Abstract: A vehicle door handle is provided that includes a deployable handle body located on a door, keypad contacts on an outer side of the handle body, an actuator configured to deploy the handle to a deployed position, a plurality of proximity sensors located on the handle body and generating activation fields, and a controller processing signals generated by the sensors to determine an input command for controlling the actuator and to determine a keypad input. The controller may sense ice on the handle and determine ice thickness and may control the actuator to break the ice based on the ice thickness.

Abstract: A location connector connects a first tubular to a second tubular, and includes a cylindrical main body extending in a longitudinal direction. An outer surface extends around a circumference of the main body, and an inner surface faces the central bore of the main body. A first connector is on a first end of the main body and is configured to attach to the first tubular. A second connector on an opposite second end of the main body is configured to attach to the second tubular. A female profile is provided on the inner surface, and includes a plurality of grooves for selective engagement with a discrete complementary profile comprising one or more protruding members of a downhole tool. Each of the grooves comprises a no-go shoulder that prevents movement of the tool in one direction, and each of the grooves permits clocking movement of the tool in an azimuthal direction.

Abstract: An energy-absorbing assembly includes a housing and a plurality of discrete energy-absorbing elements. The housing includes a first wall and a second wall. The first wall and the second wall are spaced apart from one another to at least partially define an interior compartment. Each element of the plurality of energy-absorbing elements includes a polymer and a plurality of reinforcing fibers. The plurality of energy-absorbing elements is at least partially disposed within the interior compartment and fixed to the housing. Each energy-absorbing element of the plurality of energy-absorbing elements includes an elongated hollow structure extending between a first end and a second end. Each elongated hollow structure defines a longitudinal axis extending nonparallel to at least one of the first wall and the second wall. In various alternative aspects, each energy-absorbing element may include a transverse wall.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for aligning and diagnosing the laser beam traversing an optical train in a highly space-efficient, lower cost and/or retrofit-friendly manner are disclosed. The optical components of the optical train are mounted such that one or more optical components can direct their exit laser beam to partially or wholly scan across one or more downstream sensors. Correlation data between physical disposition of optical components and the points of impact data and/or beam quality data are employed to, among others, align and/or diagnose the laser beam and/or localize failure sites and/or optimize maintenance schedule.

Abstract: A flexible, insulative battery cover and method of construction thereof are provided. The batter cover includes a flexible, tubular wall circumferentially bounding a cavity extending between a bottom end and a top end. The flexible, tubular wall has a composite outermost layer, a first thermoplastic innermost layer, and a nonwoven intermediate layer. The nonwoven intermediate layer is sandwiched between the composite outermost layer and the first thermoplastic innermost layer. The composite outermost layer includes a reflective outermost thermoplastic layer, a second thermoplastic innermost layer and a metal layer sandwiched between the reflective outermost thermoplastic layer and the second thermoplastic innermost layer.

Abstract: The present invention generally relates to a method of making graphene and graphene devices.

Abstract: A feed hopper with two chute members is provided. The chutes are movable with respect to one another and one chute has an extending lip to engage the inner surface of the other chute to prevent feed from escaping the hopper.

Abstract: An optimization system for testing a patient's hearing comprising a controller, right and left ear pieces, and a memory. The controller provides a series of tones to the ear piece and receive feedback from the patient between each tone provided. The controller then generates a data point on an audiogram after receiving each feedback, wherein each data point is based on the respective feedback, and, after each data point is generated, compute a statistical distribution based on the generated data points. The controller then identifies an area of the audiogram most in need of additional data based on the statistical distribution and selects a subsequent tone to provide in the series of tones, wherein each subsequent tone provided in the series of tones is a tone represented in the area of the audiogram most in need of additional data at the time of selection.

Abstract: The invention relates to food products and to their methods of preparation. More particularly, the invention relates to cultured dairy products, especially cultured yogurt products and to their methods of preparation.

Abstract: A gate valve seat seal includes a two-piece seat arranged so that an inner seat moves within an outer piece. The inner seat is moved by a flange where as the flange moves radially inwards the inner seat is moved axially to seal the gate. As the flange moves radially outwards the inner seat is moved axially out of sealing contact with the gate.

Abstract: An electric drive system for a vehicle includes a speed/position feedback device coupled to an electric machine and configured to provide an index pulse. The system further includes an inverter having a line voltage sensor. The system includes a controller programmed to, responsive to the electric machine rotating at a generally constant speed without commanding the inverter, generate a resolver offset from a time difference between a zero crossing of a line voltage and the index pulse and operate the inverter according to the resolver offset.

Abstract: Auto-injectors and associated assemblies and methods for delivery of liquid medicament in a controlled manner are disclosed herein.

