Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120141960 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TOOLS FOR MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION - In a computer-implemented educational environment, four particular features are provided, which may be used separately or in combination, to drive the instruction of a particular curriculum, e.g. the instruction of fractions. In another implementation, educators and authors may use permutations and combinations of such features to construct in a graphical user interface a progression of interactive elements which help guide a student from visual concepts to procedures, such as equations and formulas. In a particular implementation, by using these features carefully, a curriculum author may design instructional sequences that provide careful, step-by-step sequences that help students progress from understanding the visual concepts, e.g. of fractions, to mastering procedures, e.g. fractions equations. | 06-07-2012 |
20130295536 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TOOLS FOR MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION - An apparatus and method for computer-implemented tools for mathematics instruction are provided. These tools enable providing a context for a given problem, e.g. a mathematical problem. Such tools enable demonstrating understanding of the problem by enabling paraphrasing the context. The tools enable further understanding of the problem by enabling using models to depict the paraphrase. The tools further enable solving the problem. For example, a tool enables students to learn what it means to multiply fractions, to represent multiplication of fractions using visual models, and to use equations to compute answers. For example, students may be given a story problem as context. They paraphrase this context, choosing between two types of multiplication problems: groups of and part of. Students use one of two models to depict the paraphrase: the Two Number Line Model or the Double Area Model. Students solve the equation. | 11-07-2013 |
20140322681 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TOOLS FOR MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION - In a computer-implemented educational environment, four particular features are provided, which may be used separately or in combination, to drive the instruction of a particular curriculum, e.g. the instruction of fractions. In another implementation, educators and authors may use permutations and combinations of such features to construct in a graphical user interface a progression of interactive elements which help guide a student from visual concepts to procedures, such as equations and formulas. In a particular implementation, by using these features carefully, a curriculum author may design instructional sequences that provide careful, step-by-step sequences that help students progress from understanding the visual concepts, e.g. of fractions, to mastering procedures, e.g. fractions equations. | 10-30-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110057302 | IMPEDANCE OPTIMIZED CHIP SYSTEM - A high bandwidth circuit is segmented into a plurality of portions, each portion for implementation on a corresponding semiconductor chip, an arrangement of one or more die bond pads for each corresponding chip is generated, and a chip location for each corresponding chip is generated, given package and given package I/O arrangement is generated, the generation of the die bond arrangements and the chip position being relative to given chip package parameters, and being generated to establish bond wire lengths meeting given characteristic impedance parameters. Boundary parameters for generating the segmenting are provided, including a bound on the number of portions and optionally a including bound on the area parameters of the corresponding semiconductor chips. | 03-10-2011 |
20130268909 | IMPEDANCE OPTIMIZED CHIP SYSTEM - A high bandwidth circuit is segmented into a plurality of portions, each portion for implementation on a corresponding semiconductor chip, an arrangement of one or more die bond pads for each corresponding chip is generated, and a chip location for each corresponding chip is generated, given package and given package I/O arrangement is generated, the generation of the die bond arrangements and the chip position being relative to given chip package parameters, and being generated to establish bond wire lengths meeting given characteristic impedance parameters. Boundary parameters for generating the segmenting are provided, including a bound on the number of portions and optionally a including bound on the area parameters of the corresponding semiconductor chips. | 10-10-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110080106 | Turning off muliple fluorescent lamps simultaneously using RF-enabled lamp starter units - A multi-lamp fluorescent light fixture includes a plurality of replaceable fluorescent lamp starter units. Each starter unit has a built-in microcontroller, an RF (Radio-Frequency) receiver, and communicates wirelessly with a master unit. Each starter unit can be wirelessly controlled to turn off coupled fluorescent lamps. Each starter unit receives a turn off command, monitors the AC voltage supplied to coupled lamps, and initiates turn off when the AC voltage reaches a threshold voltage stored in a memory of the microcontroller. In one novel aspect, each threshold voltage is selected such that turn off of lamps coupled to each starter is initiated within one millisecond. Systems of existing light fixtures are retrofitted with such wireless starter units, and thereby made controllable by a master unit so that the master unit can turn off the lights if room occupancy is not detected or if sufficient ambient light is available. | 04-07-2011 |
