47th week of 2013 patent applcation highlights part 36 |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20130308925 | INTERACTIVE TELEVISION PROGRAM GUIDE WITH REMOTE ACCESS - An interactive television program guide with remote access is provided. The interactive television program guide is implemented on interactive television program guide equipment. A remote program guide access device is connected to the interactive television program guide equipment by a remote access link to provide a user with remote access to program guide functions. An interactive television program guide system based on multiple user television equipment devices in a single household is provided. The system provides a user with an opportunity to adjust program guide settings with a given one of the interactive television program guides. Program guide setting include features related to setting program reminders, profiles, program recording features, messaging features, favorites features, parental control features, program guide set up features (e.g., audio and video and language settings), etc. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308926 | RECORDING MEDIUM, REPRODUCING DEVICE FOR PERFORMING TRICK PLAY FOR DATA OF THE RECORDING MEDIUM, AND METHOD THEREOF - Provided is a recording medium reproducing device including a driver configured to load a recording medium storing video data, including a plurality of video frames, and additional information about the plurality of video frames included in a plurality of layers, respectively, when the recording medium is loaded therein; a user interface configured to receive a trick play command; a video processor which processes the video data; and a controller configured to select at least one layer to be decoded from among the plurality of layers based on a trick play speed determined according to the trick play command and the additional information, control the video processor to decode video frames of the selected layer, and performs a trick play corresponding to the trick play speed using the decoded video frames. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308927 | APPARATUS AND METHOD OF SEAMLESS SWITCHING BETWEEN A LIVE DTV DECODING AND A PVR PLAYBACK - Methods and apparatus for switching between a live video decoding and a recorded playback in a digital video and recording system. A received video data stream is transmitted to a first-in first-out video decoder buffer without first looping the video data stream through a playback buffer. The video data stream is transmitted from the video decoder buffer to a video decoder. If a “pause” command is received, the video data stream is transmitted to a first-in first-out playback buffer, while continuing to transmit the video data stream to the video decoder buffer. Transmission of the video data stream to the video decoder buffer is halted when the video decoder buffer fills up. The last byte of the video data stream that was transmitted to the video decoder buffer is marked. If a “play” command is received, the video data stored in the video decoder buffer is transmitted to the video decoder. The video data stored in the playback buffer is transmitted to the video decoder buffer starting at a point immediately after the data element that was marked previously. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308928 | HEATER BLOCK AND A SUBSTRATE TREATMENT APPARATUS - The present invention relates to a heater block and a substrate treatment apparatus, and more particularly to a heater block to perform heat treatment on a substrate and a substrate treatment apparatus having the same. According to embodiments of the present invention, it is provided a heater block for a substrate treatment apparatus having heating lamps on its one side to transfer heat to a target subjected to heat treatment, the heating lamps having different arrangement patterns in a plurality of regions on said one side. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308929 | EQUIPMENT FOR SUBSTRATE SURFACE TREATMENT - A substrate surface treatment equipment includes a chamber, a ultraviolet ray lamp, an infrared heating element, a blackbody radiation plate and a vacuum extractor. The equipment can do the substrate surface treatment. The substrate surface treatment equipment can wash or modify the substrate surface. Therefore, after the washing and modifying of the substrate surface, the substrate surface can include a better adhesion when processing a thin film deposition or a colloid suspension coating. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308930 | ELECTRIC HEATING DEVICE - An electric heating device includes a main tube which includes multiple heating areas. Each heating area has a hating bar received therein to provide thermal energy to the liquid passing through the heating areas and to increase the temperature of the liquid. A control unit has multiple control members and each control member is electrically connected to and controls one of the heating bars. Each of the control members has a heat dissipating tube connected thereto. The multiple heating areas are cooperated respective heating bars to increase the contact areas between the liquid and the heating bars to quickly increase the temperature of the liquid. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308931 | INTERCHANGEABLE LENS, CAMERA, AND CAMERA SYSTEM - An interchangeable lens detachable from a camera includes a variator lens configured to change a focal length by moving in an optical axis direction, a focus lens configured to change a focusing state of an object image by moving in the optical axis direction, a diaphragm configured to adjust an amount of light, an acquisition unit configured to acquire an amount of change in image magnification corresponding to information about a position of the variator lens, a position of the focus lens, and an aperture value of the diaphragm, and a lens control unit configured to transmit the amount of change in image magnification to the camera. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308932 | LENS BARREL AND CAMERA SYSTEM CAPABLE OF CORRECTING TRACKING DATA AND CAMERA SYSTEM - A lens barrel includes a moving lens unit that moves in accordance with a zooming operation, a focus lens that moves to correct an image plane variation caused by a movement of the moving lens unit, a driver that moves the focus lens, a controller that controls the driver, a zoom state detector that detects a zoom state, a focus lens detector that detects a position of the focus lens, a storage portion that stores tracking data indicating the position of the focus lens to correct the image plane variation, and a data correction portion that measures a real position of the focus lens in an in-focus state in a plurality of zoom states for each zooming operation in directions from wide angle to telephoto sides and from the telephoto to wide angle sides to generate correction data and correct the tracking data based on the correction data. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308933 | LENS APPARATUS AND IMAGE PICKUP SYSTEM - A lens apparatus detachable from an image pickup apparatus includes a focus lens, a driver configured to drive the focus lens, a first position detector configured to detect a position of the focus lens, and a controller configured to correct the position of the focus lens detected by the first position detector to a position of the focus lens in a predetermined optical characteristic, to transmit a corrected position of the focus lens to the image pickup apparatus, to correct driving information of the focus lens in the predetermined characteristic received from the image pickup apparatus to driving information of the focus lens in a current optical characteristic, and to instruct the driver to drive the focus lens in accordance with the position of the focus lens detected by the first position detector and corrected driving information of the focus lens. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308934 | INTERCHANGEABLE LENS, INTERCHANGEABLE LENS CONTROL METHOD, CAMERA AND CAMERA CONTROL METHOD - The interchangeable lens detachably attachable to a camera includes a lens communicator configured to perform communication with the camera, a motor to move or actuate a driven member included in the interchangeable lens, and a lens controller. The lens controller is configured to perform, in response to receipt, from the camera through the communication, of a drive instruction to drive the motor and a driving power supply instruction to supply a driving electric power to the motor, supply of the driving electric power to the motor. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308935 | IMAGE-PICKUP APPARATUS - An image-pickup apparatus includes a lead screw, a moving member, an image-pickup element, a mirror member that is capable of rotating between a first state and a second state, an urging member, and a first abutment member configured to abut against the mirror member when the mirror member is in the first state. An engagement portion parallel to a rotational axis of the mirror member is protruded from the mirror member. The engagement portion is held by both ends of the urging member when the mirror member rotates between the first state and the second state. A first end of the urging member elastically deforms so as to be apart from the engagement portion when the mirror member abuts against the first abutment member. