Abstract: A pipe nipple insert and dip tube for use with a water heater having a pipe nipple, the dip tube including a pipe nipple insert and a tubular body. The pipe nipple insert includes an outer wall and a plurality of annular crush rings extending radially from the outer wall. An overlapping connection is included at a bottom of the pipe nipple insert and a top of the tubular body for connecting the bottom of the pipe nipple insert to the top of the tubular body, wherein either the bottom of the pipe nipple insert overlaps the top of the tubular body or the top of the tubular body overlaps the bottom of the pipe nipple insert.

Abstract: The technology involves identifying suitable pickup and drop-off locations based on detected pedestrian walking paths. Mapped areas have specific physical configurations, which may suggest places to pick up or drop off a rider (or a delivery). A walking path heatmap can be generated based on obtained historical and/or real-time pedestrian-related information, which can be obtained by autonomous vehicles driving in areas of interest. Incorporating heatmap information into the evaluation, the system identifies locations for optimized pickup or drop-off in accordance with where pedestrians would likely go. One aspect involves classifying different objects, for instance identifying one or more objects as people who may be walking versus riding a bicycle. Once classified, information about the paths is used to obtain a the heatmap associated with the walking paths.

Abstract: An assembly for a vehicle includes an airbag inflator. The assembly includes a curtain airbag including a main lobe and an inflatable flap. The main lobe and the inflatable flap are each inflatable by the airbag inflator to an inflated position. The main lobe includes an inboard panel and an outboard panel. The inflatable flap is at the inboard panel in the inflated position. The inflatable flap, in the inflated position, is at the inboard panel and abutting the airbag inflator.

Abstract: Disclosed are a system and techniques for authenticating voice transactions with a payment card. A system example may include a purchase application executing on a smart digital device, and a payment card. The purchase application may receive an item purchase request via an audio input device of the smart digital device for an item available to purchase. The received item purchase request may be sent to an application server or the like, and, in response, a list of merchants offering the item available for purchase and each merchant's price for the item available to purchase may be received. The list may be presented on a smart digital device display for selection of at least one of the merchants selling the item may be received. A payment card may be inserted into the smart digital device's near-field communication field to provide a signal containing encrypted data.

Abstract: A roofing shingle including a lower layer including a headlap and a plurality of tabs extending from the headlap, and an upper layer including one or more fingers, wherein the one or more fingers are disconnected from one another, and wherein each of the one or more fingers is disposed on one tab of the plurality of tabs, wherein a number of the plurality of tabs is different than a number of the one or more fingers. In an embodiment, the lower layer is a lowermost layer of the roofing shingle. In another embodiment, the roofing shingle further includes an alignment feature disposed in an exposure zone of the roofing shingle, wherein the alignment features is adapted to permit alignment of adjacent roofing shingles during installation on a roof.

Abstract: A method of controlling an air-cargo transport refrigeration unit to regulate a compressor speed and a condenser fan speed is provided. Also, a method of controlling an air-cargo transport refrigeration unit based on determining an in-flight condition of the refrigeration unit is provided.

Abstract: An axle system is provided herein. In one example, the axle system includes a gearbox housing at least partially enclosing a gearbox and a planetary gearset that is rotationally coupled to an output of the gearbox and positioned co-axial with a rotational axis of an axle shaft in a differential. The planetary gearset includes a ring gear grounded by a planetary support that is attached to the gearbox housing.

Abstract: Submarine cable branching units with fiber pair switching configured to allow any number of trunk cable fiber pairs to access the optical spectrum any number of branch cable fiber pairs. Access to a particular branch terminal is not limited to predefined subset of the trunk fiber pairs. This approach allows fewer branch cable fiber pairs to be equipped in each branching unit, reducing system cost, simplifies system planning and provides flexible routing of overall trunk cable capacity.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for managing data in a storage device, such as a solid-state drive (SSD). An apparatus includes a main non-volatile memory (NVM) such as a NAND flash memory. A host command queue lists pending data transfer commands to transfer data between the NVM and a host. For each write command received by the NVM to store write data to an associated target location, a controller examines the host command queue. Based on this review, the controller may direct the NVM to read data adjacent the associated target location to which data are to be written by the write command and to transfer the read data to a read cache. The read data may use some or all of the same resources used to store the write data to the NVM. The read data may be subsequently transferred from the read cache to the host.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media for dialogue systems. A transcription of a user utterance is obtained. The transcription of the utterance is tokenized to identify multiple tokens for the utterance. Token-level utterance encodings corresponding to different tokens of the transcription are generated. A system action encoding from data indicating system actions previously performed by the dialogue system are generated. A dialogue context vector based on the utterance encoding and the system action encoding are generated. The token-level utterance encodings, the system action encoding, and the dialogue context vector are processed using a slot tagger to produce token-level output vectors. A limited set of candidate token classifications for the tokens of the user utterance are determined based on the token-level utterance encodings. A response for output is provided in response to the user utterance.