20110080107 | Dimming a multi-lamp fluorescent light fixture by turning off an individual lamp using a wireless fluorescent lamp starter - A multi-lamp fluorescent light fixture includes a plurality of replaceable fluorescent lamp starter units. Each starter unit has a built-in microcontroller, an RF (Radio-Frequency) receiver, and communicates wirelessly with a master unit. The plurality of starter units can be wirelessly controlled to dim the multi-lamp fixture. Each starter unit receives a DIM command. Each starter unit identified as a dimmer starter unit responds to the DIM command by turning off coupled fluorescent lamps. Starter units not identified as dimmer starter units respond by leaving coupled lamps turned on, or alternatively, turning off and quickly restarting coupled lamps. Systems of existing light fixtures are retrofitted with such wireless starter units, and thereby made controllable by a master unit so that the master unit can dim the lights if room occupancy is not detected or if sufficient ambient light is available. | 04-07-2011 |
20110291581 | Rejecting noise transients while turning off a fluorescent lamp using a starter unit - A local minimum of a current monitoring signal is identified by a starter unit that turns off a fluorescent lamp without using a wall switch. Closing a main switch in the starter unit stops an illuminating current from flowing through a gas in the lamp. The local minimum of the current monitoring signal is reached when an increasing valid sample is identified following four valid samples. A sample is valid if it does not differ from the preceding valid sample by more than a threshold difference based on known properties of the signal. By skipping invalid samples, the local minimum is accurately determined to have been reached despite transient noise spikes in the signal that would trip any voltage threshold used to locate the local minimum. When the main switch is opened at a predetermined time after the local minimum, the illuminating current does not again flow through the gas. | 12-01-2011 |
20110309763 | Alternating turn off timing of a fluorescent lamp starter unit - A starter unit (for example, an RF-enabled and replaceable starter unit) has an ability both to turn on and to turn off a fluorescent lamp. The starter unit detects whether a ballast in the circuit with the fluorescent lamp is of a first type (for example, an L-type ballast) or is of a second type (for example, a C-type ballast). If the determination is that the ballast is of the first type, then the starter unit turns off the lamp in a first way (for example, using C-type timing and then using L-type timing alternatingly). If the determination is that the ballast is of the second type, then the starter unit turns off the lamp in a second way (for example, using only C-type timing). The same starter unit design is usable both in single-lamp fixtures and in multi-lamp fixtures where a mix of ballast types may be used. | 12-22-2011 |
20120212139 | Smart clamp - In a circuit that turns off a fluorescent lamp, clamping circuitry is provided to dissipate energy stored in a ballast when the lamp is being turned off. In a normal state in which the lamp is on, or in a normal state in which the lamp is off, clamping is not performed as long the VDS of a power switch is below a voltage A. In a lamp turn off operation, the switch is turned on for a time period to extinguish the lamp, and is then made to operate as a clamp (operate in its linear region) for a second period of time to dissipate energy that was stored in the ballast. Clamping in the linear region continues for VDS voltages down to B as ballast energy is dissipated, where B is smaller than A. By clamping down to the lower voltage B, re-ignition of the lamp is prevented. | 08-23-2012 |
20130093347 | Alternating Turn Off Timing Of A Fluorescent Lamp Starter Unit - A starter unit (for example, an RF-enabled and replaceable starter unit) has an ability both to turn on and to turn off a fluorescent lamp. The starter unit detects whether a ballast in the circuit with the fluorescent lamp is of a first type (for example, an L-type ballast) or is of a second type (for example, a C-type ballast). If the determination is that the ballast is of the first type, then the starter unit turns off the lamp in a first way (for example, using C-type timing and then using L-type timing alternatingly). If the determination is that the ballast is of the second type, then the starter unit turns off the lamp in a second way (for example, using only C-type timing). The same starter unit design is usable both in single-lamp fixtures and in multi-lamp fixtures where a mix of ballast types may be used. | 04-18-2013 |