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308936 | Method of Monitoring an Optoelectronic Transceiver with Multiple Flag Values for a Respective Operating Condition - An optoelectronic transceiver includes an optoelectronic transmitter, an optoelectronic receiver, memory, and an interface. The memory is configured to store digital values representative of operating conditions of the optoelectronic transceiver. The interface is configured to receive from a host a request for data associated with a particular memory address, and respond to the host with a specific digital value of the digital values. The specific digital value is associated with the particular memory address received from the host. The optoelectronic transceiver may further include comparison logic configured to compare the digital values with limit values to generate flag values, wherein the flag values are stored as digital values in the memory. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308937 | WDM PON WITH NON TUNABLE LEGACY ONUS - In one embodiment, a media access controller includes first and second optical line terminals with a receiver for adjacent first and second wavelength ranges, respectively, and an optical network unit with a transmitter having a transmitter wavelength which drifts between the first and the second wavelength range. The media access controller is configured to assign the optical network unit to the first and the second optical line terminals, such that an optical burst transmitted by the optical network unit is received by the first optical line terminal and the second optical line terminal. The media access controller is configured to determine first and second qualities of the optical burst received by the first and second optical line terminals, respectively, and to determine an estimate of the transmitter wavelength based on the first quality and the second quality. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308938 | OPTICAL COMPONENT, OPTICAL FIBER AMPLIFIER USING THE SAME, AND LASER DEVICE USING THE SAME - An optical component includes: a glass capillary; an optical fiber for light to be measured which is inserted into the through-hole of the glass capillary; at least one optical fiber for leak light which is inserted into the through-hole of the glass capillary; and an output optical fiber having one end connected to one end of the optical fiber for light to be measured, wherein light emitted from the output optical fiber enters into the optical fiber for light to be measured from the one end side thereof, and a part of light that has been emitted from the output optical fiber that does not enter into the optical fiber for light to be measured, that is, leak light enters into the optical fiber for leak light from the one end side thereof. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308939 | Infrared Communication System and Method - A communication system and method utilizing an infrared signal emitter communicating a predefined signal, and an infrared signal receiver capable of receiving such predefined signal, distinguishing such predefined signal within a field of view of the infrared signal receiver, and providing output indicating the location of the infrared signal emitter within the field of view of the infrared signal receiver. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308940 | MULTIPLE INTERFERER CANCELLATION FOR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS - An interference cancellation system (ICS) may be used with a communication system to prevent or minimize interference from one or more sources. The ICS may receive radio RF signals comprised of one or more signals of interest (SOI) and multiple interfering signals. The ICS may use a sample of the interfering signals to cancel the interfering signals from the SOI. The multiple interfering signals may be converted into a single optical signal for cancellation. One or more optical cancellation paths may be used for interference cancellation. Each optical cancellation path may include an optical attenuator and/or an optical delay to achieve phase shifts and/or delays for interference cancellation. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308941 | Energy Efficient Ethernet Network Capability and Feature Exchange in Optical Network Links - In interfaces such as optical physical layer devices that do not support auto-negotiation, configuration of an energy efficiency Ethernet operation can be enabled through higher-layer protocol messaging that advertises energy efficiency capabilities and features between link partners. The higher-layer protocol messaging occurs after optical communication is established. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308942 | OPTICAL MEMORY SYSTEM INCLUDING AN OPTICALLY CONNECTED MEMORY MODULE AND COMPUTING SYSTEM INCLUDING THE SAME - An optical memory system according to example embodiments includes a plurality of memory modules, each memory module including a plurality of memory devices; a light source; a light distribution unit connected to the light source through a first optical transmission line; a plurality of second optical transmission lines connected between the light distribution unit and the plurality of memory modules; a plurality of electrical to optical converters, each connected to at least one of the second optical transmission lines; and a plurality of output optical transmission lines connected to the plurality of electrical to optical converters, each output optical transmission line for outputting an electrical to optical converted signal. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308943 | OPTICAL TRANSPORT NETWORK CLOCK TRANSIENT SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS AND METHODS - An Optical Transport Network (OTN) method, an OTN switching node method, and an OTN node utilize a “double wrapper” configuration to eliminate clock transients in OTN networks. That is, the systems and methods bury an ODU beneath another overclocked ODU thereby eliminating any interruptions due to clock transients, framing events or other disruptions. For example, an ODU2 can be mapped into an ODU2e, an ODU3 can be mapped into an ODU3e2, an ODU4 can be mapped into an ODUG or some other overclocked variant of ODU4, and the like. Specifically, ODU2e, ODU3e2, ODUG, etc. are overclocked variants of ODU2, ODU3, ODU4, etc. The systems and methods propose to use these overclocked signals to carry standard ODU signals to eliminate clock transient problems. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308944 | BUTTERFLY OPTICAL NETWORK WITH CROSSING-FREE SWITCHES - In a multi-chip module (MCM), optical waveguides in a first plane convey modulated optical signals among integrated circuits (which are sometimes referred to as ‘chips’). Moreover, an optical-butterfly switch, optically coupled to the optical waveguides, dynamically allocates communication bandwidth among the integrated circuits. This optical-butterfly switch includes optical components in the first plane and a second plane, and optical couplers that couple the modulated optical signals to and from the first plane and the second plane. In this way, the MCM communicates the modulated optical signals among the integrated circuits without optical-waveguide crossings in a given plane. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308945 | OSPFTE EXTENSION TO SUPPORT GMPLS FOR FLEXIBLE GRID - A method and system are disclosed in which a link state advertisement message (LSA) conforming to a Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) routing protocol is generated and transmitted. The LSA is associated with a TE Link between a transmit node and a receive node in a network. The transmit node supplies a plurality of optical signals, each of which has a plurality of frequencies, the frequencies being allocated among a plurality of spectral portions such that the plurality of spectral portions are grouped into a plurality of frequency slots. The LSA may include information indicative of a number of spectral portions, e.g., spectral slices, which correspond to frequencies of selected ones of the plurality of optical signals, said selected ones of the plurality of optical signals being available to carry data from the transmit node to the receive node. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308946 | Optical Switching Architectures for Nodes in WDM Mesh and Ring Networks - Switching architectures for WDM mesh and ring network nodes are presented. In mesh networks, the switching architectures have multiple levels—a network level having wavelength routers for add, drop and pass-through functions, an intermediate level having device units which handle add and drop signals, and a local level having port units for receiving signals dropped from the network and transmitting signals to be added to the network. The intermediate level device units are selected and arranged for performance and cost considerations. The multilevel architecture also permits the design of reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers for ring network nodes, the easy expansion of ring networks into mesh networks, and the accommodation of protection mechanisms in ring networks. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308947 | METHOD OF OPTICAL DATA TRANSMISSION USING POLARIZATION DIVISION MULTIPLEXING - Proposed is a method of optical data transmission. A first data signal and a second data signal are received at a same sampling rate. A third data signal and a fourth data signal are generated, using the first and the second data signal, wherein the two data signals are delayed to each other by a delay time that is varied over time. The phase of a first optical signal is modulated in dependence on the third data signal, and the phase of a second optical signal with a same wavelength is modulated in dependence on the fourth data signal. The first optical signal is transmitted in a first polarization plane into an optical fibre, and the second optical signal is transmitted in a second polarization plane orthogonal to the first polarization plane into the optical fibre. