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FEDERAL PATENTS AWARDED TO INVENTORS IN CALIFORNIA JAN. 6
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in California.
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California Inventor Develops Flexy-Power Amplifier
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Giuseppe Rossi of Pasadena, Calif., has developed power amplifiers used in complementary metal oxide semiconductor active pixel sensors.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A voltage amplifier is provided. The voltage amplifier includes an amplifier stage to amplify an input signal. A bias current generator supplies a bias current to the amplifier stage. The bias current generator is controllable in response to a frame rate signal that is representative of a video frame rate."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A compensation network stabilizes a loop response of the voltage amplifier. The compensation network is controllable in response to the frame rate signal."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,758 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Micron Technology Inc., Boise, Idaho.
The original application was filed on Oct. 18, 2001, and is available Here.
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U.S., British Inventors Develop Port-Bundle Host-Key Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Shuxian Lou of San Jose, Calif., Richard M. Pruss of Los Gatos, Calif., Adam L. Taylor of Acton, Mass., Ian M. Cotton of Reading, Great Britain, and Mark C. Willis of Burghfield, Great Britain, have developed an apparatus and a method to associate a subscriber with one of many port bundles in an aggregation device.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The method reserves one of the port bundles for the subscriber if the subscriber was not assigned a port bundle, changes the original source port number in a data packet to a port bundle number, modifies the subscriber address to an assigned aggregation address, and issues a request to a remote management device for authentication of the subscriber. Once a response is received from the management device including the authentication or unauthentication of the subscriber, the subscriber is mapped with the reserved port bundle in a port bundle object and the reserved port bundle is then assigned to the subscriber."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The apparatus has at least one source port to receive a data packet, several port bundles coupled to the source port, each port bundle having a memory with a port bundle object to associate the subscriber with one of the port bundles, a processor coupled to the port bundles, and an output port coupled to the processor."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,332 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Cisco Technology Inc., San Jose.
The original application was filed on April 23, 2001, and is available Here.
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California Inventors Develop Multiple Layer Information Object Repository
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Michael J. Kirkwood of San Francisco, and Sima Yazdani of Pleasanton, Calif., have developed techniques for relating data stored in one or more storage systems for an enterprise that include managing information chunks in one or more storage systems.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Each chunk comprises a unit of data for storage and retrieval operations. The techniques also include managing a vocabulary database. The vocabulary database includes data structures describing atomic concepts among names in an enterprise-specific vocabulary and data structures describing relationships among the atomic concepts."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "Content in a document is arranged based at least in part on data in the vocabulary database. The content is based at least in part on an information object or 'chunk' in the storage system. Thus, content originally unrelated and authored over time by many different persons and organizations can be related using the business vocabulary concepts and relationships in the vocabulary database."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,288 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Cisco Technology Inc., San Jose, Calif.
The original application was filed on Aug. 8, 2001, and is available Here.
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California Inventors Develop Flashback Cursors Sharing Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Bipul Sinha, Namit Jain and Srinivas Vemuri, all from Foster City, Calif., Amit Ganesh of San Jose, Calif., and Archna Kalra Johnson of Sunnyvale, Calif., have developed a method and an apparatus for accessing data as it existed at a previous point in time.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Techniques are provided for sharing of flashback cursors by adding a time domain property to flashback cursors. This time domain property defines the range of flashback times for which the flashback cursor is valid. According to one embodiment, this 'validity range' is closed at the lower bound and open at the upper bound. A subsequent flashback query can share an existing flashback cursor if the flashback time of the subsequent flashback query falls within the validity range of the existing flashback cursor."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "In one embodiment, the validity range of a flashback cursor is established based on times associated with indexes used to process the flashback query for which the flashback cursor was made. Consequently, an existing flashback cursor is less likely to be used by a subsequent flashback query when it would be inefficient to do so."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,286 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Oracle International Corp., Redwood Shores, Calif.
The original application was filed on Dec. 18, 2002, and is available Here.
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California Inventors Develop Computer Interface Device
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Adam C. Braun and Mike D. Levin, both of Sunnyvale, Calif., and Louis B. Rosenberg of Pleasanton, Calif., have developed a method and an apparatus for controlling and providing force feedback using an interface device manipulated by a user.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A microprocessor is provided local to the interface device and reads sensor data from sensors that describes the position and/or other information about a user object moved by the user, such as a joystick. The microprocessor controls actuators to provide forces on the user object and provides the sensor data to a host computer that is coupled to the interface device. The host computer sends high level host commands to the local microprocessor, and the microprocessor independently implements a local reflex process based on the high level command to provide force values to the actuators using sensor data and other parameters."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A provided host command protocol includes a variety of different types of host commands and associated command parameters. By providing a relatively small set of high level host commands and parameters which are translated into a panoply of forces, the protocol further shifts the computational burden from the host computer to the local microprocessor and allows a software developer to easily create force feedback applications."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,700 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Immersion Corp., San Jose, Calif.
The original application was filed on April 14, 2003, and is available Here.
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Washington Inventors Develop Scene Graph Memory Management Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Henry Sowizral of Bellevue, Wash., Karel Zikan of Seattle, and Randall Keller of San Carlos, Calif., have developed a system and a method that manages scene graphs by data staging.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Data staging entails selectively loading only the portions of the scene graph that are currently needed or likely to be needed in the near future. Other objects in the scene graph that are not currently needed or likely to be needed may be replaced by pointers. The pointers may point to the location from which the objects may be accessed if necessary for a future frame."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The replaced portions of the scene graph may be compressed and/or cached to a local memory device (e.g., a local array of read-write optical drives) capable of storing large amounts of data, with the pointers indicating where the objects are stored."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,283 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Sun Microsystems Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.
The original application was filed on Oct. 3, 2001, and is available Here.
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California Inventor Develops Moving Magnet Actuator
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Erik J. Shahoian of San Ramon, Calif., has developed a moving magnet actuator for providing haptic feedback.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The actuator includes a grounded core member, a coil is wrapped around a central projection of the core member, and a magnet head positioned so as to provide a gap between the core member and the magnet head. The magnet head is moved in a degree of freedom based on an electromagnetic force caused by a current flowed through the coil."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "An elastic material, such as foam, is positioned in the gap between the magnet head and the core member, where the elastic material is compressed and sheared when the magnet head moves and substantially prevents movement of the magnet head past a range limit that is based on the compressibility and shear factor of the material. Flexible members can also be provided between the magnet head and the ground member, where the flexible members flex to allow the magnet head to move, provide a centering spring force to the magnet head, and limit the motion of the magnet head."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,696 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Immersion Corp., San Jose, Calif.
The original application was filed on June 30, 2000, and is available Here.
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California Inventors Develop Supply Chain Management Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Janet Yu of San Francisco, Eric Larkin of San Jose, Calif., and Michael Topolovac of Monterey, Calif., have developed a system and a method for access control and for supply chain management via a shared bill of material (BOM).
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "method and computer program product for securely uploading and downloading data from a client to a remote data storage location under control of a remote application program. The data is stored in encrypted form so that the data server has no access to the data. The data is associated with a BOM and may be accessed by users without providing access to the data space of the client. Also disclosed is a method and computer program so automatically assign access privileges to one or more users of data in a bill of material stored in a shared database such that the step of refining a role for the user for a data item automatically assigns access privileges for the user for the data and other related data items."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "Also described is linking BOMs to provide peer-to-peer access and views to different users. Also described is a method and software program that provides of propagation of data through the supply chain via one or more bills of materials."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,278 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Arena Solutions Inc., Menlo Park, Calif.
The original application was filed on April 10, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=208&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=5&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Computer Software Contrast Control Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Francis James Canova Jr. of Fremont, Calif., and Robert Gregory Twiss of Portola Valley, Calif., have developed a method for software contrast control and a portable computer implementing software contrast control.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The contrast control is initiated by a single interaction with an input mechanism, for example a pressing of a dedicated contrast control button. The method can be applied more generally to viewing parameters other than contrast such as brightness, color bit depth, color versus monochrome, and screen resolution. The method includes a processor disposed in the portable computer receiving an activation signal from a button or other input mechanism, and displaying viewing parameter adjustment graphics on the image screen. The method continues with the processor receiving a viewing parameter adjustment signal and responding to the adjustment signal by adjusting the viewing parameter levels for the image screen to levels based on the adjustment graphics."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The method can include activating the input mechanism by applying a single interaction to thereto prior to the receiving of the activation signal for viewing parameter control. The portable computer can include a display, a contrast control hardware button, a processor, and a memory. The viewing parameter levels vary in response to image screen drive voltages. The processor responds to input applied to the viewing parameter control graphical user interface elements by adjusting the viewing parameters. The applying of the input includes one or more of selecting and adjusting one or more of the viewing parameter control graphical user interface elements."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,695 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to PalmSource Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif.