20130320876 | Rejecting Noise Transients While Turning Off a Fluorescent Lamp Using a Starter Unit - A local minimum of a current monitoring signal is identified by a starter unit that turns off a fluorescent lamp without using a wall switch. Closing a main switch in the starter unit stops an illuminating current from flowing through a gas in the lamp. The local minimum of the current monitoring signal is reached when an increasing valid sample is identified following four valid samples. A sample is valid if it does not differ from the preceding valid sample by more than a threshold difference based on known properties of the signal. By skipping invalid samples, the local minimum is accurately determined to have been reached despite transient noise spikes in the signal that would trip any voltage threshold used to locate the local minimum. When the main switch is opened at a predetermined time after the local minimum, the illuminating current does not again flow through the gas. | 12-05-2013 |
20130320877 | Remote Control of a Legacy Fluorescent Lamp Fixture - A legacy-type fluorescent lamp fixture involves a magnetic ballast and a starter unit socket. Power savings are realized by using a retrofit fluorescent lamp assembly in place of the fluorescent lamp that would ordinarily by held in the fixture. The retrofit assembly may, for example, have a smaller fluorescent lamp. A digitally controlled electronic ballast within the retrofit assembly drives the smaller fluorescent lamp efficiently, thereby achieving power savings. In addition, an RF-enabled switch is installed in the starter unit socket. The RF-enabled switch communicates multi-bit digital control signals in serial fashion from the starter socket, through existing wires of the fixture, through the lamp holders of the fixture, and into the retrofit assembly. The electronic ballast receives these signals, decodes them, and in response turns on or turns off its lamp as commanded. Additional power savings are thereby achieved by keeping the lamp off when it is not needed. | 12-05-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110087657 | ASSIGNING DATA FOR STORAGE BASED ON SPEED WITH WHICH DATA MAY BE RETRIEVED - A method, system, and apparatus for improving performance when retrieving data from one or more storage media. Files to be stored on the one or more storage media are classified into a ranking of different sets. Differences in retrieval value of different regions of the one or more storage media are exploited by selecting which files to store in which regions. For example, files that have a higher classification are stored in regions with faster retrieval values. The files can be classified based on frequency of access. Thus, files that are more frequently accessed are stored in regions that have a faster retrieval value. The files can be classified by another measure such as priority. For example, the classification for some or all of the files can be based on user-assigned priority. The classification may be based on events or data grouping. | 04-14-2011 |
20110258186 | ASSIGNING DATA FOR STORAGE BASED ON A FREQUENCY WITH WHICH THE DATA IS ACCESSED - A method, system, and apparatus for improving performance when retrieving data from one or more storage media. Files to be stored on the one or more storage media are classified into a ranking of different sets. Differences in retrieval value of different regions of the one or more storage media are exploited by selecting which files to store in which regions. For example, files that have a higher classification are stored in regions with faster retrieval values. The files can be classified based on frequency of access. Thus, files that are more frequently accessed are stored in regions that have a faster retrieval value. The files can be classified by another measure such as priority. For example, the classification for some or all of the files can be based on user-assigned priority. The classification may be based on events or data grouping. | 10-20-2011 |
20110270839 | ASSIGNING DATA FOR STORAGE BASED ON A FREQUENCY WITH WHICH THE DATA IS ACCESSED - A method, system, and apparatus for improving performance when retrieving data from one or more storage media. Files to be stored on the one or more storage media are classified into a ranking of different sets. Differences in retrieval value of different regions of the one or more storage media are exploited by selecting which files to store in which regions. For example, files that have a higher classification are stored in regions with faster retrieval values. The files can be classified based on frequency of access. Thus, files that are more frequently accessed are stored in regions that have a faster retrieval value. The files can be classified by another measure such as priority. For example, the classification for some or all of the files can be based on user-assigned priority. The classification may be based on events or data grouping. | 11-03-2011 |