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308948 | EXTENDING CONTROL PLANE FUNCTIONS TO THE ENTWORK EDGE IN AN OPTICAL TRANSPORT NETWORK - A method of extending the control plane to a network edge for a network having first set of nodes of the network are designated as core nodes, each core node being operable to route subscriber traffic between a pair of neighbour core nodes and a second set of control-plane enabled nodes of the network designated as tail nodes, each tail node connected to a core node and operating only as a source or sink of subscriber traffic. Each core node that is connected to at least one tail node is designated as a host node. The host node is controlled to advertise summary information of its connected tail nodes to other core and tail nodes in the network, thus making it possible to extend control plane function to the tail nodes which can calculate connection routes, set-up/tear-down connections and perform connection failure recovery functions. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308949 | OPTICAL ORTHOGONAL FREQUENCY DIVISION MULTIPLE MULTIPLEXING RECEIVER AND OPTICAL SIGNAL RECEIVING METHOD THEREOF - Provided is an optical OFDM receiver. The optical OFDM receiver receives an optical signal dependent on the nonlinearity of a transmitter. The optical OFDM receives includes an optical down converter, a nonlinearity compensator, and an OFDM demodulator. The optical down converter converts the optical signal into an electrical signal. The nonlinearity compensator filters the electrical signal, for compensating distortion which is added to the optical signal when the transmitter performs optical modulation. The OFDM demodulator demodulates the distortion-compensated electrical signal in an OFDM scheme. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308950 | OPTICAL PASS-BAND FILTERING METHOD AND DEVICE AND A DEVICE FOR INSERTING/EXTRACTING A FREQUENCY MULTIPLEXED OPTICAL SUB-BAND INTO/FROM AN OPTICAL SIGNAL - An optical pass-band filtering device comprises a duplicator able to provide duplicates of an optical signal to at least a first and a second output port; a first optical filtering unit connected to the first output port of the duplicator, said unit having a transfer function that decreases between a first pass wavelength and a first cut-off wavelength; a second optical filtering unit, connected to the second output port of the duplicator, said unit having a transfer function that increases between a second cut-off pass wavelength, the second cut-off wavelength being higher than the first; and coupler connected to the first and second optical filtering units that combine the optical signals filtered by said optical filtering units to obtain a filtered optical signal in which the optical band located between the first and second cut-off wavelengths is removed. A related device node using is also provided. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308951 | Wavelength Tunable Array For Data Communications - Systems and apparatus for data communications comprising a plurality of wavelength tunable submodules in an array is provided. Each submodule has a wavelength tunable laser, and each submodule comprises, as an individual unit, a self-contained wavelength locker having optical and/or optoelectronic functions. The system may be a transponder array comprising a plurality of WDM or DWDM modules. In some embodiments, the individual submodules may comprise photonic integrated wavelength tunable lasers with other optical, electrical and optoelectronic components. Each wavelength tunable submodule incorporated into the module or array can have the same or different optical wavelength and other parameters including but not limited to modulation format. By utilizing the wavelength tunable laser submodules to build a module or array, the need for individual modules dedicated to wavelength sub-bands in the array is eliminated. The same tunable module can be used to fill all the wavelengths on a transmission fiber. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308952 | Small Form Factor, Pluggable, Analog Optical Transmitter and Host Module - A method includes hosting a plurality of transmitter modules with a host module, where the host module includes common circuitry shared by the plurality of pluggable transmitter modules. An apparatus includes a host module; and a plurality of transmitter modules coupled to the host module, where the host module includes common circuitry shared by the plurality of pluggable transmitter modules. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308953 | Universal Host Module for a Pluggable Optical Transmitter - A method includes tuning a host module to a reference module standard; and adjusting each of a plurality of pluggable optical modules coupled to the host module to mimic the reference module standard for a set of load conditions. An apparatus includes a host module tuned to a reference module standard; and a plurality of pluggable optical modules coupled to the host module, wherein each of the plurality of pluggable optical modules mimics the reference standard for a specific set of load conditions. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308954 | METHOD AND APPARATUS WITH ERROR CORRECTION FOR DIMMABLE VISIBLE LIGHT COMMUNICATION - An apparatus and method using error correcting for visible light communication are provided. The error correction includes generating an encoded message from an original message by using a predetermined coding method, puncturing the encoded message based on a determined dimming value or rate, and/or puncturing rate, generating a scrambled message by scrambling the punctured message, and providing the scrambled message to a visible light source. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308955 | Coding Scheme And Method For A Colour-Shift-Keying Constellation In A Visible-Light Communication System - A coding scheme for a colour-shift-keying constellation in a visible-light communication system is provided, whereby a minimum number of flipped bits between symbols assigned to neighbouring symbol points in the constellation is aimed. Improved assignments of symbol values to symbol points of the constellation may be provided, which may be capable of reducing a total Hamming distance between all symbol points in the constellation, thereby leading to a reduction of a bit-error ratio. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308956 | QUANTUM BASED INFORMATION TRANSFER SYSTEM AND METHOD - A method and system for transferring data comprising :
| 2013-11-21 |
20130308957 | OPTICAL MICROPHONE - An optical microphone includes: an acousto-optic medium section having a pair of principal surfaces and at least one lateral surface provided therebetween; a restraint section which is in contact with the at least one lateral surface for preventing a shape change of the acousto-optic medium section; and a light emitting section for emitting a light wave so as to propagate through the acousto-optic medium section between the pair of principal surfaces. The pair of principal surfaces are in contact with an environmental fluid through which an acoustic wave to be detected is propagating and are capable of freely vibrating, and an optical path length variation of a light wave propagating through the acousto-optic medium section, which is caused by the acoustic wave that comes into the acousto-optic medium section from at least one of the pair of principal surfaces and propagates through the acousto-optic medium section, is detected. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308958 | Method and System for Implementing Time Synchronization - The present disclosure discloses a method and a communication system for time synchronization. The system includes at least one base station, an optical line terminal OLT, and a fiber for transmitting information between the base station and the OLT. The system further includes a clock synchronization server, configured to transmit synchronization data between the clock synchronization server and the at least one base station, so that time synchronization is implemented between the at least one base station and the clock synchronization server. According to the solutions provided by the present disclosure, the system apparatus is simple, and the cost low. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308959 | Directly Modulated Laser for PON Applications - In an embodiment, a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser includes a gain section and a passive section. The gain section includes an active region, an upper separate confinement heterostructure (SCH), and a lower SCH. The upper SCH is above the active region and has a thickness of at least 60 nanometers (nm). The lower SCH is below the active region and has a thickness of at least 60 nm. The passive section is coupled to the gain section, the passive section having a DBR in optical communication with the active region. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308960 | DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING APPARATUS - A parameter of an adaptive filter is optimized so that inter-symbol interference having an amount corresponding to an inserted fixed filter remains. A digital signal processing apparatus which is included in an optical signal receiver and processes a digital signal converted from an optical signal is provided with: a linear adaptive filter which applies a dynamically controllable linear transfer function to the digital signal; a maximum likelihood sequence decoder which applies a transfer function of a transmission-path model to a plurality of signal sequence candidates to generate a plurality of reference signals, and decodes a reception signal using maximum likelihood sequence estimation which evaluates the differences between an output signal of the linear adaptive filter and the reference signals to estimate the most likely transmission time sequence; a signal regenerator which generates a signal corresponding to decoded data from the maximum likelihood sequence decoder; a feedback distortion adding filter which adds distortion that is equivalent to the transmission-path model used in the maximum likelihood sequence decoder to an output signal of the signal regenerator; and an adaptive equalization filter control block which updates a tap coefficient of the linear adaptive filter in accordance with an LMS algorithm using the difference between a target signal that is an output signal of the feedback distortion adding filter and the digital signal as an error signal. