Abstract: A capacitance-to-digital converter for an extended range of capacitances includes a reference capacitor and one or more offset capacitors. Electrical charge accumulated in the offset capacitors is used to at least partially cancel the charge accumulated in a sensed capacitance to facilitate matching with a charge accumulated in the reference capacitor. The residual charge is passed to an integrator, the output from which is quantized and used to control switching of the capacitors. Immunity to tonal external noises and improved conversion speed are achieved by controlling the capacitor switching with a spread spectrum clock. The capacitance-to-digital converter may be used, for example, for sensing of the capacitances of capacitive elements in touch and proximity displays or other user interfaces.

Abstract: In a method for producing a control signal for regulating a drive current for driving an LED, a current through the LED is sensed, wherein the LED is driven by a power converter output, and wherein an output voltage of the power converter is proportionately controlled by a control signal. Next, a power supply voltage is sensed. The control signal is produced for the power converter, wherein the control signal is proportional to a difference between a reference voltage and the current through the LED. The control signal is then offset in response to the power supply voltage to reduce the current through the LED as the power supply voltage drops.

Abstract: A user of a conversational biometrics based voice mail system sets a user profile of the user that defines one or more biometric parameters of received voice mail intended for the user. A conversational biometrics device analyzes the voice mail in accordance with the one or more biometric parameters of the user profile set by the user and generates a biometric analysis result of the voice mail. The conversational biometrics device assigns a priority for delivery of the voice mail compared with a plurality of voice mails received by the conversational biometrics based voice mail system in accordance with the biometric analysis result and places the voice mail in a sequence in a delivery queue determined by the assigned priority. The delivery queue of the conversational biometrics based voice mail system delivers the voice mail to the user in the sequence determined by the assigned priority.

Abstract: Configuration of an ultrasonic inspection system is facilitated using an ultrasound response predicted by a simulation tool. In one embodiment, estimated material properties of an object to be inspected are input to the simulation tool. Also input to the simulation tool is at least one estimated property of an ultrasonic transducer of the ultrasonic inspection. The simulation tool predicts the response of the object to ultrasound from the ultrasonic transducer. This response is dependent upon the estimated material properties of the object to be inspected and the at least one estimated property of the ultrasonic transducer. The ultrasonic inspection system is then configured dependent upon a feature of the predicted response. The system may be configured, for example, by setting the position of a time gate, selecting an appropriate ultrasonic transducer, selecting the position of the transducer to achieve good focus, or selecting parameters for signal processing.

Abstract: Conversational biometrics and speech recognition are used by an IVR contact/call center during call hold to affect call handling/routing. A caller's (user's) behavioral response, such as an utterance or other spoken reaction to being put on hold by the IVR contact/call center, etc., can be recognized, captured and analyzed. Business rules analyze the caller's behavior in real time during a caller hold period. Such business rules can be fed back into the call center system and this information can be used to provide opportunities to affect routing priorities for a particular caller based upon information learned by the data that is captured and analyzed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for ultrasonic scanning of a wafer assembly is disclosed. The wafer assembly is held in a wafer chuck and rotated. A transducer generates ultrasound in the wafer assembly and the ultrasound emitted from the wafer assembly is sensed. A controller adjusts the relative positions of the wafer and the transducer and controls the transducer to generate ultrasound at a number of scan points.

Abstract: A method and system provides for controlling operation of registered devices using the Global Positioning System (GPS). One or more devices in a mobile environment are registered with a GPS navigation system of the mobile environment. In response to the mobile environment moving from a first location to a second location, the GPS navigation system retrieves local law information that specifies or defines the second location using GPS coordinates of the second location. Whether each device of the one or more devices registered with the GPS navigation system is in violation of the local law must be determined. If so, the GPS navigation system automatically controlling operation of each device in violation of the local law so as to not be in violation of the local law.

Abstract: A method, system and apparatus provide for automatic blogging of media viewing using an enhanced remote controller having networking capabilities that support social networking and blogging. The enhanced remote controller, suitable for use while viewing media programming and content, allows a viewer to autoblog about currently experienced media programming in real-time without having to resort to direct interaction with a computer to perform the autoblogging. The enhanced remote controller allows the viewer to both communicate with a blogging server, and thus to a blogging service, as well as to display responses to and from other bloggers with whom the viewer is communicating. These blog communications may be accomplished without the viewer having to leave the broadcast receiver of the television.

Abstract: A method and system provides for notification to a user of registered devices that are in violation of local law using the Global Positioning System (GPS). One or more one or more devices in a mobile environment are registered with a GPS navigation system of the mobile environment. In response to the mobile environment moving from a first location to a second location, the GPS navigation system retrieves local law information that specifies or defines local law of the second location using GPS coordinates of the second location. It is next determined whether each device of the one or more devices registered with the GPS navigation system is in violation of the local law. If so, a user in the mobile environment is notified of each registered device that is in violation of the local law.

Abstract: A method and apparatus provides for the generation and recovery of a stable clock signal having harmonic emission suppressions using dual spread spectrum clock signals. The transmission frequencies of non-mixed, spread spectrum lower frequency clock signals may be varied and, upon receipt of these non-mixed signals, they are mixed into sum and difference signals. The sum signal thus generated is representative of the desired clock signal to be recovered. Such conditioning of the non-mixed signals need only occur within the receiver, thereby allow the channel that transmits the non-mixed lower frequency clock signals to the receiver to be lower bandwidth than would be required to carry the final, recovered, and higher frequency clock signal produced by the receiver.

Abstract: A method and system provides for a computationally efficient approach to monitor group changes, or events, on a directory service. Group events are monitored by use of a domain crawler launched by an event monitoring process of an identity management (IdM) system that gathers group event data and reports the collected and consolidated changes to the IdM system.

Abstract: A method and system provides for notification of a called party of an incoming voice phone call intended for the called party even while the called party is engaged in data communications via a dial-up modem. In response to a calling party placing a call, a telecommunications network determining whether the called number is busy. If the called number is busy, the telecommunications network determines whether the called number is engaged in data communications. If the called number is engaged in data communications, the telecommunications network further: determines a data communication protocol being used by the called party to access the data network via a modem device, retrieves from a user profile of the called party one or more user notification addresses associated with the data communication protocol, and transmits an incoming call notification message to the one or more user notification addresses of the called party.