US08353060B2
It is difficult for a scanning probe microscope according to the conventional technology to operate a probe for scanning and positioning in a wide range and for high-precision scanning in a narrow range. A scanning probe microscope according to the invention uses probe driving actuators for coarse adjustment and fine adjustment. For scanning and positioning in a wide range, the coarse adjustment actuator is switched to fast responsiveness. For scanning in a narrow range, the coarse adjustment actuator is switched to slow responsiveness. Instead, positional noise is reduced and the fine adjustment actuator is mainly used for scanning in a narrow range. The probe is capable of not only scanning and positioning in a wide range but also high-precision scanning in a narrow range.
US08353057B2
An information processing apparatus in which an application managed by a license based on license data operates. The information processing apparatus includes a recording unit to record transfer information indicating that the license data is transferred from the information processing apparatus to a second information processing apparatus, and a prohibition unit to prohibit use in the information processing apparatus of the license data corresponding to the transfer information when the transfer information indicates that the license data has been transferred from the information processing apparatus to the second information processing apparatus.
US08353051B2
An image forming apparatus provided with an interface for a portable information recording medium, has an access control part carrying out access control, for respective ones of a plurality of resources which the image forming apparatus has, based on access control information defining whether or not usage thereof by a user is allowed, wherein the access control part carries out access control based on the access control information stored in the portable information recording medium.
US08353047B2
Embodiments of the present invention comprise systems and methods for notification handling in a processing server and an imaging device.
US08353040B2
Method for the automatic generation of malware signatures from computer files. A common function library (CFL) created, wherein the CFL contains any functions identified as a part of the standard computer language used to write computer files which are known as not containing malware. The functions of a computer file which does contain a malware are extracted and the CFL is updated with any new common functions if necessary, such that the remaining functions are all considered as candidates for generating the malware signature. The remaining functions are divided into clusters according to their location in the file and the optimal cluster for generating the malware signature is determined. One or more of the functions in the optimal cluster is selected randomly, as the malware signature.
US08353028B2
A method and system to verify active content at a server system include receiving, at the server system a communication (e.g., an e-mail message or e-commerce listing) that includes active content that is to be made accessible via the server system. At the server system, the active content is rendered to generate rendered active content. The rendered active content presents a representation of information and processes to which an end user will be subject. At the server system, the rendered active content is verified as not being malicious.
US08353024B2
A method for transmitting information effectively in a server/client network system is provided, the network system including a client placed behind a firewall and a server that provides the client with a predetermined service. The method includes the client generating a hole packet which is for making a hole in the firewall to allow a packet to pass through the firewall from the server, the hole being maintained for a certain period of time, and transmitting the hole packet to the firewall; and transmitting a packet from the server to the client through the hole made by the hole packet.
US08353018B2
A method and apparatus for verifying that a user is the owner of a public listing is provided. The user selects an option to claim ownership of the public listing offered by an online service provider. The online service provider uses information regarding the user and the public listing to generate a verification code. The online service provider delivers the verification code to the owner of the public listing via the contact information provided by the public listing. If the user owns the public listing, the user receives the verification code via contact information associated with the public listing. The user verifies ownership by inputting a code to the online service provider. If the inputted code matches the verification code, then the online service provider identifies the user as the owner of the listing. Once verified, the user modifies the listing.
US08353006B2
A communications system for an aircraft carrying personnel having personal electronic devices (PEDs) includes a wireless access device in the aircraft for the PEDs, and an aircraft server in the aircraft cooperating with the wireless access device for determining airborne validation of a ground server address entered via a corresponding PED. An air-to-ground transceiver in the aircraft cooperates with the aircraft server for communicating over an air-to-ground interface the airborne validated ground server address. A ground server on the ground receives the airborne validated ground server address over the air-to-ground interface, determines ground validation of the airborne validated ground server address, and provides ground access for the corresponding PED for which the entered ground server address has both airborne and ground validation.
US08353001B2
Automatic Security Compliance Assessment (ASCA) systems and methods are provided. The disclosed systems and methods can automatically determine whether all of the devices in an enterprise network comply with security policies or standards, and can automatically take remedial or corrective action to bring those devices into compliance with security policies or standards if they are determined not to be in compliance. The disclosed systems and methods can automatically ensure that all of the devices in an enterprise network remain in compliance with the security policies or standards, and automatically create records that establish whether each of the devices are in compliance and regularly update those records over time so that the enterprise can quickly and easily provide evidence of compliance and/or corrective actions taken to bring devices into compliance if required to do so.
US08352998B1
A module may include interface logic to receive information identifying a state related to a client device via logic related to a controlled environment, and to send a valid policy result to a host device, where the valid policy result is related to the state. The module may include processing logic to process policy content according to a resource policy, where the processing is based on the information, and to produce the valid policy result based on the processing using the resource policy, where the valid policy result is adapted for use by the host device when implementing the network policy with respect to a destination device when the client device attempts to communicate with the destination device.
US08352983B1
A user interface for interactive television services is represented as a visual overlay that provides a viewer with knowledge of a library of available content relating to a currently tuned to television channel and navigation options for selecting desired portions of the available content from the library, the available content being designated according to business rules specified by a provider of the interactive television services. The visual overlay may be displayed over full-screen or embedded television programming, which may be broadcast television programming or on-demand television programming.
US08352979B2
Methods and apparatus are disclosed to broadcast advanced television system committee (ATSC) video in switched digital video (SDV) systems. An example SDV broadcast method includes de-multiplexing at least one program stream from at least one of a plurality of multiple program transport streams (MPTSs), and connecting at least one program stream to a SDV broadcast engine.
US08352978B2
The present invention allows control of the presentation of advertisements that are associated with television networks, channels, and programs, and enables a single broadcasting of each advertisement associated with a network to be made to numerous television systems in parallel. The presentation of advertisements that are associated with television networks, channels, and programs is controlled in the present invention by determining at television viewer equipment whether the television networks, channels, or programs with which the advertisements are associated are unavailable to the television viewer or are undesirable to the television viewer. Once this determination has been made, the television viewer equipment then presents the advertisements, or selects and presents suitable alternative advertisements. A single broadcasting of each network advertisement to all television systems is enabled in the present invention by broadcasting each advertisement with a network identifier to all television systems. At the television systems, the network identifier and channel map or program guide information located in television viewer equipment are then used by an interactive program guide or other application running in the television viewer equipment to determine whether a local affiliate for that network is available and not designated as undesirable by the television viewer. If the local affiliate is available and not designated as undesirable, the advertisement is then presented to the television viewer, otherwise a suitable alternative advertisement is then identified and presented to the television viewer.
US08352972B2
A disk sorter for DVDs, CDs or other disks includes a sorter frame. Plural sorting trays are contained in the sorter frame in a multi-level arrangement, respectively have a front tray end and a rear tray end, are inclined downwards toward the front tray end, for containing a disk on a side higher than the front tray end upon reception with the rear tray end. A movable chute structure is disposed behind the rear tray end, movable up or down, inclined downwards toward the rear tray end, for supplying one of the sorting trays with the disk by guiding to the rear tray end. A disk transfer device holds the disk, and places the disk on the chute structure, to transfer to the one sorting tray. Furthermore, a lifting device moves up or down the chute structure, and positions the chute end at the rear tray end.
US08352955B2
There is provided a method for placing a plurality of processes onto respective processor elements in a processor array, the method comprising (i) assigning each of the plurality of processes to a respective processor element to generate a first placement; (ii) evaluating a cost function for the first placement to determine an initial value for the cost function, the result of the evaluation of the cost function indicating the suitability of a placement, wherein the cost function comprises a bandwidth utilization of a bus interconnecting the processor elements in the processor array; (iii) reassigning one or more of the processes to respective different ones of the processor elements to generate a second placement; (iv) evaluating the cost function for the second placement to determine a modified value for the cost function; and (v) accepting or rejecting the reassignments of the one or more processes based on a comparison between the modified value and the initial value.
US08352946B2
The present disclosure is directed to a method for managing tasks in a computer system having a plurality of CPUs. Each task in the computer system may be configured to indicate a migration ready indicator of the task. The migration ready indicator for a task may be given when the set of live data for that task reduces or its working set of memory changes. The method may comprise associating a migration readiness queue with each of the plurality of CPUs, the migration readiness queue having a front-end and a back-end; analyzing a task currently executing on a particular CPU, wherein the particular CPU is one of the plurality of CPUs; placing the task in the migration readiness queue of the particular CPU based on status of the task and/or the migration ready indicator of the task; and selecting at least one queued task from the front-end of the migration readiness queue of the particular CPU for migration when the particular CPU receives a task migration command.
US08352941B1
An untrusted component exposing a high level storage object interface within an untrusted client virtual machine accepts application level storage object operations. Responsive to a storage object operation, the untrusted component passes a message through the underlying hypervisor to an associated trusted component. The trusted component processes the message by authenticating the client virtual machine and locating an internal mapping between the client virtual machine and an associated customer-specific set of backend storage resources to which the requested storage object operation is to be applied. The trusted component uses a trust relationship with the backend storage system to securely communicate the storage object operation to the backend storage system, and passes the operation results through the hypervisor back to the untrusted component in the source client virtual machine from which the storage object request originated.
US08352935B2
A customized distribution, e.g. of Linux software, is built using only packages that satisfy a customer's individual requirements. The packages are verified, at build time, to be interoperable at run-time. Also, the distribution is verified to ensure all package dependencies are included. In cases where no package already exists that meets a user requirements, a new package can be created for this purpose. The packages in the distribution customized for the user can be tracked, so that as updates to the packages are released, the customer can be notified about those updates (without being notified about packages not in the customer's customized distribution). Finally, once the distribution has been built for the user, it can then be offered as a general-purpose distribution for future customers.
US08352934B1
The invention relates to upgrading software or firmware in a network. The invention simplify the process of upgrading the software or firmware by using a drag and drop mechanism. Accordingly, with the help of a user-friendly GUI, a user initiates the process of upgrading by dragging and dropping a software icon onto a device icon. The software icon may represent the software to be used for upgrading and the device icon may represent a network device including the software or firmware that is to be upgraded. A set of checks is performed during the process of upgrading. The set of checks includes checking the compatibility of the software used for upgrading with the network device.
US08352933B2
Replacing a computer program with a replacement version concurrently with its execution by a first instance of an operating system in a computer system, wherein a persistent memory area in the computer system is used to store selected data from the first instance. A snapshot image of a second instance of the operating system, wherein in the second instance the replacement version was executed instead of the computer program, is provided to the computer system. The execution of the first instance is suspended and the first instance is replaced with data from the snapshot image while preserving the persistent memory area. The execution of the first instance is resumed and data from the persistent memory area is restored in the first instance.
US08352929B2
A method for preventing the unauthorized modification of a software or unauthorized modification of runtime data. According to this method, a converter, which is capable of converting the software into a generalized machine code is provided. The converter is designed such that it cannot be reverse engineered, by using a conversion process that causes data loss. An interpreter, which the knowledge of its process method is kept restricted, is also provided. The interpreter interprets the general machine code into a specific machine code, while reconstructing the lost data during the interpretation process.
US08352924B2
The present invention discloses a method for multi-core instruction-set simulation. The proposed method identifies the shared data segment and the dependency relationship between the different cores and thus effectively reduces the number of sync points and lowers the synchronization overhead, allowing multi-core instruction-set simulation to be performed more rapidly while ensuring that the simulation results are accurate. In addition, the present invention also discloses a device for multi-core instruction-set simulation.
US08352923B2
Disclosed is a software testing system operative to test a software application, for example during runtime. There may be provided an apparatus for at least partially isolating, from within the software application, at least one highly coupled software component which performs a given function. Isolation may be performed by introducing, prior to execution, code elements for runtime access of application points associated with the at least one highly coupled software component. There may also be provided apparatus for removing or replacing a behavior of at least said at least partially isolated highly coupled software component during runtime.
US08352920B2
An application builder system and methodology enables a user to create an application using a builder (“builder application”); interactively edit the builder application by adding and removing application objects; interactively edit the properties of the application objects, including a new property called “debug level”; interactively set values of parameters for a code generator, including the value of a new parameter called “debug level”; invoking the code generator to automatically generate application code; and running the resulting generated application.
US08352907B2
A software application recreation in a computing environment is provided. One embodiment involves analyzing program execution trace data of a software application, and using the analysis results in recreating an executable version of the software application from data traced at significant points during the software application execution. Recreating an executable version of the software application involves creating white space code to simulate the software application execution timing by replacing business logic code of the software application with white space code in the recreated executable version. The recreated executable version of the software application programmatically behaves essentially similarly to the software application.
US08352906B2
Disclosed are a method, system, and computer program product for implementing external domain independent modeling framework in a system design. In some embodiments, the method or system comprises importing an external model in an external format into the framework while substantially preserving some or all of the interpretation of the external model, determining a internal common representation for the external model within the framework, and displaying or storing the internal common representation in a tangible computer readable medium. In some embodiments, the method or system further comprises validating the accuracy of the internal common representation, determining an analysis or transformation capability for the framework, or outputting a first output model in a second external format. In various embodiments, the method or system requires no external tool compliance.
US08352904B2
A method and a computer program product for modeling early defect removal are provided. The method includes selecting a first set of software development practices to model as a baseline plan, where each of the software development practices has an associated defect removal efficiency (DRE) and is associated with a development phase of a software development cycle. The method also includes selecting a second set of the software development practices to model as a to be plan, where each of the software development practices has a configurable DRE for the to be plan. The method further includes calculating defect removal in each of the development phases as a function of the DRE values, adjusting configuration settings for the to be plan to shift an amount of the defect removal earlier in the development phases of the to be plan as compared to the baseline plan, and outputting a graphical representation.
US08352900B1
A method tests integrated circuit devices to measure a voltage overshoot condition. The method determines an overshoot time proportion. The overshoot time proportion is the amount of time the voltage overshoot condition occurs relative to the amount of time the normal operating condition occurs during a full useful operating lifetime of the integrated circuit devices. The method also determines an overshoot failure proportion. The overshoot failure proportion comprises the amount of dielectric failures that occur during the voltage overshoot condition relative to the amount of dielectric failures that occur during the normal operating condition. The method calculates an allowed overshoot voltage based on the overshoot time proportion and the overshoot failure proportion. The method additionally calculates an average overshoot voltage of a voltage waveform and compares the average overshoot voltage to the allowed overshoot voltage to identify if the average overshoot voltage exceeds the allowed overshoot voltage.
US08352898B1
A method is provided for preparing a plurality of systems that include respective programmable integrated circuits (ICs) of the same type. A plurality of circuit designs is partitioned into a base design and respective supplemental designs. The base design includes a set of input/output pins utilized by any of the plurality of circuit designs. A supplemental bitstream is generated for each of the supplemental designs. A first bitstream is generated for implementing the base circuit design, a communication module, and a reconfiguration module in a first portion of programmable resources of the programmable IC. The reconfiguration module is configured to program, in response to each respective one of the supplemental bitstreams received via the communication module, a second portion of the programmable resources with the supplemental bitstream to implement a corresponding one of the plurality of circuit designs.
US08352896B2
Systems and methods for distribution analysis of a stacked-die integrated circuit (IC) are described. The stacked-die integrated circuit includes a primary die, and clock load information for the primary die of the IC is determined. Additionally, a clock load model may be created using the clock load information for the primary die. Clock load information for a second die that is coupled to the primary die may also be determined. The clock load information for the second die may be incorporated into the clock load model to create an enhanced clock load model of the stacked-die IC, which may then be analyzed as if a single-die IC.
US08352884B2
A hand-held electronic device, method of operation and computer readable medium are disclosed. The device may include a case having one or more major surfaces. A visual display and a touch interface are disposed on at least one of the major surfaces. A processor is operably coupled to the visual display and touch screen. Instructions executable by the processor may be configured to a) present an image on the visual display containing one or more active elements; b) perform a tessellation that divides the image into one or more regions that fill the display, wherein each region corresponds to a different active element, wherein a size of each region depends on a corresponding probability that a user will use the corresponding active element within a given time frame; and c) correlating one or more active portions of the touch interface to one or more corresponding active elements.
US08352881B2
A method, apparatus and program storage device for providing customizable, immediate and radiating menus for accessing applications and actions. Upon initiation of a predetermined user action, such as a right-click operation, a primary menu is displayed and a second radial menu is displayed proximate the primary menu with the cursor position at a predetermined location for minimizing cursor manipulation for selecting a menu item from the second radial menu.
US08352877B2
Various embodiments related to the adjustment of a displayed range of a portion of a content selection are disclosed. In one embodiment, a computing device with an interactive display is configured to display a portion of a content selection and a control associated with the content selection. The control comprises a track and an indicator that indicates a location and a range of the portion of the content selection within the content selection as a whole. A first type of input associated with the control alters the range of the portion of the content selection displayed relative to the content selection as a whole and adjusts an appearance of the indicator, while a second type of touch input associated with the control alters a portion of the content selection displayed and moves the indicator on the track.
US08352875B2
A method for integrating a plurality of existing software applications is disclosed. The method comprises executing the plurality of existing software applications. A composite graphical user interface (GUI) is created containing selected objects. A user's interactions with each of the plurality of existing software applications are recorded to record at least one function from each of the plurality of existing software applications. The at least one recorded function from each of the plurality of existing software applications is assigned to at least one of the selected objects in the composite GUI.
US08352864B2
A method of generating a customized image includes forming a first design including a first pattern having a first color and a second color. The method also includes receiving input from a user using a design modification element. The method further includes forming a second design including a second pattern including a third color and a fourth color. A change from the first design to the second design is proportional to the input received from the user using the design modification element.
US08352863B2
A system and method for online product design. An electronic product template having a number of pre-defined text fields and template editing tools for allowing the user to incorporate user text into the text fields are downloaded to a user computer. The current state of the product design is retained at the user computer. When the user has entered text for incorporation into a text field, the text for that text field and the associated font information are uploaded to the server. The server creates an image of the text field and downloads the text image to the user computer for incorporation into the displayed product design according to text positioning information retained at the user computer. Each text field in the design is a separate image that can be individually and independently edited and positioned within the product design.
US08352861B2
Provides a Web server for generating display control information for dividing and displaying a form in a style conforming to a client device used by a user, which includes a HTTP request reception unit for receiving a form request from the client device, an application code database for storing a screen definition of the form subjected to the form request and a code of a validator for executing validation of an input value inputted into an input item in the form, a form division unit for dividing the form in conformity to the acquired terminal capacity by use of the read-out screen definition of the form and the read-out code of the validator, and a screen generation unit for generating screen information to be displayed on the client device by use of a result of division.
US08352855B2
Some embodiments provide a method for defining a selection of text in an unstructured document that includes a number of glyphs. The method identifies associated sets of glyphs and a reading order that specifies a flow of reading through the glyphs. The method displays the document. The method receives a start point and end point for a selection of text within the displayed document. The method defines a selection of text from the start point to the end point by using the identified sets of glyphs and intended flow of reading.
US08352845B2
A method and apparatus for increasing the data rate and providing antenna diversity using multiple transmit antennas is disclosed. A set of bits of a digital signal are used to generate a codeword. Codewords are provided according to a channel code. Delay elements may be provided in antenna output channels, or with suitable code construction delay may be omitted. n signals represent n symbols of a codeword are transmitted with n different transmit antennas. At the receiver MSLE or other decoding is used to decode the noisy received sequence. The parallel transmission and channel coding enables an increase the data rate over previous techniques, and recovery even under fading conditions. The channel coding may be concatenated with error correction codes under appropriate conditions.
US08352843B2
An apparatus for coding a communication signal is provided. The apparatus includes an encoder configured to encode the communication signal, to increase the length of the communication signal, and a repetition coder configured to repetitively code part of the encoded communication signal, to utilize at least some of the increased length of the communication signal. The apparatus further includes an interleaver configured to interleave the repetitively coded communication signal. A method is also provided for coding a communication signal.
US08352841B2
Various embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for out of order memory management. For example, a method for out of order data processing is disclosed. The method includes providing an out of order codeword memory circuit that includes a number of codeword memory locations in a codeword memory area and the same number of index values in an index area. Each of the index values corresponds to a respective one of the codeword memory locations. The methods further include receiving a data set; storing the data set to one of the codeword memory locations; receiving an indication that the data set stored in the one of the codeword memory locations has completed processing; and grouping an index value corresponding to the one of the codeword memory locations with one or more other index values corresponding to unused codeword memory locations.
US08352837B1
System and methods for storing data encoded with error information in a storage medium are provided. A binary data and an encoded binary error signals are received. The encoded binary error signal includes information that represents occurrence of errors in the binary data signal. The binary data and encoded binary error signals are encoded to generate a binary codeword signal. Bits of the binary codeword signal that represent coding information and the binary data signal are extracted. The extracted bits of the binary codeword signal are stored in a first storage medium. The binary packed data signal is retrieved from the first storage device and decoded to recover the binary data signal and a syndrome. Error information corresponding to the encoded binary error signal may be determined based on the syndrome.
US08352832B2
An error correction code includes a separate error code portion for each of two or more separate burst erasure durations (or burst error durations). For each burst erasure duration, the code can be employed to recover from the burst erasure with a different delay time. Each error code portion has a particular parameter for burst duration (B) and delay (T), meaning that the code can be used to recover from a burst erasure of duration B with delay T. Each error code portion is based on separating the source symbols into sub-symbols and diagonally interleaving the sub-symbols based on the (B,T) parameters for the error code portion. Accordingly, different burst erasures are recovered from with different delays.
US08352831B2
A method begins by a processing module determining whether to error encode broadcast data. The method continues with the processing module encoding a portion of the broadcast data using an error coding storage dispersal function to produce a set of encoded broadcast data slices, determining whether to compress the set of encoded broadcast data slices for the set of encoded broadcast data slices, and when the set of encoded broadcast data slices is to be compressed, selecting a subset of encoded broadcast data slices of the set of encoded broadcast data slices, when the broadcast data is to be error encoded.
US08352830B2
In one embodiment, a method for processing data packets having a payload and a checksum, wherein the payload has a first portion of interest. If a received data packet fails a CRC check, then it is determined whether the first portion has a valid relationship with one or more previous first portions of one or more corresponding previous payloads of one or more corresponding previous data packets. If the relationship is valid, then the first portion is output. The method enables recovery of first portions of interest from corrupted data packets having transmission errors in other parts of the data packets, thereby potentially decreasing retransmissions and increasing throughput.
US08352819B2
A data processing apparatus is provided with state retention circuits into which state values are saved from nodes within the data processing circuitry when entering a sleep mode from an active mode. Error management circuitry is coupled to the state retention circuits and detects errors in the retention of the state values. If errors are detected then an error recover response is triggered. A voltage controller coupled to the error management circuitry serves to vary a supply voltage to the state retention circuits during the sleep mode so as to maintain a finite non-zero error rate in the retention of the state values by the state retention circuits.
US08352812B2
Embodiments of apparatuses and methods for protecting data storage structures from intermittent errors are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a plurality of data storage locations, execution logic, error detection logic, and control logic. The execution logic is to execute an instruction to generate a data value to store in one of the data storage locations. The error detection logic is to detect an error in the data value stored in the data storage location. The control logic is to respond to the detection of the error by causing the execution logic to re-execute the instruction to regenerate the data value to store in the data storage location, causing the error detection logic to check the data value read from the data storage location, and deactivating the data storage location if another error is detected.
US08352811B2
An event data transmission scheme is provided for reducing positron emission tomography event losses. The event data transmission scheme employs a more effective use of available data bandwidth. Each of a plurality of detector data slots is connected directly to a data aggregation control interface, and the control interface is connected to a coincidence processor.
US08352806B2
A system to improve memory failure management may include memory, and an error control decoder to determine failures in the memory. The system may also include an agent that may monitor failures in the memory. The system may further include a table where the error control decoder may record the failures, and where the agent can read and write to.
US08352799B2
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method and system for draining or aborting IO requests of a failed system prior to restarting or recovering an application in virtual environments. The method includes detecting, within an electronic system, an application error condition of an application executing on a virtual machine and determining an application restart target. The method further includes sending an input/output (IO) request drain command to a virtual IO server operable to provide storage to the virtual machine and receiving a signal that the IO requests have been drained. The drain command is operable to drain IO requests issued from the application. The application can then be restarted or recovered.
US08352798B2
A method, computer program product, and system for detecting and fencing off a failed entity instance so that failover time in the computing system is reduced. Upon detection of a failed entity, for example a failed process, a signal handler invokes an operating system interface to fence off the failed instance from modifying its persistent state, so that the entity may be re-instantiated prior to termination of the failed instance. This approach reduces failover time and eliminates split-brain problems without compromising access to the failed instance to obtain diagnostic information, core dumps, and the like.
US08352795B2
A method of ensuring high integrity of a processor is provided. The method includes executing sets of sequential instructions, each execution being based on a unique initial value, generating a computed final value responsive to each execution of a set of sequential instructions, and sending computed values to a monitoring portion of a high integrity processor monitor system responsive to the generating for each execution of the set of sequential instructions. The execution of the sets of sequential instructions tests pertinent addressing modes, operand sizes, and instruction side-effects for each instruction tested in a monitored central processing unit.
US08352792B2
Testing of an electrical device is achieved by providing a test access mechanism within the device that can receive scan frames from an external tester. The received scan frames contain stimulus data to be applied to circuitry within the device to be tested, a command for enabling a test control operation, and a frame marker bit to indicate the end of the scan frame pattern. The inputting of scan frames can occur continuously and simultaneous with a commanded test control operation.
US08352791B2
A system and method for testing a control module includes a microprocessor, where the microprocessor has a programming environment. The programming environment has a test data structure, a configuration data structure, and a monitor data structure each containing data. At least one test data instance is associated with the test data structure and at least one configuration data instance is associated with the configuration data structure. The configuration data instance is a diagnostic test that monitors a parameter of the microprocessor, and the monitor data structure creates the test data instance such that each test data instance corresponds to one of the configuration data instances. The program includes a first control logic for associating the test data structure, the configuration data structure and the monitor data structure as part of a core infrastructure portion of the programming environment, where the core infrastructure portion of the program is static.
US08352789B2
An operation management apparatus monitors the performance information of a system executing services and extracts correlation variants of the performance information, thus allowing the management to detect and localize performance-degrading faults of the system. It is determined whether or not the range of correlation collapse ascribed to the performance information falls within the normal range of correlation collapse measured in the normal operation of the system. A history is retained with regard to the range of correlation collapse ascribed to the performance information which does not fall within the normal range of correlation collapse. It is determined whether or not the history accumulating the predetermined number of ranges of correlation collapse approximates to the fault range of correlation collapse measured in the faulty operation of the system, thus discriminating a fault model on the basis of the performance information.
US08352784B2
A method and a device may be provided for saving and restoring one or more settings associated with the device. The one or more settings may be saved and changed before performing a task. After completion of the task, or after a determined failure of the task to complete, the one or more settings may be restored. Communications may be exchanged between a host and the device to create a restore point for saving the one or more settings, to change any of the one or more settings before performing the task, and to restore the one or more settings after completion of the task, or after determining the failure of the task to complete. The device may create and store the one or more settings in a restore point in the device, or may send the one or more settings to the host for storing.
US08352780B2
For writing, flash memory devices are physically accessed in a page-oriented mode, but such devices are not error-free in operation. According to the invention, when writing information data in a bus write cycle in a sequential manner into flash memory devices assigned to a common data bus, at least one of said flash memory devices is not fed for storage with a current section of said information data. In case an error is occurring while writing a current information data section into a page of a current one of said flash memory devices, said current information data section is written into a non-flash memory. During the following bus write cycle, while the flash memory device containing that defective page is normally idle, that idle time period is used for copying the corresponding stored section of said information data from said non-flash memory to a non-defect page of that flash memory device.
US08352779B2
In one embodiment, the present invention includes a method for receiving an indication of a loss of redundancy with respect to a pair of mirrored memory regions of a partially redundant memory system, determining new mirrored memory regions, and dynamically migrating information stored in the original mirrored memory regions to the new mirrored memory regions. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US08352778B2
The reliability is improved at a low cost even in a virtualized server environment. The number of spare servers is reduced for improving the reliability and for saving a licensing fee for software on the spare servers. A server system comprises a plurality of physical servers on which a plurality of virtual servers run, a single standby server, a module for detecting an active virtual server, and a module for switching the correspondence of boot disks of virtualization modules for controlling virtual servers to the physical servers. When a physical server fails, the boot disk of the associated virtualization module is connected to a spare server to automatically activate on the spare server those virtual servers which have been active upon occurrence of the failure.
US08352777B2
Systems, methods, and machine readable and executable instructions are provided for replaying captured network traffic. A method for replaying captured network traffic can include replaying multiple captured network traffic files simultaneously on the same network device, the captured network traffic files including original network traffic captured from N original connections between C original clients and S original servers. During replaying, rewriting IP addresses and/or port number information of data packets comprising the original network traffic to reflect test network traffic from M test connections between X test clients and Y test servers, where at least X is different than C or Y is different than S. The method further includes modifying checksums, during replaying, to correct values corresponding to the rewritten IP addresses and port number information. N, C, S, M, X, and Y are positive integers.
US08352775B1
A computer readable storage medium with executable instructions specifies the execution of a state machine operating across a set of computing nodes in a distributed computing system. The executable instructions execute a set of operators, where the execution of each operator is under the control of a state machine that periodically invokes pause control states to pause the execution of an operator in response to a violation of a service level agreement specifying an operating condition threshold within the distributed computing system. Partitions of input data are formed that are worked on independently within the distributed computing system. A set of data batches associated with the input data is processed. Data partition control states to process the partitions associated with the set of data batches are specified. Key control states to process a set of keys associated with a data partition of the partitions are defined.
US08352774B2
The inter-clock domain data transfer FIFO circuit provides a circuit that transfers data between two clock domains of unrelated frequencies. The gate count is kept relatively low, thereby allowing data transfer between the two clock domains at one data item per cycle of the lower of the two frequencies. Depending on the frequency difference between the data producer and consumer, the initial latency could be as low as a fraction of a cycle and no more than two cycles of the consumer's clock. The operation of the data transfer FIFO circuit has been verified using gate-level simulations for several ratios of clock frequencies.
US08352749B2
Systems, methods, computer programs, and devices are disclosed herein for deploying a local trusted service manager within a secure element of a contactless smart card device. The secure element is a component of a contactless smart card incorporated into a contactless smart card device. An asymmetric cryptography algorithm is used to generate public-private key pairs. The private keys are stored in the secure element and are accessible by a trusted service manager (TSM) software application or a control software application in the secure element. A non-TSM computer with access to the public key encrypts and then transmits encrypted application data or software applications to the secure element, where the TSM software application decrypts and installs the software application to the secure element for transaction purposes.
US08352734B2
A method for updating the firmware of a security module allowing it to “jump” towards a dedicated separate patch message stream thanks to a trigger messages stream broadcasted in a main stream of management messages. The trigger messages comprise version information allowing establishing whether the security module is up-to-date, and an identifier indicating to the security module the suitable patch stream. If the current version of the firmware of the security module is inferior to the patch version, the security module is directed towards the stream of patch messages designated by the identifier included in the trigger messages. Once the update of the firmware is complete, the security module is again directed towards the main stream. This return can be carried out automatically, namely with a switch message comprising an identifier of the first stream.
US08352731B2
A secure decentralized storage system provides scalable security by addressing the performance bottleneck of the security manager and the complexity issue of security administration in large-scale storage systems. The storage system includes: an application client for accessing a file system using a plurality of storage devices and transmitting a command to a storage device; a storage device for storing data and access control entries associated to the data, analyzing the command from the client and performing corresponding operations of the command; a metadata server for storing and managing metadata, such as location and length information of data and system configuration; and a security manager for storing and managing global access control entries and policies of the system and performing the access policy and privilege control according to the global access control entries and policies, such as changing the priority and inheritance rule of access control entries, adding and deleting the access control entries.