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308961 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING DEVELOPING UNIT THEREOF - An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes a developing unit which contains a mixture of toner and carrier, a toner sensor which is disposed in the developing unit, and a controller which determines a control voltage for the toner sensor using change information on a change in a quantity of electric charge which changes according to a time during which the image forming apparatus is used or paused, and drives the toner sensor using the determined control voltage and compensates for an output value of the toner sensor. Accordingly, toner can be prevented from being supplied excessively. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308962 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING DRIVE CONDITION OF BELT - A control apparatus executes feedback control on an endless belt driven in a condition having a periodic disturbance to compensate an influence of the periodic disturbance. Detecting that a disturbance other than the periodic disturbance is added to the belt during the feedback control, the control apparatus obtains phase angles of the periodic disturbance on the timing when the other disturbance is added. Then, the based on the phase angles of the periodic disturbance thus obtained, the control apparatus obtains interpolation coefficients that respectively interpolate values of feedforward inputs in the case when the other disturbance is added at the time when the phase angles of the periodic disturbance stored in a memory are a plurality of typical angles, and adds values obtained by adding values obtained by multiplying the interpolation coefficients respectively by the feedforward inputs to a control value of feedback control as a correction value. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308963 | SHEET PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A sheet processing apparatus, by which a failure in control does not occur even if cutting wastes are conveyed by a conveying unit and an image forming apparatus having the sheet processing apparatus are provided. The sheet processing apparatus has a cutter unit for cutting a sheet, a dust box for accommodating the cutting wastes, a conveying belt pair which conveys the cut sheet, sensors for detecting the sheet conveyed by the conveying belt pair, and a controller for controlling conveyance of the sheet based on the signals detected by the sensors, wherein when the length of the sheet detected by the sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the controller does not determine the sheet as a sheet. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308964 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes: a rotatable photosensitive member; an exposure unit for exposing a surface of the photosensitive member to light; and a detecting portion for detecting a lifetime of the photosensitive member on the basis of first information on a thickness of a charge transporting layer of the photosensitive member and second information on an amount of the light received by the charge transporting layer of the photosensitive member. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308965 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable member which is provided on and rotatable about a rotation shaft in a detachably mountable developing unit containing a developer and has flexibility so that it is flexed depending on a resistance of the developer; an electroconductive member to be detected which is provided on the rotatable member; a detecting electrode provided in a neighborhood of an outer wall surface of a bottom of the developing unit; a converting portion for detecting an electrostatic capacity between the member to be detected and the detecting electrode and for converting the electrostatic capacity into an electric signal; a measuring portion for measuring a time duration in which the electric signal converted by the converting portion exceeds a predetermined threshold; and a discriminating portion for discriminating an amount of the developer on the basis of the time duration measured by the measuring portion. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308966 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD - An image forming apparatus includes a charging device configured to uniformly charge a surface of a photoconductive element; an image writing device configured to write an image in the charged photoconductive element by light to form an electrostatic latent image; a developing device configured to visualize the formed electrostatic latent image as a toner image; a transfer device configured to transfer the toner image to a sheet recording medium; a fixing device configured to fix the transferred toner image onto the medium; and a surface information detecting device configured to detect surface information of a fixing member of the fixing device. The surface information detecting device radiates optical spots on a surface of the fixing member in a direction crossing a conveying direction, receives reflected light of each optical spot, and detects the surface information of the fixing device based on the detection results of the reflective lights. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308967 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes first and second developer carrying members and a control device. The apparatus is operable in a first mode where an image of a single color is formed using the first developer carrying member and is operable in a second mode, wherein an image of a plurality of colors is formed using the first and second developer carrying members. The control device controls a first discharging operation for discharging developer from the first developer carrying member and a second discharging operation for discharging developer from each of the first and second developer carrying members. When the apparatus executes only the first mode, the control device performs more image formations, in a period between completion of the second discharging operation and start of the first discharging operation, compared to a period between completion of the first discharging operation and start of a subsequent first discharging operation. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308968 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a transfer bias output device and an information receiving device. The transfer bias output device outputs a transfer bias including a superimposed bias composed of an AC bias superimposed on a DC bias to form a transfer electric field in a transfer nip between an image bearing member bearing a toner image and a nip forming member, to transfer the toner image onto a recording medium in the transfer nip. A controller operatively connected to the information receiving device and the transfer bias output device causes the transfer bias output device to change a target output of a peak-to-peak voltage of the AC bias based on information received by the information receiving device that affects transfer of the toner image and to reduce a target output of the DC bias as the target output value of the peak-to-peak voltage of the AC bias increases. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308969 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes photosensitive drums, charging devices, an exposure unit configured to expose surfaces of photosensitive drums to generate a non-image portion potential and expose the surfaces to generate an image portion potential, developing members configured to make a developer adhere to an area where the image portion potential is generated to form a developer image on the photosensitive drums, a control unit configured to control an intensity of the charging voltage, and an acquisition unit configured to acquire thicknesses of photosensitive layers of the respective plurality of photosensitive drums, wherein the control unit is configured to set the intensity of a charging voltage applied to the common charging devices according to a maximum thickness among the thicknesses acquired by the acquisition unit, and individually control the output of the first laser power for the photosensitive drum according to surface potentials of the charged photosensitive drums. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308970 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet includes an image bearing drum; a charging member for charging the drum by applying of a voltage while contacting to the drum; an AC voltage generating unit for generating and applying an AC voltage to the charging member; a state detector for detecting a state of the apparatus; a discharge current detector for detecting a discharge current between the charging member and the drum; a discharge current control unit for controlling the AC voltage generating unit on the basis of a result of detection of the discharge current detector; a discriminating unit for discriminating whether to calibrate the discharge current detector before formation of the image, in accordance with a result of detection of the state detector. