its displacement, which results in high efficiency and efficacy of the extractor-fan assembly (80).
US09976565B2	Compressor surge detection A compressor (22) has a housing assembly (50) with a suction port (24) and a discharge port (26). A shaft (70) is mounted for rotation about an axis (500) and an impeller (44) is mounted to the shaft to be driven in at least a first condition so as to draw fluid in through the suction port and discharge the fluid from the discharge port. A mag netic bearing system (66, 67, 68) supports the shaft. A controller (84) is coupled to a sensor (80, 82) and configured to detect at least one of surge and pre-surge rotating stall and, responsive to said detection, take action to prevent or counter surge.
US09976564B2	Multi-stage radial compressor unit comprising gas removal during a compressor stage A radial compressor unit for compressing gas has several compressor stages. Each compressor stage includes an impeller having rotor blades, and a flow channel arranged downstream of the impeller, as viewed in the flow direction of the gas to be compressed, having a diffusor section, a deflection section, and a recirculation section having guide blades. The gas compressed in a compressor stage can be removed as cooling gas for cooling a component to be cooled, and can be conveyed in the direction of the component to be cooled. The cooling gas can be removed adjacent to an intermediate wall of the compressor stage from the deflection section and/or the recirculation section of the flow channel of the compressor stage.
US09976563B2	Electric device including an electric fan which generates airflow at a time of low-temperature startup An electric device having a casing with an air-outlet, and a main unit disposed inside the casing, includes a first temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature inside the casing, a second temperature sensor installed in the vicinity of the air-outlet, and an electric fan configured to generate an airflow from the air-outlet toward the inside of the casing at the time of the low-temperature startup such that the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor is lower than a preset first threshold value, and the temperature detected by the second temperature sensor is higher than the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor.
US09976560B2	Mixed flow fan assembly Fan assemblies, and in particular fan wheels and stator assemblies for fan assemblies, are disclosed. In one embodiment, the fan wheel includes a wheel back having an outer surface forming one of a curved dome-shape and a truncated cone-shape. The fan wheel may also include a plurality of fan blades radially spaced about and mounted to the outer surface of the wheel back. In one embodiment, each of the fan blades is formed from a segment of an airfoil-shaped aluminum extrusion defining at least one internal cavity. The fan blade first ends can be provided with a compound cut profile with at least one curved cut such that the first end of the blade is mounted flush to the wheel back outer surface. The stator assembly can also be provided with a plurality of stator blades formed from airfoil-shaped aluminum extrusion segments and provided with compound cut profiles.
US09976559B2	Electronic device and fan-retaining structure thereof An electronic device includes a housing and a fan. The housing has a fan-retaining structure including a base, two side walls and at least one elastic clamping unit. The two side walls are disposed on the base and respectively have a guiding slot and an elastic clamping unit. The two guiding slots and the base corporately define a receiving space. The elastic clamping unit has a top-blocking portion formed on one end thereof. The fan is selectively mounted in the receiving space along a longitudinal direction. As the fan is disposing into the receiving space, the top-blocking portion is propped up by the fan, and the elastic clamping unit is elastically curved outward. After the fan is disposed in the receiving space, the top-blocking portions and the base corporately clamp the fan, and the movement of the fan is restricted in the longitudinal direction and in a radial direction.
US09976554B2	Capacity-modulated scroll compressor A compressor is provided and may include a first scroll member having an end plate and a spiral wrap extending from the end plate. The end plate may include a first modulation port and a second modulation port each in fluid communication with a compression pocket formed by the spiral wrap. A first modulation valve ring may be movable relative to the end plate between a first position blocking the first modulation port and a second position spaced apart from the first modulation port. A second modulation valve ring may movable relative to the end plate between a first position blocking the second modulation port and a second position spaced apart from the second modulation port. The second modulation ring may be located radially inward from the first modulation valve ring.
US09976553B2	Output shaft lubricating structure of liquid pressurizing pump An output shaft lubricating structure of a liquid pressurizing pump is provided. A first eccentric portion of an output shaft acts as the maximum stress for load when the liquid is pressurized and works. By the power of the output shaft, a telescopic piston of an oil supply device is directly pushed by a second eccentric portion to draw the lubricating oil in a circular core hole and to pressurize and supply the lubricating oil to an oil supply hole of the output shaft to force an oil outlet hole to drain the lubricating oil to the surface of the first eccentric portion for circulatory supplement, such that the turning of a turning wheel on the first eccentric portion can keep better lubrication for a long time so as to prolong the service life of the output shaft and the turning wheel.
US09976546B2	Electromagnetic vibrating diaphragm pump An electromagnetic vibrating diaphragm pump capable of increasing pump efficiency by increasing the vibration amplitude of the vibration of diaphragms even when the pressure inside a compression chamber is high. Diaphragms are fixed to both end portions of an oscillator having magnets. AC driven electromagnets are provided in a manner to face the magnets of the oscillator. A frame adhered to the outer peripheries of the diaphragms covers the electromagnet side, and pump casings cover the opposite sides. The pump casing includes a compression chamber adjacent to the diaphragm, a suction chamber connected to the compression chamber via a suction valve and an exhaust chamber connected to the compression chamber via an exhaust valve, the suction chamber or the exhaust chamber being connected to the frame via a continuous hole.
US09976545B2	Air operated pump An elongate air operated pump includes a pump chamber, a bladder inside the pump chamber, inlet and outlet valves to and from the chamber and an air control system. The air control system includes a control valve alternately communicating compressed air and exhaust to atmosphere to a venturi with a first end, a second end and a throat port. The first end of the venturi receives continuous compressed air. The second end receives the alternately communication of compressed air and exhaust to atmosphere from the control valve. The throat port of the venturi is in continuous communication with the bladder to pressurize and draw a vacuum on the bladder. The valves may be pneumatic pinch valves controlled by the control valve to cycle with the bladder or passive one-way pump valves.
US09976541B2	Turbine main bearing lubrication A greased-based lubrication system for a main bearing arrangement of a wind turbine can be replaced with an oil-based lubrication system by: disconnecting an upwind bearing cover 12 and/or a downwind bearing cover 12 from the bearing housing 10; cleaning grease from the bearing arrangement; connecting an upwind oil drain cover 14 to the upwind side of the bearing housing 10; and connecting a downwind oil drain cover 14 to the downwind side of the bearing housing 10. At least one of the upwind oil drain cover 14 and the downwind oil drain cover 14 include one or more outlets for an oil-based lubricant. Further steps include: connecting the one or more outlets to an oil-based lubrication system; and introducing oil-based lubricant into the bearing arrangement. This means that the greased-based lubrication system, in which debris from bearing wear accumulates and does not escape from the bearing, contributing to further wear and damage can be replaced with an oil-based lubrication system, in which the quality of the lubricant can be monitored, its temperature can be controlled, and debris can be removed by filtration. The invention also includes an oil drain cover 14.
US09976536B2	Air turbine for applications in wave energy conversion The present invention relates to an air turbine capable of without change in its rotational velocity direction, efficiently absorbing the energy associated with a pressure difference between two spaces (A) and (B) of successively changing sign, as in the case of sea wave energy systems. The turbine comprises two sets of blades (I) and (II), each of which is similar to the blade system of a conventional turbine of radial-, mixed- or axial-flow type. The turbine also comprises a system of ducts that connect spaces (A) and (B) through any of the two blade sets (I) and (II). The turbine may be equipped with a fast-acting valve that stops the flow through one or both blade sets (I) and (II).
US09976532B2	Recoil starter One aspect of the invention provides a recoil starter including: a reel support shaft; a rope reel that is rotatably mounted on the reel support shaft; a ratchet member that is swingably mounted on the rope reel; a ratchet guide that is rotatably mounted on the reel support shaft with friction resistance. The ratchet guide includes: a guide portion and a swinging-prevention portion. When the rope reel rotates in an engine starting direction, the guide portion pushes out the ratchet member to an outer diameter direction. When the ratchet member does not contact the guide portion, the swinging-prevention portion prevents the ratchet member from swinging to the outer diameter direction.
US09976524B2	Diesel work vehicle with duel fuel tanks A work vehicle is provided with fuel supply lines that include a first fuel supply line that connects a first fuel tank and a junction. A second fuel supply line connects a second fuel tank and the junction. A common supply line connects the junction and a diesel engine. A fuel pump is provided on the common supply line. A first check valve is installed on the first fuel supply line and opens in accordance with a pressure differential between a pressure in the first fuel tank and a pressure in the junction. A second check valve is installed on the second fuel supply line and opens in accordance with a pressure differential between a pressure in the second fuel tank and a pressure in the junction. A fuel return line returns excess fuel from the diesel engine to the first fuel tank and the second fuel tank.
US09976523B2	Method and diagnostic facility for checking high-pressure tank valves, high-pressure tank system and motor vehicle with a high-pressure tank system A method and diagnostic facility for checking a plurality of magnetic valves in a high-pressure tank system of a motor vehicle is described. A magnetic valve is activated for opening the magnetic valve. A pressure in a high-pressure tank system is measured while activating the magnetic valve. A valve is determined to be defective if during measuring the pressure a drop in pressure is found.
US09976516B2	Thrust reverser for a turbofan engine A thrust reverser of a turbofan engine has a translating structure and a blocker door device capable of diverting a bypass flowpath for reversing propulsion direction. The translating structure moves axially between a forward position and a rearward position and thereby drives a compound motion of a blocker door of the blocker door device that moves between respective stowed and deployed states. A passive linkage of the blocker door device is orientated between a stationary structure and the blocker door and may be utilized in combination with an extendable linkage that may be orientated between the blocker door and the stationary structure.
US09976513B2	Piston with enhanced cooling and engine assembly employing the same A piston of an internal combustion engine is provided and includes a piston skirt enclosing at least a portion of an underside of a piston crown. A cooling oil passageway is provided on the underside of the piston and extends from a first part to a second part of the underside, where the first part is closer than the second part to a fluid flow from a cooling oil source. The cooling oil passageway may include a main channel and a branch channel extending from the main channel at an angle.
US09976512B2	Internal combustion engine with direct injection and reduced particulate emissions Methods are provided for an engine including modifying fuel injection timing based on engine operating conditions. A delay time period calculation may be based on a comparison of a first engine load with a second engine load. Further, a modified injection start time, based on a delay time period, may include injecting fuel during the compression cycle of an engine.