The original application was filed on April 22, 1999, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=788&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=16&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Electronic Commerce Transaction Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Manoel Tenorio of Mountain View, Calif., has developed a method for facilitating electronic commerce transactions using buyer profiles.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A system for sorting search results according to a buyer profile during the matching phase of an electronic commerce transaction includes a database containing a buyer profile associated with a buyer, the buyer profile comprising a record of the number of times each of multiple sort criteria has appeared in at least some previous events involving the buyer."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A server receives multiple search results communicated from one or more seller databases in response to an under-constrained search query in which exact attribute values are not specified for one or more attributes. The server accesses the buyer profile to determine an order of display based on the number of times one or more sort criteria in the buyer profile applicable to the search results have appeared in the previous events involving the buyer. The server sorts the search results according to the determined order of display and communicates the sorted search results to the buyer."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,276 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to i2 Technologies US Inc., Dallas.
The original application was filed on May 15, 2001, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=210&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=5&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Security Analyst Performance Analysis Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Joseph G. Gatto of San Francisco has developed a system and a method for measuring, analyzing and tracking the past performance of security analysts' earnings estimates and recommendations.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A database containing historical information pertaining to analyst earnings estimates and recommendations is downloaded into the system. Pre-calculated data values are also added to the database including adjustment factors a single or set of analysts based upon their historical earnings estimates as compared to actual earnings estimates over time, and other user-defined performance analysis set parameters and metrics."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A weighting factor may also be calculated for a set of analysts based upon factors such as the recency of an analyst's earnings estimates. Using these adjustment and weighting factors and each analyst's actual earnings estimate, a custom composite estimate may be derived. A front-end graphical user interface is used to view analyst historical data either as raw data or, by using a data visualization technique, as a graph or chart."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,257 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Starmine Corp., San Francisco.
The original application was filed on April 10, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=229&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=5&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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U.S., French Inventors Develop Graphics Applications Management Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Alpana R. Kaulgud of Mountain View, Calif., and Christophe Winkler of Viterne, France, have developed a system and a method for managing graphics applications.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A system and method for managing graphics applications include the capability to receive graphics data from an unaware graphics application and convey the graphics data to at least one of a plurality of graphics pipes having different display directions. The system and method further include the capability to modify the graphics data to account for non-planar display of the graphics data."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,682 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Silicon Graphics Inc., Mountain View.
The original application was filed on July 29, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=801&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Slot Antenna
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Colm C. Kennedy of Granada Hills, Calif., and Duane K. Mc Nutt of Carpinteria, Calif., have developed a slot antenna that is mountable on the Hercules aircraft dorsal fin.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The slot antenna includes a lower plate that forms a false spar, an upper plate adjacent to the lower plate, an antenna element, and a tuner operatively connected to the antenna element. The antenna element is integrated within the upper plate. The slot antenna includes a radio frequency feed line that operatively connects the tuners to the antenna element."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,677 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Oct. 18, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=806&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Multiple Slot Antenna
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Daniel F. Sievenpiper of Santa Monica, Calif., and James H. Schaffner of Chatsworth, Calif., have developed a plano-convex rotman lenses, an ultra wideband array employing a hybrid long slot aperture and a quasi-optic beam former.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "multiple slot antenna wherein the slots are arranged in a planar configuration and therein the antenna further comprises a plurality of plano-convex Rotman lenses disposed in a stack, each plano-convex Rotman lens in said stack having a major surface disposed at an angle to the planar configuration of the slots of the antenna, with planar portions of the each Rotman lens defining a portion of each one of the slots of the antenna."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,676 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to HRL Laboratories LLC, Malibu, Calif.
The original application was filed on Feb. 6, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=807&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Speech Recognition Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Jean-Claude Junqua, Roland Kuhn, Matteo Contolini and Rathinavelu Chengalvarayan, all from Santa Barbara, Calif., have developed a method for improving recognition results of a speech recognizer that uses supplementary information to confirm recognition results.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A user inputs speech to a speech recognizer. The speech recognizer resides on a mobile device or on a server at a remote location. The speech recognizer determines a recognition result based on the input speech. A confidence measure is calculated for the recognition result. If the confidence measure is below a threshold, the user is prompted for supplementary data. The supplementary data is determined dynamically based on ambiguities between the input speech and the recognition result, wherein the supplementary data will distinguish the input speech over potential incorrect results."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The supplementary data may be a subset of alphanumeric characters that comprise the input speech, or other data associated with a desired result, such as an area code or location. The user may provide the supplementary data verbally, or manually using a keypad, touchpad, touchscreen, or stylus pen."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,244 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan.
The original application was filed on Aug. 29, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=242&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=5&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Robust Speech Classification Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Jes Thyssen of Laguna Niguel, Calif., has developed a method for robust speech classification in speech coding and, in particular, for robust classification in the presence of background noise.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A noise-free set of parameters is derived, thereby reducing the adverse effects of background noise on the classification process. The speech signal is identified as speech or non-speech. A set of basic parameters is derived for the speech frame, then the noise component of the parameters is estimated and removed. If the frame is non-speech, the noise estimations are updated. All the parameters are then compared against a predetermined set of thresholds."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "Because the background noise has been removed from the parameters, the set of thresholds is largely unaffected by any changes in the noise. The frame is classified into any number of classes, thereby emphasizing the perceptually important features by performing perceptual matching rather than waveform matching."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,242 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Mindspeed Technologies Inc., Newport Beach, Calif.
The original application was filed on Aug. 21, 2000, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=244&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=5&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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U.S., Chinese Inventors Develop Multi-Band Antenna
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Shengli Lin and Chunfei Ye, both of Shanghai, China, and Nilesh N. Shah of Rancho Cordova, Calif., have developed a multi-band antenna and a system for wireless local area network (WNAL) communications.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A multi-band antenna comprises a first conductive layer having one or more parasitic patches, a second conductive layer having a plurality of radiating patches, and a third conductive layer having a ground patch. The first, second and third conductive layers may be separated by first and second substrate layers. The second conductive layer may comprise a first radiating patch having dimensions selected to radiate signals within a first frequency spectrum and second radiating patches having dimensions selected to radiate signals within a second frequency spectrum."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "In wireless local area network (WLAN) embodiments, the first frequency spectrum may comprise a frequency band ranging from approximately 5.1 to 5.9 GigaHertz, and the second frequency spectrum may comprise frequency bands ranging from approximately 2.4 to 2.5 GigaHertz."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,672 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif.
The original application was filed on March 8, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=811&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Beam-Forming Antenna System
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Farrokh Mohamadi of Irvine, Calif., has developed a beam-forming antenna system that includes an array of integrated antenna circuits.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Each integrated antenna circuit includes an oscillator coupled to an antenna. A network couples to the integrated antenna units to provide phasing information to the oscillators. A controller controls the phasing information provided by the network to the oscillators."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "In an alternative embodiment, the phasing to each antenna element is controlled through a fixed corporate feed network. The relative gains of the antenna signals received or transmitted through the fixed corporate feed may be adjusted with respect to each other to provide a beam steering capability."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,670 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on June 3, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=813&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Ornamental Design for Loft Bed
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Charles Nobile of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., has developed an ornamental design for a loft bed, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. D513,370 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Coaster Company of America Inc., Santa Fe Springs.
The original application was filed on Aug. 20, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2289&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=46&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Stent
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Don W. Lee of Glendale, Calif., has developed a stent with a combined distal protection device.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "method and apparatus for introducing a stent into a region of a major blood vessel within the human body in a manner which substantially reduces the risk of embolic material escaping to the vessel and causing a blockage at a downstream location."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A uniquely designed stent delivery catheter includes a central lumen through which a guide wire travels. The central lumen is provided with a valve means that is operable by the guide wire and when moved into a closed position by withdrawal of the guide wire, functions to prevent the flow of loose debris toward the proximal end of the catheter."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,984 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Sept. 17, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1498&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=30&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Spinal Fusion Implant Insertion Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Gary K. Michelson of Venice, Calif., has developed a method for inserting a spinal fusion implant with deployable bone engaging projections.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method is disclosed for inserting an interbody spinal fusion implant for implantation at least in part within and across the generally restored height of a disc space between two adjacent vertebral bodies of a human spine."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The implant has an external housing and a substantially hollow internal rotatable member having bone engaging projections that are deployable through the housing to penetrably engage the adjacent vertebral bodies."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,975 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to SDGI Holdings Inc., Wilmington, Del.
The original application was filed on Dec. 24, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1507&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Vertebral Alignment Assembly
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Laurence M. McKinley of Escondido, Calif., has developed a method and an apparatus for aligning and fixing vertebral bodies.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The low profile vertebral alignment/fixation assembly of the current invention comprises a hemispherical headed pedicle screw disposed within a slotted coupling unit designed to allow angular adjustment of the pedicle screw up to 90 degree and which may be securely locked into position via a single internal locking nut once a standard alignment rod has been inserted into the slotted coupling unit. The low profile vertebral alignment/fixation assembly enables the angular adjustment of the fixation system hardware after final placement and insertion of the pedicle screw into the vertebral body. A system and method for aligning and fixing vertebral bodies using the low profile vertebral alignment/fixation assembly of the invention is also provided."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,973 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Aug. 11, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1509&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Venous Insufficiency Treatment Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Brian E. Farley of Los Altos, Calif., Michael D. Laufer of Menlo Park, Calif., Dawn A. Henderson of Palo Alto, Calif., Douglas M. Petty of Pleasanton, Calif., and Mark P. Parker of San Jose, Calif., have developed an apparatus for treating venous insufficiency using directionally applied energy.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A catheter introduces electrodes in a vein for a minimally invasive treatment of venous insufficiency by the application of energy to cause selective heating of the vein. The catheter is positioned within the vein to be treated, and the electrodes on the catheter are moved toward one side of the vein. Radio-frequency energy is applied in a directional manner from the electrodes at the working end of the catheter to cause localized heating and corresponding shrinkage of the adjacent venous tissue, which may include commissures, leaflets and ostia. Fluoroscopy or ultrasound may be used to detect shrinkage of the vein."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "After treating one section of the vein, the catheter can be repositioned to place the electrodes to treat different sections of the vein until all desired venous valves are repaired and rendered functionally competent."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,972 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to VNUS Medical Technologies Inc., San Jose.
