Patents Represented by Attorney Patent Law Works, LLP
  • Patent number: 8352730
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for an integrated device that persistently (or permanently) stores biometric data for a user in a tamper-resistant format. Subsequently, scan data collected from a user (e.g., a finger-print) can be compared against the biometric data. Once the user has been verified by the integrated device, a code can be wirelessly transmitted for authentication. The authentication module sends the code to a trusted key authority. The trusted key authority checks a list of enrolled integrated devices for a match. If there is a match, the authentication module sends a message to an application to allow access by the user. The trusted key authority also stores a profile associated with the code. The profile can contain user information such as name, age, account numbers, preferences, etc. and can also describe the status of the integrated device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Proxense, LLC
    Inventor: John J. Giobbi
  • Patent number: 8341090
    Abstract: The present invention relates to systems and methods for optimizing water allocation. In particular, the present invention relates to systems and methods for establishing and querying a database of information for projecting and optimizing water distribution within a county, city or state and providing useful output as a result of such queries. The system and method also provide for exchange of water rights and the output of data in a useful form, such as a map, graph, list, summary or chart. The system and method also provide for water planning based on consideration of various parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Inventors: David Hornbeck, Dennis J. Coady, Patrick J. Maloney
  • Patent number: 8340672
    Abstract: A wireless synchronization device is used to coordinate the timing and activities of individual, possibly physically separated, wireless service providers with defined coverage area. Further, the synchronization information is used to coordinate the timing and activities of portable wireless client devices in an autonomous, wireless proximity sensing and data transfer network. Moreover, one or more of the wireless service providers can be arranged to simultaneously monitor broadcasts from the wireless synchronization device and communicate with one or more of the portable wireless client devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Proxense, LLC
    Inventors: David L. Brown, Fred Hirt
  • Patent number: 8335794
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention is a wizard (e.g., software) for configuring database access middleware for optimal performance. The wizard asks a set of questions. The questions are presented to the user with a navigable UI, and are designed such that the user does not need database expertise to answer them. Based on the user's answers, the wizard generates a set of connect options and values to be used to optimize performance of the user's middleware. Users can use the wizard to determine whether currently selected options or values of a deployed application are optimal, and to determine if other options/values should be used that may improve the performance of the existing application. Also, a prospective customer that is evaluating middleware can use this wizard to tune the middleware for the intended application, thereby allowing that user to better assess how the middleware will perform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: Progress Software Corporation
    Inventors: John Goodson, Rob Steward, Mark Biamonte, Cheryl Conrad
  • Patent number: 8335301
    Abstract: A system for placing a telephone call on hold and presenting video to the user that has been placed on hold comprises video on hold arbiter that either is a part of the server or the switch of an IP telephony system. The video on hold arbiter comprises a hold monitoring module, a switch interface module and a media source interface module. The video on hold arbiter monitors calls between parties for the selection of a hold signal indicating that a first caller is placing a second caller on hold. The video on hold arbiter then determines the capabilities of the first caller and the second caller, a source video signal and switches the call to a video-on-hold status. In the video-on-hold status, the video on hold arbiter provides a video signal to the caller on hold from the determined source video and matching the capabilities of the party on hold. Video on hold arbiter and monitors for an off hold signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: ShoreTel, Inc.
    Inventors: Ron D. Laws, Pascal R. Crausaz
  • Patent number: 8335789
    Abstract: A Mixed Media Reality (MMR) system and associated techniques are disclosed. The MMR system provides mechanisms for forming a mixed media document that includes media of at least two types (e.g., printed paper as a first medium and digital content and/or web link as a second medium). In one particular embodiment, the MMR system provides for document fingerprint matching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: Ricoh Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jonathan J. Hull, Berna Erol, Peter E. Hart, Dar-Shyang Lee, Kurt Piersol
  • Patent number: 8332401
    Abstract: A Mixed Media Reality (MMR) system and associated techniques are disclosed. The MMR system provides mechanisms for forming a mixed media document that includes media of at least two types (e.g., printed paper as a first medium and digital content and/or web link as a second medium). In one particular embodiment, the MMR system provides for position-based image matching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Ricoh Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Jonathan J. Hull, Berna Erol, Peter E. Hart, Dar-Shyang Lee, Kurt Piersol
  • Patent number: 8331542
    Abstract: A computer system (a method) for exchanging information such as a Universal Resource Locator (URL) or a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) over a communication channel in general and over a telephone communications channel in particular in a unified communications system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the system comprises a phone URL exchange unit configured to receive a phone URL exchange request from a first endpoint, to determine the URL to be sent and URL encoding method based on the request, to encode the URL into audio data or as a part of the communications control signals using the URL encoding method and to send the encoded data to a second endpoint over the telephone communications channel. The phone URL exchange unit is further configured to receive audio data or the communications control signals embedded with a URL and to decode the received data to reveal the URL.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: ShoreTel, Inc.