US09976511B2	Multicylinder engine A multicylinder engine includes a plurality of intake ports, a plurality of in-cylinder injectors, and an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to initially set a value of a control parameter of the multicylinder engine, individually for each of the cylinders, such that there is a common regularity between a distribution among the cylinders, of a difference of the value of the control parameter of each of the cylinders from the value of the control parameter of a reference cylinder, and a distribution among the cylinders, of a difference of the distance of a narrowed portion of each of the cylinders from the distance of the narrowed portion of a reference cylinder. The control parameter is a parameter that determines an air-fuel ratio of an air-fuel mixture around an ignition plug at a time of ignition in stratified charge combustion operation.
US09976509B2	Internal combustion engine having an engine backpressure brake and a compression release engine brake An internal combustion engine having at least one outlet valve per cylinder, which outlet valve can be actuated via a camshaft and a transmission device, a hydraulic valve clearance compensation element being arranged in the transmission device between the camshaft and the outlet valve, and having an engine braking device, having an engine backpressure brake for building up an exhaust gas backpressure and a compression release engine brake, by way of which at least one outlet valve can be held open at least in an engine braking phase, the compression release engine brake being formed by the hydraulic valve clearance compensation element.
US09976508B2	Internal combustion engine When switching the combustion mode from a stoichiometric mode to a homogeneous lean mode, a controller starts switching of the combustion mode after switching of the opening angle of a tumble control valve is started. When a target operating point of an internal combustion engine lies outside a predetermined operational region that is set in a range that excludes at least a low intake load factor region and includes at least a medium intake load factor and medium engine speed region, the controller sets the waiting time from the start of switching of the opening angle of the tumble control valve to the start of switching of the combustion mode to be longer than when the target operating point lies in the predetermined operational region.
US09976506B2	Method and device for calibrating post-injections of an internal combustion engine A method for calibrating post-injections in a fuel injection system, including a fuel accumulator, of an internal combustion engine, in particular of a motor vehicle, in which it is provided in particular that the calibration of at least one post-injection takes place based on the pressure drop in the fuel accumulator caused by the fuel injection.
US09976501B2	Methods and systems for rotating an exhaust aftertreatment device Methods and systems are provided for inverting a particulate filter housing. In one example, a method may include inverting the particulate filter housing to dislodge an ash load in the particulate filter.
US09976500B2	Method and system for selective cylinder deactivation Methods and systems are provided for adjusting a cylinder deactivation pattern to improve camshaft phasing. In response to a request for actuating a camshaft phaser of a variable cam timing device, a cylinder deactivation pattern is adjusted by reactivating cylinders that were deactivated while deactivating other cylinders that were active, while maintaining a total number of deactivated/active cylinders. Cylinders are selected for reactivation or deactivation based on their individual camshaft torsion signatures so that sufficient cam torque is generated to actuate the phaser and provide the requested phasing.
US09976497B2	Control device for internal combustion engine In an internal combustion engine an air-fuel ratio is switched between at least two target values without generating torque fluctuations, while a deterioration in fuel consumption performance and exhaust performance is suppressed. When a condition for switching a combustion mode from stoichiometric combustion to lean combustion and a condition that the amount of change in a target torque is less than or equal to a predetermined value are satisfied, a target EGR rate is increased towards an EGR limit prior to switching the target air-fuel ratio. The target air-fuel ratio is maintained at the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio until the target EGR rate reaches the EGR limit, and in response to the target EGR rate reaching the EGR limit, the target air-fuel ratio is changed towards a lean air-fuel ratio.
US09976495B2	Internal combustion engine In the present invention, an internal combustion engine is provided with a variable-compression-ratio mechanism with a variable mechanical compression ratio and the variable-compression-ratio mechanism comprises a drive device for changing the volume of a combustion chamber when a piston reaches top dead center. The drive device comprises a reverse input blocking clutch disposed in a drive power transmission path for transmitting the rotational force of a rotator. A control device estimates the reverse input torque applied to an output shaft of the reverse input blocking clutch and sets a gradient for torque output by the rotator and a continuation duration for continuing the torque increase on the basis of the reverse input torque.
US09976491B2	Controller for internal combustion engine Provided is an internal combustion engine including a sparkplug disposed in the vicinity of the center portion of an upper wall surface of a combustion chamber. Tumble flow generated during lean burn operation is controlled such that the tumble flow shape changes according to the engine rotation speed between a first tumble shape (usual tumble shape) in which the flow direction of a gas around the sparkplug at the time of ignition is direction from an intake valve side toward an exhaust valve side in a latter half of a compression stroke, and a second tumble shape (ω tumble shape) in which the flow direction of the gas is reversed in the latter half of the compression stroke from the direction from the intake valve side toward the exhaust valve side to the direction from the exhaust valve side toward the intake valve side.
US09976490B2	Geared gas turbine engine with oil deaerator A gas turbine engine comprises a fan drive turbine for driving a gear reduction. The gear reduction drives a fan rotor. A lubrication system supplies oil to the gear reduction. The lubrication system includes a lubricant pump supplying a mixed air and oil to a deaerator inlet. The deaerator includes a separator that for separating oil, and delivering separated air to an air outlet, and for delivering separated oil back into an oil tank. The separator includes a member having lubricant flow paths on both of two opposed sides. A method of designing a gas turbine engine is also disclosed.
US09976488B2	Method of operating a gas turbine engine burning vanadium-contaminated liquid fuel A method of operating of a gas turbine engine to inhibit vanadic corrosion of the gas turbine engine is provided. The gas turbine engine burns a vanadium-contaminated fuel and includes a component configured to be in contact with combustion gases. The method includes introducing into a combustion system of the gas turbine engine a first oxide and at least one second oxide. The first oxide includes magnesium oxide, and the at least one second oxide includes at least one of aluminum oxide, iron (III) oxide, titanium dioxide, and silicon dioxide. The method further includes cleaning at least a portion of the component using a cleaning agent containing a liquid vector and at least one descaling material that is suspended in the liquid vector. The at least one descaling material is an inorganic material.
US09976481B2	Dual pressure deicing system A deicing system for an aircraft may comprise a dual pressure regulating valve. The dual pressure regulating valve may comprise a low pressure setting and a high pressure setting. The low pressure setting may supply a relatively lesser supply of bleed air to an aircraft component, and the high pressure setting may supply a relatively greater supply of bleed air to the aircraft component. The dual pressure regulating valve may be switched between the low pressure setting and the high pressure setting based on aircraft or atmospheric conditions to prevent heat damage to the aircraft component.
US09976479B2	Power plant including a static mixer and steam generating system via turbine extraction and compressor extraction A power plant includes a compressor, a combustor downstream from the compressor and a turbine disposed downstream from the combustor. The compressor includes a compressor extraction port. The turbine includes a turbine extraction port that is in fluid communication with a hot gas path of the turbine and which provides a flow path for a stream of combustion gas to flow out of the turbine. An exhaust duct is disposed downstream from the turbine and receives exhaust gas from the turbine. A static mixer coupled to the turbine extraction port and to the compressor extraction port cools the stream of combustion gas upstream from the exhaust duct. The cooled combustion gas flows into the exhaust duct at a higher temperature than the exhaust gas and mixes with the exhaust gas within the exhaust duct to provide a heated exhaust gas mixture to a heat exchanger downstream from the exhaust duct.
US09976476B2	Turbocharger bearing assembly An assembly can include a turbocharger center housing that includes a through bore and a counterbore positioned between a compressor end and a turbine end of the through bore where the through bore includes a sleeve mating surface positioned between the compressor end and the counterbore and a turbine side bearing lubricant film formation surface positioned between the counterbore and the turbine end; and a sleeve positioned at least in part in the through bore of the turbocharger center housing between the compressor end and the counterbore where the sleeve includes a locating flange and an axial extension that extends from the locating flange where the axial extension includes an outer mating surface, an inner compressor side bearing lubricant film formation surface, a compressor side axially facing spacer surface and a turbine side axially facing spacer surface.
US09976475B2	Turbocharger having a waste-gate valve A turbocharger includes a waste gate valve, a compressor, a turbine, a turbine housing which houses the turbine, a bypass channel which bypasses the turbine, a bypass channel section arranged in the turbine housing, an actuator housing which has a separate coolant channel, an electric motor arranged in the actuator housing, a transmission which has an output shaft, a control body coupled to the output shaft, and an actuator cover. The transmission is arranged in the actuator housing. The actuator housing is detachably secured to the turbine housing. The control body controls an opening cross-section of the bypass channel. The separate coolant channel of the actuator housing surrounds a circumference of the transmission and is closed axially by the actuator cover.
US09976468B2	Construction machine Provided is a construction machine in which the weight of a top plate of an aftertreatment device mount is reduced without reducing the rigidity of the top plate. In a construction machine where a vehicle body frame for mounting an engine is equipped with an aftertreatment device mount for supporting an exhaust gas aftertreatment device, a mount top plate of the aftertreatment device mount includes a support on which the exhaust gas aftertreatment device is placed, a pair of outer walls extending parallel, a groove portion parallel to the outer walls, a connecting portion provided on the support, and an upper reinforcing member orthogonal to the groove portion at a position of the connecting portion. The upper reinforcing member includes a first reinforcing portion for reinforcing the connecting portion and a second reinforcing portion to be fitted in the groove portion.
US09976466B2	Honeycomb type heating device, method of using the same, and method of manufacturing the same There is provided a honeycomb type heating device including: a pillar-shaped honeycomb substrate having a partition wall defining a plurality of cells extending from one end face to the other end face and a circumferential wall surrounding the partition wall; a plurality of heaters adjacently arranged on a circumferential face that is an outside surface of the circumferential wall in a circumferential direction of the circumferential face; and intermediate members interposed between the circumferential face of the honeycomb substrate and the plurality of heaters. The sum of areas of portions of the circumferential face covered with the intermediate members between the circumferential face of the honeycomb substrate and the plurality of heaters is 20 to 100% of the sum of areas of portions of the circumferential face covered with the plurality of heaters.