The original application was filed on Jan. 18, 2000, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1510&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Handgrip Installation Tool
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Anthony M. Sandoval of Nuevo, Calif., has developed a tool for installing and removing a hollow, elastically extensible handgrip on a tubular member.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "pneumatic tool for facilitating the installation and removal of a hollow, elastically extensible handgrip on a tubular portion of a device such as, for example, the handlebar of a bicycle or motorcycle. The tool has a handle portion adapted to be comfortable gripped by the hand. A proximal end of the handle portion is adapted to provide a leak-proof connection to a source of compressed air."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The distal (opposing) end of the handle portion has an extension portion extending distally therefrom with a relatively short insertion tip portion having an air injection port extending laterally from a distal end of the extension portion. The insertion tip portion is angled with respect to the axis of the handle portion of the tool and has a convex upper surface and a concave lower surface; the curvature of the lower surface substantially conforming to the curvature of the outer surface of the tubular member."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,310 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Oct. 23, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2163&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=44&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Combinatorial Parameter Space Experiment Design
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Marco Falcioni of San Francisco, C. Eric Ramberg of Sunnyvale, Calif., and Youqi Wang of Atherton, Calif., have developed methods and apparatus, including computer program apparatus, implementing techniques for designing sets of combinatorial experiments.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A set of experimental parameters, sampling patterns, and constraints define a set of experiments that is limited to a volume of a hyperspace defined by the set of experimental parameters. Parameters can be grouped by type such that grouped parameters are constrained to perform a common role in the set of experiments."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The practicability of the experiment design can be estimated based on the number of experiments in the set of experiments. The experiment design can be used to prepare one or more combinatorial libraries."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,233 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Symyx Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.
The original application was filed on April 19, 2001, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=253&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=6&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Radiation Dose Simulation Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Bassam Baroudi of San Jose, Calif., has developed methods and an apparatus for determining a radiation dosage received by a product being exposed to radiation in an irradiator cell through a computer simulation.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "One exemplary method includes a computer simulation for determining radiation dosages received by a product to be passed along a radiation cell, where the product is to be stationary at a set number of locations within the cell is provided."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The method initiates with a point on the product being defined. Then, pre-calculated lengths between the point on the product and the radiation source at each of the set of locations in the cell are identified. Next, a dosage of radiation to be received by the point on the product at each location is calculated using the pre-calculated lengths."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,230 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Sterigenics US Inc., Oakbrook, Ill.
The original application was filed on Sept. 11, 2001, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=256&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=6&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Vehicle Turn Assisting Technique
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Michael L. Obradovich of San Clemente, Calif., has developed a control system that is employed in a vehicle to assist a user to operate the vehicle effectively and safely.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The system provides driving assistance to the user by taking into account the user's physical condition, the vehicle condition and the surrounding conditions. The surrounding conditions include, e.g., road, weather and traffic conditions, external to the vehicle. The vehicle condition concerns the conditions of the brakes, steering, tires, radiator, etc. of the vehicle. Signs of fatigue, stress and illness of the user are monitored by the control system to assess the user's physical condition."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,635 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to American Calcar Inc., Wilmington, Del.
The original application was filed on Sept. 20, 2001, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=848&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Vehicle Immobilizer Device
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Jonathan T. Kemper of San Diego has developed an automotive security system with self-biasing bypass immobilizer.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A vehicle immobilizer disables a vehicle's system after receiving from a vehicle security system two immobilizer control signals in predetermined states. The vehicle's system is a necessary system for the vehicle to run, for example, an ignition system or an engine computer, so that the vehicle is immobilized when the necessary system is disabled."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The immobilizer includes switching and self-biasing circuits that bypass the security system. Bypassing the security system reduces the likelihood of immobilizing a running vehicle because of a security system malfunction."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,631 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Directed Electronics Inc., Vista, Calif.
The original application was filed on Dec. 30, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=852&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=18&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Vibrating Pedestrian Push Button Station
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Leslie A. Beckwith of La Mirada, Calif., and Wayne L. Russell of Ontario, Calif., have developed a vibrating push button station at which a tactile signal is produced.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "vibrating push button station to be associated with a standard traffic signal of the kind used to control vehicular traffic at an intersection so that visually impaired pedestrians will be alerted when the pedestrian WALK signal is illuminated after first pressing a push button."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The push button station includes an electromagnetic assembly that is adapted to generate a changing magnetic field following the depression of the push button. A magnet coupled to the push button by way of a flexible diaphragm is either pulled towards and repelled or simply released by the electromagnetic assembly as the magnetic field changes. The opposite movements of the magnet relative to the electromagnetic assembly is transmitted to the push button as a vibration so that the hand of a user will receive a tactile indication at the push button when vehicular traffic has been halted."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,630 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Polara Engineering Inc., Fullerton, Calif.
The original application was filed on Jan. 2, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=853&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=18&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Exercise Machine
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Tessema Dosho Shifferaw of Albany, Calif., has developed a machine for doing squats and other exercises.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to an "exercise machine having a platform for receiving an exerciser, a post extending from the platform, a carriage which can be moved along the post by the exerciser, and a plurality of elastic elements which can be selectively connected to the carriage to assist or resist movement of the carriage along the post. The machine is highly portable and can be folded for storage."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,934 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on July 19, 2001, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1547&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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U.S., British Inventors Develop Suspended Solid Concentration Measurement Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Michael A. Metcalf of San Diego, and John M. Land of Godalming, Great Britain, have developed a method and an apparatus for combined measurements of concentration, distribution and flow velocity of suspended solids.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A remote sensor and associated data processor, performs concurrent analysis of backscattered signals from a multi-beam acoustic Doppler emitter/receiver positioned against the inside wall of a conveying pipe or channel. Range-gating of the return signals allows independent analysis of discrete volumes of backscattered signal data corresponding to the distribution, concentration and travel velocity of small individual volumes or bins of water and suspended solids. Velocity is derived from the measured Doppler frequency shift for each bin. Relative solids concentration is estimated as a function of the measured intensity of the backscattered signals. The intensity data are calibrated by inputting site-specific environmental information, such as temperature, salinity, acoustical system constant, backscattered signal interpretation ratio between concentration and particle size, and concurrently measured concentration values obtained from physical sample collection and previous laboratory analysis into the analytical computer program."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The program uses iterative routines that adjust calibration parameters using data obtained from the previous measurement on an adjacent layer in a continuous self-correcting process. The apparatus and method provide both historical and real-time measurements of distribution, concentration and velocity of suspended solids in a flow of piped or channeled liquid."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,208 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to MGD Technologies Inc., San Diego.
The original application was filed on Nov. 24, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=276&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=6&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Nickel-Tungsten-Chromium Alloy
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Uday V. Deshmukh of Oceanside, Calif., has developed a nickel-tungsten-chromium alloy for an article of manufacture such as a portion of a golf club head.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The nickel-tungsten-chromium alloy preferably has a density ranging from 9.0 gram/cubic centimeter to 10.5 gram/cubic centimeter, and a Rockwell Hardness ranging from 50 to 92. The nickel-tungsten-chromium alloy is capable of being investment cast to form the article of manufacture."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,924 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Callaway Golf Co., Carlsbad, Calif.
The original application was filed on Nov. 30, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1557&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=32&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Golf Club
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Konrad Lenhof of Vista, Calif., and Jerry V. Blanke of Murrieta, Calif., have developed an assembly for securing a shaft to a golf club head without the use of an adhesive.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The golf club of the present invention includes a shaft, a club head and an attachment assembly, which allows for an essentially adhesive free connection between the shaft and the club head."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "In one embodiment, the attachment assembly includes a screw and a shaft ring. The shaft ring is welded to the interior wall of the shaft near the tip end. Another embodiment of the attachment assembly includes a locking sleeve."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,922 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Callaway Golf Co., Carlsbad, Calif.
The original application was filed on June 16, 2005, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1559&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=32&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Energy Transfer Element
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Chan Woong Park of San Jose, Calif., has developed a method and an apparatus for substantially reducing electrical displacement current flow between input and output windings of an energy transfer element.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to an "energy transfer element with substantially reduced electrical displacement current flow between an input circuit coupled to the energy transfer element input winding and an output circuit coupled to the energy transfer element output winding. In one aspect, an energy transfer element includes an input winding, an output winding, an electrically conductive shield coupled to the input winding and a first cancellation winding coupled to the input winding."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The electrically conductive shield is physically positioned between input and output windings. The output winding is physically positioned between the electrically conductive shield and the first cancellation winding. The first cancellation winding is wound to substantially reduce a capacitive displacement current between the input circuit and the output circuit."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,621 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Power Integrations Inc., San Jose.
