Patents Represented by Attorney Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
  • Patent number: 8345199
    Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal display device of high image quality, which has high brightness and excellent viewing angle characteristics. A liquid crystal display device of the present invention includes a pair of polarizing plates, a first electrode, a second electrode provided so as to oppose the first electrode, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. Each of a plurality of pixels includes a first region and a second region which are separated by a line parallel to or perpendicular to the directions of the transmission axes of the pair of polarizing plates. The first electrode includes, in each of the first region and the second region, a plurality of first branch portions extending in a first direction and a plurality of second branch portions extending in a second direction that is different from the first direction. Each of the plurality of first branch portions in the first region has a first width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshito Hashimoto, Hiroyuki Ohgami, Masakazu Shibasaki, Masumi Kubo, Yuichi Iyama, Masayuki Soga
  • Patent number: 8345326
    Abstract: A bill processing machine according to the present invention includes an element array portion and a light guiding member. The element array portion is arranged so as to face one side of a conveyance path of a bill, and includes a light receiving element group, a light emitting element and an other side light receiving element. The light receiving element group includes a plurality of light receiving elements, and an arrangement direction of the light receiving elements is perpendicular to a conveyance direction of a bill. The light emitting element is arranged on one side of the arrangement direction of the light receiving elements. The other side light receiving element is arranged on an other side of the arrangement direction of the light receiving elements. The light guiding member is arranged opposite to the element array portion with respect to the conveyance path so that the light guiding member and the element array portion sandwiches the conveyance path therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Laurel Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Noriaki Kitagaki, Akio Funato
  • Patent number: 8342273
    Abstract: Over rotation limitation control is performed to control an engine rotation speed so that a rotation speed of a pinion gear of a planetary gear set will not exceed a limit value, when a travel mode is changed to a limp-home travel mode in response to an abnormality in an inverter for a first motor generator. With this over rotation limitation control, a difference between rotation speeds of a ring gear coupled to a wheel side and a carrier coupled to an engine side. Thus, when the limp-home travel mode is performed due to the abnormality in the inverter for the first motor generator, a secondary failure, in which the pinion gear burns out and the planetary gear set fails, is prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignees: Denso Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shigenori Takahashi
  • Patent number: 8345201
    Abstract: An alignment film material according to the present invention includes: a precursor of a first polyimide (p1); a second polyimide (p2) and a precursor thereof; and a vinyl-type monomer. The vinyl-type monomer is represented by general formula (1) P1-A1-(Z1-A2)n-P2 (in general formula (1), P1 and P2 are, independently, acrylate, methacrylate, acrylamide or methacrylamide; A1 and A2 represent, independently, 1,4-phenylene, 1,4-cyclohexane or 2,5-thiophene, or naphthalene-2,6-diyl or anthracene-2,7-diyl; at least one of A1 and A2 is substituted by at least one fluorine group; and Z1 is a —COO— group, a —OCO— group, a —O— group, a —CONH— group or a single bond, where n is 0 or 1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masanobu Mizusaki, Yohei Nakanishi
  • Patent number: 8343833
    Abstract: A semiconductor device including a plurality of units having identical structures, each unit includes: a drain electrode; a drift layer that includes a low concentration layer on the drain electrode and a reference concentration layer on the low concentration layer, a gate electrode on the reference concentration layer; a pair of source regions that are provided on an upper surface of the reference concentration layer and in the vicinity of both ends of the gate electrode; a pair of base regions that surround outer surfaces of the source regions; a source electrode electrically connected to the source regions and the base regions; and a pair of depletion-layer extension regions that are respectively provided under the base regions in the reference concentration region. Boundaries between the depletion-layer extension regions and the low concentration layer are positioned lower than a boundary between the reference concentration layer and the low concentration layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Shindengen Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Nobuki Miyakoshi
  • Patent number: 8347131
    Abstract: A novel personal electronic device includes a processor having first (embedded) and second (non-embedded) cores including associated operating systems and functions. In one aspect, the first core performs relatively limited functions, while the second core performs relatively broader functions under control of the first core. Often the second core requires more power than the first core and is selectively operated by the first core to minimize overall power consumption. Protocols for functions to be performed by the second core may be provided directly to the second core and processed by the second core. In another aspect, a display controller is designed to interface with both cores. In another aspect, the operating systems work with one another. In another aspect, the first core employs a thermal control program. Advantages of the invention include a broad array of functions performed by relatively small personal electronics device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: ARM Limited
