US07886361B2

Rental business of content data is adequately performed while preventing a improper use of rights or the like by a user. Rental user key data Kuren1-3, and rental content key data Kuren1-3 includes management metadata M1-M3 and M1′-M3′, respectively. The management metadata includes data use termination date/time indicating an expiration date or the like.
US07886356B2

A method may include receiving untrusted digital media; converting the untrusted digital media into an analog signal; converting the analog signal into trusted digital media; and storing the trusted digital media.
US07886355B2

A method for controlling subsidy locking of a handset device includes storing, in a handset device, an asymmetrically digitally signed subsidy unlock data block that has been modified based on a password after signing (505); modifying the stored unlock data block based on a received subsidy unlock password (510); and granting subsidy unlock status if the asymmetric digital signature of the modified, stored unlock data block properly verifies (510). A method (110) for controlling subsidy locking of a handset device includes storing, in the handset device, an asymmetrically digitally signed subsidy unlock data block that comprises a password portion that has been modified after signing (112); replacing the contents of the modified password portion with a received subsidy unlock password to produce an updated subsidy unlock data block (116); and granting subsidy unlock status if the asymmetric digital signature of the updated subsidy unlock data block properly verifies (118).
US07886353B2

Systems and methods for enabling trusted software to monitor and control USB traffic associated with a security extension of a host controller and devices in a USB topology is disclosed. A host controller proxy receives USB-related data from a host controller driver, determines whether the data is of a security interest, and if so, sends the data to a driver for a security extension executing in the trusted execution environment. Likewise, after software executing in the trusted execution environment evaluates and appropriately addresses data sent by the HCD proxy or data retrieved from a hardware security extension, the HCD proxy receives data from the trusted execution environment for further dissemination.
US07886352B2

A reverse proxy server can provide access to web applications. The reverse proxy system can produce interstitial pages not generated with the web application code and optionally block access to the web application until the interstitial pages have been processed.
US07886351B2

A system and method for a network aware firewall is disclosed. The method includes accessing a first network connection from a client computer system and determining whether the first network connection is public or private. The method further includes dynamically modifying security parameters associated with a firewall local to the client computer system in response to determining whether the network connection is public or private.
US07886347B2

A tool kit for accessing data stored on an electronic SMART card is provided, the kit comprising a SMART card reader and recorder, at least one storage card, and a control card. The card reader and recorder is operative to read and copy the electronic SMART card onto the storage card, and to read the control card, the storage card comprising a storage card security key. The control card comprises code generation means operative to generate a control card security key, copying of the electronic SMART card onto the storage card being prevented unless the control card security key is verified against the storage card security key.
US07886342B2

A computer implemented web based access control facility for a distributed environment, which allows users to request for access, take the request through appropriate approval work flow and finally make it available to the users and applications. This program also performs an automatic task of verifying the health of data, access control data as well as the entitlements, to avoid malicious user access. The system also provides an active interface to setup a backup, to delegate the duty in absence. Thus this system provides a comprehensive facility to grant, re-certify and control the entitlements and users in a distributed environment.
US07886341B2

A system and method for authenticating users against an external directory service. A client device issues an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) request (e.g., a login request) to a local or native directory server (e.g., an Oracle Internet Directory server) configured to authenticate users for access to a resource (e.g., an Oracle database, an Oracle application server). The native directory server does not maintain or synchronize user passwords, and forwards the request (or details of the request) to a plug-in residing in the resource. The plug-in forwards or issues the request to an external or third-party directory server or service, which attempts to authenticate the user and returns a result indicating success or failure. The plug-in returns the result to the local server, which responds to the client.
US07886340B2

A computer network management system with an embedded processor, an analog communication means and a digital interface for network management provides a system for remotely and securely managing a network. Backup power in the form of an uninterrupted power supply, or other power means as appropriate, allows the modem to provide power outage notification to a remote site. The system further provides authentication and authorization capabilities for security purposes.
US07886310B2

In a computer system including a central processing unit, a system memory, a south bridge module, a north bridge module and multiple hard disk drives, a RAID control function is exhibited. The method includes steps of: issuing a command addressing to the south bridge module by the central processing unit; and performing a fault-tolerant computing operation in the north bridge module while exempting from transmitting the command to the south bridge module when the command contains a specified address data.
US07886309B2

The invention relates to access to a platform independent input method editor or IME from an underlying operating system. Keystrokes received at an operating system input may be formed into a character sequence, and an operating system-based IME service module may call the platform independent IME to convert the character sequence to a corresponding code point. The transferred code point may then be returned to an operating system output.
US07886305B2

A server system facilitates an exchange of messages with a remote client application. The server system includes a plurality of application servers hosting a plurality of applications. A plurality of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) provides programmatic access to the plurality of applications, each of the APIs being configured to receive request messages compiled by the remote client application. First and second request messages, respectively addressed to first and second APIs of the plurality of APIs by a remote client application, each comprise at least one common data component. Further, the first request message includes a first payload specific to the first API, and the second request message includes a payload specific to the second API.
US07886293B2

In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method of transitioning control to guest software in a virtual machine from a virtual machine monitor, receiving control following a transition from the virtual machine to the virtual machine monitor upon an event, and determining whether to modify a state of the guest code, a state of the virtual machine monitor or a state of controls. If such a determination is made, the state may be modified and control is transitioned back to the guest software.
US07886291B1

The inventions relate generally to layered computing systems that provide public access to the content of the layers. Also disclosed herein are prioritization schemes usable in a layered computing system, including prioritization by layer type, by assigned priority weights, by access type, by sub-layers and by read-write indicators. Processes may further be associated to layers from which they originate, and priority given to associated layers thereby. Association may also be provided for installer services, thereby depositing an applications updates into its layer. Layers may also contain file reference information including exclusion or inclusion entries indicating what files may be written thereto. Paths recorded in layers may also embed variables to true paths on a layered system. Detailed information on various example embodiments of the inventions are provided in the Detailed Description below, and the inventions are defined by the appended claims.
US07886287B1

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for updating running processes. In particular, a jump instruction is injected into the first instruction line of a function that has been updated. The jump instruction redirects the program to a location within a jump table containing the address of the first instruction of an updated function. Injection of the jump instruction can be made without stopping execution of the application, thereby allowing a patch to be installed without interrupting application services.
US07886264B1

A computer-implemented method and an apparatus for use in a computing programming environment are disclosed. The method includes: receiving a plurality of user inputs, each user input specifying an action in a workflow; identifying a data type incompatibility between two of the specified actions; and generating a script for executing the actions in the workflow responsive to the user inputs, the script including code for performing a action for converting one of the two identified, incompatible data types to the second. The apparatus, in a first aspect, includes a program storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computing device, performs the method. In a second aspect, the apparatus includes a computing apparatus programmed to perform the method.
US07886255B2

A method of integrated circuit programmed data processor design includes selecting a benchmark application, selecting an initial set of architecture parameters, reconfiguring a compiler for the selected architecture parameters, compiling the benchmark, reconfiguring a data processor simulator to the selected architecture parameters, running the complied benchmark on the reconfigured simulator, automatically synthesizing an integrated circuit physical layout and evaluating performance of the selected architecture parameters against predetermined criteria. The method varies the selected architecture parameters upon failure to meet criteria until evaluation of the selected architecture parameters meets the criteria. The method selects a number of datapath clusters to avoid too many input/output ports in data registers.
US07886243B1

The present invention presents a hybrid approach for manufacturability analysis that integrates both a rules-based approach and a models-based approach. For example, a rules-based analysis can be used to optimize the performance of a model-based analysis. The rules analysis can be used to identify specific areas of a layout that can then be analyzed in detail using models. This approach provides numerous advantages. It allows the models-based analysis tool to concentrate upon portions of the layout that requires greater attention and allocate fewer resources towards the areas less critical to the yield.
US07886242B1

In some embodiments of the invention, a method and apparatus of consolidating all types of coverage metrics, obtained from an HDL simulator, under a single common framework is described. In other embodiments of the invention, a method and an apparatus are disclosed for performing ranking from a verification plan using total coverage metric.
US07886236B2

Gesture feedback techniques are discussed that provide prompt feedback to a user concerning the recognition of one or more gestures. The feedback may be employed to confirm to a user that a gesture is being correctly recognized. The feedback may alternately warn a user that a desired gesture is not being correctly recognized, thereby allowing the user to cancel the erroneous gesture before it is invoked
US07886228B2

A method and system for digital story authoring, viewing and storing is described. A display showing an imported story track, an authored story track, and a story-in-progress track. Each story contains one or more objects. The display also shows a large photo corresponding to a selected object in a story. Furthermore, the display also provides visual forms showing audio clips associated with the large photo displayed. The photo may have more than one associated audio clips. Control buttons are available to navigate among the three tracks and among the objects on each track. Other control buttons allow a user to record audio clips and to author new stories.
US07886211B2

A memory controller includes a first calculation circuit configured to calculate an intermediate calculated value of an error correction code by using the head byte to a specified byte of a data in a process of calculating the error correction code for the data read from a memory, a data storage circuit configured to store the intermediate calculated value, a changing circuit configured to change data in a following part of the specified byte of the data, a second calculation circuit configured to calculate another error correction code by using the intermediate calculated value and the data in the following part including the changed data, and a data transferring circuit configured to transfer the changed data and the error correction code calculated in the second calculation circuit to the memory.
US07886207B1

An integrated circuit includes a plurality of logic circuits and a scan chain for testing the plurality of logic circuits. The plurality of logic circuits include the first and second logic circuits. The scan chain includes the first and second scan chain portions. The first scan chain portion is configured to test the first logic circuit based on a scan input test pattern applied thereto and output the first output test pattern. The second scan chain portion is configured to test the second logic circuit based on the first output test pattern and output the second output test pattern. A switching unit is provided to select and output one of the first output test pattern and the second output test pattern as a scan output test.
US07886204B2

A memory using techniques to extract the data content of its storage elements, when the distribution of stored states is degraded, is presented. If the distribution of stored states has degraded, secondary evaluations of the memory cells are performed using modified read conditions. Based upon the results of these supplemental evaluations, the memory device determines the read conditions at which to best decide the data stored.
US07886203B2

Disclosed herein is a method and system for interleaving and deinterleaving of data bits in wireless data communications. Interleaving is performed as a single stage parallel operation using a single standard memory block. The disclosed method and system is capable of implementing different interleaving techniques, individually, or as a combination thereof. The disclosed system comprises a plurality of multiplexers, a standard memory block, read and write buses, control block, and a lookup table. The contents of the lookup table are generated based on an interleaving function. The data bits from the input bus and bits from the read bus of the memory are inputted to the plurality of multiplexers. Based on the lookup table's contents the multiplexers are switched to parallelly permute the input data bits and read bits from the read bus. The permuted data bits are in an interleaved sequence.
US07886202B2

A computer-implemented method for tracking computer system events and user actions is provided. The method includes detecting one or more system events of a computing system and one or more user actions performed on the computing system. The method also includes recording at least one system event and at least one user action. Additionally, the method includes synchronizing the recordation of the at least one system event and the recordation of the at least one user action. The method further includes presenting to a user the recordation of at least one system event and the recordation of at least one user action.
US07886197B2

A device protection system for a device that operates using a replaceable component provided with a replaceable component, component monitor, and a means for disabling the replaceable component. The component monitor is provided with a storage unit, a sensing unit, a determination unit and a control unit that engages a disabling device for rendering the replaceable component inoperable in, or incompatible with, a device within which the replaceable component is intended to operate such as, an image forming device. In particular, the component monitors the temperature of an environment relating to the replaceable component that if exceeded, will affect performance of the replaceable component. The component will disable the disabling unit to protect the device.
US07886193B2

Software error feedback information, typically that associated with authorization failures due to operating system resource access checks, is automatically communicated to a software vendor with actions needed to prevent the software application error from occurring on the client computer. If possible, information associated with the software error is communicated to the client computer in order to mitigate the error by modifying how the client computer's operating system interacts with the software application so that the error may be avoided and user interaction minimized. Modifications may include automatically redirecting a resource request associated with the authorization failure in a manner such that authorization will be granted by the operating system and prevent the authorization failure due to the access check.
US07886186B2

In a storage system performing remote copy, when a failure occurs in a storage apparatus, optimum redundancy configuration is reestablished promptly. In the storage system performing remote copy, when a storage apparatus detects a failure in its disk drive, a storage apparatus capable of providing a logical unit that can be a replacement for the logical unit affected by the failure in the disk drive is searched for based on storage apparatus performance, and a redundancy configuration is reestablished using a new logical unit the found storage apparatus provides.
US07886180B2

Method, apparatus and computer program product for fault recovery in a distributed stateful publish-subscribe system. The system includes the capability of recovering from failures that may occur when a stateful publish-subscribe service is implemented on an overlay network. Such failures may include, for example, temporary crashes of broker machines, and network errors causing messages to possibly be lost, duplicated or delivered out of order. The system requires stable storage logging only when a published event enters the system, and requires that logged messages be retrieved from stable storage only in the event all brokers between a failed link or broker and the publishing sites have failed. The publish-subscribe system of the present invention does not require that broker-to-broker connections use reliable FIFO protocols, such as TCP/IP, but may advantageously use faster, less reliable protocols.
US07886177B2

Described within is a power management system for a computing platform that provides additional reductions in power consumption from that provided by only periodically putting the CPU or peripheral devices in low power non-operational states. In particular, the embodiment prevents the OS from generating an interrupt due to timer ticks while in a non-C0 state, until such time as a number of timer ticks have been gathered.
US07886175B1

A device may include a processor to execute a thread. The processor may be further configured to execute a set of wrappers that are called from within the thread to invoke a set of one-shot signal objects to generate delayed signals. Each of the set of wrappers may be configured to detect whether different ones of one-shot signal objects that were invoked from within the thread have generated signals at periodic time intervals, determine a delay to be used for invoking one of the set of one-shot signal objects, and invoke the one of the set of one-shot signal object to generate one of the delayed signals based on the delay when the different ones of one-shot signal objects have generated signals at periodic time intervals. The processor may be further configured to receive the delayed signals generated from the set of one-shot signal objects over a time period.
US07886171B2

A music reproducing device comprises an operating function unit and a reproducing function unit, wherein the reproducing function unit comprises an information notifying section for notifying the operating function unit of information of a piece of music to be reproduced, a notification controlling section for controlling the notification of the music information to the operating function unit by the information notifying section when the operating function unit is in an inactive state, and a memory section for temporarily memorizing the music information from the information notifying section when the operating function unit is in the inactive state, and the operating function unit comprises an information obtaining section for obtaining the music information from the memory section when the operating function unit recovers from the inactive state to an active state.
US07886167B2

For one disclosed embodiment, an apparatus comprises a load circuit having one or more memory devices, one or more temperature sensors to sense one or more temperatures for the load circuit, and supply voltage control circuitry to control supply voltage to be applied to the load circuit. The supply voltage control circuitry may vary the supply voltage based at least in part on one or more sensed temperatures when the load circuit is in an inactive state and may help retain one or more signals by one or more memory devices of the load circuit as the supply voltage is varied. Other embodiments are also disclosed.
US07886166B2

A user interface is visibly displayed on a display device operatively connected to a first computer. The user interface enables an end user to enter at least one energy management rule for each of a plurality of electrical loads at a location, each rule including a command to be transmitted to the electrical load associated with the rule if a condition is met. The energy management rules for each of the plurality of electrical loads are received by a second computer. An energy management profile containing the energy management rules for each of the plurality of electrical loads at the location is created and stored using a second computer. The energy management profile is activated using the second computer. For each of the energy management rules where the condition has been met, the command associated with the rule is transmitted to the electrical load associated with the rule.
US07886164B1

The present invention facilitates processor speed adjustments within acceptable temperature ranges. In one embodiment, a present invention system includes a temperature sensor that senses the temperature of the processor. When the temperature sensor senses the processor temperature approaching predetermined levels one or more adjustments are performed. For example, the adjustment can include automatically increasing or decreasing a voltage level in response to crossing a temperature threshold.
US07886159B2

A content provider 101 distributes a secure container 104 storing content data encrypted using content key data, content key data encrypted using distribution key data, and encrypted usage control policy data indicating the handling of the content data to a SAM 1051 of a user home network 103 etc. The SAM 1051, etc. decrypts the content data and usage control policy data stored in the secure container 104 and determines the purchase mode and usage mode and other handling of the content data based on said decrypted usage control policy data.
US07886157B2

The present invention discloses a system and methods for biometric security using hand geometry recognition biometrics in a transponder-reader system. The biometric security system also includes a hand geometry scan sensor that detects biometric samples and a device for verifying biometric samples. In one embodiment, the biometric security system includes a transponder configured with a hand geometry scan sensor. In another embodiment, the system includes a reader configured with a hand geometry scan sensor. In yet another embodiment, the present invention discloses methods for proffering and processing hand geometry scan samples to facilitate authorization of transactions.
US07886150B2

An embedded system or system on chip (SoC) includes a secure JTAG system and method to provide secure on-chip control, capture, and export of on chip information in an embedded environment to a probe. In one embodiment, the system comprises encryption logic associated with a JTAG subsystem and decryption logic in the probe for encrypted JTAG read traffic. Inverted encryption/decryption logic provides bi-directional encryption and decryption of JTAG traffic. Encrypted information includes both authentication of valid probe/target interface and encryption of debug data.
US07886148B2

Hijacking of an application is prevented by securing execution of a computer program on a computing system. Prior to execution of the computer program, the computer program is analyzed to identify permitted targets of all indirect transfers. An application-specific policy based on the permitted targets is created. When the program is executed on the computing system, the application-specific policy is enforced such that the program is prohibited from executing indirect transfer instructions that do not target one of the permitted targets.
US07886147B2

A method of secure file conversion is disclosed. The method includes storing a decrypted version of a previously encrypted file, the encryption and decryption occurring using public key infrastructure, in an allotted memory location of a memory for which read-only access to the stored decrypted file is provided. Next, the memory location is monitored for an attempt to access at least one memory location other than the allotted location. Finally, a file format of the stored decrypted file is converted, the conversion being aborted upon detecting attempt to access at least one memory location other than the allotted memory location. A converter is further disclosed.
US07886146B2

A system for and method of providing encrypted network communications is presented. The system and method involve creating encrypted frames used for secure communications between cooperating peers that are the same size as the original unencrypted frames. The system and method thus provide secure communications with essentially the same transmission characteristics as non-encrypted communications.
US07886143B2

An architecture and associated methods and devices are described that include a plurality of stages of cipher round logic, each stage configured to perform cryptographic processing of plaintext data in a counter mode and output ciphertext data, a plurality of multipliers, each multiplier configured to receive the ciphertext data output from at least one associated stage of the plurality of stages of cipher round logic and continue the cryptographic processing to output at least a portion of an integrity check value (ICV), and control logic configured to provide a selection between a first option of performing the cryptographic processing at a first data rate using a first number of the plurality of stages and a first number of the plurality of multipliers, and a second option of performing the cryptographic processing at a second data rate using a second number of the plurality of stages and a second number of the plurality of multipliers.
US07886142B2

A base station PDCCH (Packet Data Control Channel) apparatus for scrambling transmission packet data to prevent other terminals from recognizing the transmission packet data in a base station including a packet data channel device for transmitting packet data to a terminal and a packet data control channel device for transmitting control information needed for demodulation of the packet data to the terminal. In the apparatus, an encoder encodes the control information and generates a coded control information stream comprised of a stream of a plurality of bits. A scrambler generates a scrambling sequence using unique information known to only the terminal and the base station, and scrambles the coded control information stream with the scrambling sequence.
US07886132B2

A predication technique for out-of-order instruction processing provides efficient out-of-order execution with low hardware overhead. A special op-code demarks unified regions of program code that contain predicated instructions that depend on the resolution of a condition. Field(s) or operand(s) associated with the special op-code indicate the number of instructions that follow the op-code and also contain an indication of the association of each instruction with its corresponding conditional path. Each conditional register write in a region has a corresponding register write for each conditional path, with additional register writes inserted by the compiler if symmetry is not already present, forming a coupled set of register writes. Therefore, a unified instruction stream can be decoded and dispatched with the register writes all associated with the same re-name resource, and the conditional register write is resolved by executing the particular instruction specified by the resolved condition.
US07886129B2

A configurable coprocessor interface between a central processing unit (CPU) and a coprocessor is provided. The coprocessor interface has an instruction transfer signal group for transferring different instruction types from the CPU to the coprocessor, sequentially or in parallel, a busy signal group, for allowing the coprocessor to signal the CPU that it cannot receive a transfer of one or more of the different instruction types, and an instruction order signal group for indicating to the coprocessor a relative execution order for multiple instructions that are transferred in parallel. In addition, the coprocessor interface includes separate data transfer signal groups for data being transferred from the CPU to the coprocessor, and for data being transferred from the coprocessor to the CPU, along with a data order signal group for indicating a relative order of data (if transferred out-of-order). The interface further includes signal designations which allow for multiple issue groups between the CPU and one or more coprocessors.
US07886120B1

A method, system and computer program product for data backup such that: for each block of a storage device to be backed up to an image, generating a hash function value corresponding to contents of that block; generating a map of links between blocks in the image and corresponding blocks the storage device; using the hash function values to identify blocks of the storage device with identical contents, such that links for the blocks in the storage device with identical contents point to a single block in the image; and modifying the link in the map when a block in the storage is moved (for example, due to defragmentation) but its contents is not altered, so that the link points to the same backed up block.
US07886103B2

Embodiments of an I/O module, processing platform, and method for extending a memory interface are generally described herein. In some embodiments, the I/O module may be configured to operate in a memory module socket, such as a DIMM socket, to provide increased I/O functionality in a host system. Some system management bus address lines and some unused system clock signal lines may be reconfigured as serial data lines for serial data communications between the I/O module and a PCIe switch of the host system.
US07886102B2

Embodiments are generally directed to an apparatus for determining compatibility between devices. In one embodiment, a table including a module's parameters and rules associated therewith is obtained from a module. The rules are applied to a slot's parameters to determine the module's compatibility with the slot upon coupling to the slot.
US07886098B2

A data processing apparatus and method for generating access requests is provided. A bus master is provided which can operate either in a secure domain or a non-secure domain of the data processing apparatus, according to a signal received from external to the bus master. The signal is generated to be fixed during normal operation of the bus master. Control logic is provided which, when the bus master device is operating in a secure domain, is operable to generate a domain specifying signal associated with an access request generated by the bus master core indicating either secure or non-secure access, in dependence on either a default memory map or securely defined memory region descriptors. Thus, the bus master operating in a secure domain can generate both secure and non-secure accesses, without itself being able to switch between secure and non-secure operation.
US07886093B1

Disclosed herein is an electronic device network including a plurality of electronic devices. The electronic devices may each have update agents capable of selectively decompressing compressed code and/or compressed data segments. The update agents may also be adapted to employ the decompressed code and data segments in conjunction with additional update information to update the firmware and/or software, compressed or otherwise, resident in the electronic devices. An update generator may be adapted to employ compression and decompression techniques to extract compressed code and data segments from a plurality of memory images stored in the electronic devices. The update generator may also be adapted to process the extracted information and generate update packages using the decompressed code and data segments and the additional update information. The update generator may also be adapted to selectively compress the update information in generated update packages usable for updating the electronic devices.
US07886092B2

A keyboard includes a keyboard control circuit, a card reader unit, at least one universal serial bus (USB) interface, a switch, and a BLUETOOTH unit. The USB interface is capable of coupling to the card reader unit. The BLUETOOTH unit is selectively connected to the keyboard control circuit or the card reader unit via the switch.
US07886085B2

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique to improve the data transmission efficiency which allows correct reception of the data at the same time. A removable memory device that transmits/receives data to and from a host terminal, which includes: a clock reception section that receives a transmission/reception clock, which is used for transmitting/receiving data between the host terminal and the removable memory device, from the host terminal; a phase synchronization pattern generation section that generates a phase synchronization pattern, which is for adjusting a phase of internal reception clock which the host terminal incorporates for receiving data from the removable memory device, based on the transmission/reception clock; and a transmission section that transmits the generated phase synchronization pattern to the host terminal, and in which the phase synchronization pattern includes a first level signal which lasts for at least two cycles, and a second level signal which follows the first level signal and lasts for one cycle, is provided.
US07886083B2

A method for the synchronization of network neighbor reachability between a host networking stack and a peripheral device, which offloads one or more network protocols is provided. The network neighbor reachability represents the reachability of another computer on the network. This invention enables conventional neighbor reachability to be extended to seamlessly support some network connections to a specific remote host to be offloaded to a peripheral device, while other network connections are not.
US07886077B2

An intermediary infrastructure that facilitates the interconnection of multiple IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) networks. The interconnections may span one or more of the IMS logical planes Services Plane, Control Plane, and Network or Transport Plane. The intermediary offers among other things a process, routing, and switching complex that is able to among other things process incoming messages including using a comprehensive routing repository to complete message routing operations.
US07886072B2

Improved approaches for media listening amongst different users are disclosed. For example, methods, systems or computer program code can enable users to have a remote listening experience in real time. Advantageously, a remote user at a remote client device can in effect listen to a particular digital media asset that is being played at a local client device of a local user. Media information and/or user profiles can also be provided about themselves and shared with other users.
US07886071B2

A configuration is provided that performs retransmission control in accordance with a processing state in which playback of received data is performed or a processing state in which playback and recording of the received data is performed. When a communication processing apparatus receives streaming data, the communication processing apparatus is in one of the following two states: (1) a state in which “only playback” is performed, and (2) a state in which “playback and recording” are performed. The communication processing apparatus determines in which state it is and changes the way in which a retransmission request for a lost packet is sent on the basis of the determined state. According to such a configuration, when the communication processing apparatus performs only a playback process, a real-time playback can be achieved. When the communication processing apparatus performs a recording process, the integrity of recorded data can be improved.
US07886066B2

Disclosed are systems and methods for detecting unwanted electronic message transmissions on a communications network. These include establishing a database for storing metadata associated with message traffic according to at least the source addresses of the senders of electronic message transmissions. The disclosed principles also include monitoring electronic message transmissions at the certain location on the electronic communications network. Also, included is populating the database with metadata derived from analysis of the monitored electronic messages, where the metadata includes metadata derived by analyzing the contents of the monitored electronic messages. Based upon the populated database, it is determined whether certain received electronic messages are likely to be unwanted based on an examination of the metadata associated with the source addresses of the senders of the received electronic messages and based on the analysis of the content of monitored electronic messages at least in part without reference to a promulgated database of “signatures” of known unwanted electronic messages.
US07886062B2

At the time of exchanging routing information of a remote site, it is examined whether there is duplicated routing information, and when the duplicated routing information exists, an address conversion rule is generated. With this, when performing communication, address conversion is performed only for the communication to a site having a duplicated network address. In case of communication to a site having no duplicated network address, by performing IP communication intact, it becomes possible to omit unnecessary address conversion processing in a gateway. Also, when there is a duplicated address, by assigning a new network address which is not used in a site under a gateway to the duplicated address included in the routing information, and distributing the newly assigned address, it becomes possible to transmit a packet to a gateway appropriate to each destination, when there are a plurality of gateways in a subnet.
US07886059B2

An apparatus and method allows processing sequenced records across multiple network connections. A “logical connection” is defined to include one or more network connections. Each message is assigned a sequence number that allows the messages to be ordered on the other end according to sequence number, regardless of which network connection in the logical connection is used to transfer the message. By defining messages, sequencing those messages, and transferring the messages over multiple network connections, the throughput and performance of networked computer systems are substantially increased.
US07886056B2

A method and computer system for managing bandwidth in a content on demand service provided by a service provider to users. A request is received from a user to receive the content. If it is ascertained that a total number of users requesting the content within a predetermined time period is below a first specified threshold, then the user is connected to a unicast stream of the content. If it is ascertained that a total number of users requesting the content within a predetermined time period is not below a first specified threshold, then the user is connected to a first multicast stream of the content. A video carousel includes at least two multicast streams that contains the first multicast stream. Each multicast stream has been or will be initiated at a unique time slot of a time period that is equal to the time duration of the content.
US07886055B1

To perform resource allocation in a system having plural tiers, one of plural resource allocation algorithms is selected in response to determining, based on one or more conditions, which of the plural resource allocation algorithms to select. The selected resource allocation algorithm is used to allocate resources for the plural tiers of the system.
US07886054B1

A graphical user interface (GUI) is disclosed that allows a user to identify routers, communities, residents and media aggregation managers existing on a network. The user may interactively select a path that includes two media aggregation managers and at least one router. The GUI predicts scheduled bandwidth utilization along the selected path for a variety of residents wishing to communicate across the path. The GUI may be utilized for initializing all media aggregation managers on the network along with provisioning each of the routers on the selected path. The GUI provisions all of the routers and initializes all of the media aggregation managers on the selected path simultaneously in order to accomplish the predicted schedule of usage provided by the GUI to the user and force all communication packets communicated between the residents to travel along the selected path.
US07886052B2

Disclosed are a capability broker, a related messaging system and methods. The capability broker is placed in new network architecture between traffic proxies and enabler servers. The capability broker is equipped with a capability interface adapted to receive a capability request pertaining to a request of at least one capability. The capability broker is adapted to use one or more messages to obtain the requested at least one capability from one or more enabler servers responsive to receiving said capability request, and to provide a response to said capability request on the basis of the obtained capability.
US07886050B2

The present application is related methods to monitor a state of one or more components of a remote access server farm by an intermediary to distinguish between operating and functional components and improve farm availability for user application requests. The intermediary may be deployed between a client and the remote access server farm and forwards client requests to functional components of the remote access server farm.
US07886046B1

The present invention pertains to specifying, analyzing and evaluating systems such as distributed content distribution networks. Systems and methods are provided to predict how new deployments and changes to existing architectures will impact the networks. A network design may prepare a “what-if” scenario and the impact of this scenario may be predicted. Various tools are provided to determine relevant network variables and collect data about such variables, to learn what dependencies may exist among relevant variables, to prepare an input distribution and to output a predicted impact for the what-if scenario. Thus, a system designer is able to see a predicted impact that a network change or new deployment will have without having to resort to back of the envelope calculation or costly field deployments.
US07886036B2

A solution is provided for configuring a server farm (for example, to run a SAP application). The SAP application sets corresponding operational constraints for the server farm (defined by a required processing power and a required memory for the application instances and the DBMS instance of the SAP application). A mathematical model of the server farm is defined, so as to allow selecting the optimal configuration thereof that minimizes its total cost. For this purpose, the servers are chosen with a memory proportional to the corresponding power. More complex models are then provided for a high-reliability scenario, a scalability scenario, and a consolidation scenario.
US07886024B2

A method, computer readable medium, user component, and system for sharing media object in a network environment are disclosed. A network manager may determine a similarity metric between users of the environment, between media objects, and/or between a user and media objects. Based upon the similarity metric, the network manager may share media objects with another user if the similarity metric exceeds a predetermined value or is more similar than other retrieved media objects. A user component may also provide a network map manager to display a network map, and may provide a tailored view manager to display a web log associated with at least one of the user icons displayed in the network map.
US07886017B2

A method for controlling a computer is disclosed wherein one or more remote locations disposed on a network are accessed in response to accessing a product code. A first computer disposed on the network connects to a device for accessing the product code of a product by a user. The device is uniquely identified with a device distributor by a device identification number. A second computer disposed on the network is accessed in response to the user accessing the product code with the device, wherein a lookup operation is performed at the second computer to match the device identification number with the device distributor to obtain remote routing information of the one or remote locations. The remote routing information is returned from the second computer to the first computer in order to access the one or more remote locations disposed on the network. The one or more remote locations are accessed to return remote information to the first computer for presentation.
US07886009B2