20140108392 | ASSIGNING DATA FOR STORAGE BASED ON A FREQUENCY WITH WHICH THE DATA IS ACCESSED - A method, system, and apparatus for improving performance when retrieving data from one or more storage media. Files to be stored on the one or more storage media are classified into a ranking of different sets. Differences in retrieval value of different regions of the one or more storage media are exploited by selecting which files to store in which regions. For example, files that have a higher classification are stored in regions with faster retrieval values. The files can be classified based on frequency of access. Thus, files that are more frequently accessed are stored in regions that have a faster retrieval value. The files can be classified by another measure such as priority. For example, the classification for some or all of the files can be based on user-assigned priority. The classification may be based on events or data grouping. | 04-17-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090216696 | DETERMINING RELEVANT INFORMATION FOR DOMAINS OF INTEREST - Techniques are described for determining and using relevant information related to domains of interest. In at least some situations, the techniques include automatically analyzing documents, terms and other information related to a domain of interest in order to automatically determine information about relevant themes within the domain and/or about which documents have contents that are relevant to such themes. Such automatically determined information related to a domain may then be used in various ways, including to assist users in specifying themes of interest and/or in obtaining documents and/or document fragments with contents that are relevant to specified themes. In addition, information about how the automatically determined information is used by users may be tracked and used as feedback for learning improved determinations of relevant themes and relevant documents within the domain, such as by using automated machine learning techniques. | 08-27-2009 |
20100153324 | PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS USING INFORMATION DETERMINED FOR DOMAINS OF INTEREST - Techniques are described for determining and using information related to domains of interest, such as by automatically analyzing documents and other information related to a domain in order to automatically determine relationships between particular terms within the domain. Such automatically determined information may then be used to assist users in obtaining information from the domain that is of interest (e.g., documents with contents that are relevant to user-specified terms and/or to other terms that are determined to be sufficiently related to the user-specified terms). For example, recommendations may be automatically generated for a user by using information about specified preferences or other interests of the user with respect to one or more terms and identifying other particular terms that are sufficiently probable to be of interest to that user, such as based on a generated probabilistic representation of relationships between particular terms for the domain. | 06-17-2010 |
20130066887 | DETERMINING RELEVANT INFORMATION FOR DOMAINS OF INTEREST - Techniques are described for determining and using relevant information related to domains of interest. In at least some situations, the techniques include automatically analyzing documents, terms and other information related to a domain of interest in order to automatically determine information about relevant themes within the domain and/or about which documents have contents that are relevant to such themes. Such automatically determined information related to a domain may then be used in various ways, including to assist users in specifying themes of interest and/or in obtaining documents and/or document fragments with contents that are relevant to specified themes. In addition, information about how the automatically determined information is used by users may be tracked and used as feedback for learning improved determinations of relevant themes and relevant documents within the domain, such as by using automated machine learning techniques. | 03-14-2013 |
20130325769 | PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS USING INFORMATION DETERMINED FOR DOMAINS OF INTEREST - Techniques are described for determining and using information related to domains of interest, such as by automatically analyzing documents and other information related to a domain in order to automatically determine relationships between particular terms within the domain. Such automatically determined information may then be used to assist users in obtaining information from the domain that is of interest (e.g., documents with contents that are relevant to user-specified terms and/or to other terms that are determined to be sufficiently related to the user-specified terms). For example, recommendations may be automatically generated for a user by using information about specified preferences or other interests of the user with respect to one or more terms and identifying other particular terms that are sufficiently probable to be of interest to that user, such as based on a generated probabilistic representation of relationships between particular terms for the domain. | 12-05-2013 |