    Inventors: Pascal R. Crausaz, Edwin J. Basart, Dave Dix, Thomas E. Miller, Nam Do
  • Patent number: 8326963
    Abstract: An information processing system comprises a legacy application, a web services consumption copybook, and a set of application program interfaces for enabling the legacy application to access a selected web service via a web services consumption server. The web services consumption copybook represents data structures of the selected web service. The system can either connect to or include a set of web service proxies that each correspond to a web service available via a network connection. A web services consumption server is optionally used to route service requests from the application to the appropriate web service proxy. The system can also optionally include a developer tool for adapting legacy systems or environments to be able to consume web services using modern protocols thus allowing the migration of legacy subsystems to a networked loosely-coupled environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Progress Software Corporation
    Inventors: Fady Moussallam, Robert Evelyn, Manuel de Anzizu, William W. Wilson, III
  • Patent number: 8326769
    Abstract: A method and system for billing and paying friends on a social network is described. A monetary transfer module generates an invoice for sharing an expense with at least one friend on a social network. The monetary transfer module identifies users on the social network. The monetary transfer module generates a group that includes the users based at least in part on at least one common feature between the users. At least one of the users included in the group incurs an expense. The monetary transfer module generates an invoice for paying for the expense. The monetary transfer module sends a notification to at least one of the users that includes the invoice.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: David Weisman
  • Patent number: 8326770
    Abstract: A method and system for billing and paying friends on a social network is described. A monetary transfer module generates an invoice for sharing an expense with at least one friend on a social network. The monetary transfer module identifies users on the social network. The monetary transfer module generates a group that includes the users based at least in part on at least one common feature between the users. At least one of the users included in the group incurs an expense. The monetary transfer module generates an invoice for paying for the expense. The monetary transfer module sends a notification to at least one of the users that includes the invoice.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: David Weisman
  • Patent number: 8319766
    Abstract: Electronic Paper Displays can suffer from “ghosting” or previous images remaining partially visible after the display has updated to show a new image. A pseudo-random noise intermediate image is used to make the ghosting less visible to human observers. Further, other intermediate images can be used to convey visible information or to convey secret information, e.g. a watermark. A control signal for driving the bi-stable display from the current optical state to an intermediate state, then to a final optical state is also determined. In some embodiments, the intermediate state for each pixel is determined in a pseudo-random manner. The pseudo-random noise values are applied to the bi-stable display to remove noise and other artifacts from the end resulting images. The determined control signal is applied to the bi-stable display to drive the bi-stable to the intermediate state, then to the final optical state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Assignee: Ricoh Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Michael J. Gormish, Guotong Feng
  • Patent number: 8315366
    Abstract: A system and method for determining a speaker's position and a generating a display showing the position of the speaker. In one embodiment, the system comprises a first speakerphone system and a second speakerphone system communicatively coupled to send and receive data. The speakerphone system comprises a display, an input device, a microphone array, a speaker, and a position processing module. The position processing module is coupled to receive acoustic signals from the microphone array. The position processing module uses these acoustic signals to determine a position of the speaker. The position information is then sent to other speakerphone system for presentation on the display. In one embodiment, the position processing module comprises an auto-detection module, a position analysis module, a tracking module and an identity matching module for the detection of sound, the determination of position and transmission of position information over the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: ShoreTel, Inc.
