Patents Examined by David Tardif
  • Patent number: 9760824
    Abstract: An RFID tag assembly and method of use with a RFID tag assembly the RFID tag assembly includes an RFID tag having a mounting substrate having a spacer with a first surface and an opposing second surface, the spacer having a predetermined thickness, a mounting carrier with a substantially planar body with a first portion having first and second ends with two sides defined therebetween and has two or more second portions extending from the body forming free ends each and having selectively attachable adhesive on a portion of the bottom surface being deformably attached to the first portion and with second surface attached to the top surface of the first portion with the first planar surface with the RFID tag position parallel and set apart above the top surface of the carrier at a distance equal to or greater than the predetermined thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: Innovative Timing Systems, LLC
    Inventor: Kurt S. Hansen
  • Patent number: 9741211
    Abstract: A checkout station includes a display that is rotatable between a first position and a second position and a barcode scanner that is directed in a first direction in the first position and in a second direction in the second position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
    Inventor: Chris Skiles
  • Patent number: 9734377
    Abstract: A bar code reading terminal can, in one embodiment, include a two-dimensional image sensor and an imaging assembly. The terminal can be configured, in response to receipt of a trigger signal, to buffer a set of frames and subject each frame of the set of frames to a decode attempt. The terminal can also be configured to convert the convert the captured set of video frames into a compressed video format, and transfer the resulting video file to a file server or to one or more playback devices, in response to a user interface action, or in response to difficult read condition having been detected. The terminal can also be configured to establish two-way video- and audio-communication with a remote video- and audio-streaming device. The video capturing and streaming operation of the terminal can be controlled remotely from a playback device via web interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Hand Held Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Mitchel P. Sevier, Michael J. Doren, Garrison Gomez, James Kosecki, Daniel D. Yeakley, Sven M. A. Powilleit
  • Patent number: 9721199
    Abstract: An electronic device is protected from unauthorized access by use of a security wrap having a security screen connected to an alarm circuit of the electronic device. The security screen has a pair of screen terminals interconnected by a conductor. The conductor is formed on a substrate. The substrate is arranged such that attempts to remove the security wrap will result in the substrate being torn and the conductor being damaged or broken whereby the resistance of the conductive path formed by the conductor changes to indicate an alarm condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: Johnson Electric S.A.
    Inventors: Vincent Daniel Jean Salle, Martin Wallace Edmonds
  • Patent number: 9699370
    Abstract: An apparatus comprising a deformable lens element can be provided wherein a deformable lens element can be deformed to change an optical property thereof by the impartation of a force to the deformable lens element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: Hand Held Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Ynjiun P. Wang, Chen Feng, William H. Havens, Jianhua Li
  • Patent number: 9691092
    Abstract: Methods and systems for predicting and responding to customer needs using local positioning technology are presented. In some embodiments, a customer assistance computing platform may receive one or more attributes associated with a beacon signal received by a customer computing device and an identifier associated with the customer computing device. Subsequently, the computing platform may determine an identity of a customer using the customer computing device. The computing platform then may determine a location of the customer using the customer computing device based on the one or more attributes associated with the beacon signal. Thereafter, the computing platform may determine one or more predicted needs of the customer. Then, the computing platform may generate a notification based on the predicted needs of the customer and may send the notification to the customer computing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Bank of America Corporation
    Inventors: Carrie Anne Hanson, Sharon Scanlon, Kim Stittsworth, David M. Grigg, Davindar Gill
  • Patent number: 9684839
    Abstract: An article for use as a negotiable instrument includes a substrate having a front side and reverse side; first machine-printed information on the substrate's front side including an account number associated with the negotiable instrument, and a unique identifier associated with the negotiable instrument, the first machine-printed information uniquely identifying the negotiable instrument; and second machine-printed information on the substrate's reverse side that corresponds to the first machine-printed information such that comparison of respective images of the substrate's front and reverse sides indicates that the images correspond to the same negotiable instrument.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: Harland Clarke Corp.