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308971 | DEVELOPER ACCOMMODATING UNIT, DEVELOPING DEVICE, PROCESS CARTRIDGE AND ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A developer accommodating unit includes: a developer accommodating member, provided with an opening for permitting discharge of a developer, for accommodating the developer; a sealing member including a connecting portion for being connected to the developer accommodating member so as to seal the opening; and an unsealing member for exposing the opening by moving the sealing member to peel the connecting portion from the developer accommodating member. The connecting portion includes a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion with respect to a longitudinal direction thereof. When the connecting portion is peeled from the developer accommodating member, the unsealing member is flexed so that the first connecting portion is peeled earlier than the second connecting portion. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308972 | DEVELOPER ACCOMMODATING UNIT, PROCESS CARTRIDGE AND ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A developer accommodating unit includes: a container, provided with an opening for permitting discharge of a developer, for accommodating the developer; a sealing member for sealing the opening by being mounted on the container and for being peeled from the container to expose the opening; and an unsealing member for unsealing the opening by moving the sealing member to peel the sealing member from the container. The sealing member includes a sealing portion defined in an end side thereof to seal the opening, a holding portion defined in another end side thereof to be held by the unsealing member, and a developer passing portion formed between the sealing portion and the holding portion to permit passing of the developer therethrough. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308973 | DEVELOPER ACCOMMODATING UNIT, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - With respect to an unsealing direction in which exposure of a discharging portion | 2013-11-21 |
20130308974 | Image Forming Apparatus Having Mechanism for Placing Fixing Unit in Nip Relaxed State - An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a door to cover an opening in a chassis, a fixing unit, a frame, a linear motion member to linearly move along with the door, a guiding member to guide the linear motion member to move linearly, a coupler assembly to couple the door with the linear motion member and move the linear motion member, and a manipulation member being movable according to movement of the linear motion member. The linear motion member includes a contact portion, with which the manipulation member comes in contact along an intersecting direction. The guiding member includes a slider plane to slidably support the linear motion member. The linear motion member is slidably supported by the slider plane of the guiding member at a surface which is on an opposite side from the surface having the contact portion. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308975 | Laser Printer Toner Cartridge Seal and Method - A reassembled laser printer toner cartridge and method of manufacture including a cartridge seal assembly in which the remains of an OEM laser printer toner cartridge's toner hopper pull seal strip(s) is left in position, or a substitute conductive strip is put in the same position to simulate the OEM pull seal strip(s) if the OEM strips have been damaged or are missing in order to enable a repaired or remanufactured cartridge to cooperate with the printer in detecting measuring and displaying the amount of toner consumed from the cartridge and shut the printer down, once the toner cartridge is empty, and a toner cartridge hopper foam seal strip assembly that covers the remnants of the OEM seal strips and provides a seal to prevent leakage of toner from the re-filled toner cartridge. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308976 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes: an accommodating portion; a feeding portion for feeding recording materials from an end side of the accommodating portion; and a cartridge supporting member provided above the accommodating portion. The cartridge supporting member is movable, in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the feeding portion, to a mounting and demounting portion where cartridges are detachably mountable outside a main assembly of the image forming apparatus and to an image forming position where the cartridges are capable of forming the image inside the main assembly. At image forming position, such a side of the cartridge supporting member as opposes another end side of the accommodating portion with respect to the vertical direction is lower with respect to the vertical direction than such a side of the cartridge supporting member as opposes the end side of the accommodating portion. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308977 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS PROVIDED WITH STATIC ELIMINATOR - An image forming apparatus includes a housing with an inner space, a photosensitive drum, a drum unit, a rail member, and a static eliminator. The photosensitive drum includes a rotating shaft, and a circumferential surface to be drivingly rotated around the rotating shaft for carrying an image thereon. The drum unit is inserted in the inner space of the housing along an axis direction of the rotating shaft in a state that the photosensitive drum is integrally supported to be mounted in the inner space. The rail member extends along the axis direction in the inner space for guiding the drum unit in the axis direction when the drum unit is mounted. The static eliminator is fixed to the rail member, and disposed to face the photosensitive drum in the drum unit mounted in the inner space for irradiating the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum with static eliminating light. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308978 | PROCESS CARTRIDGE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus. The process cartridge includes a photosensitive member unit including an electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a developing unit including a developing roller for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive member, the developing unit being movable between a contact position in which the developing roller is contacted to the photosensitive member and a separated position in which the developing roller is separated from the photosensitive member. The process cartridge also includes a drive transmitting portion for transmitting a driving force for driving the developing roller at one longitudinal end side of the developing unit. The drive transmitting portion provides to the developing unit a force for moving the developing unit in a direction from the separated position toward the contact position by receiving the driving force. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308979 | DEVELOPER ACCOMMODATING CONTAINER, DEVELOPER ACCOMMODATING UNIT, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A developer bag | 2013-11-21 |
20130308980 | DEVELOPER CONTAINER AND IMAGE FORMING DEVICE - A developer container includes a casing having a developer accommodating chamber and a waste-developer accommodating chamber, conveying member, a conveying-member accommodating unit, and a supporting member. The conveying member conveys waste developer in a longitudinal direction of the waste-developer accommodating chamber. The conveying-member accommodating unit accommodates the conveying member therein and has a first opening and a second opening. The first opening is provided in an upstream end portion and allows the waste developer to move from outside of the conveying-member accommodating unit to the inside of the conveying-member accommodating unit. The second opening allows the waste-developer to move from the inside of the conveying-member accommodating unit to the waste-developer accommodating chamber. The supporting member is provided on the casing. The supporting member supports the conveying-member accommodating unit such that the conveying-member accommodating unit is movable in directions perpendicular to the longitudinal direction relative to the casing. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308981 | SUPPORTING MECHANISM AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - Disclosed is a supporting mechanism including a bearing support portion that supports a bearing and is open so that the bearing is removed in a first direction that crosses a rotating shaft that is supported by the bearing, a driving shaft coupling that transmits a driving force to the rotating shaft by being connected to a rotating shaft coupling that is provided at one end of the rotating shaft, and a contact member that includes a bearing contact portion that makes contact with the bearing. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308982 | CHARGE ROLLERS AND APPARATUS INCLUDING CHARGE ROLLERS - Printers, methods, and apparatus to form an image on a substrate are disclosed. An example disclosed charge roller includes a dielectric outer layer ( | 2013-11-21 |