US09976464B1	Reductant spray and exhaust gas flow guide and deflector An after-treatment (AT) system for an exhaust gas flow from an internal combustion engine includes first and second AT devices positioned in the exhaust gas flow. The AT system also includes an exhaust passage for carrying the flow of exhaust gas from the first AT device to the second AT device. The AT system additionally includes an injector configured to generate a reductant spray into the exhaust passage and a sensor positioned proximate the injector for detecting a concentration of a pollutant in the exhaust gas flow downstream of the first AT device. The AT system furthermore includes a deflector arranged between the injector and the sensor and configured to guide the flow of exhaust gas to the sensor to thereby concentrate the flow of exhaust gas at the sensor and direct the reductant spray away from the sensor to thereby minimize detection of the reductant by the sensor.
US09976461B2	Particulate filter for a motor vehicle A particulate filter for a motor vehicle has a casing (2) that allows through flow. A core (4) is accommodated in the casing (2) and allows through flow. The casing (2) has a longitudinal axis (3). A through flow duct (9) is formed between the casing (2) and the core (4) to allow the through flow of exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle. A ring (7) is arranged in the through flow duct (9) and gives the through flow duct (9) a labyrinth-type configuration.
US09976460B2	Exhaust after-treatment assembly for engine system An exhaust after-treatment assembly for an engine system is provided. The exhaust after-treatment assembly includes a housing having an inlet port, an outlet port, a catalyst disposed within a cavity defined by the housing, and a muffler assembly disposed within the cavity downstream of the catalyst. The muffler assembly includes one or more baffle plates disposed longitudinally spaced from one another within the housing to define at least a first resonator chamber and a second resonator chamber. Each of the baffle plates defines an openings aligned to one another about a longitudinal axis of the housing. Further, a resonator tube extends through the openings of the baffle plates and includes an inlet, a perforated portion and one or more outlet ports formed in a wall of the resonator tube. The perforated portion and the outlet ports, respectively in fluid communication with the second resonator chamber and the first resonator chamber.
US09976459B2	Regeneration of diesel particle filter Regeneration of a diesel particle filter of an internal combustion engine of a vehicle is controlled according to soot mass loading and the vehicle operating condition. Regeneration modes include active regeneration and forced passive regeneration, and operating conditions include highway, town and off-road driving. One strategy may determine initiation of regeneration, and another may determine cessation. Regeneration mode may change in real time.
US09976455B2	Internal combustion engine and hydraulic controller for internal combustion engine This internal combustion engine includes a piston, an oil jet that operates at a predetermined operating pressure to supply oil to the piston, and a hydraulic controller provided upstream of an oil passage including the oil jet. The hydraulic controller includes a constantly opened first passage through which the oil having a pressure lower than the predetermined operating pressure is supplied to the oil jet, a second passage provided alongside of the first passage and being openable and closable, through which the oil having a pressure higher than the predetermined operating pressure is supplied to the oil jet in combination with the first passage in a state where the same is opened, and an opening-closing control portion that controls the second passage to be in an open state when actuating the oil jet, and controls the second passage to be in a closed state when stopping actuating the oil jet.
US09976450B2	Camshaft phaser A camshaft phaser includes an input member and an output member defining an advance chamber and a retard chamber; a valve spool moveable along an axis between an advance position and a retard position and having a valve spool bore with a phasing volume and a venting volume defined therein such that the phasing volume is fluidly segregated from the venting volume, the valve spool having a first spool recirculation passage and a second spool recirculation passage which is diametrically opposed to the first spool recirculation passage. The first spool recirculation passage and the second spool recirculation passage provide paths for oil to flow from the advance chamber or the retard chamber to the phasing volume depending on the position of the valve spool.
US09976448B2	Regenerative thermodynamic power generation cycle systems, and methods for operating thereof A method for operating a closed loop regenerative thermodynamic power generation cycle system is presented. The method includes supplying a high-temperature working fluid stream at a first pressure P1 to an expander, and extracting a partially expanded high temperature working fluid stream from the expander at a second pressure P2. Each of the first pressure P1 and the second pressure P2, are higher than a critical pressure of the working fluid; and the second pressure P2 is lower than P1. The method further includes regeneratively supplying the extracted high temperature working fluid stream at the second pressure P2 to a low temperature working fluid stream at the first pressure P1. A closed loop regenerative thermodynamic power generation cycle system is also presented.
US09976446B2	Electrical panel A rigid panel is disclosed which has elongate elements embedded therein. The elongate elements may be electrical wires. The rigid panel has a supporting splint embedded therein which is placed between the elongate elements and a rigid structural layer so as to provide protection to the rigid structural layer from the effects of the elongate elements.
US09976444B2	Turbine engine transmission gutter A turbine engine case defines a centerline and a gaspath within the engine case. A fan is coupled to a fan shaft. A transmission couples the shaft to the fan shaft to drive the fan and comprises a gear system. A gutter system is positioned to capture lubricating fluid slung from the gear system. The gutter system includes a gutter extending partially circumferentially about the centerline having a first circumferential end edge. An inlet channel has an inlet at the gutter first circumferential end edge and locally radially outboard of the gutter. At least one vane is spaced apart from the gutter first circumferential end edge.
US09976443B2	Turbofan engine assembly methods A method for assembling a turbofan engine (20) comprises coupling a bearing assembly (176) and a shaft (420) as a unit to a bearing support (453). A transmission (46) and the fan shaft (132) are installed to a front frame assembly (172). The bearing assembly and shaft are installed as a unit so that the shaft engages a central gear (52) of the transmission and the bearing support engages the front frame assembly.
US09976438B2	Stator vane adjusting device of a gas turbine A stator vane adjusting device of a gas turbine having a plurality of stator vanes each swivellable about a radial axis and arranged in at least one radial plane, as well as at least one stator vane adjusting ring which is connected to the respective stator vanes and rotatable in the circumferential direction by means of an actuating device, where the stator vane adjusting ring is braced on a centrally arranged casing in the radial direction by means of several spacers distributed about the circumference and mounted on the stator vane adjusting ring, characterized in that a bush on which the spacer is mounted is fastened to the stator vane adjusting ring for each spacer, the bush being made from a plastic material with a high thermal expansion coefficient.
US09976434B2	Brush seal assembly A brush seal assembly may include a packing body that includes an insertion groove formed inward in a circumferential direction. The insertion groove may be positioned between a rotating body and a fixed body. The packing body may include insertion holes having openings disposed toward the insertion groove at different positions and in different directions. A brush seal part includes a brush and a support member that supports the brush. The brush may extend toward the rotating body when brush is disposed in the insertion groove. A thermal expansion member may adhere to a side of the support member and thermally expand in a circumferential direction of the packing body. Fixing members may be inserted into the insertion holes, respectively, from an outside of the packing body to maintain a fixed state of the brush seal part in radial and circumferential directions of the packing body.
US09976433B2	Gas turbine engine with non-axisymmetric surface contoured rotor blade platform A rotor blade for a gas turbine engine includes a platform section between a root section and an airfoil section, the platform section having a non-axisymmetric surface contour.
US09976432B2	Radial vane and method of manufacturing same Provided is a radial vane with which manufacturing is possible with superior economy, without incurring a cut loss associated with vane separation in a weld part of a thread bundle. With a longitudinal intermediate part of a contiguous bundle of threads being a fold-over part, both end parts of the fold-over part of the thread bundle are opened into radial shapes and superpositioned, leaving a space in the center part of the fold-over part, a ring-shaped fold-over part (12) is formed within the circumference of the space in the center part thereof. The outer part of the ring-shaped fold-over part (12) is welded in a ring shape, forming a ring-shaped core part (13). A through hole (11) is formed in the inner side of the fold-over part (12), and radial vane parts (14) are formed in which a plurality of thread materials (21) extend outward from the core part (13) toward the outer circumference side from all regions of the circumference direction. The ring-shaped fold-over part (12) is either an un-welded part or an incompletely welded part which protrudes in a dome shape in both surfaces and protrudes in an arch shape into the center, and is also efficacious as a boss part for gap adjustment when a plurality of radial vanes (10) are fixed in an axle, forming a brush head, as well as functioning simultaneously as a slide part which makes fixing easy, and as a grip part which anchors the fixed vanes.
US09976428B2	Turbine airfoil attachment with serration profile An attachment root of an airfoil is provided. The attachment root may comprise a serration profile, a symmetry plane bisecting the serration profile, and a line perpendicular to the symmetry plane. A first lobe of the serration profile may have a first contact face angled 135 degrees from the line. A second lobe of the serration profile may have a second contact face angled 135 degrees from the line. A third lobe of the serration profile may have a third contact face angled 135 degrees from the line.
US09976427B2	Installation fault tolerant damper The present disclosure provides systems for preventing improper installation of a damper seal. In various embodiments, an airfoil assembly may comprise a platform, an airfoil extending from the platform, and a platform tab. The airfoil may comprise a gaspath face and a non-gaspath face. The non-gaspath face may at least partially define a cavity. The airfoil may comprise a pressure side and a suction side. The platform tab may be located adjacent to the suction side of the airfoil. The platform tab may extend from the platform in the opposite direction as the airfoil and may be configured to prevent a damper seal tab from being inserted radially inwards of the platform tab.
US09976426B2	Fan platform with stiffening feature A fan blade platform is provided. The fan blade platform may include a wall, a first sidewall extending from the flowpath to a circular member, and a second sidewall extending from the flowpath to the circular member. A stiffening member may also extend from the circular member to the flowpath and be formed integrally with the first sidewall, the second sidewall, and the flowpath.
US09976421B2	Lifting foil A lifting foil having a configuration with a leading course and trailing course which is rotated about an axis of rotation into a fluid.
US09976419B2	Apparatus for extracting ore from block caves and method and system therefor In combination a loader unit and haul unit for use in a block caving mining operation. Each of the loader unit and the haul unit comprise a removable bucket, which can be used for loading ore. In use the bucket carrying a load of ore can be transferred from the loader unit to the haul unit so that the haul unit can transport the ore from a loading site to a crusher. The loader unit and haul unit have a respective longitudinal axis extending from the fore end to the aft thereof, and the bucket is elongate with a longitudinal axis. In use when the bucket is mounted to the loader unit the longitudinal axis of the bucket is disposed orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of the loader unit. When the bucket is transferred to the haul unit, the bucket is placed upright on the haul unit with the longitudinal axis of the bucket parallel to the longitudinal axis of the haul unit.