The original application was filed on April 1, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=862&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=18&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Navigation System Icon Display Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Hikaru Wako of Redondo Beach, Calif., has developed a point of interest (POI) icon display method in a navigation system for displaying a POI icon at a POI point on a map.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "For every POI in a POI category, the location point and type of POI are stored. Each POI is identified on the displayed map by the same POI icon, and when a POI icon of a POI is selected, the type of POI is displayed. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the number of POI icons, recognize the type of POI, such as the type of food of a restaurant (classified by country, such as Japanese food, Chinese food, Italian food, and French food), and provide a guide route to a desired POI quickly."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,203 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Alpine Electronics Inc., Tokyo.
The original application was filed on July 28, 2000, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=281&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=6&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California, Texas Inventors Develop Airflow Volume Control System
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Abdlmonem H. Beitelmal of Los Altos, Calif., Cullen E. Bash of San Francisco, and David Allen Moore of Tomball, Texas, have developed a control system for controlling airflow through a vent.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The system includes a vent assembly having a frame. The frame includes an opening to allow air to flow through the frame."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The vent assembly also includes a movable damper for variably restricting the fluid flow through the opening in the vent assembly, a motor for controlling movement of the damper, and a sensor for determining the position of the damper. In addition, a controller is provided to control the motor to vary the position of the damper to thereby vary the airflow through the opening in the vent assembly."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,915 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Hewlett-Packard Development Co. LP, Houston.
The original application was filed on March 15, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1566&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=32&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Comparator Electronic Device
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Yi Cheng of San Jose, Calif., has developed an apparatus and a method of a programmable hysteresis comparator capable of producing a digital signal in response to differential input signals.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "In one embodiment, the programmable hysteresis comparator includes a hysteresis offset programmable circuit that is operable to selectively provide a hysteresis offset in response to a programmable hysteresis offset control signal."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The programmable hysteresis comparator further includes a comparator circuit, which is capable of receiving differential input signals. The hysteresis comparator is operable to output a digital signal in response to differential input signals and the hysteresis offset."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,582 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Marvell International Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda.
The original application was filed on June 23, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=901&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=19&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Ornamental Design for Golf Club
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Christopher B. Best of Encinitas, Calif., and Ryan L. Roach of Cardiff-By-The-Sea, Calif., have developed an ornamental design for a golf club, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. D513,423 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Acushnet Co., Fairhaven, Mass.
The original application was filed on June 14, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2236&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=45&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Ornamental Design for Lamp Housing Portion
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Robert De'Armond of Temecula, Calif., has developed an ornamental design for a portion of lamp housing, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. D513,441 on Jan. 3
The patent has been assigned to Minka Lighting Inc., Corona, Calif.
The original application was filed on Nov. 29, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2218&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=45&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Ornamental Design for Golf Club Head
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Joel B. Erickson of Carlsbad, Calif., Homer E. Aguinaldo of San Diego, and Garth W. Smith of Oceanside, Calif., have developed an ornamental design for a golf club head, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. D513,424 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Callaway Golf Co., Carlsbad.
The original application was filed on Jan. 27, 2005, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2235&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=45&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in California.
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California Inventor Develops Flexy-Power Amplifier
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Giuseppe Rossi of Pasadena, Calif., has developed power amplifiers used in complementary metal oxide semiconductor active pixel sensors.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A voltage amplifier is provided. The voltage amplifier includes an amplifier stage to amplify an input signal. A bias current generator supplies a bias current to the amplifier stage. The bias current generator is controllable in response to a frame rate signal that is representative of a video frame rate."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A compensation network stabilizes a loop response of the voltage amplifier. The compensation network is controllable in response to the frame rate signal."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,758 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Micron Technology Inc., Boise, Idaho.
The original application was filed on Oct. 18, 2001, and is available Here.
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U.S., British Inventors Develop Port-Bundle Host-Key Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Shuxian Lou of San Jose, Calif., Richard M. Pruss of Los Gatos, Calif., Adam L. Taylor of Acton, Mass., Ian M. Cotton of Reading, Great Britain, and Mark C. Willis of Burghfield, Great Britain, have developed an apparatus and a method to associate a subscriber with one of many port bundles in an aggregation device.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The method reserves one of the port bundles for the subscriber if the subscriber was not assigned a port bundle, changes the original source port number in a data packet to a port bundle number, modifies the subscriber address to an assigned aggregation address, and issues a request to a remote management device for authentication of the subscriber. Once a response is received from the management device including the authentication or unauthentication of the subscriber, the subscriber is mapped with the reserved port bundle in a port bundle object and the reserved port bundle is then assigned to the subscriber."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The apparatus has at least one source port to receive a data packet, several port bundles coupled to the source port, each port bundle having a memory with a port bundle object to associate the subscriber with one of the port bundles, a processor coupled to the port bundles, and an output port coupled to the processor."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,332 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Cisco Technology Inc., San Jose.
The original application was filed on April 23, 2001, and is available Here.
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California Inventors Develop Multiple Layer Information Object Repository
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Michael J. Kirkwood of San Francisco, and Sima Yazdani of Pleasanton, Calif., have developed techniques for relating data stored in one or more storage systems for an enterprise that include managing information chunks in one or more storage systems.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Each chunk comprises a unit of data for storage and retrieval operations. The techniques also include managing a vocabulary database. The vocabulary database includes data structures describing atomic concepts among names in an enterprise-specific vocabulary and data structures describing relationships among the atomic concepts."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "Content in a document is arranged based at least in part on data in the vocabulary database. The content is based at least in part on an information object or 'chunk' in the storage system. Thus, content originally unrelated and authored over time by many different persons and organizations can be related using the business vocabulary concepts and relationships in the vocabulary database."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,288 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Cisco Technology Inc., San Jose, Calif.
The original application was filed on Aug. 8, 2001, and is available Here.
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California Inventors Develop Flashback Cursors Sharing Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Bipul Sinha, Namit Jain and Srinivas Vemuri, all from Foster City, Calif., Amit Ganesh of San Jose, Calif., and Archna Kalra Johnson of Sunnyvale, Calif., have developed a method and an apparatus for accessing data as it existed at a previous point in time.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Techniques are provided for sharing of flashback cursors by adding a time domain property to flashback cursors. This time domain property defines the range of flashback times for which the flashback cursor is valid. According to one embodiment, this 'validity range' is closed at the lower bound and open at the upper bound. A subsequent flashback query can share an existing flashback cursor if the flashback time of the subsequent flashback query falls within the validity range of the existing flashback cursor."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "In one embodiment, the validity range of a flashback cursor is established based on times associated with indexes used to process the flashback query for which the flashback cursor was made. Consequently, an existing flashback cursor is less likely to be used by a subsequent flashback query when it would be inefficient to do so."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,286 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Oracle International Corp., Redwood Shores, Calif.
The original application was filed on Dec. 18, 2002, and is available Here.
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California Inventors Develop Computer Interface Device
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Adam C. Braun and Mike D. Levin, both of Sunnyvale, Calif., and Louis B. Rosenberg of Pleasanton, Calif., have developed a method and an apparatus for controlling and providing force feedback using an interface device manipulated by a user.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A microprocessor is provided local to the interface device and reads sensor data from sensors that describes the position and/or other information about a user object moved by the user, such as a joystick. The microprocessor controls actuators to provide forces on the user object and provides the sensor data to a host computer that is coupled to the interface device. The host computer sends high level host commands to the local microprocessor, and the microprocessor independently implements a local reflex process based on the high level command to provide force values to the actuators using sensor data and other parameters."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A provided host command protocol includes a variety of different types of host commands and associated command parameters. By providing a relatively small set of high level host commands and parameters which are translated into a panoply of forces, the protocol further shifts the computational burden from the host computer to the local microprocessor and allows a software developer to easily create force feedback applications."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,700 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Immersion Corp., San Jose, Calif.
The original application was filed on April 14, 2003, and is available Here.
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Washington Inventors Develop Scene Graph Memory Management Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Henry Sowizral of Bellevue, Wash., Karel Zikan of Seattle, and Randall Keller of San Carlos, Calif., have developed a system and a method that manages scene graphs by data staging.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Data staging entails selectively loading only the portions of the scene graph that are currently needed or likely to be needed in the near future. Other objects in the scene graph that are not currently needed or likely to be needed may be replaced by pointers. The pointers may point to the location from which the objects may be accessed if necessary for a future frame."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The replaced portions of the scene graph may be compressed and/or cached to a local memory device (e.g., a local array of read-write optical drives) capable of storing large amounts of data, with the pointers indicating where the objects are stored."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,283 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Sun Microsystems Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.
The original application was filed on Oct. 3, 2001, and is available Here.