Abstract: A lid for a beverage container includes a lid housing with a drink opening, a slider member, and a seal assembly. The seal assembly has a seal arm, a seal and a spring. The slider member slides linearly about the lid housing. A cam pivotally connected to the slider member engages the seal arm. The slider member and cam operate to move the seal arm from an open position to a sealed position. The drink opening is open when the seal arm is in the open position, and the drink opening is closed by the seal when the seal arm is in the closed position.

Abstract: A self-locking apparatus for a gear set permits forward-driving an input in clockwise or counterclockwise directions and substantially prevents an output from being driven in either or both of those directions. The device includes a gear set with planet gears arranged within a planet carrier within a fixed ring gear. Each of the planet gears is engaged with the planet carrier via a differentiating connector retained in an elongated slot in the planet carrier where it moves to the clockwise position when being forward driven in the clockwise direction and, when the planet carrier is back driven in the clockwise direction, the connector moves to the counter-clockwise position in the slot. This arrangement allows the gear set to be forward driven but not back driven. This differentiated action can engage/disengage with any form of unidirectional engage/disengage mechanism. The apparatus is useful in industrial applications requiring self-locking gear sets.

Abstract: A speech recognition neural network system includes an encoder neural network and a decoder neural network. The encoder neural network generates an encoded sequence from an input acoustic sequence that represents an utterance. The input acoustic sequence includes a respective acoustic feature representation at each of a plurality of input time steps, the encoded sequence includes a respective encoded representation at each of a plurality of time reduced time steps, and the number of time reduced time steps is less than the number of input time steps. The encoder neural network includes a time reduction subnetwork, a convolutional LSTM subnetwork, and a network in network subnetwork. The decoder neural network receives the encoded sequence and processes the encoded sequence to generate, for each position in an output sequence order, a set of sub string scores that includes a respective sub string score for each substring in a set of substrings.

Abstract: A reception device including processing circuitry is provided. The processing circuitry is configured to receive a video stream that includes, for each of a plurality of units of N consecutive pictures of a plurality of pictures, an encoded averaged picture and encoded N?1 of the N consecutive pictures of the respective unit. The averaged picture is generated based on an averaging process in which a non-linear average of the N consecutive pictures of the respective unit is calculated with different gains. The video stream includes a first sub-layer having the encoded averaged pictures and a second sub-layer having the encoded N?1 pictures of the plurality of units. The processing circuitry is configured to receive information including averaging process information indicating a method for the averaging process, and process the received video stream in accordance with the averaging process information.

Abstract: Methods and systems for use of a reference image to detect a road obstacle are described. A computing device configured to control a vehicle, may be configured to receive, from an image-capture device, an image of a road on which the vehicle is travelling. The computing device may be configured to compare the image to a reference image; and identify a difference between the image and the reference image. Further, the computing device may be configured to determine a level of confidence for identification of the difference. Based on the difference and the level of confidence, the computing device may be configured to modify a control strategy associated with a driving behavior of the vehicle; and control the vehicle based on the modified control strategy.

Abstract: Techniques and apparatuses are described that enable radar modulations for radar sensing using a wireless communication chipset. A controller initializes or controls modulations performed by the wireless communication chipset. In this way, the controller can enable the wireless communication chipset to perform modulations for wireless communication or radar sensing. In some cases, the controller can further select a wireless communication channel for setting a frequency and a bandwidth of a radar signal, thereby avoiding interference between multiple radar signals or between the radar signal and a communication signal. In other cases, the controller can cause the wireless communication chipset to modulate a signal containing communication data using a radar modulation. This enables another device that receives the signal to perform wireless communication or radar sensing. By utilizing these techniques, the wireless communication chipset can be used for wireless communication or radar sensing.

Abstract: Some embodiments include a method comprising using a first computing device to perform: obtaining an image of a scene captured using a camera coupled to the first computing device; obtaining camera setting values used to capture the image; determining, using the image, surface attribute values characterizing at least one surface shown in the image of the scene; generating an augmented reality (AR) interface at least in part by using the camera setting values and the surface attribute values to create a first composite image by overlaying a selected virtual furniture object onto the image so that the virtual furniture object is displayed in the AR interface as being on a first surface of the at least one surface shown in the image; and transmitting, to a second computing device and via at least one communication network, the first composite image, the camera setting values and the surface attribute values.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a method that includes sending a negotiating message from a user to one or more invitees using a messaging protocol, the negotiating message comprising one or more plans for a meeting, each plan including a time information and a location information for the meeting. The method further includes receiving, using the messaging protocol, one or more responses from the one or more invitees, the one or more responses indicating an approval or rejection of the one or more plans and determining based at least partially on the one or more responses received from the one or more invitees to book the event based on the received responses from the one or more invitees.