US09976410B2	Method for measuring underground boring position and underground boring position measuring apparatus The rotation angle around x axis, inclination angle and directional angle of a boring bit are obtained from the value measured with an accelerometer (22) and a three axis magnetic sensor integrally provided within the boring bit attached to the top of a rod array for boring. From these obtained values and the length corresponding to a rod, the amount of varied position according to boring by a length corresponding to a rod is obtained for each directional component. Further, the position of boring corresponding to boring in plural times with successive addition of rods is obtained through accumulating the amount of varied position for each directional component in respect of boring in plural times.
US09976408B2	Navigation device and method for surveying and directing a borehole under drilling conditions A navigation device for surveying and directing a borehole comprises: a first gyro including a first sensitive axis and a second sensitive axis; a second gyro including at least a third sensitive axis; and a driving unit configured to orient the second gyro in a first mode in a first position in which an earth acceleration dependent error on the second gyro is insignificant and to orient the second gyro in a second mode in a second position in which the third sensitive axis is perpendicular to the first sensitive axis and perpendicular to the second sensitive axis.
US09976404B2	Downhole tool including a multi-chip module housing A downhole tool includes a tool body having an inner surface portion and an outer surface portion. The outer surface portion includes a recess having a peripheral wall and an inner surface. A multi-chip module (MCM) housing is defined in the recess. The MCM housing includes one or more fortifying members that support axial and radial loading of the downhole tool and include one or more electronics receiving zones.
US09976403B2	Method for shortening an injection pipe for underground coal gasification A method for automatically shortening an injection well liner for underground coal gasification is provided in which portions of the injection well liner melt during the underground coal gasification process to shorten the injection well liner.
US09976402B2	Method and system for hydraulic fracture diagnosis with the use of a coiled tubing dual isolation service tool A hydraulic fracture diagnostic system for reservoir evaluation of a high angle wellbore includes a coiled tubing string that extends from the surface to a location within a wellbore. The system includes a sensor and a pump connected to the coiled tubing string. A tool having at least two packing elements and a port positioned between the packing elements is connected to the coiled tubing string. The coiled tubing string positions the tool adjacent a fracture. The packing elements isolate the fracture and the port is configured to provide communication with the isolated portion of the wellbore. A diagnostic method includes pumping a volume of fluid from the isolated portion of a wellbore using a coiled tubing string and monitoring the pressure within the coiled tubing string. Pressure within the coiled tubing string may also be monitored after injection of fluid into the isolated wellbore through the coiled tubing string.
US09976400B2	Method for producing oil from induced fractures using a single wellbore and multiple-channel tubing A method for sweeping a subterranean petroleum reservoir and recovering hydrocarbons therefrom. Such method utilizes a plurality of spaced hydraulic fractures extending radially outwardly from, and spaced laterally along, a length of a single horizontal wellbore drilled through the reservoir. The hydraulic fractures are each in fluid communication with the drilled wellbore. A multi-channel tubing having a plurality of individual discrete channels therein extending along substantially a length thereof is placed in the horizontal wellbore, and at least one packer element situated along a length of said tubing is employed. The plurality of channels in the multi-channel tubing comprise, at a minimum, a fluid injection channel for transmitting a driving fluid to hydraulic fractures in the reservoir, and a separate hydrocarbon recovery channel for collecting hydrocarbons which drain into the reservoir and producing them to surface.
US09976399B2	Selectively actuated plungers and systems and methods including the same Selectively actuated plungers and systems and methods including the same are disclosed herein. The methods include flowing a wellbore fluid stream in fluid contact with a plunger and in an uphole direction within a wellbore conduit while the plunger is located within a target region of the wellbore conduit. The methods further include maintaining the plunger in a low fluid drag state while a variable associated with the wellbore fluid stream is outside a threshold range and transitioning the plunger to a high fluid drag state responsive to the variable associated with the wellbore conduit being within the threshold range. The methods further include conveying the plunger in the uphole direction within the wellbore conduit. The systems include the plungers and/or hydrocarbon wells that include the plungers.
US09976398B2	Sensing in artificial lift systems Methods and apparatus are provided for measuring one or more parameters associated with an artificial lift system for hydrocarbon production and operating the system based on the measured parameters. One embodiment of the invention provides a lubricator for a plunger lift system, which generally includes a housing, a spring disposed in the housing for absorbing an impact by a plunger, and a sensor configured to measure at least one parameter of the spring. One example method of operating a plunger lift system for hydrocarbon production generally includes measuring at least one parameter of a spring disposed in a lubricator of the plunger lift system and operating the plunger lift system based on the measured parameter.
US09976397B2	Shaped charge system having multi-composition liner A technique facilitates perforation, including the perforation of a casing and formation. A shaped charge is formed with a case, a liner, and a high explosive material located between the case and the liner. The liner is formed of a powder material, e.g. a powder metal material. The powder material properties of the liner between an apex of the liner and a skirt of the liner may be selectively varied to provide a desired jet velocity and jet mass of the liner upon detonation of the high explosive material.
US09976396B2	Apparatus and method for setting a liner An apparatus for setting a liner in a wellbore that includes a setting tool attached to a work string. The setting tool includes a stretching mandrel and a liner top releasably attached to the setting tool. The liner top includes banded elastomer sheaths positioned in multiple locations along its length. The apparatus may also include a roller screw, operatively attached to the setting tool, so that a rotational movement imparted to the work string causes a forward, rotational movement of the stretching mandrel and engages the stretching mandrel with an inner portion of the liner top so that a protuberance is formed on the inner portion of the liner top and a groove is formed on an outer surface of the liner top.
US09976395B2	Expandable tie back seal assembly Disclosed are apparatus and methods for completing a wellbore, using expandable tubular to form a sealed connection. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to forming a seal between a radially expanded tubular and a receptacle, wherein annular-shaped, radially extending protrusions are present between the tubular and the receptacle to form a durable sealed connection therebetween.
US09976389B2	Method and apparatus for treating a wellbore A method concerning the treatment of hydrocarbon-bearing formations adjacent a wellbore. In one embodiment, fracturing jobs are performed through the use of subs disposed in a casing string having profiles that interact with profiles formed on retractable keys of a tool.
US09976383B2	Traceable polymeric additives for use in subterranean formations Disclosed are traceable polymeric additives that comprise a tagging material and methods of using the traceable polymeric additives in subterranean applications, such as cementing. An embodiment discloses a well treatment composition comprising a base fluid and a traceable polymeric additive comprising a polymer and a tagging material.
US09976382B2	Downhole tool and method of use A downhole tool useable for isolating sections of a wellbore, the downhole tool having: a mandrel made of composite material, a metal slip, a seal element, a composite slip, a first cone, and a lower sleeve. The first cone is disposed around the mandrel, and proximately between an underside of the composite slip and an end of the seal element. The first cone has a completely smooth circumferential conical surface engaged with the underside of the composite slip.
US09976381B2	Downhole tool with an expandable sleeve A downhole tool, tool assembly, and method, of which the downhole tool includes an expandable sleeve defining a bore extending axially therethrough, and including a shoulder that extends inward from the bore, a first swage positioned at least partially within the bore and including a valve seat configured to receive an obstructing member, such that the obstructing member and the first swage substantially prevent fluid communication through the bore when the obstructing member is seated in the valve seat, a second swage positioned at least partially within the bore. The first and second swages are configured to deform the expandable sleeve radially outwards when the first and second swages are moved toward one another within the expandable sleeve, and the shoulder is configured to prevent at least one of the first and second swages from sliding therepast.
US09976378B2	System for containment, measurement, and reuse of fluids in hydraulic fracturing The system includes a number of flexible fluid containment structures, or tubes, for storing fluids used in or produced during fracking. The tubes may be filled to store water prior to introduction into the well or drilling waste expunged from the well. A series of valves and pumps control the flow of fluids to and from the tubes, well, and purification equipment. A backflow preventer including a primary port, forward port, and return port supports bi-directional fluid transfer with the well. Drilling fluids are piped into the forward port and exit the primary port to the well. A flow meter may be coupled to the forward port to determine the volume of fluid flowing through the forward port to the well. Drilling waste may also return from the well via the primary port and exit the return port, which may also include a flow meter.
US09976377B2	Control line termination assembly A system includes a control block configured to be coupled to a tree of a wellhead assembly. The control block includes a housing and a plate supported by the housing and having a radially inner wall defining an opening configured to receive a tubing member extending from the tree. The control block also includes a first recess extending circumferentially about the radially inner wall of the plate and configured to support a first annular seal to facilitate sealing the tubing member within the opening while the tubing member is positioned within the opening. The control block may also include a second recess extending circumferentially about the radially-inner wall of the opening and configured to support a second annular seal.
US09976376B2	Open/close outlet internal hydraulic device A fluid-driven adapter for a mineral extraction system is provided. The adapter includes a sleeve (e.g., annular piston) that engages a mandrel disposed in a wellhead component and moves in an axial direction in response to fluid pressure. The adapter moves the mandrel between a first position and a second position to open or close passages in the wellhead component. The adapter includes a lock ring that moves in response to fluid pressure and that locks the adapter to a wellhead assembly to prevent axial movement of the adapter. Methods of operation are also provided.
US09976373B2	Blowout preventer with shear ram A blowout preventer may be used for shearing an object positioned in a vertical bore extending through the blowout preventer. The blowout preventer includes a shear ram movable towards the tubular, the shear ram including a biasing mechanism for biasing against an interior surface of the blowout preventer body. In this way, the biasing mechanism urges the shear ram into axial engagement with an opposing shear ram movable towards the tubular during shearing operations. The biasing mechanism comprises a biasing member, such as a coiled spring, coned-disc spring, and/or coned-disc washer which urges the biasing mechanism into contact with the inner portion of the blowout preventer body.
US09976363B2	Offshore flexible line installation and removal A method of installing a flexible line between an offshore platform and a subsea structure and a method of removing a flexible line deployed between an offshore platform and a subsea structure. The method of installing includes at least partially deploying the line in the water using an installation vessel located outside of an exclusion zone in the vicinity of the platform, including lowering a topside end of the line either to the seabed or to an intermediate location between the seabed and the platform. The method further includes pulling the topside end to a position within the exclusion zone and winching the topside end up to the platform, and coupling the topside end to the platform. The method of removing includes decoupling a topside end of the riser from the platform, lowering the topside end from the platform and pulling the topside end to a position outside of an exclusion zone in the vicinity of the platform, and at least partially removing the line from the water using an installation vessel located outside of the exclusion zone, including raising the topside end of the line onto the installation vessel either from the seabed or from an intermediate location between the seabed and the platform.