Abstract: Technology is disclosed herein for preventing erase disturb in NAND. Erase voltages are applied to a source line and bit lines associated with selected memory cells, while applying an erase enable voltage to word lines connected to the selected cells. Preventing erase disturb may include raising the channel potential of unselected memory cells to a source line voltage that has a sufficiently low magnitude to not erase the unselected cells given a voltage on word lines connected to the unselected cells. The unselected cells share bit lines with the selected cells and may also share word lines. Preventing erase disturb may also include applying voltages to the select transistors that prevent the erase voltage from passing from the shared bit lines to the channels of the unselected cells. The voltages decrease from the bit lines to the unselected memory cells and may prevent GIDL generation. Current consumption is kept low.

Abstract: A method is provided for generating virtual units in a virtual scene at a computing device. The method includes displaying, on a display device, a user interface (UI) that includes a plurality of build elements comprising a first set of build elements corresponding to generating virtual units available to a user and a second set of build elements corresponding to generating or upgrading virtual objects available to the user. The plurality of build elements in the UI may include a union set of all virtual unit generation, build, and upgrade actions available to the user. The method also includes receiving a user input indicating a selection of a build element among the plurality of build elements in the UI. The method further generating a virtual unit, generating a virtual object, or upgrading an existing virtual object in the virtual scene according to the selection of the build element.

Abstract: A system comprising one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computing instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations: building, using a machine learning algorithm, a transit model based at least in part upon telematics data associated with a user; generating, based at least in part upon the transit model, a dynamic transit route for the user; calculating, based at least in part upon the telematics data associated with the user, a potential benefit comprising an amount of fuel cost savings for the user, reduced travel time for the user, insurance savings, or environmental pollution reduction for the user; generating a notification comprising the dynamic transit route and the potential benefit; and transmitting the notification to a mobile device of the user. Other embodiments are described.

Abstract: One method embodiment comprises storing data on a storage system that is representative of a point cloud comprising a very large number of associated points; organizing the data into an octree hierarchy of data sectors, each of which is representative of one or more of the points at a given octree mesh resolution; receiving a command from a user of a user interface to present an image based at least in part upon a selected viewing perspective origin and vector; and assembling the image based at least in part upon the selected origin and vector, the image comprising a plurality of data sectors pulled from the octree hierarchy, the plurality of data sectors being assembled such that sectors representative of points closer to the selected viewing origin have a higher octree mesh resolution than that of sectors representative of points farther away from the selected viewing origin.

Abstract: A system and method for utilizing gray water to flush a toilet includes a potable water source, a gray water tank, a first conduit coupled between the gray water tank and the toilet, and a pump configured to transfer gray water from the gray water tank to the toilet tank via the first conduit. The gray water tank may be configured to receive water from a sink of a bathroom, kitchen, or other room of a house, building, RV, etc. By utilizing gray water to flush a toilet, potable water may be conserved. In some examples, the system and method for utilizing gray water to flush a toilet also includes one or more sensors, one or more valves, one or more controllers, wireless transceivers, and one or more filters.

Abstract: Described are light emitting diode (LED) devices including a quantum well on a superlattice structure. The LED device has a dominant wavelength greater than 520 nm. The dominant wavelength changes less than 7 nm when the current density increases from 10 A/cm2 to 100 A/cm2 and a junction temperature of the device changes less than 20° C.

Abstract: A disinfection chamber for disinfecting probe and probe cord may include a housing, a probe chamber portion defined by the housing, a cord chamber portion defined by the housing, one or more disinfecting portions in operable communication with the probe chamber portion and the cord chamber portion, and a disinfectant composition in operable communication with the one or more disinfecting portions. The one or more disinfecting portions may expel the disinfectant composition within the probe chamber portion and the cord chamber portion to disinfect the probe and at least a portion of the probe cord.