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of gate keeping contact between a plurality of users is disclosed. The method includes: providing a central network to establish communication between the plurality of users; and each of the plurality of users having access to a facility to approve or disapprove of any of the plurality of users to permit communication between respective users.
US07886005B1

An e-mail system implemented on a server having a network connection receives and forwards e-mail messages based on subscriber-supplied criteria. When a message is received addressed to the subscriber, characteristics of the message, such as existence of and size of attachments, are compared to characteristics previously supplied by the subscriber. If a match is found, the subscriber is notified, such as by a page to a pager carried by the subscriber, of the message and the nature of the match. Facility is provided at the server for the subscriber to then call the server, log on, and provide instructions for forwarding the matched message. Forwarding may be to such as a hand-held device or a notebook computer operated by the subscriber, or to a mailbox or mailboxes on other servers, or any combination. A subscriber is then in control of points of delivery of incoming e-mail messages.
US07885997B2

If a program is to be transmitted/received by message transmission/reception using SOAP, the program description part goes out of the framework of XML, and the message contents contain an uninterpretable part. A SOAP message (M1) includes a data part (D1), a virtual service part (R1) indicating specifications to process the data part (D1), and a program part (P1). A server (S1) processes the data part (D1) by the specifications indicated by the virtual service part (R1) if the virtual service part (R1) in the SOAP message (M1) indicates the specification of processing to be executed by the instruction executed when executing the instruction contained in the program part (P1) of the SOAP message (M1).
US07885994B2

A computing system in which a user of a client system can continue with submission of an additional request while an application framework processes prior requests. In an embodiment, when a request is received, the resource requirements for processing the request are determined. If the resource requirements exceed a threshold, the request may be processed in the background. The user can continue issuing additional requests. After completion of processing of a request, the availability of the results may be notified in a pre-specified portion of a window from which the user is interacting with the application framework. The user may conveniently request the results by clicking on a portion of the displayed message.
US07885985B2

A system and associated method for building a datastore for storing and retrieving regression testing data for a complex application. The datastore receives a first input data, a first output data, a second input data, and a second output data. The datastore compares first input data to the second input data, modifying the first input data for use regression testing the complex application. The modified first input data is next used to regression test the complex application. The datastore receives the modified first output data from the complex application, comparing the modified first output data to the second output data. The datastore identifies discrepancies between the modified first output data and the second output data and sends a list of the discrepancies to an Application Expert.
US07885984B2

An editing device that replicates and edits data. The device includes a replication destination information display controlling unit that displays files and directories of a recording medium as a replication destination of the data in the figure on a display unit. A user can intuitively know data amounts of the files and directories of the recording medium as well as an available capacity of the recording medium as replication destination information. A replication unit executes planned replication and edition on the basis of the replication destination information displayed by the replication destination information display controlling unit.
US07885983B2

A computer readable medium includes executable instructions to define an individual publication schema for each heterogeneous source of a set of heterogeneous sources. Each individual publication schema specifies mapping rules between data from a heterogeneous source and a non-permanent structured instance of data. A non-permanent structured instance of data as defined by an individual publication schema is generated. An integration schema defining a set of integration rules for combining data from each non-permanent structured instance of data as defined by individual publication schema is established. A target non-permanent structured instance of data to include data from the plurality of heterogeneous sources based on at least one integration schema is formed.
US07885970B2

In an aggregated file system, metadata is partitioned into multiple metadata volumes. On receipt of a file processing request, a file switch examines its mount entry cache to identify a target metadata volume that hosts the metadata of the requested file. The identification begins with mount entries at a root volume and continues recursively by examining a portion of the absolute pathname of the file until the target metadata volume is identified. Finally, the file switch forwards the request to a metadata server managing the target metadata volume. Since the identification process is carried out completely within the file switch, there is no need for multiple expensive network accesses to different metadata servers.
US07885965B2

A markup language parser processes markup language data and provides processed data to an application. A reader is configured to tokenize the markup language data and store resulting tokens in a buffer associated with the reader. A scanner is configured to create string objects based on the tokens and to provide the created string objects to an application. The scanner is further configured to determine a need by the application for the string objects. For each at least some of the string objects created by the scanner, the scanner is configured to selectively create those string objects based on a determination of the need by the application for the string objects.
US07885960B2

In community mining based on core objects and affiliated objects, a set of core objects for a community of objects are identified from a plurality of objects. The community is expanded, based on the set of core objects, to include a set of affiliated objects. According to one aspect, a model of a community of objects is obtained by grouping a first collection of a plurality of objects into a center portion, and grouping a second collection of the plurality of objects into one or more concentric portions around the center portion. The groupings of the first and second collections of the objects are identified as the community of objects.
US07885951B1

A computer-related and/or business type method is presented for embedding one or more media hotspots within a digital media file and, in response to interaction from a separate target entity, such as via an associating request, associating one or more resultant actions with the media hotspot(s). In exchange for associating the one or more resultant actions with the media hotspot(s), an interactive media service entity being affiliated with a web site displaying the digital media file and/or a user being affiliated with the digital media file itself is compensated based upon at least one compensation plan.
US07885946B2

A storage control apparatus, in communication with a cluster of storage devices in a storage network having plural administrator systems, comprises a cluster lock requester component, a cluster lock receiver component and a configuration component, wherein, responsive to receipt of a cluster lock by said cluster lock receiver component, the configuration component is operable to configure a logical resource object within said cluster. The apparatus may also include a cluster lock granter component operable to grant a cluster lock to the cluster lock receiver component responsive to said cluster lock requester component. A method of operating a storage control apparatus includes method steps corresponding to functional components of an apparatus and may be embodied in computer program codes.
US07885941B2

Methods and apparatus for generating at least one output data set from at least one input data set for use in association with a data mining process are provided. First, data statistics are constructed from the at least one input data set. Then, an output data set is generated from the data statistics. The output data set differs from the input data set but maintains one or more correlations from within the input data set. The correlations may be the inherent correlations between different dimensions of a multidimensional input data set. A significant amount of information from the input data set may be hidden so that the privacy level of the data mining process may be increased.
US07885935B2

A peripheral device has a mounting portion and a storage unit. The mounting portion is configured to mount a removable storage. The storage unit is configured to store data. The reading out unit reads out specific information from the removable storage medium when the removable storage medium is mounted to the mounting portion. The deletion unit deletes at least part of the data in the storage unit based on the specific information read out by the reading out unit.
US07885933B2

An apparatus and system are disclosed for analyzing computer events recorded in a plurality of computer datasets. The apparatus includes a read module configured to access chronicle records in two datasets, an extraction module configured to extract a timestamp from each chronicle record, a generation module configured to generate a chronicle time indicator for each chronicle record based on the extracted timestamp, and a placement module configured to place the generated chronicle time indicator into the associated chronicle record. Typically, chronicle records in a first chronicle record have records with desired timestamp characteristics while chronicle records in a second dataset have chronicle records with incompatible timestamp characteristics. The apparatus and method generate the chronicle time indicator to be compatible with desired timestamp characteristics of the first dataset and place the generated chronicle time indicator in each incompatible chronicle record.
US07885930B2

The correspondence relationship between local paths in local namespaces for snapshots FS0-SNAP0, FS1-SNAP0, and FS2-SNAP0 of file systems FS0, FS1, and FS2 and global paths in a global namespace for those snapshots is defined so that the directory configuration in the global namespace of the snapshots FS0-SNAP0, FS1-SNAP0, and FS2-SNAP0 becomes the same as the directory configuration in the global namespace of the file systems FS0, FS1, and FS2.
US07885924B2

Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to online simulations. In one embodiment of the invention, a method for managing recorded data for an online simulation can be provided. The method can include determining that a first experience of a user of the online simulation shall be recorded. The method can further include generating a recording of the first experience and associating metadata with the recording. The method can further include reading metadata of a second experience of the user of the online simulation and determining that the metadata of the second experience matches the metadata of the first experience. The method can further include notifying the user that the recording is associated with the second experience.
US07885921B2

Methods, systems, computer program products and methods for deploying computing infrastructure for managing metadata in a storage subsystem are provided. A first metadata track is staged from disk storage to a cache storage after which a journal entry is stored in a nonvolatile storage (NVS). The journal entry includes an opcode and update data for the track. The opcode identifies the type of update to be performed and the number of tracks to be updated in the operation. Each of the other metadata tracks is staged and a corresponding journal entry stored. The journaled updates are then applied to the respective metadata track in the cache storage and the tracks destaged from cache to the disk storage.
US07885920B2

Computerization of experiment notebooks that satisfy requirements for experiment records and effective utilization of computerized experiment notebooks and experiment data are facilitated. A computer used by the experimenter comprises: a first means for displaying an experiment notebook form on the screen of a display unit and receiving description data for individual description items on the screen via input means; a second means for checking whether or not required description items are all filled with description data and storing such data; a third means for transmitting the experiment notebook data and experiment data to a management computer; a fourth means for allowing the management computer to integrally edit (by pasting) the experiment data with respect to the experiment notebook data, converting into experiment notebook data of a file format (PDF) for which only reference is allowed, and storing in an experiment notebook database; and a fifth means for storing the experiment data in an experiment data-database with the addition of link information associated with the experiment notebook data.
US07885912B1

Disclosed are computer systems with intelligent or autonomous decision systems which include means for determining relevancy, i.e., the threats to and opportunities of the autonomous decision system. Also disclosed are such autonomous decision systems using an efficient ontology to interact sociably with humans, including the use of natural languages and bonding. The desired “whether concrete is included in abstract” computation system is enhanced by the ontology system using categorizing of natural objects using as primitives a set of self tendencies suitable, when hierarchically assigned to objects, to do incremental simulation of “future” situations (including such objects) from a presented situation. Using such primitives and computation system, planning, learning, languaging, etc., are efficiently accomplished.
US07885906B2

Provided is a problem solving system. More specifically, the problem solving system provides an interface operable to receive user supplied input data, the input data having at least one user defined characteristic. The system provides an algorithm pool having a plurality of pre-defined algorithms, each algorithm having at least one associated algorithm characteristic. The system also provides a data source pool having at least one data source, each data source having at least one data characteristic. An algorithm selector is in communication with the interface, algorithm pool and data source pool. The algorithm selector operable to; receive the input data and review the at least one user defined characteristic; select at least one algorithm from the algorithm pool based on the at least one user defined characteristic and selected algorithm's algorithm characteristic; select at least one data source from the data source pool based on the at least one user defined characteristic indicating a need for additional data and the selected data source's data characteristic; and bundle the input data, the selected algorithm and data source as a job operation for execution by a job operation subsystem to obtain a result, and return the result to a designated party. An associated method of solving a problem with such a system is also provided.
US07885888B2

Various embodiments show a system for conducting an auction for a plurality of financially settled contracts: The system may comprise at least one processor. The at least one processor may be programmed to receive a plurality of first participant bids from a first participant and a plurality of second participant bids from a second participant. The at least one processor may also be programmed to match a batch of bids to create a plurality of awarded bids. The contracts may include, for example, an oil contract, a coal contract, a natural gas contract, an electricity contract, a weather contract, a weather-related events contract, a commodities contract, location specific service contracts (e.g., passenger contract and/or freight contracts).
US07885883B2

A system and method for accommodating financial risk calculations in a relational database schema is disclosed. The database schema scales to accommodate a variety of risk calculations by utilizing a name/value pair approach associated with a market factor. Risk calculation definitions are explicitly and unambiguously defined by associating risk numbers with market factors that have been perturbed while calculating them.
US07885882B1

A computer-based apparatus and method for the storing, matching and communicating of post-trade settlement information for securities trades among institutional investors, broker-dealers, agents and interested parties using an enhanced matching process. With the present invention the traditional sequence of communications for trade settlement involving notices of order execution, institution allocation instructions, confirmations and affirmations is replaced by a system which matches the notice of order execution and the institution allocation instruction across designated fields within these records. Upon generating a match between a notice of order execution (or the last of a series of notices of order execution) and an institution allocation instruction, the system and method of the present invention uses in an exemplary embodiment standing instructions, disclosures, calculations, default procedures and trade information from the settlement parties to generate either a matched affirmed confirmation or a matched confirmation to effect trade settlement.
US07885878B2

Systems and methods are provided for activating a payment account. The payment account is associated with two identifiers. A payment instrument is provided as having the two identifiers. A first identifier is read at a first point of sale device to activate the payment account. A second identifier is read by a radio frequency identification reader at a second point of sale device to access funds in the payment account. The first point of sale device may not be capable of reading the second identifier.
US07885872B2

A method and related system obtains consent from an individual for computer-aided delivery of compliance information. Initially, a computer-readable data storage device is provided to the individual. The device stores the compliance information and computer-executable instructions. By inserting the device into a computer, the instructions are executed and the individual is prompted by the computer to consent to the computer-aided delivery of additional compliance information. Once consent is indicated, it is communicated from the individual's computer to another computer such as a server over, for example, a modem connection. Having secured the individual's consent, the additional compliance information can be delivered to the individual's computer as, for example, a file attachment to an email message.
US07885867B2

A method and computer program product for facilitating supply chain processes in an outsourced manufacturing environment is provided. The method includes a customer focus team system providing logistical administrative services for a contract manufacturer on behalf of a manufacturing enterprise. The customer focus team is assigned to the contract manufacturer based upon geographic proximity. The logistical administrative services include facilitating transfer and replenishment of components needed during manufacture, ensuring ongoing inventory demand issues are addressed and resolved, and obtaining and providing metrics on outsourced supply chain parts and activities. The logistical administrative services also include assisting the contract manufacturer during shortfalls of supplies, collaborating with commodity team councils relating to acquisition of critical parts, and providing assistance on matters related to import, export, and tax issues. The method also includes a commodity council team assigned to a supplier based upon geographic proximity and providing logistical administrative support services to the supplier.
US07885865B2

A method for storing and organizing item arrangement information for an enterprise is provided. Standardized item arrangement maps are generated at the enterprise level and disseminated to stores within the enterprise. Managers create store maps consisting of compilations of the item arrangement maps provided by the enterprise. The resulting store maps define the arrangement of all items within the store. The store maps may be used in conjunction with an inventory system to order items and stock the store. Additionally, store maps may be used with a location information system to provide item location information to consumers.
US07885862B1

Requests are received for information about a first item or service. Second items (or products or services) are identified that are associated with the first item or category of the first item. The compatibility of the first and second items or services is determined. The customer is informed of the outcome of the determination and provided with information about additional, compatible items or services.
US07885858B2

Information handling systems are built to order with provisioned wireless wide area network (WWAN) service coordinated through a WWAN network provider as part of the manufacture of the information handling system. A WWAN component is built into the information handling system and then queried to retrieve a WWAN identifier, such as ESM or SIM information. The identifier is associated with end user information of the information handling system and formatted as a request for WWAN provisioning sent to a network service provider. The network service provider applies the WWAN identifier and end user information to contact the end user for setting up a WWAN account or, alternatively, to automatically set up a WWAN account for the end user.
US07885854B2

Disclosed is a method and system of using mentions/advertisements as a means to provide incentive or compensation for potential promoters to introduce end users to an offering entity, where mentions/advertisements for the benefit of the promoter are included in communications between the offering entity and end users. An additional function that enables promoters to send communications to the end users is disclosed as well.
US07885830B2

Insurance policy deductibles are managed by a plurality of interrelated tables each including a plurality of variables. The variables in a first table include a geographical variable, a transaction variable and an effective policy date variable. The variables in another table include additional geographic variables, structural characteristics, amount of insurance and provides controls for managing deductibles. The variables in a further table distinguish deductibles available to the policies. In an additional table, the variables identify movement from an old deductible to a new deductible.
US07885820B1

Expert system supported interactive product selection and recommendation. The invention assists an agent to interact with a customer and to provide selection and recommendation of available products and/or services that offer a workable solution for the customer. The invention allows for the use of agents of varying skill levels, including relatively low skill level, without suffering deleterious performance. From certain perspectives, an expert system employed using various aspects of the invention allows the agent to provide real time interaction with a customer and to provide a real time recommended solution to that customer. Many traditional approaches dealing in complex industries require that agent's have a high degree of skill and expertise. The invention allows even a novice agent to service a customer's needs without requiring a high skill level or up-front training that is often at the expense of the provider seeking to market its products and/or services.
US07885817B2

A dialog system training environment and method using text-to-speech (TTS) are provided. The only knowledge a designer requires is a simple specification of when the dialog system has failed or succeeded, and for any state of the dialog, a list of the possible actions the system can take.The training environment simulates a user using TTS varied at adjustable levels, a dialog action model of a dialog system responds to the produced utterance by trying out all possible actions until it has failed or succeeded. From the data accumulated in the training environment it is possible for the dialog action model to learn which states to go to when it observes the appropriate speech and dialog features so as to increase the likelihood of success. The data can also be used to improve the speech model.
US07885793B2

A method and system for developing a conceptual model to facilitate generating a business-aligned information technology (IT) solution. Requirements of the IT solution are defined. A conceptual model is developed by business and IT stakeholders. The conceptual model represents an IT solution design and includes systems, conceptual components and operational concepts. The conceptual components represent hardware components and software components of the IT solution. The operational concepts indicate interactions among the conceptual components that are needed to perform business functions. A computing system generates documentation of the conceptual model. The documentation is available and accessible to the business and IT stakeholders and includes documentation of the operational concepts. The architecture and design of the IT solution is developed along with related documentation.
US07885785B1

A position observer for control-based torque ripple mitigation in permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs). Rotor position is determined using data from two sources: a piezoelectric sensor for initial position and low-speed detection, and a single Hall-effect sensor for high-speed detection.
US07885768B2

A method and systems for locating a source of particles, molecules, or fragments of molecules using particle, molecule, or fragment of molecule reception rate is disclosed. According to the invention, the particle, molecule, or fragment of molecules diffusion parameters in the search space are determined and a lattice is designed on the search space. After having determined whether or not at least one particle, molecule, or fragment of molecule is detected by a sensor, a probability is computed for each node of said search space lattice. The probability associated to each node of the search space lattice corresponds to the probability that the particle, molecule, or fragment of molecule source is located on the node. Then, the move of the sensor is evaluated according to the entropy of the computed probabilities.
US07885760B2

A traffic monitoring system comprises memory for storing map data, a traffic report generating module that receives vector and location data from at least one of cellular phones and vehicles and that generates and transmits traffic reports based on the vector and location data. A map monitoring module includes a path determining module that determines a travel path of the at least one of the cellular phones and the vehicles based on the vector and location data, a comparing module that compares the travel path to roads defined by the map data, and an identifying module that selectively identifies new roads based on the comparison.
US07885758B2

A traffic monitoring system comprises a traffic estimating module that estimates an average traffic level on the road during prior ones of first periodic periods. A traffic monitoring module estimates a current traffic level on the road during a first portion of a current one of the first periodic periods based on vector and location information received from at least one of cellular phones and vehicles during the first portion. A traffic predicting module predicts traffic levels on the road during a remaining portion of the current one of the first periodic periods based on the average traffic level and the estimated current traffic level during the first portion.
US07885751B2

A driving support target braking/driving force is calculated by a driving support electronic controller, and transmitted to a first arbiter of a driving force control electronic controller. A vehicle driver requested target braking/driving force and the driving support target braking/driving force are arbitrated by the first arbiter, whereby a vehicle total target braking/driving force is calculated, and the vehicle total target braking/driving force is distributed to a vehicle target driving force and a vehicle target braking force by a braking/driving force distributor. A final target driving force is calculated by a second arbiter on the basis of the target driving force, and a driver requested braking force and the target braking force are arbitrated by an arbiter of a braking force control electronic controller, whereby a vehicle total target braking force is calculated.
US07885750B2

A method of controlling a vehicle includes determining a desired sideslip angle in the moving road plane, determining an actual sideslip angle in the moving road plane, a desired yaw rate in the moving road plane, and an actual yaw rate in the moving road plane. A controller controls the vehicle system in response to the desired slip angle, the actual sideslip angle, the desired yaw rate and the actual yaw rate in the moving road plane.
US07885728B2

A method for controlling a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in a wait mode, including: obtaining information regarding a waiting time required for a product to arrive at the apparatus on a production line, the product being subjected to a predetermined process by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus; obtaining information regarding a time required to control energy saving between lowering electric power and other energy used by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in the wait mode to a level at which the processing is not ready and raising the electric power and the other energy to a processable level at which the product processing is ready; and judging whether or not to execute the energy saving control of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus based on results of comparison of the required time with the waiting time and of estimation on an effect of energy saving obtained by executing the energy saving control during the waiting time.
US07885727B2

A robot apparatus, an information processing method and a program therefore are capable of notifying a user of the state of communication with an access point. A humanoid robot 5, which independently determines an action in accordance with an instruction from a user or a surrounding environment, communicates with an access point 2 based on IEEE 802.11b. For example, the robot 5 controls a household electrical appliance 4-1 through a network 3 and receives a command from a personal computer 4-2 over the network 3 to execute a predetermined process. The robot 5 measures the quality of communication with the access point 2 at regular intervals. When the communication quality of a predetermined level or lower is continued for a predetermined period, the robot 5 generates speech, e.g., “I cannot see the access point. What should I do?” and waits for an instruction from the user. When receiving an instruction from the user, the robot 5 takes an action according to the instruction.
US07885711B2

Apparatus (20) for treating a subject (30) suffering from spontaneous atrial fibrillation includes an electrode device (22), adapted to be coupled to a site of the subject (30) selected from the list consisting of: a vagus nerve (24) of the subject (30), an epicardial fat pad of the subject (30), a pulmonary vein of the subject (30), a carotid artery of the subject (30), a carotid sinus of the subject (30), a vena cava vein of the subject (30), and an internal jugular vein of the subject (30), and a control unit (32), adapted to drive the electrode device (22) to apply an electrical current to the site, and to configure the current to maintain the spontaneous AF for at least about 24 hours, so as to modify blood flow within the atria and reduce risk of thromboembolic events.
US07885709B2

This invention provides a method for treating a condition of a subject, comprising identifying the subject as suffering from heart failure; treating the heart failure by applying a stimulating current to parasympathetic nervous tissue of the subject, and configuring the stimulating current to change a level of protein expression of at least one NO synthase of the subject selected from the group consisting of: NOS-1, NOS-2, and NOS-3; and thereafter, measuring the level of the protein expression of at least one NO synthase, and evaluating an effectiveness of the current application by assessing at least one change in the level of the protein expression of at least one NO synthase.
US07885705B2

A system and method for use during hip surgery includes a position frame that is removably secured to the patient's femur. The system further includes a tracking unit and navigation engine that establish a pelvic coordinate system and, with the patient's leg placed in a predetermined orientation, capture the location of the femoral position frame within the pelvic coordinate system. The system further includes an image generator configured to display one or more images for directing the surgeon to return the patient's leg to the predetermined orientation following a trial reduction based upon the previously captured position. A leg change determination engine compares the current, post-reconstruction position of the femoral position tracking frame with the previously captured, pre-reconstruction position to derive leg length, offset, and anterior-posterior change values. The change values are then provided to the surgeon for evaluating the suitability of the trial reduction.
US07885699B2

An analyte monitor includes a sensor, a sensor control unit, and a display unit. The sensor has, for example, a substrate, a recessed channel formed in the substrate, and conductive material disposed in the recessed channel to form a working electrode. The sensor control unit typically has a housing adapted for placement on skin and is adapted to receive a portion of an electrochemical sensor. The sensor control unit also includes two or more conductive contacts disposed on the housing and configured for coupling to two or more contact pads on the sensor. A transmitter is disposed in the housing and coupled to the plurality of conductive contacts for transmitting data obtained using the sensor. The display unit has a receiver for receiving data transmitted by the transmitter of the sensor control unit and a display coupled to the receiver for displaying an indication of a level of an analyte. The analyte monitor may also be part of a drug delivery system to alter the level of the analyte based on the data obtained using the sensor.
US07885694B2

A mobile communication terminal includes a folder unit or a slider, where an input unit is located on or included on a surface of the folder unit or slider, and the input unit includes at least one function key that generates a scroll signal that is used to scroll through the content data stored in a memory.
US07885690B2

Methods for driving devices capable of displaying images and processing audio messages are provided. A representative method comprises: operating a device capable of displaying images and processing audio messages at a first operating frequency when the device is not processing audio messages; and operating the device at a second operating frequency higher than the first frequency when the device is processing audio messages.
US07885683B2

Aspects of a method and system for enabling simultaneous FM transmitter and FM receiver functions using an integrated Bluetooth Local Oscillator Generator (LOGEN). A Bluetooth® LOGEN may be utilized to generate Bluetooth® signal that comprise (I) and (Q) components for use in Bluetooth® communication. The Bluetooth® LOGEN may then be utilized by a DDFS to generate FM radio (I) and (Q) signals for FM radio reception. The Bluetooth® LOGEN may also be utilized by a second DDFS to generate FM radio (I) and (Q) signals for FM radio reception. The Bluetooth® signals may be kept at the same frequency, or reduced in frequency, for use in clocking the DDFS. A frequency word may also be utilized to clock the two DDFS. The outputs of each DDFS may be a constant frequency while the inputs to each DDFS may vary in frequency.
US07885680B2

A method for closed loop link adjustment based on a Request To Send-Clear To Send (RTS-CTS) channel access scheme includes the following steps. Designating a station as an originating station. Transmitting a RTS frame with predetermined transmit power from an originating station, prior to an intended DATA transmission, sounding the channel such that reception characteristics can be evaluated at a designated receiving station. Transmitting, in response to the originating station, a CTS frame with a predetermined transmit power from the receiving station with directives of link adjustments. Transmitting a DATA frame from the originating station to the receiving station frame complying with link adjustment directives to the extent of the originating stations capabilities. And, transmitting an acknowledge (ACK) frame in response to the originating stations from the receiving station indicating result of DATA frame reception.
US07885675B2

A method of providing a voice mailbox function in a PoC service, including: if the voice mailbox of at least one called user is to be connected in response to receiving a session establishment request from a calling user, determining whether the session corresponding to the session establishment request is a one-to-many session; and recording a message from the calling user through the voice mailbox if the session is a one-to-many session. The invention further discloses a method in a PoC service of notifying of a message in a voice mailbox, and a PoC service server.
US07885674B2

A method of and system to determine which channels are accessible by a communication device in a push-to-talk communication network are disclosed. The method may comprise sending an identifying network connectivity message to the communication device across a particular network channel, the identifying network connectivity message including an identification code. The method further comprises querying the communication device for the identification code to determine if the communication device successfully received the identifying network connectivity message, thereby to establish if the particular network channel is accessible by the communication device.
US07885671B2

A system and method for state synchronization between a base station and a mobile station in a mobile communication system. A count value indicative of a state change of the base station is received. The received current count value is compared with a previous count value previously received and stored. If the current count value is different from the previous count value, the mobile station performs a network entry procedure with the base station.
US07885662B2

A Radio Network Controller (RNC) is configured to send Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages to a mobile station using a selected downlink channel. Depending on the mobility rate of the mobile station, the RNC is configured to configure a signaling connection to use either a first downlink channel or a second downlink channel for transmitting the RRC messages. According to one embodiment, the RNC selects a dedicated channel when the mobile station has a high mobility rate, and selects a shared channel when the mobile station has a low mobility rate.
US07885660B2

A method for performing a soft handoff for a mobile station from a source base station to a target base station in an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) wireless network that is capable of communicating with a plurality of mobile stations in a coverage area of the OFDMA wireless network is provided. The method includes determining whether a relative delay between receipt of a source pilot signal from a source base station and receipt of a target pilot signal from a target base station is less than a downlink coherence time. When the relative delay is less than the downlink coherence time, the soft handoff is performed.
US07885659B2

A method for managing Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) communications within a local area network and a LAN-based UMA network controller are disclosed. The method includes monitoring packets received from a first UMA device connected to the local area network and detecting whether they represent a call between the first UMA device and a second UMA device. The method also includes determining whether the second UMA device is connected to the local area network. If the packets represent a call between the first and second UMA devices and the second UMA device is connected to the local area network, packets representing audio data are maintained within the local area network.
US07885658B2

The present invention provides a method of wireless telecommunication. The method includes accessing information indicative of a first mobile unit in response to a signal from the first mobile unit, accessing information indicative of at least one second mobile unit, and comparing the information indicative of the first and second mobile units. The method also includes establishing a call connection with the first mobile unit based on the comparison of the information indicative of the first and second mobile units.
US07885654B2

Systems, methods, computer software for providing access to wireless communication services are provided. The invention, in one embodiment, can involve storing a network address on a mobile device and sending a request for network operator data from the mobile device to a mobile virtual network operator server associated with the network address. In response, network operator data is received, and, based on the received network operator data, a network operator is selected. Communications are thereafter conducted using the selected network operator. In some situations, bids are received from multiple network operators for rates at which communication services using each network operator can be obtained. Preferences among the network operators are identified using the received bids, and the preferences are used to select the network operator for the mobile device to use in conducting communications.
US07885653B2

The present invention has operating section 3, provided on an opposing plane of lower chassis 200 that faces upper chassis 100 when folded; circuit plane 7, provided inside lower chassis 200; and spacer 5, provided between operating section 3 and circuit plane 7 and supported by a rib.
US07885650B2

A system and method for processing Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) in Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Wireless and Wired Communication. The ACM and MIMO system is connected with Infrared and with Radio Frequency Identification systems and sensors as well as with wired Fiber Optic Communication (FOC) and wireless cellular land based or satellite systems. A received Global Positioning System (GPS) signal is also used for processing and transmission in single or in cascaded communication systems. A modulator and transmitter which comprise cascaded hybrid systems, including a cascaded GSM or EDGE, of cascaded infrared (IR) or GSM or CDMA or TDMA or UMTS systems and contain Radio Frequency identification (RFID) signals or sensor or infrared signals.
US07885648B2

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for reporting conformance violations in web-services messages are described. A web message is received, and a location tag is assigned to at least a portion of the elements contained therein. The web message is analyzed to determine if any conformance violations are contained therein. When the web message contains at least one conformance violation, a descriptive entry is generated in a partial nonconformance report for each conformance violation, wherein the descriptive entry includes the location tag assigned to the element containing the conformance violation. The web message is annotated with the location tag for each conformance violation and merging the annotated web message with the partial nonconformance report to thereby produce a full nonconformance report, and an analyzed web message is output.
US07885647B2

A secure booting method for a mobile terminal comprising: checking configuration information stored in a non-volatile memory embedded in the mobile terminal to determine whether the configuration information is effective when the mobile terminal is booted, connecting the mobile terminal with a host to copy a downloader and a downloader certificate from the host when it is determined that the configuration information is not effective, performing authentication of the copied downloader using the downloader certificate and an authentication key stored in the mobile terminal, and downloading a program stored in the host to the non-volatile memory using the downloader when the downloader is authenticated.
US07885644B2

Some embodiments provide a method and apparatus for seamlessly providing the location of user equipment of a first communication network while accessing a second different communication network. The first and second communication networks may include licensed wireless networks, unlicensed wireless networks, or internet protocol (IP) networks, to name a few. Furthermore, some embodiments provide a civic address as the location information for identifying the location of the caller.
US07885641B2

A system and method are provided that incorporate subjects or subject lines into instant messaging sessions or conversations on a mobile device. During an instant messaging session, the user is provided with an option to specify a subject for at least the current portion of the session or for the entire session. The subject is proposed to the other users in the session, who can accept, ignore or modify the subject at their end. Multiple subjects can be specified for a single conversation if desired, and the subjects can be displayed with the contact in a message list. The instant messaging sessions may then be searched using search tools that are typically used for search email and other data messages.
US07885639B1

