Patents Examined by Allyson Trail
  • Patent number: 9377312
    Abstract: A method and system for generating a location identifier using a location code and a grid coordinate. The location code corresponds to a defined geographical area, such as a postal code or an area code. A grid coordinate can be determined based on destination location information, such as an address, a GPS-determined position, or other reference to a specific physical location. The location identifier is combined with the location code to generate a location identifier, which can be encoded in a computer readable format and placed on items for use in a distribution network. The location identifier can be used to facilitate domestic or international distribution of items using a common format or addressing scheme. The domestic and foreign distribution networks read and interpret location identifiers in order to deliver items.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: United States Postal Service
    Inventors: Clayton C. Bonnell, Gary C. Reblin
  • Patent number: 9378510
    Abstract: According to some embodiments, account owner information associated with account owners of payment accounts (e.g., credit card accounts) may be retrieved from an account owner database. The retrieved account owner information may be analyzed to automatically identify a set of account owners primarily associated with automated teller machine device transactions in connection with the payment accounts. From the set of account owners primarily associated with automated teller machine device transactions, a sub-set of account owners to be encouraged to utilize point of sale transactions in connection with the payment accounts may be automatically created. Moreover, a potential transaction spend value associated with the sub-set of account owners may be calculated and output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: MasterCard International Incorporated
    Inventors: Amit Gupta, Suyash Awasthi
  • Patent number: 9378494
    Abstract: There are provided systems and methods for suspending and resuming transactions through wireless beacon communications. A merchant may set up a wireless beacon with employee devices. The beacons may connect to a user's device and assist the employee with determining and suspending a transaction for the user. Based on the connections between the user's device and a wireless beacon attached to an employee device, the employee device may receive an identifier for the user. The identifier may also be received from a previous check-in by the user. The employee or a user may scan one or more items that the user may wish to purchase. A transaction may be generated using the scan and may be associated with the user's identifier. Later the transaction may be recalled using the user's identifier or a transaction code identifying the transaction. Payment information for the user may also be associated with the transaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: PAYPAL, INC.
    Inventor: Mobeen Syed
  • Patent number: 9378502
    Abstract: A bank customer's CE device is used to authorize transactions using the customer's electronic debit or credit card (“e-card”). Biometric input is used to recover the password of the customer device if lost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Brant Candelore, Frederick J. Zustak, Steven Martin Richman
  • Patent number: 9378398
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for enabling a portable electronic device to retrieve information about an object when the object's symbology, e.g., a barcode, is detected. According to one embodiment a method is providing in which symbology associated with an object is detected and decoded to obtain a decode string. The decode string is sent to one or more visual detection applications for processing, wherein the one or more visual detection applications reside on the portable electronic device, and receiving a first amount of information about the object from the one or more visual detection applications. The method also includes sending the decode string to a remote server for processing and receiving a second amount of information about the object from the remote server. The first amount of information is combined with the second amount of information to obtain cumulative information which is displayed on the portable electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: Ariel Inventions, LLC
    Inventor: Leigh M. Rothschild
  • Patent number: 9367829
    Abstract: A file storage device stores files with radio frequency identification (RFID) tag attached. The file storage device includes a plurality of antennas and a circuit board. A plurality of interval boards are mounted in series, file-holding slots are therefore created between the interval boards. The antennas, connected to the circuit board, are mounted to the interval boards, each antenna corresponding to one slot. Each antenna can establish a wireless communication with the RFID tag of a file, each RFID tag feeding information as to itself to the corresponding antenna. The circuit board communicates wirelessly with an external terminal device for file location and searching purposes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignees: Fu Tai Hua Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zong-Yuan Sun, Da-Hua Xiao
  • Patent number: 9368873
    Abstract: A triple-band antenna for transmitting and receiving low-frequency band signals and high-frequency band signals. The triple-band antenna includes a printed antenna having two wings for transmitting and receiving low-frequency signals; and an antenna array including a plurality of radiating elements being printed on one of the wings of the printed antenna, wherein the antenna array transmits and receives the high-frequency band signals, wherein one of the wings of the printed dipole is a ground for the antenna array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Jorge Myszne, Ofer Markish
  • Patent number: 9367716