US09976362B2	Lifting device and method A hydraulic lifting apparatus and a method is described that raises and lowers caps, such as night caps, lift caps, and other similar items, about a cap sub engaged to a wellhead. The apparatus includes a cap sub, vertical support member, a horizontal support member, a base member, and a hydraulic cylinder. The lifting device is attached to a wellhead assembly through a cap sub. The base member is attached to the cap sub through an enlarged ring. The base member also includes an elongated projected portion. The vertical support member is rotatably retained within a bore in the elongated projected portion. The proximal end of horizontal support member is connected to the upper end of the vertical support member. The hydraulic cylinder, which includes a hydraulic head and a hydraulic piston, is connected to the distal end of the horizontal support member. The vertical support member is capable of being rotated about the base member. The hydraulic cylinder is actuated to raise or lower a cap onto a cap sub, which is removably attached to a wellhead assembly. The vertical support member may be locked into place in a cap-engagement position or a non-cap engagement position through use of a spring-loaded locking pin which is inserted into a locking bracket on the vertical support member and into a recess on the base member.
US09976359B2	Washpipe assembly A washpipe assembly is described for a passage of pressurized drilling fluid from a stationary first conduit member to a rotating second conduit member. The washpipe assembly comprises a lower union secured to the rotating second conduit member, an upper union secured to the stationary first conduit member, a floating seal assembly attached to the upper union, a rotating seal ring attached to the lower union, and a stationary seal ring attached to the floating seal assembly. The washpipe assembly also includes a washpipe suspended inside the upper union and the floating seal assembly through a waveform snap ring.
US09976351B2	Downhole hydraulic Jetting Assembly A downhole hydraulic jetting assembly is provided herein. The assembly is useful for steerably jetting multiple lateral boreholes into a subsurface formation from an existing parent wellbore of any inclination. The assembly is useful for single trip completions or recompletion through the placement of multiple lateral boreholes. The assembly includes an external system wherein coiled tubing and a whipstock member are run into a wellbore. The assembly further includes an internal system that is run into the wellbore housed within the external system, but which allows a nozzle at the end of the hose to be directed against a wellbore exit location after the whipstock member is located and set. A window may be formed through casing using the jetting hose and nozzle, followed by the formation of a lateral bore hole. The whipstock may be re-located and/or re-oriented for the jetting of additional casing exits and lateral boreholes in the same trip.
US09976350B2	Up drill apparatus and method An apparatus including a rotating segment having a first radial surface, a non-rotating segment having a second radial surface, a housing disposed around the first and second radial surfaces, and one or more rolling elements disposed between and in contact with the first and second radial surfaces for transferring the non-rotating segment in an axial direction upon rotation of the rotating segment. The non-rotating element may be a second rotating element that rotates at a different rotational rate than the rotating element. Each rolling element moves 360 degrees along a circular path relative to the first radial surface and the second radial surface. The first or second radial surface has a tapered section. A downhole apparatus includes a power mandrel having a first end connected to a power section member and a second end having a rotating cam surface; a rotating element engaging the rotating cam surface; an anvil sub attached to a workstring, with the anvil sub having a stationary cam surface configured to engage with the rotating cam surface. Rotation of the rotating cam surface moves the anvil sub and the workstring axially within the wellbore.
US09976346B2	Adjustable bottom bar for roller blind A bottom bar for a roller blind. The bottom bar has a longitudinal body with an upper surface having a longitudinal channel that is in communication with a generally hollow interior. The channel receives the lower end of the blind fabric to which is secured a stopper to hang the longitudinal body from the fabric. The bottom bar includes one or more spacers receivable within the generally hollow interior and between the stopper and the upper surface of the longitudinal body. The spacers increase the set-off between the stopper and the upper surface of the longitudinal body, thereby lifting the elevation of the longitudinal body relative to the roller tube.
US09976343B1	Storm shutter bracket and attachment system A storm shutter attachment system that provides for the temporary installation of a storm shutter against a window or a door during a period of extreme weather conditions, such as a hurricane or a tornado. The storm shutter utilizes an anchor pin and a retention pin to securely install within a building and exert a force against a storm shutter. A plurality of anchor pins and retention pins may be used to displace the pressure across the storm shutter, further protecting the window or door. A multipurpose tool is also provided that is couplable to the retention pin of the attachment system, allowing for a simple installation of the attachment system without requiring a professional.
US09976340B2	System for reducing warping in solid wood doors The invention described relates to the manufacturing of solid wood doors and consists in the insertion of steel reinforcing bars in the frames of the door to increase its rigidity. By increasing the rigidity of the door, the effect of possible warping in the door is diminished. In addition to this, alloying the steel, which possesses an elasticity modulus that is around ten times superior to that of wood, we achieve significantly higher rigidity for the piece of solid wood and this, by adding very little steel. The arrangement and the geometry of the reinforcing bars permit the conservation of traditional manufacturing techniques.
US09976337B2	Actuator for opening and closing lid for bulk storage bin An actuator opens and closes a lid on a bulk storage container. The actuator may be activated remotely using a remote control. When actuated, the actuator will lift the lid so that it is clear of the structure, and will then rotate the lid in a horizontal plan about a vertical axis until the lid is rotated to uncover the opening. The axis of rotation is located near the perimeter of the opening, so that very little of the lid remains over the opening when in the open position. To close the lid from the open position, the remote control may then in be used to actuate the closing process. The closing process works in reverse of the opening process. Therefore, during closing, the lid will rotate back to its original orientation over the hole and then lower into the closed position.
US09976335B2	Press fit storm window system A system for mounting a panel within an existing window frame. The system includes an elongated deformable bulb, and an elongated carrier. The bulb has a resilient portion, a base section, an extension extending from the base section, and a crosspiece coupled to a distal end of the extension. The crosspiece includes a pair of shoulders at opposite ends of the crosspiece. Each shoulder protrudes laterally beyond the extension. The elongated carrier has a receiving slot opposite a panel gap. The receiving slot has a neck laterally narrower than an interior cavity of the receiving slot. The receiving slot is configured to securely receive the crosspiece of the bulb and to confine the shoulders of the crosspiece.
US09976332B2	Electromechanical strut with integrated flex coupling and slip device and clutch/coupling assembly therefor An electromechanical strut is provided for moving a pivotal closure member between an open position and a closed position relative to a motor vehicle body. The electromechanical strut includes a housing connected to one of the closure member and the motor vehicle body. An extensible shaft is connected to the other of the closure member and the motor vehicle body for slidable movement relative to the housing. A motor-gear assembly operably drives a rotatable power screw. A drive mechanism converts rotary motion of the power screw into linear motion of the extensible shaft to move the extensible shaft between a retracted position corresponding to the closed position of the closure member and an extended position corresponding to the open position of the closure member. A clutch/coupling assembly is operably disposed between the motor-gear assembly and the power screw and integrates a slip clutch device and a flexible coupling into a common unit.
US09976331B2	Device for moving a movable furniture part in an opening direction in relation to a basic furniture structure of an item of furniture A device for moving a movable furniture part, the device including a force accumulator such that by way of the device which is fitted to an item of furniture the movable furniture part in the case of an opening procedure by action of the force accumulator is capable of being put in the opening direction, wherein in the case of a movement of the movable furniture part in the closing direction, a charging procedure of the force accumulator is performed, wherein a front gap between the movable furniture part and the basic furniture structure is configured on the item of furniture in a closed state of the movable furniture part, wherein the front gap is adjustable by way of an adjustment assembly.
US09976327B2	Recessed door hinge A hinge for recessed installation between a door frame and a door panel has first and second housings adapted for recessing in the door frame and an edge of the door panel, a pair of links having ends pivoted in the housings and pivoted together about a vertical axis extending in a vertical direction perpendicular to mutually perpendicular first and second horizontal directions, and two supports in the second housing in which the respective ends of the links are pivoted. Respective adjusting screws extend in the second horizontal direction and are braced between the supports and the second housing such that rotation of each adjusting screws shifts the respective support in the second housing in the second horizontal direction. Respective pairs of guide faces spaced apart in the direction flank each of the supports.
US09976325B2	Doorway entry prevention device The present invention is a system and method which comprises a rotating securing plate mounded on a door knob which engages a door frame to facilitate quickly securing a door to a door frame to protect the occupants of a room from an intruder. The system comprises a rotating stop in the doorknob which allows a user to open the door from within the secured room with a minimum of movements and time in the event of a dangerous situation in the room such as fire or other hazards. Through the use of an opening in the door frame, embodiments of the invention are equally applicable to doors that open inwardly and outwardly relative to an area to be secured.
US09976324B1	Aircraft door latch arm rotation limiting device An aircraft door latch arm rotation limiting device incorporates a flexible strap having a proximal end and distal end. The distal end is insertable through a loop eye proximate to an aircraft door. An elongate sleeve is disposed on the proximal end of the flexible strap and the sleeve is received over a rotatable latch arm of an aircraft door. A first receiving element intermediate the proximal and distal ends of the flexible strap releasably engages the distal end of the flexible strap to establish a first predetermined looped strap length restricting rotation of the lever beyond a partially open position. A second receiving element is disposed between the first receiving element and the proximal end on the flexible strap to releasably engage the distal end to establish a second predetermined looped strap length preventing rotation of the lever from a closed position.
US09976320B2	Horizontal cable rail barrier A barrier panel is formed of a first vertical rail member and a second vertical rail member mounted to and extending between top and bottom rail members. At least one vertical support member is also mounted to and extends between the top and bottom rail members. The first and second vertical rail members include first and second openings, respectively, spaced apart along their lengths. Horizontal cables are mounted to and extend between the first vertical rail member and second vertical rail member. A first end of each horizontal cable is secured within one of the first openings in the first vertical rail member and a second end of each horizontal cable is secured within an opposite one of the second openings in the second vertical rail member. Each cable further passes through an additional opening provided in the vertical support member (which is positioned between the first and second vertical rail members).
