Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm John L. Rogitz
  • Rule-based method and system for managing heterogenous computer clusters
    Patent number: 8103748
    Abstract: A system and method for managing heterogenous clusters asynchronously accesses operating information received from the clusters by invoking services on the clusters to send the necessary information, which is then evaluated against rules supplied by the clusters. The services can be dynamically changed or added to support heterogenous cluster management. When a rule is triggered the appropriate cluster is informed by a management service, so that the cluster can undertake load balancing/storage balancing activities as appropriate among its nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Marcus Felipe Fontoura, Eustus Dwayne Nelson, Thomas Khanh Truong
  • System and method for using partial interpolation to undertake 3D gamma adjustment of microdisplay having dynamic iris control
    Patent number: 8098336
    Abstract: In a microdisplay TV with dynamic iris control, interpolation is used to undertake 3D gamma adjustment of the display for intermediate brightness levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Guillermo Castano De La Serna
  • Pre- and post-shutter signal image capture and sort for digital camera
    Patent number: 8098297
    Abstract: A camera system includes an image sensor and a processing apparatus receiving image frames from the sensor before and after receipt of a user picture signal. The processing apparatus discards frames that do not meet a quality criterion such as under-exposed frames. Also, the processing apparatus compresses only a subset of remaining frames, specifically, those that meet a compression amount threshold. The remaining frames are presented to a user, who can select a representative frame as the “picture” that was taken.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Adrian Crisan, Nikolaos Georgis, Fredrik Carpio, Paul Jin Hwang
  • System and method for rapid boot of secondary operating system
    Patent number: 8099589
    Abstract: The primary operating system of a computer such as a notebook computer is stored on disk in a hard disk drive and a smaller, secondary operating system such as an email operating system, wireless phone operating system, DVD player operating system, etc. is stored on disk and is transferred to flash memory within the HDD upon power-down of the primary operating system. In this way, should the user subsequently elect to power up the computer only for a limited secondary purpose, the user can elect to boot the associated secondary operating system from flash memory of the HDD without having to spin up the disks, saving energy and reducing boot time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Eugene Kim Choo
  • System and method for leak detection in external cooling pad
    Patent number: 8097030
    Abstract: An externally-applied heat exchange pad has three layers laminated together, an inner and outer non-conductive layer and a middle conductive layer. A leak in the inner layer causes coolant to contact the middle layer and change impedance, which can be sensed and used as an indication of an impending total leak of the pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignee: Zoll Circulation, Inc.
    Inventors: Stelica Stelea, David Searl Kimball, Lynn Miyeko Shimada, Kenneth A. Collins, Grant Palmer
  • System and method for billing for interactive television
    Patent number: 8095948
    Abstract: A system and method for billing for interactive television (ITV) includes recording the content accessed by a consumer and the time of access to render an access record. The access record for each interaction with the ITV is stored in a consumer database. When it is time to bill the consumer for a period of usage of the ITV system, the access record for each interaction with the ITV system is retrieved from the consumer database. Access records which do not contain billable content are discarded and a billing list of access records that contain billable content is constructed. Accordingly, each consumer is billed based on his or her respective billing list.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Tadamasa Kitsukawa
  • Methods and systems for improving network response during channel change
    Patent number: 8095955
    Abstract: In response to a channel change command in a home network, to reduce latency a real time network bandwidth determination is made and if the determination indicates that bandwidth is sufficient to support only I-frame transmission, then only I-frames are sent temporarily from the source to the sink. Otherwise, I and P frames only are sent and may be encoded at a faster than normal frame rate and displayed at a lower than normal frame rate. If the sink is not configured for non-standard groups of pictures (GOP) some of the P frames can be indicated to the sink as being B-frames.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Christopher Jensen Read
  • System and method for managing wireless connections in computer
    Patent number: 8095072
    Abstract: A Wireless Connection Utility (WCU) provides a unified user experience for managing various types of wireless connections, including Wireless WANs, Wireless LANs, and Bluetooth networks. The WCU functions as a gateway for a user of a computer to monitor the computer's wireless network status, to switch wireless connections, to configure wireless connection settings, and to diagnose wireless connection problems through a Wireless Helper Utility (WHU). The WCU thus provides a unified U/I layer on the top of the existing operating system components for ease of use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Jianyu Roy Zheng, Mark Allen Hanson, Djung Nguyen