US08352727B2
A basic idea of this system is to separate ordered delivery data and unordered delivery data in a security protocol running on top of a reliable transport protocol, and perform a first type of security processing for ordered delivery data and a second different type of security processing for unordered delivery data in the security protocol. Preferably, data messages using ordered delivery and data messages using unordered delivery within a secure data stream are separated into two message sequence spaces on the security protocol layer, and data security processing is then performed differently in these two spaces. This system is particularly suitable for a reliable transport protocol such as SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol). The security protocol running on top of the transport protocol is preferably based on the TLS (Transport Layer Security) or a TLS-like protocol with a security processing extension for unordered delivery.
US08352723B2
An autonomic computing system is automatically maintained in a steady state. The system has parameters, each of which has one or more threshold. The system may further have influencers, adjustment of which affects the parameters. A value of a first variable specifying how the parameters or influencers are changed once a decision has been made to change the parameters or influencers is received. A value of a second variable specifying how the system and the parameters are affected responsive to a change in the parameters is also received. Where influencers are present, a value of a third variable specifying whether the influencers are distinct or common is also received. One or more of the parameters or influencers are adjusted, based on the values of the first, second, and/or third variables, to return the parameters to more-normal (e.g., median) values.
US08352718B1
A method, system, and computer-readable medium for expediting initialization of a computing system are provided. According to one aspect of the invention, a computer-readable medium is provided having computer executable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to cache a portion of a firmware to a cache prior to initialization of a main memory. In particular, the computer-executable instructions cause the central processing unit of the computer to cache a range of memory addresses corresponding to the location of the portion of the firmware stored in a computer storage media to the cache prior to the initialization of the main memory. The firmware may be a BIOS and/or EFI firmware. The computer-executable instructions then cause the computer to execute the portion of the firmware from the cache until the main memory is initialized. The portion of the firmware cached to the cache and executed form the cache until the main memory is initialized may be a boot block portion of the firmware that performs a Power-On Self Test.
US08352717B2
A recovery system for a computer operating system and applications is described which uses selectable and configurable snapshots. In one example, a start-up sequence of the computer system is initiated, a plurality of snapshots in a hidden section of a mass storage device are identified before loading an operating system for the computer system, each snapshot containing an operating system, applications, and computer system configuration settings. One of the plurality of snapshots is booted including loading the operating system and applications of the one snapshot, and the start-up sequence is completed.
US08352715B2
A method for booting up a mobile phone quickly is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: driving hardware devices when the mobile phone is turned on; initializing application software installed in the mobile phone; loading data in the mobile phone from a storage to a memory; creating a table for each kind of data in the memory, and ordering data in each table according to a particular order condition; converting each table into a binary file, and storing the binary file in the storage; loading the binary file of each table directly from the storage to the memory when the mobile phone is turned on. A related quickly booting mobile phone is also disclosed.
US08352714B2
A processor (e.g., a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) core) rewinds a pipeline of instructions upon a watchpoint event in an instruction being processed. The program execution ceases at the instruction in which the watchpoint event occurred, while the instruction and subsequent instructions are cancelled, keeping the hardware components associated with executing the program in their previous states, prior to the watchpoint. The rewind is such that the program is refetched to enable execution to continue from the instruction in which the watchpoint event occurred. The watchpoint event is executed in a “break before make” manner.
US08352709B1
A memory access technique, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, includes caching segmentation data. The technique utilizes a separate memory for storing a plurality of context specifiers and an MMU. The MMU includes an on-chip cache and a segmentation unit. The MMU receives a location of a particular context specifier and a corresponding context index for each of one or more of the plurality of context specifiers stored in the separate memory. The segmentation unit retrieves the particular context specifier and caches it locally. The segmentation unit also binds the cache location of the particular context specifier to the corresponding context index. After caching one or more context specifiers and generating a corresponding binding, the segmentation unit may receive a memory access request that includes a given context index. A given context specifier that is cached locally is accessed by the segmentation unit using the context index to get a base address. The base address from the given context specifier is utilized by the segmentation unit to generate a virtual address for the memory access request.
US08352690B2
Described embodiments provide a media controller that synchronizes data cached in a buffer and corresponding data stored in one or more sectors of a storage device. A buffer layer module of the media controller caches data transferred between the buffer and the storage device. One or more contiguous sectors are associated with one or more chunks. The buffer layer module updates a status corresponding to each chunk of the cached data and scans the status corresponding to a first chunk of cached data. If, based on the status, the first chunk of cached data is more recent than the corresponding data stored on the storage device, a media layer module synchronizes the data on the storage device with the cached data. The status corresponding to the group of one or more sectors is updated. The media layer module scans a next chunk of cached data, if present.
US08352687B2
A cache includes a cache pipeline, a request receiver configured to receive off chip coherency requests from an off chip cache and a plurality of state machines coupled to the request receiver. The cache also includes an arbiter coupled between the plurality of state machines and the cache pipe line and is configured to give priority to off chip coherency requests as well as a counter configured to count the number of coherency requests sent from the cache pipeline to a lower level cache. The cache pipeline is halted from sending coherency requests when the counter exceeds a predetermined limit.
US08352685B2
In an embodiment, a combining write buffer is configured to maintain one or more flush metrics to determine when to transmit write operations from buffer entries. The combining write buffer may be configured to dynamically modify the flush metrics in response to activity in the write buffer, modifying the conditions under which write operations are transmitted from the write buffer to the next lower level of memory. For example, in one implementation, the flush metrics may include categorizing write buffer entries as “collapsed.” A collapsed write buffer entry, and the collapsed write operations therein, may include at least one write operation that has overwritten data that was written by a previous write operation in the buffer entry. In another implementation, the combining write buffer may maintain the threshold of buffer fullness as a flush metric and may adjust it over time based on the actual buffer fullness.
US08352679B2
Techniques are generally described for methods, systems, data processing devices and computer readable media configured to decrypt data to be stored in a data cache when a particular condition indicative of user authentication or data security has occurred. The described techniques may also be arranged to terminate the storage of decrypted data in the cache when a particular condition that may compromise the security of the data is detected. The describe techniques may further be arranged to erase the decrypted data stored in the cache when a particular condition that may compromise the security of the data is detected.
US08352675B2
A data storage device is configured to operate as an internal device of a first host system or an external device of a second host system, depending on whether it is connected to the second host system. A connection detector detects connections between the data storage device and the second host system and facilitates communication between the data storage device and the second host system upon detecting such connections.
US08352674B2
A semiconductor memory information storage apparatus includes a storage unit using a nonvolatile memory, a write number manager counting each of numbers of times of writing of all blocks, a list manager classifying the blocks in the nonvolatile memory by in-use/unused, managing in an in-use list a block of the in-use, managing in a first unused list a block with the number of times of writing equal to a maximum value, and managing in a second unused list a block with the number of times of writing less than the maximum value, and a controller writing and erasing information data to and from the storage unit.
US08352671B2
A memory system is provided. The system includes a controller that regulates read and write access to one or more FLASH memory devices that are employed for random access memory applications. A buffer component operates in conjunction with the controller to regulate read and write access to the one or more FLASH devices. Wear leveling components along with read and write processing components are provided to facilitate efficient operations of the FLASH memory devices.
US08352664B2
An information processing apparatus including a first data processor processing data sent from an external device, which can switch a power consumption mode thereof; a switcher configured to switch the mode of the first data processing device from the standard power mode to a power saving mode or vice versa; and a second data processor processing the data sent from the external device when the first data processor is in the power saving mode. The second data processor includes a first judging device making a judgment whether the data are to be processed by the first or second data processor depending on the data; and a connection establishing device establishing communication connection with the external device when the first judging device cannot make the judgment from the data.
US08352663B2
A data storage apparatus having improved data transfer performance. The storage apparatus has: plural controllers connected to each other by first data transfer paths; plural processors controlling the controllers; and second data transfer paths through which the controllers send data to various devices. Each of the controllers has a data-processing portion for transferring data to the first and second data transfer paths. The data-processing portion has a header detection portion for detecting first header information constituting data, a selection portion for selecting data sets having continuous addresses of transfer destination and using the same data transfer path from plural data sets such that a coupled data set is created from the selected data sets, a header creation portion for creating second header information about the coupled data set, and coupled data creation means for creating the coupled data set from the selected data sets and from the second header information.
US08352657B2
A simple data transfer mechanism may be combined with static state bus signaling to replace a USB with a digital serial interconnect bus (DSIB). This may eliminate various pull-up/pull-down resistors required in USB, and enable the DSIB to operate with little or no leakage current when the bus is in an idle state, or data transmission state. All required functionality may be implemented using only two signal pins. The DSIB may also enable silicon solutions for high speed USB that do not require a PLL, since the clock may be provided by the transmission source and may thus not need to be recovered from the serial data stream. The DSIB may provide an easy reuse mechanism for USB silicon by enabling a designer to remove the analog PHY and replace it with a serial digital I/O transfer mechanism, while retaining the IP's USB timers, and other protocol specific features.
US08352654B2
A data reproducing apparatus comprises: a reproducing unit adapted to read out data from a plurality of recording media; a list generating unit adapted to generate a content list which describes storage location information in association with contents stored in the plurality of recording media; and a communication unit adapted to communicate with an external device and sending the content list to the external device, wherein the list generating unit checks if the contents stored in the plurality of recording media include identical contents, and if the identical contents are detected, the list generating unit generates the content list including information indicating that the storage location information of the identical contents are integrated.
US08352649B2
Disclosed is a storage virtualization subsystem (SVS) architecture comprising a plurality of SVSs, each SVS comprising at least one storage virtualization controller (SVC), and, in some cases, a physical storage disk (PSD) array attached to the SVC. A first and a second data access path is configured passing through the SVSs to form the SVS architecture such that when one path is failed, the other can be taken as a substitution. The SVSs in the first path are connected in a first sequence and the SVSs in the second path are connected in a second sequence different from the first one. In another embodiment, each SVS comprises a plurality of redundantly-configured SVCs rather than one SVC. The first path is formed passing through a first set of SVCs and the second path is formed passing through a different second set of SVCs.
US08352639B2
The present disclosure provides a method of device selection using sensory input and portable electronic device configured for same. In accordance with one example embodiment, there is provided a method for use in a portable electronic device for selecting a peripheral device for connection with the portable electronic device, comprising: measuring a magnetic field within the vicinity of the portable electronic device; determining a relative location of at least two available peripheral devices in accordance with magnetic fields uniquely associated with the at least two available peripheral devices; selecting a peripheral device from the at least two available peripheral devices in accordance with the measured magnetic field; and connecting the portable electronic device to the selected peripheral device using a wireless communications path.
US08352633B2
The present application is directed towards systems and methods of state migration in a multi-core system. An external process on a client or server may initiate a plurality of connections with the multi-core system, such that some cores have a plurality of connections and others have none. The present invention provides systems and methods for redirecting a connection or migrating the state of a connection from being associated with a first core with a plurality of connections to a second core with no connections.
US08352631B2
A method for improving transmission efficiency of physical layer attributes in a wireless communication system is proposed, and the method comprises the following steps of: (a) defining one or more sets of physical layer channel basic attributes that must be supported, and each set being respectively represented by a value of a domain of attributes, that is, a value of Profile; (b) a transmitting apparatus sending a physical layer channel description information, wherein the value of Profile is used to represent the physical layer channel basic attributes supported by the apparatus; (c) after receiving the channel description information, based on the value of Profile within the information, a receiving apparatus judging whether a set of physical layer channel basic attributes corresponding to the value is supported.
US08352619B2
A computer-implemented method for protecting data being transferred during a session with an application is presented. In response to receiving a session request that includes an application identifier for an application, a data processing node establishes a session with the application and assigns a session identifier for that session. A session response, which includes the session identifier, to the session request is sent. In response to receiving a first request that includes the session identifier, a first pipe in the session is established. This first pipe enables data related to the first request to be isolated according to an assigned first pipe identifier for the first pipe. A first response to the first request is sent, wherein the first response comprises the session identifier and the first pipe identifier.
US08352617B2
A computer-implemented method, system and computer program product for protecting data being transferred during a session with an application are presented. In response to receiving a session request that includes an application identifier for an application, a data processing node establishes a session with the application and assigns a session identifier for that session. A session response, which includes the session identifier, to the session request is sent. In response to receiving a first request that includes the session identifier, a first pipe in the session is established. This first pipe enables data related to the first request to be isolated according to an assigned first pipe identifier for the first pipe. A first response to the first request is sent, wherein the first response comprises the session identifier and the first pipe identifier.
US08352608B1
Some embodiments provide a method for automated configuration of a set of resources for hosting a virtual machine at a particular node in a hosting system. The hosting system includes several nodes for hosting several virtual machines. The method, at a first virtual machine operating using a first set of resources of the particular node, receives a configuration for a second virtual machine to be hosted on a second set of resources of the particular node. The method, from the first virtual machine, accesses the second set of resources to partition a file system for storing the second virtual machine. The method modifies the file system to configure the second virtual machine as specified by the configuration.
US08352601B2
A communications system includes a plurality of recipient processors located at geographically remote locations with respect to each other and connected for communication with an information provider processor, over the communications network. The provider and recipient processors may comprise respective computers coupled for communication on the Internet or WWW. The provider processor is capable of providing information from any suitable source, by communicating such information over a communication network. However, access to the information by the recipient processors is controlled, based geographic location or region of the recipient processors and time information and, for some systems, a set of rules relating to a further condition.
US08352581B2
A data transmission apparatus which transmits data includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire information including a transmission destination of the data from an information providing apparatus on a network, a transmission unit configured to transmit the data to the transmission destination based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and a request unit configured to request the information providing apparatus to update the information during transmission of the data by the transmission unit.
US08352580B2
A server for a mobile web service and a method for providing a web service are provided. The wired server stores an IP address of at least one mobile web server. When a request for access to a mobile web server is received, the wired server delivers the access request to the mobile web server or provides a service in place of the mobile web server, using a URL included in the access request.
US08352575B2
A server-based files and tasks brokerage system and method are disclosed. In response to receiving a request from a requesting computing device, the server posts the request to a request queue. The request is for a requested mobile telephonic device to perform a task. The server posts a first notification to a first notification queue, in response to receiving the request. The server pushes the first notification to the requested device upon confirming a connection. Upon detecting a first condition of the task being for the requested device to receive a file, the server transfers the file from a file repository. Upon detecting a second condition of the task being for the requested device to send a file, the server transfers the file to the file repository. In response to confirming task completion, the server posts a second notification to a second notification queue associated with the requesting device.
US08352573B2
A method and system for enabling, via conventional web browser controls, a user to generate and send an internet document including user-generated highlights are disclosed. The user-generated highlights included in the internet document embedded in the email are highlights that were previously made via a highlighting service. Accordingly, the recipient of the internet document receives a copy of an internet document including highlights, and need not install any special software to view the highlighted portions of the internet document.
US08352572B2
A Call Session Control Function (CSCF) unit may receive from a user a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message, which may be transmitted via a communication terminal, identifying particular media content on a particular content server, and in response the CSCF unit may transmit a second message to a particular application server (SIP-AS) if the CSCF unit determines that the SIP message is associated with the application server. The application server may generate and transmit to the communication terminal accessing information that may be used by the user to retrieve, via the communication terminal, the media content from the content server. Submitting content requests in this manner may enable routing content requests through an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), thereby making use of filtering features of the IMS for user authentication and access control, and obviating need for separate proprietary access control mechanisms for the content server.
US08352571B2
Local concentration of accessing loads on a data buffer during data cell reading is reduced. Also, by providing sufficient time for a data cell reading operation with respect to data cell transmission timing, transmission rate fluctuation of CBR data cells in a transmitting side is reduced. When transmission of a new data stream is added, controller in a cell control unit refers to a transmitted data cell count of VC information processed through a slot immediately before. The controller determines whether a data cell transmitted through the slot immediately before is a head portion of a packet or not. If the data cell transmitted through the slot immediately before is the head portion of the packet, the controller only adds the VC information of the data stream to a shaper link list, and withholds transmission of the data cell. On the other hand, if the data cell transmitted through the slot immediately before is not the head portion of the packet, then the controller adds the VC information of the data stream, and transmits the data cell.
US08352570B2
A web browser (20) at a client (12) generates a request (26) for content from an origin server (18). A cache server (16) intercepts the request and examines the request to determine whether the request should be transformed. More specifically, the cache server compares transform criteria (40) to a uniform resource identifier portion (28) and a header portion (30) associated with the request. By transforming the request such that information in the header portion is included in the uniform resource identifier portion, the cache server can cache the content associated with the request using the uniform resource identifier portion of the request.
US08352567B2
An apparatus, method and service model are disclosed which simplify conventional methods for schedule recordings of television programs and enable users to control recording equipment from any location via the Internet. Entities connected to computer networks such as the Internet and web-browser software can schedule recordings of television programs and/or operate the recording equipment. In an example scenario, a user who maintains recording equipment at home may utilize the present invention from his or her workplace or vacation place, accesses a service provider website using her/his user name and password, views the a schedule of television programs provided by a broadcaster or other distributor of programming and selects the television programs to be recorded. The application service provider in turn transmits the selected television program information to a computer connected to a later described remote control unit to execute and operate the recording of selected programs. In this manner, the present invention enables anyone with internet access to remotely operate recording equipment to record television programs.
US08352566B2
Systems and techniques for sharing information among members of a group. Information about all current members of a group is stored. Instructions are received from at least one current member to invite at least one prospective member to join the group and the invitation to join the group is sent to the prospective member. In the event that an affirmative response is received, the prospective member is added to the current members of the group and automatically updated services are provided to current members of the group.
US08352554B2
A method and computer program product for defining an activity. One or more members of the activity are defined. At least one piece of content is associated with the activity, thus defining at least one associated piece of content that is accessible by at least a portion of the members of the activity. Associating at least one piece of content with the activity includes determining if the at least one piece of content is from a private source.
US08352550B2
Apparatus and methods for wireless systems provide a mechanism to enhance the communication capabilities of wireless users. In an embodiment, a system includes a wireless server communicatively operable with a set of mobile wireless clients, where the wireless server has a share agent configured to control dissemination of information from a database on a shared basis responsive to a determination of a privacy state of the information. In an embodiment, a mobile wireless device has an integrated management system operable with a controller. The management system is configured to manage the mobile wireless device operable as a multiple-mode wireless client to each wireless server of a set of wireless servers such that information may be shared among the mobile wireless device and the set of wireless servers.
US08352549B2
A computer-implemented system and method for creating topic neighborhoods and a visualization for related topic neighborhoods in a networked system are disclosed. The apparatus in an example embodiment includes a neighborhood generator configured to receive an explicit identification of a topic for association with a neighborhood; create a neighborhood in association with the explicitly identified topic; gather neighborhood information related to the neighborhood from sources related to the topic; and provide access to the neighborhood via a neighborhood link on a webpage.
US08352545B2
A system makes it possible to use services offered by a plurality of servers different from one another is realized with the use of a common API. The system includes a plurality of service-offering servers, a client that uses services offered by the plurality of service-offering servers, and an interchange server that performs intermediary processing when the client uses a service. The client performs communication with the interchange server while using a common API when using any service among a plurality of services offered by the plurality of service-offering servers. The interchange server uses a unique API, which is unique to the service-offering server that offers the service selected by the client, to execute a processing sequence that is unique to the service-offering server. The client may use any service among services offered by the plurality of service-offering servers with the use of a common API without any need to use a unique API, which is unique to each of the plurality of service-offering servers.
US08352543B2
A continuous play broadcast system includes a distributed communications system and a playback control device that is connected to the distributed communications system. The playback control device includes an output device, memory that stores digital media files and a continuous play program, and a controller that outputs the digital media files to the output device according to the continuous play program. The media files include at least one of audio, video and announcements. A computer is connected to the distributed communications system. A web server is connected to the distributed communications system and to a master library of the digital media files. The computer accesses the web server via the distributed communications system to alter the continuous play program for the playback control device. The computer includes a browser module for accessing the web server and the web server transmits executable files to the computer for creating the continuous play program. The executable files are at least one of Active-X® components, Java Applets® and Java Script®. The continuous play broadcast system can also deliver video files and announcement files using the continuous play program. The computer and the playback control device can be integrated.
US08352531B2
The forcing of the result or output of a rounder portion of a floating point processor occurs only in a fraction non-increment data path within the rounder and not in the fraction increment data path within the rounder. The fraction forcing is active on a corner case such as a disabled overflow exception. A disabled overflow exception may be detected by inspecting the normalized exponent. If a disabled overflow exception is detected, the round mode is selected to execute only in the non-increment data path thereby preventing the fraction increment data path from being selected.
US08352528B2
The present invention relates to a efficient implementation of integer and fractional 8-length or 4-length, or 8×8 or 4×4 DCT in a SIMD processor as part of MPEG and other video compression standards.
US08352526B1
A direct digital synthesis is provided with added circuitry to reduce jitter in an IC so that a programmable frequency output can be provided near the limits of the IC system clock with minimal jitter. The system derives the quotient Q as a remainder R in an accumulator at the instant of an overflow, divided by a programmable input N. The quotient Q is subjected to conversion logic that can be provided by a fast parallel to serial converter such as, for example a multi-gigabit transceiver (MGT) of an FPGA. As an alternative to an MGT, a series of delay devices such as found in a carry chain can be used if calibration is performed to assure the accuracy of delays.
US08352524B2
The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates organizing and presenting data within a database. A data store can store a portion of data accessible to a user. A real time monitor component can dynamically track an amount of access for the portion of data within the data store. A display engine can render a multi-scaled view of the portion of data, wherein the multi-scaled view is based on the amount of access in which a size representation of the data is correlated with the amount of access.
US08352521B2
In a recording medium including stacked recording layers, management data requiring reliability is recorded in the recording layer far from the surface of the recording medium and data bodies are recorded in the recording layer close to the surface of the recording medium. Thus a data file can be read even if defects such as fingerprints and scratches occur on the surface of the recording medium.
US08352518B2
A file level (NAS) server receives NAS protocol data access requests and stores a new NAS data to the storage layer in the data blocks, and stores pointers in indirect blocks to identify the new NAS data. A block level (SAN) server receives SAN block based data access requests and stores a new SAN data to the storage layer in the data blocks and stores pointers in indirect blocks to identify the new SAN data. A management layer performs management operations on both the NAS data and the SAN data by using the plurality of indirect blocks. The plurality of indirect blocks provide same management operations for the NAS data and the SAN data.
US08352513B2
Systems and methods for managing data, such as metadata. In one exemplary method, metadata from files created by several different software applications are captured, and the captured metadata is searched. The type of information in metadata for one type of file differs from the type of information in metadata for another type of file. Other methods are described and data processing systems and machine readable media are also described.
US08352512B2
The present invention provides “XML Schema Collections” and methods and systems for using the same. XML data is typically stored as an XML instance, each of which should conform to a “schema” according to a desired goal. An XML schema provides identification and organization for the data supplied by an XML instance. XML Schema Collections are collections of one or more XML schema namespaces. An storage location designated for storage of XML data, such as an XML column in a relational database, can be “typed” with an XML Schema Collection object, allowing that storage location to store XML instances that conform to more than one XML schema. XML Schema Collections provide increased data storage versatility, and facilitation of data searches.
US08352510B2
One or more data items of one or more types are received, wherein each data item is associated with one or more attributes, and wherein each attribute is associated with an attribute name and an attribute value. A key is calculated for each attribute, and a determination as to whether the key is located in a dictionary is made. The key is added to the dictionary based on the determination along with an attribute description, and a determination of a number of occurrences of one of the one or more items to the number of all the one or more items in a set is made. Based on this number of occurrences attributes are classified as either mandatory, expected or optional in the generated template for the corresponding info item type.
US08352504B2
Under the present invention, a work request is received on one of the systems put into an application queue that corresponds to a process needed to fulfill the work request. Thereafter, an index enque queue is attempted to be allocated to the work request. If no such queue can be allocated in a predetermined amount of time, the work request can be re-routed to another system. If, however, the index enque queue is allocated within the predetermined amount of time, information relating to the work request is stored in a base enque queue, and a working directory with an output subdirectory is created. Data from the work request is stored in the working directory, and the process needed to fulfill the work request is selected and launched. Results of the fulfillment are stored in the output subdirectory for subsequent transfer back to system that originally sent the work request.
US08352483B1
Multiple paths of an index tree may be traversed to discover a set of content descriptors that are match candidates for a set of query descriptors. A size of the set of candidate content descriptors may be optimized, for example, to reduce false positive matching errors, query latencies and/or index tree traversal times, at least in part by determining a number of child nodes to traverse based at least in part on current traverse level and/or traverse neighborhood thresholds. Index trees for large content descriptor sets may be built in resource constrained environments with approximation and/or refining build techniques.
US08352481B2
A receiving unit receives a processing request from a client, requesting acquisition of data including a plurality of elements from a database. An acquiring unit acquires first data and data structure information from the database in response to the first processing request. A generating unit replaces a first element with a first identifier and generates a second data including the first identifier and the second elements. A transmitting unit transmits the second data to the client.
US08352477B2
Apparatuses, systems and methods are provided for accessing a document management application through a network, wherein one or more key terms and focus terms (selected from user-specific focus parameters) for selected search parameters are transmitted to the document management application for limiting a search to be performed by a search function of the document management application.
US08352470B2
A method for use with an aggregation operation (e.g., on a relational database table) includes a sorting pass and a merging pass. The sorting pass includes: (a) reading blocks of the table from a storage medium into a memory using an aggregation method until the memory is substantially full or until all the data have been read into the memory; (b) determining a number k of blocks to write back to the storage medium from the memory; (c) selecting k blocks from memory, sorting the k blocks, and then writing the k blocks back to the storage medium as a new sublist; and (d) repeating steps (a), (b), and (c) for any unprocessed tuples in the database table. The merging pass includes: merging all the sublists to form an aggregation result using a merge-sort algorithm.
US08352469B2
Methods and systems for automatically generating lists of stop words for information retrieval and analysis. Generation of the stop words can include providing a corpus of documents and a plurality of keywords. From the corpus of documents, a term list of all terms is constructed and both a keyword adjacency frequency and a keyword frequency are determined. If a ratio of the keyword adjacency frequency to the keyword frequency for a particular term on the term list is less than a predetermined value, then that term is excluded from the term list. The resulting term list is truncated based on predetermined criteria to form a stop word list.
US08352462B2
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a computer implemented method and system for processing a query may include receiving a query from a user device; categorizing the query to identify one or more content sources; formatting the query according to one or more content source specifics for the one or more content sources; transmitting the formatted query for the one or more content sources to the one or more content sources; merging results in response to the formatted query from the one or more content sources based at least in part on one or more factors; and formatting the results for delivering to the user device.
US08352461B2
Methods for transforming a query to remove redundant tables and eliminate superfluous join operations is provided. The methods provided transform queries to remove redundant tables and anti-joins, semi-joins, and outer-joins. Whether a table is redundant is determined based on a set of criteria which, if fulfilled, indicates that the removal of the table and the anti-join, semi-join, or outer-join operation does not impact query results. The removal of a redundant table from a query also results in the elimination of the anti-join, semi-join, or outer-join operation that references the removed table.
US08352456B2
Systems and methods facilitate efficient data processing in a computer environment. Data producers and consumers are considered in aggregate rather than in isolation. In one instance, interaction between data producers and consumers is improved by integrating producers and consumers. Optimization can subsequently be performed over the combination to produce synergistic results.
US08352454B2
A system and method are provided for performing data searches in response to a user request. The system has an application server that is configured to receive user requests, to send search requests based on the user requests, and to communicate with a plurality of search provider systems. The search provider systems each have searchable data and are configured to receive the search requests from the application server and generate search results in response to the search request. A rules manager resides on the application server and is configured to identify a set of search provider systems to send the search request to based on the user request. The method includes the steps of: receiving a user request; determining a set of search providers based on the user request; sending a search request to the set of search providers; receiving search results from at least one of the search providers; merging the search results received from the set of search providers; and sending the merged search results to the user.
US08352448B2
A process is disclosed by which data is securely deleted in a transactionally consistent manner. This may be accomplished by committing a preparation transaction for a data object within a system managing the data object in order to return the system to an initial condition if necessary, attempting to commit an execution transaction with the data object only after committing the preparation transaction, and securely deleting any portion of the data object necessary to return the system to the initial condition if committing the execution transaction fails and to change the system to a completed condition only if committing the execution transaction succeeds. In a delete or move transaction an existing backup object may be assigned a new logically deleted state such that if the delete or move transaction fails, the data will be made accessible again.
US08352446B2
Techniques for objectclass versioning in directory server schema are provided. The techniques include migrating from one version of a directory server to another version of the directory server, maintaining one or more versions of an objectclass while migrating from one version of a directory server to another version of the directory server, and selecting one of the one or more versions of an objectclass for normal functioning of an application.
US08352429B1
The present disclosure presents a method for managing portions of files in multi-tier storage systems. The method may include identifying a file that is managed by an application and stored in a multi-tier storage system. The method may also include determining how the application stores data in the file by identifying data-management information associated with the application. The method may further include using the data-management information to identify a first portion of the file, identifying a data-placement policy, and implementing the data-placement policy by moving the first portion of the file from a first tier of the multi-tier storage system to a second tier of the multi-tier storage system. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
US08352425B2
A computer readable medium encoded with a computer program for handling transaction messages in asynchronous data replication in a database system is disclosed. The computer program provides a high speed parallel apply of transactional changes to a target node such that the parallel nature of the application of changes does not compromise the integrity of the data. The computer program detects, tracks, and handles dependencies between transaction messages to be applied to the target node. If a transaction message has a dependency on one or more preceding transaction messages whose applications have not yet completed, that transaction message is held until the application completes. In addition, the computer program requires significantly less overhead than conventional approaches.
US08352419B2
A system for automatically locating and data-typing information originating from many Web pages, and then collecting that information in a database. The database is then made available via an online data marketplace which allows users from different organizations to buy and sell related data, associated advertisements, and access to the communities of end-users who may also view advertisements and make purchases.
US08352418B2
A collaborative authoring application provides an authoring environment in which two or more users can edit a document concurrently. Each user edits a copy of the document, sends updates to a master copy of the document, and receives updates from the master copy of the document. The authoring environment generally inhibits the users from providing conflicting editing instructions to the master copy of the document. For example, each user can generate a content lock about one or more data units within the document. The authoring environment may synchronize content locks automatically and content only at the request of the user.
US08352417B2
A system, method and program product for managing data for researchers. A research data server receives and manages experimental data and research data and results from the researchers, and operates with a virtual storage device to maintain the experimental data and research data and results. A reference data access server receives and manages external reference data relating to the research and operating with the virtual storage device to maintain the external reference data. Computational resources allow researchers to capture, process and analyze experimental data to obtain results. A research data network connects the virtual storage device, research data server, reference data access server and the computational resources to allow transfer of data there between. Security management services authenticate and authorize access by the researchers to the system.
US08352411B2
An activity scheme designer may associate an activity scheme with a task of a process model that includes a plurality of tasks, the activity scheme including a directed graph of nodes in which the nodes represent knowledge actions to be performed at least partially by human users, and in which edges of the directed graph connecting the nodes are probabilistically weighted. A workflow engine may instantiate the process model for execution, including associating an instance of the task with a user of the human users, the task instance including instance-specific data associated with completing the execution. An activity scheme transformer may transform the activity scheme for the user, based on the instance-specific data, a context of the user including applications and information resources available to the user, and a personal profile of the user.