US09976319B2	Tent system employing an improved spider hub and associated frame structure and method of compacting the frame for reduced storage size A frame for a portable structure preferably in the form of a tent includes a hub having a plurality of tent pole frame members attached to it. The each tent pole is formed from a plurality of pole sections interconnected to one another along a structure permitting the pole sections to fold and/or compact upon one another. The poles define a proximate end attached to the hub and a distal end having a locking structure associated with it. The locking structure attaches each pole to the material defining the portable structure. The structure provides a reduced size package in the compacted position of the structure.
US09976315B2	Elongate member reinforcement An elongate member, reinforcement system and associated methods is disclosed. The system can include an elongate member, a structure associated with an end of the elongate member, a support member coupled to the structure and laterally offset from the elongate member extending about an end portion of the elongate member, a support layer surrounding the end portion of the elongate member such that at least a portion of the support member is between the support layer and the elongate member, and a structural filler disposed between the support layer and the elongate member. A load tending to cause relative movement of the end portion of the elongate member and the structure can be transferred through the structural filler and the support member to provide support for the elongate member.
US09976300B2	Roll-up wall The present invention is directed to a roll-up wall. The roll-up wall and its components may be used to divide existing larger spaces into smaller spaces with a sound-attenuating barrier. In this invention a sound-attenuating panel is attached to a roller drum which, when turned on its axis by a winding mechanism, deploys or retracts the sound-attenuating panel. This invention discloses details of the sound-attenuating panel, the roller drum, a sound-attenuating guide system, a lower sound-attenuating seal, and an interlocking system. More particularly, this invention discloses an interlocking system which removably attaches a sound-attenuating panel to a roller drum. This invention discloses a plurality of embodiments of the interlocking system and provides detailed descriptions of each embodiment.
US09976291B2	Faucet including capacitive and ultrasonic sensing A fluid delivery apparatus includes a spout, an ultrasonic sensor, and a capacitive sensor. The ultrasonic sensor is configured to detect the presence of a user adjacent the spout when enabled. The capacitive sensor is configured to define a capacitance sensing field in an area near the spout and also to detect a presence of a user. A controller is coupled to the capacitive sensor and the ultrasonic sensor. The controller is programmed to detect the presence of a user in the capacitance sensing field based on an output signal from the capacitance sensor. The controller is also programmed to enable the ultrasonic sensor in response to detecting the presence of the user in the capacitance sensing field with the capacitive sensor, thereby reducing the amount of power used by the ultrasonic sensor.
US09976288B2	Wireless automated shutoff valve A modular water leakage detector includes a housing that carries a plurality of water leakage sensors, an electrical water shutoff valve, and circuitry coupled thereto. In response to sensing water leakage, the circuitry actuates the valve to shut off a water supply. Detectors can communicate alarm indicating signals directly with one another. The detectors can include a wireless transmitter and communicate with a displaced alarm monitoring system.
US09976285B2	Excavating implement heading control An excavator includes a chassis, an implement, control architecture, and an assembly to swing with, or relative to, the chassis and including a boom, stick to curl relative to the boom, and coupling between the implement and stick. The implement rotates about an axis R such that a leading edge LE defines a heading Î. The control architecture comprises sensors, actuators, and controllers to utilize sensor signals to generate a LE position relative to a reference based on reference data and map information, utilize sensor implement edge signals and the excavator position relative to the reference and map information to generate a nearest implement edge (NIE) signal indicative of a LE NIE position relative to the reference, and utilize the actuators for divertive implement rotation about R to adjust Î to account for divertive rotation away from an actual or projected overlap of the NIE and reference.
US09976284B2	Control system for headlights of a machine The disclosure relates to a control system for a machine. The control system includes an input unit for obtaining terrain information pertaining to a worksite. The control system further includes a plurality of illumination devices mounted on the machine. The control system further includes a controller in communication with the input unit and the plurality of illumination devices. The controller is configured to receive the terrain information from the input unit. The controller further determines grade pertaining to a work area of the worksite based on the terrain information. The controller is further configured to operate the plurality of illumination devices, based on the grade, to selectively illuminate the work area of the work site.
US09976281B2	Eccentric assembly for walking mechanism An eccentric assembly for a walking mechanism is provided. The eccentric assembly includes a barrel member and a shaft member. The barrel member includes a circumferential portion extending in a longitudinal direction and a web portion extending inwardly from the circumferential portion. Further, the web portion includes a cut-out region and an inner periphery outlining the cut-out region. The shaft member includes a tubular portion extending in the longitudinal direction and a flange portion extending outwardly from the tubular portion. The flange portion includes an outer periphery. Further, the shaft member is coupled to the barrel member such that the outer periphery of the flange portion substantially conforms to the inner periphery of the web portion. Further, the flange portion is configured to adjust an eccentricity of the shaft member with respect to the barrel member.
US09976279B2	Excavating implement heading control An excavator comprises a chassis, an implement, and an assembly comprising a boom, a stick, and a coupling. The assembly is configured to define a heading {circumflex over (N)} and to swing with, or relative to, the chassis about a swing axis S. The stick is configured to curl relative to the boom about a curl axis C. The implement is coupled to a stick terminal point G via the coupling and is configured to rotate about a rotary axis R such that a leading edge of the implement defines a heading Î. An excavator control architecture comprises sensors and machine readable instructions to generate signals representative of {circumflex over (N)}, an assembly swing rate ωS about S, and a stick curl rate ωC about C, generate a signal representing a terminal point heading Ĝ based on {circumflex over (N)}, ωS, and ωC, and rotate the implement about R such that Î approximates Ĝ.
US09976275B2	Method and apparatus for driving screwable foundations into the ground Disclosed is a method for driving a screwable foundation, which comprises a thread-type external helix that has a pitch on the outer contour thereof, into the ground. In said method, a striking force is applied to the screwable foundation in the driving direction in alternation with or at least temporarily simultaneously with a torque when the screwable foundation is driven into the ground.
US09976272B2	Method for manufacturing an element in the ground by in-situ soil mixing with a geopolymer The invention relates to a method of fabricating an element in ground (S), the method comprising: a step of drilling an excavation (T) in the ground; and a step of mixing the ground in place in the excavation in situ with a geopolymer.
US09976271B2	Floating debris skimming device A skimming device configured to collect and store floating debris captured from the surface of a body of water. The skimming device includes a debris collector having an enclosed body defining an opening for receiving and storing captured debris therein; a skimming device movement member configured to move the skimming device in the body of water; a debris movement member configured to capture floating debris from the body of water and pass the captured debris into the debris collector; and a housing that surrounds the debris collector and skimming movement member such that the two endless belts of the skimming movement member extend above and below the housing. The debris includes at least one of liquid debris such as floating petrochemicals, semi-solid debris, and/or solid debris.
US09976267B2	Sidewalk drop spreader for winter services The invention is directed to a sidewalk drop spreader for winter services, which is mountable on a vehicle and includes a hopper. The hopper includes a pair of spaced-apart side walls, each one of which extends parallel to the other one of the side walls, a front wall extending between the side walls, and a rear wall extending between the side walls and being spaced apart from the front wall. The hopper also includes a bottom, which in turn includes a rotatable rotor and a compression roller that extend parallel to one another between said the side walls. An agitation system includes a motor mounted to the hopper, which actuates movement of a selected one of the side walls, front wall, and rear wall.
US09976266B1	System including adjustable continuity joints and/or rotation mitigation sliding posts for rail elements A structural assembly may include a first prefabricated structural element having a first angled face at an end of the first prefabricated structural element; a second prefabricated structural element having a second angled face at an end of the second prefabricated structural element, the end of the second precast barrier segment connected to the end of the first prefabricated structural element; and a coupling assembly connecting the first angled face of the first prefabricated structural element to the second angled face of the second prefabricated structural element. The coupling assembly provides shear and moment continuity across the first and second prefabricated structural elements. This allows for a variable gap due to manufacturing tolerances, construction tolerances, and/or expansion or contraction.
US09976264B2	Work platform system including suspended paneled portion and method of implementing same A work platform system for implementation in relation to a structure, as well as subsystems and components thereof and methods of implementation and use relating thereto, are disclosed herein. In at least one embodiment, the work platform system includes a first pair of flexible elements and a second pair of flexible elements, where a respective first end of each of the flexible elements is coupled at least indirectly to a first support component and a respective second end of each of the flexible elements is coupled at least indirectly to a second support component. The work platform system can further include a plurality of panel structures supported upon the flexible elements, a suspension component, and a clamp structure coupled to at least one of the first pair of flexible elements and the second pair of flexible elements. The work platform system can include one or more support extension.
US09976244B2	Laundry treatment apparatus A laundry treatment apparatus is described. The laundry treatment apparatus includes a rotary control. The laundry treatment apparatus further includes a lighting surface that includes a plurality of first parts that have a first translucence, where a first set of the first parts that are located at lower positions of the circumference have shorter arc lengths than a second set of the first parts that are located at upper positions of the circumference.
US09976241B2	Hand-held laundry treating apparatus A hand-held laundry treating apparatus includes a portable body formed in the shape of a bar having a predetermined length for washing a localized portion of a laundry item placed on a vertical plane or a horizontal plane while being in contact with the laundry item, and a water tank mounted at a middle part of the portable body at an angle to the portable body for supplying wash water to the portable body and, at the same time, for collecting and storing contaminated water generated from the localized portion of the laundry item according to a use state of the portable body when washing the localized portion of the laundry item placed on the vertical plane or the horizontal plane.
US09976236B2	Method for producing shoe upper, and shoe upper There is provided a method for producing a shoe upper with which a shoe upper can be produced with high productivity, and a shoe upper obtained with the method for producing the shoe upper. An instep cover section (3) and a sole cover section (2) are integrally knitted in a seamless manner by carrying out process α and then carrying out process β or by carrying out process β and then carrying out process α with a flat knitting machine including at least a pair of a front and a back needle bed. [Process α] Knitting a main body left portion (3L), which is a left side portion of the instep cover section (3), with one needle bed of the flat knitting machine and knitting a main body right portion (3R), which is a right side portion of the instep cover section (3), with the other needle bed of the flat knitting machine. [Process β] Knitting a bottom left portion (2L), which is a left side portion of the sole cover section (2) with one needle bed, and a bottom right portion (2R), which is a right side portion of the sole cover section (2), with the other needle bed.