A method, system and computer-readable medium for authenticating a wireless access point is described. The method comprises upon initially connecting to the wireless access point, storing a first service set identifier associated with the wireless access point, storing a first media access control address for the wireless access point and associating the first media access control address for the wireless access point with the first service set identifier for the wireless access point. The system comprises a computing device for executing wireless security software wherein the wireless security software upon initial connection of the computing device to the wireless access point, stores a first service set identifier associated with the wireless access point, stores a first media access control address for the wireless access point and associates the first media access control address for the wireless access point with the first service set identifier for the wireless access point.
US07885636B2

The described embodiments of the present invention outline two solutions to the problems described above regarding simple IP data access for pre-paid subscribers. The first solutions includes a method for providing pre-paid simple IP data service to a subscriber in a network, including: sending an access request from a point of attachment in an access network capable of providing an IP network access to a home network remote authentication server which deploys a Pre-Paid Client (PPC) and receiving in the point of attachment an access request response from the home network remote authentication server. The second solution includes a method for providing pre-paid simple IP data service to a subscriber in a network, including: sending an access request from a Mobile Station (MS) which deploys a Pre-Paid Client (PPC) to a home network remote authentication server and receiving in the MS an access request response from the home network remote authentication server.
US07885633B2

A power line communication method for realizing data communication between at least one first or sending power line communication partner device and at least one second or receiving power line communication partner device. The method checks transmission conditions of a plurality of possible communication channels, thereby generating transmission condition data descriptive for the communication conditions of the respective possible communication channels. Additionally, communication conditions of the plurality of possible communication channels are selected as actual communication conditions based on the transmission condition data.
US07885632B2

A noise test measurement system configured to measure a noise component of a transmitted RF signal is described. The noise test measurement system may include an antenna, a low-noise amplifier, a local oscillator, a first coupler, a first variable phase-shifter, a first mixer, and a processor.
US07885630B2

A mobile wireless communications device includes a circuit board carried by a housing. A microprocessor, RF transceiver and circuitry are carried by the circuit board and operative with each other. Clock buffer circuitry is carried by the circuit board and connected to the RF transceiver and circuitry and microprocessor for isolating a clock signal from the noise of the microprocessor and allowing greater isolation for the RF transceiver from RF circuitry.
US07885625B2

Methods and apparatus to perform radio frequency (RF) analog-to-digital conversion are described. According to one example, a receiver includes an amplifier to amplify received analog RF signals and a mixer-free circuit for converting the received analog RF signals to digital signals.
US07885614B2

An antenna switch (31) that is arranged to alternately operate in a receive mode and a transmit mode, comprises adaptive filter (30). Herewith, signal processing means (Rx1, Rx2 and Rx3) can be coupled to an antenna (1) during the receive mode and be insulated from the antenna during the transmit mode.
US07885601B2

The present invention provides a radio node apparatus, a multi-hop radio system and a multi-hop radio system constructing method, capable of constructing a tree type multi-hop radio system in which mutual radio nodes determine a radio node which becomes a root node of a tree in an autonomous manner and the root node is set as a root in an autonomous manner. The radio node apparatus includes a storage unit for storing state information, used for constructing a multi-hop radio system, including information for specifying a root radio node apparatus positioned at a summit of the multi-hop radio system, with the radio node apparatus has a connection, and the number of hops from the root ratio node apparatus, a collection unit for collecting state information transmitted from surrounding radio node apparatus, and a selection unit for selecting a host connection-accepting radio node apparatus on the basis of the information for specifying the root radio node apparatus and the number of hops included in the collected state information.
US07885600B2

A radio frequency identification (RFID) system includes an RFID reader, an RFID tag, and a network connection module. The RFID reader includes a reader radio frequency (RF) bus transceiver. The network connection module includes a network connection RF bus transceiver, wherein the reader RF bus transceiver exchanges at least one of inbound RFID data and outbound RFID data with the network RF bus transceiver via an RF bus.
US07885597B2

An apparatus includes a tray, a sensor, and a transport mechanism. The tray holds a media stack. The transport mechanism moves the tray past the sensor to scan a side of the media stack.
US07885595B2

A lubricant applicator, which is included in a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus, includes a fur brush disposed downstream from a cleaning member in a direction of rotation of the image carrier that moves in the direction of rotation of the image carrier, scrape a solid lubricant disposed opposite to the image carrier while rotating, and apply powder scraped from the solid lubricant to the surface of the image carrier; a lubricant fixing member to fix the powder to the surface of the image carrier; and a first guide member disposed between the lubricant fixing member and the fur brush to convey the powder scattered from the fur brush to the surface of the image carrier.
US07885591B2

A low-heat loss, belt nip-type fixing device achieves good recording medium separation performance without increasing the size of the device, prevents image misalignment, and achieves a high-quality image without placing a major burden on the recording medium. This fixing device comprises a heat-fixing roller having an elastic layer and a heat source; and a pressurizing unit having an elastic member with a flat surface for pressing an endless member. The endless member conveys a recording medium, against the elastic layer. A pressurizing spring biases the elastic member toward the side of the recording medium. Biasing is carried out using the pressurizing spring such that the amount of deformation of the elastic member approaches the saturation region (maximum amount of deformation) inside a region of a nip portion, which is formed between the elastic layer of the heat-fixing roller and the endless member of pressurizing unit, and through which is passed a recording medium carrying an unfixed toner image.
US07885569B2

A heater operable with main and auxiliary power supply units. A controller selects a first mode to permit discharge of the auxiliary power supply unit when a voltage or power from the auxiliary power supply unit is a startable value or greater without making reference to judgment information, or a second mode to permit discharge of the auxiliary power supply unit based on the judgment information when the voltage or power from the auxiliary supply unit is less than the startable value.
US07885568B2

An image forming device that uses only one temperature sensor to detect temperatures of the recording sheet and a rotation member for fixing, and can perform the temperature adjustment control carefully in detail during the image forming operation. The CPU 61 performs the temperature adjustment control 1 by executing the temperature adjustment program 64b (step S109), then executes the paper passing judgment program 64a to judge whether or not paper is passing (step S110). As far as it judges that no paper is passing (NO in step S110), the CPU 61 continues to perform the temperature adjustment control 1 by executing the temperature adjustment program 64b. When it judges that paper is passing (YES in step S110), the CPU 61 performs the temperature adjustment control (step S112).
US07885567B2

A method and an apparatus to control power supplied to a heating roller and a phase control circuit corresponding to the method or the apparatus. The phase control circuit may include an examination unit to compare levels of a sine wave having a predetermined first period and a switching signal to increase and decrease repeatedly according to a predetermined second period, and a phase control signal generation unit to generate a phase control signal having a non-zero in intervals of time sections including a time when levels of the switching signal and the sine wave which is in a decreasing section are equal to each other during a time period when the level of the sine wave is zero, and a time when levels of the switching signal and the sine wave which is in an increasing section are equal to each other during a time period when the level of the sine wave is zero.
US07885563B2

A development apparatus is provided that can quickly form high quality printing material by steadily supplying developer charged and thinned to a uniform thickness and can also prevent the decrease in the quality of the printing material in a case where the developer carrier and developer supply unit are operated quickly. The toner supply roller is constructed in a manner using the elastic material with a hardness of HAF [degree] set to 20≦HAF≦80 measured by an Asker F-type and disposed in a manner such that the amount of push δ, defined as the amount pushed by the contact between the developer supply unit and the developer carrier, is 0.5 [mm] or below. In addition, toner supply bias voltage VS [V] applied to the toner supply roller has a frequency f [Hz] of 500≦f≦5000, and, with VSH and VSL as the peak values of the AC voltage component, fulfill the condition of 1≦|VSH−VD|/|VD−VSL≦5.
US07885559B2

A light amount measuring device, according to the present invention can include, a light-receiving sensor capable of outputting a voltage corresponding to an amount of incident light, an A/D converting portion capable of converting an input voltage into a digital value, a light amount calculating portion capable of calculating the amount of light incident on the light-receiving sensor on the basis of the digital value obtained by conversion by the A/D converting portion, a resistor connected between the A/D converting portion and the light-receiving sensor, a zener diode has one end connected between the A/D converting portion and the resistor, wherein the zener diode is capable of allowing a breakdown current flow from the one end to another end if an output voltage from the light-receiving sensor is not less than a predetermined value.
US07885555B2

An image forming apparatus includes a main body and a fixing unit, as well as first and second fixing unit attachment detection portions, each of which includes an optical sensor. The fixing unit is detachably attached to the main body, and includes a unit-side connector which connects with a main body-side connector when the fixing unit is attached to the main body to receive power. The first fixing unit attachment detection portion is at a different position on the main body from where the main body-side connector is located in a longitudinal direction of the fixing unit. The second fixing unit attachment detection portion is at a different position on the main body from where the main body-side connector is located and a position where the first fixing unit attachment detection portion is disposed in the longitudinal direction of the fixing unit.
US07885551B2

A terminal apparatus, a consumables residual quantity display program, and a recording medium are disclosed. The terminal apparatus, which is connected to a printing apparatus through a network, includes an acquisition unit for acquiring information about consumables of the printing apparatus from the printing apparatus; and a display controller for displaying the information about the consumables, which information is acquired by the acquisition unit, if the information of at least one item of the consumables fulfills a predetermined condition. The display controller may display a no-display specifying screen that prompts a user to specify whether a “no-display” mode should be activated, in which “no-display” mode, displaying the information about the consumables is stopped even if the predetermined condition is fulfilled when the information is to be acquired by the acquisition unit at a next time.
US07885543B2

A device determines a bandwidth demand for traffic provided between a line terminal (LT) and multiple optical network terminals (ONTs), and dynamically tunes, based on the determined bandwidth demand, one or more tunable filters provided in the LT and the multiple ONTs to one of balance the traffic, protect the traffic, or increase available bandwidth for the traffic.
US07885541B2

According to one aspect of the invention, an optical network including multiple optical network devices, or nodes, is provided. At each node, an optical performance monitor analyzes dispersion while a dispersion compensation module reduces the amount of dispersion in the signals. Information about the dispersion and the amount of compensation performed by the dispersion compensation module is generated by the optical performance monitor and stored in a memory. If the bit error rate of a particular path between nodes becomes too high, a new path is used. A monitoring computer then accesses the information about the dispersion stored in at least one node of the old path. The information allows a user to determine where along the path the greatest amount of dispersion is occurring.
US07885535B2

Methods and systems for estimating the amount of visible light in a light source using an image sensor, e.g., such as an image sensor of the type commonly found in color video cameras. The methods and systems may be implemented to use information about the normalized differences of three color components contained in a light source in conjunction with a measure of total light energy of the light source in order to estimate the amount of visible light present in light received by the image sensor from a light source.
US07885532B2

An image sensing method and image sensing apparatus, including a subject detection unit and a flash unit, are provided. The method includes a first detection step of detecting a subject from image data obtained during preparation for main image sensing, a second detection step of detecting a subject based on reflected light data obtained during pre-flash after an instruction to begin main image sensing, a step of setting a flash illumination area based on a comparison result between a first proportion of the subject detected in the first detection step within a subject area in which the subject exists and a second proportion of the subject detected in the second detection step within the subject area, a step of calculating a flash illumination amount based on the set flash illumination area, and a step of controlling the flash unit during main image sensing based on the calculated flash illumination amount.
US07885531B2

A photographing method, medium, and apparatus based on face detection in a portable camera. The portable photographing apparatus may include an image input unit that receives an image, a face detection unit that detects a face from the received image, a storage unit that stores the image detected by the face detection unit as a moving image in a first mode, and a quality evaluation unit that evaluates the quality of the image detected by the face detection unit and stores the same as a still image in a second mode upon satisfaction of predetermined conditions evaluated based on the quality evaluation of the still image.
US07885530B1

One embodiment of a manual focus driving ring comprised of two base rings (10 and 11), each having a through-hole near their edge (20 and 21), roll pins (17) conjoining the base rings, a pressure mount ring (16) adhered to the inner surface of the base rings, or a threaded mount ring (24), either of which frictionally secures the manual focus driving ring to the camcorder body (25). A sliding ring (12) is sandwiched between the base rings and slides along their outer surface of the base rings. An extension rod (13) with a gear (14) or friction-driven o-ring (23) is inserted into the through-hole in the base rings, and is rotationally driven by the sliding ring's inner surface, and a flanged tube (15) on the outer tip of the extension rod that acts as a focus driver and rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the sliding ring.
US07885524B2

A photographic apparatus comprises a movable platform, a translational movement switch, a rotational movement switch, and a controller. The movable platform has an imager, and is movable and rotatable in an xy plane. The translational movement switch is for selecting ON/OFF states of a translational movement including a first stabilization and a second stabilization. The first stabilization moves the movable platform in the x direction for correcting hand shake caused by yaw. The second stabilization moves the movable platform in the y direction for correcting hand shake caused by pitch. The rotational movement switch is for selecting ON/OFF states of a rotational movement that rotates the movable platform in the xy plane. The controller controls the movable platform for the translational movement on the basis of the state of the translational movement switch, and the rotational movement on the basis of the state of the rotational movement switch.
US07885520B2

A dual heater element for heating a liquid for use in a vending apparatus is provided. The heater element includes two elements. A first heating element is operable for use at a conventional first operating voltage or range (e.g., 120 VAC) while a separate second heating element is operable for use with a conventional second operating voltage or range (e.g., 230 VAC). A first pair of terminals coupled to the first heating element and a second pair of terminals coupled to the second heating element are selectively and/or interchangeably connected to a pair of line voltage terminals. The configuration of the line voltage electrical system and the use of a heater element with dual elements each operating (normal operation) at different voltages or voltage ranges allows the vending apparatus to be manufactured without variation in components and enables dual voltage source operation for two different line voltages (e.g., line voltage supply is either 120 VAC or 230 VAC).
US07885518B2

A recording control device records a program to be reserved for recording on the basis of reservation information including recording start time information indicating a time, at which recording starts, and recording end time information indicating a time, at which recording ends. The recording control device includes a setting unit that, when it is judged that the program is not recorded after recording is reserved, sets the same time as the time, indicated by the recording start time information, at which recording starts, in the recording end time information of the reservation information for recording the program; and a recording control unit that, when the time, indicated by the recording start time information, at which recording starts, is the same as the time, indicated by the recording end time information, at which recording ends, controls recording of the program such that recording of the program is suppressed.
US07885511B2

A recording/reproducing apparatus includes an operating section having dual functions depending on being in an image capture mode or in a reproduction mode respectively. While one of the recording mode and the reproduction mode is being carried out, in response to start of the other mode, a controlling function of the operating section is switched to the function of the other mode, and in response to the completion of the other mode, the function of the operating section is switched to the function of the one mode.
US07885501B2

A highly flexible water-proof, rodent-proof cable, comprising an optically or electrically conductive center region, a layer of a yarn of high tensile strength and water blocking properties overlying the center region, a layer of soft annealed steel wires in the form of a braid overlying the yarn layer, and an outer jacket of a polymeric material overlying the steel-wire layer.
US07885495B2

With the light-emitting side focal point F1 of a three-dimensional elliptical reflecting body A being on the side of a rotating body, the light-receiving side focal point F2 being on the side of a fixed body, the condensing action from the F1 to F2 is used to configure an optical path from a rotating-side light-emitting element A set at F1, via a fixed-side elliptical partial mirror in which a portion of the three-dimensional elliptical body is used as a mirror face, to a fixed-side light-receiving element A set at F2, and to configure a simultaneous bidirectional single-channel optical path from a fixed-side light-emitting element A set at F1 of a three-dimensional elliptical reflecting body B, via a rotating-side elliptical partial mirror, to a rotating-side light-receiving element A set at F2.
US07885489B2

An image pickup apparatus includes an element-including optical system, a detector, and a converter. The element-including optical system has an optical system and an optical wavefront modulation element which modulates an optical transfer function. The detector picks up an object image that passes through the optical system and the optical wavefront modulation element. The converter generates an image signal with a smaller blur than that of a signal of a blurred object image output from the detector by performing a filtering process of the optical transfer function to improve a contrast. A focal position of the element-including optical system is set by moving the element-including optical system to the focal position which is corresponding to a predetermined object distance using a contrast of the object based on the image signal.
US07885485B2

An image signal processor for processing an input image signal to output an output image signal includes an input unit receiving the input image signal, a noise removal unit removing noise from the input image signal, and a scaler reducing, maintaining or magnifying the image size of the input image signal. The scaler directly receives the input image signal from the input unit or the noise removal unit in response to a route control signal, reduces the image size of the input image signal when the image size of the input image signal is larger than the image size of the output image signal and stores the image signal with a reduced image size in a memory. The scaler maintains or magnifies the image size of the image signal stored in the memory and outputs the image signal with a maintained or magnified image size as the output image signal.
US07885475B2

A motion adaptive image processing apparatus includes a classifier to classify a current field of a sequence of in put fields into one or more class regions, a calculator to calculate a variance based on pixel values of pixels located in a predetermined region around a certain pixel of the current field, a threshold calculator to calculate a maximum variance and a minimum variance which are pre-set according to the one or more class regions, the threshold calculator calculating a threshold based on the calculated maximum variance and the minimum variance, a motion calculator to calculate a motion change of an image using a previous field and a next field of the current field in the sequence of the input fields, and a weight calculator to calculate the weight to be applied to the certain pixel based on the calculated threshold and the calculated motion change of the image.
US07885470B2

Embodiments of the invention are directed toward methods for steganalysis that improve the detection of steganography in texture images. The methods combine features extracted from the image spatial representation and from a block discrete cosine transform (BDCT) representation with multiple different block sizes (i.e., N×N) to improve detection of data hidden in texture images. Image data that is to undergo steganalysis can be provided to embodiments of the invention in at least one of spatial (pixel) and JPEG format. When JPEG format is provided, the image is first decompressed to spatial representation, from which the features are extracted when the block size is at least one 2×2, 4×4, and 16×16. When the block size is 8×8, the JPEG coefficients (JPEG quantized 8×8 BDCT coefficients) derived directly from the JPEG image are used to extract features. In addition, the method is also effective as a universal steganalyzer for both texture and smooth/non-texture images. Embodiments of the invention also (1) utilize moments of 1-D and 2-D characteristic functions; (2) Prediction-error; and (3) all wavelet subbands including the low-low subbands.
US07885464B2

A handwriting recognition apparatus is disclosed. In one embodiment the apparatus comprises an input device having a handwriting input area and configured to input a plurality of strokes constructing a plurality of characters written successively on the handwriting input area, and a recognition device configured to recognize the characters based on the strokes input by the input device, shapes of the strokes constructing two characters which are written successively and positional relations between or among the strokes constructing the two characters, whenever one stroke is input by the input device.
US07885455B2

A method of producing an enhanced Active Appearance Model (AAM) by combining images of multiple resolutions is described herein. The method generally includes processing a plurality of images each having image landmarks and each image having an original resolution level. The images are down-sampled into multiple scales of reduced resolution levels. The AAM is trained for each image at each reduced resolution level, thereby creating a multi-resolution AAM. An enhancement technique is then used to refine the image landmarks for training the AAM at the original resolution level. The landmarks for training the AAM at each level of reduced resolution is obtained by scaling the landmarks used at the original resolution level by a ratio in accordance with the multiple scales.
US07885451B1

Various systems, methods and computer-readable media with computer-executable instructions are disclosed that display negotiable instruments derived from various sources. For example, a bank member can draft a check and have that check displayed at his banking institution. Additionally, this bank member can also display any other checks that the member has received. In fact, any check that is either credited or debited from the member's account can appear as a digital image for inspection by the member. Furthermore, any images of checks residing at other banking institutions can be synchronized with the member's institution to amount to a one-stop warehouse for digital images of negotiable instruments for inspection by the member, no matter from where these negotiable instruments may originate.
US07885449B2

A method for recognizing an object in an image is disclosed wherein a fractal map of the image is generated by estimating the fractal dimension of each pixel in the image. The fractal map may be segmented by thresholding and locations of candidate objects are determined. The pixel value of the image pixel corresponding to the same location where the candidate object is found in the fractal map may be compared to a threshold value. If the pixel value is greater than the threshold value, the candidate object is recognized as a valid object.
US07885443B2

Methods, systems, and computer program products for facilitating temporal comparison of medical images is provided, with one exemplary application being for breast mammograms. In one embodiment, prior and subsequent mammographic images of a breast acquired using at least partially different mammogram acquisition systems are displayed for simultaneous viewing on a same mammogram display at an identical tissue distance per unit display distance without requiring a scale-adjusting viewer input. Also described are other embodiments for optimally scaling, windowing and/or otherwise advantageously processing and/or displaying prior and subsequent mammographic image sets in manners that facilitate temporal comparison therebetween.
US07885439B2

An identification information creation apparatus and method capable of improving reliability in an identification process. A prescribed number or fewer isolated pixels are eliminated as condition noises from a binarized image created from images obtained by imaging blood vessels unique to a body, and identification information is created based on the blood vessels of the resultant noise-free binarized image. This can reduce a possibility of creating the identification information with the condition noises as a part of the blood vessels, thus making it possible to prevent the identification information from deteriorating due to different imaging conditions and physiologic change of imaging target and thus improving reliability in the identification process.
US07885438B2

A method for automated analysis of textural differences present on an image volume. The image volume includes a plurality of volume elements, and each volume element has a gray level. The method includes defining a volume of interest (VOI); performing texture measures within the VOI; and classifying the VOI as belonging to a tissue pathology class based upon the texture measures. Computer readable media encoded with computer readable instructions for carrying out these functions. An apparatus that includes an image input adapted to receive a diagnostic medical image. The image includes a plurality of pixels, and each pixel has a particular gray level. The apparatus also includes a display for displaying a graphical user interface and the received image; and a processor adapted to perform texture measures on one or more groups of pixels within the image and classify each group of pixels to a tissue pathology class based upon the textures measures. The processor is further adapted to (1) associate a color to each group of pixels indicative of the group's tissue pathology class, (2) cause the display to display one or more of the colors on the image at the location of the associated group or groups of pixels, (3) permit a user to manually associate a tissue pathology class to a group of pixels, and (4) cause the display to display the manually-associated tissue pathology class.
US07885431B2

An apparatus and a method for controlling an operation of an information processing device using movement data of the information processing device or a peripheral device are provided. An operation configuration variable set value for performing a predetermined function of the information processing device is changed according to movement data of the information processing device or the peripheral device detected by a movement detecting unit. After that, a predetermined function provided by the information processing device is automatically enabled or disabled, so that power consumption of a battery is minimized and user convenience in using the information processing device is enhanced.
US07885427B2

A system and method are provided for facilitating the playing of a watermarked video having the “birthday problem”. Consumers send the problem disc to an authorization center where the disc is analyzed to determine if it is a legitimate disc. The authorization center generates a digital certificate uniquely associated with the disc and with the video and embeds the digital certificate into the disc. The digital certificate will cause a video player to play the video without checking for the watermark.
US07885425B2

An electrodynamic electroacoustic transducer comprises: a first magnetic pole; a second magnetic pole that forms a magnetic gap between itself and the first magnetic pole and is arranged in a space excluding spaces in upper and lower face directions of the first magnetic pole; a yoke; a diaphragm; and a voice coil. The yoke magnetically couples one magnetic pole face of the first magnetic pole with one magnetic pole face of the second magnetic pole so as to support them. The diaphragm is arranged in a space in an upper face direction of the first magnetic pole and in a space in a lower face direction of the second magnetic pole, while its outer periphery is supported by the yoke. The voice coil is arranged in the magnetic gap and adhered to the diaphragm. At least one of the first magnetic pole part and the second magnetic pole part includes a magnet.
US07885416B2

If a hearing device user has become accustomed to the tone of a hearing device, it is difficult for him to change over to a new hearing device, since this normally possesses a different tone. Therefore, given a treatment with a second or subsequent device, the settings of the old hearing device can be acquired with a computer-controlled event and be considered in a first adjustment given the adaptation of the new hearing device. The new setting then results from the audiometric measurements, the data of the previous device, and if necessary further data. The tone of the new device is thus approximated to the old device.
US07885415B2

The present application relates to a sound reduction device as well as to a corresponding method. The sound reduction device comprises a sound pickup for measuring an occurring error signal of a primary sound wave of the noise source and of a secondary sound wave of a narrow-band electroacoustic transducer. This error signal may be transmitted to a control unit, which receives a reference signal of the noise source and generates a control signal which is adapted to change the mechanical values of the electroacoustic transducer.
US07885412B2

Generic session keys are pre-generated and stored in a pool of session keys for later use in communicating within a communications environment. The session keys that are stored in the pool are pre-encrypted with the private key of the entity storing those keys. To communicate between entities, a pre-encrypted session key is extracted from the pool and then further encrypted with the destination entity's public key to ensure data integrity and data confidentiality. The encrypted key is then forwarded to the destination entity and used during communications between the two entities.
US07885405B1

One embodiment is a system adapted to encrypt one or more packets of plaintext data in cipher-block chaining (CBC) mode. The system includes a plurality of digital logic components connected in series, where respective components are operative to process one or more rounds of a block cipher algorithm. A plurality of N bit registers are respectively coupled to the plurality of digital logic components. An XOR component receives blocks of plaintext data and blocks of ciphertext data, and XORs blocks of plaintext data for respective plaintext packets with previously encrypted blocks of ciphertext data for those plaintext packets. The XOR component iteratively feeds the XOR'd blocks of data into a first of the plurality of the digital logic components. In addition, a circuit component is operative to selectively pass blocks of ciphertext data fed back from an output of a final logic component to the XOR component.
US07885401B1

The present invention is directed to systems and methods for providing an accurate forecast of resource availability within a determined forecast horizon. Statistics regarding time spent by resources in tasks that can be differentiated into or considered as a number of discrete segments are accessed to obtain a probability of resource completion of the task within the forecast horizon. In particular, statistics related to different task segments are combined to obtain a composite forecast of resource availability. Embodiments of the present invention may be applied to predictive dialer applications and workflow systems.
US07885393B1

A call control system comprises an interface configured to receive from a caller a session request for an information service, and a processing system configured to determine a location of the caller, select a format for the information service from a plurality of formats based on the location of the caller, and generate a session setup message for the information service indicating the selected format. The interface is further configured to transmit the session setup message to the information service.
US07885391B2

A system and method for call center dialog management is disclosed. The method discloses: presenting a contact with a first call center dialog segment having a current call center dialog property; receiving from the contact a contact dialog segment; identifying a dialog property keyword within the contact dialog segment; replacing the current call center dialog property with a new call center dialog property in response to the dialog property keyword; and presenting a second call center dialog segment having the new call center dialog property to the contact. The system of the present invention, discloses means for implementing the method.
US07885389B2

The provision of subscriber service features is one of the tasks of exchanges in classic TDM networks. This includes e.g., announcements and interactive responses. According to the prior art, these announcements and interactive responses are either provided by peripheral devices of the exchange which are equipped with the appropriate function or by external announcement and interactive response systems. The latter are provided either in TDM networks with proprietary interfaces or in packet networks with standardized interfaces. The invention solves the problem of providing the service for classic TDM networks by providing that the known packet-based method for controlling an external system for providing announcements and interactive responses is transferred to an exchange located in the classical TDM network. In particular, this enables the protocol used to control the external announcement and interactive response system, which was originally standardized as a signalling protocol for controlling a media gateway, to be used.
US07885388B2

A system and method for initiating and realizing communication via a multi-mode system is disclosed. The method and system include realizing a preferred mode of communication. A signal indicating the preferred mode of communication is transmitted and followed by a response signal in the preferred mode. In response, the multi-mode system is adapted to provide for communication in the preferred mode.
US07885380B2

A volumetric image of a space is acquired from an imaging system. The space includes an object of interest and another object, and the volumetric image includes data representing the object of interest and the other object. A two-dimensional radiograph of the space is acquired from the imaging system. The two-dimensional radiograph of the space includes data representing the object of interest and the other object. The two-dimensional radiograph and the volumetric image are compared at the imaging system. A two-dimensional image is generated based on the comparison. The generated two-dimensional image includes the object of interest and excludes the other object.
US07885376B2

An X-ray CT apparatus comprises a rotating part, a fixed frame and a stand. The rotating part mounts an X-ray tube and a detector. The fixed frame supports the rotating part. The stand settled to a floor supports the fixed frame. The stand includes a lower member, supporters and a fixing member. The lower member is settled to the floor. Each of the supporters settled to the lower member supports each side of the fixed frame. The fixing member fixes a lower part of the fixed frame with the lower member.
US07885368B2

Disclosed are embodiments of a phase control circuit with an analog phase controller that is able to effectively generate control signals for all four quadrants of phase control operation.
US07885367B2

An object of the present invention is to provide a DLL circuit adjustment system that can adjust the sampling timing of a DLL circuit without causing any increase of the number of interface signals or amount of coding overhead and any reduction of the data transfer efficiency. On a transmitter side, an ECC generating section adds an error detection/correction code to transmission data and outputs the transmission data with the error detection/correction code. Of output channels of the transmission data from the ECC generating section, a data bit associated with the DLL circuit to be adjusted is replaced with a sampling timing adjustment pattern using a to-be-adjusted channel selection circuit and a selector, and the resulting transmission data is transmitted to a receiver side. On the receiver side, the transmission data is received via a DLL circuit provided for each channel of the received transmission data, and an error detecting/correcting section corrects any error in the output of each DLL circuit, thereby forming received data. In this way, normal data transfer can be maintained while adjusting the sampling timing of each DLL circuit.
US07885363B2

A correlation device and method for different modulated signals such as BPSK signal and BOC signal. According to the present invention, the correlation device has one or more sections. Each section comprises a correlation unit for executing correlation; a first signal path for passing a received signal directly to the correlation unit; a second signal path for transferring a BOC signal into a BPSK-like signal and passing the signal to the correlation unit. The correlation unit has a multiplexer for selecting to allow an output of one of the first and second signal paths to be subject to signal correlation. The correlation results of the respective sections can be combined.
US07885361B2

An embodiment of the present invention provides a system for detecting a phase-shifted signal at high frequencies in data and clock recovery circuitry. An up-pulse generator, in one embodiment, provides output pulses having a duration exceeding the duration of input pulses upon detection of a phase-shifted signal leading the reference signal. A down-pulse generator provides output pulses having a duration exceeding the duration of input pulses upon detection of a phase-shifted signal lagging the reference signal.
US07885359B2

A method, algorithm, circuits, and/or systems for amplitude shift keying (ASK) modulation are disclosed. In one embodiment, a sampling demodulator includes a comparator configured to compare an ASK modulated input to a predetermined voltage level and provide a comparison result, a pulse stretcher with a sampler configured to sample the comparison result a plurality of times for each of a plurality of cycles of the ASK modulated input to generate a bit stream and digital logic configured to determine a value for each data bit in the ASK modulated input from the bit stream, and a digital filter configured to filter an output of the digital logic, thereby providing a demodulated signal.
US07885350B1

A signaling approach using block repetition and phase ramping that is robust and enables multi-user communication with higher order modulations over multipath channels, coupled to a receiving approach in the time domain that utilizes phase de-ramping, block averaging and equalization.
US07885334B2

A method and apparatus are provided for coding or decoding an image comprising macro-blocks which are distributed in lines and columns. The processing of at least one given macro-block requires the pre-processing of at least one other macro-block on which said dependent macro-block depends. Moreover, the macro-blocks are processed sequentially line by line or column by column. Processing of the macro-blocks is multithreaded over N processors, N≧2. The image is separated into N vertical bands each comprising a plurality of lines and at least one column of macro-blocks if the macro-block is processed sequentially line by line, or into N horizontal bands each comprising a plurality of columns and at least one line of macro-blocks if the macro-block is processed sequentially column by column. One of the N bands is processed by each processor, and the processing operations performed by the N processors is synchronized.
US07885333B2