    Inventors: Philip Magnus, Luis Sanchez, Richard Ebrey, Daniel Hartlage, Erik Mericle, Daniel Castilleja
  • Patent number: 9677891
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention relate to a positioning method and a system thereof, an encoded label generating method and a system thereof. The present invention sets forth a solution of using encoded label to determine coordinate, so as to perform positioning. The positioning method, includes: acquiring a normalized map and a first identification code for identifying the map; acquiring, by scanning a first encoded label, a second identification code and a first coordinate indicated by the first encoded label; and determining a first location in the map corresponding to the first coordinate in response to the second identification code matching with the first identification code.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Sheng Hua Bao, Jian Chen, Zhong Su, Li Zhang, Shiwan Zhao
  • Patent number: 9667823
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide time-varying barcodes in an active display for information exchange. Specifically, embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method for communicating information between electronic devices via a barcode image sequence. In a typical embodiment, a barcode image sequence is displayed on the display screen of a first electronic device. A second electronic device reads and decodes the barcode image sequence. The second electronic device displays an acknowledgement on the display screen of the second electronic device. The acknowledgement is read by the first electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Inventor: Moon J. Kim
  • Patent number: 9659240
    Abstract: A card reader may include a card insertion port; a card conveying passage; and a card lock mechanism. The card lock mechanism may include a motor; a lock member comprising a prevention pawl; and a power transmission mechanism structured to transmit power of the motor to the lock member. The power transmission mechanism may include a worm gear having a screw gear and a helical gear engaged with the screw gear. The screw gear may be disposed on a motor side relative to the helical gear in a transmitting direction of power from the motor to the lock member. The lock member may further include a teeth part in a fan shape. The teeth part may be driven through engagement of gears including the worm gear to move the prevention pawl.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: NIDEC SANKYO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Shinya Miyazawa
  • Patent number: 9652706
    Abstract: A wireless IC device includes a wireless IC chip arranged to process a radio signal, a power-supply circuit board that is connected to the wireless IC chip and that includes a power supply circuit including at least one coil pattern, and a radiation plate arranged to radiate a transmission signal supplied from the power-supply circuit board and/or receiving a reception signal to supply the reception signal to the power-supply circuit board. The radiation plate includes an opening provided in a portion thereof and a slit connected to the opening. When viewed in plan from the direction of the winding axis of the coil pattern, the opening in the radiation plate overlaps with an inner area of the coil pattern and the area of the inner area is approximately the same as that of opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Noboru Kato, Nobuo Ikemoto
  • Patent number: 9633236
    Abstract: Aspects of the subject disclosure provide a reader device for processing payment cards. The reader device is configured to harvest power from received audio signals, for example, from analog signals received on an audio bus, such as a standard 3.5 mm audio channel. In some implementations, a reader of the current technology includes a microcontroller configured to perform operations including receiving an audio signal from the host via the audio bus, analyzing the audio signal to determine when a voltage of the audio signal is negative and providing a reference signal to the power module, wherein the reference signal indicates time periods in which synchronous rectification is to be performed by the power module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: Square, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeremy Wade
  • Patent number: 9619956
    Abstract: Voter-generated ballots created using consumer-grade printers are remade to ballots scannable by specialized ballot scanners. The voter-generated ballots include a machine-readable indicia, such as a two-dimensional barcode, that encodes ballot information. The ballot information includes choices made by the voter and information for use in remaking the ballot. Voters wish to submit their votes using printouts from non-specialized printers such as those found at their homes or offices; yet election officials wish to tabulate votes using scanners that require specialized, high-quality ballots. The disclosed systems and methods bridge this gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Everyone Counts, Inc.