US08352401B2
A system that incorporates representational authenticity into virtual world interactions can include user representational authenticity data and a virtual world computing system. The user representational authenticity data can be used to describe the physical characteristics of a human user. The physical characteristics can be quantified utilizing standardized measurement techniques. The virtual world computing system can be configured to adjudicate the conduction of interactions performed by a virtual representation of the human user within the virtual world environment utilizing the user representational authenticity data.
US08352394B2
The present invention provides novel techniques for validating laboratory data values for properties of interest of products produced by a process system. In particular, samples of the product may be sent to a laboratory testing facility, where laboratory testing procedures may be used to obtain the laboratory data values for the property of interest. The laboratory data values may be sent to a control system which includes a laboratory data validation module. The laboratory data validation module may be capable of validating the laboratory data values of the property of interest by comparing the laboratory data values of the property of interest with predicted values generated by a model. The model may be created using inputs such as laboratory and measured data values of the property of interest as well as laboratory and measured data values of other properties of the product. In particular, the laboratory data validation module may, in certain embodiments, include a laboratory data validation model, which may aid the validation of the laboratory data values of the property of interest.
US08352393B2
In a system for evaluating classification systems such as an operating system (OS) fingerprinting tool (e.g., Nmap), information gain is used as a metric to evaluate the quality of the tool's classification tests, including fingerprinting tests and their associated probes. Information gain is determined using the OS fingerprinting tool's signature database rather than raw training samples, including taking into account signatures/data that are represented by ranges of test values, disjunctive values, and missing values. Uniform distributions over test values and classifications are assumed in applying these methods to an example signature database for Nmap. Other assumptions or a priori information (e.g., normal distributions over ranges) can also be accommodated. The information gain measure provided can be applied to other classification problems as well.
US08352392B2
A method and system are provided for modeling network traffic in which an artificial neural network architecture is utilized in order to intelligently and adaptively model the capacity of a network. Initially, the network traffic is decomposed into a plurality of categories, such as individual users, application usage or common usage groups. Inputs to the artificial neural network are then defined such that a respective combination of inputs permits prediction of bandwidth capacity needs for that input condition. Outputs of the artificial neural network are representative of the network traffic associated with the respective inputs. For example, a plurality of bandwidth profiles associated with respective categories may be defined. An artificial neural network may then be constructed and trained with those bandwidth profiles and then utilized to relate predict future bandwidth needs for the network.
US08352391B1
A method may include defining a filter for a network device, the filter including a rule and a particular number of prioritized fields, where at least one of the prioritized fields is formatted to accept input as a range of values. The method may also include receiving a rule modification for the filter, the rule modification including at least one input as a range of values, and performing a check for conflicts of the rule modification with the rule in the filter. The method may further include expanding the input range of values to form multiple rules equivalent to the rule modification with the input range of values, establishing backtracking links to integrate the multiple rules with the existing rule, and adding the multiple rules to the filter.
US08352390B2
A two-class classification/prediction model is generated in a simple operation by performing two-class classification with a classification rate substantially close to 100%. The two-class classification/prediction model is generated by a) obtaining a discriminant function for classifying a training sample set into two predetermined classes on the basis of an explanatory variable generated for each sample contained in the training sample set, b) calculating a discriminant score for each training sample by using the obtained discriminant function, c) determining, based on the calculated discriminant score, whether the training sample is correctly classified or not, d) determining a misclassified-sample region based on maximum and minimum discriminant scores taken from among misclassified samples in the training sample set, e) constructing a new training sample set by extracting the training samples contained in the misclassified-sample region, and f) repeating a) to e) for the new training sample set.
US08352386B2
Systems, methods and articles of manufacture are disclosed for identifying a training document for a content classifier. One or more thresholds may be defined for designating a document as a training document for a content classifier. A plurality of documents may be evaluated to compute a score for each respective document. The score may represent suitability of a document for training the content classifier with respect to a category. The score may be computed based on content of the plurality of documents, metadata of the plurality of documents, link structure of the plurality of documents, user feedback (e.g., user supplied document tags) received for the plurality of documents, and document metrics received for the plurality of documents. Based on the computed scores, a training document may be selected. The content classifier may be trained using the selected training document.
US08352375B2
A method for digital rights management includes receiving a selection input from a user, associating a customer number with a file based on the selection input, embedding the customer number and a file identifier associated with the file in the file, and sending the file with the embedded customer number and file identifier to the user. One embodiment includes receiving a customer number change request, revising the central database in response to the customer number change request, determining a new customer number responsive to the customer number change request, and embedding the determined new customer number in the file. Another embodiment includes receiving an authorization request associated with a file, determining an authorization based on the central database and authorization request, and sending an authorization notice response to the determined authorization.
US08352372B1
A software conditional access system (CAS) for media services provided to a Media Distribution Device, such as a set top box (STB), is disclosed. The STB may be connected to a Media Delivery Service Provider via a broadband connection. Over the broadband connection, a CAS application may be downloaded to the STB, maintained and dynamically updated. Because the CAS is implemented by software on the STB, it is inexpensive to install, maintain and update. When a user desires to purchase media services through the STB, a request, with identifying information, is sent to the Media Delivery Service Provider via the broadband connection. The service provider cross-references the identifying information with a user's account to determine whether to allow the user to view the media service requested. If the service provider determines to allow the user to view the media service, the user's account (typically maintained by the service provider) is charged and a key is downloaded via the broadband connection to the STB. The key allows the user to view the requested media service to be presented for user viewing, hearing or other use. After the requested media service ends, after a predetermined amount of time, etc., the CAS application may delete the key.
US08352371B2
The method shown in FIG. 4 continues with the iterative play cycles of the game, such as alternating moves between each player in the game. Player A operates a user interface on the game device 110A to select one of the content media items owned by Player A 236 to play during a move in the game (step 465). The user interface displays the selected content media item on the game device 110A which Player A operates (step 470) and sends a request to the game device 110B which Player B operates to reveal the selected content media item (step 475). The game device 110B which Player B operates receives the request (step 480) and reveals the selected content media item stored in the shared content media, such as in the shared content media items 238 shown in FIG. 2 (step 485).
US08352357B2
Methods and systems for improving auction-based online commerce are provided, including methods and systems for facilitating advance, rapid, accurate estimation of shipping costs between a seller and the winner of an online auction. Methods and systems include an application for facilitating seller estimation of shipping costs, including various components of shipping costs, and for providing to the buyer a shipping estimate based on the circumstances of the buyer and the auction.
US08352355B2
Win probability estimation model that statistically computes the probability of winning a bid at a given price, and profit optimization models that compute the optimal price for a bid balancing the probability of winning a bid at a price with the profitability of the bid at the given price. In one stage, an expected profit margin of a product may be formulated as a function of its profit margin and win probability to compute its optimal profit margin. In another stage, an expected profit for one or more product accessories may be formulated as a function of the profit margin and their conditional win probability given the server win to compute their optimal profit margins. The conditional win probabilities for the product accessories may be modeled as a function of the utilities of the various purchase options that contain the product and that accessory.
US08352351B1
Memory storing terms of a contract for reducing accounting volatility and risk, the terms including specification of at least one measure of variation in a rate of return corresponding to a return on an investment portfolio, a variable speed of adjustment factor and a contract rate of return on an investment associated with the investment portfolio, wherein the amount of the measure of the variation changes over time; a computer computing an amount for the at least one measure of variation, calculating an amount for the adjustment speed factor and using the amounts in: determining at least one of a contract rate of return on the investment associated with the investment portfolio and a contract value for the investment associated with the investment portfolio to produce output.
US08352348B2
Data are received that represents current prices of options on a given asset. An estimate is derived from the data of a corresponding implied probability distribution of the price of the asset at a future time. Information about the probability distribution is made available within a time frame that is useful to investors, for example, promptly after the current option price information becomes available.
US08352347B2
The present invention is directed to an asset classification system based on investment strategy. The system determines a number for performance measures and strategy classifications. These measures indicate, in one configuration, an extent to which a security or manager is outperforming or attempting to outperform a benchmark and how successful the security or manager has been based on historic performance data.
US08352346B2
Systems and methods for generating a performance index are described. A rank score is generated for each investor relative to a group of investors of which the investor is a member. Generation of the rank score uses investment data of a portfolio of the investor, and the portfolio comprises at least one investment position. A set of investors is selected from the group of investors, and the selection is based on the rank score of each investor. The performance index is generated to provide a measure of performance of top individual investors over time relative to a market index. Generation of the performance index includes generating a composite portfolio comprising investment positions of each portfolio of each investor of the set of investors.
US08352343B2
Commercial size of spending wallet (“CSoSW”) is the total business spend of a business including cash but excluding bartered items. Commercial share of wallet (“CSoW”) is the portion of the spending wallet that is captured by a particular financial company. A modeling approach utilizes various data sources to provide outputs that describe a company's spend capacity. Marketing companies that sell lists compile those lists by searching one or more databases for names and/or businesses that match certain criteria. Those marketing companies can use the CSoW/CSoSW modeling approach to show predicted spend and/or revenues for each company on a list. This makes the list more valuable to list buyers.
US08352329B2
Disclosed herein is a method and system for providing an international electronic payment service using mobile phone authentication. A payment method using an IPN server is selected, and results of verification of the product are relayed to a PG company server in a first country “A.” A user in country A enters primary authentication information, and a mobile communication company server performs primary authentication. The mobile phone of the user is then notified of an OTP, and the PG company server in country A receives the OTP and performs secondary authentication. The IPN server vicariously processes a payment between the PG company server and the mobile communication company server, and notifies a PG company server in a second country “B” of results of payment. The mobile communication company server sends paid money to the PG company server in country A, and the PG company server gives money corresponding to product price to the seller.
US08352323B2
A method and system for conducting an online payment transaction through a point of sale device. The method includes receiving input from a user selecting an item for purchase through the point of sale device; calculating a total purchase amount for the item in response to a request from the user to purchase the item; and sending payment authorization for the total purchase amount from the point of sale device to a payment entity, in which the payment authorization is sent to the payment entity via a mobile communication device of the user. The method further includes receiving a result of the payment authorization from the payment entity through the mobile communication device; and completing the payment transaction based on the result of the payment authorization.
US08352318B2
A marketing campaign collects data for page counts, sessions, orders, and revenue. Four kinds of campaigns are addressed: direct, deferred, site link tracking, and deferred site link tracking. A particular page visit in an end-user session “qualifies” for a campaign if it satisfies the configured conditions for the campaign; that is, if the target universal resource locator (URL) of the page is the landing page of the campaign, the referrer URL is the referrer page of the campaign, or the page tag contains the configured string for the campaign. The data is processed through a set of heuristics identified by marketing experts as the most likely paths to a sale, and exclusivity is assigned to the type of campaign with the highest priority.
US08352317B2
An apparatus and method use client information to automatically select products appropriate for the client. According to one aspect of the invention, client information, information about the products, ancillary data, and decision criteria pertaining to selection from among the products are stored in a storage device Decision-making logic circuitry use the stored data to select the products. An output device prepares a client communication identifying the selected products and incorporates a portion of the client information and a portion of the product information into the client communication.
US08352294B2
A method includes receiving market data associated with an investment product that specifies a first guaranteed annual withdrawal amount and a second guaranteed annual withdrawal amount, where the first guaranteed annual withdrawal amount is greater than the second guaranteed annual withdrawal amount. The method includes automatically selecting a guaranteed annual withdrawal amount from the first guaranteed annual withdrawal amount and the second guaranteed annual withdrawal amount based on at least an evaluation of the market data.
US08352291B2
One aspect of the present invention includes determining a variable medical co-payment according to marginal clinical utility. A set of clinical factors are processed to identify a specific clinical condition. As provided by an independent panel of physicians, medical care alternatives are described for the specific clinical condition. The independent panel of physicians further indicates corresponding marginal clinical utilities of the medical care alternatives. Variable co-payments are applied to the medical care alternatives in an inverse relationship with the corresponding marginal clinical utilities.
US08352290B2
A method of automatically programming an infusion pump includes scanning, via a machine-readable scanner wirelessly connected to the infusion pump, a machine-readable label for a drug container to automatically program the infusion pump according to a protocol included in the label. The machine-readable label for the drug container further includes a drug name and data associated with a drug corresponding to the drug name.
US08352289B2
A customizable and dynamic electronic patient form and information system is provided having features whereby a healthcare provider may select and record various values corresponding to patient categories, the values being recorded as discrete data points at locations on a display that are reliable and predictive, and that are simultaneously displayed as selections on the patient form and as entries on a data logger or patient summary sheet. Further changes or modifications to the value are recorded as discrete data points and simultaneously displayed on the patient form and in the patient summary sheet. The patient form further includes features to permit a user to modify the form as desired to suit the needs of the patient and/or the healthcare provider's field of practice.
US08352283B2
Drug purchases are evaluated according to available offers from drug manufacturers, based on the equivalent dosage regimens for similar drugs. Equivalent doses among drugs are calculated. Purchasing amounts of equivalent doses of drugs are reviewed. The costs of the equivalent doses of the drugs are compared, taking into account contractual price adjustments, such as discounts and rebates. Subsequent purchasing amounts of the drugs are determined, using results from the comparisons. The new purchasing amounts of the equivalent doses of the drugs are produced.
US08352277B2
A speech recognition engine is configured to permit partial or full recognition of an utterance at a client device and/or a server device. This allows for support for client devices having differing computing capabilities. Natural language operations can also be supported as desired. A user can thus interact with content also accessible at a web page and select items of interest using speech as a mode of input. Dynamic grammars can assist in the recognition operations to improve speed and comprehension.
US08352268B2
Systems and methods for selective rate of speech and speech preferences for text to speech synthesis
Algorithms for synthesizing speech used to identify media assets are provided. Speech may be selectively synthesized form text strings associated with media assets. A text string may be normalized and its native language determined for obtaining a target phoneme for providing human-sounding speech in a language (e.g., dialect or accent) that is familiar to a user. The algorithms may be implemented on a system including several dedicated render engines. The system may be part of a back end coupled to a front end including storage for media assets and associated synthesized speech, and a request processor for receiving and processing requests that result in providing the synthesized speech. The front end may communicate media assets and associated synthesized speech content over a network to host devices coupled to portable electronic devices on which the media assets and synthesized speech are played back.
US08352266B2
System and methods for improving accuracy of speech recognition utilizing concept to keyword mapping
The invention provides a system and method for improving speech recognition. A computer software system is provided for implementing the system and method. A user of the computer software system may speak to the system directly and the system may respond, in spoken language, with an appropriate response. Grammar rules may be generated automatically from sample utterances when implementing the system for a particular application. Dynamic grammar rules may also be generated during interaction between the user and the system. In addition to arranging searching order of grammar files based on a predetermined hierarchy, a dynamically generated searching order based on history of contexts of a single conversation may be provided for further improved speech recognition. Dialogue between the system and the user of the system may be recorded and extracted for use by a speech recognition engine to refine or create language models so that accuracy of speech recognition relevant to a particular knowledge area may be improved.
US08352261B2
A communication system includes at least one transmitting device and at least one receiving device, one or more network systems for connecting the transmitting device to the receiving device, and an automatic speech recognition (“ASR”) system, including an ASR engine. A user speaks an utterance into the transmitting device, and the recorded speech audio is sent to the ASR engine. The ASR engine returns intermediate transcription results to the transmitting device, which displays the intermediate transcription results in real-time to the user. The intermediate transcription results are also correlated by utterance fragment to final transcription results and displayed to the user. The user may use the information thus presented to make decisions as to whether to edit the final transcription results or to speak the utterance again, thereby repeating the process. The intermediate transcription results may also be used by the user to edit the final transcription results.
US08352250B2
A method of filtering a speech signal for speech encoding in a communications network, includes determining a cut off frequency for a filter, wherein a component of the speech signal in a frequency range less than the cut off frequency is to be attenuated by the filter; receiving the speech signal at the filter; determining at least one parameter of the received speech signal, the at least one parameter providing an indication of the energy of the component of the received speech signal that is to be attenuated; and adjusting the cut off frequency in dependence on the at least one parameter, thereby adjusting the frequency range to be attenuated.
US08352229B1
A computer-implemented method of creating a simulation engine for simulating a circuit design can include receiving a source code contribution from a high level modeling system and receiving a simulation model specified in an interpretive language that specifies the circuit design. The source code contribution can be compiled together with the simulation model using a Just-In-Time compiler. A simulation engine, specified in native machine code, can be output as a single, integrated software component formed from the source code contribution and the simulation model.
US08352219B2
The object is to enable the calculation of load transfer paths in case of distributed load applied to the structure with the numerical structure-analysis calculation system. The value of the parameter U** at each point is calculated according to the ratio of the complementary strain energy U at the application of load without fixing the point in the structure and the complementary strain energy U′ at the application of load with fixing one point in the structure. In the actual calculation, according to the complementary strain energy U, and the flexibility matrix CAC with respect to the loading point A and one point C in the structure, and the inverse matrix CCC−1 of the flexibility matrix with respect to point C, and the load pA at the loading point A, the value of the parameter U** (CACCCC−1CCApA·pA/(2U)) at point C is calculated. Or, from the complementary strain energy U, and the inverse matrix CCC−1, and the displacement dC at point C, the value of the parameter U**(dC·CCC−1dC/(2U)) at point C is calculated.
US08352197B2
The invention relates to an arrangement and method for monitoring and presenting the status of an electrolytic process in an electrolytic cell (1). The arrangement is characterized by a return channel arrangement (8) for transmitting status information, established by the data processing means (7) of a data processing device (6) and describing the status of the electrolytic process in the electrolytic cell (1), from the data processing device (6) to an indicator device (9) arranged in connection with the electrolytic cell (1). The indicator device (9) comprises first presentation means (10) for presenting the status information established by the data processing means (7) of the data processing device (6) and describing the status of the electrolytic process in the electrolytic cell (1). The indicator device (9) is arranged to receive the status information established by the data processing means (7) of the data processing device (6) and to present said status information established by the data processing means (7) of the data processing device (6) describing the status of the electrolytic process in the electrolytic cell (1) by the first presentation means (10).
US08352196B2
Embodiments of an assessment method for processing a signal corresponding to a glucose concentration and performing a retrospective analysis includes the steps of: a) initiating a first trigger, wherein the first trigger defines the beginning of a segment of a continuous measurement of glucose concentration or define the first of a series of spot measurements of glucose concentration; b) collecting data of the continuous measurement or the series of spot measurements of glucose concentration to be analyzed, wherein the collected data relates to a glucose concentration excursion corresponding to a reaction to a relevant event such as a meal or physical activity; c) analyzing the collected data initiated by a second trigger, wherein the second trigger defines the end of the collected data to be analyzed, wherein a measure for a grading of the excursion is determined from the collected data, and d) displaying the result of the analysis.
US08352195B2
Methods and systems for identifying a primer pair for polymerase chain reaction specific to one or more target genomes. Methods and systems of the present disclosure can be used to identify primers that can distinguish between target genomes and closely related non-target genomes.
US08352194B1
Numerous cancer fusion genes have been identified and studied, and in some cases therapy or diagnostic techniques have been designed that are specific to the fusion protein encoded by the fusion gene. However, there has been little progress in understanding the general features of cancer fusions genes in a way that could provide the foundation for an algorithm for predicting the occurrence of a fusion gene once the chromosomal translocation points have been identified by karyotype analyses. In this study, characterization of 59 cancer fusion genes indicated that all but a small percentage of the genes involved in fusion events are either relatively large, compared to neighboring genes, or are highly conserved in evolution. These results support a basis for designing algorithms that could have a high degree of predictive value in identifying fusion genes once conventional microscopic analyses have identified the chromosomal breakpoints.
US08352188B2
A profiling apparatus configured to generate a high-resolution surface topology map of a surface using surface profiling data combined with surveying data. The apparatus is configured to collect both a plurality of survey sample points and a plurality of profile sample points of the surface. The profile sample points are then correlated with the survey sample points in the Z direction. Once the correlation is performed, the correlated profile sample points are merged or “filled-in” between the survey sample points. The high-resolution surface topology map is generated from the merging of the survey and profile sample points. In various embodiments, the survey data may be generated using an inertial profiler, an inclinometer based walking device, or a rolling-reference type profile device.
US08352181B2
In a communication type navigation system, a center apparatus receives a present position and destination from an in-vehicle navigation apparatus and thereby calculates a route by searching map data, which is constantly updated. The in-vehicle navigation apparatus receives the calculated route with course information from the center apparatus. When approaching a passing point included in the route, the navigation apparatus displays the course information in the travel direction in superimposition on a forward image around the passing point. The route guide can be thus appropriately performed to follow an actual road state. The above configuration of the system helps prevent problems in costs and workloads resulting from an in-vehicle navigation apparatus holding map data therein.
US08352177B2
A navigation apparatus dynamically sets a frequency of updating a guide arrow in accordance with certain circumstances. The navigation apparatus performs the route guidance by displaying the photographed image and includes a searching section for searching a route from a current position to a destination; and a drawing section for displaying the guide arrow which indicates the route searched by the searching section such that the guide arrow is superimposed on the photographed image, wherein the drawing section dynamically sets a frequency of updating a display of the guide arrow based on a predetermined condition.
US08352175B2
A method and system for generating optimal itineraries based on network connectivity. A computer receives a first message from which a current position of a vehicle on a trip, destination, service(s) being provided to mobile device(s) in the vehicle, service provider(s) and network(s) are extracted. Optimal itineraries are generated by generating sets of optimal parameters that include paths for which connectivity measures satisfy predefined criteria and hops that indicate positions associated with connectivity changes. A response to the first message indicates the optimal itineraries and the associated sets of optimal parameters and is sent to a vehicle-based device. Sending the response results in the mobile device(s) making the connectivity changes when the vehicle is detected at the hops.
US08352174B2
A method of finding a path from a start point to a target point, in multi-dimensional space, including: (a) determining a plurality of points in a physical space, including a start point and an target point; (b) computing, using a cost function, for said points an accumulated path cost from the start point to a point; representing a minimal cost path from the start point to the point with respect to an optimization criteria; (c) computing for at least some of said points an estimated-cost-to-target from a point to the target point; and (d) after computing said costs, determining at least one of a minimal path or a minimal path cost of a path from the start point to the target point in the physical space, wherein the determination is based on said accumulated path costs, and is minimal with respect to the optimization criteria.
US08352173B2
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that hierarchically groups principals to facilitate collision warning. During operation, the system obtains information on a number of principals and constructs one or more first-level groups of principals. Within a first-level group, the system constructs one or more second-level groups, thereby facilitating an assessment of probability of collision between a second-level group and a primary principal.
US08352171B2
An auxiliary satellite positioning system is applied to a first satellite positioning apparatus. The auxiliary positioning system includes a detection module, a transmission interface and a positioning module. A second satellite positioning module having a satellite data can be detected by the detection module via a wireless transmission protocol. The satellite data can be transmitted by the transmission interface to the first satellite positioning module from the second satellite positioning module. The satellite data can be used by the positioning module to implement a satellite positioning action.
US08352170B2
A traveling apparatus is provided. The traveling apparatus includes: a driver configured to independently drive two wheels disposed in parallel; a chassis configured to connect the two wheels; a detector provided in the chassis configured to detect a posture angle of the chassis, rotating speed of the two wheels being set respectively based on information on the detected posture angle; and an empty vehicle controller configured to control a posture of a vehicle to stand the vehicle independently in a state of no rider on board. The empty vehicle controller limits or controls the posture angle at the start of the posture control of the vehicle.
US08352164B2
A method is described for operating an engine of a vehicle, the engine having a combustion chamber. The method may include controlling a stability of the vehicle in response to a vehicle acceleration; and adjusting spark timing in the combustion chamber of the engine in response to a knock indication, and further adjusting spark timing in response to the vehicle acceleration to reduce surge.
US08352156B2
An engine control system includes a power supply module, a measurement module, and a calibration module. The power supply module disables power supplied to N components of an engine when M cylinders of the engine are deactivated, wherein M and N are integers greater than or equal to one. The measurement module measures outputs of the N engine components. The calibration module calibrates the measurement module based on unpowered measurements from one or more of the N engine components during a period after the power supplied to the N components is disabled.
US08352153B2
Methods and systems are provided for controlling a vehicle system including an engine that is selectively deactivated during engine idle-stop conditions and selectively reactivated during engine restart conditions. One example method comprises, during an engine restart from an idle stop, performing a first combustion event in a cylinder with a piston at an engine crankshaft position that is after a crankshaft position at which said cylinder's exhaust valve opens, and before a crankshaft position at which the cylinder's intake valve closes, during a cycle of said cylinder. In this way, inaccuracies in cylinder aircharge estimation may be reduced, thereby also reducing air-fuel ratio errors and improving the quality and repeatability of engine restarts.
US08352150B2
A storage unit provided in an engine control device stores three kinds of mode maps having different engine output characteristics. One of the mode maps is selected in accordance with the driving conditions, and a target torque is set by referring to the selected mode map using an engine speed and an accelerator opening-degree as parameters. A throttle opening-degree signal corresponding to the target torque is output to a throttle actuator, and an operation of opening or closing the throttle valve is performed in response to the throttle opening-degree signal.
US08352147B2
To provide a vehicle control device that improves the accuracy of an automatic follow-up control in an inverted pendulum vehicle, a vehicle control device according to the present invention performs an automatic follow-up running control in an inverted pendulum vehicle so as to automatically follow a preceding vehicle. The vehicle control device is characterized by including: a communication unit that receives running condition data from the preceding vehicle regarding a vehicle speed and a joystick operation amount of the preceding vehicle; an inter-vehicle distance sensor that measures an inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle; and a main control ECU that computes an acceleration command value for following the preceding vehicle, wherein the main control ECU sets one of a first acceleration command value, which is computed based on the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle acquired through the communication unit and the inter-vehicle distance measured by the inter-vehicle distance sensor, and a second acceleration command value, which is computed based on the joystick operation amount acquired through the communication unit, as a target acceleration command value.
US08352145B2
A traction control device includes: rotation speed detectors provided to wheels; a control-start determiner that determines whether or not to control a braking mechanism and a differential adjusting mechanism based on rotation speeds; a braking mechanism controller that controls the braking mechanism based on a result of the determination of the control-start determiner; and a differential adjusting mechanism controller that controls the differential adjusting mechanism based on the result of the determination of the control-start determiner, in which the control-start determiner includes: a right-left-wheel rotation speed difference calculating section; a front-rear-wheel rotation speed difference calculating section; and a control-start determining section that determines whether or not to start controlling at least one of the braking mechanism and the differential adjusting mechanism when one of rotation speed differences reaches or exceeds a predetermined threshold.
US08352142B2
A brake control apparatus includes: a master cylinder; a wheel cylinder; a hydraulic pressure source; a control valve arranged to increase or reduce the pressure of the wheel cylinder; an outside gate valve arranged to connect or disconnect between the master cylinder and the wheel cylinder; a brake operation sensing section configured to sense a driver's brake operation; and a control unit configured to control the hydraulic pressure source, the control valve, and the outside gate valve, to perform an automatic-brake pressure-increasing control to control the outside gate valve in a valve closing direction, to drive the hydraulic pressure source, and thereby to increase the pressure of the wheel cylinder in accordance with a vehicle condition, and to increase a driving quantity of the hydraulic pressure source when the brake operation is sensed during the automatic-brake pressure-increasing control.
US08352141B2
A method for actuating a clutch in the drive train of a motor vehicle, including: generating a respective position setpoint for each predetermined target interval to actuate the clutch; in each predetermined target interval, actuating the clutch in a plurality of predetermined controller sampling intervals; discretizing a respective position setpoint change into a plurality of intermediate position setpoints; determining a number of intermediate position setpoints in the plurality of intermediate position setpoint depending on the ratio of the target interval to the controller sampling interval; and specifying the respective position setpoint changes in steps to actuate the clutch.
US08352138B2
A continuously variable transmission is provided having a driven element. The continuously variable transmission also has a first operator input device configured to transmit a first displacement signal corresponding to a displacement of the first operator input device. The continuously variable transmission further has a second operator input device configured to transmit a second displacement signal corresponding to a displacement of the second operator input device. In addition, the continuously variable transmission has a third operator input device configured to transmit a transmission operating mode request. Furthermore, the continuously variable transmission has at least one sensor configured to sense at least one parameter indicative of an operating condition of the transmission. Additionally, the continuously variable transmission has a controller configured to determine a driven element output request based on the operating request mode, the first displacement signal, the second displacement signal, and the at least one sensed parameter. The controller is also configured to regulate an output of the driven element in response to the operating mode request, the driven element output request, and the at least one sensed parameter.
US08352137B2
A control apparatus includes a differential speed acquisition unit that acquires a differential speed representing a difference in speed between an input side drivingly connected to the input member of the fluid coupling and an output side drivingly connected to the transmission; a state determination unit that determines a shift speed in the transmission and an operating state of the direct connection clutch based on an accelerator opening and a vehicle speed of a vehicle; and a direct connection control unit that engages, if the differential speed is equal to or less than a predetermined engagement permitting threshold value when the state determination unit determines an upshift of the shift speed and a transition from a disengaged state to an engaged state of the direct connection clutch in a condition in which the accelerator opening is decreasing, the direct connection clutch regardless of an upshift operation of the shift speed.
US08352132B2
Disclosed are method and apparatus for controlling the blade elevation and blade slope angle of a dozer blade. Elevation and slope angle measurements are calculated from measurements received from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) antenna and an inertial measurement unit mounted on the dozer blade. The inertial measurement unit includes three orthogonally placed accelerometers and three orthogonally placed rate gyros. The measurements are processed by algorithms to calculate estimates of the blade elevation, blade vertical velocity, blade slope angle, and blade slope angular velocity. These estimates are then provided as inputs to a control algorithm which provides control signals to control a dozer hydraulic system which controls the blade elevation and blade slope angle.
US08352129B2
A method for controlling a boom assembly includes providing a boom assembly having an end effortor. The boom assembly includes an actuator in fluid communication with a flow control valve. A desired coordinate of the end effector of the boom assembly is converted from Cartesian space to actuator space. A deflection error of the end effector based on a measured displacement of the actuator is calculated. A resultant desired coordinate of the end effector is calculated based on the desired coordinate and the deflection error. A control signal for the flow control valve is generated based on the resultant desired coordinate and the measured displacement of the actuator. The control signal is shaped to reduce vibration of the boom assembly. The shaped control signal is transmitted to the flow control valve.
US08352127B2
A control system for a working machine includes a device for changing direction of the working machine, an operator controlled lever, and an electronic control unit adapted to receive an input signal indicative of desired direction from the position of the operator controlled element and to generate an output signal for producing a change of direction of the working machine, corresponding to the position of the operator controlled element, via said device. The control system includes an electronic safety device adapted to be controlled by the position of the operator controlled element and adapted to allow control of the device via the output signal and to block control of the device via the output signal, respectively, depending on the position of the operator controlled element.
US08352125B2
Provided is a way of using an estimator to determine a force (Fz), which acts from the outside on a steering gear of a steering device in a vehicle by way of a steering linkage, wherein a motor for generating a steering torque is assigned to the steering device. This is achieved by estimating the force (Fz) acting from the outside as a function of an effective motor torque (tor_RAeff), wherein the effective motor torque (tor_RAeff) is determined as a function of a motor torque and an efficiency, the efficiency being determined as a function of the estimated force (Fz).
US08352121B2
The invention relates to a hitch system for an agricultural vehicle for lifting and lowering a load or an attachment. The hitch system further includes a hydraulic system with a double-action hydraulic cylinder, and an electronic control unit connected to the hydraulic system for controlling the hydraulic system and the pressurization of the hydraulic cylinder. The control unit controls a contact pressure for a working device as a function of a sensed load on the axle.