    Inventors: Bryan T. Cupps, Timothy J. Glass
  • Patent number: 8347067
    Abstract: A data processing apparatus is provided with pre-decoding circuitry 10 serving to generate pre-decoded instructions which are stored within an instruction cache 20. The pre-decoded instructions from the instruction cache 20 are read by decoding circuitry 45, 50, 46 and used to form control signals for controlling processing operations corresponding to the pre-decoded instructions. The program instructions originally fetched can belong to respective ones of a plurality of instruction sets. Instructions from one instruction set are pre-decoded by the pre-decoding circuitry 10 into pre-decoded instructions having a shared format to represent shared functionality with corresponding instructions taken from another of the instruction sets. In this way, a shared portion of the decoding circuitry can generate control signals with respect to the shared functionality of instructions from both of these different instruction sets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: ARM Limited
    Inventors: Peter Richard Greenhalgh, Andrew Christopher Rose, Simon John Craske
  • Patent number: 8342181
    Abstract: An elbow assembly for a mask system includes an elbow including a slot and a port, an anti-asphyxia valve adapted to be received within the slot and including a flap portion adapted to selectively close the port depending on the presence of pressurized gas, and a clip member to secure the anti-asphyxia valve to the elbow. The clip member includes a slot that is adapted to interlock with a protrusion provided to the anti-asphyxia valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: ResMed Limited
    Inventors: Karthikeyan Selvarajan, Christopher Scott Skipper, Joshua Adam Gudiksen, Steven John Lubke, Alison Oldenburg, Murray William Lee
  • Patent number: 8343329
    Abstract: The present invention provides an electrode for hydrogen generation of which the hydrogen overvoltage is sufficiently low and which is not affected by poisoning due to iron ions, and furthermore, of which the durability is superior because during operations and stop-and-start control, the hydrogen overvoltage does not rise and exfoliation of the supported material does not occur. The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing the aforementioned hydrogen generation electrode and an electrolysis method using the electrode for hydrogen generation as a cathode. An electrode for hydrogen generation is used in which a platinum alloy including platinum and one metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, copper, silver, and iron, or an amorphous material of a transition metal element and platinum is supported on a conductive base material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Tosoh Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshinori Shirakura, Akinori Shimono
  • Patent number: 8345197
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device includes: a vertical alignment liquid crystal layer; first and second substrates facing each other with the liquid crystal layer interposed; first and second electrodes arranged on the first and second substrates to face the liquid crystal layer; and at least one alignment film in contact with the liquid crystal layer. A pixel region includes a first liquid crystal domain in which liquid crystal molecules are tilted in a first direction around the center of a plane, and approximately at the middle of the thickness, of the liquid crystal layer responsive to a voltage applied. The first liquid crystal domain is close to at least a part of an edge of the first electrode. The part includes a first edge portion in which an azimuthal direction, perpendicular to the part and pointing toward the inside of the first electrode, defines an angle greater than 90 degrees to the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akihiro Shoraku, Toshihide Tsubata, Koichi Miyachi, Iichiro Inoue, Akihiro Yamamoto, Yoshito Hashimoto, Masumi Kubo, Akihito Jinda
  • Patent number: 8342849
    Abstract: A game machine has an LCD, a cross key, and a memory. The memory stores a plurality of words and a plurality of translations each corresponding to the plurality of words. A computer of the game machine displays at least one of the plurality of words on the LCD, and updatedly displays on the LCD a word which is being displayed on the LCD by being changed to another word in response to an operation of a certain push portion of a cross key. The translation of the word which is thus being displayed on the LCD is updatedly displayed in place of the word during a period from accepting an operation of another push portion of the cross key to cancelling the operation, and when the operation is cancelled, the word which was displayed on the LCD before the operation is displayed in place of the translation which is being displayed on the LCD.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinya Takahashi, Toshiaki Suzuki
  • Patent number: 8346832
    Abstract: A circuit for generating a random output value is disclosed that comprises: a bistable circuit having two stable states in which a 0 or a 1 is output and having a balanced metastable state in which a floating value between 0 and 1 is output, said bistable circuit resolving from said metastable state to one of said stable states on being switched on, said state depending on a voltage level at a port on said bistable circuit; a voltage level control circuit for controlling a voltage level at said port on said bistable circuit; a time measuring circuit for measuring a switching time taken for said bistable circuit to switch from said metastable state to one of said stable states following switch on; and control logic for controlling said time measuring circuit, said voltage level control circuit and a switching off and on of said bistable circuit, said control logic being adapted to perform a following sequence: control said voltage level control circuit to set a predetermined voltage level at said port on said