20130308983 | MOVING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING THE MOVING DEVICE - A moving device includes a rotary member rotatably supported by a frame of the image forming apparatus to move a latent image forming device between a first position at which the latent image forming device forms a latent image on a latent image bearing member and a second position at which the latent image forming device is separated from the latent image bearing member, a biasing member for biasing the rotary member, and a restriction member for restricting rotation of the rotary member in a state in which the latent image forming device is at the first position. A direction of the force of the biasing member is changed from a stopping direction in which rotation of the rotary member is stopped to a direction opposite the stopping direction while the rotary member is rotated to move the latent image forming device from the second position to the first position. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308984 | PRINTING SYSTEMS UTILIZING INKS WITH HIGH SOLIDS CONTENT - A printing system utilizing inks with high solids content includes a mixing unit for receiving a high solids content ink and producing a concentrated ink and an interim tank for receiving the concentrated ink from the mixing unit. An ink tank receives the concentrated ink from the interim tank and produces printing ink. An liquid electro-photographic print engine receives the printing ink from the ink tank. A fluid return line is connected between the mixing unit and at least one of the interim tank and the ink tank, the mixing unit receiving fluid from at least one of the interim tank and the ink tank and mixing the fluid with the high solids content ink. A method for liquid electro photographic printing using high solid content ink is also provided. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308985 | DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY SUPPLYING TONER TO TONER CARTRIDGE - The device for automatically supplying a toner to a toner cartridge of the present invention includes: a toner storage container for storing toners to be refilled; an outer container for containing the toner storage container; a toner supplying unit for supplying the toner stored in the toner storage container to the toner cartridge; and a toner supply hose for sending the toner to the toner cartridge, wherein the toner supplying means consists of: a balloon, which expands and contracts when air is supplied to or discharged from the inside, so that the toner at the bottom is pushed in towards the cartridge or the toner at the top moves to supplement the bottom; an air pump for supplying air to the balloon; an air pipe for connecting the balloon and the air pump; a control valve; and a controller for operating the control valve, enabling the present invention to print stably by preventing toner shortage. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308986 | TONER CONTAINER - A toner container includes a toner container body having a toner chamber for housing a toner inside, a toner discharge port provided at one end of the toner container body, a cover portion having front edge and rear edge. The toner container also includes a projection provided near the discharge port and at one end of a top surface of the cover portion in a longitudinal direction, wherein a height of a surface of the projection facing the rear edge is declined towards the rear edge. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308987 | WIRE-WRAPPED GROOVED ROLLERS FOR CLEANING ACTION USING BRUSH-LIKE SYSTEM - An apparatus for developing in a development zone a latent image recorded on a surface, including a housing defining a chamber storing at least a supply of toner therein; a donor member disposed at least partially in the chamber of the housing and spaced from the surface, the donor member being adapted to rotate about a longitudinal axis to transport toner to the development zone in a region opposed from the surface; and a wire assembly module mounted in the development zone and extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis, the wire assembly module including a wire and a drive/cleaning system for translating and cleaning portions of the wire in the development zone, and a power supply for electrically biasing the wire to form a toner powder cloud in the development zone for developing the latent image. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308988 | DEVELOPING DEVICE, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A developing device includes a developing chamber, a developer containing chamber located on the lower side of the developing chamber, a partition wall configured to separate the developing chamber and the developer containing chamber, an opening configured to allow the developing chamber and the developer containing chamber to communicate with each other, disposed on the partition wall, a developer conveyance member configured to convey developer from the developer containing chamber to the developing chamber by causing the developer to pass through the opening, disposed on the developer containing chamber. In the developing device, a convex portion which protrudes to the developing chamber side is disposed on the partition wall. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308989 | IMAGE RECORDING APPARATUS - An image recording apparatus includes a toner transporting member that transports a toner layer while carrying the toner layer on a first surface of the toner transporting member, the toner transporting member including the first surface and a second surface; a heating unit including heating elements that contact the second surface that is opposite to the first surface of the toner transporting member, and that generate heat in accordance with image information, the first surface contacting a recording medium and carrying the toner layer; and a transferring unit that selectively transfers toner at an image portion to the recording medium as a result of causing each heating element of the heating unit to generate the heat with a temperature of the heating elements at the image portion and a temperature of the heating elements at a non-image portion being different from each other. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308990 | FIXING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCORPORATING SAME - A fixing device includes an endless belt formed into a loop and rotatable in a given direction of rotation. An opposed rotary body contacts the endless belt to form a fixing nip therebetween through which a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed. A heater is disposed in proximity to an irradiation span spanning on an inner circumferential surface of the endless belt in a circumferential direction thereof to emit light that irradiates and heats the irradiation span of the endless belt. A shield is interposed between the heater and the irradiation span of the endless belt in a diametrical direction thereof to shield the irradiation span of the endless belt from heated air surrounding the heater. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308991 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD - An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, a glossiness imparting unit that imparts glossiness to the image formed on the recording medium, and a glossiness reducing unit that reduces the glossiness of at least a part of the image to which the glossiness has been imparted by the glossiness imparting unit. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308992 | IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM - An image forming apparatus transfers a negative toner image on a waste sheet of paper having larger size than that of a printing sheet of paper and transfers all the toner images on the printing sheet of paper. A first thermal transferring portion transfers an unnecessary foil of a foil sheet on the negative toner image of the waste sheet of paper image. A second thermal transferring portion transfers a foil remained on the foil sheet on the positive toner image of the printing sheet of paper. The positive toner image is formed using transparent toner. Any gradation processing is performed on an edge of the positive toner image. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308993 | LIP BALM WITH SPHERICAL SURFACE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING - A lip balm applicator product comprises upper and lower portions that are connectable together to define the applicator product being of a substantially spherical shape. A support platform is located in the lower portion and accommodates a quantity of lip balm having an arcuate surface. A lip balm comprises a composition of waxes and oils in solid form and formed to have an arcuate surface. The composition is formed to have the arcuate surface using a hot pour process. A method of manufacturing a lip balm comprises providing a receptacle having a concave arcuate surface. A lip balm material in a heated, liquefied phase is poured into the receptacle. Once poured, the heated, liquefied phase is allowed to solidify such that a surface of the solidified lip balm material has an arcuate configuration that corresponds to the concave arcuate surface of the receptacle. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308994 | LIQUID DISPENSING ORAL CARE IMPLEMENT WITH LOW PROFILE PUMP - A fluid dispensing oral care implement having a low profile pump includes a head, a reservoir for storing an oral care fluid, at least one liquid outlet in the head, and a pump. The pump includes a flexible membrane movable between alternating pump intake and discharge motions. The pump includes inlet and outlet flap valves, which may be formed integrally from portions of the membrane. In one embodiment, the valves are integrally formed in the membrane as flexible cantilevered tabs movable between open and closed positions. In some embodiments, the pump may be mounted in the toothbrush head or forms the head. In some embodiments, the pump may be disposed in a neck or a handle portion of the toothbrush. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308995 | BALL JOINT DEVICE - A ball joint device ( | 2013-11-21 |