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California Inventor Develops Moving Magnet Actuator
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Erik J. Shahoian of San Ramon, Calif., has developed a moving magnet actuator for providing haptic feedback.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The actuator includes a grounded core member, a coil is wrapped around a central projection of the core member, and a magnet head positioned so as to provide a gap between the core member and the magnet head. The magnet head is moved in a degree of freedom based on an electromagnetic force caused by a current flowed through the coil."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "An elastic material, such as foam, is positioned in the gap between the magnet head and the core member, where the elastic material is compressed and sheared when the magnet head moves and substantially prevents movement of the magnet head past a range limit that is based on the compressibility and shear factor of the material. Flexible members can also be provided between the magnet head and the ground member, where the flexible members flex to allow the magnet head to move, provide a centering spring force to the magnet head, and limit the motion of the magnet head."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,696 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Immersion Corp., San Jose, Calif.
The original application was filed on June 30, 2000, and is available Here.
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California Inventors Develop Supply Chain Management Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Janet Yu of San Francisco, Eric Larkin of San Jose, Calif., and Michael Topolovac of Monterey, Calif., have developed a system and a method for access control and for supply chain management via a shared bill of material (BOM).
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "method and computer program product for securely uploading and downloading data from a client to a remote data storage location under control of a remote application program. The data is stored in encrypted form so that the data server has no access to the data. The data is associated with a BOM and may be accessed by users without providing access to the data space of the client. Also disclosed is a method and computer program so automatically assign access privileges to one or more users of data in a bill of material stored in a shared database such that the step of refining a role for the user for a data item automatically assigns access privileges for the user for the data and other related data items."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "Also described is linking BOMs to provide peer-to-peer access and views to different users. Also described is a method and software program that provides of propagation of data through the supply chain via one or more bills of materials."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,278 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Arena Solutions Inc., Menlo Park, Calif.
The original application was filed on April 10, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=208&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=5&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Computer Software Contrast Control Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Francis James Canova Jr. of Fremont, Calif., and Robert Gregory Twiss of Portola Valley, Calif., have developed a method for software contrast control and a portable computer implementing software contrast control.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The contrast control is initiated by a single interaction with an input mechanism, for example a pressing of a dedicated contrast control button. The method can be applied more generally to viewing parameters other than contrast such as brightness, color bit depth, color versus monochrome, and screen resolution. The method includes a processor disposed in the portable computer receiving an activation signal from a button or other input mechanism, and displaying viewing parameter adjustment graphics on the image screen. The method continues with the processor receiving a viewing parameter adjustment signal and responding to the adjustment signal by adjusting the viewing parameter levels for the image screen to levels based on the adjustment graphics."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The method can include activating the input mechanism by applying a single interaction to thereto prior to the receiving of the activation signal for viewing parameter control. The portable computer can include a display, a contrast control hardware button, a processor, and a memory. The viewing parameter levels vary in response to image screen drive voltages. The processor responds to input applied to the viewing parameter control graphical user interface elements by adjusting the viewing parameters. The applying of the input includes one or more of selecting and adjusting one or more of the viewing parameter control graphical user interface elements."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,695 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to PalmSource Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif.
The original application was filed on April 22, 1999, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=788&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=16&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Electronic Commerce Transaction Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Manoel Tenorio of Mountain View, Calif., has developed a method for facilitating electronic commerce transactions using buyer profiles.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A system for sorting search results according to a buyer profile during the matching phase of an electronic commerce transaction includes a database containing a buyer profile associated with a buyer, the buyer profile comprising a record of the number of times each of multiple sort criteria has appeared in at least some previous events involving the buyer."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A server receives multiple search results communicated from one or more seller databases in response to an under-constrained search query in which exact attribute values are not specified for one or more attributes. The server accesses the buyer profile to determine an order of display based on the number of times one or more sort criteria in the buyer profile applicable to the search results have appeared in the previous events involving the buyer. The server sorts the search results according to the determined order of display and communicates the sorted search results to the buyer."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,276 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to i2 Technologies US Inc., Dallas.
The original application was filed on May 15, 2001, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=210&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=5&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Security Analyst Performance Analysis Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Joseph G. Gatto of San Francisco has developed a system and a method for measuring, analyzing and tracking the past performance of security analysts' earnings estimates and recommendations.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A database containing historical information pertaining to analyst earnings estimates and recommendations is downloaded into the system. Pre-calculated data values are also added to the database including adjustment factors a single or set of analysts based upon their historical earnings estimates as compared to actual earnings estimates over time, and other user-defined performance analysis set parameters and metrics."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A weighting factor may also be calculated for a set of analysts based upon factors such as the recency of an analyst's earnings estimates. Using these adjustment and weighting factors and each analyst's actual earnings estimate, a custom composite estimate may be derived. A front-end graphical user interface is used to view analyst historical data either as raw data or, by using a data visualization technique, as a graph or chart."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,257 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Starmine Corp., San Francisco.
The original application was filed on April 10, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=229&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=5&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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U.S., French Inventors Develop Graphics Applications Management Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Alpana R. Kaulgud of Mountain View, Calif., and Christophe Winkler of Viterne, France, have developed a system and a method for managing graphics applications.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A system and method for managing graphics applications include the capability to receive graphics data from an unaware graphics application and convey the graphics data to at least one of a plurality of graphics pipes having different display directions. The system and method further include the capability to modify the graphics data to account for non-planar display of the graphics data."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,682 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Silicon Graphics Inc., Mountain View.
The original application was filed on July 29, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=801&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Slot Antenna
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Colm C. Kennedy of Granada Hills, Calif., and Duane K. Mc Nutt of Carpinteria, Calif., have developed a slot antenna that is mountable on the Hercules aircraft dorsal fin.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The slot antenna includes a lower plate that forms a false spar, an upper plate adjacent to the lower plate, an antenna element, and a tuner operatively connected to the antenna element. The antenna element is integrated within the upper plate. The slot antenna includes a radio frequency feed line that operatively connects the tuners to the antenna element."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,677 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Oct. 18, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=806&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Multiple Slot Antenna
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Daniel F. Sievenpiper of Santa Monica, Calif., and James H. Schaffner of Chatsworth, Calif., have developed a plano-convex rotman lenses, an ultra wideband array employing a hybrid long slot aperture and a quasi-optic beam former.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "multiple slot antenna wherein the slots are arranged in a planar configuration and therein the antenna further comprises a plurality of plano-convex Rotman lenses disposed in a stack, each plano-convex Rotman lens in said stack having a major surface disposed at an angle to the planar configuration of the slots of the antenna, with planar portions of the each Rotman lens defining a portion of each one of the slots of the antenna."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,676 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to HRL Laboratories LLC, Malibu, Calif.
The original application was filed on Feb. 6, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=807&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Speech Recognition Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Jean-Claude Junqua, Roland Kuhn, Matteo Contolini and Rathinavelu Chengalvarayan, all from Santa Barbara, Calif., have developed a method for improving recognition results of a speech recognizer that uses supplementary information to confirm recognition results.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A user inputs speech to a speech recognizer. The speech recognizer resides on a mobile device or on a server at a remote location. The speech recognizer determines a recognition result based on the input speech. A confidence measure is calculated for the recognition result. If the confidence measure is below a threshold, the user is prompted for supplementary data. The supplementary data is determined dynamically based on ambiguities between the input speech and the recognition result, wherein the supplementary data will distinguish the input speech over potential incorrect results."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The supplementary data may be a subset of alphanumeric characters that comprise the input speech, or other data associated with a desired result, such as an area code or location. The user may provide the supplementary data verbally, or manually using a keypad, touchpad, touchscreen, or stylus pen."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,244 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan.
The original application was filed on Aug. 29, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=242&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=5&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Robust Speech Classification Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Jes Thyssen of Laguna Niguel, Calif., has developed a method for robust speech classification in speech coding and, in particular, for robust classification in the presence of background noise.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A noise-free set of parameters is derived, thereby reducing the adverse effects of background noise on the classification process. The speech signal is identified as speech or non-speech. A set of basic parameters is derived for the speech frame, then the noise component of the parameters is estimated and removed. If the frame is non-speech, the noise estimations are updated. All the parameters are then compared against a predetermined set of thresholds."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "Because the background noise has been removed from the parameters, the set of thresholds is largely unaffected by any changes in the noise. The frame is classified into any number of classes, thereby emphasizing the perceptually important features by performing perceptual matching rather than waveform matching."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,242 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Mindspeed Technologies Inc., Newport Beach, Calif.
The original application was filed on Aug. 21, 2000, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=244&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=5&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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U.S., Chinese Inventors Develop Multi-Band Antenna
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Shengli Lin and Chunfei Ye, both of Shanghai, China, and Nilesh N. Shah of Rancho Cordova, Calif., have developed a multi-band antenna and a system for wireless local area network (WNAL) communications.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A multi-band antenna comprises a first conductive layer having one or more parasitic patches, a second conductive layer having a plurality of radiating patches, and a third conductive layer having a ground patch. The first, second and third conductive layers may be separated by first and second substrate layers. The second conductive layer may comprise a first radiating patch having dimensions selected to radiate signals within a first frequency spectrum and second radiating patches having dimensions selected to radiate signals within a second frequency spectrum."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "In wireless local area network (WLAN) embodiments, the first frequency spectrum may comprise a frequency band ranging from approximately 5.1 to 5.9 GigaHertz, and the second frequency spectrum may comprise frequency bands ranging from approximately 2.4 to 2.5 GigaHertz."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,672 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif.