  • Skylight tube with reflective structured surface
    Patent number: 8082705
    Abstract: A skylight shaft substrate is rendered internally reflected in several ways. To limit the formation of focal points that can lead to hot spots as light travels down the shaft, the shaft substrate is formed with dimples or longitudinal corrugations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: Solatube International, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Jaster, David W Rillie
  • Secure data disposal for disk drive
    Patent number: 8068305
    Abstract: When a disk sector is written to, a bit for the sector is set indicating that the sector will require secure data disposal (SDD) to be run on it. To save time during end of life disposal, SDD is executed only on sectors whose bits indicate that they have been written to. SDD can be executed on each dirty sector in one operation at end of life or incrementally during use as disk activity permits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Daryl Carvis Cromer, Howard Jeffrey Locker, Randall Scott Springfield
  • Bezel color coordination
    Patent number: 8068178
    Abstract: A processor, such as a TV processor, determines which one of at least two audio-video components is sending signals to a TV for display. Based on the determining act, the processor establishes a color of a bezel of the TV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Hardacker, Rafael Calderon, Steven Richman
  • Outie tool for removal of a plastic tooth positioning appliance or aligner (invisible braces) from teeth of a patient
    Patent number: 8062030
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for the efficient, safe, and hygienic removing of removable tooth positioning appliances such as aligners or other dental appliances from the teeth of a patient. A straight rigid barrel has a lever appendage on the proximal end for fully engaging and removing a lower aligner and a hook appendage on the distal end for fully engaging and removing an upper aligner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Inventor: Nadine Marie Saubers
  • Devices and methods for securing tissue
    Patent number: 8062308
    Abstract: A compression ring to grip and compress body structure such as diverticulum, hemorrhoids, and tissue adjacent a hole. A resilient ring-shaped body defines a compression channel, and one or more axially rigid elongated spikes extend from the body into the channel. The body defines a first axial segment surrounding the compression channel and a second axial segment surrounding the compression channel, with the spike being engaged only with the second axial segment. The first axial segment more tightly compresses the body structure than the second axial segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Minos Medical
    Inventors: Wayne A. Noda, Stephen Graham Bell
  • System and method for software integration and factory deployment
    Patent number: 8065204
    Abstract: A software management database contains data structures supporting computer software provisioning for a range of CTO/BTO variations, language variations, region variations, and operating system variations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Gerzymisch, Vijayanand Muralidhar Kallianpur, Sean Patrick Kennedy, Masafumi Kuboyama, Brian Lee, Yoshiro Muraoka, Victor Glenn Reha
  • System and method for using SMS and tagged message to send position and travel information to server and/or to peers
    Patent number: 8060123
    Abstract: The GPS position or other short information related to a wireless telephone is encapsulated in a tagged protocol such as XML and sent using short message service (SMS) to peers or Internet servers, which can parse the tagged messages and extract, e.g., position information for display on a map.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventor: Samir Ismail
  • Easy mount base for mobility scale
    Patent number: 8053686
    Abstract: A base for a scale tilts slightly when a wheel is rolled onto it, to facilitate rolling the wheel onto a central ovular or elliptical concave mat surface. Opposed handgrips forming grippable loops may be provided on the base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: InnoVision Devices LLC
    Inventor: Douglas R. Domel
  • Enhanced efficiency turbine
    Patent number: 8047006
    Abstract: Hydrocarbon fuel is sent to a reformer, which produces carbon and hydrogen. The hydrogen is sent to a fuel cell which uses it to generate electricity, and the electricity is used to actuate an electric motor that is coupled to an output shaft of a turbine to impart torque to the shaft. Additionally, hydrocarbon fuel can be provided to the turbine intake directly and/or carbon from the reformer can be mixed with steam from the fuel cell and sent to the turbine intake, in either case to impinge on the turbine blades and impart further torque to the output shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignees: Energyield LLC
    Inventor: Robert Hotto
  • System and method for information sharing
    Patent number: 8046448
    Abstract: A distributed system architecture with components each having an autonomous “hub” or dependent “hub” and a related differential indexing method for obtaining data are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2011
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Kirkwood, Robert Windsor Gillespie
  • Controller for weight sensing pad
    Patent number: D649484
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: Innovision Devices, LLC.
    Inventors: Douglas R. Domel, James C. Dow, James John Girard
  • Weight sensing pad
    Patent number: D650299
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Innovision Devices, LLC
    Inventors: Douglas R. Domel, James C. Dow, James John Girard