20130308996 | Tool Holder, Tool, and Work Station With Tool Holder and Tool Attached Thereto - The clamping system for attaching a tool to a tool holder offers highly precise self-adjustment of the tool in the tool holder, which remains in effect even at the high tool temperatures encountered during operation. For this purpose, the tool comprises a central clamping bolt, a positioning pin, and a groove, whereas the tool holder comprises a draw bolt, a T-slot, and a register pin. The draw bolt draws the clamping bolt by way of slanted surfaces against the tool holder with force components acting in three directions. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308997 | CROSS BLADE FLEXURE PIVOT AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF - The present invention relates to a device that can be used as, inter alia, a cross blade flexure pivot, with the cross blade flexure pivot comprising a monolithic structure. The present invention also relates to a method for preparing a monolithic cross blade flexure pivot using injection molding. Also provided is a mold for use in this injection molding method. The present invention also relates to a method for preparing a monolithic cross blade flexure pivot using selective laser sintering, as well as to the three-dimensional digital descriptions used in this method. The present invention also relates to a method of providing non-frictional rotational support to a mechanical component. The present invention also relates to systems that include the cross blade flexure pivot device. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308998 | SHUTTER REPAIR SYSTEM - A system is provided for joining two discrete devices together, such as a louver panel and a tilt rod, where the system comprises a first and second component, each comprising a link connected to a resilient sheet, with each component being independently adhered to one of the two discrete devices for joining the two devices in engaged but moveable relationship. | 2013-11-21 |
20130308999 | PANEL CLAMP APPARATUS AND SYSTEM - The current invention comprises a mechanical clamp system to join two or more panel or other structural elements together at different angels for the purpose of constructing furniture, product displays, art, play equipment, and other desirable structural elements. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309000 | HYBRID LASER ARC WELDING PROCESS AND APPARATUS - A welding method and apparatus that simultaneously utilize laser beams and arc welding techniques. The welding apparatus generates a first laser beam that is projected onto a joint region between at least two workpieces to produce a first laser beam projection on adjacent surfaces of the workpieces and to cause the first laser beam projection to travel along the joint region and penetrate the joint region. The apparatus also generates an electric arc to produce an arc projection that encompasses the first laser beam projection and travels therewith along the joint region to form a molten weld pool. In addition, the apparatus generates a pair of lateral laser beams that produce lateral laser beams projections that are encompassed by the arc projection and are spaced laterally apart from the joint region to interact with portions of the weld pool that solidify to define weld toes of the weld joint. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309001 | Joint Body of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composite Material - There is provided a joint body including: a reinforcing member having at least one random layer in which a chopped carbon fiber is randomly oriented in a thermoplastic resin, and at least one unidirectional material layer in which a continuous carbon fiber is unidirectionally arranged in a thermoplastic resin; and a reinforced member with an open sectional shape having at least one selected from the group consisting of a random layer and a unidirectional material layer, | 2013-11-21 |
20130309002 | MOUNTING ARRANGEMENTS - In an arrangement for transmitting power or data through a solid rigid substrate without penetrating the substrate, acoustic transducer components are mounted on the substrate by means of strain isolator elements which are welded or otherwise bonded to the substrate and providing an attachment surface to which the attachment interface of the acoustic transducer may be attached. The strain isolator element is of the same or similar acoustic impedance as the rigid substrate and may indeed be formed of the same material. Various geometries of strain isolator are disclosed, including one comprising a stalk attached to the solid rigid substrate and topped by a disc in a ‘mushroom’ configuration. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309003 | WELD METAL WITH EXCELLENT CREEP CHARACTERISTICS - This weld metal has excellent creep characteristics and has a given chemical composition. In the weld metal, the value A defined by equation (1) is 200 or greater, and carbide particles each having an equivalent-circle diameter of 0.40 μm or more have an average equivalent-circle diameter less than 0.85 μm. In the segments that connect the centers of three or more carbide particles which are present on a 6-μm straight line and which each has an equivalent-circle diameter of 0.40 μm or more, the sum of the lengths of the portions where the segments intersect the carbide particles is 25% or more of the overall length of the segments. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309004 | MOUNTING DEVICE FOR CONNECTOR - A mounting device for securing a connector includes a mounting plate and a mounting member. The mounting plate defines an installation slot and a receiving hole. The mounting member includes a protrusion and two legs. Each of the two legs is elastically deformable. The mounting member is slidably received in the installation slot, and the protrusion is engaged in the receiving hole, to prevent the mounting member from moving along a first direction, which is substantially parallel to the mounting plate. The two legs are located on two opposite sides of the mounting plate, to prevent the mounting member from moving along a second direction, which is substantially perpendicular to the mounting plate. The two legs are configured for securing an installation piece of the connector to the mounting plate. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309005 | ELECTRICAL ENCLOSURE - The present invention relates to an assembly suitable for use in forming an electrical enclosure comprising at least one joining bracket having a set of first connectors disposed along at least one edge thereof; and at least one structural component having at least one set of second connectors affixed thereto, the first connectors being complementary to the second connectors, such that the at least one joining bracket and the at least one structural component become automatically secured together when the first and second connectors are brought into engagement. The connectors may be male and female connectors. The engagement may be releasable. The invention is not limited to electrical boxes but may be used to form assemblies and enclosures for other purposes, such as storage, toys and so on. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309006 | SELF-COUPLING TRACK CLAMP FOR SECURING A LINEAR MOTION GUIDE TRACK TO A SUPPORT BASE WITHOUT THE USE OF FASTENERS, AND METHODS FOR IMPLEMENTING SAME - A track clamp for coupling linear motion guide tracks with standard linear motion support bases without the use of fasteners comprises a clamp body having a plug portion and an outwardly-opening guide track-receiving channel, the plug portion having outwardly-extending deformable protrusions on its outer surfaces that, upon insertion of the plug portion into a selected slot of a support base, deform upon engagement with the slot thereby securing the plug portion in the slot, the track-receiving channel holding a linear motion guide track. In one embodiment upwardly-extending clamp arms formed in the plug portion by the guide track receiving channel deflect inwardly upon insertion of the plug portion into the selected slot thereby clamping the guide track in the channel. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309007 | DEVICE FOR CLAMPING A PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD MODULE IN A MOUNTING GROOVE - A device for retaining a printed circuit board module in a mounting groove of a cold plate, the device comprising an elongated housing made of metal, which has a cross-section in the shape of a horizontal U. A pressure piece made of metal is mounted in the housing so as to be displaceable transversely relative to the rotational axis of the housing and comprises a flat clamping surface on the front side. A rotary cylinder can be rotatably mounted in the housing so as to be transversely displaceable relative to the rotational axis. During a rotation, eccentric guide elements can be used to effect a forward displacement of the rotary cylinder. The pressure piece follows the displacement of the rotary cylinder and slides outward. The waste heat of the printed circuit board module is transported via the housing and the pressure piece to the cold plate. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309008 | GROUND COVER MATS WITH CROSS BEAM STRAPS - Reinforced ground cover mats are used to facilitate the passage of heavy equipment and vehicles on wet or disturbed ground. The ground cover mats are comprised of boards contained within a peripheral metal frame. A plurality of cross beam straps are disposed in transverse groove cut into the planar surfaces of the mat boards, and the ends are tucked within the frame members and lap welded. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309009 | Ground Working Machine, As Well As Method For Milling Soils Or Traffic Areas - In a ground working machine ( | 2013-11-21 |