US08352118B1
An automobile monitoring arrangement tracks and records automobile operation for post-use automobile operation analysis and in a manner with default-operation modes that facilitate use by automobile owners/supervisors and by those supervised by the automobile owners/supervisors. In one specific embodiment, a record of automobile-operation data contains periodic recordings of speed and direction of an automobile while it was being driven, as such data is provided by a conventional electronic compass and the automobile's electronic speed indicating signal. A processor performs calculations using speed and directional data to calculate acceleration and rate of directional change. Automobile operation data from the recording devices and the calculations performed is compared to stored reference data to determine if the vehicle was abused or driven in an unsafe manner by the operator. The data is output to a display showing automobile operating data and instances where the automobile was abused or driven in an unsafe manner.
US08352094B2
Embodiments of a system, a method, and a computer-program product (e.g., software) for aggregating an energy service from a group of loads with time-varying operating cycles are described. This aggregation may be performed by an aggregator, which provides the energy service to a power-system operator. In particular, for a desired demand response, a demand-response mechanism may modify a demand response of a given load by mapping an initial operating cycle of the load before a demand-response event to a final operating cycle. In addition, the demand-response mechanism may transition the given load to a new operating cycle associated with the demand-response event using a temporal set-point trajectory. This aggregation technique may ensure that a distribution of phases of the group of loads is, on average, uncorrelated with each other, either by preserving or modifying the distribution of phases prior to the demand-response event.
US08352088B2
A system for optimizing power to a valve core movable between first and second positions includes a controller providing a control signal to the core. With the core in the first position, the control signal has a hold voltage, and the controller measures a first self inductance. The control signal is provided with an inrush voltage to move the core to the second position, and with the hold voltage to retain it there. With the core in the second position, the controller measures a second self inductance, decreases the hold voltage, and measures a third self inductance representing the core's actual position. The controller determines, by comparing either the first or second self inductance with the third self inductance, whether the core is in the first or second position. If the core is in the second position, the decreased hold voltage is applied for retaining the core there.
US08352083B2
A system for establishing local control of a space conditioning load includes a switch for controlling a flow of energy for a space conditioning load. Control logic is operatively coupled to the switch, for receiving control parameters associated with a direct load control event from a utility provider. The control logic may also measure room temperature based on received temperature signals and determine if a room temperature is greater a comfort temperature range. The control logic may eliminate operation of a direct load control program if the room temperature is greater than or equal to the comfort temperature range. The control logic may log and signal back to the utility provider that the comfort temperature range is exceeded. The control logic may then restore local control of the switch and initiate a temperature setback control to a thermostat for the remainder of the control period.
US08352078B2
A robot system includes at least one robot, robot controllers configured to control the robot, and pendants. The robot controllers include robot group control units each having an operating mode storage unit to store operating mode information to select a robot. The pendants include an enabling device to turn on and off drive power to the robot. The robot group control units are connected via an enable-link-signal line. Each robot group control unit is configured to output an enable link signal by operating the enabling device included in a corresponding pendant to transmit the enable link signal via the enable-link-signal line to all of the robot group control units. Each robot group control unit is configured to output a drive-power-on enable signal to turn on and off drive power to the robot in accordance with the enable link signal and the operating mode information.
US08352076B2
A robot with a camera includes a hand with a finger, a camera disposed on the hand, a robot arm including the hand, and a control portion which searches for a work based on an image obtained by the camera and controls the robot arm. In addition, a unit detects a velocity of the camera, and a unit detects a position of the camera relative to a predicted stopping position of the camera. The control portion permits the camera to take the image used for searching for the work, when the velocity of the camera takes a preset velocity threshold value or lower and the position of the camera relative to the predicted stopping position takes a preset position threshold value or lower.
US08352056B2
The present invention illustrates a method of manufacturing a surgical implant guide to increase the precision, safety and reliability of the surgery. First the present invention plans an invasive position for implanting an implant, and then, plans an invasive path for the implant to invade from the invasive position of an affected tissue, and finally, produces an implant guide based on the invasive position, the invasive path, and the shapes of the implant and the affected tissue. The surgical implant guide includes a coupling portion matching the shape the affected tissue, and a guiding portion matching the shape of the implant, the invasive position, and the invasive path. When the coupling portion is disposed on the affected tissue, the guiding portion is aligned with the invasive position, so that the implant is implanted in the affected tissue under guidance of the invasive path.
US08352051B2
An output module for an Industrial Process Control System that drives a load in a failsafe manner. The output module drives a load in response to a driving signal and includes a controller that generates a command signal and a drive enable signal in response to said driving signal. A keep alive circuit generates an active keep alive signal unless the drive enable signal is inactive. The output module includes a driver circuit that generates a drive signal in accordance with the command signal when the keep alive signal is active such that the load can be driven with a channel failsafe switch in response to the drive signal. The output module can be integrated into any of a number of industrial process control systems to enhance the operability of such systems.
US08352046B1
An exemplary cochlear implant system includes a sound processing assembly configured to be external to a patient and first and second extension members coupled to the sound processing assembly. The sound processing assembly includes a sound processing unit configured to process an audio signal and transmit one or more control parameters based on the audio signal to an implantable cochlear stimulator and a battery module configured to be electrically coupled to the sound processing unit and provide operating power to the sound processing unit. The first extension member has a distal portion configured to be coupled to a first ear of the patient and the second extension member has a distal portion configured to be coupled to a second ear of the patient. The first and second extension members typically extend back from the ears, thus positioning the sound processing assembly behind the patient's head.
US08352044B2
A system for enabling telemetry in implantable medical devices is provided. One aspect of this disclosure relates to an implantable medical device having radio-frequency telemetry capabilities. The device includes a housing and electronic circuitry contained within the housing. The device also includes an antenna connected to the electronic circuitry, the antenna having a helical portion and a whip portion, the whip portion separate from a feed conductor and adapted to enhance a radiation pattern of the antenna. According to various embodiments, the antenna and circuitry are adapted to facilitate transmission and reception of modulated radio-frequency energy at a specified carrier frequency. At least a portion of the antenna is embedded in a dielectric compartment, according to various embodiments. Other aspects and embodiments are provided herein.
US08352030B2
A capacitive interface circuit for a low power system is described. The capacitive interface circuit is configured to achieve very low noise sensing of capacitance-based transducers, such as a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based sensor, with high resolution and low power. The capacitive interface circuit uses a differential amplifier and correlated triple sampling (CTS) to substantially eliminate, or at least reduce, kT/C noise, as well as amplifier offset and flicker (1/f) noise, from the output of the amplifier. The capacitive interface circuit may further include an output stage that reduces glitching, i.e., clock transients, in the output signal by allowing transients in the amplifier output to settle. In this manner, the circuit can be used in a low power system to produce a stable, low-noise output.
US08352021B2
A method for providing an indication of a state of awareness for a patient, includes the steps of arranging data of an EEG and EMG power spectrogram to provide power versus frequency in a log-log arrangement; calculating a first best-fit line for a lower frequency region of the EEG power spectrogram; calculating a second best-fit line for a higher frequency region of the EEG power spectrogram; calculating a third best-fit line for the EMG power spectrogram; and displaying an indication of the state of awareness based on the first, second and third best-fit lines.
US08352014B2
A site marker is provided that includes a generally hollow body defining a cavity. A deployment line within the site marker positions at least one marker element within the body portion. The deployment line has a first end that is fixedly secured to a first end of the body portion and a second end that is secured to a second end of the body portion. The deployment line is pre-biased so as to pull the first end of the body portion towards the second end of the body portion, and thereby expand the body portion.
US08352011B2
The invention provides methods and apparatus for detecting an analyte in blood. The apparatus is particularly suited for bringing a sensor into direct contact with blood in vivo. The apparatus comprises a sensor that detects the presence of an analyte and an assembly means. The assembly means has a sensor end, wherein the sensor end of the assembly means is affixed to the sensor, and the assembly means is adapted for coupling with a venous flow device. By coupling with a venous flow device, the assembly means brings the sensor into direct contact with blood flowing through the venous flow device. Examples of venous flow devices that bring the sensor into direct contact with the blood of a subject include, but are not limited to, intravenous catheters and external blood loops, such as are used in extra corporeal membrane oxygenation or hemodialysis.
US08352010B2
A sensor assembly is provided that includes a frame upon which electrical and optical components may be disposed and a covering, such as an overmold coating, provided about the frame. The frame may be moved between an open and a closed configuration, such as during the manufacture of the sensor assembly. The sensor assembly includes a retaining component configured to hold the sensor in the closed configuration when engaged. In one embodiment, the sensor may be placed on a patient's finger, toe, ear, and so forth to obtain pulse oximetry or other physiological measurements.
US08352006B1
Hypoxia is diagnosed through measurements of oxygen saturation. Some examples of hypoxia conditions that may be diagnosed include peripheral vascular disease, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, ischemia, hypotension, and arteriosclerosis. In a specific implementation, a hypoxia condition is diagnosed based on changes in oxygen saturation in tissue. Ischemia is induced, and then measurements of changes in oxygen saturation in tissue are made. Based on changes in oxygen saturation, a diagnosis is provided of whether a patient has or does not have a hypoxia condition.
US08351988B2
Methods and systems are provided for transmitting a plurality of information signals in a multiple antenna communication system. One or more information signals are coded using a plurality of coders to generate the plurality of coded information signals and an Inverse Fast Fourier Transformation is performed on each of the plurality of coded information signals to create a corresponding output signal. Each of the corresponding output signals are transmitted on a different antenna. Each of the plurality of coded information signals can optionally be separated into K signals. On the receiver side, a signal comprising K different frequencies is received on at least N receive antennas and a Fast Fourier Transformation is applied to each of the at least N received versions of the signal comprising K different frequencies to generate N*K low frequency signals. The N*K separate low frequency signals are then combined to recover a transmitted information signal, based on one or more transfer functions from each of a plurality of transmit antennas to each of the N receive antennas.
US08351974B2
A method of controlling a transmit power of an uplink channel is provided. Downlink control information of which Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) parity bits are masked with a TPC identifier is received on a downlink control channel. The transmit power of the uplink channel is adjusted based on a TPC command in the downlink control information.
US08351949B2
Under adaptive frequency reuse technique, mobile stations in a cellular orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system are served by different radio resource regions with appropriate frequency reuse patterns to mitigate inter-cell interference and improve system capacity. In a first novel aspect, the mobile stations measure interference statistics and obtain interference measurement results. The mobile stations report the obtained interference measurement results to serving base stations. The serving base stations determine adaptive frequency reuse patterns based on the received interference measurement result. In a second novel aspect, a radio resource control element receives the interference measurement results, determines frequency reuse patterns and configures radio resource allocation based on the received interference measurement results. In a third novel aspect, the base stations obtain the interference measurement results and schedule the mobile stations to be served with appropriate radio resource regions.
US08351944B2
A method implemented in a mobile device includes identifying a target wireless network for a handover, where the target wireless network uses a different access technology than an existing wireless network being used by the mobile device. The mobile device determines that a signal for the existing wireless network meets an early registration trigger threshold and initiates, based on the determining, an early registration of the mobile device with the target wireless network, where an early registration is performed at a sufficient time prior to the actual handover to preclude a registration delay associated with the handover to the different access technology.
US08351935B2
An apparatus and method for determining whether to perform a full band scan by using motion sensor data comprising determining if a user equipment has been stationary since the full band scan was last performed; determining if the user equipment has skipped full band scans more times than a skipped threshold; and if the user equipment has skipped full band scans more times than the skipped threshold, performing a full band scan, or if the user equipment has not skipped full band scans more times than the skipped threshold, performing a partial band scan or performing no scan.
US08351929B2
A mobile station is provided. The mobile station includes: a wireless communication unit which establishes wireless communication with a base station; a storage unit which stores a roaming list used when roaming to a mobile communication network other than a specific mobile communication network; a communication network selecting unit which selects a mobile communication network with which the mobile station is capable of communicating wirelessly, by using the roaming list; and an update unit which requests update of the roaming list through the wireless communication unit at a time of starting the mobile station, and updates the roaming list stored in the storage unit if changed.
US08351928B2
Synchronizing mobility messaging includes receiving an Internet Protocol (IP) address at a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. The IP address is sent by a home agent of a mobile client, where the home agent has a mobility binding for the mobile client. A DHCP request requesting an IP address for the mobile client is received from the mobile client. The DHCP server assigns the IP address to the mobile client. A DHCP acknowledgement comprising the assigned IP address is sent to the mobile client.
US08351926B1
A flight information communication system has a plurality of RF direct sequence spread spectrum ground data links that link respective aircraft-resident subsystems, in each of which a copy of its flight performance data is stored, with airport-located subsystems. The airport-located subsystems are coupled by way communication paths, such as land line telephone links, to a remote flight operations control center. At the flight operations control center, flight performance data downlinked from plural aircraft parked at different airports is analyzed. In addition, the flight control center may be employed to direct the uploading of in-flight data files, such as audio, video and navigation files from the airport-located subsystems to the aircraft.
US08351922B2
A method and apparatus for detecting radio link failure (RLF) in a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) includes the WTRU performing a series of radio link measurements during a discontinuous reception (DRX) on-duration, comparing each of the series of radio link measurements to a threshold, and determining that the series of radio link measurements indicates an out-of-synch condition.
US08351919B2
Apparatus, and an associated method, for facilitating selection of a I-WLAN, or other network, by a wireless device. An electronic storage element is provided. A listing of specific network identifiers is stored at the electronic storage element. And, a listing indicia identifier is also stored at the electronic storage element. The listing indicia identifier is configured to identify formatting of the specific network identifiers. Formatting of the information permits compliance with 3GPP TS 31.102 [13] that requires that at least ten WSID entries to be storable at a WSID list.
US08351918B2
A mobile terminal includes a first communication module, a second communication module, a state management module configured to make an out-of-range notification when a communication state of the first communication module moves out of a communication range, a notification module configured to send a user notification as a notification indicating that the first communication module is disconnected to a user when the out-of-range notification is received, a determination module configured to determine whether or not a given process for the user notification is completed, a setting module configured to perform setting indicating that the process for the user notification is completed to the state management module when the determination module determines that the process is completed, and a communication prohibition module for prohibiting the data communication by the second communication module until the setting indicating that the process is completed is performed after the communication state of the first communication module moves out of the communication range.
US08351915B2
The present application discloses a method of storing status of an application. According to some embodiments, whether a user of a mobile communication terminal made a selection to store the status of an application in a shortcut is determined. In response to the selection to store the status of the application in the shortcut, a single string value is generated and stored in the shortcut, where the single string value includes an application parameter and application status information of the application at the time of the storage of the single string value. If the single string value is selected by operating the shortcut, the status, at the time of the storage of the single string value, of the application is reinstated, and execution of the application is resumed according to the application parameter and the application status information of the application.
US08351912B2
A system and method for providing traffic notifications to mobile devices is provided. The system obtains device data from a plurality of mobile devices within a similar area, gathered using, e.g., a GPS system. According to the speed that the mobile devices are travelling and the location of the similar area, traffic events can be identified and other mobile devices notified to provide dynamic updates as traffic situations change. Follow up notifications can be provided to update the user regarding the progress of traffic congestion, detours can be suggested, and various alerts provided. The mobile device may be connected to or part of a vehicle and leverage the notification system to provide different types of alerts and to notify users using various mechanisms.
US08351911B1
A method, system, and medium are provided for ensuring usability of digital content on a mobile device. In exemplary aspects, digital content on a mobile device is rendered unusable, such as where a download is interrupted. The usability of the digital content is automatically restored to the mobile device without user intervention. In situations in which the mobile device is unavailable, digital content might be restored to an alternative mobile device and an advisory notification might be communicated.
US08351901B2
A system, method, and computer readable medium for processing registration and authentication procedures by an IP-based femtocell system are provided. The femtocell system includes a base transceiver station and a Session Initiation Protocol to Internet Operating System adapter. The femtocell system receives a registration message from a user equipment, issues a location update request on behalf of the user equipment, transmits a register message to a core network, receives an authentication request from the core network, and transmits an authentication challenge to the user equipment.
US08351899B2
The present invention relates to a method for collecting inter-operator charging information in a group communications system comprising a first group communications network element and a second group communications network element. An intermediate charging information collection unit is provided in an interface between the group communication network elements. The charging information collection unit examines a group communications message received from the first group communications network element or the second group communications network elements. A charging information unit is generated based on at least a portion of the message and the charging information unit is applied for inter-network charging to charge for use of inter-network resources.
US08351889B2
Systems and methods are disclosed for an electronically adjustable signal filter system, which comprises, in some embodiments, a first filter coupled to an antenna coupling network and a second filter, a power amplifier coupled to the first filter, an antenna connected to an antenna coupling network, a pilot tone generator coupled to the first filter, and a first signal source connected to the power amplifier and first filter. In some embodiments, the power amplifier amplifies the first signal, the first filter places a notch into the first signal transmitted to the antenna coupling network, the antenna coupling network combines the first signal and a second signal received from the antenna and transmits a third signal to the second filter.
US08351880B1
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an radio frequency (RF) power amplifier (PA) module having a saturation corrected integration loop, which includes saturation detection and correction circuitry, an integrator, PA circuitry, and detector circuitry. An integrator output signal from the integrator is prevented from being driven toward a power supply rail in the presence of saturation of the PA circuitry by saturation correction of an input ramp signal. The saturation detection and correction circuitry receives and saturation corrects the input ramp signal to provide a saturation corrected input ramp signal to the integrator based on detecting saturation of the PA circuitry. Saturation of the PA circuitry is detected based on a difference between a desired PA output voltage, as indicated by the input ramp signal, and a detected PA output voltage, as indicated by a detector output signal from the detector circuitry.
US08351874B2
Methods and apparatus are disclosed for automatically adjusting antenna impedance match in a wireless transceiver employing phase-amplitude modulation. According to some embodiments of the invention, a wireless transceiver comprises a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit connected to the antenna by a transmit/receive duplexer. An electronically adjustable matching network is located between the transmitter output and the antenna. To control the adjustable matching network, a directional coupler is located between the transmitter output and the matching network to separate transmit signals reflected from the antenna system, including the antenna, the matching network and the T/R duplexer. The reflected transmit signals are routed to the receiver circuit, which digitizes the reflected signal and determines an antenna reflection coefficient based on the digitized reflected signal and the modulation signal used to create the transmit signal. The complex antenna reflection coefficient is used to determine any adjustment needed to the antenna matching network.
US08351871B2
A method includes receiving a first wireless signal and demodulating data in the first wireless signal using a first demodulation technique. The method also includes receiving multiple second wireless signals simultaneously (where the second wireless signals interfere to produce an interfered signal) and demodulating data in the interfered signal using a second demodulation technique. The method could also include (i) determining that a single transmitter transmitted the first wireless signal and selecting the first demodulation technique in response and (ii) determining that multiple transmitters transmitted the second wireless signals and selecting the second demodulation technique in response. Determining that the single transmitter transmitted the first wireless signal could include determining that a fundamental frequency of the first wireless signal is below a threshold. Determining that the multiple transmitters transmitted the second wireless signals could include determining that a fundamental frequency of the interfered signal is above the threshold.
US08351870B2
Methods and systems for vector combining power amplification are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a plurality of signals are individually amplified, then summed to form a desired time-varying complex envelope signal. Phase and/or frequency characteristics of one or more of the signals are controlled to provide the desired phase, frequency, and/or amplitude characteristics of the desired time-varying complex envelope signal. In another embodiment, a time-varying complex envelope signal is decomposed into a plurality of constant envelope constituent signals. The constituent signals are amplified equally or substantially equally, and then summed to construct an amplified version of the original time-varying envelope signal. Embodiments also perform frequency up-conversion.
US08351859B2
According to one embodiment, a communication apparatus comprises a close proximity wireless transfer device, a closeness detection module and a device control module. The close proximity wireless transfer device executes a close proximity wireless transfer. The closeness detection module detects that the close proximity wireless transfer device and an external device are in a close proximity state. Power which the closeness detection module consumes is lower than power which the close proximity wireless transfer device consumes in an idle state. The device control module is configured to activate the close proximity wireless transfer device when the closeness detection module detects the close proximity state.
US08351857B2
A communication device for managing a key necessary for secure near field communication includes an IC card function executing unit, a reader/writer function executing unit, a receiving unit, a determining unit, and a function execution controlling unit. The IC card function executing unit executes a function of an IC card. The reader/writer function executing unit executes a function of a reader/writer. The receiving unit receives a command. The determining unit determines whether the receiving command is intended for the IC card function or the reader/writer function. The function execution controlling unit controls the IC card function executing unit to execute the IC card function or the reader/writer function executing unit to execute the reader/writer function according to a result determined by the determining unit.
US08351855B2
Disclosed herein are systems, apparatuses, and methods for providing a proximity coupling without Ohmic contact. Such a system includes a plurality of wireless-enabled components (WECs) that are wirelessly coupled to each other. Each WEC includes a metal-based element, a substrate, and a semiconductor layer that separates the metal-based element from the substrate. A signal is configured to be transmitted via a proximity coupling (e.g., a magnetic coupling, an electric coupling, and/or an electromagnetic coupling) between the metal-based element and the substrate without an Ohmic contact between the metal-based element and the substrate. In an example, a first subset of the plurality of the WECs is co-located on a first chip, and a second subset of the plurality of the WECs is co-located on a second chip. The first chip and the second chip may be located in a single device or in separate devices.
US08351852B2
A method for transmitting, by a mobile device, a data object, is provided, and includes estimating expected transmission times required for transmitting an object between devices by an acoustic communication link and supported radio interfaces, based on a size of the object, transmitting the object through an acoustic communication channel when the link is estimated to provide a shortest expected transmission time, and determining rankings of the radio interfaces according to the expected transmission times when the acoustic communication link does not provide a shortest expected transmission time, transmitting rankings information and configuration information on the supported radio interfaces through the acoustic communication channel by a configuration container, and transmitting the object through a radio interface through which a response is received.
US08351851B2
An apparatus for repeating signals includes a receive antenna for receiving input signals, processing circuitry for processing the input signals to form repeated signals, and a transmit antenna for transmitting the repeated signals. The processing circuitry includes an adaptive digital filter configured to generate cancellation signals that are added to the input signals to cancel unwanted feedback signals from the input signals. A frequency shifting circuit adds a frequency shift to the input signals, after the addition of the cancellation signals, to form repeated signals that are frequency shifted from the input signals. A digital signal processor is coupled to the adaptive digital filter for digitally adapting the filter. The digital signal processor utilizes the frequency shift of the transmission signals to adapt the adaptive digital filter.
US08351840B2
A printing system comprises a paper path architecture for parallel printing using multiple marking engines. The media path configuration enables all the media feed trays to be located in one place, relative to the marking engines. A cross-over module is located between marking engines. The cross-over module can interleave media sheets that are being transported away from a first marking engine with the sheets being transported to the second marking engine. The cross-over module also includes a straight through path that enables media sheets to be transported directly to a finishing device without going through either marking engine. The marking engines include internal duplex loops such that media can be supplied to each engine in alternate groups. A merge module selectively merges the media which can then be further processed in a finishing transition module prior to communication to a finishing device.
US08351837B2
The present invention relates to a fixing member that can apply sufficient power to press toner particles on a raised portion of a paper surface while also maintaining good conformability to a depressed portion of the paper surface that is an advantage of a surface layer including a soft rubber layer. The fixing member has a surface layer to come into contact with toner, the surface layer has a sea-island structure in which the fluororubber constitutes a sea phase and a silicone compound having a crosslinked structure constitutes an island phase, and in a stress-strain curve of the surface layer, the tangential elastic modulus, the slope of the curve, increases as the strain increases, in the strain range of 0.25 to 0.8.
US08351835B2
There is provided a tube having fine irregularities formed on the outer peripheral face or inner peripheral face. The tube has a hollow tube body made of metal with uniform wall thickness of 20 to 50 μm. The tube is obtained by plastic working through spinning, in which a metallic ring-shaped metal original body (6) is rotated together with a rotation support body (3) about the center axis of the metal original body (6), while being pressed by a top or tops (5) disposed on the outer periphery of the metal original body (6). Fine irregularities (12) are formed on the outer peripheral face or the inner peripheral face of the metal tube at a substantially fixed interval. Both ends of the metal original body (6) worked by spinning are cut to yield a tube (11).
US08351833B2
An image heating apparatus includes an excitation coil; an image heating member for heating an image on a recording material by heat generated by a magnetic flux of the excitation coil; a core disposed opposed to the coil; a moving device for moving the core between a first position in which the core is opposed to the excitation coil and a second position in which the core is remoter from the excitation coil than the first position; and an air blower for blowing air into a space between the core and the excitation coil, the space being provided by moving the core to the second position.
US08351829B2
A method of preventing a registration error while printing at least one printing image, wherein, in order to control or adjust the correct length of the printing image, the start and/or the distance of the printing image lines of the printing image are controlled by determining the ratio of the number of rotary encoder signals of a transport web counted during a specific time interval to the number of rotary encoder signals of a cylinder of a printing and by taking into account a change of this ratio as a correction, said ratio being a function of a printing sheet located in a printing nip between the transport web and the printing unit, is characterized in that a changed printing material situation occurring in said printing nip between the transport web and the printing unit is used to achieve registration accuracy immediately.
US08351827B2
A powder supply device includes: first and second storage sections that store powder, first and second stirring sections arranged inside the first and second storage sections, a drive section that produces a forward direction rotational force and a reverse direction rotational force to apply a drive force to the first and second stirring sections, first and second transmission shafts that transmit the drive force to the first and second stirring sections, and a transmission switching section that transmits the drive force produced by the forward direction rotational force of the drive section to the first transmission shaft, and that transmits the drive force produced by the reverse direction rotational force of the drive section to the first transmission shaft and the second transmission shaft.
US08351826B2
An image forming method, includes a charging step of charging an image carrier; an image writing step of writing image data onto the image carrier; a developing step of developing a latent image area written by the image writing step on the image carrier; a transferring step of transferring a toner image developed by the developing step to a transferring member; an image writing position adjusting step of detecting a position of the image carrier where the image is written in a case where designated conditions are satisfied, and of adjusting an image writing position; and a voltage output control step of controlling voltages applied for charging, developing, and transferring in the charging step, the developing step, and the transferring step, respectively.
US08351824B2
A control unit sets a first feedback gain for suppressing an angular speed variation of a first frequency, which causes a misalignment of images to be overlaid with each other, to the first feedback unit in a first image forming mode in which images formed on the first and the second image carriers are overlaid, and sets a second feedback gain for suppressing an angular speed variation of a second frequency, which causes a periodic uneven density on an image that is to be formed with a uniform density, to the first feedback unit in a second image forming mode in which an image is formed using the first image carrier.
US08351819B2
An image forming apparatus includes an endless belt, a plurality of processing units, a cleaning unit, a waste toner retainer, and a waste toner conveying unit. The plurality of processing units is juxtaposed above the endless belt. The cleaning unit is disposed above the endless belt to collect a waste toner deposited on the endless belt. The waste toner retainer is provided in one processing unit in the plurality of processing units. At least one of the other processing units in the plurality of processing units is interposed between the cleaning unit and the one processing unit. The waste toner conveying unit conveys the waste toner collected by the cleaning unit to the waste toner retainer, and extends from the cleaning unit to the waste toner retainer.
US08351817B2
A cooling device includes a cooling roller having a dual tube structure including an inner tube disposed inside an outer tube, an outside flow passage and an inside flow passage in which a cooling medium flows, and an opening that allows the outside flow passage to communicate with the inside flow passage, a cooling medium transport unit, and a rotating tube joint unit mounted to one end side of the cooling roller. One end of the outer tube is coaxially rotatably fitted to a first fitting section of the rotating tube joint unit. One end of the inner tube is coaxially fitted into and rotatably or fixedly supported to a second fitting section of the rotating tube joint unit, and the other end is coaxially fitted into and rotatably or fixedly supported to a fitting section on the other end of the outer tube.
US08351816B2
An ion generating unit comprises a duct, an ion generating device, a mounting plate and a fan. The duct is configured so as to have an air intake port at a first end and so as to have an exhaust port at a second end. The ion generating device is disposed inside the duct. The mounting plate is configured so as to serve to attach the duct to the housing. The mounting plate has an opening aperture communicating with the duct, and is configured so as to be attachable to the housing and so as to function as a part of the housing when it is attached to the housing.
US08351810B2
According to a method and apparatus for controlling a voltage of an image forming apparatus, a transferring roll resistance, which indicates the resistance between a transferring roller and a photoconductor drum, is detected by applying a first voltage to the transferring roller. A transferring voltage, which corresponds to the detected transferring roll resistance, is applied to the transferring roller with reference to a transferring table which corresponds to the paper resistance, and a transferring is performed on a printing paper by using a transferring roller to which a transferring voltage is applied.
US08351805B2
A power saving processing apparatus that includes a processing unit, an output unit and a transition unit is provided. The processing unit is configured to transition from a first state where power is supplied to a second state where power supply is restricted, executes a first process required for such transition before transition from the first state to the second state, and executes a second process to output a first signal after executing the first process. The output unit outputs a second signal after receiving the first signal output from the processing unit, and outputs the second signal when not receiving the first signal output from the processing unit within a predetermined time period after a predetermined time after the first process starts. The transition unit transitions the processing unit to the second state after receiving the second signal output from the output unit.
US08351804B2
A fixing apparatus capable of performing, even by a short brake, brake assist by which a sheet is stopped at a position where the sheet is visible. Upon occurrence of a wrap jam, brake control for a drive motor and brake assist control are performed. In the brake assist control, a pressing process is performed based on the number of assist operation pulses, which is set in advance. When an edge of a home position sensor signal is detected, a process for stopping the pressing process is carried out, whereby a pressing unit assumes a maximum pressing position.
US08351793B2
Devices and systems are provided for free space optical communication using optical films. Some embodiments involve using an optical film for the transmission and/or reception of light in a free space optical communication system. Some free space optical communication systems may involve devices, such as laptop computers, desktop computers, mobile communications devices, etc., that are configured for communication via an optical film. The optical film may be disposed on a device, on a wall, a window, furniture, etc., according to the implementation. Many types of free space optical communication systems are provided, including line of sight and non line of sight free space optical communication systems.
US08351792B2
A system and communication method for the system interconnecting the optical network with the radio communication network is provided. The solution mainly applies to an optical access network employing fiber for transmission and the radio communication network connected to the optical access network, wherein a base station of the radio communication network is connected to the optical access network and communicates to an entity in the optical access network to achieve interconnection between the optical network and the radio communication network. After the interconnection is established, a user equipment can enjoy communication services through the interconnected radio communication network and the optical network.
US08351775B2
A lens barrel includes a drive ring having a hollow cylindrical shape and a gear by which the drive ring is configured to rotate around an optical axis, and a lens holder configured to move in an optical axis direction relative to the drive ring and to hold a lens and located inside of the drive ring, the lens holder including an arm extending to outside of the drive ring. The drive ring has a notch that extends in a circumferential direction of the drive ring so that the notch cannot overlap the gear. The arm of the lens holder is configured to enter and retreat from the notch of the drive ring.
US08351774B2
A system and method for controlling one or more remote photographic flash devices from a metal camera body. Wireless functionality within a camera body provides wireless communication of a signal from within the camera body to one or more remote devices. In one example, a flash synchronization signal of the camera body may be wirelessly communicated using a wireless communication functionality within the camera body and an external antenna to one or more remote flash devices for triggering the one or more remote flash devices.