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Trevor Nigel Mudge, David Theodore Blaauw, Carlos Alfonso Tokunaga
  • Patent number: 8344053
    Abstract: Domain segregation of polymer blends or block copolymers in the presence of thermal conducting high aspect ratio nanocrystals leads to preferential placement of conductive filler either inside one domain, which promote the self-assembly of a thermal and/or electrical conducting pathway composed of high aspect ratio filler. The self-assembly of such thermal and/or electrical conducting pathway effectively enhances the thermal and/or electrical conductivity of the composite with significantly less amount of filler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Pixelligent Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Wei Xu, Jun Xu, Zehra Serpil Gonen-Williams, Gregory D. Cooper
  • Patent number: 8344152
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for producing a pyridylethylthio compound which is improved in yield of the pyridylethylthio compound. In a process for producing a pyridylethylthio compound by reacting vinyl pyridine with a sulfur-containing compound, vinyl pyridine used contains a compound represented by the general formula (1): (wherein R1 and R2 are any of combination of isopropenyl group and a hydrogen atom, combination of 1-propenyl group and a hydrogen atom, combination of 2-propenyl group and a hydrogen atom, and combination of methyl group and vinyl group), in an amount of not more than 4% by weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
    Inventors: Hideto Hayashi, Koichi Hayashi
  • Patent number: 8342437
    Abstract: A deflaker plate for use in a deflaker for reducing fibrous flakes in a slurry of fibers. The deflaker plate may include at least one annular ring consisting of multiple teeth, in which at least one tooth has a leading face, a trailing face, and an impact-generating side-face. The impact-generating side-face may be adapted to generate an impact force during operation, such that the force corresponds to a first vector radially pushing the slurry towards a center of the deflaker and a second vector tangentially pushing the slurry towards the leading face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Andritz Inc.
    Inventor: Peter Antensteiner
  • Patent number: 8341940
    Abstract: In an addition-amount controller for an exhaust gas purifying agent to be used for an exhaust emission control system, a catalyst has properties of storing NH3 and further decreasing the critical reaction temperature as an amount of NH3 storage at the catalyst is increased. In the addition-amount controller, a present NH3 storage amount that is a storage amount of NH3 of the catalyst is detected at a detection time, the NH3 storage amount of the catalyst is changed by controlling an addition amount by an addition valve, and the NH3 storage amount of the catalyst is controlled to a target NH3 storage amount based on the detected present NH3 storage amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignees: Denso Corporation, Nippon Soken, Inc.
    Inventors: Ataru Ichikawa, Shigeki Daido
  • Patent number: 8346552
    Abstract: A game apparatus includes a CPU, and the CPU evaluates a pronunciation of a user with respect to an original sentence (ES). First, envelops as to a volume of a voice of the original sentence (ES) and a volume of a voice of the user are taken, and the average values of the volumes are made uniform. When the volumes are made uniform to each other, a degree of similarity (scoreA) of distributions of local solutions when the volumes are equal to or more than the average values, a degree of similarity (scoreB) of distributions (timing of concaves/convexes of the waveform) of values of the high or low level indicating whether or not the volume is equal to or more than a value multiplying the average value by a predetermined value, and a degree of similarity (scoreC) of dispersion values (dispersion of concaves/convexes of the waveform) of the envelopes are evaluated by utilizing the respective envelopes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomokazu Abe
  • Patent number: 8342441
    Abstract: A VTOL vehicle includes a forward rotor, an aft rotor and a fuselage, the forward and aft rotor lying in a longitudinal axis of the vehicle, with the fuselage located axially between the forward and aft rotors. The vehicle has an in-flight configuration wherein the forward rotor is tilted downwardly at a negative tilt angle relative to the fuselage and the aft rotor is tilted upwardly at a positive tilt angle relative to the fuselage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Urban Aeronautics Ltd.
    Inventor: Raphael Yoeli
  • Patent number: 8346406
    Abstract: A first microcomputer in an ECU outputs a CID of the ECU in response to a request from a scan tool when the ECU has multiple microcomputers implemented therein. Each of the multiple microcomputers has an additive value stored therein for counting an update of the software. The additive values from the multiple microcomputers are added as a sum total of the ECU that is further added to a CID base value. The sum total of the ECU added to the CID base value is then output as the CID of the ECU from the first microcomputer to the scan tool. Therefore, information stored in the first microcomputer is not necessarily changed for outputting an updated CID (e.g., software product number information) from the ECU.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Mikio Teramura, Kokichi Shimizu, Motohiro Yasue
  • Patent number: D673669
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: ResMed Limited
    Inventors: Rupert Christian Scheiner, Stuart Plascott