A video encoding apparatus comprises a frame memory/predictive image generator having a first predictive mode for generating a predictive image signal by selecting a combination from among a plurality combinations of a reference image number and a plurality of predictive parameters, and a second predictive mode for generating a predictive image signal according to a predictive parameter computed based on reference image numbers of reference images and an image-to-image distance, and a variable-length encoder to select one of the first and second prediction modes by the number of reference images, and encode orthogonal transformation coefficient information concerning a predictive error signal of a predictive image signal with respect to input video signal, mode information indicating an encoding mode, motion vector information and combination of selected reference image number with predictive parameter index information indicating combination of selected reference image information.
US07885332B2

A video encoding apparatus comprises a frame memory/predictive image generator having a first predictive mode for generating a predictive image signal by selecting a combination from among a plurality combinations of a reference image number and a plurality of predictive parameters, and a second predictive mode for generating a predictive image signal according to a predictive parameter computed based on reference image numbers of reference images and an image-to-image distance, and a variable-length encoder to select one of the first and second prediction modes by the number of reference images, and encode orthogonal transformation coefficient information concerning a predictive error signal of a predictive image signal with respect to input video signal, mode information indicating an encoding mode, motion vector information and combination of selected reference image number with predictive parameter index information indicating combination of selected reference image information.
US07885329B2

In relation to search positions within a search range determined with a reference image block located in the same position as a standard block of interest, correlation computation is performed by parallel processing under a pipeline method through use of a plurality of correlation computing units. A correlation extreme value is searched while the center position is sequentially moved on the basis of a predetermined search position setting standard according to the result of correlation computation. Further, sub-sampled image data for a plurality of channels corresponding to the search positions are retained in system memory for a plurality of channels, and correlation computation is performed in connection with search positions through parallel processing under a pipeline method through use of the plurality of correlation computing units.
US07885322B2

A jitter measuring circuit that is capable of measuring the amount of clock jitter and the amount of logic circuit delay jitter separately is provided. The jitter measuring circuit comprises a variable logic delaying section, a data holding section and a controller. The data holding section outputs predetermined data whenever a delay time of the variable logic delaying section is within a time period equivalent to one clock cycle. While the controller changes a delay time of the variable logic delaying section, it observes whether the data holding section outputs expected data and finds a marginal delay time which represents the amount of jitter. If the jitter measuring circuit operates on a power supply without power supply noise, the measured jitter has component of the clock signal only, and if it operates on a power supply with power supply noise, the jitter contains components of the clock signal plus the logic delay time variation.
US07885321B2

Disclosed are a system, method and device for negotiating a data transmission mode over an attachment unit interface (DDI). A data transceiver circuit may be coupled to one or more data lanes of the DDI. A negotiation section may receive a link pulse signal on at least one data lane in the DDI during a negotiation period and selectively configure the data transceiver to transmit and receive data on one or more data lanes according to a data transmission mode based upon the received link pulse signal.
US07885315B2

The specification and drawings present a new method, system, apparatus and software product for pilot scrambling using a scrambling code (e.g., pseudo-noise code such as a Gold code, a Kasami code, a Hadamard code, m-sequences, etc.) in communication systems, e.g., for wireless communications. The sector/cell specific scrambling codes are mapped to the multiple pilot symbols within, e.g., an SCH (synchronization channel) repetition period. This improves receiver performance on a sector edge and/or a cell edge in, e.g., tight-frequency re-use applications.
US07885299B2

The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser apparatus having a structure for preventing the corrosion of a refrigerant flow path in a heat sink and for cooling a semiconductor laser array stably over a long period of time. The semiconductor laser apparatus comprises a semiconductor laser stack in which a plurality of semiconductor laser units are stacked, a refrigerant supplier, a piping for connecting these components, and a refrigerant flowing through these components. The refrigerant supplier supplies the refrigerant to the semiconductor laser stack. The refrigerant is comprised of fluorocarbon. Each of the semiconductor laser units is constituted by a pair of a semiconductor laser array and a heat sink. The heat sink has a refrigerant flow path.
US07885296B2

Disclosed are, inter alia, methods, apparatus, data structures, computer-readable media, mechanisms, and means for maintaining consistency among timestamp counters distributed among multiple devices. When timestamp counters are distributed among multiple physical devices, variances in their timestamp values can occur, such as, but not limited to those cause by variances among clocks in these different devices, different routing delays, different components, etc. These differences may be same, but still not allow high enough precision, especially as packet and processing rates continue to increase (which also causes clocking rates of devices to increase). One implementation distributes a time advance signal to each of these devices, which each device independently uses to determine when to advance its timestamp counter in response to its clock signal. These timestamps may be generated according to IEEE 1588 Standard for a Precision Clock Synchronization Protocol for Networked Measurement and Control Systems; and/or Physical Layer Transceivers (PHYs) may be disposed in each of the different physical devices.
US07885290B2

A communication terminal apparatus receives a management signal at a bit rate A and a data signal at a bit rate B (B>A) through the same line, and includes a band limiting unit, a signal regenerating unit, a timing controlling unit, and a data signal obtaining unit. The band limiting unit limits a band. The signal regenerating unit regenerates a signal having the bit rate A or the bit rate B. The timing controlling unit controls timing for obtaining a data signal based on a signal having the bit rate A. The timing controlling unit controls the band limiting unit to limit the band on receipt of the management signal and to lessen band limitation on receipt of the data signal. The data signal obtaining unit obtains the data signal from a signal having the bit rate B according to the timing control.
US07885286B2

An IP network includes a network resource manager having a resource utilization map adapted to manage network resources in an IP network and an application framework having elements for receiving a request for a multicast distribution from a client in the IP network, and elements for requesting network resources from a network resource manager for a Media Quick Start, to start the requested multicast distribution. Further, the network resource manager includes elements for providing the application framework with feedback information relating to network resource availability from the network resource manager, and the application framework includes elements for receiving the feedback information and elements for allowing the Media Quick start or to use another behavior to start the requested multicast distribution based on the received feedback information.
US07885285B2

A probabilistic method of determining a second vehicle in the VANET to which a packet is to be forwarded from a first vehicle is provided. The method includes determining the second vehicle to forward the packet from the first vehicle based on pre-calculated expected latency data corresponding to the second vehicle, and forwarding the packet from the first vehicle to the determined second vehicle. The expected latency data is indicative of the latency expected for communication of the packet from the first vehicle to the destination if the packet is forwarded from the first vehicle to the second vehicle, and is calculated in advance of the step of the determining the second vehicle to forward the packet. The second vehicle to forward the packet may also be determined based on pre-calculated communication probability data corresponding to the second vehicle in addition to the pre-calculated expected latency.
US07885284B2

A method of communicating information between an intermediate element and a source element in a message-based communications system is provided where request and response messages being are sent via an intermediate element arranged to forward the messages to the appropriate element The method includes, at the intermediate element: prior to forwarding a received request message: determining the presence, in the received request message, of an indication of the information to be communicated and where present, adding a temporary identifier associated with the intermediate element to the message in such a way that the temporary identifier is included in the corresponding response message; and prior to forwarding a received response message: determining the presence of a temporary identifier associated with the intermediate element and, where present, replacing the temporary identifier with the information to be communicated to the source element.
US07885283B2

An apparatus for connecting storage devices including a storage unit that stores connected-device-management information in which first device identification information of a first storage device is associated with second device identification information of a second storage device, the first storage device being connected to the apparatus when the network was constructed, the second storage device being currently connected to the apparatus instead of the first storage device, a receiving unit that, upon receiving data from the storage device currently connected, converts the second device identification information set in received data to the first device identification information based on the connected-device-management information stored in the storage unit, and a transmitting unit that, when transmitting data to the storage device currently connected, transmits the data after converting the first device identification information set in the data to the second device identification information based on the connected-device-management information stored in the storage unit.
US07885278B2

This invention discloses a method for connecting a media stream, which includes: transmitting, by a media gateway in a private network, a connecting message to an external network device through a network address translation device; the connecting message is used for generating a new address mapping, which is used for a subsequent media stream to pass through the network address translation device, in the network address translation device when there is no address mapping available in the network address translation device; and the connecting message is used for keeping alive an address mapping when the address mapping is already available in the network address translation device. The invention further discloses a system for connecting a media stream, two methods for detecting connectivity, and a system for detecting connectivity.
US07885273B2

A method and a system for converting the service types of the devices connected to a control gateway are provided. The system includes a server, an open platform, a control gateway and devices connected to the control gateway. Wherein, the device possesses device description information and is operated in a first device service type; the control gateway is electrically coupled between the open platform and the device, holds or obtains the device description information of the device and delivers the device description information to the open platform; the server provides a plurality of device service contents. The open platform further according to the device description information obtains the device service content corresponding to the device from the server and registers the device service content in the open platform.
US07885272B2

A communication device, such as a telephone or a personal computer, controls one or more remotely controlled devices solely over a signaling path, without necessarily establishing an audio path, thus eliminating the need for the remotely controlled device, or its controller, to include DTMF detection hardware or software or an RTP stack. The communication device can include authentication information, which the communication device uses to authenticate itself to the remotely controlled device, so a user of the communication device can remotely control the device without necessarily entering additional authentication information, such as a passcode. The remotely controlled device (or a controller that controls the device) can register with an element that detects user interactions, such as keypad button presses, with the communication device. The registration can identify one or more patterns of user input. If the element detects the specified pattern of user input in a user interaction with the communication device, the element notifies the remotely controlled device (or the controller). Optionally, other application servers can also register with the element to be notified if the user enters the same or a different pattern of input in a user interaction with the communication device.
US07885265B2

A transmission control method for uplink user data in a mobile communication system in which a plurality of HARQ processes is applied to the uplink user data, includes: classifying, at the radio network controller, each HARQ process into any of a scheduled transmission process, a non-scheduled transmission process, or a scheduled and non-scheduled transmission process in which either of the scheduled transmission or the non-scheduled transmission is performed; notifying, at the radio network controller, the classification result to the mobile station; and transmitting, at the mobile station, the uplink user data in each HARQ process to the radio base station using the scheduled transmission or the non-scheduled transmission, based on the notified classification result.
US07885262B2

A method for resource admission control process, an Access-Resource and Admission Control Function entity and a Service-based Policy Decision Function entity, wherein the method includes: sending an Admission Request message, which carries the current media stream address information, to an Access-Resource and Admission Control Function entity (A-RACF) in an originating home network from a Service-based Policy Decision Function entity (SPDF) when the SPDF successfully configures an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) connection for a Core Border Gateway Function entity (C-BGF) in the originating home network; and performing a resource admission control process for a corresponding media stream by the A-RACF according to the received Admission Request message. With the method of the present invention, the resource admission control process performed by the A-RACF on the media stream may become meaningful.
US07885259B2

Disclosed are, inter alia, methods, apparatus, computer-readable media, mechanisms, and means for deterministically determining MPLS labels as functions of addresses of Forwarding Equivalence Classes (FECs), and using these determined labels in the forwarding of packets. By each packet switching device in a network deterministically determining the same MPLS label to use for each FEC, each packet switching device knows what label will be used by the other packet switching devices, without running Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) or another label publishing protocol. Additionally, this knowledge extends to all packet switching devices in a network, not merely neighboring packet switching devices, which allows a packet switching device to specify a stack of labels to define a desired path through the network for explicit path routing and/or fast rerouting of traffic without having to previously establish a tunnel or path using Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP), for example.
US07885258B2

Disclosed is a packet switch equipment and a band control method using same. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a number of packets are sampled by using a packet sampling function provided by a packet switch chip, and the sampled packets are transmitted to a CPU. By using the transmitted sample packets, the total amount of bandwidth used by a corresponding user is estimated based on the source MAC address or the source IP address. If the estimated value exceeds a predetermined threshold, a bandwidth limitation function is applied to the user that is providing packets that exceed the bandwidth. A number of users can be dynamically recognized even when they are undefined, and a dynamic bandwidth limitation function is performed by tracking the bandwidth used by a corresponding user.
US07885256B1

System and method for discovering Storage Area Network (SAN) fabrics and mapping switches to the fabrics. Embodiments may collect switch information from one or more sources and examine the collected switch information to determine interconnections among the switches. From this information, one or more SAN fabrics of which the switches are components may be determined, and the switches mapped to the SAN fabrics of which they are components. Embodiments may use an out-of-band protocol such as SNMP to collect switch information for all switches that can be discovered, either from individual switches or from a central switch management server, and then traverse the switch information to construct a map of how the switches are connected. From the map, one or more SAN fabrics, and which switches are connected in the same fabric(s), may be determined.
US07885252B2

A source IP telephone inputs, from its numeric keypad, a telephone number of a call destination and obtains, from an ENUM server, a NAPTR record of the destination IP telephone based upon the input telephone number of the call destination. By referring to a search table, the source IP telephone retrieves, from the obtained NAPTR record, an available specific number in the ascending order of call rates from the lowest based upon communication services available to the source IP telephone. The source IP telephone transmits a call to the destination IP telephone by using the retrieved specific number.
US07885241B2

LCCH steal receiving is done by a receiving unit which uses TDMA method without overloading to the control processor. A UW detecting unit 10 for detecting a UW by setting a UW expected value for control channel according to a timing signal TM3 from a LCCH timing unit 30, a frame timing unit 20 for outputting a frame timing signal TM1 of the frame according to a UW detecting signal DET, the LCCH timing unit 30 for outputting a timing signal TM3 for the UW detecting unit 10 and a timing signal TM5 for a PLL control unit 40 by counting the timing signal TM1, and the PLL control unit 40 for selecting and outputting a channel setting signal CH for a PLL2 according to the timing signal TM5 are all configured by hardware circuits. By the above configuration, the LCCH steal receiving becomes possible without software operations of the receiving units.
US07885236B2

A method of performing a handover with at least one of a homogeneous and heterogeneous network is disclosed. More specifically, the method comprises establishing a heterogeneous network handover module for converging information from the at least one network interface module associated with the at least one of a homogeneous and heterogeneous network into a unified presentation and receiving a message for powering on at least one network interface module in a mobile terminal from the heterogeneous network handover module. The method further comprises performing a power on operation for activating the at least one network interface module and transmitting a confirmation message for indicating a power on operation status to the heterogeneous network handover module.
US07885232B2

A method of operating a mobile communication terminal for a handover rejection in a portable Internet system and the mobile communication terminal using the same are disclosed. The method includes transmitting a handover request message to a serving base station and receiving a response message corresponding to the handover request message from the serving base station, in which the handover request message requests a handover operation to at least one target base station. The method also includes checking whether the received response message includes contents regarding the handover rejection, extracting at least one of terminal action instruction information and rejection reason information corresponding to the handover rejection from the response message according to a result of the checking step, and executing an action according to the extracted information.
US07885231B2

A method of communicating information in a wireless mobile communication system is disclosed. More specifically, the method includes a network for establishing handover management modules in a source network and a target network and transmitting a handover request message from the handover management module of the source network to the handover management module of the target network. Furthermore, the network is used for receiving a handover response message from the handover management module of the target network to the handover management module of the source network, wherein the handover response message includes an internet protocol address information and transmitting a handover confirmation message from the handover management module of the source network to a mobile terminal, wherein the handover confirmation message includes the internet protocol address information.
US07885225B2

A wireless base station for transmitting a data packet to a plurality of mobile stations through a downlink shared channel determines two powers to be allocated to the downlink shared channel using two large and small transmission power margins. The wireless base station carries out a step of relating a first transmission format, which applies a phase modulation or a phase-amplitude modulation to a data packet to be transmitted by an allocation power corresponding to the larger margin, to the mobile stations and a step of relating a second transmission format, which applies only the phase modulation to the data packet to be transmitted using the allocation power corresponding to the other margin, to the mobile stations, compares the total numbers of bits to be transmitted by the respective transmission formats, and transmits the data packet by the transmission format corresponding to a larger value. With this operation, the communication fault of an HSDPA due to the transmission power margins can be prevented.
US07885217B2

According to one embodiment of the invention, a method comprises determining whether a non-unicast message is to be transmitted by a transmitting device, which may involve a setting a Delivery Traffic Indicator Map (DTIM) Interval value to reflect a longer periodicity than associated with a Listen Interval. After such determination, the non-unicast message may be converted into one or more unicast messages for transmission.
US07885208B2

A mechanism for providing a connection from an IP-based network to a circuit-switched network, such as a GSM network is disclosed. A temporary routing number for the circuit-switched network, such as an E.164 number, is delivered to a user terminal, and a circuit-switched call leg is established from the user terminal to the IP-based network using the routing number. Thereby, IMS-services are provided for end users which are located in the radio access network not having sufficient QoS required for voice over IP. In the example of a conference call service, a request for a conference call may forwarded via a data channel or data path to an application server which provides that conference call service. The application server then selects a conference routing number and returns the routing number to the conference host terminal via the data channel. Using the received conference routing number, the conference host terminal can then set up a circuit-switched connection as a call leg of the conference call.
US07885207B2

Methods and systems are provided for provisioning and managing network-based virtual private networks (VPNs). According to one embodiment, virtual routers (VRs) distributed among service processing switches are provisioned by a service management system (SMS) to support network-based customer virtual private networks (VPNs) by generating a routing configuration based on (i) site reachability information for the service processing switches and (ii) a global customer routing profile for at least one customer. A custom routing profile is received by the SMS from a customer network management system (CNMS), the custom routing profile identifies one or more routing protocols to be used for one or more segments of a network-based customer VPN. The network-based customer VPN is reconfigured by the SMS generating appropriate routing configurations for VRs partitioned to the customer based on a subset of the site reachability information associated with sites of the customer and the custom routing profile.
US07885206B2

A system and method to visually navigate hierarchical data groups are provided. If a user wishes to graphically view network traffic data for a particular business group of network nodes, a network topology navigation tool may be provided to display to the user such information that is relevant to the selected business group and the corresponding hierarchy level. The user may also be permitted to access more detailed connection information through appropriate drill-downs.
US07885196B2

A loop communication system includes a plurality of communication devices, each of which holds an identification data assigned to the communication device, and has a single port used for transmission and reception of a data packet for a transmission data, and which are connected by using the ports to constitute a port synchronization type network of a loop structure. The data packet from each of the plurality of communication devices is transferred on the network of the loop structure in one direction.
US07885179B1

A method of constructing a repair path around a non-available component in a data communications network is described. The data communications network has, as components, nodes and links therebetween defining a network topology. The non-available component is a member of a shared risk group of components commonly renderable non-available. The method comprises the step, performed at a repairing node, of identifying as a repair target a neighbour component of the non-available component. The method further comprises the step of constructing a repair network topology omitting the shared risk group. The method further comprises the step of constructing a repair path to the repair target in the repair topology.
US07885172B2

Compatibility information embedded in an optical medium modifies actions allowed by predetermined non-compatible optical disc drives on the optical medium, such as optical disc drives that may suffer damage if certain actions are performed on the optical medium. For instance, a compatibility engine of the optical disc drive applies compatibility information read from an optical medium to determine restrictions to impose on the use of the optical medium, such as restricting the optical disc drive from writing to the optical medium, reading from the optical medium or performing any operations until an update to the optical disc drive firmware is performed either automatically or by display of a compatibility user interface at an information handling system associated with the optical disc drive. In one embodiment, the compatibility information identifies incompatible optical disc drives and firmware versions by unique identifiers.
US07885171B2

An information storage medium according to the present invention has n information storage layers (where n is an integer and n≧3), on which data can be written with a laser beam and which are stacked one upon the other. Each of the n storage layers has a test write zone for determining the recording power of the laser beam. When those n layers are counted from the one that is located most distant from the surface of the medium on which the laser beam is incident, there is a bigger radial location difference between the outer peripheral end of the inner one of the test write zones of ith and (i+1)th information storage layers (where i is an integer that satisfies 2≦i≦n−1) and the inner peripheral end of the other outer test write zone than between the outer peripheral end of the inner one of the test write zones of jth and (j+1)th information storage layers (where j is an integer that satisfies 1≦j≦i−1) and the inner peripheral end of the other outer test write zone.
US07885169B2

An electric field sensor includes a substrate having a low resistive semiconductor layer doped with a high-density dopant as the top layer of the substrate, a high resistive semiconductor layer doped with a low-density dopant, the high resistive semiconductor layer located at a partial area on the low resistive semiconductor layer, and a conductive layer located on the high resistive semiconductor layer, wherein a change of an electric field is detected by a change of a current flowing through the low resistive semiconductor layer, the high resistive semiconductor layer, and the conductive layer.
US07885151B1

A servo accelerator for an optical drive includes input and output (I/O) terminals that receive an input signal from a processor of the optical drive. An error circuit generates an error signal based on a sensed characteristic of a laser beam. A compensation circuit generates a compensation signal based on the input signal and the error signal. A servo output adjusts the sensed characteristic of the laser beam based on the compensation signal.
US07885149B2

A disk carrier device for carrying an optical disk having a plate in the center, which plate is capable of being attracted by a magnetic force, is disclosed. The disclosed disk carrier device includes an attracting unit including a permanent magnet that attracts and thereby holds the plate; and a holding mechanism configured to detachably hold the attracting unit.
US07885134B2

The present invention provides a refresh controller for embedded DRAM, configured to receive an external access signal and generate refresh enabling signal REFN, refresh address signal CRA and confliction signal, said embedded DRAM comprising a plurality of memory groups, said controller comprising: a status controlling module that generates refresh enabling signal REFN and last refresh signal last_ccr according to the refresh interval and clock cycles; a refresh searching module that searches in said plurality of memory bank groups for at least one memory bank group that is to be refreshed in the refresh interval, and generates refresh address signal CRA according to the external access signal and the searched memory bank group; a scoreboard module that records the status of each of said plurality of memory bank groups according to said refresh address signal CRA and external access signal; and a confliction detecting module that generates confliction signal according to said external access signal, last refresh signal last_ccr and the status of each of said memory banks. A corresponding refresh controlling method is also provided in the present invention.
US07885122B2

A flash-based programmable integrated circuit includes programmable circuitry, a flash memory array coupled to the programmable circuitry for configuring it, flash programming circuitry for programming the flash memory array, and an on-chip intelligence, such as a microcontroller or state machine, coupled to the programming circuitry to program the flash memory from off-chip data supplied via an I/O pad, or to refresh the data stored in the flash memory to prevent it from degrading.
US07885110B2

Systems, methods, and memory device with row lines and column lines arranged in a matrix configuration with a memory cell coupled to one of the column lines and one of the row lines. The memory cell includes a storage capacitor with a first plate coupled to a storage node, a CMOS-compatible non-volatile storage element having a node coupled to the storage node and configured to hold a charge corresponding to a binary value, and an access transistor coupled to the storage node. The access transistor includes a word line gate, a first node, and a second node, the word line gate being coupled to the one of the plurality of row lines, the first node being coupled to the one of the plurality of column lines, the second node being coupled to the storage node and to said node of the CMOS-compatible non-volatile storage element.
US07885109B2

Memories with low power consumption and methods for suppressing current leakage of a memory. The memory cell of the memory has a storage element and a transistor coupled in series. The invention sets a voltage across the transistor approaching to zero when the memory is not been accessed.
US07885090B1

Aspects of the disclosure provide a CAM module that can be used independent of a defective entry line. The CAM module can include at least a CAM array having at least X CAM entry lines, and an additional CAM entry line. Each CAM entry line may include a selection line for enabling the CAM entry line for writing and/or reading and an entry output for indicating matching to a search key. Further, the CAM module can include a decoder unit that can decode an address to enable one out of X word-lines, and an encoder unit that can encode X matching outputs to a matching address according to a predetermined priority sequence. Additionally, the CAM module can include a switching unit coupling the CAM array with the decoder unit and the encoder unit. The switching unit can select X CAM entry lines from the X+1 CAM entry lines based on a defective status of the CAM array; correspond the X word-lines of the decoder unit to the selection lines of the selected X CAM entry lines; and correspond the entry outputs of the selected X CAM entry lines to the X matching outputs of the encoder unit.
US07885087B2

A modularized active power filter includes a control module and at least one power module. The control module automatically identifies the number of parallel connected power modules and generates one set of PWM signals to correspondingly control the parallel connected power modules, so as to provide a final compensation current by a single power module or by plural power modules. Thereby, the compensation demand of a load is met. Consequently, the modularized active power filter is able to improve flexibility of compensation capacity, to shorten the time for service, to be suitable for mass production, and to lower the manufacturing cost.
US07885086B2

The present invention relates to a forward converter with self-driven synchronous rectifiers, which utilizes a secondary driving winding and a secondary driving circuit to drive the synchronous rectifiers in the secondary power loop. The secondary driving circuit, which is composed of a level shifter and a signal distributor, can shift the voltage waveform across the secondary driving winding by a predetermined level and distribute proper driving signals to the synchronous rectifiers to reduce the rectifier conduction loss. Specially, the channel of the freewheeling synchronous rectifier still can be turned on during the dead interval to further reduce the body diode conduction loss.
US07885067B2

A heat radiation structure of an electronic component of the present invention includes a main board mounted with electronic components, an upper side heat sink disposed opposite to a top face of the main board, a lower side heat sink disposed opposite to a second face of the main board, and a cooling fan connected to the upper side heat sink and the lower side heat sink.
US07885066B2

A front-to-back cooling system allows cooling of an apparatus containing two orthogonal sets of modules. A vertical set of modules is cooled with vertical air flow across the modules that enters from a front of the apparatus and exits from the back of the apparatus. A horizontal set of modules is cooled with air flow that passes through openings in a midplane connecting the two sets of modules.
US07885064B2

A portable computer and a locking mechanism thereof are provided. The portable computer includes a battery, a host and a locking mechanism. The battery has a locking hole. The battery includes a restraining protrusion. The host has a receiving through. The locking mechanism is disposed in the receiving through. The locking mechanism includes a main body and a locking protrusion. The main body has a first restraining concave and a second restraining concave. The locking protrusion is connected to the main body. When the restraining protrusion is placed in the first restraining concave, the locking protrusion is locked in the locking hole, so that the battery is locked in the receiving through. When the restraining protrusion is placed in the second restraining concave, the locking protrusion leaves the locking hole, so that the battery is dismounted from the receiving through.
US07885060B2

A portable information handling system (IHS) is disclosed wherein the system includes a cover, a primary display disposed on the cover and an auxiliary display coupled to the cover, wherein the auxiliary display is movable between a viewable position and a closed position. The system also includes a switch coupled to the auxiliary display, wherein the switch is adapted to place the auxiliary display in an operational state in the open position and in a non-operational state in the closed position.
US07885054B2

A solid electrolytic capacitor is configured to include a wound capacitor element that has an anode (2), a cathode (3) composed of aluminum, a hard coating film (28) formed on a surface of the cathode (3), a separator (4b), and a solid electrolyte layer, and is also configured so that the solid electrolytic capacitor further includes an intermediate layer 18 formed between the cathode (3) and the hard coating film (28), the hard coating film (28) is composed of a compound of aluminum, titanium, and at least one nonmetallic element, and the intermediate layer (18) contains at least one element selected from the group of metallic elements consisting of aluminum and titanium. It is particularly preferable that the hardness of the substance that constitutes the intermediate layer (18) of the solid electrolytic capacitor be less than the hardness of the substance that constitutes the hard coating film (28).
US07885053B2

An electric double layer capacitor includes first and second collectors, first and second polarizable electrode layers provided on the first and second collectors, respectively, a separator having an insulating property provided between the first and second polarizable electrode layers, and an electrolytic solution impregnated in the separator and the first and second polarizable electrode layers. A lower electric potential is to be applied to the second collector than to the first collector. The electrolytic solution contains anion including fluorine as electrolyte. The separator includes a separation layer facing the second polarizable electrode layer, and an inhibition layer facing the first polarizable electrode layer. The separation layer contains cellulose. The inhibition layer is made of material different from that of the separation layer. The inhibition layer prevents cellulose from decomposing. This electric double layer capacitor prevents the separator from dissolving, having an excellent long-term reliability.
US07885046B1

A conventional ESD protection circuit comprises an SCR and a first diode connected in series between ground and a node or pad to be protected and a second diode connected between ground and the node to be protected. An anode of the first diode and a cathode of the second diode are connected to the node to be protected. In one embodiment of the invention, the capacitance of the second diode is reduced by forming the second diode from a PN junction between a heavily doped region of one conductivity type and a substrate region instead of a well region of the opposite conductivity type. The reduction in the capacitance of the second diode makes it possible to increase the size of the first diode and SCR, thereby decreasing their resistance, while keeping the total capacitance of the ESD circuit at or below the capacitance of the prior art ESD circuit. A second embodiment of an ESD protection comprises an SCR and a first diode connected in series between ground and node to be protected and second and third diodes connected in series between ground and the node to be protected with the anode of the second diode connected to ground. Again, the capacitance of the second diode is reduced by forming the diode from a PN junction between a heavily doped region of one conductivity type and a substrate region of the other conductivity type.
US07885043B2

The present invention provides a remote operable over-current protection apparatus. The apparatus includes control circuitry integrally arranged on a current path and a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) switch disposed on the current path, the MEMS switch responsive to the control circuitry to facilitate the interruption of an electrical current passing through the current path. The apparatus further includes a communication connection in signal connection with the control circuitry such that the control circuitry is responsive to a control signal on the communication connection to control a state of the MEMS switch.
US07885041B2

Embodiments of the present invention help to stabilize a tilt amount of a head gimbal assembly with respect to a magnetic disc. According to one embodiment of the present invention, in a head stack assembly in which a head gimbal assembly, a carriage, and a head gimbal assembly are stacked and fixed by a pivot cartridge, a spring washer and a nut, an annular recess portion having a length in the radial direction of a flange is formed on a contact face of the flange formed at one end of the cartridge, so that two places of a mount plate of the head gimbal assembly may be partially supported in the radial direction of the flange.
US07885013B2

A zoom lens includes, in order from the object side thereof, a first lens unit G1 having a positive refracting power, a second lens unit G2 having a negative refracting power, and a third lens unit G3 having a positive refracting power, wherein zooming is performed by changing distances between the lens units, the second lens unit has two negative lens elements and one positive lens element, and the lens element located closest to the object side is a negative lens element. The zoom lens satisfies the following conditions: 0.60<Σd2G/Imw<1.95  (1-1) and 1.830
US07885003B2

An optical diffusing sheet is provided, which prevents deterioration in image quality which might result from warping of the sheets due to environmental changes, and is capable of, even if a substrate is broken by an accident, preventing scattering of pieces of the broken substrate. An optical diffusing sheet is used in a transmission type screen that emits imaging light projected from an incident side to an emergent side. The optical diffusing sheet includes a highly rigid substrate layer with a light-transmissibility and a high rigidity, and a plurality of layers laminated on the highly rigid substrate layer. The plurality of layers includes at least a pair of anti-scattering layers disposed on opposite sides of the highly rigid substrate layer for preventing scattering of the highly rigid substrate layer. At least one layer of the two or more layers includes an optical diffusing element that diffuses imaging light.
US07885000B2

An apparatus for imaging cells including a culture chamber, in which a cultivation sub-structure is placed, imaging optics, and actuators for providing the relative movement of the cultivation substructure and the imaging optics in such a way that the imaging optics is used to image different sites in the substructure. The cultivation substructure is isolated as a subchamber of its own that is separate from the culture chamber, and imaging is carried out by moving the imaging optics and the subchamber in relation to each other.
US07884995B2