US09976234B2	Method of dry-spinning para-aramid fiber The present invention provides a method for manufacturing para-aramid fibers, which includes: spinning a polymeric solution containing aramid polymer in an organic solvent through a spinneret into an inert gas to partially remove the organic solvent contained in the spun fiber; contacting the spun fiber with conditioning solution, so as to maintain residual water in fiber in a range of 10 to 15%; and subjecting the treated fiber to drawing, washing and heating in a dry-spinning manner. The present invention may greatly reduce energy consumption and costs for recovery of the solvent, as compared to a conventional manufacturing method of aramid fiber in a wet-spinning manner. Further, the present invention may solve conventional problems such as corrosion of apparatus, deterioration of working environments, or the like, since a concentrated sulfuric acid solvent is not used in a spinning process. Still further, the present invention may conduct drawing and heating after maintaining the residual water in fiber in a range of 10 to 15% before drawing, thereby remarkably improving the strength and elastic modulus of the fiber.
US09976224B2	Chip electronic component and manufacturing method thereof There are provided a chip electronic component comprising: a magnetic body including an insulation substrate; an internal coil part formed on at least one surface of the insulation substrate; and an external electrode formed on an end surface of the magnetic body and connected to the internal coil part, wherein the internal coil part includes a first coil pattern formed on the insulation substrate and a second coil pattern formed to coat the first coil pattern, and a ratio a/b of a width a of an upper surface of the first coil pattern with respect to a width b of a lower surface of the first coil pattern is less than 1.
US09976223B2	Nickel and/or chromium plated member and method for manufacturing the same The present invention provides a nickel and/or chromium plated member comprising a substrate, a pretreatment plating layer deposited over the whole substrate on which a copper plating layer is formed, a functional layer formed on the copper plating layer in which the functional layer has a low potential nickel layer and a microporous nickel layer formed on the low potential nickel layer, and a decorative layer formed on the microporous nickel layer. In this invention, the microporous nickel layer and the low potential nickel layer provided on the surface of the member significantly improve the corrosion resistance and stability of the whole member and provide good brightness uniformity and binding effect of the plating layers.
US09976221B2	Electrolytic tank apparatus An electrolytic tank apparatus includes a tank body and at least one electrode set. The tank body defines an outer tank space for receiving a coolant, and at least one inner tank space that is surrounded by the outer tank space and that is not in fluid communication with the outer tank space. The tank body has a tank wall formed with a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet each communicating with the outer tank space. The electrode set is disposed in the inner tank space and includes at least one cathode plate, at least one anode plate, a cathode-connecting structure that is electrically coupled to the cathode plate, and an anode-connecting structure that is electrically coupled to the anode plate.
US09976218B2	Conversion coating composition comprising a dye and a method for coating a metal surface with said conversion coating composition The invention is directed to a conversion coating composition for coating a metal surface including a water soluble dye, at least one metal compound selected from the group consisting of a zirconium-containing compound, titanium-containing compound and silicon-containing compound; and water, wherein the provides for qualitative characterization of the conversion coating uniformity and thickness by the naked human eye or visible light detecting device; and, a method for coating the metal surfaces using the conversion coating composition.
US09976216B2	Atomic-layer deposition apparatus A thin film deposition system for depositing a thin film on a moveable substrate using atmospheric pressure atomic-layer deposition includes a chamber and a moveable substrate having a levitation stabilizing structure located on the moveable substrate that defines an enclosed interior impingement area of the moveable substrate. A stationary support, located in the chamber, supports the moveable substrate. The stationary support extends beyond the enclosed interior impingement area. A pressurized-fluid source provides a fluid flow through the stationary support that impinges on the moveable substrate within the enclosed interior impingement area of the moveable substrate sufficient to levitate the moveable substrate and expose the moveable substrate to the fluid while restricting the lateral motion of the moveable substrate with the levitation stabilizing structure.
US09976213B2	Tool having CVD coating A tool having a base body of carbide, cermet, ceramic, steel or high speed steel and a single-layer or multi-layer wear-protection coating applied thereto in a CVD process, wherein the wear-protection coating has at least one Ti1-xAlxCyNz layer having stoichiometry coefficients 0.70≤x<1.0≤y<0.25 and 0.75≤z<1.15 wherein the Ti1-xAlxCyNz layer is of a thickness of 1 μm to 25 μm and has a crystallographic preferential orientation, which is characterized by a ratio of the intensities of the X-ray diffraction peaks of the crystallographic {111} plane and the {200} plane, wherein I{111}/I{200}>1+h (ln h)2, wherein h is the thickness of the Ti1-xAlxCyNz layer in micrometer.
US09976208B2	Copper alloy with high strength and excellent processability in bending and process for producing copper alloy sheet The present invention provides a Cu—Fe—P alloy which has a high strength, high conductivity and superior bending workability. The copper alloy comprises 0.01 to 1.0% Fe, 0.01 to 0.4% P, 0.1 to 1.0% Mg, and the remainder Cu and unavoidable impurities. The size of oxides and precipitates including Mg in the copper alloy is controlled so that the ratio of the amount of Mg measured by a specified measurement method in the extracted residue by a specified extracted residue method to the Mg content in said copper alloy is 60% or less, thus endowing the alloy with a high strength and superior bending workability.
US09976205B2	Steel, sheet steel product and process for producing a sheet steel product The invention relates to a steel and to a flat steel product produced therefrom that have optimized mechanical properties and at the same time can be produced at low cost, without having to rely for this on expensive alloying elements that are subject to great fluctuations with regard to their procurement costs. The steel and the flat steel product have for this purpose the following composition according to the invention (in % by weight): C: 0.11-0.16%; Si: 0.1-0.3%; Mn: 1.4-1.9%; Al: 0.02-0.1%; Cr: 0.45-0.85%; Ti: 0.025-0.06%; B: 0.0008-0.002%, the remainder Fe and impurities that are unavoidable for production-related reasons, which include contents of phosphorus, sulfur, nitrogen or molybdenum as long as the following respectively apply for their contents: P: ≤0.02%, S: ≤0.003%, N: ≤0.008%, Mo: ≤0.1%. Similarly, the invention relates to a method for producing a flat steel product that consists of a steel according to the invention.
US09976204B2	Metal alloys for high impact applications A casting of a white cast iron alloy and a method of producing the casting are disclosed. A white cast alloy is also disclosed. The casting has a solution treated microstructure that comprises a ferrous matrix of retained austenite and chromium carbides dispersed in the matrix, with the carbides comprising 15 to 60% volume fraction of the alloy. The matrix composition comprises: manganese: 8 to 20 wt %; carbon: 0.8 to 1.5 wt %; chromium: 5 to 15 wt %; and iron: balance (including incidental impurities).
US09976203B2	Ultra fine-grained advanced high strength steel sheet having superior formability A cold rolled, annealed TRIP steel sheet which has a composition including (in wt. %): C: 0.1-0.3; Mn: 4-10, Al: 0.05-5, Si: 0.05-5; and Nb: 0.008-0.1, the remainder being iron and inevitable residuals. The cold rolled sheet has an ultimate tensile strength of at least 1000 MPa, and a total elongation of at least 15%. The cold rolled sheet may have at least 20% retained austenite in its microstructure and may have greater than 50% lath-type annealed ferrite structure. The cold rolled sheet may have an ultra fine grain size of less than 5 micron for the retained austenite and ferrite.
US09976197B2	Method for producing journal part of 9 to 12% Cr steel turbine rotor, and journal part produced by the method In a journal part of a 9 to 12 wt % Cr steel turbine rotor, a groove face is formed, and on the groove face, a lower build-up layer is formed by using a first welding material containing C: 0.10 to 0.25 wt %, Si: 0.20 to 0.80 wt %, Mn: 1.0 to 2.5 wt %, Ni: 0.4 to 1.0 wt %, Cr: 1.0 to 3.0 wt %, Mo: 0.2 to 1.5 wt %, V: 0.03 to 0.10 wt %, and a remainder composed of Fe and inevitable impurities, and further on this lower build-up layer, an upper build-up layer is formed using a second welding material containing C: 0.10 to 0.25 wt %, Si: 0.20 to 0.80 wt %, Mn: 1.0 to 2.5 wt %, Ni: 0.4 to 1.0 wt %, Cr: 1.0 to 3.0 wt %, Mo: 0.2 to 1.5 wt %, and a remainder consisting of Fe and inevitable impurities.
US09976191B2	Rice whole genome breeding chip and application thereof The present invention provides a rice whole genome breeding chip and the application thereof. The rice whole genome breeding chip of the present invention is Rice60K, an SNP chip manufactured based on Infinium technique. Each chip can detect 24 samples simultaneously and contains 58,290 SNP sites. The marker sites have DNA sequences represented by SEQ ID NO.1-58290. The chip can be used in molecular marker fingerprint analysis of the rice variety resources, in genotype identification of the hybrid progeny population, in identification of the variety authenticity, in analysis and screening of the genetic background of the breeding materials, and in association analysis of the agronomic traits, having wide application prospects.
US09976188B2	Cancer biomarkers Biomarkers and methods using the biomarkers for the prediction of the recurrence risk of cancer in a patient are provided.
US09976185B2	Classifier for the molecular classification of multiple myeloma The present invention is in the field of molecular diagnostics and relates to a method for classifying samples obtained from patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma into three newly defined clusters. The invention also relates to a method for determining the prognosis of an individual diagnosed with multiple myeloma as well as a method for the prediction of the response to treatment of an individual diagnosed with multiple myeloma. More in particular, the invention provides a method for determining the disease outcome or the prognosis of a patient diagnosed with multiple myeloma by classifying said patient into a high risk or a low risk category, based on a 92 gene classifier.
US09976176B2	Isothermal nucleic acid amplification reactor with integrated solid state membrane Provided are devices adapted to isolate, amplify, and detect nucleic acids that may be present in a biological sample. The devices can, in some embodiments, isolate, amplify, and detect nucleic acid in a single chamber. In other embodiments, the devices are adapted to isolate and amplify nucleic acids in a reaction chamber, after which the nucleic acids may be communicated to a pervious medium—such as a lateral flow strip—where the user may label and detect the nucleic acids.