US08351767B2
The present invention relates to a playback apparatus, a playback method, a program, a recording medium, a data structure, and a manufacturing method for a recording medium in which content to be played back can be switched between streams different from a main stream. A PlayList includes Main path for referring to Video and Audio within a main TS, Sub Path-A for referring to Secondary Video and Secondary Audio in a sub TS, and Sub Path-B for referring to Audio in a sub TS. STN_table( ), which is information for selecting Video and Audio in a clip AV stream file-0 as PlayItem-1 and selecting Secondary Video and Secondary Audio in clip AV stream file-1, or Audio in clip AV stream file-2 as SubPlayItem (SPI) which is simultaneously played back with PlayItem-1, is used. The present invention is applicable to a playback apparatus.
US08351759B2
Embodiments of the disclosed invention include a system and method for recording television content in the event of a power loss. For example, in one embodiment, an optical network terminal associated with providing video service to the digital video recorder is utilized to backup and store a scheduled television program that occurs during the duration of a power outage affecting the digital video recorder.
US08351755B2
An optical fiber feedthrough assembly includes a glass plug disposed in a recess of a feedthrough housing. The glass plug may define a large-diameter, cane-based, waveguide sealed within the recess in the housing and providing optical communication through the housing. Sealing occurs with respect to the housing at or around the glass plug of an optical waveguide element passing through the housing by braze sealing to the glass plug and/or embedding the glass plug in a polymer bonded with the plug to form a molded body that is sealed in the housing by, for example, compression mounting of the molded body or providing a sealing element around the molded body.
US08351752B2
The present invention relates to a flexible optical waveguide prepared by using a resin film for forming an optical waveguide for at least one of a lower cladding layer, a core layer and an upper cladding layer, wherein a ten point average roughness (Rz) on a surface of either one of the lower cladding layer and the upper cladding layer is 0.5 μm or more and 10 μm or less, a production process for the same and an optical module prepared by using the flexible optical waveguide. Provided are a flexible optical waveguide which is excellent in an adhesive property in compounding with an electric printed wiring board and turning a flexible optical waveguide into a multilayer, a production process for the same and an optical module prepared by using the flexible optical waveguide.
US08351746B2
The present invention relates to an optical fiber cable with improved waterproof performance comprising: at least one tensile members; optical fiber units including at least one optical fiber cores; at least one buffer tube surrounding the optical fiber units; sheath covering the buffer tube and the tensile member to form a outer jacket of the cable, wherein a waterproof yarn is inserted longitudinally in the buffer tube with the optical fiber unit, and the thickness of the waterproof yarn is from 300 to 3,000 deniers, and tensile strength of the waterproof yarn is from 3 N to 150 N, and elongation rate of the waterproof yarn is from 5% to 45%, and water absorption rate of the waterproof yarn is at least 20 g/g.By the optical fiber cable, improve waterproof performance can be improved, and by minimizing the tensile strength of the waterproof yarn, possibility of break can be reduced.
US08351742B2
Systems and methods for sensing properties of a workpiece and embedding a photonic sensor in metal are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, systems for sensing properties of a workpiece include an optical input, a photonic device, an optical detector, and a digital processing device. The optical input provides an optical signal at an output of the optical input. The photonic device is coupled to the workpiece and to the output of the optical input. The photonic device generates an output signal in response to the optical signal, wherein at least one of an intensity of the output signal and a wavelength of the output signal depends on at least one of thermal characteristics and mechanical characteristics of the workpiece. The optical detector receives the output signal from the photonic device and is configured to generate a corresponding electronic signal. The digital processing device is coupled to the optical detector and determines at least one of the thermal characteristics and mechanical the characteristics of the workpiece based on the electronic signal.
US08351735B2
The present invention relates to an image processing system, method and computer program for contrast enhancement of images, and more specifically to an improvement of multi-scale adaptive gain control of images. An image processing system (1) for contrast enhancement of an input image is proposed comprising an input module (2) for receiving the input image to be processed, a filtering module (4) operable to locally process the input image by filters of different scales k, whereby for each of the different scales k a locally processed image data and at least one statistic value LSD corresponding to the locally filtered image data is generated, a combining module (5) operable to locally combine the processed image data of the different scales k using a gain function G, thereby generating a contrast enhanced image o, wherein the gain function G is dependent on the statistic value LSD corresponding to the locally processed image data of the respective scale k, and an output module (3) for outputting the contrast enhanced image whereby the gain function G comprises at least one further local dependent correction term a; b; c; d in order to suppress artefacts in the contrast enhanced image.
US08351728B2
Filter processing is performed on an image, in which a filter kernel having coefficients corresponding to positions of pixels is applied at a target pixel position and to sample pixels positioned in the neighborhood of the target pixel position. A bin is assigned to each unique coefficient of the filter kernel. A mask having respective positions corresponding to the positions of the filter kernel is created. Each respective position of the mask indexes to the bin for the coefficient corresponding to that position. The mask is positioned at the target pixel position, and the respective pixel value of each sample pixel is accumulated in the bin corresponding to the position of the sample pixel in the mask. The accumulated pixel values in each respective bin are multiplied by the coefficient corresponding to the bin. The resultant products are summed to determine a filtered pixel value at the target pixel position.
US08351726B2
An adaptive motion estimation and deblurring technique for acquired digital images includes acquiring multiple digital images with a moving digital image acquisition device that includes an image sensor, including a relatively sharp, underexposed reference image and a blurred image. Anb initial approximate point spread function (PSF) is estimated corresponding to the moving of the device. A different DC offset point is determined and a second PSF is calculated based on the different DC offset point.
US08351725B2
A sharpening technique for digital images for presentation on a display. The technique may include an upscaling process, a noise reduction process, and a sharpening process. The technique may further use a single buffer for the upscaling, noise reduction, and sharpening.
US08351713B2
Systems and methods provide drag-and-drop pasting for seamless image composition. In one implementation, a user casually outlines a region of a source image that contains a visual object to be pasted into a target image. An exemplary system automatically calculates a new boundary within this region, such that when pasted at this boundary, visual seams are minimized. The system applies a shortest path calculation to find the optimal pasting boundary. The best path has minimal color variation along its length, thus avoiding structure and visual objects in the target image and providing the best chance for seamlessness. Poisson image editing is applied across this optimized boundary to blend colors. When the visual object being pasted has fine structure at its border that could be truncated by the Poisson editing, the exemplary system integrates the alpha matte of the visual object into the Poisson equations to protect the fine structure.
US08351709B2
A projection height measuring method measures the height of a projection having a conical shape, formed on the surface of a workpiece. The area having the projection is imaged at an angle of depression. A projection area is extracted by classifying an area in the image into a bright area, a dark area and an intermediate area. From these, an area composed of the bright area and the dark area indicates the projection area, and the intermediate area indicates the work area. The length of the bottom surface diameter the length of a generatrix of the projection area are determined. The height of the projection is calculated based on the two lengths and the angle of depression.
US08351696B2
A method for replacing defective pixels in a digital color image includes determining whether each pixel has defective data in a selected color channel; for the pixel, determining whether a first reference color channel exists and, if so, correcting the defective data by defining a group of neighboring pixels; for each of m neighboring pixels having non-defective data in the selected color channel and the reference color channel, computing a sum of the differences between the non-defective data in the selected color channel and the non-defective data in the first reference color channel; adding the sum of the differences divided by m to the non-defective data value from the first reference color channel to obtain a result; dividing the result by two to obtain a substitution data value; and substituting the substitution data value for the defective data.
US08351694B2
The invention facilitates adaptive compression of multi-level images, such as captured digital images of a whiteboard, etc., encoding a bitstream comprising a color image component and a black-and-white image component. Either or both of a color and a black-and-white image can be output to a user based on user desires, receiving device capabilities, etc.
US08351691B2
A method of text extraction in color compound documents is described. The method connects similarly colored pixels of an image of a color compound document into connected components (CCs); classifies each CC as either text or non-text; refines the text CC classification for each text CC using global color context statistics; groups text CCs into text blocks; recovers misclassified non-text CCs into a nearby text block; and removes extraneous CCs from each text block using local color context statistics to thereby provide the extracted text in the text blocks. Also described is a method of locating graphics objects in a color compound document image.
US08351682B2
This invention enables information on a connection wiring with a substrate of a mounted component to be accurately and easily inputted in an X-ray examination apparatus. In teaching of a substrate examination, when a user inputs a two-dimensional region of a component to be examined with respect to a visible light image of the substrate, three-dimensional data is generated for the relevant region, which data is then analyzed to acquire a center coordinate, the number, the number of rows, and the number of columns on a ball terminal connecting the component to the substrate. Results such as the center coordinate acquired in such a manner may be displayed. The visible light image for the substrate is displayed in a display field of a screen. In the display field, a frame corresponding to a region acquired as an examination target is displayed in accordance with the visible light image, and a frame corresponding to each solder ball is displayed based on a position and the like of the solder ball acquired based on the three-dimensional data.
US08351675B2
In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention, a method for imaging tissue, for example, includes the steps of mounting the tissue on a computer controlled stage of a microscope, determining volumetric imaging parameters, directing at least two photons into a region of interest, scanning the region of interest across a portion of the tissue, imaging a plurality of layers of the tissue in a plurality of volumes of the tissue in the region of interest, sectioning the portion of the tissue and imaging a second plurality of layers of the tissue in a second plurality of volumes of the tissue in the region of interest, detecting a fluorescence image of the tissue due to said excitation light; and processing three-dimensional data that is collected to create a three-dimensional image of the region of interest.
US08351661B2
A computer implemented method includes accessing a digital image including a plurality of faces including a first face and a second face. The computer implemented method includes identifying a plurality of identification regions of the digital image including a first identification region associated with the first face and a second identification region associated with the second face. The computer implemented method also includes assigning the digital image to a first face cluster of a plurality of face clusters when a difference between data descriptive of the first identification region and data descriptive of a face cluster identification region of the first face cluster satisfies a threshold. The computer implemented method further includes assigning the digital image to a second face cluster of the plurality of face clusters based at least partially on a probability of the second face and the first face appearing together in an image.
US08351652B2
An image such as a depth image of a scene may be received, observed, or captured by a device and a model of a user in the depth image may be generated. The background of a received depth image may be removed to isolate a human target in the received depth image. A model may then be adjusted to fit within the isolated human target in the received depth image. To adjust the model, a joint or a bone may be magnetized to the closest pixel of the isolated human target. The joint or the bone may then be refined such that the joint or the bone may be further adjusted to a pixel equidistant between two edges the body part of the isolated human target where the joint or bone may have been magnetized.
US08351648B2
An apparatus is provided to control an angle of a light axis of light from headlights mounted on a vehicle. In the apparatus, images of a field of view in front of the vehicle are captured, and the captured images are used to detect taillights of a preceding vehicle. A illumination target position is set by using, as a positional reference, a position of the detected taillights in the captured images, and the angle of the light axis so that the light axis is directed to the illumination target position. The command is provided to an angle changing device, where the provided command depends on the angle calculated. The angle changing device changes the direction of the light axis of the light at an angle commanded by the command.
US08351642B2
In a speaker, a first space enclosed by the surface of a second edge close to a magnetic circuit body, a suspension holder, the outer circumferential surface of a voice coil body, the magnetic circuit body, and a frame is airtight to the atmosphere outside the speaker, to make a first space function as an air suspension. The voice coil body is supported with a first edge and a second edge, and with the aid of the springiness of gas inside a first space. Hence, an equivalent, low Young's modulus can be set to the first edge and the second. Consequently, deformation of the diaphragm connected to the first edge is reduced during sound reproduction, thereby reducing disturbance in frequency response in the middle and high ranges.
US08351641B2
A portable sound box includes a main body and a clip. The main body includes a battery for supplying power to the portable sound box. Thus, the portable sound box can supply power on its own. The clip is fixed to the main body and configured for clipping to an external object. Thus, the portable sound box can attached to the external object instead of standing on a surface.
US08351640B2
A multi-directional sound emission means and a system having same are disclosed. The system comprises a speaker body and sound emission devices coupled to both ends of the speaker body. The sound emission devices each include a sound emission means for directionally emitting sound towards multiple directions. The sound emission means includes a base, a loudspeaker disposed on the base, and a plurality of hollow mechanical sound conducting elements. The loudspeaker has an opening where the sound is emitted. Each hollow mechanical sound conducting element has an inner opening end and an exterior opening end opposite to the inner opening end. The exterior opening ends are directed towards desired multiple directions, respectively. The inner opening ends are in sound communication with the opening of the loudspeaker such that sound from the loudspeaker is emitted along the desired multiple directions through the sound conducting elements.
US08351635B2
A silicon-based microphone structure, flip-chip mounted a substrate, has a backside and a via hole formed on the backside. A conductive layer covers the backside and the inner walls of the via hole. A solder ring is attached to the silicon-based microphone structure and electrically connected to the conductive layer.
US08351626B2
A method of adjusting frequency-dependent amplification in an audio amplification apparatus. The audio amplification apparatus includes a forward transfer path (2) connectable to an output transducer, the forward transfer path including a frequency transposing element. The method includes the steps of: presenting stimuli to the output transducer at a plurality of frequencies; adjusting the stimulus level (C) at each frequency to meet a predefined loudness perception level or detection threshold of the listener; deriving an equal loudness contour of output transducer levels from the adjusted stimuli levels; and deriving the frequency-dependent amplification of levels of input signals (I) at each frequency.
US08351624B2
An audio output apparatus which outputs an audio signal to an audio control apparatus controlling processing of the audio signal, and to which an external device having an external terminal is connectable includes an output terminal, a detecting section, a generating section, and a transmitting section. The output terminal is connected with the external terminal and outputs the audio signal to the external device via the external terminal. The detecting section detects whether or not the external terminal is connected to the output terminal. The generating section generates a control signal based on a result of the detection by the detecting means. The transmitting section transmits the generated control signal to the audio control apparatus in order that the audio control apparatus controls the processing of the audio signal based on the control signal.
US08351607B2
A wireless communication device to be wirelessly connected to a wireless network is provided. The wireless communication device includes a password obtainer to obtain a password designated by a user for connecting the wireless communication device to the wireless network, and a wireless connector to connect the wireless communication device to the wireless network with the use of the obtained password. The wireless connector sequentially selects one set from two or more sets, and sequentially attempts to connect the wireless communication device to the wireless network with the use of the sequentially selected one set. Each set of the two or more sets has an authorization method and an encryption method.
US08351590B2
A telephone includes first circuitry enabling communications with a telephone network. A call block list includes at least one user designated number. A call blocking logic module is implemented within the first circuitry and selectively blocks incoming calls to the telephone over the telephone network responsive to the at least one user designated number in the call block list.
US08351580B1
A method, apparatus and computer program product for providing perspective-based media playback is presented. A recording of each of a plurality of parties participating in a communication session is acquired. A user is allowed to select a perspective of one of the parties participating in the communications session. At least a portion of at least one of the recordings related to the perspective selected by the user are then played back.
US08351577B2
Systems, methods and computer products for querying for an interactive assistant for communication over a network via the set-top box. Communications are initiated between a subscriber and an interactive assistant. A diagnostic data log is uploaded from the set-top box to the interactive assistant. Based on the communications between the subscriber an interactive assistant and the diagnostic data log, diagnostic protocols are executed within the set-top box to generate a diagnostic report. The interactive assistant provides feedback analytics via the set-top box based on the communications between the subscriber and the interactive assistant, the diagnostic data log and the diagnostic report. Firmware solutions are downloaded to the set-top box based on results from the diagnostic report.
US08351564B2
A method is disclosed for displaying image data of a large intestine of a patient on the basis of tomographic examination data. In at least one embodiment, the method includes scanning of the patient, after ingestion of a contrast agent, in at least two differently aligned positions using a tomography system and generating a tomographic image data record for each position; segmenting the large intestine in the tomographic data records; detecting and marking regions of the segmented large intestine with adjacent remaining stool in the intestine (covered regions); registering the segmented large intestine in the at least two tomographic image data records; displaying a tomographic display of the segmented large intestine including markings of the covered regions; and displaying a selection menu in which tomographic displays of the segmented large intestine in the at least two differently aligned positions of the patient, including a marking of the covered regions, can be selected alternatively.
US08351562B2
A method for storing high level radioactive waste in a passively cooled cavity. In one embodiment, the invention comprises: (a) providing a container comprising an outer shell having an open top end and a hermetically closed bottom end, an inner shell forming a cavity, the inner shell positioned within the outer shell so as to form a space between the inner shell and the outer shell, and at least one opening in the inner shell that forms a passageway between the space and a bottom portion of the cavity; (b) lowering a hermetically sealed canister holding high level radioactive waste into the cavity via the open top end; and (c) positioning a lid having at least one inlet vent and at least one outlet vent atop the container such that the at least one inlet vent forms a passageway from an ambient atmosphere to the space and the at least one outlet vent forms a passageway from the cavity to the ambient atmosphere, the lid substantially enclosing the open top end.
US08351556B2
Methods and systems for processing signals in a receiver are disclosed herein and may include updating a plurality of filter taps utilizing at least one channel response vector and at least one correlation vector, for a plurality of received clusters, based on initialized values related to the at least one channel response vector and the at least one correlation vector. At least a portion of the received signal clusters may be filtered utilizing at least a portion of the updated plurality of filter taps. The update may be repeated whenever a specified signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the received signal clusters is reached. The initialized values may be updated during a plurality of iterations, and the update may be repeated whenever a specified number of the plurality of iterations is reached.
US08351554B2
The invention relates to an adaptive method of extracting at least of desired electro magnetic wave signals, sound wave signals (40, 42), and any other signals from a mixture of signals (40, 42, 44, 46) and suppressing noise and interfering signals to produce enhanced signals (50) corresponding to desired (10) signals, and an apparatus (70) therefore. It relies on the concept of at least one of an attenuation of input signals in each sub-band for signals in such a manner that all desired (10) signals are attenuated less than noise or interfering source signals, and/or an amplification of input signals in each sub-band for source signals in such a manner that all desired (10) signals are amplified, and that they are amplified more than the noise and interfering signals.
US08351552B2
A communication receiver includes a front end, which is arranged to receive a Radio Frequency (RF) signal, which includes modulated symbols carrying data that have been encoded by a block Forward Error Correction (FEC) code. The front end converts the RF signal to a sequence of soft received symbols, wherein the soft received symbols are subject to distortion by at least first and second noise components having respective at least first and second statistical distributions. A metric calculation unit is arranged to process the soft received symbols so as to extract parameters indicative of the at least first and second statistical distributions, and to compute FEC metrics based on the extracted parameters. A FEC decoder is arranged to accept the FEC metrics as input, and to process the metrics in an iterative FEC decoding process so as to decode the FEC code and reconstruct the data.
US08351545B2
Good transmission characteristics are achieved in the presence of fading with a transmitter that employs a trellis coder followed by a block coder. Correspondingly, the receiver comprises a Viterbi decoder followed by a block decoder. Advantageously, the block coder and decoder employ time-space diversity coding which, illustratively, employs two transmitter antennas and one receiver antenna.
US08351541B2
A data processing apparatus communicates data bits on a predetermined number of sub-carrier signals of an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) symbol. The data processing apparatus comprises a parity interleaver operable to perform parity interleaving on Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoded data bits obtained by performing LDPC encoding according to a parity check matrix of an LDPC code including a parity matrix corresponding to parity bits of the LDPC code, the parity matrix having a stepwise structure, so that a parity bit of the LDPC encoded data bits is interleaved to a different parity bit position. A mapping unit maps the parity interleaved bits onto data symbols corresponding to modulation symbols of a modulation scheme of the OFDM sub-carrier signals.
US08351540B2
A codebook, a codebook creating method, and an uplink transmission method and equipment based on the codebook relating to per-coding in telecommunication are provided. In the method, a codebook size and a symbol set are determined. A minimum distance is calculated. A maximum codebook is selected according to the minimum distance. The method is used in per-coding of uplink transmission to reduce power loss of an uplink power amplifier.
US08351539B2
A method for transmitting and receiving a signal and an apparatus for transmitting and receiving a signal are disclosed. The method for receiving the signal includes receiving (S210) the signal in a first frequency band, identifying (S220) a first pilot signal including, a cyclic prefix obtained by frequency-shifting a first portion of an useful portion of the first pilot signal and a cyclic suffix obtained by frequency-shifting a second portion of the useful portion of the first pilot signal from the received signal, demodulating (S220) a signal frame including a physical layer pipe (PLP) to which a service stream is converted, by an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme, using information set in the first pilot signal, parsing (S230) the signal frame and obtaining the PLP and obtaining (S240) the service stream from the PLP.
US08351535B2
A method of data transmission from a transmitter of a wireless communication system which uses multiple antennas comprises receiving identification information of a precoding matrix from a receiver, the precoding matrix being selected from a codebook generated using a plurality of first matrices generated by multiplying a discrete fourier transform (DFT) matrix by each of a plurality of phase shift matrices; precoding data to be transmitted, by using a precoding matrix indicated by the identification information; and transmitting the precoded data to the receiver by using the multiple antennas.
US08351527B2
A method of transmitting a control channel format indicator (CCFI), also known as PCFICH (Physical Control Format Indicator Channel), in case where the length of a coded CCFI is not an integer multiple of three, including mapping a plurality of two-bit CCFI into a codebook with each component codeword having three bits; generating a sequence of codewords selected from the codebook by repeating the selected component codeword for predetermined times; generating a codeword by concatenating the sequence of the selected component codewords with the original CCFI bits; and transmitting the codeword carrying information of CCFI. The method further includes a step of generating a permutation of each of the four codewords by assigning K repetitions of the three-bit component codeword to the number of K resource units respectively and mapping remaining K bits of each of the four codewords separately to the number of K resource units.
US08351522B2
A method and apparatus for identifying the preamble for an unknown signal received in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communications. In one embodiment, the preamble is identified from a set of known preambles using a detection statistic based on a generalized likelihood ratio (GLR) method. In another embodiment, the GLR detection statistic relies on a priori assumptions about a transfer function represented by the received signal.
US08351521B2
Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods for beamforming that achieve beamforming optimality criterions. Some proposed beamforming techniques are based on antenna directions with multiple resolutions.
US08351512B2
The invention relates to a method of estimating motion between two video frames. According to the invention, the motion estimation is done by using first one motion estimation in the horizontal direction and then one motion estimation in the vertical direction. Preferably, a plurality of motion estimations in the horizontal direction are used alternately with motion estimations in the vertical direction. It allows reducing the complexity of the estimation.
US08351507B2
In one embodiment, the method includes selecting a list 0 motion vector of the co-located block in a first reference picture if the co-located block has the list 0 motion vector and a list 1 motion vector. The first reference picture is a type of reference picture permitted to be located temporally before or after the current picture. The method further includes deriving at least one motion vector of the bi-predictive block by applying a bit operation to the selected list 0 motion vector. The bit operation includes 8 bits right shift.
US08351506B2
In one embodiment the method includes selecting a list 0 motion vector of the co-located block in a first reference picture as the motion vector if the co-located block has the list 0 motion vector and a list 1 motion vector. The first reference picture is a type of reference picture permitted to be located temporally before or after the current picture. The method further includes selecting the list 1 motion vector of the co-located block in the first reference picture if the co-located block only has the list 1 motion vector, scaling the selected motion vector based on temporal distance between the current picture and the first reference picture, and deriving at least one motion vector of the bi-predictive block by applying a bit operation to the scaled motion vector.
US08351505B2
In one embodiment, the method includes selecting a list 1 motion vector of the co-located block in a first reference picture if the co-located block only has the list 1 motion vector. The first reference picture is a type of reference picture permitted to be located temporally before or after the current picture, and the selected list 1 motion vector points to a second reference picture, which is a reference picture of the first reference picture. The method further includes deriving the list 0 and list 1 motion vectors of the bi-predictive block based on the selected list 1 motion vector of the co-located block. This deriving includes deriving a first temporal distance from a difference between the current picture and the first reference picture, deriving a second temporal distance from a difference between the first reference picture and the second reference picture, and scaling the selected list 1 motion vector of the co-located block based on the first and second temporal distances.
US08351500B2
An entropy encoder, a video coding apparatus, a video coding method and a video coding program can cope with the adverse effects that arise as a result of a local increase of overhead code quantity. The quantization parameter output form the code quantity control unit of a video coding apparatus is input to a third arithmetic unit before being input to the context initializer in an entropy encoder and a quantization parameter offset value is subtracted from it there. The discrepancy relating the generation probability of a symbol where significant coefficients exist can be improved by initializing an arithmetic coding context by using the quantization parameter obtained by subtracting a predetermined value form the quantization parameter defined by a rate control unit.
US08351497B2
A DTV transmitting system includes a frame encoder, a randomizer, a block processor, a group formatter, a deinterleaver, and a packet formatter. The frame encoder builds an enhanced data frame and adds parity data into the data frame. The frame encoder further divides the data frame into first and second sub-frames including first and second portions of the parity data, respectively, and permutes a plurality of the first sub-frames and a plurality of the second sub-frames, respectively. The randomizer randomizes enhanced data in the permuted sub-frames, and the block processor codes the randomized data at a rate of 1/N1. The group formatter forms a group of enhanced data having one or more data regions and inserts the 1/N1 coded data into at least one of the data regions. The deinterleaver deinterleaves the group of enhanced data, and the packet formatter formats the deinterleaved data into enhanced data packets.
US08351496B2
An integrated circuit having a filter apparatus for filtering a first symbol sequence is disclosed. The first symbol sequence has a predetermined symbol duration. The apparatus includes at least one delay device which is clocked in accordance with a clock, and configured to delay the first symbol sequence by a delay time. A relationship between the delay time of the delay device and a clock duration of the clocked delay device has a predetermined value which is not equal to the one.
US08351493B2
A folding adaptive equalizer is provided. The equalizer comprises an equalizer core and an automatic gain control loop. The equalizing transfer function of the equalizer core is modulated by one or more gain control signals generated by the automatic gain control loop and by a folding signal generated by the automatic gain control loop. When the folding signal is inactive, an increase in the gain control signals produces an increase in the high-frequency, high-bandwidth gain of the transfer function of the equalizer core. When the folding signal is active, further gain can be applied by decreasing the gain control signals, which produces a frequency-shift in the transfer function of the equalizer core toward lower bandwidth and an increase in the high-frequency, low-bandwidth gain of the transfer function of the equalizer core.
US08351491B2
A system and method for supporting multiple applications are described. A digital subscriber line system includes two transceivers in communication over a communication channel using multicarrier modulation. Application profiles are defined for characterizing transmission of information over the communication channel. Each application profile is a parameter set that is associated with a unique set of one or more applications that may become active between the transceivers and specifies the transmission requirements for such applications. Each transceiver stores the application profiles and transmits information over the communication channel according to the one of the stored application profiles. When a change in a number of applications active between the transceivers occurs, a second one of the application profiles is retrieved. The transceivers then transition to transmitting information over the communication channel according to the second application profile. The transitioning can occur without interrupting communication between the transceivers in order to retrain the transceivers. One of the transceivers transmits a message the other transceiver that specifies the second application profile and requests a transition to that second application profile. In one embodiment, the transceiver transmitting the request receives an inverted sync symbol from the other transceiver to synchronize use of the second application profile.
US08351489B2
A two-phase return-to-zero asynchronous transceiver is provided. The two-phase return-to-zero asynchronous transceiver is designed for on-chip interconnects. The transceiver includes a multi-stage transceiver arranged in a dual rail configuration, along with a weak keeper for each stage, a data driver for each stage, and an enable control circuit for selectively enabling the data driver, such that the data driver outputs data to a subsequent stage of the multi-stage transceiver. The enable control circuit further utilizes a handshaking protocol, which may be implemented at 0.13 μm and 1.2 Volts. The transceiver circuit achieves a throughput of approximately 3 Gb/s with wire lengths of approximately 100 μm.
US08351484B2
Methods for code-division multiplex communications. The method involve generating orthogonal or statistically orthogonal chaotic spreading codes (CSC1, . . . , CSCK) having different static offsets using a set of polynomial equations (f0(x(nT)), . . . , fN-1(x(nT)) and/or f0[x((n+v)T+t)], . . . , fN-1[x((n+v)T+t)]). The methods also involve forming spread spectrum communications signals respectively using the orthogonal or statistically orthogonal chaotic spreading codes. The methods further involve concurrently transmitting the spread spectrum communications signals over a common RF frequency band. The spreading codes are generated using different initial values for a variable “x” of a polynomial equation f(x(nT)) and/or different acc-dec values for a variable “v” of a polynomial equation f[x((n+v)T+t)]. The static offsets are defined by the different initial values for a variable “x” and/or different acc-dec values for a variable “v”.
US08351480B2
A pulse width modulation method for controlling the output power of a pulsed gas discharge laser powered by a pulsed RF power supply comprises delivering a train of digital pulses to the RF power supply. Each pulse in the train has an incrementally variable duration. The power supply is arranged to deliver a train of RF pulses corresponding in number and duration to the train of digital pulses received. The average power in the RF-pulse train can be varied by incrementally varying the duration of one or more of the digital pulses in the digital pulse train. The train of RF pulses is used to power a gas discharge laser. The gas discharge laser outputs a pulse train corresponding to the RF pulse train.
US08351478B2
An optical device having a structured active region configured for one or more selected wavelengths of light emissions and formed on an off-cut m-plane gallium and nitrogen containing substrate.
US08351475B2
Disclosed is a laser device. The laser device includes a pulse generator which irradiates a laser beam between a high reflector mirror and an output coupler mirror to amplify and resonate the laser beam, a pulse output section which receives a laser beam pulse amplified and resonated through the output coupler mirror to output the laser beam pulse, and a Q switch which moves backward or forward in a direction perpendicular to a path of the laser beam formed between the pulse generator and the high reflector mirror. The output coupler mirror includes first and second mirrors provided on a base plate. Positions of the first and second mirrors are selectively changed as the Q switch moves backward or forward.
US08351471B2
The invention relates to a method for transmitting signals termed useful signals via a satellite by means of connection stations. To this end, a first connection station (CNX1) carries out the generation of a first service signal on a service carrier frequency dubbed the pilot signal (Fp), and the transmission of this pilot signal to at least one second connection station (CNX2). The use of this pilot signal ensures phase synchronization and temporal synchronization of the signals so as to implement a transmit diversity, that is to say to toggle the transmission of the useful signal by this second connection station without loss of phase synchronization between the two stations. The invention applies to the Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) signal communications by satellites.
US08351467B2
A subscriber station may receive a WiMAX connection identifier (CID) scheduling message from a 2G/3G network. The WiMAX CID scheduling message may include scheduling information that indicates when Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) data for the subscriber station will be transmitted from a WiMAX network. The subscriber station may receive the MBMS data from the WiMAX network in accordance with the scheduling information.
US08351463B2
In a combination of control signals on data signals and the data signals where the combination contains data signals to be assigned respectively to a plurality of streams, a control unit assigns a control signal contained in a leading combination and assigns a data signal, contained in the leading combination, to a position posterior to the assigned control signal. The control unit appends a known signal to at least one of the remaining combinations and then assigns sequentially the remaining combinations to a position posterior to the assigned data signal so as to generate packet signals.
US08351462B2
A service switching method, system, and device are provided. The method includes: receiving a control message for switching between a unicast service and a multicast service; and reusing access line resources of the multicast service when the multicast service is switched to the unicast service, or reusing access line resources of the unicast service when the unicast service is switched to the multicast service according to the control message.
US08351461B2
A method and apparatus for providing a network based Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) service are disclosed. For example, the method receives a NB-FMC call request originating from a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) NB-FMC endpoint device or a non-SIP NB-FMC endpoint device, and processes the NB-FMC call request using a single hosted NB-FMC Application Server (AS).