An electrochromic device including: (a) a first substantially transparent substrate having an electrically conductive material associated therewith; (b) a second substrate having an electrically conductive material associated therewith; (c) an electrochromic medium contained within a chamber positioned between the first and second substrates which includes: (1) a solvent; (2) an anodic material; and (3) a cathodic material, wherein both of the anodic and cathodic materials are electroactive and at least one of the anodic and cathodic materials is electrochromic; (d) wherein a seal member, the first substrate, the second substrate, and/or the chamber includes a plug associated with a fill port; and (e) wherein the plug is at least partially cured with an antimonate photo initiator and/or is one- or two-part plug which comprises a resin or mixture of resins that are substantially insoluble and/or substantially immiscible with an associated electrochromic medium while in the uncured state.
US07884992B1

A photochromic optical article comprises a substrate, and a photochromic coating coated on an outer surface of the substrate and having at least two photochromic layers. Each of the photochromic layers has a composition that contains a carrier and at least one photochromic dye. The compositions of the photochromic layers are different from each other.
US07884986B2

An optical scanning device is provided with a scanning unit including an oscillating element which is elastically and rotatably supported so as to rotatably oscillate, a light beam incident on the scanning unit being deflected to scan as the oscillating element oscillates, a scanning signal generating unit which generates a scanning signal, the scanning signal including a sawtooth wave part and a corrective wave part which is formed based on a resonance frequency intrinsic to the scanning unit, and a driving unit which drives the scanning unit to oscillate the oscillating element in accordance with the scanning signal.
US07884973B2

A white-level correcting unit makes an image reading unit read a white reference board, and sets a parameter corresponding to a value read by the image reading unit. A carriage includes a light source that irradiates the document, and moves in a sub-scanning direction with respect to a document to be read. When shifting to an energy-saving mode, the image reading device moves the carriage to a position of the white reference board before entering to the energy-saving mode.
US07884955B2

Techniques for performing one or more actions based upon physical locations of one or more paper documents. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the paper documents have identification tags physically associated with them. The physical locations of the paper documents are determined based upon information read from the identification tags physically associated with the paper documents. One or more actions are performed based upon the physical locations of the paper documents.
US07884950B2

In a pattern measuring unit installed in a coating and developing treatment system, the height of a pattern formed on a substrate is measured using the Scatterometry method. Based on the measured height of the pattern, an appropriate number of rotations of the substrate during application of a coating solution is calculated, so that the rotation of the substrate during the application is controlled by the calculated number of rotations of the substrate. Since the number of rotations of the substrate when the coating solution is applied to the substrate is controlled, it is unnecessary to stop the system which performs photolithography processing on the substrate, resulting in improved productivity of the substrate.
US07884947B2

Disclosed is an apparatus which includes: an interferometer configured to direct broadband spatially coherent test light to a test surface of a test object over a range of illumination angles and subsequently combine it with reference light to form an interference pattern, the test and reference light being derived from a common source; and multi-element detector; and one or more optics configured to direct at least a portion of the combined light to the detector so that different elements of the detector correspond to different illumination angles of a region of the test surface illuminated by the test light.
US07884943B2

The invention concerns a bidirectional reflectance distribution meter having a light source which illuminates a sample using pre-determinable elevation and a light receiver, which can be moved relative to the light source in order to receive light from the sample. To this end, it has been designed that the light receiver comprises several receiver elements to collect simultaneously a broad elevation angle range, and that at least one of the light receiver element and the light source is movable around an axis that extends generally vertical to the sample.
US07884940B2

A sensor device has at least one array of sensor spots disposed on or in a common substrate or retained by a common substrate. At least one first group of several sensor spots of the array is configured as measurement spots which respond to at least one parameter to be measured, while at least one second group of several sensor spots of the array is configured as reference spots which do not respond or respond only insignificantly to the parameter to be measured. The reference spots are embodied in such a way relative to the associated measurement spots that the reference spots respond to at least one boundary condition variable to which the measurement spots respond as well and which influences the at least one test signal such that the reference signal directly or indirectly represents the boundary condition variable or a change in the boundary condition variable.
US07884938B2

A common multi-gas ring down detector incorporates a cavity that has a piezoelectric mirror and at least two displaced mirrors to define two different transit paths in the cavity. The two paths intersect at the piezoelectric mirror at different angles. Two different laser beams having first and second different wavelengths, can be coupled to the cavity, at different times, by driving the piezoelectric mirror axially. Beam outputs can be evaluated to establish the presence of selected gases in the cavity.
US07884932B2

With a measuring instrument for measuring sample particles moving in a cuvette, for example for measuring a zeta potential or the Brownian size the particles, with a filling device for filling and an emptying device for emptying the cuvette mounted on the ends thereof and with devices for irradiating and for monitoring the particles, it is problematical always to position the cuvette correctly or in a defined manner relative to the direction of radiation and to the monitoring device. To resolve this problem, it is proposed that the cuvette member is mounted by means of a cuvette bearing and the filling and the emptying device are fastened exclusively to the cuvette in such a way that the position of the cuvette relative to the surroundings thereof is determined and defined exclusively by the cuvette bearing.
US07884925B2

A disclosed device comprises an edge bonding seal configured to be mounted to an edge bead of the electrostatic chuck. The edge bonding seal includes a monitoring layer comprised of a first material configured to either emit a species capable of being optically monitored or having an electrical resistance value capable of being monitored, or both. The edge bonding seal further includes an edge bonding layer configured to be interspersed at least between the monitoring layer and the plasma environment. The edge bonding layer is comprised of a second material susceptible to erosion due to reaction with the plasma environment and configured to expose the monitoring layer to the plasma environment upon sufficient exposure to the plasma environment.
US07884915B2

A method of manufacturing an LCD device includes forming a gate bus line, a gate insulating layer, an active layer, and a source/drain metal layer on a transparent insulating substrate; etching the source/drain metal layer and active layer to form a source/drain electrode and a channel layer while forming a metal protection pattern in a peripheral region of the transparent insulating substrate; forming a protection layer and a pixel electrode on the insulating substrate; forming a main seal line at an interior region of the array substrate, forming a first auxiliary seal line between the metal protection pattern and the main seal line, and forming second and third auxiliary seal lines; and attaching a color filter substrate to the array substrate via the main seal line.
US07884913B2

A LCD device and its fabrication method as discussed. According to an embodiment, the LCD device includes a plurality of gate lines and data lines arranged on a substrate to define a plurality of unit pixels; thin film transistors (TFTs) each formed at an intersecting region of the gate lines and the data lines; a plurality of gate pad portions and data pad portions formed at end portions of the gate lines and the data lines, respectively, at least one of the gate and data pad portions being made up of at least two pad unit portions, each pad unit portion having at least one contact hole such that the contact holes of one of the plurality of gate or data pad portions are arranged in a zigzag or an oblique line format; and pixel electrodes formed at the unit pixels.
US07884906B2

It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate for liquid crystal display by means of which a generation of air bubbles in a liquid crystal layer after charging a liquid crystal can be prevented, and a liquid crystal display having a good display quality level can be obtained at a high yield, and to provide a liquid crystal display unit provided with such substrate for liquid crystal display. The present invention is directed to a substrate for liquid crystal display, comprising a projection for controlling alignments of liquid crystal molecules, wherein a slit is provided in the projection for controlling alignments of liquid crystal molecules.
US07884903B2

The liquid crystal panel of the present invention has a liquid crystal cell having a pair of transparent substrates provided with a color filter having each color region of blue, green and red, and a liquid crystal layer formed by injecting a liquid crystal material between the transparent substrates; an optical compensating layer provided over the liquid crystal cell; and a light source for irradiating light, in which the optical compensating layer cancels out retardation in the thickness direction for light of a wavelength (G), which passes through a green region of the liquid crystal cell, and retardation in the thickness direction for light of a wavelength (R), which passes through a red region of the liquid crystal cell. The liquid crystal panel of the present invention can realize higher contrast in viewing from an oblique direction.
US07884902B2

An exemplary transmission liquid crystal display (200) includes a first substrate (215) and a second substrate (235); a liquid crystal layer (220) having liquid crystal molecules interposed between the first and second substrates; a front polarizer (211) disposed at an front surface of the first substrate, and a rear polarizer (231) disposed at a rear surface of the second substrate; a first quarter-wavelength compensation member (213) between the front polarizer and the first substrate; a second quarter-wavelength compensation member (234) between the rear polarizer and the second substrate; a first discotic molecular film (214) between the first quarter-wavelength compensation member and the first substrate; and a second discotic molecular film (234) between the second quarter-wavelength compensation member and the second substrate.
US07884897B2

The invention proposes a liquid crystal (38) display device (12) including a liquid crystal (38) cell (30), a control unit (26), and a backlighting module (48) including at least a first (50) and a second (52) light source of different colours which transmit light rays (Rr, Rb) inside a light guide (54), characterized in that the light guide (54) includes a plurality of prisms (64, 66) which deflect the light rays (Rr, Rb) towards the display face (28), a first series (S1) of prisms (64, 66) being orientated towards the first light source (50) and a second series (S2) of prisms (52) being orientated towards the second light source (52), and in that the prisms (64, 66) are distributed in zones of the light guide (54) which are located underneath the electrodes (40). The invention also proposes a timepiece (10) fitted with this device (12).
US07884894B2

A liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel, a plurality of lamps disposed behind the liquid crystal display panel, and a container which accommodates the lamps. The container includes a first container component parallel with the liquid crystal display panel and disposed behind the lamp, a second container component upwardly bent from an end part of the first container component, and a third container component that is cut away from the first container component and is upwardly bent from the first container component. The liquid crystal display device also includes a reflective member including a first reflective member at least partially disposed between the first container component and the lamp, and a second reflective member separated from the first reflective member and covering the third container component.
US07884890B2

In one embodiment of the present invention, a large-screen or high-definition LCD is provided with its display quality improved significantly by reducing the viewing angle dependence of γ characteristic. Each pixel includes first and second subpixels, to which different voltages are applicable. The device further includes electrically independent storage capacitor trunks, each of which is electrically connected to the respective storage capacitor counter electrodes of either the first or second subpixels through storage capacitor lines. The pixels include pixels belonging to a first display area and pixels belonging to a second display area. The first and second display areas can be scanned independently of each other. And the storage capacitor trunks include a first storage capacitor trunk belonging to the first display area and a second storage capacitor trunk belonging to the second display area.
US07884889B2

An array substrate comprises a scanning line; a data line crossing the scanning line; a pixel electrode; a common electrode; and a Thin Film Transistor comprising a gate electrode connected to the scanning line, a source electrode connected to the data line and a drain electrode connected to the pixel electrode, the drain electrode and the scanning line forming a first capacitor therebetween. The array substrate further comprises an auxiliary capacitor which is in parallel with the first capacitor.
US07884888B2

A protective automatic darkening filter construction 10 includes two low twist liquid crystal cells 26, 30 interspersed between a series of offset polarizers 24, 28, 32. The resulting construction provides improved homogeneity in the dark state as viewed by the user over a large viewing angle. By reducing variations in shade, visibility through the filter may be improved.
US07884885B2

A power control method used with a TV module of a portable electronic apparatus is used for selectively entering the TV module in a power-saving mode. At first, the portable electronic apparatus is activated. When the portable electronic apparatus is activated, the power supply condition of the portable electronic apparatus is detected. If the power supply condition of the portable electronic apparatus indicates that an external power source is used, the power-saving mode of the TV module is suspended. Optionally, the power-saving mode of the TV module is suspended if a priority setting condition indicates that play efficiency takes priority.
US07884879B2

In an image sensing apparatus and exposure control method, detecting an object that satisfies a certain preset condition from image data obtained by image sensing with an image sensing element, and carrying out photometry on the image data as a whole to acquire an overall photometric value while carrying out photometry on an area of a detected object within the image data to acquire an object photometric value. An exposure value is then determined based on the overall photometric value and the object photometric value, with exposure controlled during image sensing based on the determined exposure value.
US07884867B2

A lens apparatus is disclosed which is capable of picking (taking) moving images and picking still images by using a mechanical shutter without a detector to detect the state of the mechanical shutter. The lens apparatus comprises an aperture stop, a mechanical shutter, and a lens controller which sends first information used for an electronic shutter control of the image-pickup element to an image-pickup apparatus. The first information relates to time or speed, determined according to an opening state of the aperture stop, from the start of image-pickup with the image-pickup element to the completion of closing operation of the mechanical shutter.
US07884865B2

A system for detecting high speed noise in active pixel sensors includes a photodiode for receiving low levels of light, a reset transistor, an amplifier transistor, a row select transistor, and a high-speed analog-to-digital converter. The reset transistor gate receives a reset signal, and the reset transistor drain receives a reset voltage. The amplifier transistor gate is connected to the photodiode and the reset transistor's source. The amplifier transistor receives a supply voltage at the drain terminal. The row select transistor gate terminal receives a row select signal. The row select drain terminal is connected to the amplifier transistor source terminal. The high-speed analog-to-digital converter includes an analog input port connected to the row select transistor source and a digital output port capable of resolving high-speed excitation events received by the photodiode.
US07884854B2

A method for reducing blur from an image is described. The method includes accessing a blurred image, wherein the blurred image has a width and a length that can be different. The method further includes converting the blurred image into a frequency domain representation of the blurred image and determining an angle of blur from the frequency domain of the blurred image. The method further includes rotating the frequency domain representation of the blurred image by the angle of blur and determining a size of the blur from the rotated frequency domain representation of the blurred image. The method further includes determining a blur kernel associated with the blur, the blur kernel comprising the angle of blur and the size of said blur and de-convoluting the blurred image according to the blur kernel to reduce the blur.
US07884850B2

An image forming apparatus including plural capacitive loads, with one terminal of each of the capacitive loads being connected to a common electrode and with each of the capacitive loads being charged/discharged on the basis of image data, and a first and second drive circuits is provided. The first drive circuit includes plural charge/discharge controllers that are individually connected to other terminals of the capacitive loads and individually control the charging and discharging of the capacitive loads and first and second electrical power wires that are connected to the charge/discharge controllers and charge and discharge the capacitive loads via the charge/discharge controllers. The second drive circuit is connected to each of the first and second electrical power wires and adjusts charge resistance and discharge resistance in response to control of the charge/discharge controllers.
US07884846B2

An advanced video teleconferencing system facilitates an engaging and realistic video conferencing experience. Key design elements and video, audio, and control capabilities are provided for a video conferencing experience that cannot be attained with conventional methods, which elements and capabilities include careful design of the table and room at each site, supplementary displays showing imagery in a mirrored manner, networked environmental control, an AutoDirector with keyword and gesture recognition, and audio reflection from a display or beam splitter.
US07884843B2

Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for mixing compressed video useable in a videoconferencing environment having a plurality of endpoint users. Through the use of the method and apparatus, each endpoint can receive a unique layout displaying some subset of the users at the endpoints. Input streams from each endpoint are uncompressed, resized, and scaled to fit the segment in the layout for particular endpoints, and then encoded (or compressed) by a sub-encoder into a sub-encoded stream according to the compression parameters. Each sub-encoded streams is further encoded and associated with a position in the layout. Different layouts may be sent to different conferees, and different compression standards may be used for each endpoint.
US07884840B2

An image forming method and apparatus includes a first image carrying member, a first transfix unit, a second image carrying member, and a second transfix unit. The first image carrying member carries a first toner image thereon. The first transfix unit receives the first toner image from the first image carrying member and transfers and fixes the first toner image onto a first face of a recording sheet with a heat effect. The second image carrying member carries a second toner image thereon. The second transfix unit receives the second toner image from the second image carrying member and transfers and fixes the second toner image onto a second face of the recording sheet with a heat effect.
US07884835B2

A method for projecting a data set from a first object to a second object includes the steps of defining one or more sub-objects, wherein each sub-object represents a portion of the second object, associating the first object with a first sub-object, expanding a projection cage to substantially encompass both the first sub-object and the first object, and transferring the data set from the first object to the first sub-object using the projection cage. The disclosed method advantageously allows the first sub-object to be defined in a way that avoids undesirable cage intersections, thereby enabling the data set from the first object to be transferred without tedious manual manipulations of the projection cage.
US07884834B2

In-context paint stroke characteristic adjustment, in which a first user input selecting a path of a paint stroke rendered on a display is received, an anchor point on the path is defined based on the first user input, and a characteristic adjustment control is rendered adjacent to the anchor point. A second user input is received via the characteristic adjustment control, and a characteristic of the paint stroke is adjusted at the anchor point based on the second user input.
US07884833B2

There is provided a method of changing a theme for a user interface of a computer system comprising receiving an identification of an image with which to define a color palette of a theme for rendering elements of a user interface on a color display of the computer system; analyzing the image to determine at least one predominant color; and defining the color palette in response to the analysis. The image may comprise a background image selected by a user for display by the computer system. Dynamic generation of the color palette matches the user interface to colors to provide flexible and appealing themes. A computer readable memory having recorded thereon instructions to carry out this method is also provided, as well as a device comprising such memory.
US07884809B2

A method and a system for navigating a display screen to search for a desired item of information stored in an electronic device. The electronic device includes a novel fly over user interface (FOUI) capable of receiving commands from a user to provide a zoom out view of the display screen. A user may commence a navigation session by touching the display screen in a non active area or by clicking on a specifically designated icon to activate the user interface. During the navigation session, the display screen is zoomed-out and a magnifying area may appear on the display screen. The user interface enables the user to scroll the zoomed-out display screen by dragging the magnifying area towards an edge of the display screen to find a desired item of information. The display screen may be a display screen of a digital device (e.g., portable computer, personal computer, a cellular telephone, a digital watch, etc). The user may terminate a navigation session by removing the pointer from the display screen.
US07884805B2

A device may comprise a display and a processor. The processor may obtain a first set of one or more touches on a remote surface of a remote device based on a signal received on a communication link between the device and the remote device. receive information associated with the first set of one or more touches through the signal. detect a gesture on the display, and determine whether the information is to be used to obtain content based on the gesture.
US07884802B2

An information selecting apparatus includes a computer, and makes a user select an arbitrary item from a plurality of items by a direction input of the user. Each of the items is assigned to a direction based on an input frequency, for example. In a case that a direction input is performed by means of a polygonal guide, the items are assigned to directions corresponding to the vertexes of the guide and directions corresponding to the parts except for the vertexes. For example, a high-frequency item is assigned to the direction corresponding to the vertex, or a range of the direction assigned to the high-frequency item is relatively made larger. Furthermore, when a direction corresponding to the vertex is input, items assigned to the parts except for the vertexes may temporarily be assigned to other vertexes. In addition, when predetermined operation data is input, the items of the directions corresponding to the vertexes and the items of the directions corresponding to the parts except for the vertexes may be interchanged.
US07884799B2

A first casing is comprised of metal and has a side face formed with a cutout portion. A second casing is comprised of resin. A pivot member has a pivot shaft and is disposed between the first casing and the second casing so as to be pivotable about the pivot shaft. The pivot shaft is rotatably supported by a part of the first casing which is other than an edge of the cutout portion.
US07884794B2

In a data line driver for driving data lines of a display apparatus, a data register is adapted to latch video data and a definite non-video gradation data via a data bus. A data latch circuit is adapted to latch the video data and the definite non-video gradation data at different timings to generate digital output signals. A digital/analog converter is adapted to convert the digital output signals of the data latch circuit into analog signals. An output buffer is adapted to apply the analog signals of the digital/analog converter to the data lines.
US07884792B2

A method of extracting an optimized digital variable resistor (“DVR”) value of a display panel, the method including varying a DVR value, corresponding to a common voltage, and applying the varied DVR values to the display panel, measuring brightness values of the display panel for at least two frames, extracting flicker values corresponding to the varied DVR values using the brightness values, and extracting an optimized DVR value by generating first to third coordinate values in which coordinate values have x-coordinate values and y-coordinate values representing DVR values and flicker values, respectively, calculating a first linear function of a first straight line connecting two of the coordinate values, and a second linear function of a second straight line using the first linear function and the other of the coordinate values, and extracting an x-coordinate value at an intersection point of the first and second lines, as the optimized DVR value.
US07884786B2

An organic light emitting display that reduces the number of output lines from a data driver, attains image stability, and adjusts white balance. A plurality of demultiplexers at the primary output lines of the data driver simultaneously supply the data signals from each primary output line to a plurality of secondary output lines allowing a reduced number of primary output lines. A plurality of parasitic capacitors are formed where data lines are coupled with the pixels and are charged to a voltage corresponding to the data signal that is simultaneously provided to the pixels allowing an image of uniform brightness to be displayed. The scan period and the data period are not overlapping allowing a stable image. Capacitance values of data capacitors are set taking into consideration the light emitting efficiency of organic light emitting diodes, allowing an image of adjusted white balance.
US07884782B2

An electro-luminescence display panel and a driving method thereof for increasing a light-emitting time of a pixel as well as reducing power consumption are disclosed. In the electro-luminescence display panel, a pixel matrix has a plurality of electro-luminescence cells connected between scan lines and data lines. A scan driver drives the scan line. A data driver pre-charges the data lines into a middle voltage of data signals and then supplies corresponding data signals.
US07884778B2

An antenna structure includes a radiating element and an antenna radome. The antenna radome has at least one dielectric layer, which has an upper surface having many S-shaped metal patterns and a lower surface having many inverse S-shaped metal patterns corresponding to the S-shaped metal patterns. The S-shaped metal patterns are respectively coupled to the corresponding inverse S-shaped metal patterns to converge radiating beams outputted from the radiating element.
US07884772B2

A radar apparatus including: a radar antenna array; and, a sensor for detecting a relative distortion of at least one portion of the radar antenna relative to at least one other portion of the radar antenna array.
US07884771B2

An antenna comprises a ground element, a transmission element, a conductive element and a coupling element. The conductive element connects the ground element and the transmission element. The coupling element extends from the conductive element substantially parallel to the transmission element, wherein the coupling element is located on a first plane, the transmission element is located on a second plane, and the second plane is parallel to the first plane.
US07884767B2

An antenna device for operating in a predetermined frequency band has a resonator section, a semiconductor section and an antenna section. The resonator section includes a first conductor section, a dielectric section, and a second conductor section for specifying a reference potential against each section which is arranged so as to oppose the first conductor section through the dielectric section. A semiconductor section is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the first conductor section and the second conductor section. The antenna section uses the second conductor section as a grounding conductor, is substantially spherical, makes at least its surface electroconductive, and is arranged on the first conductor section.
US07884760B2

The location of a mobile terminal in a given area is determined by including the mobile terminal both in a satellite-based positioning system and in a cellular communications system. The mobile terminal is thus adapted to receive satellite signals from the satellite-based system and to be covered by at least one cell of the cellular communications system. The mobile terminal is configured for determining at least approximately its coordinates, including an altitude coordinate in the area, based on both satellite signals received from the satellite-based system and information related to the cellular communications system. An estimate of the altitude coordinate is derived from the information related to the cellular communications system, whereby satisfactory location performance is ensured also when one or more satellites in the satellite-based system are not visible at the mobile terminal.
US07884753B2

A sensor includes a transceiver configured to receive a wireless signal from an interrogator and to reflect the wireless signal back. The sensor also includes an antenna-switching modulator configured to modulate a radar cross-section of the sensor by repeatedly switching an antenna between, for example, a short-circuit position and an operational circuit position. The operational circuit position could be associated with an impedance matched receiver, and the short-circuit position could be associated with ground. Also, the sensor could be further configured to transmit the wireless signal to a second sensor and to receive a reflected wireless signal from the second sensor, and the sensor could further include a phase comparator configured to compute a phase difference between the transmitted wireless signal and the reflected wireless signal. The phase comparator could be further configured to compute a distance between the sensor and the second sensor based on the phase difference.
US07884747B2

A digital to analog converter (DAC) includes a pair of operational amplifiers each having a first input coupled to a respective high or low reference voltage. The DAC includes a plurality of switch-controlled cells, each of which includes a resistor and two force/sense switch pairs. Within each cell, all four switches are coupled to the resistor. A first force switch is coupled to an output of a first op amp and an associated sense switch is coupled to an inverting input of the first op amp. A second force switch is coupled to an output of a second op amp and an associated sense switch is coupled to an inverting input of the second op amp. Thus, the force switches provide selectively conductive paths to permit either op amp to drive a given cell. When an op amp drives particular cells, sense switches generate multiple a feedback paths to the driving op amp, which permits the op amp to drive the selected cell resistors at voltages that overcomes any voltage losses induces by associated force switches, and cancels the effect of any variation in the voltage losses induced by different force switches. The switch-controlled cells find application in a variety of DAC architectures, including binary weighted R2R architectures, equally-weighted segmented architectures or hybrid architectures that blend principles of R2R and segmented architectures.
US07884742B2

A system for compressing digital data by representing a portion of it predictionally and transformationally as a block of transform coefficients, then quantizing that block selectively into a set of encoding symbols based on an indication whether the transform coefficients represent the portion as having a particular characteristic, and then by encoding the set of encoding symbols into a data bit stream. In particular, frequency may be used as the characteristic of the digital data in many applications.
US07884740B2

A vehicle detection apparatus adopting microwave sensing schemes for performing the multi-lane vehicle detection is provided in the present invention. According to the present invention, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the detected reflecting wave is varied within an inconsiderable range so that the provided apparatus may exhibit a unique property which is adoptable for the multi-lane vehicle detection and the precision is unachievable by the existing detectors.
US07884737B2

A one-way direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) communications wide-area network is the data collection channel (uplink) of an automatic meter reading (AMR) system, and a paging network, or other suitable communication channel is the optional forward (downlink) channel. The communications network may include one-way meter modules (transmitters) each communicatively coupled to a corresponding electric, gas or water utility meter, and may include two-way meter modules (transceivers) each coupled to such a corresponding utility meter. The meter modules monitor, store, encode and periodically transmit metering data via radio signals (air messages) in an appropriate RF channel. Metering data air messages are collected by a network of receiver Base Stations (BS) and forwarded to a Data Operations Center (DOC), which acts as a metering data gateway. The reception range of each base station is typically over 5 miles in urban areas, allowing sparse infrastructure deployment for a wide variety of metering data collection applications.
US07884731B2

The photoelectric smoke sensor includes a casing member 1 having an internal space S formed by a labyrinth wall 1b and an opening 6 communicating with the internal space S on a setting-face side; and a printed board 8 placed on the setting-face side of the casing member 1 and having a hole 8a opposed to the opening 6 of the casing member 1. The light emitting element 2 and the light receiving element 4 are mounted on the printed board 8 in such a fashion that the optical axes of the light emitting element 2 and the light receiving element 4 cross each other on one plane that is substantially parallel to an opening plane of the opening 6. The photoelectric smoke sensor can be reduced in both size and cost with a simple construction.
US07884729B2

Method and system for providing a fault tolerant data receiver unit configured with a partitioned or separate processing units, each configured to perform a predetermined and/or specific processing associated with the one or more substantially non-overlapping functions of the data monitoring and management system is provided.
US07884717B2

A passive microwave receiver array, operating in the one meter to sub-millimeter wavelengths range and including an internationally protected range of frequencies of varying bandwidth, may be used for fire and intrusion detection. One or more receiver array can be used to provide a plurality of frequency ranges that can be detected. In an interior installation, one or more receiver array can be placed inside a wall. In other embodiments, the receiver and array can be in the form of a hand-held or wearable device. This method and apparatus achieves high performance by exploiting conventional low noise amplification block conversion circuits and provides the detection of thermal signals through clear, smoky, misty, or environmentally untenable conditions as well as the detection of fire and intrusion events through a non-metallic wall.
US07884711B2

The electronic tag of the present invention is mounted under the door holder on the front and right side of the container and the lock bolt on the electronic tag is inserted into the holes of the container door handle and the door seal turnover panel. The lock cap screws to the lock bolt tightly, so that the lock bolt can not be pulled out from the electronic tag. The electronic tag adopts RFID technique, GPS satellite positing and identifying technique and un-touching approach switch door seal technique. When the lock cap screws onto the lock bolt, the door closing information is recorded; when the lock cap screws out from the lock bolt, the door opening information is recorded. The present invention identifies, reads and writes the freight information, logistics information, door seal information of the container through the electronic tag in an un-touching manner. The electronic tag has large storage volume, long life span, and good security. Besides, the electronic tag also has GPS that can position and identify the position of the container.
US07884707B2

A tire pressure monitor system tool is capable of communicating with a plurality of tire pressure monitor systems. The tool includes a storing module that stores a plurality of communication protocols that are used for enabling the tool to communicate with a tire pressure monitor system. The tool enables a user to input the parts number of a sensor used by the vehicle having a tire pressure monitor system. Based on the vehicle data input and/or the parts number, the tool determines a tire pressure monitor system installed on the vehicle using information stored by the tool. Based on the tire pressure monitor system installed on the vehicle, the tool determines a protocol used by the tire pressure monitor system to communicate with, for example, the tool and an electronic control unit of a vehicle.
US07884706B2

A capacitive pressure sensor comprises a pair of conductive plates surrounding a compressible dielectric to form a capacitor. Changes in pressure create changes in the capacitance of the capacitor which in turn may be measured to determine the changes in pressure. The pressure sensor may be constructed to be temperature and centripetal force compensated so that it may be positioned in a tire. A further embodiment uses the conductive plates to form a radiating element for the sensor such that it may wirelessly communicate with a remote interrogator.
US07884703B2

Embodiments of a pillow speaker are disclosed. In one embodiment, a pillow speaker includes a case that contains a collection of control circuitry. A wireless transmitter is operably connected to the collection of control circuitry. The wireless transmitter is configured to transmit control signals. Also included is a wired interface having at least two elongated conductors connected to the collection of control circuitry.
US07884693B2

An electrical coil assembly utilizing a bimetallic two-piece terminal construction and a method of manufacturing same are provided. The inner terminal structure utilizes a material that aids in the touchless attachment of the fine gauge magnetic wire to the inner terminal structure. The low mass of the inner terminal structure allows for increased winding speeds during the manufacturing process. The outer terminal structure utilizes a material that provides good corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity. The inner and outer terminal structures are electrically attached after the winding and electrical attachment process of the fine gauge magnetic wire. The coil and two-piece terminal connectors may then be encapsulated to provide a final electrical coil assembly.
US07884691B2

An electrical component with winding conductors, particularly a transformer, includes a cooling circuit with a heat exchanging unit. Cooling elements of the heat exchanging unit can be flowed around by a first liquid, particularly seawater, thus enabling an effective exchange of the heat resulting during the operation of the electrical component. The novel electrical component is configured particularly for offshore uses wherein the electrical component is placed at different levels of a platform and thus requires only a small amount of space.
US07884690B2

A method is provided to manufacture a precise multi-pole magnetic component for using in magnetic encoders. A special layout of the circuit pattern is designed and formed on a printed circuit board (PCB). Alternate and regular magnetic field is induced according to Ampere's law after a current flowing through the circuit on the PCB. The multi-pole magnetic component with fine magnetic pole pitch is achieved by forming the high-density circuit patterns on a substrate using the PCB technology.
US07884687B2

A magnetic interface circuit (100) includes a pair of channels (101, 102) and an absorb network (3). Each channel includes a 3-wire common mode choke (2) having a middle tap (21), and an isolation transformer (1) connected with the 3-wire common mode choke. The isolation transformer has a primary winding (11) and a secondary winding (12) each having a pair of first output taps (111, 121) and a first center tap (13, 14). The absorb network includes a bridge rectifying circuit (4) adapted for converting an electrical current. Each bridge rectifying circuit has a pair of input taps (45, 46) each connected with corresponding center taps of the isolation transformers, and a pair of output taps (47, 48).
US07884686B2

A component operating with acoustic waves is described herein. The component includes a substrate having an underside subdivided into a center area and an edge area surrounding the center area on all sides. The component also includes a plurality of outer terminals in the edge area, and a plurality of inner terminals in the center area comprising at least a first inner terminal configured as a signal terminal.
US07884678B2