    Inventors: Edwin J. Basart, David B. Rucinski
  • Patent number: 8290897
    Abstract: A system integrator for modeling an object instance of a COBOL data set, the object instance including representations of OCCURS DEPENDING ON clauses or REDEFINE clauses. The system comprises a client interface module, an import module, an object model module and modeler module. The client interface module generates an interface and receives a copybook selection and a set of REDEFINE criteria. The import module receives the copybook selection and imports a copybook from a database. The object model module receives the copybook and the set of REDEFINE criteria, and creates a customized object model for the copybook. The modeler module receives the customized object model and a set of COBOL data, and forms an object instance equivalent to the set of COBOL data, the object instance including representations of a OCCURS DEPENDING ON clause or REDEFINE clause.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Progess Software Corporation
    Inventor: Caroline Esther Jesurum
  • Patent number: 8284910
    Abstract: A telephony system that accepts inputs, such as account codes, from a variety of devices and interfaces. The system includes a server with a telephony management software (TMS) unit, a telephony application programming interface (TAPI) unit, and an application unit. The application unit includes a control module, a call status module, an endpoint interface module, a storage interface module, a call transfer module, a TAPI interface module, a configuration module, and an extension library module. A server is capable of prompting several devices for an input and then accepting an input from any of the devices. Thus, a server enables a user to initiate a phone call on one device and then input information using a different device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: ShoreTel, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael S. W. Tovino
  • Patent number: 8286083
    Abstract: A system including a Multi Function Printer/Product/Peripheral (MFP) and a portable computing device adapted to allow automatic copying of documents by the MFP from the portable computing device. The portable computing device includes a display, a plurality of sensors for detecting light, a light detection module and a page changing module. The sensors are positioned to detect light from the MFP and trigger a page change automatically. The MFP in accordance with the present invention includes a scanner with a platen, a page change detection module, an image processing module, a device identification module, and a document matching & retrieval module. The page change detection module is adapted to receive the images presented by the portable computing device on the platen of the scanner for copying. The page change detection module detects changes and causes the MFP to scan and output a copy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: Ricoh Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: John W. Barrus, Gregory J. Wolff, Kenneth F. Gudan
  • Patent number: 8280821
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing a document are described. In one described method, a document comprising a portion selected by a first member of a social network is hosted for the first member. The portion is dynamically updated with content. An audience criterion for the portion and a type of relationship between the first member and a second member of the social network are identified. If the type of relationship between the first member and the second member satisfies the audience criterion, the second member is provided access to at least the portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Adam Douglas Smith, Amin Zoufonoun
  • Patent number: 8279232
    Abstract: A system and a method are disclosed for updating a bi-stable display includes a framebuffer for storing waveforms for each pixel individually. The system includes determining a current state of a pixel of the bi-stable display; determining a desired state of the pixel of the bi-stable display; and updating the pixel by applying a determined control signal to the pixel to drive the pixel from the current state to the final state. Updating each pixel occurs independently of the other pixels of the bi-stable display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: Ricoh Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: John W. Barrus, Guotong Feng
  • Patent number: 8275766
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for intercepting user interactions without network-provided content. The intercepted information can be used for prioritizing search results by statistical and other analyses of user interactions with a network resource and/or network content. A server connected to a network can receive captured information from an agent that is installed in a device connected to the network. The captured information can be related to an interaction of a user with a network resource. An aggregator may be provided to aggregate the captured information with other captured information related to a plurality of network resources and maintains a repository of aggregated captured information. A prioritizer can determine the relevance of network content based on characteristics of the aggregated captured information. The prioritizer determines relevance for a plurality of search results based on frequency of prior user interactions with the content of the search results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Tynt Multimedia Inc.
    Inventors: Derek Ball, Dayton Foster, Allan MacKenzie
  • Patent number: 8276088
    Abstract: The present invention uses invisible junctions which are a set of local features unique to every page of the electronic document to match the captured image to a part of an electronic document. The present invention includes: an image capture device, a feature extraction and recognition system and database. When an electronic document is printed, the feature extraction and recognition system captures an image of the document page. The features in the captured image are then extracted, indexed and stored in the database. Given a query image, usually a small patch of some document page captured by a low resolution image capture device, the features in the query image are extracted and compared against those stored in the database to identify the query image. The present invention also includes methods for recognizing and tracking the viewing region and look at point corresponding to the input query image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Ricoh Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Qifa Ke, Peter E. Hart, Jonathan J. Hull, Hidenobu Kishi