US09976171B2	Method for dissolution testing of solid compositions containing digestive enzymes The invention is directed to a process for measuring the amount of digestive enzymes released from a solid composition in a dissolution medium by fluorescence spectroscopy. The invention is also directed to a combined method for measuring both the dissolution and gastroresistance of a solid compositions comprising pancrelipase.
US09976169B2	Biosensors for organic and inorganic arsenic Disclosed are methods of detecting organic arsenicals using genetically modified cells.
US09976168B2	Substance measurement method and measurement device employing electrochemical biosensor A method is provided for measuring a substance using a biosensor, the method comprising: introducing a sample containing the substance into an electrochemical measurement cell which comprises an insulating base plate; at least two electrodes formed on the insulating base plate; and a reagent layer that is disposed on at least one of the electrodes and comprises an oxidoreductase; applying a voltage to the electrodes; detecting a charge transfer limiting current which is generated due to the transfer of electrons from the substance in the sample to the electrode; and determining the concentration of the substance contained in the sample based on the charge transfer limiting current.
US09976165B2	Methods for increasing molecular diversity of polyketides and non-ribosomal proteins A method for increasing the molecular diversity of polyketides and non-ribosomal peptides by using recombination to efficiently increase or decrease the number of modules in the polyketide synthase or non-ribosomal peptide synthetase encoding the polyketide or peptide.
US09976163B2	Method for preventing reduction of polypeptide by adding amino acid to culture solution The present invention provides a method for preventing the reduction of a desired polypeptide during purification in order to purify the polypeptide in high yield from a culture solution which contains recombinant host cells and the polypeptide.
US09976160B2	Method of producing sugar liquid A method of producing a sugar liquid from biomass includes decomposing a fermentation inhibitor contained in a sugar aqueous solution obtained from biomass with a microorganism incapable of utilizing glucose and/or xylose or a crude enzyme derived from the microorganism, wherein the fermentation inhibitor includes one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of courmaric acid, coumaramide, ferulic acid, ferulamide, vanillin, vanillic acid, acetovanillone, furfural, and 3-hydroxymethylfurfural.
US09976159B2	Methods for controlling acetoclastic microorganisms in acetogenic syngas fermentation processes Methods are disclosed for controlling the population of acetoclastic microorganisms in a process for the bioconversion of gas substrate comprising at least one of CO and a mixture of CO2 and hydrogen to at least one oxygenated organic compound by contact of said gas substrate under acidic, anaerobic fermentation conditions in a bioreactor containing an aqueous fermentation broth having a population of at least one acetogenic microorganism for bioconverting said gas substrate to at least one acetogenic oxygenated organic compound, said fermentation zone defining a head space, said methods comprising continuously or intermittently controlling the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the head space to provide a desired population ratio of acetoclastic microorganisms to acetogenic microorganisms.
US09976154B2	Sucrose transporter genes for increasing plant seed lipids This invention relates to polynucleotide sequences encoding SUT2 or SUT4 sucrose transporter genes. Methods for increasing seed oil content and evaluating increased oil content in a plant seed are described. The compositions and methods disclosed herein employ a variety of sequences that encode sucrose transporters and a variety of sequences that influence fatty acid accumulation, including for example, DGAT, Lec1 and ODP1 transcription factor. In specific embodiments, overexpression of SUT2 and/or SUT4 sucrose transporters in combination with DGAT genes further increase plant seed oil production compared to a high oil plant comprising recombinant DNA constructs that do not overexpress SUT2 or SUT4 transporters.
US09976152B2	Temporal regulation of gene expression by microRNAs This invention provides molecular constructs and methods for the temporally specific control of gene expression in plants or in plant pests or pathogens. More specifically, this invention provides plant miRNA genes having novel circadian expression patterns that are useful for designing recombinant DNA constructs for temporally specific expression of at least one gene. Also provided are non-natural transgenic plant cells, plants, and seeds containing in their genome a recombinant DNA construct of this invention.
US09976150B2	Vector replicable in E. coli and cell of genus Komagataeibacter, cell including the same, and method of using the same Provided are a vector replicable in E. coli and a cell of the genus Komagataeibacter, a cell including the same, a method of producing a target protein using the cell, or a method of evaluating a candidate promoter using the cell.
US09976149B2	Modified listeria bacteria and uses thereof A Listeria bacterium is disclosed which comprises a first mutation in the multidrug resistance transporter M (MdrM) gene which causes a decrease in interferon-β production in macrophages as compared to wild-type Listeria bacterium and a second mutation in the multidrug resistance transporter T (MdrT) gene which causes a decrease in interferon-β production in macrophages as compared to the wild-type Listeria bacterium.
US09976147B2	STAT3 inhibitors and uses thereof Described herein, inter alia, are STAT-binding nucleic acids-including compositions and methods of using the same.
US09976146B2	Aptamer targeting MAGE-A3 peptide and uses thereof Disclosed herein is an aptamer targeting a MHC-presented peptide and its uses thereof. The MHC-presented peptide is expressed in various cancer cells; therefor, the aptamer of the disclosure is useful as a bio-tool to label and/or treat peptide-presenting cancer cells. Also disclosed herein is a pharmaceutical composition containing the aptamer.
US09976145B2	Nucleic acid molecule having binding affinity to a target molecule and a method for generating the same The present invention is related to a method for generating a nucleic acid molecule capable of binding to a target molecule comprising the following steps: a) providing a reference nucleic acid molecule, wherein the reference nucleic acid molecule is capable of binding to the target molecule and wherein the reference nucleic acid molecule comprises a sequence of nucleotides, wherein the sequence of nucleotides comprises n nucleotides; b) preparing a first level derivative of the reference nucleic acid molecule, wherein the first level derivative of the reference nucleic acid molecule differs from the reference nucleic acid molecule at one nucleotide position, wherein the first level derivative is prepared by replacing the ribonucleotide at the one nucleotide position by a 2′-deoxyribonucleotide in case the reference nucleic acid has a ribonucleotide at the nucleotide position and wherein the first level derivative is prepared by replacing the 2′-deoxyribonucleotide at the one nucleotide position by a ribonucleotide in case the reference nucleic acid has a 2′-deoxyribonucleotide at the nucleotide position and wherein the nucleotide position at which the replacement is made is the modified nucleotide position; and c) repeating step b) for each nucleotide position of the reference nucleic acid molecule, thus preparing a group of first level derivatives of the reference nucleic acid molecule, wherein the group of first level derivatives of the reference nucleic acid molecule consists of n first level derivatives, wherein each of the first level derivatives of the reference nucleic acid molecule differs from the reference nucleic acid molecule by a single nucleotide replacement and wherein each of the first level derivatives of the reference nucleic acid molecule has a single modified nucleotide position which is different from the single modified nucleotide of all of the single modified nucleotide positions of the other first level derivatives of the group of first level derivatives of the reference nucleic acid molecule.
US09976144B2	Method for controlling obesity using minimally invasive means Methods for controlling obesity using minimally-invasive procedures including introducing embolic crystal particles that are naturally occurring and mostly non-toxic salts into the arterial capillaries feeding the sections of the stomach where the appetite inducing hormone, ghrelin, is produced to limit the blood flow to the region reducing appetite; introducing a virus vector or antisense oligonucleotide to inhibit the production of ghrelin and reduce the appetite; and introducing a soluble embolic particle with a virus vector or antisense oligonucleotide which will inhibit the flow of blood initially and then dissolve and release the inhibit vector to the region, generating ghrelin to control the appetite.
US09976143B2	Targeted augmentation of nuclear gene output Provided herein are methods and compositions for increasing production of a target protein or functional RNA by a cell.
US09976142B2	Targeting molecule and a use thereof Provided are: a targeting molecule targeting a target cell which is selected from the group consisting of a stellate cell, a myofibroblast, a cancer-associated fibroblast, a tumor cell and a cell expressing STRA6, said targeting molecule being selected from the group consisting of (1) a peptide containing an amino acid sequence in the cell-binding region of RBP, (2) a variant peptide of the aforesaid peptide (1), said variant peptide having a comparable targetability to peptide (1), and (3) a peptide mimetic having a comparable targetability to peptide (1) or peptide (2); a targeting agent, a carrier, a complex and a medicinal composition each comprising the targeting molecule; a method for treating, examining, diagnosing or monitoring a disease related to the aforesaid target cell; a method for labeling, detecting or imaging the target cell, etc.
US09976140B2	Microrna and uses in brown fat differentiation This invention reveals a novel miRNA and a novel miRNA-regulated signaling network which controls brown adipogenesis and thermogenic programs, thereby providing a powerful approach for the treatment of obesity and related metabolic diseases. In this regard, the present invention is also directed towards methods of treatment of obesity and excess weight (overweight) and metabolic disorders caused by or aggravated by a subject being overweight or obese.
US09976134B2	Thermolysin variants The present invention provides methods and compositions comprising at least one thermolysin-like neutral protease enzyme with improved storage stability and/or catalytic activity. In some embodiments, the thermolysin finds use in cleaning and other applications comprising detergent. In some particularly preferred embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions comprising thermolysin formulated and/or engineered to resist detergent-induced inactivation.
US09976133B2	Synzymes Novel synthetic catalytic structures or “synzymes,” e.g., synthetic polypeptides, with catalytic properties are provided. It is believed that these synthetic catalytic structures mimic some of the precise conformational changes necessary for catalytic activities seen in enzymes. The catalytic properties of these synthetic catalytic structures or synzymes can be further improved by the application of controlled external forces, e.g., electric fields.
US09976132B2	Thermostable cellobiohydrolase A thermostable cellobiohydrolase, having a cellobiohydrolase catalytic domain including: (A) a polypeptide including the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, (B) a polypeptide including an amino acid sequence in which at least one amino acid has been deleted, substituted, or added in the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, and having hydrolysis activity against a substrate of phosphoric acid swollen Avicel at least under conditions of 75° C. and pH 5, or (C) a polypeptide including an amino acid sequence having 60% or greater sequence identity with the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, and having hydrolysis activity against a substrate of phosphoric acid swollen Avicel at least under conditions of 75° C. and pH 5.
US09976127B2	Manganese superoxide dismutase variants and uses thereof The present invention concerns variant proteins of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and uses thereof. In particular, the invention concerns a short variant of recombinant MnSOD, and uses thereof for treating or preventing tumors, as well as for treating or preventing diseases with an etiology relating to an excess of free radicals.

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