US08351453B2
Methods and apparatus to allocate shared resources of a high speed packet access channel in a communication network are disclosed. An example method to allocate shared resources of a high speed packet access channel disclosed herein comprises providing information to a user device describing a plurality of service options for exchanging data over the high speed packet access channel, wherein the information comprises a plurality of costs based on an availability of the shared resources, and allocating at least a portion of the shared resources of the high speed packet access channel to the user device according to a selected service option from the plurality of service options.
US08351448B1
Methods and systems for routing frames are provided. A system includes an initiator operationally coupled to a first switch that is coupled to a second switch. The first switch includes a plurality of ports for sending and receiving frames and includes a routing table that identifies a port identifier steering table based on an area field of a frame header of a frame received by the first switch. The first switch also includes a plurality of port identifier tables, where each port identifier table is associated with a unique area field and identifies a same port of the first switch for a plurality of area fields. The second switch stores an area steering table with port identification information associated with an area field of a frame header of a frame received by the second switch and a same port of the second switch is assigned to multiple area fields.
US08351446B2
Provided herein are an electronic device, method and system for wireless communication over a wireless network. The device comprises an addressable point in network (Pin) which listens for all available wireless signals and creates and relays wireless signals containing destination address(es) for message(s) to other Pin(s). Wireless signal(s) are relayed from the Pin device(s) to other Pins over the network. Destination, receiving and originator Pin addresses and message flags within received messages are compared with message flags in a device memory trace queue to determine if the receiving Pin is the destination and/or origin of the message and whether the received message is retained and/or relayed or dropped. The system includes the Pin(s), a wireless communication network over which the message(s) are relayed to and from the Pin(s) and an enterprise provider information system (PIS) with an application stack configured to wirelessly transmit product and services information to the Pin(s).
US08351439B2
Techniques for determining media statistics for a communication from a first device to a second device are provided. The techniques include receiving media traffic for the communication at a network device configured to receive the media traffic from the first device. The network device is also configured to transmit the media traffic to the second device. A copy of the received media traffic is also forked to a processor. The received media traffic is sent to the second device while the forked copy of the media traffic is analyzed at the processor to generate media statistics about the media traffic.
US08351437B2
A source communication device includes a source network clock to control timing of communicating with other devices in a network, a source streaming clock associated with processing of audio or video data, a time stamp generator to generate a time stamp that includes a source network clock value and a source streaming clock value, and a time stamp insertion mechanism that incorporates the time stamp into a data unit that is to be transmitted to one of the other devices in the network. A sink communication device includes a sink network clock synchronized with the source network clock, a sink streaming clock associated with processing of audio or video data, and a sink time stamp mechanism to compare a sink streaming clock value with the source streaming clock value, and adjust the sink streaming clock based on the comparison.
US08351429B2
A method, apparatus and computer program product for providing fast reroute of a packet that may be forwarded on one of a plurality of Equal Cost Multi Path (ECMP) routes through a network is presented. A packet is received by a Forwarding Data Unit (FDU) in a data plane of a network element. The unicast packet is routed at L3, and ECMP is enabled for a next hop for the unicast packet. An ECMP route is selected for forwarding the packet to a destination port. A lookup is performed in a port state table maintained by the FDU to determine an available local port for said ECMP route that is in an UP state for the destination, and if no local port is UP, then a lookup is performed in the port state table to determine an available remote port that is in an UP state for the selected ECMP route.
US08351423B2
A method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided for page-mode messaging. The method includes determining whether a page-mode message exceeds a predetermined size limit. The method further includes sending, using a terminal, the page-mode message using a session-mode messaging mechanism when it is determined that the page-mode message exceeds the predetermined size limit, with an indication indicating that a session-mode is for the page-mode message. Further, the method includes applying, using the terminal, a session description protocol to initiate a session in the session-mode messaging mechanism, and adding, using the terminal, the indication to a header of a session initiation message.
US08351418B2
A system comprising a plurality of path computation elements (PCEs) configured to communicate with an ingress node, jointly compute a core tree for an inter-domain point-to-multipoint (P2MP) tree across a plurality of network domains, and independently compute a plurality of sub-trees in at least some of the network domains, wherein the core tree connects the ingress node to a boundary node (BN) in each one of the network domains that have a destination node and each sub-tree connects the BN to a plurality of destination nodes in one of the network domains that have a destination node.
US08351414B2
Wireless communication with a communicating apparatus that is a limited band terminal capable of receiving only part of frequencies. A frequency channel allocating section allocates frequency channels, a terminal reception quality information processing section calculates an optimal modulation rate and required transmit power for each subcarrier, a subcarrier power control section controls a level of transmit power for each subcarrier, and a determining section checks a reception bandwidth of a communicating apparatus, while determining whether the communicating apparatus is a full band terminal capable of receiving all the frequency channels in the system band or a limited band terminal capable of receiving only part of frequencies. When the communicating apparatus is the limited band terminal, the transmit power of all or part of subcarriers is decreased in a frequency channel that is adjacent to a reception band allocated to the communicating apparatus and that is allocated to another communicating apparatus.
US08351406B2
Techniques are disclosed that dynamically allocate communications resources in a wireless communications network, such as a wireless personal area network (WPAN). For instance, a wireless communications device may obtain a resource allocation. This resource allocation includes a time slot (e.g., a TDMA time slot) within a wireless communications medium. The device determines a first portion of the time slot in which it intends to transmit data. Also, the wireless communications device relinquishes a second portion of the time slot that occurs after the first portion of the time slot. Based on this relinquishment, a central controller device may reallocate the second portion of the time slot.
US08351404B2
A method and apparatus for increasing user capacity in a multi-user communication system. The method comprises transmitting a signal multiple times in the communication system with a predetermined delay between each retransmission. A receiver receives the signals and makes multiple delayed copies of the signal which are then summed. A second signal is then transmitted multiple times in the communication system with a different delay time between each retransmission than the first signal, and then received by a receiver which makes multiple delayed copies of this second signal which are then summed and decoded. This process is then used on subsequent signals in the communication system.
US08351393B2
A method of switching a multimedia session from a mobile terminal (2) connected to a mobile communications network (21) to an indoor device (11; 12; 13; 14) connected to an indoor local area network (150) including an indoor gateway (15), the mobile terminal (2) and the indoor gateway (15) being connected to an application system (20) that sets up multimedia sessions. The method includes setting up a first multimedia session between the mobile terminal (2) and the application system (20) via the mobile communications network (21). The mobile terminal (2) detects the proximity of the indoor local area network (150). Indoor devices (11-14) are selected that are capable of supporting the first multimedia session in progress on the mobile terminal (2). The mobile terminal (2) validates an indoor device from the selected devices. A second multimedia session is set up between the validated indoor device and the application system (20), and the first multimedia session is closed.
US08351388B2
Disclosed is a radio (wireless) communication system providing a radio communication service and a terminal, and more particularly, to a method for exchanging data blocks by a base station and a terminal in an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (E-UMTS) or a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, in which a transmitting side effectively transmits data transmitted via a Common Control Logical Channel to a receiving side, and the receiving side accurately separates unnecessary data from the data received via the Common Control Logical Channel.
US08351384B2
A single format of MAC control message may be used for the addition, deletion, or rearrangement of users in a group within a wireless network. In some cases, a change in the nature of the group may be implemented immediately upon receipt of a positive acknowledgement. A mobile station may determine its ACID without maintaining information about the previous ACID or startup frame.
US08351379B2
In wireless system, a group of Base station (BTSs) with smaller footprints have the capability to communicate with each other as well as with the BTSs with relatively larger footprints via wireless air-interfaces. One of such example is coordinated cell systems. A coordinated cell system comprises a group of coordinated cell base stations that have the capability to communicate with each other as well as with relevant macro cell or Pico cell base stations via wireless air-interfaces. Each coordinated cell BTS consists of an over the air control unit in addition to the conventional coordinated cell BTS system. A set of protocols in the form of messages and database are also defined to enable the networking capability. This enables enhancement in performing a variety of tasks by coordinated cell systems, including interference management and coordination, registration and authentication, quality of service coordination, installation and maintenance, location services, etc.
US08351375B2
A method and apparatus of performing cell re-search between heterogeneous networks is provided. A mobile terminal (MT) accesses to a high rate packet data (HRPD) network. The MT receives a first message from the HRPD network. The first message includes neighbor radio access technology (RAT) indicator which indicates whether neighbor RAT information used to perform inter-RAT measurement is transmitted from the HRPD network. The MT receives a second message from the HRPD network if the neighbor RAT indicator indicates the transmission of the neighbor RAT information. The second message includes the neighbor RAT information. The MT performs cell re-search on the basis of the neighbor RAT information.
US08351373B2
A method of categorising speed of a terminal (202) in a wireless communications network (116) comprises monitoring a first factor associated with allocation of a radio-frequency (RF) resource that is not related to mobility of the terminal (202). The first factor is then offset against a second factor, the second factor being potentially indicative of mobility of the terminal (202). The speed of the terminal (202) is then approximated using the result of offsetting the first factor against the second factor.
US08351372B2
In a data communication system capable of variable rate transmission, high rate packet data transmission improves utilization of the forward link and decreases the transmission delay. Data transmission on the forward link is time multiplexed and the base station transmits at the highest data rate supported by the forward link at each time slot to one mobile station. The data rate is determined by the largest C/I measurement of the forward link signals as measured at the mobile station. Upon determination of a data packet received in error, the mobile station transmits a NACK message back to the base station. The NACK message results in retransmission of the data packet received in error. The data packets can be transmitted out of sequence by the use of sequence number to identify each data unit within the data packets.
US08351361B2
A WCDMA enabled user equipment device configured to have functions collectively or selectively idle to conserve power. A discontinuous receiver is used to detect and read network messages and report the messages to the computer within the WCDMA enabled user equipment device. The computer then activates functions previously powered down to receive incoming messages for the user of the device. The discontinuous receiver is also used when the device is active to read network messages, freeing a modem of the device to operate on user messaging; and therefore, enhancing user related performance.
US08351357B2
Techniques are provided for simulating battlefield scenarios in an ad-hoc communications network comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links between the nodes.
US08351352B1
Some embodiments relate to a network comprising two RBridges connected by a link where the two RBridges are not the ingress and egress RBridge for said frames, wherein said RBridges automatically exchange information as to their support of hop-by-hop reversible frame aggregation, reversible header compression, and reversible data compression, and wherein if both RBridges support any or all of these features in the same fashion, one or more of said features are automatically applied to appropriate frames at the transmitting RBridge and removed at the receiving RBridge, increasing the throughput of the link.
US08351349B2
In Universal Network, there is disclosed a method and system for realizing location management of multihomed terminals, the system comprises home domains and foreign domains, in which the home domains of a multihomed terminal refer to the domains managing the multihomed terminal; the other domains are the foreign domains of the multihomed terminal; each domain includes at least one Identifier Mapping Server and one Accessing-Switching Router; the Identifier Mapping Server memorizes and manages the mapping information; and the Accessing-Switching Router allocates the mapping information for multihomed terminals. This invention facilitates the implement of multihoming in the Internet and makes the network resources be used efficiently. Especially, the Internet service providers can manage the multihomed terminals easily and efficiently.
US08351336B2
A user agent is provided. The user agent is configured to perform a random access procedure and to perform radio measurements. The random access procedure comprises deciding when to send a random access preamble based on a possible occurrence of a measurement gap, transmitting a random access preamble on an uplink, and monitoring a physical downlink control channel for a random access response.
US08351335B2
Intelligent hotspot connection systems and methods are provided. The intelligent hotspot connection system includes a storage unit, a wireless connection unit, and a processing unit. The storage unit includes a hotspot information database recording at least one property for each of a plurality of hotspots, and a hotspot preference database recording at least one preference inclination, respectively defining a reference weight for the property and signal strength. The processing unit detects the signal strength of the respective hotspots via the wireless connection unit. The processing unit obtains the preference inclination, and calculates a score for the respective hotspots according to the preference inclination, the property and signal strength of the respective hotspots. The processing unit selects and automatically connects to the hotspot with the highest score via the wireless connection unit.
US08351332B2
A method includes receiving network information for calculating weighted round-robin (WRR) weights, calculating WRR weights associated with queues based on the network information, and determining whether a highest common factor (HCF) exists in relation to the calculated WRR weights. The method further includes reducing the calculated WRR weights in accordance with the HCF, when it is determined that the HCF exists, and performing a WRR scheduling of packets, stored in the queues, based on the reduced WRR weights.
US08351320B2
A method and apparatus for transmitting a pilot in a wireless communication system is provided. A pilot generating unit generates the pilot. A transmission circuitry transmits the pilot and a radio signal. A a processor assigns a first index and a second index to each of a plurality of pilot patterns, determines a selection pilot pattern having a first selection index and a second selection index calculated based on a cell ID, which are respectively identical with the first index and the second index, from among the plurality of pilot patterns, and maps the generated pilot to a resource element based on the selection pilot pattern.
US08351318B2
An apparatus for converging voltages of an optical recording medium may include a first converging unit, a second converging unit, and/or a switching unit. The first converging unit may be configured to converge a voltage level of a first input signal to a reference voltage. The second converging unit may be configured to converge a voltage level of a second input signal to the reference voltage. The switching unit may be configured to determine whether to short-circuit output terminals of the first and second converging units during a period when the voltage levels of the first and second input signals are being converged to the reference voltage.
US08351307B1
A near field transducer (NFT) for use in an energy assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) head and configured to direct energy to a recording media is disclosed. The NFT comprises a disk section; and a pin section extending towards an air bearing surface (ABS) from the disk section. The pin section has a proximal end adjoining the disk section and a distal end opposite to the proximal end and facing the ABS, wherein at least the distal end of the pin section has a non- rectangular cross section in a plane parallel to the ABS.
US08351305B2
A magnetic writer comprises a write pole and a near field transducer. The write pole has a leading edge, a trailing edge and a notch at the leading edge of the write pole. The near field transducer produces near field radiation. The near field transducer positioned in front of or at least partially within the notch.
US08351299B2
Systems and methods for monitoring motion parameters of an object are described in the present disclosure. In one embodiment among many, a sensor, coupled to a housing, senses motion associated with the housing and provides a sensor output based on the sensed motion. A processing device receives the sensor output, accumulates counts associated with the sensor output, and provides an output once a threshold associated with the accumulated counts is reached. A vibrotactile device, that receives the output from the processing device, provides a haptic output in response to the output from the processing device. In one embodiment among many, a toothbrush is described as a monitoring mechanism for monitoring a plurality of brush strokes that a user executes with the toothbrush. The monitoring mechanism is incorporated in the handle of the toothbrush. The monitoring mechanism may be used to provide an alert once a sufficient number of brush strokes is achieved.
US08351297B2
Systems and methods are disclosed for processing information associated with monitoring persons/devices and weapon fire location information. In one exemplary implementation, a weapon fire location system is used to characterize and locate impulsive events and these locations are correlated with the positions of monitoring persons or devices, such as monitoring anklets placed on offenders or other persons of interest. Further, various information can be plotted on map, display, or for other graphical output to assist in the process of handling a weapon fire event. For example, when a monitoring device, whose position can be provided by GPS or alternate methods is found nearby a gunshot location, then associated graphical information can be presented on the output of the weapon fire location system or an associated display used by those monitoring the offenders.
US08351294B2
A paravane for a seismic acquisition system includes a float, a frame suspended from the float, deflectors affixed to the frame, and means for coupling a tow rope to a lead-in functionally extending between a forward end and an aft end of the frame. The paravane includes means for selectively changing an effective position along the lead-in of the means for coupling the tow cable.
US08351292B2
A semiconductor device includes: first transmission wirings each transmitting a small-amplitude signal between one of a plurality of first drivers and one of a plurality of receivers; a second transmission wiring transmitting a reference signal connected to each of the plurality of receivers; and a second driver outputting the reference signal with an impedance higher than an impedance with which each of the first drivers outputs the small-amplitude signal. The second transmission wiring is arranged between first and second power supply wirings corresponding to first and second potentials of the small-amplitude signal. The first and second potentials are supplied to each of the first drivers. The plurality of first transmission wirings are arranged close to each other, without being sandwiched between the first and second power supply wirings.
US08351291B2
A semiconductor device has an e-fuse module and a programming current generator. The e-fuse module includes an array of electrically programmable e-fuse elements. The programming current generator has a set of reference transistor elements, a selector for actuating the reference transistor elements to generate a selected reference current, and a current mirror for applying a programming current that is a function of the selected reference current to a selected e-fuse element of the array to program the resistance of the e-fuse element.
US08351289B1
A phase change memory array may include at least one cell used to determine whether the array has been altered by thermal exposure over time. The cell may be the same or different from the other cells. In some embodiments, the cell is only read in response to an event. If, in response to that reading, it is determined that the cell has changed state or resistance, it may deduce whether the change is a result of thermal exposure. Corrective measures may then be taken.
US08351287B1
Techniques are provided which may be used to reduce power consumed by memory circuits. In one example, a memory circuit includes a static random access memory (SRAM) cell. A pair of bitlines are connected to the SRAM cell. A precharge circuit is connected to the bitlines. The precharge circuit is adapted to precharge the bitlines immediately prior to read and write operations performed on the SRAM cell and float relative to the bitlines at other times.
US08351270B2
A nonvolatile memory device and a method of programming the device includes storing first data in first main and sub-registers and storing second data in second main and sub-registers, performing first program and verification operations on first memory cells based on the first data stored in the first main register, storing a result of the first verification operation in the first main register, performing a second program operation on second memory cells based on the second data stored in the second main register, changing the result of the first verification operation, stored in the first main register, into the first data stored in the first sub-register, performing an additional verification operation on the first memory cells on which the first verification operation has been completed, storing a result of the additional verification operation in the first main register, and performing a second verification operation on the second memory cells.
US08351268B2
The present invention provides a semiconductor memory and a control method therefor, the semiconductor device including a first current-voltage conversion circuit connected to a core cell provided in a nonvolatile memory cell array, a second current-voltage conversion circuit connected to a reference cell through a reference cell data line, a sense amplifier sensing an output from the first current-voltage conversion circuit and an output from the second current-voltage conversion circuit, a compare circuit comparing a voltage level at the reference cell data line with a predefined voltage level, and a charging circuit charging the reference cell data line, if the voltage level at the reference cell data line is lower than the predefined voltage level during pre-charging the reference cell data line. According to the present invention, the pre-charging period of the reference cell data line can be shortened, and the data read time can be shortened.
US08351257B2
A semiconductor memory device comprises planes each configured to comprise flag cells storing data about program methods of memory cells of the plane, page buffer units configured to sense the data of the flag cells, a flag cell data detection circuit configured to make a determination of program methods of the planes on the basis of a result, obtained by comparing the sensed data of the flag cells of the planes, and the sensed data of the flag cells, and a microcontroller configured to control the page buffer units, wherein the page buffer units read least significant bit (LSB) data of the planes or both the least significant bit (LSB) data and most significant bit (MSB) data on the basis of the determination of the flag cell data detection circuit.
US08351256B2
A memory system and a nonvolatile memory device therein are disclosed. The memory system comprises a memory device outputting a plurality of analog signals during a read operation, a converter to convert the plurality of analog signals into binary data, and a memory controller to operate an error correction operation on the binary data. The error correction operation uses a soft decision algorithm.
US08351244B2
A method of manufacturing a memory cell array in which first conductive layers (2) and second conductive layers (14) extend above a semiconductor substrate (1) and three-dimensionally cross with each other, and memory cells each of which includes a current steering element (10) and a variable resistance element (23) electrically connected in series to each other is provided at a corresponding one of three-dimensional cross points between the first conductive layers (2) and the second conductive layers (14). The method includes: forming a first interlayer insulating film (3); forming a contact hole in the interlayer insulating film (3); depositing a first plug material (4) in the contact hole and on the first interlayer insulating film (3); performing a first polishing in which the first plug material (4) is polished until the first interlayer insulating film (3) is exposed; depositing a conductive film (6a) that becomes a first electrode (6) of the current steering element (10), on the first plug material (4) and the first interlayer insulating film (3) after the first polishing; and performing a second polishing in which a surface of the conductive film (6a) is polished.
US08351236B2
A three-dimensional array especially adapted for memory elements that reversibly change a level of electrical conductance in response to a voltage difference being applied across them. Memory elements are formed across a plurality of planes positioned different distances above a semiconductor substrate. A two-dimensional array of bit lines to which the memory elements of all planes are connected is oriented vertically from the substrate and through the plurality of planes. A single-sided word line architecture provides a word line exclusively for each row of memory elements instead of sharing one word line between two rows of memory elements thereby avoids linking the memory element across the array across the word lines. While the row of memory elements is also being accessed by a corresponding row of local bit lines, there is no extension of coupling between adjacent rows of local bit lines and therefore leakage currents beyond the word line.
US08351232B2
Various exemplary embodiments relate to a power factor corrector for low loads and a related method. The power factor corrector raises power factor at low loads or high mains voltages by having the a greater amount of current delivered to the load during the falling time of the absolute value of the mains AC voltage than during the applicable rising time. Various embodiments achieve this by increasing the switch-on time of a control switch during the falling time so that the majority of the switch-on time during a mains period occurs during the falling time. This may involve using a timing voltage increasing over a period within each half mains cycle to increase the switch-on time of conversion cycles in the falling time. This may also involve shifting the power conversion in time domain during each half mains cycle so that a majority of the time occurs during the falling time. Various embodiments may employ both methods.
US08351227B2
A switching controller for power converter comprises a current-sense circuit and a PWM circuit. The current-sense circuit receives high-voltage signal across a first switch to generate a current-sense signal. The PWM circuit generates a switching signal to control the first switch in response to the current-sense signal. The switching controller further comprises a delay circuit. The delay circuit receives the switching signal to generate a delayed switching signal. The current-sense signal and the high-voltage signal ramp up with the same slope during the delayed switching signal is enabled. The current-sense signal will be pulled down to a level of a ground reference during the delayed switching signal is disabled. A delay time provided by the delay circuit avoids the high-voltage signal at the instance which the first switch is being turned off being conducted to a first comparator and a second comparator via a second switch.
US08351226B2
An object of the present invention is to provide a rectifier circuit which can suppress loss of power due to parasitic capacitance or parasitic inductance of a semiconductor element. The rectifier circuit matches or mismatches impedance between a circuit of a previous stage and the rectifier circuit in accordance with the amplitude of an input AC voltage. When an AC voltage to be input has a smaller amplitude than a predetermined voltage, impedance is matched and the AC voltage is applied as is to the rectifier circuit. Conversely, when an AC voltage to be input has a larger amplitude than a predetermined voltage, impedance is mismatched, and the amplitude of the AC voltage is decreased by reflection and then the AC voltage is applied to the rectifier circuit.
US08351225B2
A system-interconnected inverter connected to a commercial system for supplying AC power, which inverter includes a switching device for turning on and off DC power based on a predetermined duty value to output a voltage whose frequency is the same as that of a system power source and a controller for controlling the switching device. The controller changes the duty value of the switching device in accordance with the value obtained by dividing the maximum value by the effective value of the output current from the switching device measured with the system-interconnected inverter disconnected from the system power source.
US08351223B2
A secondary circuit of a flyback power converter has a resistor network to monitor the output current of the flyback power converter, so as to generate a voltage to apply to a base of a bipolar junction transistor to thereby provide a collector signal for output feedback. The resistor network has a temperature-dependent resistance to compensate the temperature dependence of the base-emitter voltage imparted to the output current and thereby stable the output current.
US08351220B2
A composite material for electromagnetic interference shielding is provided. The composite material comprises a stack including at least two electrically conductive nanoscale fiber films, which are spaced apart from one another by at least one insulating gap positioned between the at least two nanoscale fiber films. The stack is effective to provide a substantial multiple internal reflection effect. An electromagnetic interference shielded apparatus and a method for shielding an electrical circuit from electromagnetic interference is provided.
US08351218B2
An interface receiver having multiple tiers such that a first tier in the receiver houses a module having its longest dimension in a first direction and a second tier houses a module having its longest dimension in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The receiver has three or more cams on each of two parallel sides. The receiver is capable of being mated with “legacy” test adapters having two pairs of parallel sides with each side in one of the pairs having two locator elements for engaging with the cams of the receiver and new test adapters of the present invention having an odd number of locator elements on each side.
US08351214B2
This publication discloses an electronics module comprising an insulating-material layer having two opposite surfaces, and at least one microcircuit embedded to the insulating-material layer. The microcircuit has a first contact surface comprising first contact terminals, from which the microcircuit is electrically connected to first conductor structures in the form of a patterned first conductor layer contained on first surface of the insulating-material layer, and a second contact surface opposite to the first contact surface, in which there is at least one second contact terminal, from which the microcircuit is electrically connected to second conductor structures contained in the form of a patterned second conductor layer on second surface of the insulating-material layer. According to the invention there is provided a local adhesive layer between the component and the first contact surface and first conductor layer, the adhesive layer filling the space between the component and the first conductor layer. With the aid of the invention, it is possible to achieve an electronic-module construction that saves space compared to the prior art.
US08351209B2
A wireless network receiver includes a heat-dissipating unit, a wireless network receiving module, an electrical connecting unit, and a shell unit. The heat-dissipating unit has at least one main heat-dissipating body and a front heat-dissipating body extended forward from the main heat-dissipating body. The wireless network receiving module is disposed on the heat-dissipating unit, and the wireless network receiving module includes a first substrate unit and a second substrate unit electrically connected to the first substrate unit. The electrical connecting unit includes an electrical connecting casing contacting the front heat-dissipating body and enveloping the front heat-dissipating body and a front portion of the first substrate unit. The shell unit includes a shell module for selectively exposing or hiding the electrical connecting unit.
US08351208B2
An electro-optical device may include: an electro-optical panel, a holding member that includes a main body part arranged to surround the periphery of the electro-optical panel, and a holding part protruded from the main body part and holding the electro-optical panel, and a heat radiating member that is disposed opposing the electro-optical panel through an opening of the holding member from the opposite side of the light incident plane of the electro-optical panel.
US08351206B2
Liquid-cooled electronics racks are provided which include: immersion-cooled electronic subsystems; a vertically-oriented, vapor-condensing unit facilitating condensing dielectric fluid vapor egressing from the immersion-cooled subsystems, the vertically-oriented, vapor-condensing unit being sized and configured to reside adjacent to at least one side of the electronics rack; a reservoir for holding dielectric fluid, the reservoir receiving dielectric fluid condensate from the vertically-oriented, vapor-condensing unit; a dielectric fluid supply manifold coupling in fluid communication the reservoir and the dielectric fluid inlets of the immersion-cooled electronic subsystems; and a pump associated with a reservoir for pumping under pressure dielectric fluid from the reservoir to the dielectric fluid supply manifold for maintaining dielectric fluid in a liquid state within the immersion-cooled electronic subsystems.
US08351200B2
Systems and methods are provided for cooling an electronics rack and a computer room from a single unit, which includes a heat-generating electronics subsystem across which air flows from an air inlet to an air outlet side of the rack. First and second modular cooling units (MCUs) are associated with the rack and configured to provide system coolant to the electronics subsystem for cooling thereof. System coolant supply and return manifolds are in fluid communication with the MCUs for facilitating providing of system coolant to the electronics subsystem, and to an air-to-liquid heat exchanger associated with the rack for exclusively cooling air passing through the rack, as well as conditioning the ambient air of the computer room. Such cooling is exclusive of an outside-of-rack conditioned air unit.
US08351197B2
A holding device for holding a HDD includes two elastic members and two frame members. The HDD includes a first end and a second end. The two elastic members are configured for respectively encasing the first end and the second end. Each frame member includes a base portion, a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and at least one pair of clamping portions. The base portion includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The first and second sidewalls extend from two opposite ends of the base portion. The first sidewall, the second sidewall, and the first surface cooperatively define a groove for receiving a corresponding one of the two elastic members. The clamping portions in each pair of clamping portion extends out from the first sidewall and the second sidewall and configured for engaging with a corresponding pair of clamping portions of another frame member.
US08351191B2
Provided are a housing (10) for a portable display device (1) having a holding section (11) located on one side to the center line of the housing (10) that is provided with a weight adjusting section which sets a weight of the holding section (11) side of the housing (10) heavier than a weight of that portion of the housing (10) which is opposite the holding section (11), and whose weight is adjusted by at least one of methods of changing a type of a material for the housing (10), a specific gravity of the material, a density thereof, and an amount used thereof, mixing a weight adjusting substance (14) in the material, and mounting a weight adjusting substance to the housing (10), and a portable display device.
US08351184B2
An assembled flexible textile capacitor module including a plurality of flexible textile capacitors and at least one flexible connecting board is provided. The flexible connecting board is connected electrically between two adjacent flexible textile capacitors, so that the flexible textile capacitors are connected in series, in parallel, or in series-parallel.
US08351180B1
There is provided a multilayer ceramic capacitor, including: a multilayer body in which a plurality of dielectric layers are stacked in a thickness direction; and inner electrode layers formed within the multilayer body and including first and second inner electrodes disposed to be opposed to each other; wherein a ratio (MA1/CA1) of MA1 to CA1 is between 0.07 and 0.20, wherein CA1 represents an area of the multilayer body in a cross section of the multilayer body taken in a length and thickness direction, and MA1 represents an area of a first margin part in the cross section of the multilayer body taken in the length and thickness direction, the first margin part being a portion of the multilayer body, other than a first capacitance forming part thereof in which the first and second inner electrodes overlap in the thickness direction.
US08351179B2
A (GS) for an equipment (EQ) including an electrical reference (ME) and including an area provided with at least two photoelectric cells (C) electrically connected and each covered by a protective window that can become electrostatically charged. This solar generator further includes, on the one hand, at at least one chosen place (EC) of the area, intensification means (MI) responsible for locally intensifying the electrostatic charge so as to force the generation of primary electrical arcs at that chosen place, and, on the other hand, discharging means (EL, LM) adapted to couple the intensification means (MI) to the electrical reference (ME) of the equipment (EQ) so as to evacuate to that electrical reference (ME) discharge currents induced by the primary electrical arcs.
US08351174B1
An apparatus and method for regulating an output voltage (VO) of a voltage regulator during a brown-out condition is described. The apparatus comprises the voltage regulator, a brown-out protection circuit, a switch, and a first capacitor. The voltage regulator charges the first capacitor to the regulated output voltage VO. The brown-out protection circuit is coupled to the voltage regulator and the switch. In operation, the brown-out protection circuit detects the occurrence of an undervoltage condition based on a first undervoltage detection signal received at an undervoltage detection input, the brown-out protection circuit disables the voltage regulator and closes the switch to discharge the first capacitor to below a predetermined voltage level.
US08351168B2
A circuit comprises a switch, a driver circuit, and an open circuit detector. The switch has a first current electrode coupled to a power supply terminal, a second current electrode coupled to supply a current to a load, and a control electrode. The driver circuit has an input for receiving a control signal, and an output coupled to the control electrode of the switch. The open circuit detector has a first terminal coupled to receive a voltage from a bootstrap capacitor, a second terminal coupled to the power supply terminal, and a control terminal coupled to the driver circuit. The open circuit detector detects an open circuit, and in response, provides a signal at the control terminal for causing the driver circuit to open the switch.
US08351160B2
First and second piezoelectric element overlapped portions of an insulating layer of a flexure part is formed with first and second connecting openings, respectively. There are provided on an upper surface of the insulating layer, first and second lower conductive adhesive agents that electrically connect lower electrode layers of first and second piezoelectric elements to a voltage supply wiring through the first and second connecting openings, and a surrounding insulative adhesive agent that is arranged so as to surround the first and second lower conductive adhesive agents in a plan view.