Apparatus includes a single-pin input interface, which is operative to sense a voltage across a capacitor of a Resistor-Capacitor (RC) network in which the capacitor is repetitively charging and discharging so that the voltage oscillates as a function of time. A measurement circuit is coupled to measure time durations in which the capacitor is charging and in which the sensed voltage lies between first and second predefined thresholds. A clock generation circuit is coupled to generate an output clock signal having a frequency, and to adjust the frequency responsively to the measured time durations.
US07884677B2

A Colpitts oscillator includes a tank circuit, a first transistor, and a first feedback circuit. The first transistor includes a first region, a second region, and a control region. The first region communicates with the tank circuit. The first feedback circuit communicates with the second region and the control region of the first transistor.
US07884675B2

A phase locked loop (PLL) includes a detector, a charge pump, a loop filter, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), a divider, and a frequency change module. The detector provides a phase difference based on a reference signal and a feedback signal. The charge pump provides a charge based on the phase difference. The loop filter provides a voltage based on the charge. The VCO provides an output signal based on the voltage received from the loop filter. The divider divides a frequency of the output signal by a value to provide the feedback signal. The frequency change module processes an input signal having a first frequency to provide a processed signal having a second frequency that is different from the first frequency. The frequency change module selects the input signal or the processed signal to provide as the reference signal to the detector. Changing the frequency of the reference signal can change a frequency of a spur.
US07884665B2

A charge pump circuit generates a desired output voltage by stepping up an input voltage. An LCD driver IC and an electronic appliance are provided with the charge pump circuit.
US07884662B1

A multi-channel integrator includes a first switch, a second switch, and a plurality of integration units. First terminals of the first and second switches receive a first reference voltage. Each of the integration units includes an operational amplifier (OP-AMP), a feedback switch, a third switch, a fourth switch, and a feedback capacitor. A second input terminal of the OP-AMP receives a second reference voltage. Two terminals of the feedback switch are respectively coupled to a first input terminal and an output terminal of the OP-AMP. First terminals of the third switch and the fourth switch are respectively coupled to the first input terminal and the output terminal of the OP-AMP. A first terminal of the feedback capacitor is coupled to the second terminals of the first and the third switches. A second terminal of the feedback capacitor is coupled to the second terminals of the second and the fourth switches.
US07884659B2

A phase mixer includes a phase mixing unit configured to mix a phase of a first input signal and a phase of a second input signal in response to a phase control signal and output a phase mixed signal whose phase is varied by one or more units of a unit phase value, and a phase value adjusting unit configured to control an operation of the phrase mixing unit so that the unit phase value is adjusted in response to a code signal coding at least one of a process, voltage, or temperature (PVT) variation.
US07884654B2

A circuit arrangement (10) for driving an electrical load (2) comprises an input (11) for feeding a power-supply voltage (Vs) with an AC component and an output (13) for providing an output signal (Sout) for driving a connectable electrical load (2). The circuit arrangement (10) further comprises a frequency processing circuit (20) for proving a reference frequency (f1) as a function of the AC component, and a demodulator (60) with a first input (61) for feeding the reference frequency (f1), with a second input (62) that is coupled to the input (11) of the circuit arrangement (10), and with an output (63) that is coupled to the output (13) of the circuit arrangement (10).
US07884650B2

A digital compensation of an input stage of a comparator may be achieved by providing switched load elements, which may be appropriately connected to the differential input pair of the comparator in order to match transistor characteristics of the input pair and also match the load value of the input stage. Thus, enhanced offset behavior may be accomplished without providing an external signal and/or without requiring complex reference voltages/currents.
US07884648B2

The invention relates to an interfacing device for pseudo-differential transmission through interconnections used for sending a plurality of electrical signals. The interfacing device of the invention includes signal terminals and a common terminal. A transmitting circuit receives the input signals of the transmitting circuit coming from a source. The output of the transmitting circuit delivers, when the transmitting circuit is in the activated state, voltages between one of the signal terminals and the reference terminal (ground). A receiving circuit delivers, when the receiving circuit is in the activated state, output signals of the receiving circuit determined each by the voltage between one of the signal terminals and the common terminal, to the destination. In the closed state, the common terminal switching circuit is, for the common terminal, equivalent to a voltage source delivering a constant voltage, connected in series with a passive two-terminal circuit element presenting a low impedance.
US07884643B2

A voltage level shifting circuit for an integrated circuit system having an internal low voltage power supply (VCCL) and an external high voltage power supply (VCCH) is disclosed, the voltage level shifting circuit comprises a pair of cross coupled PMOS transistors connected to the VCCH, a NMOS transistor with a source connected to a ground (VSS) and a gate connected to a first signal swinging between the VCCL and the VSS, and a switching device coupled between a drain of one of the pair of PMOS transistors and a drain of the NMOS transistor, wherein the pair of PMOS transistors are high voltage transistors and the switching device is off when the VCCL is below a predetermined voltage level, and the switching device is on when the VCCL is above the predetermined voltage level.
US07884640B2

A programmable logic device (PLD) with a plurality of programmable regions is disclosed. Some of the programmable regions have switch power or ground supplies to allow them to be put into a low-power state in one or more low-power modes. At least one of the programmable regions always remains on during the low-power modes to enable the user to design custom PLD power management logic that may be placed in the always-on programmable region.
US07884630B2

An IC device (10) held on an IC carrier (24) is a double-sided electrode type BGA IC device (10) provided with bump electrodes (14) on a first surface of a package. The IC device has, on a second surface opposite the first surface, (a) a central protrusion (30), (b) a peripheral portion (32) lower than the protrusion by one step, and (c) upper electrodes (18) formed on the peripheral portion of the IC device. The IC carrier is provided with a frame (36), a cover (40), and a holding means (42). The frame forms a device reception space (38) for receiving the IC device. The cover can cover the upper electrodes while in contact with the periphery of the IC device held on the IC carrier. The holding means can hold the IC device on the IC carrier with the cover covering the upper electrodes of the IC device. The IC device can be set in an IC socket while being mounted on the IC carrier.
US07884628B2

An interposer may include a first base, at least one first signal line in the first base, and at least one first ground line in the first base, wherein the ground line surrounds the at least one first signal line. The at least one first signal line and the at least one first ground line may be exposed through an upper surface of the first base. The at least one first signal line may be configured to conduct a test current through the first base. An interposer may also include a second base below the first base and may include a printed circuit board between the first base and the second base. A probe card may include a multilayer substrate having at least one contact needle, a coaxial board having at least one coaxial signal cable and the above described interposer between the multilayer substrate and the coaxial board.
US07884614B2

This invention relates to a device of electrodes for measuring water content in foundry sand, an apparatus for measuring water content in foundry sand, and a method and an apparatus for supplying water to a sand mixer. When the prior art device for measuring water content in the foundry sand is disposed in it, the size or shape of the device of the electrodes is limited. To solve this problem, the device of the electrodes for measuring water content in the foundry sand by supplying an electric current to it is comprised of a plurality of conductive elements 2, 3 concentrically disposed with certain intervals between them in a longitudinal direction, wherein the elements form an annular shape, a retaining element 4 to retain the plurality of the conductive elements 2, 3, wherein the retaining element 4 has an electrical insulating property and a cylindrical shape having the same diameter as the conductive elements 2, 3, and the two conductive wires 5, 6 to connect alternate respective elements of the plurality of conductive elements 2, 3 so that the conductive elements 2, 3 form two poles, wherein the two conductive wires 5, 6 pass through the cavity in the retaining element 4.
US07884607B2

A local coil arrangement for magnetic resonance imaging has a number of supporting connection devices for placement of the local coil arrangement on a patient bed, with each supporting connection device embodying a vibration damping device.
US07884600B2

To provide a rotation angle detecting device, in which undesirable noises from an angle calculating circuit can be reduced to increase a detection accuracy, outputs of four linear magnetic sensor arrays arranged on a non-rotatable member confronting a magnetic generating element and arranged in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation, the sensor arrays being arranged along four sides of an imaginary rectangular shape, are read out by signal read-out circuits, and then converted into digital signals by AD converting circuits in order to calculate an angle of rotation of the magnetic generating element by an angle calculating circuit. The signal read-out circuits and the AD converter circuits are arranged outside of the magnetic sensor arrays arranged in a generally rectangular pattern, and the angle calculating circuit is arranged inside of the magnetic sensor arrays, all being mounted on a semiconductor chip.
US07884598B2

A method of manufacturing a clamp jaw assembly for a clamp meter is provided. The method includes providing a clamp jaw core and a shield having a channel. The method further includes positioning the clamp jaw core within the channel of the shield such that the shield surrounds a portion of the clamp jaw core. The method also includes enclosing the clamp jaw core and the shield within a clamp jaw housing.
US07884597B2

The subject matter of the invention is an apparatus for testing a protective, measuring or metering device as a constituent part of a high or medium voltage installation, more specifically of a utility protective relay, of a generator protective device, of a current meter and so on in a high or medium voltage installation, a combined terminal and pole block (1) located in the input field of the high or medium voltage installation being connected in the protective field to the protective, measuring or metering device, said terminal and pole block (1) comprising several terminal and pole segments (2) disposed behind each other, each terminal and pole segment (2) comprising on its upper side a pole opening (5) for receiving the pole blade (7) of a plug (8), each terminal and pole segment (2) having a cable clamping apparatus (27; 31) on either side thereof, said cable clamping apparatus (27; 31) being accessible through an opening (22a) for the cable disposed in the side wall of the terminal and pole segment (2).
US07884590B2

An exemplary voltage converter includes a pulse width modulation controller chip, a pull-up transistor, a pull-down transistor, and a low pass filter. The pulse width modulation controller chip includes a plurality of pins, a power management circuit, a gate control logic circuit, a first gate driver, a second gate driver, a current source, a first resistor, an inductor current sensor, a counter and current step generator, and an oscillator. The plurality of pins include a Vcc pin, a BOOT pin, a PHASE pin, a UGATE pin, a LGATE pin, and a GND pin. The PHASE pin serves as a multi-function pin in the pulse width modulation controller chip. The current source, the first resistor, the inductor current sensor, the counter and current step generator, the oscillator, and the pull-down transistor constitute a light-load efficiency improvement circuit.
US07884586B2

This disclosure relates to a voltage regulator system where duty cycle value of an input voltage is measured, where the input voltage is supplied to a regulator circuit that provides a regulated output voltage. Based on a calculated ideal duty cycle, which is derived from the measure duty cycle, a determination is made as to whether the regular circuit operational mode is to be changed to achieve greater efficiency.
US07884578B2

A battery charging circuit is used by being connected to a direct-current power source. The battery charging circuit includes a control transistor, a backflow prevention transistor and a charging controller. The control transistor is disposed in a charging path between the direct-current power source and a battery, and is configured to control a direct-current voltage from the direct-current power source, and to output controlled direct-current voltage as a charging voltage. The backflow prevention transistor is disposed in the charging path, and is configured to output the charging voltage to the battery, and to be turned off when an electric current flows backward from the battery to the direct-current power source. The charging controller is configured to turn on the backflow prevention transistor when charging of the battery starts, and to turn on the control transistor after a fixed period of time elapses from a start of the charging.
US07884575B2

Provided are an apparatus using a battery and a method of detecting a time to change/recharge the battery in the apparatus. The apparatus includes: a battery for applying a battery voltage; a function unit for receiving the battery voltage to perform an intrinsic operation and cutting off the battery voltage; a voltage divider for dividing the battery voltage to generate a divided voltage; an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for receiving the battery voltage to convert the divided voltage into a digital voltage signal in response to a measurement control signal before and after a low-power mode is finished; and a controller for receiving the battery voltage to generate a low-power signal for entering the low-power mode, enabling the measurement control signal in response to the low-power signal before and after the low-power mode is finished, and informing a user of a time to change/recharge the battery by detecting the remaining power of the battery using the digital voltage signals generated before and after the low-power mode is finished.
US07884572B2

A hot spot device includes an embedded processing module, a network connection module, and a terminal connection module. The embedded processing module controls the network connection module to connect to Internet, and also controls the network connection module to communicate with the terminal connection module. The terminal connection module includes a station (STA) chip and a first antenna. The STA chip receives from the embedded processing module data information obtained from the Internet through the network connection module, processes the data information, and transmits the data information to a certain area through the first antenna, so as to realize wireless signal coverage in the area. The STA chip also receives data information transmitted by wireless local area network (WLAN) equipment from the first antenna, processes the data information, outputs the processed data information to the embedded processing module for sending the processed data information to the Internet through the embedded processing module and network connection module.
US07884568B2

A portable electronic device comprises a main body, a lens module and a solar panel. The main body comprises a battery pack and a photosensitive element. The lens module is connected with the main body. The solar panel is disposed between the photosensitive element and the lens module, and the solar panel is electrically connected with the battery pack. The solar panel is able to receive the light focused by the lens module and convert the light into electricity to supply to the battery pack.
US07884561B2

This invention relates to a method of speed control selection for an electronically commutated motor comprising the following steps: (a) a motor controller receives an input signal T from a speed control selection circuit; (b) the motor controller retrieves a corresponding value for a motor running speed S from a comparison list correlating the input signal with the motor running speed, which list has been stored in the motor controller in advance, by searching the comparison list for the input signal T; and (c) the motor controller controlling a motor M to run at the motor running speed S, achieving the purpose of the speed selection. This method allows for from 2 to 256 speed choices with a single signal wire only. Such a circuit structure has the advantages of high integration, simple wiring, low cost, good performances, low failure rate, higher number of optional speeds, and simpler and more practical control.
US07884559B2

A multi-energy frequency-multiplying particle accelerator and a method thereof are disclosed, an accelerator comprises a pulse power generation unit for generating N pulse signals with different power levels, N is equal to or greater than 2; N microwave power generation units for, under the control of a control signal, generating N microwaves with different energy levels based on said N pulse signals, respectively; a power mixing unit having N entrances and one exit and for inputting a corresponding microwave among said N microwaves from each of said N entrances and outputting said N microwaves from said one exit; a particle beam generation unit for generating N particle beams in synchronization with said N microwaves; and an accelerating unit for using said N microwaves to accelerate said N particle beams, respectively.
US07884555B2

A capacitor 42 (C1) of a first bootstrap circuit 4 for maintaining the ON state of a first switching device 61, one of the two switching devices disposed on a higher potential side of first DC voltage V1, is not only charged with second DC voltage V2, but also supplied with a charging current from third DC voltage V3 on a secondary winding n2 side of a transformer 22, and maintains the ON state of the first switching device 61 for a long time with the charge of both of them. This makes it possible to fix the polarity of the voltage to be applied to the discharge lamp 8 to the single side polarity closer to the DC output operation.
US07884554B2

A starting circuit arrangement for starting at least one discharge lamp by applying an electrical starting voltage pulse to the discharge lamp, the starting circuit arrangement has: at least one source circuit arrangement for providing an electrical primary voltage pulse, at least one starting circuit for providing the starting voltage pulse, and at least one inductive coupling element for inductively coupling-in the primary voltage pulse into the starting circuit for the purpose of generating the starting voltage pulse. The inductive coupling element has a transformation ratio for a voltage transformation which is selected from the range of from 1/25 to 1/400. A method for starting a discharge lamp by applying a starting voltage pulse using the starting circuit arrangement is also disclosed.
US07884547B2

Lead-free acid-resistant glass composition includes 5-25% of SiO2, 4-30% of B2O3, 7-30% of ZnO, 15-70% of Bi2O3, 0-15% of Al2O3, 5-20% of BaO in weight percentage, and being substantially lead-free.
US07884545B2

The present invention is directed to the provision of an LED light source that can easily adjust its chromaticity and a chromaticity adjustment method for such an LED light source. More specifically, the invention provides a chromaticity adjustment method for an LED light source having an LED device, a phosphor which absorbs a portion of light emitted from the LED device and emits light by wavelength conversion, and a resin material containing the phosphor and disposed so as to enclose the LED device, wherein an ink coating layer is disposed on a surface of the resin material in order to adjust chromaticity; the invention also provides an LED light source adjusted in such a manner.
US07884540B2

An organic light emitting diode display includes a display panel having a display area with a plurality of thin film transistors and a peripheral area provided along a circumference of the display area, an emission layer formed within the display area, a driver formed in the peripheral area which applies display signals including gate signals and data signals to the thin film transistors, a driving voltage pad formed in the peripheral area which applies a driving voltage to the display area, a common voltage pad formed in the peripheral area which applies a common voltage to the display area, a main connector connected to an external voltage source, and a flexible conductive film including a conductive layer electrically connecting between at least one of the driving voltage pad and the common voltage pad and the main connector. The organic light emitting diode display facilitates modulation due to a simple structure, and improves a voltage drop phenomenon.
US07884537B2

A pattern substrate including a conductive pattern of overlapping circular patterns disposed on a substrate is provided.
US07884519B2

Provided is a generator in which straight rod magnets have been heated to form curved ones, with the identical polarity ends of the magnets having been forcibly butted together by diamagnetic connecting devices to form a field element ring. The field element ring is arranged through three Y-shaped sets (evenly spaced apart) of one inner and two outer roller devices set on a base steel sheet. Rotary drive force is applied from the centrally placed drive motor to one of the inner and outer roller devices to rotate the field element ring. Between, and in line with, the three sets of inner and outer roller devices are arranged three segments of an armature coil that is wound around the field element ring. In turn, the armature coil is encased within three segments of an armature core that are set on the base steel sheet.
US07884516B2

A motor may include a rotor provided with a rotor shaft, a cylindrical bearing made of resin material and provided with a bearing part for rotatably supporting a shaft end of the rotor shaft, and a bearing holder provided with a through-hole into which the cylindrical bearing is inserted. The cylindrical bearing is slidably held in the through-hole and at least one of a first end face where the bearing part is formed and a second end face which is an opposite end face to the first end face is formed with a ring-shaped groove. Therefore, a wall thickness of resin for forming the bearing can be made thinner and thus shrinkage of the side wall part of the bearing which faces an inner peripheral face of the through-hole of the bearing holder is reduced.
US07884512B2

The present invention relates to a fixing structure for printed circuit board (PCB) of micro motor, including a base and a PCB. The base has a shaft tube disposed centrally therein; at least a circuit board fixing pin is protruded beyond the base peripheral to the shaft tube; the PCB has a center hole for the shaft tube to be inserted in, and the diameter of the center hole shall be close to but not less than the outer diameter of the shaft tube; each circuit board fixing pin corresponds to a through hole disposed on the center of the PCB. Sensing plates are prevented from dropping to secure the motor to stably rotate; the circuit board fixing pin, after passing through the through hole, is fixed by an adhesive or a soldering means to make the PCB and the base perfectly fit and free from warp and vibration.
US07884510B2

The present invention is used with a stopper mechanism for mechanically stopping the rotation of a motor. A pair of brushes is disposed such that a line which passes through the center of a rotor and connects the centers of the paired brushes is offset by a predetermined angle from a line which connects the centers of paired magnets. A commutator is disposed in such a manner as to be offset from a reference position by the same angle as the predetermined angle by which the paired brushes are offset. The predetermined angle falls within a range between an angle obtained by dividing 70° by the number of pairs of stator poles and an angle obtained by dividing 290° by the number of pairs of stator poles. Specifically, in the case of two stator poles, the predetermined angle falls within a range of 70° to 290° inclusive. In the case of four stator poles, the predetermined angle falls within a range of 35° to 145° inclusive.
US07884505B2

A dry-type high-voltage load system apparatus has a space-saving structure, which is resistant to chain breaking, arc discharge and vibration, and a method of preventing the chain breaking and the arc discharge for use with the system apparatus. The system apparatus includes a dry-type high-voltage load system circuit including a low-voltage bank formed of lower-capacity configuration banks which include three-phase resistor circuits which are low-voltage resistor circuit. A high-voltage bank includes lower-capacity configuration banks for a high-voltage resistor circuit formed of three-phase resistor circuits. The three-phase resistor circuits are connected to a high-voltage power generator in parallel and arein the form of a Y-connection of three resistor arrays so that an isolated and independent neutral point is unconnected to other neutral points. The three phase resistor circuits may also be in the form of a Δ-connection.
US07884497B2

Provided is a power supply circuit generating a desired voltage by voltage multiplication, and satisfying both a demand to reduce current consumption and a demand to enable operation with a low power voltage at the same time. A power supply circuit of the present invention includes: a voltage generating circuit for generating internal voltages VI1 and VI2 from a power supply voltage VDD; a voltage step-up/down circuit for generating voltages VO1 to VO3 each having a different level by multiplying the internal voltages VI1 and VI12; and a voltage comparison circuit for comparing the voltage VO2 with the power supply voltage VDD. The voltage generating circuit is configured to select one of the internal voltages VI1 and VI2 according to an output of the voltage comparison circuit. Additionally, a voltage multiplication rate of the voltage multiplication circuit is switched according to the output of the voltage comparison circuit.
US07884496B2

The configurations of a switched-mode power supply and a controlling method thereof are provided. The proposed switched-mode power supply includes a first output converter receiving a DC input voltage and generating a first high power DC voltage output and at least one low power DC voltage output, and a second output converter receiving the DC input voltage and generating a second high power DC voltage output coupled to the first high power DC voltage output to generate a coupled output, wherein the first output converter works and the second output converter idles when a transient power of the coupled output is not larger than a rated output power of the first high power DC voltage output, and both the first and the second output converters work when the transient power is larger than the rated output power.
US07884495B2

A method and an apparatus are used in hot swap of AC or DC line replaceable modules (40A). The apparatus according to one embodiment comprises a pin assembly (183), the pin assembly (183) being connectable to a module (40A) and connectable to a backplane (104), the pin assembly (183) resistively reducing a current associated with the module (40A) during disconnection of the module (40A) from the backplane (104), and presenting a high resistance to the module (40A) during connection of the module (40A) to the backplane (104), and a low resistance to the module (40A) at completion of the connection of the module (40A) to the backplane (104); and a hot swap detector (134) connectable to the pin assembly (183), the hot swap detector (134) detecting the disconnection of the module (40A) from the backplane (104), and detecting the connection of the module (40A) to the backplane (104).
US07884486B2

A chip stacked package structure and applications are provided. The chip-stacked package structure includes a main substrate, a baseboard substrate, and a molding compound. The main substrate has a substrate and a first chip. The substrate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The first chip is disposed on the first surface and electrically connected to the substrate via first bumps. The baseboard substrate has a third surface and a fourth surface faced towards the substrate. The baseboard substrate includes a core layer having a plurality of first through holes and a first accommodation space in which the first chip is received. The second chip is disposed on the third surface of the baseboard substrate. The molding compound is used to encapsulate the main substrate, and the baseboard substrate.
US07884480B2

A technique for enhancing the performance of a memory- and logic-equipped semiconductor device is provided. The semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate (1), an insulating layer (19) on the semiconductor substrate (1), a plurality of contact plugs (16, 66) in the insulating layer (19), and an insulating layer (30) where capacitors (82), a plurality of contact plugs (25, 75), barrier metal layers (27, 87) and copper interconnections (29, 88) are formed. Source/drain regions (9) in the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate (1) are electrically connected to the copper interconnections (29). One of adjacent source/drain regions (59) in the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate (1) is electrically connected to the copper interconnection (88), while the other is electrically connected to the capacitor (82).
US07884475B2

A microelectronic structure includes a dielectric layer located over a substrate. The dielectric layer is separated from a copper containing conductor layer by an oxidation barrier layer. The microelectronic structure also includes a manganese oxide layer located aligned upon a portion of the copper containing conductor layer not adjoining the oxidation barrier layer. A method for fabricating the microelectronic structure includes sequentially forming and sequentially planarizing within an aperture within a dielectric layer an oxidation barrier layer, a manganese containing layer (or alternatively a mobile and oxidizable material layer) and finally, a planarized copper containing conductor layer (or alternatively a base material layer comprising a material less mobile and oxidizable than the mobile and oxidizable material layer) to completely fill the aperture. The manganese layer and the planarized copper containing conductor layer are then thermally oxidized to form a manganese oxide layer self aligned to a portion of the copper containing conductor layer not adjoining the oxidation barrier layer.
US07884471B2

Disclosed herein are intermediate and solder bump structures. In one embodiment, a structure comprises a primary solder column comprising primary solder material and configured to electrically contact a bonding pad on a semiconductor substrate. The structure also comprises at least one secondary solder column comprising secondary solder material in electrical contact with the primary solder column, the at least one secondary column having a height and volume less than a height and volume of the primary solder column. In such structures, the primary solder column is further configured to form a primary solder bump comprising the primary solder material and at least a portion of the secondary solder material through cohesion from the at least one secondary solder column when the intermediate structure undergoes a reflow process.
US07884461B2

The present invention discloses a structure of package comprising: a substrate with a die receiving through hole and a contact conductive via formed therein, a die disposed within the die receiving through hole, a surrounding material filled in the gap except the die area of the die receiving though hole, a re-distribution layer formed on the substrate and coupled to the contact conductive via, a protection layer formed over the re-distribution layer, a cover material formed over the protection layer; and a terminal contact pad formed on the lower surface of the substrate and under the contact conductive via and the die to couple the contact conductive via.
US07884458B2

A decoupling capacitor, a wafer stack package including the decoupling capacitor, and a method of fabricating the wafer stack package are provided. The decoupling capacitor may include a first electrode formed on an upper surface of a first wafer, a second electrode formed on a lower surface of a second wafer, and an adhesive material having a high dielectric constant and combining the first wafer with the second wafer. In the decoupling capacitor the first and second electrodes operate as two electrodes of the decoupling capacitor, and the adhesive material operates as a dielectric of the decoupling capacitor.
US07884457B2

An integrated circuit package system comprising: connecting an integrated circuit die with a bottom connection structure; placing an adhesive encapsulation over the integrated circuit die and the bottom connection structure with the bottom connection structure exposed; and placing a top connection structure over the adhesive encapsulation at an opposing side to the bottom connection structure.
US07884449B2

The present invention provides a process for manufacturing an integrated circuit (IC) package and an integrated circuit (IC) package. The process, without limitation, includes providing an integrated circuit chip having a configuration, and forming a layer of overcoat material over the integrated circuit chip based upon the configuration.
US07884441B2

Provided are a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same. The semiconductor device includes a plurality of device isolation layers disposed in a semiconductor substrate, the device isolation layers extending in a word line direction and spaced apart from each other; a plurality of floating gate devices extending in a bit line direction perpendicular to the device isolation layer and spaced apart from each other; a source region and a drain region disposed at sides of the floating gate device; an insulation layer disposed on the floating gate device and the source region, and a polysilicon line extending in the word line direction and connected to the drain region.
US07884431B2

A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device includes a semiconductor substrate, a MEMS including a fixed electrode and a movable electrode formed on the semiconductor substrate through an insulating layer, and a well formed in the semiconductor substrate below the fixed electrode. The well is one of an n-type well and a p-type well. The p-type well applies a positive voltage to the fixed electrode while the n-type well applies a negative voltage to the fixed electrode.
US07884424B2

An architecture of the layout of the MTCMOS standard cell designed for low power consumption is supplemented so that the pick-up cells are included in the power line of the MTCMOS cell. Therefore, when the logic circuit is constructed using the library layout of the MTCMOS cell in which the related pick-up cells are not included, pick-up cells consisting of only the ends of the pick-up cells are not needed every 50 μm during the placement of the MTCMOS standard cell. The flexibility of the cell placement may thereby be improved. In addition, since additional space for the pick-up cells is not required, the size of the MTCMOS may be reduced, saving space on the semiconductor substrate.
US07884420B2

A semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention has a transistor section which includes a trench gate type transistor, and a gate line section which includes a part provided between transistor sections. The device includes a semiconductor substrate, a semiconductor layer formed on the semiconductor substrate, a base layer formed in the semiconductor layer, and provided with trenches in the transistor section and the gate line section, the trenches in the transistor section extending in a first direction parallel to a direction in which the transistor extends, the trenches in the bit line section extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the trenches in the transistor section penetrating the base layer to reach the semiconductor layer, a source layer formed in the semiconductor layer in the transistor section, the source layer being located on the base layer, a gate insulator formed on surfaces of the base layer and the semiconductor layer exposed to the trenches in the transistor section and the gate line section, and on an upper surface of the base layer between the trenches in the gate line section, a gate line layer formed on the gate insulator, and including a part buried in the trenches in the transistor section, an inter layer dielectric formed on the gate line layer, and a source line layer formed on the inter layer dielectric, and electrically connected to the source layer in the transistor section.
US07884414B2

A semiconductor memory device includes a first memory cell transistor. The first memory cell transistor includes a tunnel insulation film provided on a semiconductor substrate, a floating electrode provided on the tunnel insulation film, an inter-gate insulation film provided on the floating electrode, and a control electrode provided on the inter-gate insulation film. The floating electrode includes a first floating electrode provided on the tunnel insulation film and a second floating electrode provided on one end portion of the first floating electrode, the floating electrode having an L-shaped cross section in a wiring direction of the control electrode.
US07884409B2

A semiconductor device and methods of fabricating the same, wherein insulation layers are interposed to sequentially dispose the semiconductor device on a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor device includes a first conductive plate, a second conductive plate, a third conductive plate, and a fourth conductive plate. At least two of the first second, third and fourth conductive plates are electrically connected and constitute at least two capacitors.
US07884405B2

Magneto-resistive random access memory elements include a ferromagnetic layer having uniaxial anisotropy provided by elongate structures formed in the ferromagnetic film. The magnetic dipole aligns with the long axis of each structure. The structures can be formed in a variety of ways. For example, the ferromagnetic film can be applied to a seed layer having a textured surface. Alternatively, the ferromagnetic film can be stressed to generate the textured structure. Chemical mechanical polishing also can be used to generated the structures.
US07884402B2

Provided is an image sensor. According to embodiments, the subject image sensor can include a photodiode for converting incident light into electrical signals, a reset transistor for resetting a voltage value of a unit pixel, a drive transistor for providing an output voltage, a select transistor for selecting the unit pixel, a storage capacitor for storing electrons leaking from the photodiode, and a switching transistor for controlling the flow of charge to and from the storage capacitor. The switching transistor can be disposed connected to a node between the photodiode and the reset transistor, and the storage capacitor can be disposed at a side of the switching transistor.
US07884401B2

The embodiment relates to a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor and more particularly, to a CMOS image sensor and a manufacturing method thereof capable of improving electron storing capacity in a floating diffusion area. The CMOS image sensor includes a first gate electrode on a semiconductor substrate; a photodiode in the semiconductor substrate on one side of the first gate electrode; a floating diffusion area in the semiconductor substrate on an opposite side of the first gate electrode; a capacitor including a lower capacitor electrode connected to the floating diffusion area, a dielectric layer on the lower capacitor electrode, and an upper capacitor electrode; a drive capacitor coupled to the lower capacitor electrode and having a second gate electrode connected to the floating diffusion area. The electron storing capacity of the floating diffusion node is increased, making it possible to improve the dynamic range of the image sensor.
US07884399B2

A semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same include a gate electrode formed over the silicon substrate, the gate electrode including low-concentration conductive impurity regions, a high-concentration conductive impurity region formed between the low-concentration conductive impurity regions and a first silicide layer formed over the high-concentration conductive impurity region, and contact electrodes including a first contact electrode connected electrically to the gate electrode and a second contact electrode connected electrically to source/drain regions. The first contact electrode contacts the uppermost surface of the gate electrode and a sidewall of the gate electrode. The gate electrode can be easily connected to the contact electrode, the high-concentration region can be disposed only on the channel region, making it possible to maximize overall performance of the semiconductor device.
US07884398B2