    Abstract: An information reproduction device for use with a magnetic recording medium storing information may include an analog/digital (AD) converter structured to convert an analog signal, which is reproduced from the information recorded in the magnetic recording medium, into a digital signal; a peak detecting unit structured to detect a peak point of the reproduced signal, from the digital signal, according to a threshold as a judgment level in accordance with an output of the AD converter; and an information generating unit for generating structured to generate a rectangular waveform signal of the reproduced signal, waveform-shaped according to interval information of peak points detected by the peak detecting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shigeo Nakajima, Yoichi Isono, Katsuhisa Higashi
  • Patent number: 9361487
    Abstract: A card reader may include a card passage, a magnetic head to abut with a magnetic stripe of the card, and an IC contact block having IC contact springs to contact with external connection terminals of an IC chip of the card. The magnetic head is disposed in a front side portion of the card reader so that a gap of the magnetic head faces the card passage from a lower side, and the IC contact block is disposed in a rear side portion of the card reader so that the IC contact springs face the card passage from an upper side. The card passage is formed in a straight shape but is inclined to a lower side as going to the rear side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Aiyoshi, Toshio Tatai, Takeki Watanabe
  • Patent number: 9360686
    Abstract: A digital measurement system and method for optical applications including a mobile client device having a digital camera and an audio port, and a laser measurement device having a laser and a magnetic card reader. The laser measurement device and the magnetic card reader are electrically connected to the audio port of the mobile client device. The mobile client device is configured to activate the laser at the same time as the digital camera is activated, capture an image of a patient, and calculate position of wear measurements based on a location of a laser mark in the captured image. The mobile client device also allows an order for a frame and lenses to be submitted to an ophthalmic laboratory, and payment transactions to be processed using the magnetic card reader.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: VSP Labs, Inc.
    Inventors: Mai Ngoc Pham, Hoa Dang Nguyen
  • Patent number: 9355348
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a smart card comprising a card body and an electronic module placed within a recess of the card body and further comprising at least one colored layer placed between the electronic module and the bottom of the recess of the card body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: GEMALTO SA
    Inventors: Sebastien Guijarro, Thierry Laviron, Lucile Dossetto
  • Patent number: 9354107
    Abstract: The present invention provides an item registration apparatus and a measuring device cooperating with a mobile terminal to allow smooth registration of sold-by-weight items being purchased by a customer. The item registration apparatus comprises: a measuring device having a weighing tray on which an item is put; and a mobile terminal which can be connected to the measuring device via communication channel (access point or the like). When the item is put on said weighing tray of the measuring device and the measurement of the item is thus completed, the measuring device transmits transaction information of the measured item to the mobile terminal via the communication channel so that the transaction information is stored. This eliminates printing of code information on a label issued from the measuring device and operation of scanning the printed code information by using the mobile terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: TERAOKA SEIKO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Naokazu Sato, Fumikatu Saitoh, Kenichi Nishino
  • Patent number: 9341703
    Abstract: A system for checking the positioning of components is provided. The system includes a reading device for reading in component identification information, which is provided by an identification device in a spatially limited region about a component to be checked, a locating device with at least one stationary reference device, a movement component which is movable relative thereto and a computing unit. The reading device and the locating device can be connected to the computing unit. The computing unit is set up to detect a relative position of the movement component with respect to the at least one reference device in the spatially limited region about the component to be checked and to form a data pair from the detected relative position with component identification information read in by means of the reading device and to compare it with predefined data pairs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: AIRBUS OPERATIONS GMBH
    Inventors: Henning Everth, Dietrich Lampe
  • Patent number: 9342778
    Abstract: A contactless transaction adaptor for use with a mobile communicator, including a thin SIM card signal interceptor portion arranged for insertion intermediate an existing SIM card, having SIM card-based contacts, and communicator based SIM card contacts located in a SIM card recess formed in the communicator, the interceptor portion having first contacts for communication with the communicator-based SIM card contacts and second contacts for communication with the SIM card-based contacts, a contactless communication circuit bearing portion arranged for insertion in the communicator, a contactless antenna and a contactless communication circuit both mounted onto the circuit bearing portion, a flexible connector portion interconnecting the interceptor portion and the circuit bearing portion, a first electrical path extending along the connector portion between the contacts of the interceptor portion and the contactless communication circuit, and a second electrical path extending along the circuit bearing portio
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: On Track Innovations Ltd.