US08351157B2
This thin film magnetic head has a magnetic read head and a magnetic write head each having respective end surfaces exposed to an ABS. The magnetic read head includes a magnetic reader including an end surface exposed to the ABS, first heat generator disposed on an opposite side of the magnetic reader from the ABS, and first temperature detector disposed closer to the ABS than the first heat generator is. The magnetic write head includes a magnetic pole having an end surface exposed to the ABS, second heat generator, and second temperature detector disposed closer to the ABS than the second heat generator is. The first heat generator and the first temperature detector adjust the protrusion of the magnetic read head, and the second heat generator and the second temperature detector adjust the protrusion of the magnetic write head.
US08351152B2
A system according to one embodiment includes a first portion comprising at least a portion of a coil structure and at least a portion of a magnetic yoke, the first portion being oriented at an angle of greater than 0° and less than 90° relative to a substantially planar portion of an underlying substrate; a first pole; a second pole; and a write gap, a portion of the write gap having a plane of deposition oriented about perpendicular to a final media-facing surface of the write gap.
US08351148B2
To provide a magnetic tape library device with which a plurality of housed magazines can be extracted safely from the device with the same operation, while the device is made to be simple. The magnetic tape library device includes: a plurality of magazines for housing a plurality of magnetic tape cartridges inside thereof; a device main body for housing the magazines within a same plane in a freely movable manner and in series in an inserting/extracting direction from an inserting/extracting slot; a connecting mechanism for enabling the plurality of magazines to be connected with each other or to be released by a releasing operation from outside; and a locking mechanism for enabling at least the magazine on the back side of the inserting/extracting direction of the device main body, among the plurality of magazines, to be locked or to be released from the locked state at the inserting/extracting slot side.
US08351146B2
A method, apparatus and computer-program product for indicating progress status of a mid-tape or data recovery operation in a tape drive. The method includes visually indicating that a recovery operation has started, periodically determining the remaining recovery time based on the remaining tape spool, and displaying the determined remaining recovery time to show progress status of the operation. The determination of the remaining recovery time includes determining the length of the tape being processed based on an estimated radius of the remaining tape spool and system parameters. The remaining recovery time is displayed with a moving track to show progress toward completion.
US08351144B2
Embodiments of the present invention help to suppress the effects of thermal fluctuation in a thermally assisted magnetic field recording, and improve recording density. According to one embodiment, a recording area of a magnetic disk is heated and the full width at half maximum of an optical power distribution of a near field light generator is controlled to be 100 nm or less. Thereby, the cooling time of the magnetic disk is made 2 nm or less and the effects of thermal fluctuation are suppressed. Moreover, although an incomplete area of the magnetization reversal at the rear end of the magnetic domain is created with rapid cooling, by creating an overshoot at the rising end of the magnetic field waveform of the magnetic recording head, the incomplete area of the magnetization reversal can be overwritten, which is created at the rear end of the magnetic domain previously recorded by the overshoot magnetic field. Therefore, the expansion of the magnetic transition width can be suppressed, resulting in the recording density being improved.
US08351142B2
A drive unit includes a lens frame configured to support a lens, a movable body located outside the lens and configured to be movable with the lens frame, and a vibratory actuator configured to drive the movable body. The vibratory actuator includes an actuator main body contacting the movable body, an opposite member provided at a position which is opposite to the actuator main body so that the movable body is sandwiched between the actuator main body and the opposite member, and a connecting member configured to connect the actuator main body and the opposite member and to bias them toward the movable body. The connecting member is not provided at a side of the movable body where the lens frame is provided, but is provided at an opposite side of the movable body to the side where the lens frame is provided, as viewed in the optical direction.
US08351140B2
An exemplary lens barrel includes a hollow main body. The hollow main body includes a first end at an object side, and an opposite second end at an image side. The hollow main body also including a cylindrical inner surface adjacent to the first end, a partially conical inner surface adjacent to the second end, and a ring-shaped groove located between the cylindrical inner surface and the partially conical inner surface. The partially conical inner surface faces toward the first end. A cone angle of the partially conical inner surface is in a range from 8 degrees to 16 degrees.
US08351135B2
An imaging lens includes: a first lens with a meniscus shape having a concave surface facing an object side; a second positive lens; a third negative lens with a meniscus shape having a convex surface facing an image side; and a fourth negative lens. The first to fourth lenses are arranged in this order from the object side. The imaging lens is configured such that a normal line of an object-side surface of the fourth lens at a point where the outermost light beam of an on-axis light flux passes intersects the optical axis on the image side of the object-side surface.
US08351134B2
A filter, to be disposed concentrically with an optical axis of an imaging lens, capable of accurately controlling light transmission variation characteristics and effectively providing an apodization effect or a peripheral light intensity correction effect. The filter includes opaque dots disposed according to a honeycomb arrangement from a central portion toward a peripheral portion so as to have, at least partially, a Gaussian distribution like dot density and is structured to satisfy Condition Expression (1) given below when a size of the dots is taken as d. 0.003 mm≦d≦0.010 mm (1).
US08351133B2
A 360 degree viewing angle lens unit, from the object side to the image side thereof, includes a 360 degree viewing angle lens and a relay lens. The viewing angle lens includes an annular incident surface, a first reflective surface, a second reflective surface, and an emitting surface. The annular incident surface has a positive radius of curvature and symmetrically concentric around an optical axis of the lens unit. The first reflective surface has a positive radius of curvature and is symmetrically concentric around the optical axis. The second reflective surface has a negative radius of curvature, and is coaxial with the incident surface. The emitting surface has a positive radius of curvature and is coaxial with the first reflective surface. The relay lens has a positive refractive power and is aligned with the emitting surface. The relay lens is configured for condensing image light output from the emitting surface.
US08351123B2
A diffractive head up display device that includes a projection unit that uses a display to project an image through a projection window of an image mask, and towards a diffractive combiner. The display and the mask are moveable at right angles to the axis of the projection light beam, so that the adjustment of the position of the virtual image in the field of view of the observer, for example the driver of a vehicle, is obtained by translation of the display and of the mask.
US08351117B2
An integrated optical device functioning as optical isolator, shutter, variable optical attenuator, and modulator is disclosed. The device employs a Pockels cell for dynamically rotating with nanosecond speed the polarization state of incident light for attenuation and modulation. The invention provides a compact, high performance and reliable device without moving parts for use in laser systems and particularly in fiber optic telecommunication system.
US08351116B2
In order to furnish an optical component and a phase contrast microscope which can indicate difference of phases of a specimen including information of frequency and color, at least two optical mediums are arranged side by side so that a constant difference of the phases is generated.
US08351108B2
A wavelength conversion laser has: an exciting LD1, a solid state laser including a resonator, and a wavelength conversion element 7 disposed in the resonator. The solid state laser includes a first laser medium and a second laser medium as at least two types of laser media, and is configured to oscillate the solid state laser beams of the first emission wavelength and the second emission wavelength in the resonator as a result of the excitation light entering a region 3 configured from the first laser medium, thereafter entering a region 4 configured from the second laser medium, and subsequently entering a region 5 configured from the first laser medium. The wavelength conversion element 7 simultaneously generates a second harmonic and a sum frequency of the first emission wavelength and the second emission wavelength.
US08351104B2
A mirror system comprising: a mirror; at least one piezoelectric motor having a coupling surface for coupling the motor to a moveable body; at least one spherical contact surface coupled to the mirror; and a motor mounting frame that holds a piezoelectric motor of the at least one piezoelectric motor and presses the piezoelectric motor coupling surface to a contact surface of the spherical contact surface; wherein the motor is controllable to apply force to the contact surface that rotates the mirror.
US08351101B2
A system and method to select a print area to be printed from a document, to search the selected print area for blank areas, and to print and/or store the selected print area, having a size of the searched blank areas turned into a predetermined size or other space marker. Thus, the number of printed pages is reduced by printing only parts of documents in which there exists data for printout. Similarly, readability is improved, and comparison of data with other documents is facilitated. Further, a user can easily select certain content titles in a document for printing and/or storage while skipping underlying data content, and so on, so as to increase the user's satisfaction with printout results.
US08351100B2
A system and method for achieving process spot color consistency using white and CMYK toners is disclosed. The present application employs traditional CMYK using the automated spot color editing approach and enhances this approach by applying a white toner to the printing substrate prior to applying the color. This new and novel method will improve the color printing technology for printing or alternately, applying the application of the white as a distinct separation layer for the color toner separations, on plastics, ceramics, woods, and other such non-paper materials.
US08351093B2
The leading edge and the trailing edge of an original document are detected with a sheet detection sensor provided in an automatic document feeding device, reading out of the original document is started from a position a predetermined distance before the position where the leading edge of the original document passes a reading position in an image reading apparatus, and reading out thereof is terminated at a position a predetermined distance after the position where the trailing edge of the original document passes the reading position. It is determined whether the apices of a rectangular area extracted from an image area that is read out are included in the respective areas of a predetermined height from the leading end and the trailing end of the image area to determine whether the size of the document image area is the same as the sheet size of the original document.
US08351079B2
A method, system, and computer program product for estimating a banding profile in an image printing system is disclosed. The method includes obtaining image data across multiple measurement intervals by a sensor; combining the image data with timing information into a coherent signal by a processor; determining aperiodic components of the coherent signal by the processor; determining the periodic component of the coherent signal using spline interpolation, wherein the periodic component represents a banding profile, by the processor; and printing an output print with a correction applied based on the banding profile.
US08351075B2
A print mediator includes an interface module which serves as an interface for a document to be submitted for printing. The interface module communicates with an associated printing infrastructure for acquiring color rendering information for a print queue of the printing infrastructure. A reviewing application receives the acquired color rendering information and generates a visual representation of a document to be submitted for printing based thereon. Problems relating to color rendering by the printing infrastructure are detected and proposals for correction are presented to the submitter by the reviewing application. The user can review the proposals and accept or reject them as well as making annotations on the document. An analogous reviewing application is accessed by the print shop operator to review the document and submitter's annotations.
US08351074B2
This invention provides a color print control method of acquiring an optimum profile by a simple profile acquisition process in consideration of the clustering configuration. According to the color print control method of this invention, a printer manager (15) manages a combination of color printers as a virtual printer. A color setting manager (17) manages a color profile used for color matching in association with the virtual printer and output paper. A job controller (11) controls to accept a print job, whose destination is the managed virtual printer and which contains color matching settings, cause a rendering unit (18) to render the print job, acquire a profile for each virtual printer, and cause a color management processor (16) to perform color matching.
US08351065B2
When a paper sheet is required during execution of a print job, a printing apparatus requests paper sheet information about the states of paper feed trays from the other printing apparatuses. When the other printing apparatuses transmit the paper sheet information, the printing apparatus of the request source displays a search result display screen 22 which represents the states, such as the size, type, and residual amount of paper sheet in the paper feed tray of each of the other printing apparatuses. By viewing the screen 22, the user is able to determine the position of the printing apparatus and the paper feed tray, in which the required paper sheet is stored. Therefore, when the paper sheet is required during execution of the print job, the paper sheet can be quickly replenished by notifying the presence position of the paper sheet.
US08351061B2
A printing apparatus, including a user input unit which receives a first user command to initiate a printing operation, a display unit which displays information relating to the printing operation, a printing unit which performs printing with respect to printing data, and a controller which controls the display unit to display reference information of the printing data before the printing, and which controls the printing unit to perform the printing according to a second user command.
US08351057B2
An apparatus comprises a housing and at least one functional component operating on power from an external power source. The functional component is connectable to the housing. In addition, a graphic user interface assembly is connectable to the housing. The graphic user interface assembly comprises a dedicated power supply used exclusively by the graphic user interface assembly. The graphic user interface assembly displays instructions explaining how to connect the functional component and the graphic user interface assembly to the housing prior to when the functional component is connected to the external power source.
US08351054B2
An apparatus detecting the position of the functional layer of the electrode plate includes a first electrode plate sensor disposed at a side of a material to sense start points of electrode plates continuously formed on the material at uniform intervals, a second electrode plate sensor disposed at an other side of the material to sense a length of the electrode plate, a functional layer sensor provided behind the first electrode plate sensor and the second electrode plate sensor above a material traveling direction to sense position and length of the functional layer formed on the electrode by sensing a difference in color, and a controller feeding back a feedback result indicating whether the functional layer is correctly coated through values sensed by the first electrode plate sensor, the second electrode plate sensor, and the functional layer sensor.
US08351053B2
According to example embodiments of the invention, a microscale testing stage comprises a frame having first and second opposing ends and first and second side beams, at least one deformable force sensor beam, a first longitudinal beam having a free end, a second longitudinal beam having a facing free end, a support structure, and a pair of slots disposed at each of the free ends. In certain embodiments, a separately fabricated microscale or nanoscale specimen comprises a central gauge length portion of a material to be tested, and first and second hinges providing a self-aligning mechanism for uniaxial loading. In other embodiments, a layer of a conductive material defines first and second conductive paths and an open circuit that can be closed by the specimen across the gap. In other embodiments, the stage is formed of a high melting temperature material.
US08351050B2
A wavefront-aberration-measuring device measures wavefront aberration of a to-be-tested optical system and includes a diffraction grating that splits light transmitted through the optical system, a detecting unit that detects interference fringes produced by beams of the split light, an arithmetic unit that calculates the wavefront aberration from the detected interference fringes, an image-side mask insertable into and retractable from an image plane of the optical system, and an illuminating unit that incoherently illuminates the image-side mask. The image-side mask has an aperture with a diameter larger than λ/2NA, where λ denotes a wavelength of the illuminating unit and NA denotes a numerical aperture of the to-be-tested optical system. The arithmetic unit calculates the wavefront aberration of the optical system from the interference fringes detected with the image-side mask being retracted from the image plane and the interference fringes detected with the image-side mask being in the image plane.
US08351047B2
ProblemAn object is to provide a method for evaluating characteristics of individual Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometers in an optical modulator which includes a plurality of MZ interferometers,Means for Solving ProblemsThe method comprises a step for adjusting a bias voltage of the MZ interferometer, a step for eliminating zero-order components, a step for measuring an output intensity and a step for evaluating characteristics. An optical modulator (1) includes the first MZ interferometer (2) and the second MZ interferometer (3). The first MZ interferometer (2) includes wave-branching section (5). Two arms (6,7), wave coupling section (8) and electrodes which is not shown in figures.
US08351043B2
A spectrometer has a multi-input aperture for admitting an input wavefront and an array of multiple waveguide structures terminating at the multi-input aperture. The input wavefront is incident on each of the waveguide structures, which provide a dispersive function for the input wavefront. Interferometers are formed by elements of the waveguide structures. The interferometers have different optical path length differences (OPDs). The interferometers provide a wavelength responsive output for spatially extended light sources. The output of the interferometers is detected with a detector array. The spectrometer has an improved etendue, and in some embodiments very high resolution.
US08351037B2
Programmable illuminators in exposure tools are employed to increase the degree of freedom in tool matching. A tool matching methodology is provided that utilizes the fine adjustment of the individual source pixel intensity based on a linear programming (LP) problem subjected to user-specific constraints to minimize the difference of the lithographic wafer data between two tools. The lithographic data can be critical dimension differences from multiple targets and multiple process conditions. This LP problem can be modified to include a binary variable for matching sources using multi-scan exposure. The method can be applied to scenarios that the reference tool is a physical tool or a virtual ideal tool. In addition, this method can match different lithography systems, each including a tool and a mask.
US08351026B2
An embodiment of a system for acquiring images of a probe array is described that comprises a first light emitting diode that provides light comprising a first range of wavelengths outside of an excitation spectrum; a second light emitting diode that provides light comprising a second range of wavelengths inside of the excitation spectrum; and a detector that detects one or more wavelengths in the first range of wavelengths, wherein the first range of wavelengths comprise light wavelengths emitted from fluorescent molecules associated with one or more probes of the probe array in response to the second range of wavelengths and wavelengths reflected from one or more reflective elements associated with the probe array.
US08351025B2
A target set in a to-be-measured object and used for acquiring a reference value of point-cloud data, the target includes a small circle surrounded by a frame and having the center of the target, a large circle surrounded by the frame and disposed concentrically with the small circle so as to surround the small circle, a low-luminance reflective region located between the frame and the large circle and having the lowest reflectivity, a high-luminance reflective region located between the large circle and the small circle and having the highest reflectivity, and an intermediate-luminance reflective region located inside the small circle and having an intermediate reflectivity which is higher than the reflectivity of the low-luminance reflective region and which is lower than the reflectivity of the high-luminance reflective region.
US08351023B2
Illumination devices of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, include a deflection device with which at least two light beams impinging on the deflection device can be variably deflected independently of one another by variation of the deflection angle in each case in such a way that each of the light beams can be directed onto at least one location in a pupil plane of the illumination device via at least two different beam paths; wherein, on the beam paths, at least one optical property of the respective light beam is influenced differently.
US08351021B2
An optical system is able to achieve a substantially azimuthal polarization state in a lens aperture while suppressing loss of light quantity, based on a simple configuration. The optical system of the present invention is provided with a birefringent element for achieving a substantially circumferential distribution or a substantially radial distribution as a fast axis distribution in a lens aperture, and an optical rotator located behind the birefringent element and adapted to rotate a polarization state in the lens aperture. The birefringent element has an optically transparent member which is made of a uniaxial crystal material and a crystallographic axis of which is arranged substantially in parallel with an optical axis of the optical system. A light beam of substantially spherical waves in a substantially circular polarization state is incident to the optically transparent member.
US08351018B2
A fluid handling structure is disclosed in which measures are taken to increase the speed at which meniscus breakdown occurs. Measures include the shape of a plurality of fluid extraction openings and the shape and density of a plurality of fluid supply openings in the fluid handling structure.
US08351016B2
A display device 1 of the present invention includes a first conductive layer 20 and a second conductive layer 21 arranged across an insulating layer 24 from the first conductive layer 20. An overlap section 40 at which the first conductive layer 20 and the second conductive layer 21 overlap each other is provided. At least one of the first conductive layer 20 and the second conductive layer 21 includes a slit portion 210a that is arranged in the overlap section 40. The width of the slit portion 210a is set to be smaller at a medial area 82 except both end areas 81 of the slit portion 210a, than at the both end areas 81.
US08351012B2
To control the positioning of a spacer more accurately in a liquid crystal display device to prevent display defects due to incorrect positioning in a display region. To provide a liquid crystal display device with higher image quality and reliability, and to provide a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal display device with high yield. In a liquid crystal display device, a region onto which a spherical spacer is discharged is subjected to liquid-repellent treatment in order to reduce the wettability with respect to a liquid in which the spherical spacer is dispersed. The liquid (the droplet) does not spread over the liquid-repellent region and is dried while moving the spherical spacer toward the center of the liquid. Thus, incorrect positioning shortly after discharging, which has been caused by the loss of control in the liquid, can be corrected by moving the spherical spacer while drying the liquid.
US08351006B2
A liquid crystal display device includes a gate line and a data line crossing each other to define a pixel region, a thin film transistor positioned at the crossing of the gate line and the data line, a common line extending in parallel to the gate line, a common electrode connected to the common line and having common finger portions extending into the pixel region, and a pixel electrode connected to a drain electrode of the thin film transistor and having pixel finger portions extending into the pixel region and overlapping the common line.
US08350996B2
An optical compensation sheet for a TN-mode liquid crystal display device is provided and includes a transparent film including one or more layers, and the optical compensation sheet satisfies formulae (1) and (2). 40≦Re(550)≦130 (1) 100≦Rth(550)≦200 (2) Re(λ) is an in-plane retardation value for light at a wavelength of λ nm, and Rth(λ) is a retardation vale in a thickness direction for light at a wavelength of λ nm.
US08350994B1
A liquid crystal display consistent with the present invention comprises an insulating substrate having a signal line and a scan line. The scan line forms a crossing pattern with the signal line. A switching device is connected to the signal line and the scan line. An interlayer insulating film is formed on top of the signal line, the scan line, and the switching device. A pixel electrode is formed on the interlayer insulating film and connected to the switching device. A trench is formed in a part of the interlayer insulating film where the pixel electrode is not formed. Finally, a black matrix is formed in a predetermined part of the trench.
US08350993B2
A liquid crystal display apparatus includes a plurality of color filters for four color components arranged in a matrix correspondingly to a plurality of pixels, respectively, every group of four color filters that are arranged adjacently in horizontal and vertical directions being corresponding to different four color components, wherein each of the plurality of color filters has a generally rectangular shape that has a cutout portion in each of four corners thereof.
US08350991B2
Apparatus and methods for harnessing external light to illuminate a display screen of an electronic device are provided. The display screen may be illuminated using a light harness, a reflector, a translucent surface, or any combination thereof. The light harness may be cylindrical or hexahedral. The light harness may be coupled to an external light input or a collector. The reflector may be repositioned toward or away from the display screen to reflect external light toward the display screen. The translucent surface may allow external light to pass through it to illuminate the display screen. The translucent surface may protect the rear face of the display screen, or the rear face of the display screen may itself be translucent.
US08350984B2
A low profile display enclosure system for enclosing a display device for viewing that protects the display device from environmental effects. The substantially sealed display enclosure comprises a rigid bezel, a substantially transparent front cover coupled to the bezel, and a rear cover assembly that may include a heat sink portion. A liquid organic coating is applied to portions of the display enclosure and cured in place in order to provide a protective surface.
US08350980B2
Provided is a liquid crystal display apparatus capable of avoiding heat radiation hindrance caused from blocking of a heat radiation path by electric wiring and from interference of the electric wiring with a radiating portion for heat generated from circuit boards, in which a heat diffusion member and the circuit boards including an LED driver substrate are arranged in a plane at the rear of a frame in a housing while being isolated from one another, and LED light sources mounted on metal blocks are connected to the LED substrate through a flexible cable which is led from the outsides of the metal blocks and the heat diffusion member and is then led between the heat diffusion member and a rear case.
US08350978B2
An LCD includes: a first substrate; first, second, and third gate lines extending along a first direction, formed over the first substrate and being parallel with each other; data lines insulated from the first gate line, the second gate line, and the third gate line and extending along a second direction that intersects the first direction; first, second, and third thin film transistors connected with the first gate lines, the second gate line, the third gate line, respectively and connected with the data lines; a passivation layer covering the first thin film transistor, the second thin film transistor, and the third thin film transistor; and first, second, and third pixel electrodes formed over the passivation layer and connected with the first thin film transistor, the second thin film transistor, and the third thin film transistor, respectively.
US08350974B2
A three-dimensional display apparatus, including a backlight module, two panels, and a synchronization device, is provided. The backlight module has a light emitting side and sequentially emits a plurality of color light. Both panels are disposed at the light emitting side, and the first panel is disposed between the backlight module and the second panel. The first panel includes a first polarizer and a first liquid crystal substrate, and the first polarizer is disposed between the backlight module and the first liquid crystal substrate. The second panel includes a second liquid crystal substrate and a second polarizer, and the second liquid crystal substrate is disposed between the second polarizer and the first panel. The synchronization device is electrically connected to the backlight module and the two liquid crystal substrates. During a frame time, the backlight module and the two liquid crystal substrates are synchronously driven by the synchronization device.
US08350972B2
Disclosed herein is a display apparatus has a pixel array section including: pixel circuits which are each provided with a driving transistor and an electro-optical device and are laid out to form a matrix; and a draw wire provided in each of the pixel circuits to serve as a wire connecting the driving transistor to a power-supply providing line, wherein the resistance of the draw wire is relatively large in the pixel circuit close to a source applying a power-supply voltage to the power-supply providing line.
US08350969B2
An electronic apparatus is provided and includes a first IC having an internal configuration section, a nonvolatile memory, and an interface section. The electronic apparatus also includes a second IC having a signal processing section, and a correction-data supplying section.
US08350968B2
A universal transmitter and a universal receiver for respectively transmitting and receiving orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signals using the international television bands respectively use fixed subcarrier spacing; fixed Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)/Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) period values; a fixed symbol duration for each cyclic prefix option; and fixed WRAN frame parameters, but a selectable channel bandwidth for transmission and reception.
US08350967B2
A method and system for reducing the appearance of jaggies when deinterlacing moving edges in a video processing system are provided. The method may comprise detecting the direction of an angled edge in an interlaced video image to determine a filtering direction to be used for approximating absent pixels in deinterlacing the interlaced video. In detecting the direction of the angled edge, a group of windows of different sizes may be used to look at the edge, where a missing pixel is the center of each of the windows. Detecting the direction of the edge, and therefore the direction of filtering, may comprise: determining the angle associated with the edge, determining the strength of the edge, examining the pixels surrounding the absent pixel, and adjusting the first angle measure and the second angle measure based on the pattern of the surrounding pixels.
US08350957B2
A system and method are provided for imaging in scattering media such as fog, water and biological tissues. Normally, such images suffer from poor visibility due to backscattering and signal attenuation. At least two images are taken of the scene using active widefield polarized illumination, with different states of a camera-mounted polarizer. The degree of polarization of backscatter is estimated in every point of the scene, leading to an estimation of the backscatter in every point of the scene. A portion or all of the value of backscatter can be deducted in each point of the scene resulting in an enhanced image with improved contrast and brightness range across the field of view.
US08350954B2
An image processing method includes a restore step of performing blur restoration for image data, an acquisition step of acquiring image-related information stored together with the image data, and an extraction step of extracting the range of object distances at which the blur restoration is performed, based on the image-related information. In the restore step, blur restoration is performed for the image data in the range of object distances extracted in the extraction step.
US08350949B2
A method for transmitting a man-machine operation picture, a mobile video device thereof, and a video system using the same are provided, which are applicable to a first mobile video device and a second mobile video device wirelessly connected to each other, and the first mobile video device includes a first screen. A display picture data is obtained from a video buffer of the first screen. The first screen displays a first picture according to the display picture data. The first mobile video device converts the display picture data into a video data compliant to a video format, and transfers the video data to the second mobile video device according to a video communication protocol. The second mobile video device displays a second picture according to the received video data, and a displaying content of the second picture substantially includes a displaying content of the first picture.
US08350948B2
An imaging device able to simplify an optical system while maintaining a high frame rate, but without needing expensive blurring restoration processing hardware, able to reduce costs, and in addition capable of obtaining a restored image little influenced by noise, and a method of same, which bypasses blurring restoration processing of an image processing device 150 by a switching unit 140 to perform camera signal processing of a camera signal processing unit 160 at the time of a through image and performs blurring restoration processing at the image processing device 150, then performs camera signal processing at the camera signal processing unit 160 to display the image only at the time of capturing an image.
US08350944B2
A recording mode control circuit controls a first recording mode in which still image data having a first image size corresponding to the number of pixels of an image sensing element is generated and recorded and a second recording mode in which moving image data having a second image size smaller than the first image size is generated and recorded. In generating the moving image data in the second recording mode, a camera signal processing circuit executes electrical zoom processing to obtain the second image size. At this time, a maximum magnification ratio setting circuit sets the maximum variable magnification ratio of electrical zoom processing in the camera signal processing circuit. With this processing, an image recording apparatus which allows a user to select a zoom mode with a small degradation in image quality in electrical zoom processing can be implemented.
US08350943B2
A digital camera includes a first frame formed of a thermal conductive material; an imaging unit disposed in front of the first frame; an optical system including lenses and focusing image light on the imaging unit; a first display unit disposed on a rear portion of the first frame; a first heat generator that located at a side surface of the optical system and disposed on a front portion of the first frame; a second heat generator disposed on a front portion of the first heat generator; a second frame formed of a thermal conductive material, and disposed between the first heat generator and the second heat generator; a third frame formed of a thermal conductive material, and disposed on a front portion of the second heat generator; and a second display unit disposed on a front portion of the third frame.
US08350942B2
A solid-state imaging apparatus includes a photoelectric conversion unit for generating and accumulating an electric charge according to an incident light, a floating diffusion for accumulating electric charges, a transfer transistor for transferring electric charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion unit to the floating diffusion unit, and a reset transistor for resetting a voltage according to electric charges accumulated in the floating diffusion unit. In addition, a drive circuit intermittently applies to a gate of the transfer transistor a pulse having a first potential which is intermediate between a transfer potential for transferring electric charges and a non-transfer potential for disabling transfer of electric charges and applies to a gate of the reset transistor a second potential lower than the potential of the pulse for resetting voltage of the floating diffusion unit and higher than the first potential, during accumulation of electric charges in the photoelectric conversion unit.
US08350937B2
A solid-state imaging device includes: an avalanche photodiode having a structure including an n+ region, a p+ region, and an avalanche region interposed between the n+ region and the p+ region, all of which are formed to extend in a thickness direction of a semiconductor base; and a pixel repeatedly having the structure of the avalanche photodiode.
US08350935B2
A color filter array includes a plurality of white filters, a plurality of yellow filters, a plurality of cyan filters and a plurality of green filters. The plurality of white filters transmits incident light. The plurality of yellow filters transmits a green component and a red component of the incident light. The plurality of cyan filters transmits the green component and a blue component of the incident light. The plurality of green filters transmits the green component of the incident light. An image sensor including the color filter array has high sensitivity and high SNR by increasing transmittance of the incident light.
US08350934B2
An integrated circuit comprises a semiconductor substrate and a color image sensor array on the substrate. The color image sensor array has a first configuration of color pixels for collecting color image data, and at least one crosstalk test pattern on the substrate proximate the color image sensor array. The crosstalk test pattern includes a plurality of color sensing pixels arranged for making color crosstalk measurements. The test pattern configuration is different from the first configuration.
US08350932B2
Provided is an image generation device generating a high-quality image of an object under a pseudo light source at any desired position, based on geometric parameters generated from a low-quality image of the object. The image generation device includes: a geometric parameter calculation unit (102) that calculates a first geometric parameter regarding a surface structure from light source position, viewpoint position, and geometric normal information regarding the surface structure; a high-resolution database unit (103) that stores an exemplum indicating a mesostructure of a portion of the surface and has a spatial resolution higher than the geometric normal information; an exemplum expansion unit (104) that increases the exempla to be spatially expanded; a geometric parameter modification unit (105) that modifies the first geometric parameter using the increased exempla; and an image generation unit (106) that generates an output image by applying the modified geometric parameter to a reflection model.
US08350924B2
There is provided a method for performing digital processing on an image signal output from CCD image sensors with a CMYG color filter array, the method including converting a digital CMYG signal of 10 bits each into a first YCbCr signal of 10 bits each, by using color interpolation, converting the first YCbCr signal of 10 bits each into an RGB signal of 8 bits each by using interpolation, performing color correction on the RGB signal of 8 bits each and converting a color-corrected RGB signal of 8 bits each into a second YCbCr signal of 8 bits each in a format which complies with the ITU-601 format, encoding the second YCbCr signal of 8 bits each and converting an encoded second YCbr signal of 8 bits each into an analog video signal, and adjusting automatic exposure and automatic white balance, using the RGB signal of 8 bits each and the second YCbCr signal of 8 bits each.
US08350921B2
A video processing system may include a video input and a video output for outputting manipulated video images. The system may have a video processing chain connecting the video input to the video output. The chain may include a series connection of two or more video processing components. The components may each include a component input for receiving video images and a component output for outputting processed video images. A control input may be present for controlling the video processing component to be in an enabled or a disabled state. The video processing component may be arranged to obtain in the enabled state the processed video images by performing a respective processing operation on the received video images; and to obtain in the disabled state the processed video images by forwarding the received video images to the component output without performing the processing operation.
US08350920B2
An image capturing apparatus to capture an image of a subject includes an extracting unit configured to extract a character area image of an area including a character from a captured subject image; a converting unit configured to convert the character area image in accordance with a first predetermined method; a first generating unit configured to generate a hiding image to make the character area image unrecognizable to a user; an encoding unit configured to encode the subject image in which the character area image is overwritten with the generated hiding image in accordance with a second predetermined method; and a second generating unit configured to generate a file including area information specifying the area, converted character area image information obtained through the conversion, and subject image information obtained through the encoding.