The original application was filed on March 8, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=811&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Beam-Forming Antenna System
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Farrokh Mohamadi of Irvine, Calif., has developed a beam-forming antenna system that includes an array of integrated antenna circuits.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Each integrated antenna circuit includes an oscillator coupled to an antenna. A network couples to the integrated antenna units to provide phasing information to the oscillators. A controller controls the phasing information provided by the network to the oscillators."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "In an alternative embodiment, the phasing to each antenna element is controlled through a fixed corporate feed network. The relative gains of the antenna signals received or transmitted through the fixed corporate feed may be adjusted with respect to each other to provide a beam steering capability."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,670 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on June 3, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=813&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Ornamental Design for Loft Bed
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Charles Nobile of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., has developed an ornamental design for a loft bed, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. D513,370 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Coaster Company of America Inc., Santa Fe Springs.
The original application was filed on Aug. 20, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2289&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=46&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Stent
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Don W. Lee of Glendale, Calif., has developed a stent with a combined distal protection device.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "method and apparatus for introducing a stent into a region of a major blood vessel within the human body in a manner which substantially reduces the risk of embolic material escaping to the vessel and causing a blockage at a downstream location."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A uniquely designed stent delivery catheter includes a central lumen through which a guide wire travels. The central lumen is provided with a valve means that is operable by the guide wire and when moved into a closed position by withdrawal of the guide wire, functions to prevent the flow of loose debris toward the proximal end of the catheter."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,984 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Sept. 17, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1498&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=30&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Spinal Fusion Implant Insertion Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Gary K. Michelson of Venice, Calif., has developed a method for inserting a spinal fusion implant with deployable bone engaging projections.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method is disclosed for inserting an interbody spinal fusion implant for implantation at least in part within and across the generally restored height of a disc space between two adjacent vertebral bodies of a human spine."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The implant has an external housing and a substantially hollow internal rotatable member having bone engaging projections that are deployable through the housing to penetrably engage the adjacent vertebral bodies."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,975 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to SDGI Holdings Inc., Wilmington, Del.
The original application was filed on Dec. 24, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1507&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Vertebral Alignment Assembly
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Laurence M. McKinley of Escondido, Calif., has developed a method and an apparatus for aligning and fixing vertebral bodies.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The low profile vertebral alignment/fixation assembly of the current invention comprises a hemispherical headed pedicle screw disposed within a slotted coupling unit designed to allow angular adjustment of the pedicle screw up to 90 degree and which may be securely locked into position via a single internal locking nut once a standard alignment rod has been inserted into the slotted coupling unit. The low profile vertebral alignment/fixation assembly enables the angular adjustment of the fixation system hardware after final placement and insertion of the pedicle screw into the vertebral body. A system and method for aligning and fixing vertebral bodies using the low profile vertebral alignment/fixation assembly of the invention is also provided."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,973 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Aug. 11, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1509&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Venous Insufficiency Treatment Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Brian E. Farley of Los Altos, Calif., Michael D. Laufer of Menlo Park, Calif., Dawn A. Henderson of Palo Alto, Calif., Douglas M. Petty of Pleasanton, Calif., and Mark P. Parker of San Jose, Calif., have developed an apparatus for treating venous insufficiency using directionally applied energy.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A catheter introduces electrodes in a vein for a minimally invasive treatment of venous insufficiency by the application of energy to cause selective heating of the vein. The catheter is positioned within the vein to be treated, and the electrodes on the catheter are moved toward one side of the vein. Radio-frequency energy is applied in a directional manner from the electrodes at the working end of the catheter to cause localized heating and corresponding shrinkage of the adjacent venous tissue, which may include commissures, leaflets and ostia. Fluoroscopy or ultrasound may be used to detect shrinkage of the vein."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "After treating one section of the vein, the catheter can be repositioned to place the electrodes to treat different sections of the vein until all desired venous valves are repaired and rendered functionally competent."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,972 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to VNUS Medical Technologies Inc., San Jose.
The original application was filed on Jan. 18, 2000, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1510&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Handgrip Installation Tool
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Anthony M. Sandoval of Nuevo, Calif., has developed a tool for installing and removing a hollow, elastically extensible handgrip on a tubular member.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "pneumatic tool for facilitating the installation and removal of a hollow, elastically extensible handgrip on a tubular portion of a device such as, for example, the handlebar of a bicycle or motorcycle. The tool has a handle portion adapted to be comfortable gripped by the hand. A proximal end of the handle portion is adapted to provide a leak-proof connection to a source of compressed air."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The distal (opposing) end of the handle portion has an extension portion extending distally therefrom with a relatively short insertion tip portion having an air injection port extending laterally from a distal end of the extension portion. The insertion tip portion is angled with respect to the axis of the handle portion of the tool and has a convex upper surface and a concave lower surface; the curvature of the lower surface substantially conforming to the curvature of the outer surface of the tubular member."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,310 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Oct. 23, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2163&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=44&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Combinatorial Parameter Space Experiment Design
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Marco Falcioni of San Francisco, C. Eric Ramberg of Sunnyvale, Calif., and Youqi Wang of Atherton, Calif., have developed methods and apparatus, including computer program apparatus, implementing techniques for designing sets of combinatorial experiments.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A set of experimental parameters, sampling patterns, and constraints define a set of experiments that is limited to a volume of a hyperspace defined by the set of experimental parameters. Parameters can be grouped by type such that grouped parameters are constrained to perform a common role in the set of experiments."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The practicability of the experiment design can be estimated based on the number of experiments in the set of experiments. The experiment design can be used to prepare one or more combinatorial libraries."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,233 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Symyx Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.
The original application was filed on April 19, 2001, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=253&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=6&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Radiation Dose Simulation Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Bassam Baroudi of San Jose, Calif., has developed methods and an apparatus for determining a radiation dosage received by a product being exposed to radiation in an irradiator cell through a computer simulation.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "One exemplary method includes a computer simulation for determining radiation dosages received by a product to be passed along a radiation cell, where the product is to be stationary at a set number of locations within the cell is provided."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The method initiates with a point on the product being defined. Then, pre-calculated lengths between the point on the product and the radiation source at each of the set of locations in the cell are identified. Next, a dosage of radiation to be received by the point on the product at each location is calculated using the pre-calculated lengths."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,230 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Sterigenics US Inc., Oakbrook, Ill.
The original application was filed on Sept. 11, 2001, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=256&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=6&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Vehicle Turn Assisting Technique
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Michael L. Obradovich of San Clemente, Calif., has developed a control system that is employed in a vehicle to assist a user to operate the vehicle effectively and safely.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The system provides driving assistance to the user by taking into account the user's physical condition, the vehicle condition and the surrounding conditions. The surrounding conditions include, e.g., road, weather and traffic conditions, external to the vehicle. The vehicle condition concerns the conditions of the brakes, steering, tires, radiator, etc. of the vehicle. Signs of fatigue, stress and illness of the user are monitored by the control system to assess the user's physical condition."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,635 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to American Calcar Inc., Wilmington, Del.
The original application was filed on Sept. 20, 2001, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=848&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Vehicle Immobilizer Device
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Jonathan T. Kemper of San Diego has developed an automotive security system with self-biasing bypass immobilizer.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A vehicle immobilizer disables a vehicle's system after receiving from a vehicle security system two immobilizer control signals in predetermined states. The vehicle's system is a necessary system for the vehicle to run, for example, an ignition system or an engine computer, so that the vehicle is immobilized when the necessary system is disabled."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The immobilizer includes switching and self-biasing circuits that bypass the security system. Bypassing the security system reduces the likelihood of immobilizing a running vehicle because of a security system malfunction."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,631 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Directed Electronics Inc., Vista, Calif.
The original application was filed on Dec. 30, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=852&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=18&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Vibrating Pedestrian Push Button Station
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Leslie A. Beckwith of La Mirada, Calif., and Wayne L. Russell of Ontario, Calif., have developed a vibrating push button station at which a tactile signal is produced.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to a "vibrating push button station to be associated with a standard traffic signal of the kind used to control vehicular traffic at an intersection so that visually impaired pedestrians will be alerted when the pedestrian WALK signal is illuminated after first pressing a push button."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The push button station includes an electromagnetic assembly that is adapted to generate a changing magnetic field following the depression of the push button. A magnet coupled to the push button by way of a flexible diaphragm is either pulled towards and repelled or simply released by the electromagnetic assembly as the magnetic field changes. The opposite movements of the magnet relative to the electromagnetic assembly is transmitted to the push button as a vibration so that the hand of a user will receive a tactile indication at the push button when vehicular traffic has been halted."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,630 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Polara Engineering Inc., Fullerton, Calif.