Specific ionic interactions with a sensing material that is electrically coupled with the floating gate of a floating gate-based ion sensitive field effect transistor (FGISFET) may be used to sense a target material. For example, an FGISFET can use (e.g., previously demonstrated) ionic interaction-based sensing techniques with the floating gate of floating gate field effect transistors. The floating gate can serves as a probe and an interface to convert chemical and/or biological signals to electrical signals, which can be measured by monitoring the change in the device's threshold voltage, VT.
US07884397B2

A main object of the present invention is to provide a solid-state image sensor capable of efficiently collecting a light beam when the central position of the light receiving element and the central position of the micro lens do not coincide with each other in the plan view owing to a plural pixel sharing structure. To achieve the object, the present invention provides a solid-state image sensor comprising at least: a light receiving element for receiving a subject light to convert into a light signal; a micro lens for improving the light collecting rate to the light receiving element; and a signal readout circuit for reading a light signal generated from the light receiving element, such that the central position of the light receiving element and the central position of the micro lens do not coincide with each other in the plan view for having a plural pixel sharing structure with the single signal readout circuit shared by a plurality of the light receiving elements, wherein the micro lens having the maximum film thickness position different from the central position is provided such that the focus position of the micro lens with respect to a parallel ray is on the light receiving element.
US07884396B2

Disclosed are embodiments of a semiconductor structure with a partially self-aligned contact in lower portion of the contact is enlarged to reduce resistance without impacting device yield. Additionally, the structure optionally incorporates a thick middle-of-the-line (MOL) nitride stress film to enhance carrier mobility. Embodiments of the method of forming the structure comprise forming a sacrificial section in the intended location of the contact. This section is patterned so that it is self-aligned to the gate electrodes and only occupies space that is intended for the future contact. Dielectric layer(s) (e.g., an optional stress layer followed by an interlayer dielectric) may be deposited once the sacrificial section is in place. Conventional contact lithography is used to etch a contact hole through the dielectric layer(s) to the sacrificial section. The sacrificial section is then selectively removed to form a cavity and the contact is formed in the cavity and contact hole.
US07884394B2

A III-nitride based high electron mobility transistor is described that has a gate-connected grounded field plate. The gate-connected grounded field plate device can minimize the Miller capacitance effect. The transistor can be formed as a high voltage depletion mode transistor and can be used in combination with a low voltage enhancement-mode transistor to form an assembly that operates as a single high voltage enhancement mode transistor.
US07884392B2

One embodiment exemplarily described herein can be characterized as an image sensor including a substrate having a front surface and a rear surface; a photoelectric converting portion on the front surface of the substrate; a through via extending through the substrate, wherein the through via is electrically connected to the photoelectric converting portion; an external connection terminal on the rear surface of the substrate, wherein the external connection terminal is connected to the through via; and a light shading layer formed on a portion of the rear surface of the substrate, wherein the light shading layer is substantially opaque with respect to an external light. In some embodiments, the portion of the rear surface of the substrate on which the light shading layer is formed is not overlapped by the through via or the external connection terminal.
US07884385B2

A light emitting diode device includes a substrate, a light emitting diode chip, a plurality of wires, a plurality of lead frames, an insulating body, an encapsulant and a lens. The light emitting diode chip is electrically connected with a lead frame and the substrate. The substrate is electrically connected with another lead frame. Hence, the length of the wires can be decreased, and the reliability of the light emitting diode device can be improved.
US07884376B2

An embodiment of the invention discloses an optoelectronic semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor system capable of performing a conversion between light energy and electrical energy; an interfacial layer formed on at least two surfaces of the semiconductor system; an electrical conductor; and an electrical connector electrically connecting the semiconductor system to the electric conductor.
US07884375B2

A solar cell and a manufacturing method thereof. A method of manufacturing a solar cell includes: forming an emitter layer on a first surface of a semiconductor substrate; forming an insulation layer on the emitter layer; applying a chemical compound including a dopant having a conductive type of the emitter layer on the insulation layer according to a pattern; forming a high concentration emitter portion by removing a portion of the insulation layer corresponding to a positioning of the chemical compound and diffusing the dopant toward the emitting layer; removing the chemical compound; and forming a first electrode electrically connected to the high concentration emitter portion.
US07884371B2

A backlight device includes a first substrate, and an LED thin-film layered structure (epitaxially grown inorganic material layers) fixed to a surface of the first substrate. An anode electrode and a cathode electrode are formed on the LED thin-film layered structure. An anode driver IC and a cathode driver IC are provided for driving the LED thin-film layered structure. A wiring structure electrically connects the anode driver IC and the anode electrode of the LED thin-film layered structure, and electrically connects the cathode driver IC and the cathode electrode of the LED thin-film layered structure. A second substrate has an optical transparency and is disposed to face the surface of the first substrate on which the LED thin-film layered structure is formed. A phosphor is formed on a surface of the second substrate facing the first substrate and is disposed on a position corresponding to the LED thin-film layered structure.
US07884366B2

A thin film transistor array panel and a method of its manufacture are presented. The thin film transistor array panel according to an embodiment includes a substrate, a gate line extending in a first direction on the substrate, a data line extending in a second direction on the substrate and intersecting and insulated from the gate line, a thin film transistor including a control terminal connected to the gate line, an input terminal connected to the data line and an output terminal, a color filter formed on the thin film transistor, a light blocking member formed on the thin film transistor, defining the space for storing the color filter, and including a first protection portion surrounding at least the region of the output terminal of the thin film transistor, and a pixel electrode formed on the light blocking member and the color filter and contacting the region of the output terminal surrounded by the first protection portion of the light blocking member.
US07884365B2

A TFT array panel includes: first and second gate members connected to each other; a gate insulating layer formed on the first and the second gate members; first and second semiconductor members formed on the gate insulating layer opposite the first and the second gate members, respectively; first and second source members connected to each other and located near the first and the second semiconductor members, respectively; first and second drain members located near the first and the second semiconductor members, respectively, and located opposite the first and the second source members with respect to the first and the second gate members, respectively; and a pixel electrode connected to the first and the second drain members. The first gate, semiconductor, source, and drain members form a first TFT, and the second gate, semiconductor, source, and drain members form a second TFT.
US07884361B2

A self-aligned, thin-film, top-gate transistor and method of manufacturing same are disclosed. A first print-patterned mask is formed over a metal layer by digital lithography, for example by printing with a phase change material using a droplet ejector. The metal layer is then etched using the first print-patterned mask to form source and drain electrodes. A semiconductive layer and an insulative layer are formed thereover. A layer of photosensitive material is then deposited and exposed through the substrate, with the source and drain electrodes acting as masks for the exposure. Following development of the photosensitive material, a gate metal layer is deposited. A second print-patterned mask is then formed over the device, again by digital lithography. Etching and removal of the photosensitive material leaves the self-aligned top-gate electrode.
US07884347B2

A phase-change memory device in which a phase-change material layer has a multilayered structure with different compositions and a method of fabricating the same are provided. The phase-change memory device includes a first electrode layer formed on a substrate, a heater electrode layer formed on the first electrode layer, an insulating layer formed on the heater electrode layer and having a pore partially exposing the heater electrode layer, a phase-change material layer formed to fill the pore and partially contacting the heater electrode layer, and a second electrode layer formed on the phase-change material layer. The main operating region functioning as a memory operating region is formed of a Ge2Sb2+xTe5 phase-change material to ensure the stability of a memory operation, and simultaneously, the subsidiary regions formed of a Ge2Sb2Te5 phase-change material are disposed respectively on and under the Ge2Sb2+xTe5 main operating region to prevent leakage of thermal energy through an electrode, thereby reducing power consumption.
US07884343B2

Memory cells are described along with methods for manufacturing. A memory cell described herein includes a bottom electrode, a top electrode overlying the bottom electrode, a via having a sidewall extending from a bottom electrode to a top electrode, and a memory element electrically coupling the bottom electrode to the top electrode. The memory element has an outer surface contacting a dielectric sidewall spacer that is on the sidewall of the via, and comprises a stem portion on the bottom electrode and a cup portion on the stem portion. A fill material is within an interior defined by an inner surface of the cup portion of the memory element.
US07884341B2

A multi-light apparatus (10) for primary use in dental or medicinal operatory workspaces and for interconnection with a modular operating chair (12), so as to form the headrest thereof, preferably includes first and second radiation sources (36,72) and a selection mechanism (70) for selecting a desired radiation source, a rigidly flexible light pipe (16) that may be alternatively coupled to each light source (36,72) and is configured to transmit selected radiation to a patient (14), a reflective surface (78) configured to direct the selected radiation to the pipe (16), a power supply (50), a cooling fan (56), and at least one potentiometer (66,68) for varying the voltage delivered to the sources (36,72) and fan (56).
US07884340B2

A low-volume biomarker generator for producing ultra-short lived radiopharmaceuticals. The low-volume biomarker generator system includes a low-power cyclotron and a radiochemical synthesis system. The cyclotron of the low-volume biomarker generator is optimized for producing radioisotopes useful in synthesizing radiopharmaceuticals in small quantities down to approximately one (1) unit dose. The cyclotron incorporates permanent magnets in place of electromagnets and/or an improved rf system to reduce the size, power requirements, and weight of the cyclotron. The radiochemical synthesis system of the low-volume biomarker is a small volume system optimized for synthesizing the radiopharmaceutical in small quantities of approximately one (1) unit dose.
US07884337B2

A fluorescence microscope 11 includes an objective lens 101, a dichroic mirror 102, a half mirror 105, a mirror 106, a laser light source 111, an ND filter 112, a beam expander 113, a mirror 114, a spatial light modulator 115, a lens 131, a band pass filter 132, a spatial light modulator 133, and a detector, etc. The spatial light modulator 115 can vary its spatial light modulation, and can set the number, positions, and shapes of regions to be irradiated with excitation light in the determined specimen 1 by irradiating the determined specimen 1 with spatially modulated excitation light via the subsequent optical system.
US07884335B2

The present invention provides a system for water treatment. The system includes a chamber, a UV light source, and a housing. The chamber has an inlet for receiving ozone mixed water and a transparent portion configured to allow UV light to pass. The UV light source has a protective shell that comprises a first portion and a second portion, the first and second portions configured to pass UV light at a first and second wavelength, respectively. The housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, the housing configured to secure the UV source and to receive a portion of the chamber, wherein the UV source and the chamber is affixed to the housing such that the transparent portion of the chamber is exposed to the first portion of the protective shell, thereby exposing the ozone mixed water to UV light with the first wavelength, and wherein the second wavelength convert oxygen molecules from the air inlet into ozone molecules.
US07884332B1

An ionization detector having a grid of electrodes disposed perpendicular to an oscillating voltage. Charge released from an ionization event oscillates in the detector medium at the same frequency as the applied oscillating voltage. The electrode grid is configured to measure induced oscillating charge from the oscillating ionization charge in the detector. The detector signal is obtained from readout of the induced oscillating charge on the electrodes. Signal processing electronics processes the measured signal from the oscillating induced charge to derive energy and position information of the ionization event. A bias voltage is applied across the detector to further sweep the ionization charge from the active detection volume.
US07884327B2

A vein imaging apparatus of the present invention includes: a lens array to which a plurality of light receiving lenses are arranged in an array shape; a plurality of near-infrared light irradiation sources which are respectively arranged at opposing ends of the lens array and which irradiate a part of a living body with near-infrared light; an imaging element which generates a pickup image of a vein based on near-infrared light which is collected by the lens array and which is scattered in the living body and penetrates through the vein; and a brightness adjustment unit which adjusts brightness of the near-infrared light radiated from the near-infrared light irradiation source in accordance with a synchronization signal for controlling the imaging element and distance from the near-infrared light irradiation source.
US07884324B2

The present invention provides systems, devices, device components and structures for modulating the intensity and/or energies of electrons, including a beam of incident electrons. In some embodiments, for example, the present invention provides nano-structured semiconductor membrane structures capable of generating secondary electron emission. Nano-structured semiconductor membranes of this aspect of the present invention include membranes having an array of nanopillar structures capable of providing electron emission for amplification, filtering and/or detection of incident radiation, for example secondary electron emission and/or field emission. Nano-structured semiconductor membranes of the present invention are useful as converters wherein interaction of incident primary electrons and nanopillars of the nanopillar array generates secondary emission. Nano-structured semiconductor membranes of this aspect of the present invention are also useful as directed charge amplifiers wherein secondary emission from a nanopillar array provides gain functionality for increasing the intensity of radiation comprising incident electrons.
US07884315B2

An invisible, light-transmissive display system with a light resistant material is provided. Substantially invisible holes penetrate through at least a portion of the light resistant material in a predetermined light-transmissive display pattern.
US07884313B2

A sensor arrangement includes at least one transparent elevation, which is formed on the surface. The transparent elevation is made of a first transparent material. At least one first facet of the transparent elevation defines a first angle with the surface. This first angle is larger than an angle at which a total-reflection occurs at an interface of the first transparent material and air and is at the same time smaller than an angle at which a total reflection occurs at an interface of the first transparent material and the liquid. A light source is arranged for emitting an incident ray into a first direction passing through the surface into the transparent elevation such that in a presence of a liquid at the first facet, an incident ray is transmitted through the first facet. In an absence of a liquid, the incident ray is reflected due to a total reflection at the facets. A light detector is provided for detecting the reflected ray.
US07884311B2

Methods and structures to reduce the occurrence of crosstalk and pixel noise in solid state imager arrays. In an exemplary embodiment, a section of a layer patterned to form polysilicon buried-contacts in the pixel structure is also patterned to be disposed over the active, photosensor portion of the pixel. The section of the buried-contact layer covering the photosensor portion of the pixel serves to filter the light striking the buried-contact layer before the light strikes the photosensor. The polysilicon light filter reduces the amount of stray light entering from the adjacent pixels without adding significant processing complexity.
US07884303B2

A high, energy, high repetition rate workpiece surface heating apparatus is disclosed which comprise a XeF laser producing a laser output light pulse beam, an optical system narrowing the laser output light pulse beam in the short axis of the laser output light pulse beam and expanding the laser output light pulse beam to form in a long axis of the beam a workpiece covering extent of the long axis, the optical system focuses the laser output light pulse beam at a field stop with a magnification sufficient to maintain an intensity profile that has sufficiently steep sidewalls to allow the field stop to maintain a sufficiently steep beam profile at the workpiece.
US07884299B2

A switch adapted to make and/or break a connection in an electric circuit to operate a device has a front to face the user and a rear to face away from the user, a housing, and switch mechanism. The switch mechanism includes in operative connection, a lens facing the front, an information element, a control element, a lighting element, a capacitive sensing element and a power element to operate the lighting element and sensing element. The switch includes a communication element to provide electrical connection to the device and is activated by the control element when a change in capacitance is sensed by the capacitive sensing element such that the information element and lighting element can be viewed through the lens and the device is operated.
US07884286B2

A multilayer printed circuit board has an IC chip included in a core substrate in advance and a mediate layer provided on a pad of the IC chip. Due to this, it is possible to electronically connect the IC chip to the multilayer printed circuit board without using lead members and a sealing resin. Also, by providing the mediate layer made of copper on the die pad, it is possible to prevent resin residues on the pad and to improve connection characteristics between the pad and a via hole and reliability.
US07884280B2

A method of forming a crosslinked, non-discotic backbone polymer coating on a substrate, comprises the steps of: (a) coupling a layer of porphyrinic macrocycles to the substrate; (b) cross-linking the layer of porphyrinic macrocycles to form a layer of cross-linked porphyrinic macrocycles; and then (c) coupling a subsequent layer of porphyrinic macrocycles to the layer of cross-linked porphyrinic macrocycles of step (b) to form a non-discotic backbone polymer of porphyrinic macrocycles between the cross linked layer of step (b) and the subsequent layer of porphyrinic macrocycles to form a crosslinked, non-discotic backbone polymer coating thereon. Light harvesting arrays and solar cells that can be produced by such methods are also described.
US07884274B1

A method and system for providing a personalized entertainment experience that is customized for each user. The history of user control actions (such as “forward” and “back”) associated with each played composition are captured as positive or negative user feedback about each composition. A customized sequence of compositions may be automatically generated for each user by utilizing the prior history of user control actions. The personalized sequence automatically adapts to changing user feedback over time. The user's collection of compositions is automatically integrated with the generated customized sequence. Additional compositions and samples, that are new to a user, may be automatically chosen based on the prior user feedback history and may be added to the user's collection when positive user feedback occurs during playback.
US07884271B2

A string-bridge interface system includes a plurality of string-bridge interface units to provide coupling between strings of a musical instrument and one or more sound bridges of the musical instrument, which are further coupled to the sound board of the musical instrument. Such coupling provided by the string-bridge interface units allows for reduced loading of the sound board and more direct routing of the strings.
US07884264B2

Methods for altering the N-glycosylation pattern of proteins in higher plants are provided. In some embodiments, the methods comprise introducing into a duckweed plant a recombinant RNAi construct that provides for the inhibition of expression of α1,3-fucosyltransferase (FucT) and β1,2-xylosyltransferase (XylT). Use of these RNAi constructs to inhibit or suppress expression of both of these enzymes, and isoforms thereof, advantageously provides for the production of endogenous and heterologous proteins having a “humanized” N-glycosylation pattern without impacting plant growth and development. Stably transformed higher plants, including duckweed plants, having this protein N-glycosylation pattern are provided. Glycoprotein compositions, including monoclonal antibody compositions, having substantially homogeneous glycosylation profiles, and which are substantially homogeneous for the G0 glycoform, are also provided.
US07884260B2

This invention is in the field of neurology. Specifically, the invention relates to the discovery and characterization of molecular components that play a role in neuronal demyelination or remyelination. In addition, the invention relates to the generation of an animal model that exhibits hypomyelination. The compositions and methods embodied in the present invention are particularly useful for drug screening and/or treatment of demyelination disorders.
US07884248B2

A beneficial method for the manufacture of amino polyalkylene phosphonic acids, under substantial absence of hydrohalogenic acid, is disclosed. The method, in essence, is based on reacting narrowly defined ratios of phosphorous acid, an amine, a formaldehyde in presence of specific ranges of an acid catalyst having a pKa equal or inferior to 3.1. The inventive method is capable of yielding economically and quality operational/capacity advantages, in particular significantly reduced one-step cycle duration under exclusion, of corrosion disadvantages and also is environmentally friendly without requiring, in that respect, anything more than nominal capital expenditures.
US07884245B2

The present invention provides a process for producing a hydrazone compound represented by the general formula (5): which comprises a step of condensing a hydrazine compound represented by the general formula (3): with a carbonyl compound represented by the general formula (4): without taking the hydrazine compound out of a reactor. According to the invention, the target hydrazone compound can be obtained in high quality and in a high yield without taking the hydrazine compound out of the reactor at all, the hydrazine compound being a reaction intermediate which is structurally unstable and has a fear of influencing safety of workers owing to its toxicity (mutagenicity).
US07884231B2

A process is provided for producing an enriched carboxylic acid compositions produced by contacting composition comprising a carboxylic acid with an enrichment feed in an enrichment zone to form an enriched carboxylic acid composition. This invention also relates to a process and the resulting compositions for removing catalyst from a carboxylic acid composition to produce a post catalyst removal composition.
US07884228B1

UV absorbing monomers that are particularly useful in ophthalmic devices are disclosed.
US07884224B2

In the preparation of phosphonatosilanes by reaction of organophosphites with halocarbon-functional silanes, the safety of the reaction is markedly increased while increasing space/time yield by continuously or periodically withdrawing reaction mixture, freeing the withdrawn mixture of phosphonatosilane product, and recycling the product-depleted remainder back to the reaction. Operation at temperatures of 100° C. or lower is made possible by this process.
US07884216B2

The present invention provides a fluorine-containing pyrazolecarbonitrile derivative and a method for producing the same, and a fluorine-containing pyrazolecarboxylic acid derivative obtained by using the fluorine-containing pyrazolecarbonitrile derivative and a method for producing the same.A fluorine-containing acyacrylonitrile derivative prepared from a fluoroacyl derivative and an aminoacrylonitrile derivative, is reacted with a hydrazine derivative to produce a fluorine-containing pyrazolecarbonitrile derivative represented by Formula (1). In Formula (1), Rf represents an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms and substituted with at least one fluorine atom; R1 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms and R2 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms or the like.The fluorine-containing pyrazolecarbonitrile derivative represented by Formula (1) is reacted with water to produce a fluorine-containing pyrazolecarboxylic acid derivative.
US07884212B2

The present invention provides an improved synthesis for the manufacture of candesartan and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and esters thereof as active ingredients of a medicament for the treatment of hypertension and related diseases and conditions which comprises the removal of the tetrazolyl protecting group in an organic solvent, and in the presence of a Lewis acid.
US07884211B2

Caspase activity and apoptosis are promoted using active, dimeric Smac peptide mimetics of the general formula M1-L-M2, wherein moieties M1 and M2 are monomeric Smac mimetics and L is a covalent linker. Target cancerous or inflammatory cells are contacted with an effective amount of an active, dimeric Smac mimetic, and a resultant increase in apoptosis of the target cells is detected. The contacting step may be effected by administering to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a therapeutically effective amount of The compoundic mimetic, wherein the individual may be subject to concurrent or antecedent radiation or chemotherapy for treatment of a neoproliferative pathology.
US07884208B2

Disclosed is a process for the preparation of laquinimod sodium which removes the impurities after the salt formation step, thus resulting in crystals of higher purity as well as crystals having improved crystalline characteristics.
US07884205B2

The present invention relates to acid addition salts of aripiprazole, a process for preparing said acid addition salts and their use to prepare or purify aripiprazole in the form of a free base or in the form of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt.
US07884203B2

The invention discloses a method for improving the yield of sucralose, including reacting sucrose to produce sucrose-6-acetate in the existence of an azo reagent as a catalyst and acetic acid as an acylating agent in a proper solvent; then reacting sucrose-6-acetate with a proper chlorinating agent to produce sucralose-6-acetate in a non-proton polar solvent with TCA as a catalyst; and at last, alcoholyzing sucralose-6-acetate in KOH/methanol to obtain sucralose.
US07884201B2

A method for separating and purifying RNA including the steps of passing a sample solution containing a nucleic acid, a washing solution and a recovering solution through a nucleic acid-adsorbing porous membrane to adsorb nucleic, adsorbing, washing and recovering, in which the nucleic acid adsorbing porous membrane is a porous membrane capable of adsorbing a nucleic acid by interaction involving substantially no ionic bond, and the sample solution is obtained by a process, comprising the steps of (I) injecting a test sample containing at least one of blood and leukocyte, and further containing an anticoagulant to a container, (II) adding a hemolytic agent to the container to obtain a leukocyte pellet, (III) adding a nucleic acid-solubilizing reagent to the leukocyte pallet to obtain a mixture solution and (IV) adding a water-soluble organic solvent to the mixture solution to obtain the sample solution containing the nucleic acid.
US07884189B2

The present invention provides compositions and crystals of the carboxyltransferase (CT) domain (the C-terminal ˜90 kDa fragment) of various acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) proteins, including yeast, mouse and human ACCs. Further, the present invention provides methods for identifying and designing compounds that can modulate ACC activity. These methods are based, in part, on the X-ray crystallographic structures of the CT domain of yeast ACC, either alone or bound to acetyl-CoA or a CT inhibitor, such as haloxyfop or diclofop or CP-640186. Thus, the present invention relates to the crystal structures of the carboxyltransferase (“CT”) domain of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (“ACC”), and to the use of these structures in the design of anti-obesity compounds, anti-diabetes compounds, antibiotic compounds, herbicide compounds, and in the design of herbicide resistant plants.
US07884186B2

The present invention is directed to an isotopically labeled trapping agent, methods for detecting reactive metabolites and methods of identifying drug candidates. More specifically, the isotopically labeled trapping agent and methods for detecting reactive metabolites may be used to detect both “hard” and “soft” reactive metabolites, thereby eliminating false positives.
US07884183B2

The present invention provides compounds for targeting endothelial cells, tumor cells or other cells that express the NP-1 receptor, compositions containing the same and methods for their use. Additionally, the present invention includes diagnostic, therapeutic and radiotherapeutic compositions useful for visualization, therapy or radiotherapy.
US07884181B2

The invention provides a pharmaceutical formulation and a method for preparing the formulation.
US07884180B2

Disclosed are peptide ligands for G-protein coupled receptors that are useful for treating disorders associated with G-protein coupled receptor activation.
US07884175B2

The present invention relates to a process in which addition of certain bis(methyl)aryl compounds which have a further substituent other than hydrogen and on which at least one of the two methyl groups bears a leaving group, the molecular weight in the synthesis of poly(arylenevinylenes) is controlled reproducibly and can be deduced by the GILCH polymerization or by the sulfinyl precursor route, and to the polymers obtainable by means of the process according to the invention.
US07884166B2

An elastic fluorocopolymer comprises repeating units (l) based on a fluoromonomer such as tetrafluoroethylene, hexafluoropropylene, vinylidene fluoride or CF2═CF—O—Rf (wherein Rf is a C1-8 saturated perfluoroalkyl group or a perfluoro(alkoxyalkyl) group) and repeating units (m) based on the formula CR1R2═CR3COOCH═CH2 (wherein each of R1 and R2 is a hydrogen atom, a C1-10 alkyl group or a C1-10 alkoxyalkyl group containing an etheric oxygen atom, and R3 is a hydrogen atom, a fluorine atom or a methyl group) in a molar ratio of (m)/((l)+(n))=0.0001 to 0.1. Further, an elastic fluorocopolymer composition comprises (A) the above elastic fluorocopolymer, (B) an unsaturated multifunctional compound and (C) a bivalent metal oxide and/or hydroxide. The elastic fluorocopolymer and the elastic fluorocopolymer composition are excellent in the crosslinkability and can provide a crosslinked rubber thereof excellent in crosslinked rubber properties.
US07884163B2

Silica-coated alumina activator-supports, and catalyst compositions containing these activator-supports, are disclosed. Methods also are provided for preparing silica-coated alumina activator-supports, for preparing catalyst compositions, and for using the catalyst compositions to polymerize olefins.
US07884158B2

A cosmetic composition containing at least one block copolymer having a hard segment and a soft segment, at least one tackifier component, at least one phenylated silicone, at least one solvent, and optionally, at least one colorant.
US07884155B2

A process for producing a vinyl-cis-polybutadiene rubber, including mixing (A) vinyl-cis-polybutadiene obtained by (1) a step of adding a cis-1,4-polymerization catalyst obtainable from an organoaluminum compound and a soluble cobalt compound to a mixture containing 1,3-butadiene and a hydrocarbon-based organic solvent as the major components and having an adjusted water content, thereby subjecting the 1,3-butadiene to cis-1,4-polymerization and subsequently, (2) a step of making a catalyst obtainable from a soluble cobalt compound, an organoaluminum compound represented by the general formula, AlR3 (wherein R represents an alkyl group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms, a phenyl group, or a cycloalkyl group), and carbon disulfide present in the resulting polymerization reaction mixture, thereby subjecting the 1,3-butadiene to 1,2-polymerization; and (B) cis-polybutadiene obtained by a step of adding the foregoing cis-1,4-polymerization catalyst, thereby subjecting the 1,3-butadiene to cis-1,4-polymerization and a rubber composition containing the resulting rubber.
US07884154B2

The rubber composition of the invention includes a rubber composition which is a silica compounded rubber composition for tire containing 100 parts by weight of a rubber component made of (a) from 20 to 80% by weight of a vinyl-cis-polybutadiene rubber containing 1,2-polybutadiene having a melting point of 170° C. or higher and a high-molecular substance having at least one unsaturated double bond per a repeating unit and comprising at least one member selected from polyisoprene, crystalline polybutadiene having a melting point of not higher than 150° C., liquid polybutadiene and derivatives thereof and (b) from 80 to 20% by weight of a diene-based rubber other than (a); and (c) from 40 to 100 parts by weight of a rubber reinforcing agent containing 40% or more of silica, wherein the 1,2-polybutadiene is dispersed in a short crystalline fiber state and the high-molecular substance is dispersed in a granular state in the cis-polybutadiene rubber which is a matrix component of the subject vinyl-cis-polybutadiene rubber (a); and the short crystalline fiber of the 1,2-polybutadiene is dispersed in particles of the high-molecular substance.
US07884152B2

The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of organic modifier-free exfoliated nano clay-polymer composite. The manufacturing method of organic modifier-free exfoliated nano clay-polymer composite includes (S1) dispersing layered clay nanoparticles and dissolving a thermoplastic polymer in an acidic solvent; (S2) adding the product of step (S1) to a polymer non-solvent incapable of dissolving the polymer, but capable of dissolving the organic modifier separated from the organized layered clay nanoparticles; and (S3) separating an organic modifier-free exfoliated nano clay-polymer composite from the product of step (S2). The inventive manufacturing method can maximally improve the physical properties of composites through the addition of the exfoliated clay nanoparticles by removing the organic modifier that may deteriorate physical properties of the composite from the exfoliated clay nanoparticles dispersed therein.
US07884151B2

The manufacturing process of a material of nanocomposites of the resin includes providing a nano-clay platelets liquid; adding a modification agent into the nano-clay platelets liquid, then stirring in a first time in a first temperature for making a cake product; taking the cake product heated in a second temperature and then crumbling the cake product for making a first powder; moving the water out of the first powder for making a second powder; adding a resin into the second powder, then stirring and baking for making the material of nanocomposites of the resin.
US07884147B2

A synergistic stabilizer mixture comprising a component a) and, for example, a component b), where component a) is at least one compound of the formula I in which R1 is hydrogen or methyl, R2 is a direct bond or C1-C10alkylene, and n1 is a number from 2 to 50; component b) is at least one compound of the formulae IIa and IIb in which n2 and n2* are a number from 2 to 50.
US07884145B2

A process for producing filler-containing polytetrafluoroethylene granules by an underwater agitation granulation method, whereby filler-containing polytetrafluoroethylene granules excellent in flowability can be obtained with little detachment of the filler and it is possible to prevent discharge of a polytetrafluoroethylene emulsion into waste liquid, the process characterized in that in a stage of granulating a mixture of polytetrafluoroethylene powder and a filler by agitation in water in the presence of a liquid organic substance hardly soluble in water, a polytetrafluoroethylene emulsion and a coagulant are added to coagulate the polytetrafluoroethylene emulsion as a surface layer of the filler-containing polytetrafluoroethylene granules.
US07884144B2

A process in which a mixture is agitated in a substantially oxygen-free environment to produce an agitated emulsion. The mixture comprises water, one or more surfactants, a hydrate inhibitor, and a monomer. The monomer is then polymerized in the emulsion using an initiator and a catalyst to form a hydrate inhibited latex drag reducer.
US07884142B2

The disclosed is a biodegradable copolymer, an amphiphilic diblock copolymer, composed of a hydrophilic segment and a hydrophobic segment. The hydrophilic segment is an endcapped PEG or derivatives thereof. The hydrophilic segment is a random polymer polymerized of lactone or cyclic C3-C6 molecule and lactic acid/glycolic acid. There is no coupling agent between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments, and the biodegradable copolymer is formed by one-pot ring-opening polymerization. The biodegradable copolymer can be dissolved in water to form a thermosensitive material having a phase transfer temperature of 25 to 50° C., thereby being applied to biological activity factor delivery, tissue engineering, cell culture and biological glue.
US07884129B2

The present invention is related to an alcohol compound isolated from the extract of Cucurbitaceae family plant having anti-adipogenic and anti-obesity activity, and a composition comprising the same. The compound showed potent reducing activity of body weight, decreasing effect on the blood triglyceride and cholesterol level, activating activity of PPAR α and preventing activity from the adipogenesis of precursor fat cells with no toxicity, therefore, those extract can be useful in treating or preventing obesity and adipogenesis-involved diseases as a medicine or health care food.
US07884126B2