    Inventors: Aaron Contorer, Sean Mostafavi, Jim Goode, Elan Kaplan, Carolyn Hicks, Jon Thomason
  • Patent number: 9613349
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to deposit money to a monetary terminal using an account in a financial institution. When remitting money for charging up a monetary terminal to a center account 31, the user inputs to a banking system 3 remitter information containing a name (in katakana characters) and a monetary terminal ID of the monetary terminal that is to be charged up. In response to this, the banking system 3 transmits a remittance amount and the remitter information to an electronic money server 2. The electronic money server 2 extracts the name of the user and the monetary terminal ID from the received remitter information, and checks them against user registration information. Thereafter, the electronic money server 2 generates amount update information within the remitted amount, and transmits it to a cell phone 7 or an electronic money card 15, which is identified by the monetary terminal ID.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Norihiko Fujita, Kazuki Yamada, Hiroyuki Yamada
  • Patent number: 9600981
    Abstract: A user terminal for performing a cash withdrawal transaction comprises a reader for reading a user device, a processing resource configured to obtain from the user device account data representative of an account associated with the user device, and to receive a user request for a cash withdrawal in respect of the account, and an output device configured to issue, in response to the user request for a cash withdrawal, a token that is exchangeable for cash.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: KORALA ASSOCIATES LIMITED
    Inventor: Aravinda Korala
  • Patent number: 9589268
    Abstract: Methods, secure elements, validation entities, and computer program products for effecting secure communication of payment information to merchants for Internet-based purchases. Payment information for a user's real payment information is installed in a secure element of a computer, the payment information may comprise a pseudo PAN number for the portable consumer device provided by a validation entity. The secure element is shielded from the computer's operating system to thwart hacker attacks. The user accesses the secure element to make a purchase. In response, the secure element contacts the validation entity with the pseudo account number, and in response obtains dynamic payment information that the secure element can used to effect the payment. The dynamic payment information comprises an account number that is different from the pseudo PAN, and which has at least one difference which respect to the user's real payment information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: Visa International Service Association
    Inventor: Ayman Hammad
  • Patent number: 9579921
    Abstract: The invention relates to a card-shaped data carrier (1) comprising a card body (2) provided with a graphical element (6) displayed thereon. The card body (2) is made of a plastic material for converting irradiated light into secondary light and for retransmitting the secondary light within the plastic material to the graphical element (6) or to a portion of the graphical element (6). The inventive card-shaped data carrier (1) is characterized in that the card body (2) is provided with a light source (18) for irradiating light into a shaped body (12) formed by the plastic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: Giesecke & Devrient GmbH
    Inventor: Stefan Kluge
  • Patent number: 9576310
    Abstract: The current disclosure extends to normalizing UPCs so the normalized UPCs can be readily compared against each other and used for item lookups in a local cache. Embodiments of the present disclosure include a UPC cache on a user's mobile device, such as a smartphone. In such embodiments, a UPC that is normalized following processes set forth in the present disclosure may act as a cache key for related product information stored in the cache. By conducting item lookups in a local cache, requests for that data can be served faster than if the data were stored on a remote server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: WAL-MART STORES, INC.
    Inventors: Richard Neil Cancro, Douglas James Pedley, Joel Bennett Acker, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9569646
    Abstract: A smart card reader capable of transmitting a power signal to a smart card to determine a duration WT called Waiting Time in keeping with the standard ISO 7816 and sending commands to the smart card, the reader comprising a detector for detecting a malfunctioning condition of the smart card and being configured to cut the power signal when the malfunctioning condition is fulfilled. This reader is remarkable in that the malfunctioning condition is different to reaching, by a counter configured to be incremented with the time from the sending of a command to the smart card, of a value corresponding to the duration WT elapsed from the sending of the command or reinitialization of the counter in response to the receipt of a protocol message of the smart card.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: OBERTHUR TECHNOLOGIES
    Inventors: Nicolas Morin, Christophe Giraud
  • Patent number: 9563832
    Abstract: Excess radio-frequency (RF) power storage and power sharing RF Identification (RFID) tags, and related RFID tag connection systems and methods are disclosed. The excess RF power storage and power sharing RFID tags and related RFID tag connection systems and methods in embodiments disclosed herein allow connected RFID tags to store excess energy derived from excess received RF power in a shared energy storage device. In this manner, an individual RFID tag or a group of connected RFID tags in the RFID tag connection system can continue operation during temporary times when sufficient RF power is not being received from a RFID reader. Sharing stored energy derived from excess received RF power in a shared energy storage device among connected RFID tags in a RFID tag connection system can significantly mitigate problems of RF power interruption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: Corning Incorporated
    Inventors: John David Downie, James Scott Sutherland, James Patrick Trice, Richard Edward Wagner, Matthew Scott Whiting