    Inventors: Oded Bashan, Nehemya Itay, Nir Gazit, Yaacov Haroosh
  • Patent number: 9342826
    Abstract: A method for utilizing a reading of a machine readable element associated with a consumable product, may include storing, by a computer, in a memory in communication with the computer, a record of apparatus identification information associated with an apparatus having a reader for reading the machine readable element. The method may also include obtaining usage information based on a reading of the machine readable element by the reader, wherein the usage information comprises identity information indicative of an identity of a supplier of the consumable product and applying, by the computer, a debit to the supplier of the consumable product based on the usage information and the apparatus identification information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: GOJI LIMITED
    Inventors: Shlomo Ben-Haim, Keith Pascal
  • Patent number: 9336523
    Abstract: A method, system or computer usable program product for secure short range protocol based transaction processing including using a mobile device capable of short range protocol communication to receive a user password; exchanging transaction data between the mobile device and a point of transaction device through a short range protocol communication, the transaction data including a timestamp; using the mobile device, generating a hash including the user password and the timestamp as inputs; providing the hash and the timestamp to an authorization agent; and receiving an authorization from the authorization agent for an account transaction with the point of transaction device based on the password in the hash.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventor: Richard Redpath
  • Patent number: 9330286
    Abstract: A test robot may receive a test scenario for testing a fare management system. The test robot may program a fare card to store card information based on the test scenario. The test robot may provide an instruction to an actuator component to cause the actuator component to move the fare card within communicative proximity of a card reader device. The fare card, when moved within communicative proximity of the card reader device, may cause the card reader device to read the stored card information from the fare card and to provide updated card information, based on the stored card information, for storage by the fare card. The test robot may read the updated card information from the fare card. The test robot may provide test result information, based on the updated card information, to a test management device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited
    Inventors: Avishek Somani, Sunil Raina, Praveen Dhar
  • Patent number: 9329332
    Abstract: Systems and methods provide for illuminating a subject using a light pipe that transmits light from a source. A method includes providing a light pipe, the light pipe defining an inner lumen through which the image sensor views the subject; providing a light source in alignment with a proximal portion of the light pipe; and using the light source, projecting a light into the light pipe and through the light pipe, the light pipe including a distal portion for providing a high-angle bright field illumination pattern on the subject with a first portion of the light and for reflecting a second portion of the light for providing a low-angle dark field illumination pattern on the subject.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: COGNEX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Carl W. Gerst, III, William H. Equitz, Justin Testa, Sateesha Nadabar
  • Patent number: 9324019
    Abstract: There is provided an IC tag that is simple in structure and in which concentration of stress in a portion near the connection of an IC chip and an antenna part can be reduced. The IC tag 100 includes a film member 10, an antenna part 20 provided on the film member 10, an IC chip 30 mounted on the film member 10 in such a way as to be connected with the antenna part 20. A slit 51 is provided at a position away from the antenna part 20 in the region on the film member 10 near the site at which the IC chip 30 is mounted, and a covering 41 made of an elastic material is provided to cover at least the entire area of the IC chip 30 and a portion of connection of the IC chip 30 and the antenna part 20.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: NOK CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoko Nakano, Keiichi Miyajima
  • Patent number: 9321096
    Abstract: Disclosed is an electrical fitting which includes a cylindrical and hollow body of substantially constant thickness extending along a central axis with an interior and an exterior; a first opening with an inner perimeter defined at a first end portion of the body along the central axis; and, a second opening with an inner perimeter defined at a second end portion of the body opposite the first end portion. The first and second end portions of the body of the electrical fitting are spaced from a central portion of the body and have a substantially constant axial thickness. At least one of the first and second end portions of the electrical fitting has an expanded portion relative to the central portion of the body. Further disclosed are methods for forming the electrical fitting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: Sage Metals Ltd.
    Inventor: V. K. Agarwal