The invention relates to novel indazole derivatives as cited in claim 1, which are inhibitors of CHK1, CHK2 and SGK kinases and can be used to treat cancer and other diseases.
US07884117B2

Carbonylamino Pyrrolopyrazole compounds of formula I, compositions including these compounds and methods of their use are provided. Preferred compounds of formula I have activity as protein kinase inhibitors, including as inhibitors of PAK4.
US07884116B2

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel octahydronaphthalene derivative with an activity of inhibiting ICAM-4 expression and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. The invention encompasses, for example, agents for suppressing ICAM-1, therapeutic agents for inflammatory diseases, therapeutic agents for rheumatoid arthritis, immunosuppressive agents, and agents for suppressing cell growth, comprising N-(pyridin-3-ylmethyl)-(2E,4E)-5-[(1S,2S,4aR,6R,7S,8S,8aS)-7-hydroxy-2,6,8-trimethyl-1,2,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-octahydronaphthalen-1-yl]-2-methylpenta-2,4-dienamide as an active ingredient.
US07884113B2

The invention provides for compounds of formula I wherein the substitutents are as described herein. Further provided are methods of using such compounds for the treatment of eating disorders, metabolic disorders, obesity, cognitive disorders, neurological disorders, pain disorders, inflammation disorders, in the promotion of smoking cessation and for the treatment of other psychiatric disorders Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds and pharmaceutical combinations of the compounds of the invention with other therapeutic agents.
US07884111B2

The present invention provides 2,4-pyrimidinediamine compounds having antiproliferative activity, compositions comprising the compounds and methods of using the compounds to inhibit cellular proliferation and to treat proliferative diseases such as tumorigenic cancers.
US07884103B2

The invention relates to N-sulfonyl-α-amino-acetic acid derivatives of the general formula (I): including the optical isomers thereof and mixtures of such isomers, wherein Ar1 and Ar2 independently of each other stand for an optionally substituted aryl or heteroaryl group, R1 and R2 stand independently of each other for hydrogen, optionally substituted C1-C5alkyl, optionally substituted C2-C5alkenyl, C-2C5alkynyl or optionally substituted C3C6Cycloalkyl; R3 designates hydrogen, C-3C5alkenyl, C3-C5 alkynyl or optionally substituted C1-C5alkyl; R4 is optionally substituted C1-C5alkyl, optionally substituted C-2C5alkenyl, C-2C5aklynyl or optionally substituted C-3C6 cycloalkyl; R5 and R6 are independently of each other hydrogen or optionally substituted C1-C5alkyl, optionally substituted C2-C5alkenyl, C-2C5alkynyl or optionally substituted C3-C6cycloalkyl; R7 and R8 are independently of each other hydrogen or optionally substituted C1-C5alkyl, optionally substituted C2-C5alkenyl, C2-C5alkynyl or optionally substituted C3-C6cycloalkyl; W designates a bridge selected from —O—, —S—, —SO—, —SO2— or is an —NH— or —N(C1-C5alkyl)-bridge; X designates a direct bond or a bridge selected from —O—, —S—, —SO—, —SO2— or is an —NH or —N(C1C5alkyl)-bridge; Y designates —OR9 or NR10R11; a and b independently of each other stand for a number 1, 2 or 3; and c stands for a number zero, 1 or 2; with R9, R10 and R11 being defined according to the claims. These compounds possess useful plant protecting properties and may advantageously be employed in agricultural practice for controlling or preventing the infestation of plants by phytopathogenic microorganisms, especially fungi.
US07884102B2

3,4-Disubstituted-4-aryl-piperidine compounds are disclosed. Pharmaceutical compositions containing the 3,4-disubstituted-4-aryl-piperidine compounds and methods of their pharmaceutical uses are also disclosed. The compounds disclosed are useful, inter alia, as antagonists of opioid receptors.
US07884096B2

The present invention relates to methods of treating the underlying dysregulation of the emotional functionality of mental disorders (i.e. affect instability—hypersensitivity—hyperaesthesia—dissociative phenomena—. . . ) using compounds and compositions of compounds having D4 and/or 5-HT2A antagonistic, partial agonistic or inverse agonistic activity. The invention also relates to methods comprising administering to a patient diagnosed as having a neuropsychiatric disorder a pharmaceutical composition containing (i) compounds having D4 antagonistic, partial agonistic or inverse agonistic activity and/or (ii) compounds having 5-HT2A antagonistic, partial agonistic or inverse agonistic, and/or (iii) any known medicinal compound and compositions of said compounds. The combined D4 and 5-HT2A antagonistic, partial agonistic or inverse agonistic effects may reside within the same chemical or biological compound or in two different chemical and/or biological compounds.
US07884086B2

The present invention provides methods of identifying oligomeric compounds, such as siRNA and double-stranded RNA compounds, having bioactivity in vivo, and kits.
US07884084B2

The present application relates to antisense oligonucleotides which inhibit expression of the OB-RGRP protein and to uses thereof for preventing and/or treating leptin-related pathological conditions.It also relates to a method for detecting compounds which modify the interaction between proteins of the OB-RGRP family and the leptin receptor. This detection may be carried out by measuring the energy transfer between fusion proteins composed of these proteins and of energy-donor and -acceptor proteins.
US07884078B2

Disclosed herein are CPG15 and CPG15-2 compounds and inhibitors that act as agonists and antagonists of the insulin receptor and insulin-like growth factor receptors, and the use of such compositions for the treatment of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-related diseases.
US07884071B2

The invention relates to pharmaceutical administration forms with sustained release comprising at least one pharmacologically active peptide. The invention also relates to a method for the production thereof, a kit comprising a lyophilised peptide and an aqueous solution of an inorganic salt or acetic acid salt and the use of an aqueous solution of an inorganic or acetic acid salt for producing a pharmaceutical administration form which releases peptides in a continuous manner over a long period of time.
US07884049B2

The present invention provides a composition comprising imidacloprid and metalaxyl. The compositions of the present invention find use as pesticides.
US07884048B2

Carbon monoxide is removed from streams by adsorption on an adsorption composition which comprises copper, zinc and zirconium oxides and whose copper-comprising component has a degree of reduction, expressed as weight ratio of metallic copper to the sum of metallic copper and copper oxides, calculated as CuO, of at least 45% and not more than 75%.
US07884043B2

The invention relates to sorption materials for removing of heavy metal ions from ground water and surface aquifer systems, and can be used by enterprises in chemical and metallurgical industry which utilize etching and galvanic technologies. The sorbent for removing of heavy metal ions from water is composed of ground zeolite and nanophase material, where the nanophase material consists of nanophase iron hydroxide and nanophase boehmite in the following ratio, mass %: Nanophase iron hydroxide12-18 Nanophase boehmite 5-13 Ground zeolitethe rest. Technical result is the enhanced purification effectiveness of the sorbent due to a wider range of heavy metals it can absorb when purifying highly contaminated water.
US07884025B2

In a plasma reactor chamber a ceiling electrode and a workpiece support electrode, respective RF power sources of respective VHF frequencies f1 and f2 are coupled to either respective ones of the electrodes or to a common one of the electrodes, where f1 is sufficiently high to produce a center-high non-uniform plasma ion distribution and f2 is sufficiently low to produce a center-low non-uniform plasma ion distribution. Respective center ground return paths are provided for RF current passing directly between the ceiling electrode and the workpiece support electrode for the frequencies f1 and f2, and an edge ground return path is provided for each of the frequencies f1 and f2. The impedance of at least one of the ground return paths is adjusted so as to control the uniformity of the plasma ion density distribution.
US07884018B2

A method of forming a noble metal cap on a conductive material embedded in a dielectric material in an interconnect structure. The method includes the step of contacting (i) a conductive material having a bare upper surface partially embedded in a dielectric material and (ii) vapor of a noble metal containing compound, in the presence of carbon monoxide and a carrier gas. The contacting step is carried out at a temperature, pressure and for a length of time sufficient to produce a noble metal cap disposed directly on the upper surface of the conductive material without substantially extending into upper surface of the dielectric material or leaving a noble metal residue onto the dielectric material.
US07884006B2

Resilient spring contacts for use in wafer test probing are provided that can be manufactured with a very fine pitch spacing and precisely located on a support substrate. The resilient contact structures are adapted for wire bonding to an electrical circuit on a space transformer substrate. The support substrates with attached spring contacts can be manufactured together in large numbers and diced up and tested before attachment to a space transformer substrate to improve yield. The resilient spring contacts are manufactured using photolithographic techniques to form the contacts on a release layer, before the spring contacts are epoxied to the support substrate and the release layer removed. The support substrate can be transparent to allow alignment of the contacts and testing of optical components beneath. The support substrate can include a ground plane provided beneath the spring contacts for improved impedance matching.
US07884005B2

Embodiments relate to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device that may simplify a manufacturing process and may reduce process costs. According to embodiments, the method may include simultaneously forming a first gate of a first device area and a second gate of a second device area, patterning a PMD layer to form a first contact hole exposing the first gate, depositing and planarizing a high dielectric constant material and first and second metallic materials on the semiconductor substrate to expose PMD layer, forming an insulating layer, a metal layer and a third gate in the first contact hole, patterning the PMD layer to form a second contact hole exposing the second gate, and depositing a third metallic material on the semiconductor substrate and planarizing it such that the PMD layer is exposed, thereby forming a contact in the second contact hole.
US07883999B2

A method for infusing material below the surface of a substrate is described. The method comprises modifying a surface condition of a surface on a substrate to produce a modified surface layer, and thereafter, infusing material into the modified surface in the substrate by exposing the substrate to a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) comprising the material.
US07883996B2

A method of fabricating a single crystal gallium nitride substrate the step of cutting an ingot of single crystal gallium nitride along predetermined planes to make one or more single crystal gallium nitride substrates. The ingot of single crystal gallium nitride is grown by vapor phase epitaxy in a direction of a predetermined axis. Each predetermined plane is inclined to the predetermined axis. Each substrate has a mirror polished primary surface. The primary surface has a first area and a second area. The first area is between an edge of the substrate and a line 3 millimeter away from the edge. The first area surrounds the second area. An axis perpendicular to the primary surface forms an off-angle with c-axis of the substrate. The off-angle takes a minimum value at a first position in the first area of the primary surface.
US07883982B2

A plurality of diffused resistors and a plurality of wirings (resistive elements) are alternately disposed along a virtual line, and those diffused resistors and wirings are connected in series by contact vias. In the same wiring layer as that of the wirings, a dummy pattern is formed so as to surround a formation region of the wirings and the diffused resistors. A space between the dummy pattern and the wirings is set in accordance with, for example, a minimum space between wirings in a chip formation portion.
US07883981B2

Embodiments relate to a flash memory device and a method for manufacturing a flash memory device. According to embodiments, a method may include forming a gate on and/or over a semiconductor substrate on and/or over which a device isolation film may be formed, forming a first spacer including a first oxide pattern and a first nitride pattern on and/or over side walls of the gate, forming a source and drain area on and/or over the semiconductor substrate using the gate and spacer as masks, removing the first nitride pattern of the first spacer, and forming a second spacer including a second oxide film pattern and a second nitride film pattern on and/or over the side walls of the gate by performing an annealing process on and/or over the semiconductor substrate on and/or over which the first oxide film pattern is formed.
US07883973B2

A method is provided of forming a semiconductor device. A substrate is provided having a dielectric layer formed thereover. The dielectric layer covers a protected region of the substrate, and has a first opening exposing a first unprotected region of the substrate. A first dopant is implanted into the first unprotected region through the first opening in the dielectric layer, and into the protected region through the dielectric layer.
US07883968B2

The present invention is an object to provide a high-performance vertical field effect transistor having a microminiaturized structure in which the distance between the gate and the channel is made short not through a microfabrication process, having a large gate capacitance, and so elaborated that the gate can control the channel current with a low voltage, and a method for simply and efficiently manufacturing such a field effect transistor not through a complex process such as a microfabrication process. The field effect transistor of the present invention comprises a first electrode, a second electrode so arranged as to be electrically insulated from the first electrode, a semiconductive rod-shaped body extending through at least one of the first and second electrodes, provided along the inner wall of a hole in which the first and second electrodes are exposed, and interconnecting the first and second electrodes, and a third electrode at least partially inserted in the hole and opposed to the semiconductive rod-shaped body with an insulating layer interposed between the third electrode and the semiconductive rod-shaped body. The aspect preferably include an aspect in which the thickness of the insulating layer is 50 nm or less and an aspect in which the semiconductive rod-shaped body is a single-wall carbon nanotube.
US07883967B2

A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a gate portion formed by laminating a tunnel insulating film, floating gate electrode, inter-poly insulating film and control gate electrode on a semiconductor substrate, and source and drain regions formed on the substrate. The tunnel insulating film has a three-layered structure having a silicon nitride film sandwiched between silicon oxide films. The silicon nitride film is continuous in an in-plane direction and has 3-coordinate nitrogen bonds and at least one of second neighboring atoms of nitrogen is nitrogen.
US07883963B2

Memory cells containing two split sub-lithographic charge storage nodes on a semiconductor substrate and methods for making the memory cells are provided. The methods can involve forming two split sub-lithographic charge storage nodes by using spacer formation techniques. By removing an exposed portion of a fist poly layer between sloping side surfaces or outer surfaces of spacers while leaving portions of the first poly layer protected by the spacers, the method can provide two split sub-lithographic first poly gates. Further, by removing an exposed portion of a charge storage layer between sloping side surfaces or outer surfaces of spacers, the method can provide two split, narrow portions of the charge storage layer, which subsequently form two split sub-lithographic charge storage nodes.
US07883962B2

A DRAM array having trench capacitor cells of potentially 4F2 surface area (F being the photolithographic minimum feature width), and a process for fabricating such an array. The array has a cross-point cell layout in which a memory cell is located at the intersection of each bit line and each word line. Each cell in the array has a vertical device such as a transistor, with the source, drain, and channel regions of the transistor being formed from epitaxially grown single crystal silicon. The vertical transistor is formed above the trench capacitor.
US07883960B2

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a conductive layer over a semiconductor substrate, selectively removing the conductive layer for forming a resistance element and a gate electrode, forming sidewall spacers over sidewalls of the remaining conductive layer, forming a first insulating film containing a nitrogen over the semiconductor substrate having the sidewall spacers, implanting ions in the semiconductor substrate through the first insulating film, forming a second insulating film containing a nitrogen over the first insulating film after implanting ions in the semiconductor substrate through the first insulating film, and selectively removing the first and the second insulating film such that at least a part of the first and the second insulating films is remained over the semiconductor substrate and over the conductive layer.
US07883956B2

Methods of forming coplanar active regions and isolation regions and structures thereof are disclosed. One embodiment includes shallow-trench-isolation (STI) formation in a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) layer on a substrate of a semiconductor structure; and bonding a handle wafer to the STI and SOI layer to form an intermediate structure. The intermediate structure may have a single layer including at least one STI region and at least one SOI region therein disposed between the damaged substrate and the handle wafer. The method may also include cleaving the hydrogen implanted substrate and removing any residual substrate to expose a surface of the at least one STI region and a surface of the at least one SOI region. The exposed surface of the at least one STI region forms an isolation region and the exposed surface of the at least one SOI region forms an active region, which are coplanar to each other.
US07883952B2

A method of manufacturing a flash memory device that prevents generation of voids when forming an interlayer dielectric film. The method may include forming a gate on a semiconductor substrate, and then sequentially stacking a first dielectric film and a second dielectric film on the semiconductor substrate, and then forming a first spacer comprising a first dielectric film pattern and a second dielectric film pattern on sidewalls of the gate by performing a first etching process, and then forming source and drain areas in the semiconductor substrate, and then removing the second dielectric film, and then sequentially stacking a third dielectric film and a fourth dielectric film on the semiconductor substrate, and then forming a second spacer comprising the first dielectric pattern and a third dielectric pattern on the sidewalls of the gate by performing a second etching process, and then forming an interlayer dielectric film on the semiconductor substrate including the gate and the first spacer.
US07883945B2

A method or manufacturing an array substrate at a low cost. Silicon patterns are formed. A first impurity is implanted at a high concentration. Gate metal patterns are formed. A second impurity is implanted. The first impurity is implanted at a low concentration. A pixel electrode is formed. The first impurity is simultaneously implanted into partial portions of the pixel pattern part, the storage pattern part, and the driving pattern part.
US07883944B2

A method of forming a semiconductor device is provided that may include providing a semiconductor layer including a raised source and raised drain region that are separated by a recessed channel having a thickness of less than 20 nm, and forming a spacer on a sidewall of the raised source and drain region overlying a portion of the recessed channel. In a following process step, a channel implantation is performed that produces a dopant spike of opposite conductivity as the raised source and drain regions. Thereafter, the offset spacer is removed, and gate structure including a metal gate conductor is formed overlying the recessed channel.
US07883942B2

Gate lines are formed on a substrate. A gate insulating layer, an intrinsic a-Si layer, an extrinsic a-Si layer, a lower film of Cr and an upper film of Al containing metal are sequentially deposited. A photoresist having thicker first portions on wire areas and thinner second portions on channel areas is formed on the upper film. The upper film on remaining areas are wet-etched, and the lower film and the a-Si layers on the remaining areas are dry-etched along with the second portions of the photoresist. The upper film, the lower film, and the extrinsic a-Si layer on the channel areas are removed. The removal of the upper film and the lower film on the channel areas are performed by wet etching, and the first portions of the photoresist are removed after the removal of the upper film on the channel areas.
US07883932B2

Molecular devices and methods of manufacturing the molecular device are provided. The molecular device may include a lower electrode on a substrate and a self-assembled monolayer on the lower electrode. After an upper electrode is formed on the self-assembled monolayer, the self-assembled monolayer may be removed to form a gap between the lower electrode and the upper electrode. A functional molecule having a functional group may be injected into the gap.
US07883929B2

Integrated circuit nonvolatile memory devices are manufactured by forming a variable resistance layer on an integrated circuit substrate. The variable resistance layer includes grains that define grain boundaries between the grains. Conductive filaments are formed along at least some of the grain boundaries. Electrodes are formed on the variable resistance layer. The conductive filaments may be formed by implanting conductive ions into at least some of the grain boundaries. Moreover, the variable resistance layer may be a variable resistance oxide of a metal, and the conductive filaments may be the metal. Related devices are also disclosed.
US07883927B2

Methods and systems for sorting nanostructures, such as nanodot or nanotubes, are described. The sorting of the nanostructures removes remnants of the nanotube fabrication from the mixture or bundle of material. The sorting includes suspending the mixture in a plasma, which separated the nanostructures and remnant material. A motive force, such as gas flow or laser, is applied to the suspended nanostructures and remnants such that the larger material moves out of the plasma while the smaller material remains trapped in the plasma.
US07883922B2

An image sensor and a method for manufacturing an image sensor that has an increased aspect ratio. An image sensor and a method for manufacturing an image sensor that have a relatively large process margin (e.g. even in high level pixels), which may reduce and/or eliminate restrictions in downscaling an image sensor. An image sensor may include at least one of a first unit pixel including a first transfer transistor, a second unit pixel including a second drive transistor, and a contact electrically connecting a floating diffusion region of the first unit pixel with the second drive transistor of the second unit pixel. A method of manufacturing an image sensor including at least one of forming a first unit pixel including a first transfer transistor, forming a second unit pixel including a second drive transistor, and forming a contact electrically connecting a floating diffusion region of the first unit pixel with the second drive transistor of the second unit pixel.
US07883920B2

Provided are methods for manufacturing an image sensor. A method for manufacturing an image sensor can include: forming a readout circuitry on a substrate; forming an electrical junction region in the substrate; forming an interconnection connected to the electrical junction region; and forming an image sensing device on the interconnection. The readout circuitry can be formed on a first substrate. The electrical junction region can be formed in the first substrate to electrically connect the image sensing device with the readout circuitry. The image sensing device can be formed using a second substrate that is then bonded on the interconnection.
US07883911B2

A Schottky photodiode includes a semiconductor layer and a conductive film provided in contact with the semiconductor layer. The conductive film has an aperture and a periodic structure provided around said aperture for producing a resonant state by an excited surface plasmon in a film surface of the conductive film by means of the incident light to the film surface. The photodiode detects near-field light that is generated by at the interface between the conductive film and semiconductor layer the excited surface plasmon. The aperture has a diameter smaller than the wavelength of the incident light.
US07883900B2

A method of enhancing fluorescence emission in a fluorophore-mediated sensing, biosensing, imaging, and bioimaging. An example of biosensing is a fluorophore-mediated sandwich immunoassay with a 1° monoclonal antibody against a target analyte and a fluorophore-linked 2° monoclonal antibody, exposing the immunoassay to an enhancing agent, applying excitation light to the immunoassay, and measuring an emission signal from the immunoassay.
US07883888B2

The present invention provides peptides corresponding to all or a portion of amino acid residues 12-26 of human p53 protein, which peptides are lethal to malignant or transformed cells when fused to a membrane-penetrating leader sequence. The subject peptides are thus useful in treating neoplastic disease in an animal, preferably a human. Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions comprising the subject peptides admixed with a pharmaceutical acceptable carrier. Methods of treating neoplastic disease in a patient by administering a subject peptide fused at its carboxy terminal end to a membrane penetrating leader sequence are also provided. The present invention also provides replication incompetent Adenovirus (AdV) vectors comprising a promoter sequence operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a subject peptide. Methods of selectively killing cancer cells in a subject by administering a therapeutically effective amount of a subject AdV vector are also provided by the present invention.
US07883887B2

To present an automatic cell cultivation apparatus capable of sterilizing completely including a cold storage unit and a normal temperature storage unit, without causing cross contamination, in used of cell cultivation of plural subjects. An automatic cell cultivation apparatus comprising an operation unit 11 for operating to cultivate cells of subjects, incubator units 14 for cultivating the cells, a cold storage unit 16 for storing reagents necessary for cultivation, a normal temperature storage unit 17 for storing culture tools, an inlet-outlet unit 15 for taking in and out reagents and culture tools, and a steam supply unit 22 for autoclave sterilization, in which the incubator units 14, the cold storage unit 16, the normal temperature storage unit 17, and the inlet-outlet unit 15 communicate with the operation unit 11, and have sealing doors 18a to 18d leading to the operation unit 11, filters 20a and 20b for cleaning and sterilizing the air stream supplied in the operation unit 11 are provided, and sealing doors 30a and 30b are provided between the filter units and the operation unit 11. By selecting the sealing doors 18a to 18d and opening and closing, sterilizing steam from the steam supply unit 22 is supplied into any of the sterilization required units, operation unit 11, and the incubator units 14, the cold storage unit 16, the normal temperature storage unit 17, and the inlet-outlet unit 15, communicating with the operation unit 11.
US07883886B2

The invention relates to a device (1) for malting cereals comprising a tower (2) consisting a certain number of stories which are separated from each other by storey floors (9, 10), each storey comprising an air-proof carrier plate (13) carrying germinating cereals (24). Said tower also comprises air conditioning means for air conditioning, transfer means provided with a feeding channel and a removing channel for transferring conditioned air by means of the feeding channel which extends from air conditioning means downwards to the bottom of the carrier plate, passes along said carrier plate and a cereal layer arranged thereon in a direction of the top surface of said cereal layer and exits said top surface of the cereal layer by means of the removing channel. The inventive device is characterized in that the feeding channel and/or removing channel extend through a central opening in at least one storey floor.
US07883876B2

Provided are methods for recombinant production of an O-acetyltransferase and methods for acetylating capsular polysaccharides, especially those of a Serogroup A Neisseria meningitidis using the recombinant O-acetyltransferase, and immunogenic compositions comprising the acetylated capsular polysaccharide.
US07883874B2

Novel strains of Bifidobacterium hifidum capable of producing a novel galactosidase enzyme activity that converts lactose to a novel mixture of galactooligosaccharides. The mixture of oligosaccharidcs may be incorporated into numerous food products or animal feeds for improving gut health by promoting the growth of bifidobacteria in the gut, and repressing the growth of the pathogenic microflora.
US07883873B2

The present invention provides a sugar chain synthesizer capable of continuously reacting sugar chains when a plurality of sugar chains are successively reacted. The sugar chain synthesizer of the present invention includes a plurality of vessels containing respective sugar nucleotide solutions, a plurality of vessels containing respective glycosyltransferases, and a reactor containing a primer that is a water-soluble polymer, into which the above described sugar nucleotide solution and glycosyltransferase are introduced. In the present invention, components in a reaction solution obtained in the reactor are separated through an ultrafiltration column, and a reaction product is then returned to the above described reactor, so as to continuously synthesize sugar chains. Although it is a complicated synthesis of sugar chains, it becomes possible to carry out such synthesis continuously and automatically.
US07883870B2

The invention relates to a method of detecting, by means of molecular identification, a bacterium from one of the Staphylococcus-type species. The inventive method is characterised in that the following are used: a fragment of the rpoB gene of said bacterium, comprising a nucleotide sequence selected from one of the SEQ. ID. No. 11 to 39 sequences, the reverse sequences and the complementary sequences; or an oligonucleotide comprising a sequence having at least 12 consecutive nucleotide patterns included in one of the SEQ. ID. No. 7 to 10 sequences, in which N represents a nucleotide selected from inosine and an equimolar mixture of 4 different nucleotides selected from A, T, C or G and from the oligonucleotides of the reverse sequences and complementary sequences.
US07883869B2

This invention provides a process for sequencing single-stranded DNA by employing a nanopore and modified nucleotides.
US07883868B2

Novel β10 polypeptides and heterodimers thereof, and nucleic acid molecules encoding the same are disclosed. The invention also provides vectors, host cells, selective binding agents, and methods for producing β10 polypeptides and heterodimeric forms thereof, specifically α2/β10. Also provided for are methods for the treatment, diagnosis, amelioration, or prevention of diseases with β10 polypeptides and α2/β10 heterodimers or their respective binding agents.
US07883867B1

Methods and compositions are provided for increasing at least one of: (i) binding affinity of a target protein for a maltodextrin substrate and/or (ii) solubility of a target protein. The methods and compositions relate to a modified maltose-binding protein.
US07883865B2

A base plate for use in cell culture which comprises a base material, a water-repellent layer having a water-repellent surface formed on the above base material and a hydrophilic surface having a prescribed pattern formed on the base material; a method for producing the above base plate; and a method for producing a cell culture product using the base plate. It is preferred that the water-repellent surface has a water contact angle of more than 150°. The above method for producing a cell culture product using the base plate base plate is a novel method which allows the production of a cell culture product of a fine pattern.
US07883862B2

Diglyceride solutions for lipase activity determination, comprising at least one diglyceride, a low concentration buffer, and a nonionic surfactant.
US07883861B2

The present invention relates generally to kits that provide reagent mixes and instructions for the use thereof, in performing high-throughput assay methods that determine the proliferative status of isolated target cell populations. The methods measure the luminescent output derived from the intracellular ATP content of incubated target cells, and correlate the luminescence with the proliferative status of the cells. The present invention further relates to kits that provide reagent mixes and instructions for high-throughput assays methods for screening compounds that may modulate the proliferative status of a target cell population. The kits of the present invention and methods therein described may be used for determining the proliferative status of any isolated cell line or type. The kits and methods of the present invention address the need for rapid assays that determine the proliferative status of isolated hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and of subpopulations of differentiated cells thereof.
US07883848B2

Methods of detecting affinity interactions between at least two molecules of interest are provided. The method comprises: a. forming a plurality of interactors by coupling each molecule of interest with at least one nucleic acid moiety comprising an identification sequence element and at an association element; b. promoting an association between at least two nucleic acid moieties from different interactors to form a plurality of unique associated oligonucleotides, wherein each nucleic acid moiety may form more than one unique associated oligonucleotide, and wherein each unique associated oligonucleotide comprises at least two identification sequence elements derived from the at least two nucleic acid moieties; c. selecting the plurality of unique associated oligonucleotides; and d. subjecting the selected associated oligonucleotides to an analysis that permits detection of the at least two identification sequence elements. Similar methods directed to detecting functional interactions, libraries of interactors employable in the present methods, and kits comprising those libraries are also provided.
US07883846B2

Methods and compositions to activate a genetically designated target cell (or population of target cells) artificially, in vivo or in vitro, employ triggering of heterologous stimulus-gated ion channels to activate the cells. The stimulus-gated ion channels are suitably TRPV1, TRPM8 or P2X2. A stimulus which leads to opening or “gating” of the ion channel can be a physical stimulus or a chemical stimulus. Physical stimuli can be provided by heat, or mechanical force, while chemical stimuli can suitably be a ligand, such as capsaicin for TRPV1 or ATP for P2X2, or a “caged ligand,” for example a photolabile ligand derivative, in which case a physical signal in the form of light is used to provide the chemical signal. Selective activation of the cell may be used for various applications including neuronal and neuroendocrine mapping and drug screening.
US07883845B2

Isolated HIV-1 Group O env polypeptides obtained from the HIV-1 isolate HAM112 are claimed, as well as (a) antigen constructs comprising fusions of one or more of each of HIV-1 Group O env polypeptides and HIV-1 Group M env polypeptide and (b) further antigen constructs containing additional Group O sequences and especially the gp41 IDR of isolate HAM112. Also claimed are polynucleotide sequences encoding the above, expression vectors comprising the same, host cells transformed thereby, and immunoassay methods and kits utilizing the antigen constructs of the invention.
US07883838B2

An organometallic composition containing an organometallic compound (I) containing Ag, an organometallic compound (II) containing Au, Pd, or Ru, and an organometallic compound (III) containing Ti, Ta, Cr, Mo, Ru, Ni, Pd, Cu, Au, or Al, wherein the metal components of organometallic compounds (II) and (III), respectively, are present in an amount of 0.01˜10 mol % based on the amount of Ag in the organometallic compound (I), and a method of forming a metal alloy pattern using the same. Silver alloy patterns can be obtained through a simplified manufacturing process, which patterns have enhanced heat resistance, adhesiveness and chemical stability. The method may be applied to making a reflective film for LCD and metal wiring (gate, source, drain electrode) for flexible displays or flat panel displays, and further to CMP-free damascene processing and PR-free ITO film deposition.
US07883829B2

In one embodiment, a photoresist is lithographically patterned to form an array of patterned photoresist portions having a pitch near twice a minimum feature size. Fluorine-containing polymer spacers are formed on sidewalls of the patterned photoresist portions. The pattern of the fluorine-containing polymer spacers is transferred into an underlying layer to form a pattern having a sublithographic pitch. In another embodiment, a first pattern in a first photoresist is transferred into a first ARC layer underneath to form first ARC portions. A planarizing second optically dense layer, a second ARC layer, and a second photoresist are applied over the first ARC portions. A second pattern in the second photoresist is transferred into the second ARC layer to form second ARC portions. The combination of the first ARC portions and second ARC portions function as an etch mask to pattern an underlying layer with a composite pattern having a sublithographic pitch.
US07883822B2

In one aspect there is provided a gray scale lithographic mask that comprises a transparent substrate and a metallic layer located over the substrate, wherein the metallic layer has tapered edges with a graded transparency. The lithographic mask, along with etching processes may be used to transfer a pattern 450a into a layer of a semiconductor device.
US07883819B2

In at least one embodiment, the present invention provides an electrically conductive fluid distribution separator plate assembly, a method of making, and a system for using, the electrically conductive fluid distribution separator plate assembly. In at least one embodiment, the electrically conductive fluid distribution separator plate assembly comprises a metallic cathode plate having opposed surfaces and a first contact resistance, a polymeric composite anode plate adjacent to the metallic cathode plate, and a low contact resistance coating located on at least one of the surfaces of the plates, with the coating having a second contact resistance, less-than the first contact resistance.