20130309010 | TRANSPORTER FOR RIDE-ON POWER TROWEL - A vehicle for transporting a ride-on trowel includes: a vehicle frame defining a bay sized and shaped to receive the ride-on trowel, including a lower frame surrounding the bay on three sides, a U-shaped rear frame, and an L-shaped upper frame connected at the lower frame and the rear frame; wherein the lower frame is configured to closely match the shape of an outer frame of the ride-on trowel, so that the ride-on trowel will not swing or sway in the bay when supported from the vehicle frame; wheels mounted to the lower frame; guides extending downward from the lower frame, the guides being located to limit motion of the ride-on trowel in both left-right and fore-aft directions with respect to the vehicle frame while being lifted or lowered; means for driving at least one of the wheels; and means for supporting the ride-on trowel from the vehicle frame. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309011 | ABSORBENT BAG FOR BUILDING TEMPORARY BARRIERS - A bag for creating temporary water barriers. The bag may include an outer casing and a liquid absorbing polymer within the casing. To use the bag, the bag may be soaked in water and the liquid absorbing polymer may absorb the water. The bags may then expand and may be stacked to create the barrier. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309012 | SELF-ANCHORING TURF REINFORCEMENT MAT AND REUSABLE SEDIMENT FILTRATION MAT - A three dimensional high strength tightly woven turf reinforcement mat (TRM) or reusable sediment filtration mat designed to trap soil particles in water flow and provide a shear plane to prevent soil wash-out from within and beneath the mat. The mat includes a corrugated body structure integrally extruded or interwoven with a bottom layer that together form a plurality of parabolic sediment entrapment chambers. As sediment bed load moves with water flow into the woven structure, water flow forces sediment through openings in the woven surface of the corrugated body structure and into the chambers where the captured sediment serves as ballast to self-anchor the mat. The mat may also be incorporated during manufacture and/or during/after installation with polyacrylamides, chitosans or other soil flocculating/aggregating chemicals for increased sediment aggregation and capturing. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309013 | REINFORCEMENT SYSTEM FOR INCREASED LATERAL STABILITY OF FLOOD WALL - Reinforcement system for concrete panel wall, such as I-type flood wall, includes high tensile strength textile attached to wall by adhesive and reinforced by mechanical fasteners. Most preferred embodiment comprises a strip of fiber reinforced plastic spanning multiple panels, with the grain of the textile material extending horizontally. Alternative embodiment includes vertical FRP with bias-grain textile. Fasteners are preferably ductile fiber anchors. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309014 | Method and apparatus for removing seaweed from a beach - A method for removing seaweed from a beach. A first step involves providing a primary vessel with a seaweed collection area and a vacuum source. A second step involves anchoring the primary vessel offshore. A third step involves connecting one end of a vacuum hose to the vacuum source and extending a remote end of the vacuum hose to the beach. A fourth step involves controlling the positioning of the remote end of the vacuum hose along the beach with a secondary vessel that is small in relation to the primary vessel. A fifth step involves activating the vacuum and feeding seaweed into the remote end of the vacuum hose. The seaweed is drawn by the vacuum source through the vacuum hose to the seaweed collection area on the primary vessel. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309015 | PIPELAYING - An accessory for a subsea pipeline such as an in-line tee having a rigid pipe support frame defining a pipe course and at least one carriage arranged to support a pipe or a fitting attached to a pipe. The carriage is movable with respect to the frame in a direction generally parallel to the pipe course. The carriage is attached to the frame via at least one angularly movable connection that allows a pipe or fitting supported by the carriage to tilt locally with respect to the frame as the pipe bends during laying. Pipe stiffness is therefore independent from the stiffness of the accessory. The stiffened section of the pipe is limited to a short length of the carriage. This is compatible with the small bending radius of the pipe on a stinger. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309016 | QUICK DISCONNECT SYSTEM - A technique is presented for simultaneously releasing a plurality of control lines, and in particular to facilitate an oilfield operation with respect to a subsea wellbore. A hose reel or a plurality of hose reels may be mounted on a skid which, in turn, may be positioned on a vessel that works in cooperation with an offshore platform. Each hose reel is designed to engage a hose bundle via a release mechanism which releasably couples a plurality of control lines carried by the hose bundle. The release mechanism comprises a primary release and a secondary release to selectively enable disconnection of the control lines and release of the hose bundle from the skid. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309017 | Method and System of Retriever Systems for Marine Geophysical Survey Sensor Streamers - Retriever systems for marine geophysical survey sensor streamers. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods including attaching a retriever system to a sensor streamer by: wrapping a lifting bag assembly at least partially around the sensor streamer, the lifting bag assembly comprising a deflated lifting bag, a gas cylinder, and a depth trigger mechanism; and covering the lifting bag assembly with an outer cover. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309018 | ABANDONMENT AND RECOVERY SYSTEM - A method of abandoning a pipeline being laid by a pipelaying vessel, wherein said pipeline is being held by a lay tower comprising a pipelaying and tensioning arrangement, comprising at least the steps of: (a) linking the end of the pipeline ( | 2013-11-21 |
20130309019 | Method and apparatus for a modular underwater weighting system - A modular expandable weighting system for recreational and professional underwater divers that permits a user to selectively attach one or more individual weight units to each other to achieve a desired amount of weight to regulate the user's overall buoyancy while under water. When used with a weight belt, the weights when attached create channels through which a weight belt may be disposed. If two or less weights are attached, end caps may be attached to create the channels to allow the system to be attached to the weight belt. When used without a weight belt, such as on a buoyancy compensator device with multiple weight pockets, the weight system allows for the placement of exact amounts of weights to achieve the desired amount of overall buoyancy as well as to maintain the desired degree of horizontal trim. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309020 | METHOD OF INSTALLING A BUOY AND APPARATUS FOR TENSIONING A BUOY TO AN ANCHORING LOCATION - A method of installing a production buoy at a subsea anchoring location is disclosed. The method includes floating a production buoy over a subsea anchoring location. Then, hanging at least a tether off the production buoy such that the or each tether extends from the production buoy towards the subsea anchoring location occurs. The method includes submerging the production buoy to a depth which allows connection of the or each tether to the subsea anchoring location. An apparatus suitable for use with this method is also provided. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309021 | APPARATUS, METHODS, AND SYSTEMS FOR PROTECTING A DOCK PILING - A piling protector includes an abrasion resistant surface disposed along an outer surface of the piling protector, a plurality of channels defined in an inner surface of the piling protector, the plurality of channels facilitating flexibility of the piling protector, and first and second appendages extending from first and second lateral sides of the piling protector. The first and second appendages are configured for attachment to a piling. Portions of the interior surface of the piling protector defined between channels of the piling protector are curved to correspond to a curved outer surface of a generally cylindrical piling. The piling protector is configured for engagement with both a curved outer surface of a generally cylindrical pylon and a flat surface. | 2013-11-21 |
20130309022 | FOUNDATION SYSTEM FOR CHARGING POLES - A device for mounting of a charging pole ( | 2013-11-21 |
20130309023 | DEPRESSION-PROVIDED STEEL PIPE AND COMPOSITE PILE - This depression-provided steel pipe has plural depressions on an outer peripheral surface, the depressions being formed so as to form a line along an axial direction of the steel pipe, in which each of the depressed portions has, inside thereof, a columnar groove portion extending along the axial direction of the steel pipe and depressed deeper than a bottom surface of these depressed portions; 0.95≦H | 2013-11-21 |
20130309024 | SUPPORT PLATFORM FOR AN OIL FIELD PUMPING UNIT USING HELICAL PILES - A support platform for an oil field pumping unit includes a frame supporting the oil field pumping unit, vertical helical piles, and diagonal helical piles. The vertical helical piles are driven into the ground beneath the frame to support the frame and oil field pumping unit. Each diagonal helical pile has an upper end secured to the frame and a lower portion extending diagonally downward from the frame with a helical blade threaded into the ground to restrain horizontal forces exerted by the oil field pumping unit. | 2013-11-21 |