US08350914B2
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for calibration of an imaging camera or other image acquisition device. Certain embodiments include characterizing a transformation from a coordinate system of an imager to a coordinate system of a first sensor positioned with respect to the imager using a first off-line calibration. Certain embodiments also include characterizing a transformation from a coordinate system of an imaging camera source to a coordinate system of a second sensor positioned with respect to the imaging camera source using a second off-line calibration. Additionally, certain embodiments include quantifying intrinsic parameters of the imaging camera source based on a transformation from the coordinate system of the imager to the coordinate system of the imaging camera source based on the first and second off-line calibrations and information from the first and second sensors and a transmitter positioned with respect to an object being imaged.
US08350913B2
A calibrating device for calibration of an image measurement system. The calibrating device includes a main body having an upper surface, and a characteristic portion, which serves as a benchmark for calibration and is in the form of a recess formed in the upper surface of the main body, wherein the characteristic portion includes a side surface extending in a direction crossing the upper surface, and a bottom surface extending in a direction crossing the side surface, the bottom surface has an optical reflectance lower than an optical reflectance of the upper surface in relation to light identical to each other. This can provide a calibrating device for calibration of an image measurement system, which can detect the characteristic portion on the calibrating device stably, precisely and independent of the illumination conditions, which is less costly and can be easily handled.
US08350910B2
An optical device for motor vehicles, designed to detect the condition of the road surface, comprises a unit for the emission of electromagnetic radiation in the direction of the road surface to be detected, a receiving unit coupled to an optical element for focusing the radiation back-diffused by the road surface and an electronic control and processing unit for receiving signals at output from said receiving unit and for processing them in order to determine the condition of the road surface, on the basis of a reference map. Appearing in said map are the values of the intensity of radiation Iref back-reflected at a reference wavelength and at least one second wavelength. The map is divided into subareas identified beforehand as corresponding to the different conditions of the road surface.
US08350905B2
A microscope system has a VS image generation means for generating a virtual slide image of a specimen which is constructed by mutually connecting a plurality of microscope images with a first photomagnification photographed and acquired whenever an objective lens and the specimen are relatively moved in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis and which represents the entire image of the specimen, an object-of-interest set means setting an object of interest with respect to the entire image of the specimen represented by the VS image, and a three-dimensional VS image generation means for generating a three-dimensional VS image which is constructed by connecting the microscope images at different focal positions in accordance with the same focal position and which is constructed from the microscope images with a second photomagnification higher than the first photomagnification and represents the image of the object of interest.
US08350903B2
Light reflected by glasses etc. worn by a driver picked up in a facial image of the driver is reduced. With a vehicle-mounted camera (1) equipped with a first LED illuminating device (12) and a second LED illuminating device (13), each illuminating device is lit up alternately in synchronism with times of photographing facial images and facial images of the driver are taken at each lighting time. The vehicle-mounted camera then compares brightness for each pixel positioned at the same relative positions on each photographed facial image and extracts pixels of low brightness. The vehicle-mounted camera then generates new facial images for transmission to an ECU by synthesizing each of the extracted pixels. The ECU on the receiving side then detects inattentive driving etc. by the driver based on the facial images.
US08350888B2
A method and an apparatus for providing an emotion expression service in a mobile communication terminal are provided. The method includes identifying, by the mobile communication terminal performing a video call with a calling terminal, information of emotion expression in images received from the calling terminal, and generating, by the mobile communication terminal, an event corresponding to the identified information of emotion expression.
US08350884B2
An image forming method including: inputting a pulse width modulated signal into a laser beam output section and thereby outputting a laser beam, wherein a pulse width of the pulse width modulated signal is changed based on image data containing density information; scanning the laser beam onto a surface of a photoreceptor through an optical scanning apparatus and thereby outputting an image; detecting a diameter of the laser beam in a sub-scanning direction formed on the surface of the photoreceptor, the diameter of the laser beam inherent to each optical scanning apparatus and changing along an image height in a main scanning direction; and correcting the pulse width in response to the diameter in the sub-scanning direction so that the image output density is uniform with respect to one and the same input density in the image data.
US08350881B2
A printer includes an upper unit which opens and closes about a fulcrum lying at a rear position of a lower unit, and a paper path which is opened by opening the upper unit. A sensor unit is attached to the lower unit and includes a lower sensor holder and an upper sensor holder which are disposed in opposition to each other via the paper path. The paper path can be opened by pivoting the upper sensor holder relative to the lower sensor holder. When the upper unit is closed, the upper sensor holder is also closed in accordance with a closing pivoting motion of the upper unit.
US08350879B2
An imaging device includes a media transport system configured to transport print media along a media path. A first print station is positioned along the media path that is configured to apply ink to a first side of the media. A first fixing assembly is positioned along the media path downstream from the first print station. A second print station is positioned along the media path downstream from the first fixing assembly that is configured to apply ink to a second side of the media. A second fixing assembly is positioned along the media path downstream from the second print station. A heater is positioned along the media path downstream from the second fixing assembly that is configured to heat the media to a gloss reducing temperature.
US08350862B2
Systems and methods that provide for a common device enumeration point to a class of software objects, which represent hardware and can emit 2D bitmaps, via a presentation interface component. Such presentation interface component can further include a factory component that centralizes enumeration and creation for any components that control or communicate with the frame buffer of the graphics display subsystems. Accordingly, a smooth transition can be supplied between full screen and window models, within desktop composition systems, wherein applications can readily support such transitions.
US08350850B2
A collection of photos and a three-dimensional reconstruction of the photos are used to construct and texture a mesh model. In one embodiment, a first digital image of a first view of a real world scene is analyzed to identify lines in the first view. Among the lines, parallel lines are identified. A three-dimensional vanishing direction in a three-dimensional space is determined based on the parallel lines and an orientation of the digital image in the three-dimensional space. A plane is automatically generated by fitting the plane to the vanishing direction. A rendering of a three-dimensional model with the plane is displayed. Three-dimensional points corresponding to features common to the photos may be used to constrain the plane. The photos may be projected onto the model to provide visual feedback when editing the plane. Furthermore, the photos may be used to texture the model.
US08350849B1
Interactive geographic information systems (GIS) and techniques are disclosed that provide users with a greater degree of flexibility, utility, and information. A markup language is provided that facilitates communication between servers and clients of the interactive GIS, which enables a number of GIS features, such as network links (time-based and/or view-dependent dynamic data layers), ground overlays, screen overlays, placemarks, 3D models, and stylized GIS elements, such as geometry, icons, description balloons, polygons, and labels in the viewer by which the user sees the target area. Also, “virtual tours” of user-defined paths in the context of distributed geospatial visualization is enabled. Streaming and interactive visualization of filled polygon data are also enabled thereby allowing buildings and other such features to be provided in 3D. Also, techniques for enabling ambiguous search requests in a GIS are provided.
US08350845B2
A method and system for visually displaying views of current transit conditions are disclosed. A user selects a transit system (e.g., bus, train, ferry) and a rundown of views of the transit system to show in a traffic report. To more easily identify the transit system in the traffic report, graphics representing the buildings and other landmarks in the geographic area of the transit system are displayed in x-ray mode, while the transit system graphics are highlighted using colors. Graphic objects are added to the views to provide additional information regarding the transit system, including information regarding incidents on the transit system.
US08350844B2
Provided are methods, data processing systems and computer program product for monitoring user activity and monitoring the effectiveness of objects within a virtual environment such as an immersive, computer-simulated 3D environment. An embodiment of the invention monitors the attention given to a virtual object by one or more avatars, by associating a viewing region with each object that requires attention monitoring, and detecting when an avatar is within the viewing region of the object simultaneously with the object being within an attention region (typically a clipped field of view) of the avatar. The viewing region is a 3D volume within which a surface of the virtual object is deemed to be effectively viewable.
US08350842B2
Designing of a coping for proper working is made possible. Based on three-dimensional data on a model of an abutment tooth to which a dental prosthesis is applied stored in RAM (Random Access Memory) and on three-dimensional position information about a margin line of the model stored in another RAM, on a face containing a reference axis of the model, three-dimensional position information about a side face of a coping is determined so that a specified angle is formed between a margin line and a surface of the model and three-dimensional position information about the side face of the coping on each of a plurality of different faces containing the reference axis over an entire circumference in a direction surrounding the reference axis is detected by a coping processing section.
US08350840B2
A switching circuit and a DC-DC converter including the same are provided. The switching circuit includes an output terminal, a plurality of input terminals, and a plurality of switches configured to selectively connect the plurality of input terminals to the output terminal. The plurality of switches include a first switch directly connected to the output terminal and a plurality of second switches connecting the plurality of input terminals to the first switch. The first switch is implemented using a high-voltage transistor. Each of the second switches is implemented using a low-voltage transistor. A gate of the high-voltage transistor is at least two times longer than a gate of the low-voltage transistor. The DC-DC converter increases or decreases a signal selected from among a plurality of input signals input through the input terminals by a predetermined voltage level. Most of switches in the switching circuit are implemented using low-voltage transistors, thereby decreasing the area of the switching circuit.
US08350836B2
A liquid crystal display device includes a segment driver, a common driver, and a voltage setting unit. The voltage setting unit derives a voltage at which a previous drive line becomes a focal conic state regardless of image data by applying a synthesized voltage of a voltage that is applied from the segment driver and a voltage that is applied from the common driver to the previous drive line. Then, the voltage setting unit sets the voltages that are applied from the segment driver and the common driver on the basis of the derived result.
US08350831B2
A touch sensitive optical control device comprising a set of light emitters 14, 22 and light detectors 18, 24 arranged relative to a touchable surface 30 such that light transmitted by the emitters is received by the detectors along multiple intersecting beams which pass transversely of the surface and touching the surface at a beam interrupts the light transmitted along the beam. Candidate touch points T1, T2, F1, F2 are defined at the intersections of interrupted beams and are confirmed or not as actual touch points by examining test beams 40, 42, 54, 56 near to or coincident with the candidate touch point.
US08350830B2
A game system as an information processing system includes a game apparatus and a controller, and the controller is attached with an attachment device. The controller images an image including infrared rays output from markers arranged on a monitor through a half mirror integrated in the attachment device. Furthermore, the controller images an image including an infrared ray from a pen input device reflected by the half mirror via a touch panel. In the former, the controller functions as an input device for a direct coordinate input, and in the latter, the controller functions as a pen tablet.
US08350821B2
Pre-stored no-touch or no-hover (no-event) sensor output values can initially be used when a sensor panel subsystem is first booted up to establish an initial baseline of sensor output values unaffected by fingers or other objects touching or hovering over the sensor panel during boot-up. This initial baseline can then be normalized so that each sensor generates the same output value for a given amount of touch or hover, providing a uniform response across the sensor panel and enabling subsequent touch or hover events to be more easily detected. After the initial normalization process is complete, the pre-stored baseline can be discarded in favor of a newly captured no-event baseline that may be more accurate than the pre-stored baseline due to temperature or other variations.
US08350817B2
A display device provided with a touch panel for detecting a contact position on a touch surface of the panel at which a contact object is brought into contact with the touch surface, the touch panel including an in-panel-surface electrode with a plurality of openings formed in a display area.
US08350814B2
A terminal including a first body, a second body connected to the first body, a first display disposed on the first body, a second display disposed on the second body and having a transparency such that information displayed on the first display can be seen though the second display having the transparency when the first and second displays overlap each other, and a controller configured to control a movement of a displayable object between the first and second displays based on a particular condition occurring on the terminal.
US08350811B2
The invention relates to a method for enabling scrolling on a display in a first direction by turning a scroll wheel of a computer mouse without the need to lift a finger from the scroll wheel during scrolling. This is obtained by switching the mode of operation of the scroll wheel from a first mode of operation, mode 1, to a second mode of operation, mode 2, by performing an action, such as holding down a specific key. The program procedure for mode 2 is such that when the scroll wheel is first turned upon switching to mode 2, a first direction of turning is de-fined. Continued turning of the scroll wheel in either the first direction of turning or another direction of turning will cause a scrolling on the display in the first direction.
US08350810B2
A system for controlling a remote vehicle, the system comprising: a hand-held controller having a plurality of buttons; a display including a graphical user interface having soft buttons; and a processor in communication with the hand-held controller and the display. Buttons of the hand-held controller are mapped to soft buttons of the graphical user interface to allow actuation of soft buttons of the graphical user interface, and the hand-held controller is capable of switching between two or more button function modes, wherein each button function mode assigns different functions to one or more of the buttons of the hand-held controller.
US08350806B2
A force/tactile display that presents force/tactile sensation that occurs in response to physical interaction with each of a plurality of objects present in a virtual environment includes an action point defined on the mechanical structure, the action point presenting the force/tactile sensation, an applied force control means for controlling the force exerted on the action point, and an action point control means for controlling the position of the action point.
US08350804B1
A system for controlling a computer by thoughts in the user's brain. The system applies stimuli of the brain via magnetic source imaging (MSI) for controlling the computer. Patterns of brain stimuli are recorded along with the particular thoughts that produced them and these thoughts are interpreted as functions for controlling the computer in much the same way as inputs from a keyboard or mouse. Criteria of acceptance of thought stimuli are generated by the system. Body stimuli, in addition to the brain stimuli, are monitored and used by the system. A user profile is maintained and displayed along with selected pictures for assisting with stimuli/thought pattern utilization. Artificial intelligence is used to enhance stimuli selection, human factors and reliability, as well as analyzing past errors, adverse occurrences and performance. Analyses and summaries are produced by the system for psychiatrists, psychologists, researchers and users to study system enhancement, biofeedback, psychological impact, brain activity, localization and identification of feelings and thought patterns. Stimuli are monitored at brain and body locations. Various functions are applied to animals.
US08350798B2
A liquid crystal display device capable of improving reliability of a backlight unit is disclosed.The liquid crystal display device includes: a backlight dimming modulating unit configured to modulate an internal algorithm backlight dimming control signal using an external input algorithm backlight dimming control signal and to maintain a dimming duty equal to or wider than an allowable dimming range of a backlight unit; arithmetic unit configured to multiply the external input algorithm backlight dimming control signal by the modulated internal algorithm backlight dimming control signal and to output a final backlight dimming control signal; and a data modulating unit configured to modulate image data using the external input algorithm backlight dimming control signal corresponding to the modulated final backlight dimming control signal.
US08350793B2
An image over-driving device is provided. An image detection device detects a size and a moving speed of an object according to an image signal and outputs an over-driving control signal according to the detected size and moving speed. A first image register receives and temporarily stores first image data of the image signal in a first frame period, and receives second image data of the image signal and outputs the first image data as a buffer data in a sequential second frame period. A first over-driving unit includes first and second lookup tables recording different over-driving parameters. The first over-driving unit generates first and second over-driving signals according to the buffer data and the second image data respectively by using the first and second lookup tables. The first multiplexer selects the first or second over-driving signal according to the over-driving control signal to drive a display device.
US08350784B2
In a plasma display panel, abnormal discharge in address periods is suppressed to enhance image display quality. The scan electrode driving circuit generates a first falling down-ramp voltage i.e. down-ramp voltage L2 or down-ramp voltage L4, in initializing periods, generates sustain pulses in sustain periods, generates a rising up-ramp voltage, i.e. erasing up-ramp voltage L3, at the ends of the sustain periods, and applies the voltages to the scan electrodes. After generating the sustain pulses in the sustain periods, the scan electrode driving circuit generates a second down-ramp voltage, i.e. erasing down-ramp voltage L5, which has a portion falling with a gradient gentler than that of down-ramp voltage L2 and down-ramp voltage L4. After generating erasing down-ramp voltage L5, the scan electrode driving circuit generates erasing up-ramp voltage L3 and applies the voltage to the scan electrodes.
US08350777B2
A metamaterial radome/isolator system includes a radiation source for providing a radiation beam through the radome/isolator having a frequency beyond the bandgap region where the metamaterial permittivity and permeability are both positive and the metamaterial medium has a low, matched relative permittivity and relative permeability.
US08350773B1
An antenna element for fabricating into a linear or planar array includes a tapered slot along a main axis of the antenna element body that extends from a first slot end, defined by an outwardly flared opening at a second end of the antenna element, into a second meandering portion that is offset from the main axis, and then into a second slot end having a bend with respect to the main axis, and finally into a slot-line cavity proximate to the first end of the antenna element body. A feed port extends into the antenna element body from the outer surface of the first end of the antenna element body into the second slot end bend adjacent the slot-line cavity.
US08350769B1
A Frequency Agile Electrically Small Tactical AM Broadcast Band Antenna System (NC#098978) comprising a transmitter, antenna, plurality of mast wires and configurable tophat assembly. The transmitter is designed to transmit radio frequency signals. The antenna tuning unit is operatively coupled to the transmitter and designed to tune the apparatus to a desired frequency. The plurality of mast wires operatively is coupled to the antenna tuning unit and designed to receive and output radio frequency signals. The configurable tophat assembly is operatively coupled to the plurality of mast wires. The configurable tophat assembly comprises a tophat disc comprising a conductive material, a plurality of tophat wires comprising a conductor material and a plurality of tophat jumpers designed to help configure said plurality of tophat wires to different lengths by providing electrical open and electrical short states.
US08350761B2
Handheld electronic devices are provided that contain wireless communications circuitry having at least one antenna. The antenna may have a planar ground element and a planar resonating element. The planar ground element may have a rectangular shape that matches a rectangular housing shape for a handheld electronic device. A dielectric-filled slot may be formed in one end of the planar ground element. The planar resonating element may be located above the slot. The antenna may be a hybrid antenna that contains both a slot antenna structure formed from the slot and a planar inverted-F structure formed from the planar resonating element and the planar ground element. The antenna may be fed using a single transmission line or two transmission lines. With two transmission lines, one transmission line may be associated with the slot antenna structure and one transmission line may be associated with the planar inverted-F antenna structure.
US08350754B2
Embodiments of the present invention are low cost, robust, broadband, optimum, high precision methods and apparatus of processing pulsed, transient, non-cooperative, non-reproducible, complex, or simultaneous signals based on correlation measurements utilizing optical RF signal train generators. An embodiment of the inventive apparatus comprises: (a) a signal receiving apparatus which receives one or more signals, and outputs the signals; (b) a replica generation apparatus, which comprises one or more RF signal train generators, accepts signals from the receiving apparatus as inputs, and outputs trains of replica pairs, where relative separations between two members in the replica pairs are same or different; and (c) an integration apparatus which performs Doppler, self, or mutual (cross) correlation operations on the replica pairs at RF or optical level. The apparatus of present invention advance interferoceivers of prior art, and overcome deficiencies of radar receivers, channelized receivers, electronic warfare receivers, spectrum analyzers, sampling oscilloscopes, and many others.
US08350752B2
A radar level gauge system, for determining a filling level of a product contained in a tank, the radar level gauge system comprising: a transceiver for generating, transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals; a propagating device electrically connected to the transceiver and arranged to propagate a transmitted electromagnetic signal towards a surface of the product contained in the tank, and to return echo signals resulting from reflections at impedance transitions encountered by the transmitted electromagnetic signal, including a surface echo signal resulting from reflection at the surface, back to the transceiver; processing circuitry connected to the transceiver and configured to determine the filling level based on the surface echo signal; and a bottom reflector arranged at a bottom of the tank. The bottom reflector comprises a plurality of phase-modifying structures, each being configured to modify a phase of the transmitted electromagnetic signal and to reflect phase-modified electromagnetic signals, wherein the plurality of phase-modifying structures are arranged in such a way that phase-modified electromagnetic signals being reflected by different phase-modifying structures interact to provide destructive interference towards the propagating device.
US08350731B2
A complex-operation input device having an operable knob held in a rotatable and slidable manner includes a rotation sensor that detects rotation of the operable knob on the basis of displacement of a second detected portion, and a slide sensor that detects sliding of the operable knob on the basis of displacement of a first detected portion. The direction in which the second detected portion moves with the sliding of the operable knob is substantially orthogonal to a rotation axis about which the operable knob rotates. The slide sensor is disposed such that, when the operable knob is slid, the slide sensor detects the sliding before the rotation sensor detects the displacement of the second detected portion.
US08350730B2
Methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable media for scanning a keyboard are disclosed. Actuation of each of the keys electrically couples one of a plurality of first lines and one of a plurality of second lines. A first signal is applied to a plurality of first lines. A second signal is applied to a plurality of second lines. Upon identifying at least one of the second lines as presenting a signal different from the second signal, a scan signal is applied to the identified second line. At least one first line is identified as presenting a signal indicating the at least one first line is contact with the identified second line applying the scan signal. At least one of the keys is identified as causing the identified second line and the least one identified first line to be coupled.
US08350723B2
An improved traffic sign is discussed. The traffic sign includes an RFID tag configured to transmit a traffic information to a vehicle-mounted receiver. The traffic information can be associated with a priority. The receiver can be in communication with a vehicle-mounted display, wherein the display displays information selected from received traffic information based on priority, time of receipt, and relevance.
US08350717B2
A fixed network for automatically reading a utility meter system has been developed. The network includes multiple meter interface units (MIUs) that each collect data from a designated utility meter. The collected data is transmitted to a primary data collector. The network includes multiple data collectors and each MIU identifies its own primary data collector based on signal quality between the collector and the MIU. The network includes a central host computer that is used to receive the collected data from the primary data collectors.
US08350716B2
A method for communicating signals between an instrument in a wellbore and a device at the Earth's surface using a wired drill pipe telemetry channel includes allocating signals generated by at least one instrument in the wellbore to a plurality of buffers. Each buffer represents data having a respective communication priority. Signals from each buffer are communicated to the wired drill pipe telemetry channel according to a predetermined priority procedure. The procedure allocates telemetry channel priority related to the communication priority.
US08350714B2
A method and system for generating an alert for a possible collision between objects and a swinging barrier is provided. The method and system provides multiple sensing devices, a control unit, and multiple indicator devices at predetermined areas proximal to the swinging barrier. The sensing devices and the control unit electronically communicate with the indicator devices. The sensing devices are configured to establish sensing zones proximal to the swinging barrier. The sensing devices detect presence of one or more of stationary objects, approaching objects, and receding objects in the established sensing zones. The control unit tracks and differentiates the presence of the stationary objects, approaching movements of the approaching objects, and receding movements of the receding objects in the established sensing zones, and generates an alert signal. The indicator devices selectively indicate a possible collision on receiving the alert signal from the control unit.
US08350709B2
An occupant support 20 augmented with a detection system for assessing the condition of an occupant includes first and second detectors 58, 62 for detecting presence of the occupant, an occupancy detector for determining if the occupant is occupying the occupant support and an analyzer for assessing whether a presence indication from each of the first and second detectors and an occupancy indication from the occupancy detector correspond to a satisfactory condition of the occupant or an unsatisfactory condition of the occupant. A presence detection system for determining the condition of a target comprises a first and second detectors for detecting presence of the target in first and second regions, and an analyzer for assessing whether presence indications established by the presence detectors correspond to a satisfactory condition of the target or an unsatisfactory condition of the target.
US08350704B2
A Non-transferable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) assembly for attachment to an article comprises a RFID module; and a antenna module coupled with the RFID module, the antenna module comprising a conductive layer, a substrate, and an adhesive modification layer between the conductive layer and the substrate, the adhesive modification layer configured such that when the assembly is attached to the article and attempt to remove the assembly will cause the substrate to release and leave the conductive layer intact.
US08350703B2
A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. The RFID tag comprises a flexible substrate and an integrated circuit embedded within the flexible substrate. The top surface of the integrated circuit is coplanar with the flexible substrate. At least one conductive element is formed on the flexible substrate. The conductive element is electrically connected to the integrated circuit. The conductive element serves as an antenna for the RFID tag.
US08350699B2
A metal detection device, system and method are provided. The device includes a receiver that receives a signal pattern representing electromagnetic field disturbances over time caused by movement of metal doors in a detection region. The device further includes a memory in communication with the receiver. The memory stores a recorded signal pattern of a previously received signal pattern and at least one quality criterion. The device further includes a processor in communication with the memory. The processor determines pattern vitals indicating a quality of the received signal pattern. The processor further determines whether the at least one quality criterion is met based at least in part on the pattern vitals. The processor further updates the recorded signal pattern based at least in part on determining whether the at least one quality criterion is met.
US08350696B2
System and method for tracking assets comprises determining if an asset is inside a geofence area, using a first set of asset monitoring parameters to monitor operation of the asset, if the asset is inside the geofence area, and using a second set of asset monitoring parameters to monitor operation of the asset, if the asset is outside the geofence area. The invention further comprises a system and method for providing one or more competitors with an asset tracking device, wherein the asset tracking device allows each competitor's location to be monitored, defining one or more geofence areas on a racetrack, and detecting when the competitors enter a designated geofence area.
US08350692B2
A system and method for controlling one or more remote sensors includes wirelessly communicating with the sensors, monitoring operation of each one of the sensors, and causing any one of the sensors that is operating in an unauthorized manner to be disabled. In one embodiment, the sensors can include micro-mechanical structure supporting electronic circuitry. The electronic circuitry is capable of monitoring at least one performance parameter of the sensor, comparing the monitored parameter to a preset limit, and disabling the sensor if the preset performance limit is exceeded.
US08350680B2
A system for maintaining an electrically operated folding wall comprising: (a) a maintenance detecting means; (b) a time measuring means; (c) a first time alarm means for detecting a preset time for a maintenance reminder; (d) a second time alarm means far detecting a preset time for maintenance; (e) a first maintenance schedule indicator for indicating that maintenance is soon required; f) a second maintenance schedule indicator for indicating that maintenance is required; (g) a preventing means for preventing the electrical operation circuit of the folding operable wall from functioning after the second time alarm detects that the time measuring means has reached the preset time for maintenance; (h) a resetting means for resetting the time measured by the time measuring means after the required maintenance has been performed; and (i) a restarting means for restarting the electrical operation circuit of the folding operable wall after the required service has been performed.
US08350675B2
A system and method for triggering a radio frequency identification, RFID, scan using image recognition includes; storing (300) image attributes of inventoried RFID-tagged items in a database along with information associated with the RFID-tagged items, capturing (302) an image of an item from an imaging device, determining (304) if there is a match between attributes of the captured image compared with the stored image attributes in the database indicating that the item is RFID-tagged, and upon a match determination (304) attempting to read (306) an RFID tag of the item.
US08350662B2
A semiconductor ceramic includes a BamTiO3-based composition, as a main component, having a perovskite structure represented by general formula AmBO3, wherein part of Ba constituting the A site is replaced with Na, Bi, Ca, and a rare-earth element having an ionic radius smaller than that of the Na; the content of the rare-earth element when the total number of moles of the elements constituting the A site is 1 mole is 0.0005 to 0.015 on a molar basis; and the content of the Ca when the total number of moles of the elements constituting the A site is 1 mole is 0.05 to 0.20 (preferably 0.125 or more and 0.175 or less) on a molar basis. A PTC thermistor includes a component body 1 formed of the semiconductor ceramic. Accordingly, high reliability is achieved even if an alkali metal element is present.
US08350657B2
A power management module, provides an inductor including one or more electrical conductors disposed around a ferromagnetic ceramic element including one or more metal oxides having fluctuations in metal-oxide compositional uniformity less than or equal to 1.50 mol % throughout the ceramic element.
US08350652B2
An electromagnetic actuating unit for a hydraulic directional control valve and a method for the assembly thereof. The actuating unit has a coil for generating a magnetic field, a yoke unit with a yoke and a yoke plate, and a pole core unit with a pole core and a housing for conducting a magnetic flux, and an armature unit which is arranged in the magnetic field of the coil and has an armature and a pressure pin as an actuator. The armature unit can be displaced in the direction of the longitudinal axis thereof in a first bearing point in the yoke unit and in a second bearing point in the pole core unit. At least one of the hearing points can be displaced in the radial direction during assembly of the actuating unit and can be fixed after a coaxial orientation of both bearing points.
US08350651B2
An oil immersed solenoid capable of easily and quickly removing air and air bubbles in oil in a space accommodating a movable core and preventing the air and the like from accumulating in the space. In an oil immersed solenoid in which a movable core is accommodated in a space of a tubular second guide so as to be movable in an axial direction of the second guide and the movable core is pulled by a fixed magnetic pole portion provided to be spaced apart from a tip end portion of the second guide, an air accumulation preventing portion is provided between the tip end portion of the second guide and a convex portion of a rear end portion of the fixed magnetic pole portion, and the second guide is made of a magnetic material and the air accumulation preventing portion is made of a non-magnetic material.
US08350646B2
A connection structure of an armature and a pushing mechanism of a relay has an armature and a pushing block. The head of the armature is T-shaped and connected by a vertical arm and a cross arm. One end of the pushing block has a bar-shaped through hole and a bar-shaped blind hole, disposed alongside and vertical to the motion direction of the pushing block. A through groove to connect the bar-shaped trough hole and the blind hole is disposed at the centre of the bar-shaped through hole and the blind hole. With the through groove, the T-shaped armature head can move along the through groove when the T-shaped armature head is shoved into the bar-shaped through hole. The cross arm of the T-shaped armature head is dropped into the bar-shaped blind hole to cooperate with the bar-shaped blind hole to drive the pushing block when the armature swings.
US08350645B2
Disclosed is a high voltage relay having an enhanced air-tight structure, the relay including a molded case formed by molding a synthetic resin having an electric insulating property into a box shape having one open surface, an actuator accommodated in the lower molded case, and an arc extinguishing mechanism allowing insertion of a stationary electrode therein and installed on the actuator for covering the open surface of the molded case, the arc extinguishing mechanism including a gas discharge hole portion blocked when a thermosetting resin coated on the arc extinguishing mechanism for air-tightness is hardened.
US08350641B2
A splitter device includes a first splitter comprising an input leg coupled to a provider content input port, a first output leg, and a second output leg. The provider content input port is configured to receive a downstream-propagating provider bandwidth. The splitter device further includes a first conductive path coupled to the first output leg of the first splitter, and a second conductive path coupled to the second output leg of the first splitter. The splitter device further includes a second splitter having an input leg coupled to a first home network bandwidth, a first output leg coupled to the first conductive path, and a second output leg. The splitter device further includes a third splitter having an input leg coupled to a second home network bandwidth, a first output leg coupled to the second conductive path, and a second output leg. The splitter device further includes a bridge circuit operatively coupled between the first conductive path and the second conductive path. The bridge circuit is configured to propagate a home network bandwidth from the first user port to the second user port and isolate the provider bandwidth from the home network bandwidth.
US08350640B2
A transceiver module for a satellite antenna comprises a base and a cover. The base includes a transducer extending between a first end plate and a second end plate in a first direction, a first filter portion including a number or first grooves extending in the first direction and arranged along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and a waveguide to guide signals toward a third end plate. The cover serves as a second filter portion for the transceiver module and includes a number of second grooves arranged along the second direction. The base includes the transducer, the first filter portion and the waveguide as an integral member.
US08350635B2
A method suppresses high-frequency perturbations in a pulse-width modulated signal. The pulse-width modulation may superpose a carrier signal onto an input signal having a predetermined modulation frequency. The carrier signals may be phase-shifted. The resulting modulated signals may then be filtered and combined.
US08350628B1
A computing device is disclosed comprising digital circuitry including a critical path circuit, and a gate speed regulator. A ring oscillator generates an oscillation frequency, and dither circuitry periodically adjusts a number of inverter elements in the ring oscillator in order to adjust an average propagation delay of the ring oscillator relative to a propagation delay of the critical path circuit. A comparator compares the oscillation frequency to a reference frequency to generate an error signal, and an adjustable circuit, responsive to the error signal, adjusts at least one of a supply voltage and a clocking frequency applied to the digital circuitry.