The original application was filed on Jan. 2, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=853&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=18&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Exercise Machine
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Tessema Dosho Shifferaw of Albany, Calif., has developed a machine for doing squats and other exercises.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to an "exercise machine having a platform for receiving an exerciser, a post extending from the platform, a carriage which can be moved along the post by the exerciser, and a plurality of elastic elements which can be selectively connected to the carriage to assist or resist movement of the carriage along the post. The machine is highly portable and can be folded for storage."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,934 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on July 19, 2001, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1547&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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U.S., British Inventors Develop Suspended Solid Concentration Measurement Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Michael A. Metcalf of San Diego, and John M. Land of Godalming, Great Britain, have developed a method and an apparatus for combined measurements of concentration, distribution and flow velocity of suspended solids.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A remote sensor and associated data processor, performs concurrent analysis of backscattered signals from a multi-beam acoustic Doppler emitter/receiver positioned against the inside wall of a conveying pipe or channel. Range-gating of the return signals allows independent analysis of discrete volumes of backscattered signal data corresponding to the distribution, concentration and travel velocity of small individual volumes or bins of water and suspended solids. Velocity is derived from the measured Doppler frequency shift for each bin. Relative solids concentration is estimated as a function of the measured intensity of the backscattered signals. The intensity data are calibrated by inputting site-specific environmental information, such as temperature, salinity, acoustical system constant, backscattered signal interpretation ratio between concentration and particle size, and concurrently measured concentration values obtained from physical sample collection and previous laboratory analysis into the analytical computer program."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The program uses iterative routines that adjust calibration parameters using data obtained from the previous measurement on an adjacent layer in a continuous self-correcting process. The apparatus and method provide both historical and real-time measurements of distribution, concentration and velocity of suspended solids in a flow of piped or channeled liquid."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,208 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to MGD Technologies Inc., San Diego.
The original application was filed on Nov. 24, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=276&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=6&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Nickel-Tungsten-Chromium Alloy
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Uday V. Deshmukh of Oceanside, Calif., has developed a nickel-tungsten-chromium alloy for an article of manufacture such as a portion of a golf club head.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The nickel-tungsten-chromium alloy preferably has a density ranging from 9.0 gram/cubic centimeter to 10.5 gram/cubic centimeter, and a Rockwell Hardness ranging from 50 to 92. The nickel-tungsten-chromium alloy is capable of being investment cast to form the article of manufacture."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,924 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Callaway Golf Co., Carlsbad, Calif.
The original application was filed on Nov. 30, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1557&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=32&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Golf Club
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Konrad Lenhof of Vista, Calif., and Jerry V. Blanke of Murrieta, Calif., have developed an assembly for securing a shaft to a golf club head without the use of an adhesive.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The golf club of the present invention includes a shaft, a club head and an attachment assembly, which allows for an essentially adhesive free connection between the shaft and the club head."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "In one embodiment, the attachment assembly includes a screw and a shaft ring. The shaft ring is welded to the interior wall of the shaft near the tip end. Another embodiment of the attachment assembly includes a locking sleeve."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,922 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Callaway Golf Co., Carlsbad, Calif.
The original application was filed on June 16, 2005, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1559&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=32&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Energy Transfer Element
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Chan Woong Park of San Jose, Calif., has developed a method and an apparatus for substantially reducing electrical displacement current flow between input and output windings of an energy transfer element.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to an "energy transfer element with substantially reduced electrical displacement current flow between an input circuit coupled to the energy transfer element input winding and an output circuit coupled to the energy transfer element output winding. In one aspect, an energy transfer element includes an input winding, an output winding, an electrically conductive shield coupled to the input winding and a first cancellation winding coupled to the input winding."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The electrically conductive shield is physically positioned between input and output windings. The output winding is physically positioned between the electrically conductive shield and the first cancellation winding. The first cancellation winding is wound to substantially reduce a capacitive displacement current between the input circuit and the output circuit."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,621 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Power Integrations Inc., San Jose.
The original application was filed on April 1, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=862&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=18&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Navigation System Icon Display Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Hikaru Wako of Redondo Beach, Calif., has developed a point of interest (POI) icon display method in a navigation system for displaying a POI icon at a POI point on a map.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "For every POI in a POI category, the location point and type of POI are stored. Each POI is identified on the displayed map by the same POI icon, and when a POI icon of a POI is selected, the type of POI is displayed. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the number of POI icons, recognize the type of POI, such as the type of food of a restaurant (classified by country, such as Japanese food, Chinese food, Italian food, and French food), and provide a guide route to a desired POI quickly."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,203 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Alpine Electronics Inc., Tokyo.
The original application was filed on July 28, 2000, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=281&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=6&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California, Texas Inventors Develop Airflow Volume Control System
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Abdlmonem H. Beitelmal of Los Altos, Calif., Cullen E. Bash of San Francisco, and David Allen Moore of Tomball, Texas, have developed a control system for controlling airflow through a vent.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The system includes a vent assembly having a frame. The frame includes an opening to allow air to flow through the frame."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The vent assembly also includes a movable damper for variably restricting the fluid flow through the opening in the vent assembly, a motor for controlling movement of the damper, and a sensor for determining the position of the damper. In addition, a controller is provided to control the motor to vary the position of the damper to thereby vary the airflow through the opening in the vent assembly."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,915 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Hewlett-Packard Development Co. LP, Houston.
The original application was filed on March 15, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1566&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=32&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Comparator Electronic Device
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Yi Cheng of San Jose, Calif., has developed an apparatus and a method of a programmable hysteresis comparator capable of producing a digital signal in response to differential input signals.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "In one embodiment, the programmable hysteresis comparator includes a hysteresis offset programmable circuit that is operable to selectively provide a hysteresis offset in response to a programmable hysteresis offset control signal."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The programmable hysteresis comparator further includes a comparator circuit, which is capable of receiving differential input signals. The hysteresis comparator is operable to output a digital signal in response to differential input signals and the hysteresis offset."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,582 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Marvell International Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda.
The original application was filed on June 23, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=901&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=19&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Ornamental Design for Golf Club
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Christopher B. Best of Encinitas, Calif., and Ryan L. Roach of Cardiff-By-The-Sea, Calif., have developed an ornamental design for a golf club, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. D513,423 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Acushnet Co., Fairhaven, Mass.
The original application was filed on June 14, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2236&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=45&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventor Develops Ornamental Design for Lamp Housing Portion
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Robert De'Armond of Temecula, Calif., has developed an ornamental design for a portion of lamp housing, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. D513,441 on Jan. 3
The patent has been assigned to Minka Lighting Inc., Corona, Calif.
The original application was filed on Nov. 29, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2218&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=45&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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California Inventors Develop Ornamental Design for Golf Club Head
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Joel B. Erickson of Carlsbad, Calif., Homer E. Aguinaldo of San Diego, and Garth W. Smith of Oceanside, Calif., have developed an ornamental design for a golf club head, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. D513,424 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Callaway Golf Co., Carlsbad.
The original application was filed on Jan. 27, 2005, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2235&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=45&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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For more information about Targeted News Service and its NewsFocus products, such as the Federal Contract Awards, contact Myron Struck, Editor, Springfield, Va., 703/304-1897, myron@targetednews.com or Marlyn Vitin, managing editor, Marlyn@targetednews.com.
FEDERAL PATENTS AWARDED TO INVENTORS IN FLORIDA JAN. 6
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in Florida.
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Florida Inventor Develops Organism Killer Dispenser System
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Robert B. Rigby of Nokomis, Fla., has developed a method for killing and managing red tide and other dinoflagelents.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A manifold assembly is formed of a pipe. The pipe has an open interior. A fluid handling assembly has a plurality of downwardly facing spaced apertures in the manifold. A flexible tube extends downwardly from each aperture. The fluid handling assembly also has a supply of fluid. The fluid is adapted to kill and manage dinoflagelents."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A line couples the supply with the tubes for the dispensing of the fluid. At least one water craft with a line couples the central water craft to the manifold. A sensor is provided to determine ambient conditions. The sensor is adapted to analyze the sensed ambient conditions and dispense the fluid at an appropriate rate."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,031 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Jan. 14, 2005, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1451&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=30&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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Florida Inventor Develops Inflatable Balloon Catheter Seal
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Boris Shkolnik of Aventura, Fla., has developed an inflatable balloon catheter seal and a method.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to an "improved balloon catheter seal which may be used for attaching an inflatable balloon to a catheter body, especially when the balloon and catheter body are formed from dissimilar materials. The seal is formed by applying a layer of adhesive material between the inflatable balloon and the catheter body, and crimping a retaining ring over each seal junction. The invention is especially useful when joining a compliant balloon made from silicone to a catheter body made from polyurethane."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,024 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on April 4, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1458&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=30&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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Florida Inventors Develop Coaxial Horn Antenna System
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Jay A. Kralovec of Melbourne, Fla., Griffin K. Gothard of Satellite Beach, Fla., and Timothy E. Durham of Palm Bay, Fla., have developed an antenna feed system that includes a plurality of radio frequency (RF) horn antennas for operating on a plurality of RF frequency bands.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A first one of the feed horns can have a boresight axis and is configured for operating at a first one of the frequency bands. A second one of the feed horns is positioned coaxially within the first one of the feed horns and is configured for operating at least at a second one of the frequency bands. Further, the first one of the feed horns is a corrugated horn that has a plurality of corrugations formed on an interior surface defining a profile."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The profile extends substantially from a throat of the first feed horn and along a tapered portion of the first feed horn. The profile substantially minimizes an interaction of the corrugations with the second feed horn."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,679 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Harris Corp., Melbourne.
The original application was filed on Oct. 27, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=804&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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Florida Inventors Develop Ornamental Design for Compressor Tester Cabinet
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Edward Jeffers and Richard Koldewey, both of Hialeah, Fla., have developed an ornamental design for a compressor tester cabinet, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. D512,929 on Dec. 20, 2005.
The patent has been assigned to CPS Products Inc., Hialeah.
The original application was filed on June 29, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2389&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20051220&p=48&OS=ISD/12/20/2005&RS=ISD/12/20/2005.
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Florida Inventor Develops Liquid Dispensing Device
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Boyd J. Lenkersdorf of West Palm Beach, Fla., has developed a liquid dispensing device for the selective oral administration of a liquid medicine simultaneously with a liquid beverage.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The device includes a cup for holding a beverage and a lid sealably connectable onto the open upper end of the cup. The cup includes an elongated cylindrical medicine cavity having an open lower end and a narrowing upper discharge tip. The medicine cavity is formed into the outer perimeter surface of the cup for concealment."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A medicine plunger is sealingly movable within the medicine cavity for discharging liquid medicine from the discharge tip. The lid has a tapered upwardly extending drinking spout with preferably two spaced ports and a second port positioned between the first ports whereby liquid beverage in the cup may be dispensed from the first ports by gravity feed and liquid medicine in said medicine cavity may be independently selectively dispensed from the second port by movement of the medicine plunger."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,962 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Dec. 9, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1520&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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Florida Inventor Develops Anesthesia Delivery Monitoring Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Richard J. Melker of Gainesville, Fla., has developed a method and an apparatus for monitoring respiratory gases during anesthesia.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method and system is provided for monitoring delivery of anesthesia (inhalational and intravenous) and detecting the depth of anesthesia wherein at least one anesthetic agent is absorbed in patient's bloodstream during the administration of anesthesia, which includes sampling inspired and expired gas; analyzing the gas for concentration of at least one substance indicative of the anesthetic agent using sensor technology such as free (unmetabolized) anesthetic agent or its metabolites; determining the effect of the agent based on that concentration; and determining depth of anesthesia based thereon."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,947 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to University of Florida Research Foundation Inc., Gainesville.
The original application was filed on June 24, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1534&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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Florida Inventor Develops Onboard Satellite Processing Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Allan M. Weiner of Melbourne, Fla., has developed systems for mitigating the limitations of onboard satellite data recorders.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A spacecraft can include a communications receiver for receiving a selected list of targets for which desired information is to be acquired by the spacecraft. In addition to location data concerning the targets, the list can also include a predetermined priority value assigned to each target on the list. The list can include data acquisition targets that collectively comprise more data than can be stored on the spacecraft's onboard solid state recorder."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "One or more computer processors can be also be provided onboard the spacecraft. The processor can process the acquired data onboard the spacecraft to determine whether the data contains at least a predetermined portion of the desired information and can overwrite lesser priority data when the solid state recorder is otherwise full."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,198 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Harris Corp., Melbourne.
The original application was filed on Sept. 26, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=286&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=6&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
***
For more information about Targeted News Service and its NewsFocus products, such as the Federal Contract Awards, contact Myron Struck, Editor, Springfield, Va., 703/304-1897, myron@targetednews.com or Marlyn Vitin, managing editor, Marlyn@targetednews.com.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in Florida.
***
Florida Inventor Develops Organism Killer Dispenser System
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Robert B. Rigby of Nokomis, Fla., has developed a method for killing and managing red tide and other dinoflagelents.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A manifold assembly is formed of a pipe. The pipe has an open interior. A fluid handling assembly has a plurality of downwardly facing spaced apertures in the manifold. A flexible tube extends downwardly from each aperture. The fluid handling assembly also has a supply of fluid. The fluid is adapted to kill and manage dinoflagelents."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A line couples the supply with the tubes for the dispensing of the fluid. At least one water craft with a line couples the central water craft to the manifold. A sensor is provided to determine ambient conditions. The sensor is adapted to analyze the sensed ambient conditions and dispense the fluid at an appropriate rate."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,031 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Jan. 14, 2005, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1451&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=30&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
***
Florida Inventor Develops Inflatable Balloon Catheter Seal
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Boris Shkolnik of Aventura, Fla., has developed an inflatable balloon catheter seal and a method.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the invention relates to an "improved balloon catheter seal which may be used for attaching an inflatable balloon to a catheter body, especially when the balloon and catheter body are formed from dissimilar materials. The seal is formed by applying a layer of adhesive material between the inflatable balloon and the catheter body, and crimping a retaining ring over each seal junction. The invention is especially useful when joining a compliant balloon made from silicone to a catheter body made from polyurethane."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,024 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on April 4, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1458&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=30&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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Florida Inventors Develop Coaxial Horn Antenna System
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Jay A. Kralovec of Melbourne, Fla., Griffin K. Gothard of Satellite Beach, Fla., and Timothy E. Durham of Palm Bay, Fla., have developed an antenna feed system that includes a plurality of radio frequency (RF) horn antennas for operating on a plurality of RF frequency bands.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A first one of the feed horns can have a boresight axis and is configured for operating at a first one of the frequency bands. A second one of the feed horns is positioned coaxially within the first one of the feed horns and is configured for operating at least at a second one of the frequency bands. Further, the first one of the feed horns is a corrugated horn that has a plurality of corrugations formed on an interior surface defining a profile."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "The profile extends substantially from a throat of the first feed horn and along a tapered portion of the first feed horn. The profile substantially minimizes an interaction of the corrugations with the second feed horn."
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,982,679 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Harris Corp., Melbourne.
The original application was filed on Oct. 27, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=804&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=17&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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Florida Inventors Develop Ornamental Design for Compressor Tester Cabinet
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Edward Jeffers and Richard Koldewey, both of Hialeah, Fla., have developed an ornamental design for a compressor tester cabinet, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office announced.
The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. D512,929 on Dec. 20, 2005.
The patent has been assigned to CPS Products Inc., Hialeah.
The original application was filed on June 29, 2004, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2389&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20051220&p=48&OS=ISD/12/20/2005&RS=ISD/12/20/2005.
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Florida Inventor Develops Liquid Dispensing Device
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Boyd J. Lenkersdorf of West Palm Beach, Fla., has developed a liquid dispensing device for the selective oral administration of a liquid medicine simultaneously with a liquid beverage.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The device includes a cup for holding a beverage and a lid sealably connectable onto the open upper end of the cup. The cup includes an elongated cylindrical medicine cavity having an open lower end and a narrowing upper discharge tip. The medicine cavity is formed into the outer perimeter surface of the cup for concealment."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "A medicine plunger is sealingly movable within the medicine cavity for discharging liquid medicine from the discharge tip. The lid has a tapered upwardly extending drinking spout with preferably two spaced ports and a second port positioned between the first ports whereby liquid beverage in the cup may be dispensed from the first ports by gravity feed and liquid medicine in said medicine cavity may be independently selectively dispensed from the second port by movement of the medicine plunger."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,962 on Jan. 3.
The original application was filed on Dec. 9, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1520&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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Florida Inventor Develops Anesthesia Delivery Monitoring Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Richard J. Melker of Gainesville, Fla., has developed a method and an apparatus for monitoring respiratory gases during anesthesia.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method and system is provided for monitoring delivery of anesthesia (inhalational and intravenous) and detecting the depth of anesthesia wherein at least one anesthetic agent is absorbed in patient's bloodstream during the administration of anesthesia, which includes sampling inspired and expired gas; analyzing the gas for concentration of at least one substance indicative of the anesthetic agent using sensor technology such as free (unmetabolized) anesthetic agent or its metabolites; determining the effect of the agent based on that concentration; and determining depth of anesthesia based thereon."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,981,947 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to University of Florida Research Foundation Inc., Gainesville.
The original application was filed on June 24, 2002, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1534&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=31&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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Florida Inventor Develops Onboard Satellite Processing Method
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 6 -- Allan M. Weiner of Melbourne, Fla., has developed systems for mitigating the limitations of onboard satellite data recorders.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A spacecraft can include a communications receiver for receiving a selected list of targets for which desired information is to be acquired by the spacecraft. In addition to location data concerning the targets, the list can also include a predetermined priority value assigned to each target on the list. The list can include data acquisition targets that collectively comprise more data than can be stored on the spacecraft's onboard solid state recorder."
An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "One or more computer processors can be also be provided onboard the spacecraft. The processor can process the acquired data onboard the spacecraft to determine whether the data contains at least a predetermined portion of the desired information and can overwrite lesser priority data when the solid state recorder is otherwise full."
The inventor was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,983,198 on Jan. 3.
The patent has been assigned to Harris Corp., Melbourne.
The original application was filed on Sept. 26, 2003, and is available at: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=286&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&s1=ISYMD-20060103&p=6&OS=ISD/01/03/2006&RS=ISD/01/03/2006.
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For more information about Targeted News Service and its NewsFocus products, such as the Federal Contract Awards, contact Myron Struck, Editor, Springfield, Va., 703/304-1897, myron@targetednews.com or Marlyn Vitin, managing editor, Marlyn@targetednews.com.
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