Patents Examined by Dionne H. Pendleton
  • Patent number: 9754617
    Abstract: An apparatus comprises a slider having a trailing edge and a leading edge. A laser diode unit comprises a submount and a laser diode mounted to the submount. The submount includes a mounting surface affixed to a first surface of the slider at the trailing edge such that a first surface of the submount faces toward the leading edge of the slider. A thermally conductive material covers the first surface of the submount and at least a portion of the first surface of the slider. The thermally conductive material serves as a thermal conduction pathway between the submount and the slider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY LLC
    Inventors: Yuhang Cheng, Scott Franzen, Zoran Jandric, James Gary Wessel, Ning Shi
  • Patent number: 9747928
    Abstract: A data storage device is disclosed comprising a first head actuated over a first disk surface, wherein the first head comprises a laser configured to heat the first disk surface while writing data to the first disk surface. A write power is applied to the laser when executing a first write operation, and the first write operation is paused when a transient increase in the output power of the laser is detected. In another embodiment, a write-verify of the written data is executed when a transient decrease in the output power of the laser is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Western Digital Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Huanxiang Ruan, Galvin Chia, Prakash Balasubramaniam, Phillip S. Haralson, Dennis W. Hogg
  • Patent number: 9747479
    Abstract: A smart passive RFID reader includes an RFID reader, a microcontroller providing a means for increasing the probability of detecting correct passive RFID tags and decreasing the probability of detecting incorrect passive RFID tags, and antennas connected to the RFID reader, wherein adjacent antennas have orthogonal polarization and the antennas each have a pivoting axis, whereby rotating the antennas about their pivoting axes causes a change in the overlap of the antenna beam radiation patterns and thereby provides a means for adaptive beamforming in order to improve tag reading.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Dirac Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard Twogood, Scott Lefton
  • Patent number: 9747734
    Abstract: A device receives a first input for authenticating a user and determines the first input fails to authenticate the user. One or more errors are identified in the input which match a tremor pattern for the user and the one or more errors are corrected to generate a corrected input. The user is authenticated using the corrected input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: International Busines Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jarir K. Chaar, Robert G. Farrell, John C. Hartley, Dimitri Kanevsky, Sharon M. Trewin
  • Patent number: 9741185
    Abstract: An anti-pass back capacity predictive system and method for an access control host processing system are provided. Some methods can include a host system identifying a number of APB status messages generated by the host system in connection with the host system monitoring a facility, the host system comparing the number of APB status messages generated by the host system with a baseline threshold value, when the number of APB status messages generated by the host system is less than or equal to the baseline threshold value, the host system determining that enabling an APB feature in the facility will be successful, and when the number of APB status messages generated by the host system is greater than the baseline threshold value, the host system determining that enabling the APB feature in the facility will fail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventor: Rajesh Gopalakrishna
  • Patent number: 9733335
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining the position of a RFID tag. The method includes the following: (1) measuring the position of an active device to an accuracy of better than 1.0 meter using a radio locating system to determine the position of a reference point; (2) detecting a first RF signal from a reference RFID tag near the reference point with an RF receiver in an RFID reading system; (3) detecting a second RF signal from a RFID tag of interest with the RF receiver in the RFID reading system; and (4) processing both the first RF signal and the second RF signal and relying upon at least partially the position of the reference point to determine the position of the RFID tag of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Sean A Connolly, Thomas E Wulff
  • Patent number: 9727278
    Abstract: An emulation mitigation module is configured to mitigate emulation of legacy write requests on advanced disk devices using cached data stored in a cache memory of a storage system. A legacy write request may comprise write data blocks formatted in a legacy sector size while an advanced disk device may be formatted in an advanced sector size. The emulation mitigation module may execute a first method for modifying write requests using cached data, a second method for enforcing a minimum requested data size sent to the advanced disk device, and/or a third method for conditionally retrieving data from the advanced disk device and storing to cache. In some embodiments, the second and/or third method may be used with the first method to increase the effectiveness of the first method. The emulation mitigation module may improve performance and/or data integrity for of processing legacy write requests.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: NetApp, Inc.
    Inventor: Joseph R. Blount
  • Patent number: 9728073
    Abstract: A system, device, and method for communicating distress signals through a plumbing control system is provided. The system includes a plumbing controller configured to operate at least one plumbing appliance, at least one distress indicator in communication with the plumbing controller, and at least one distress sensor in communication with the plumbing controller. Activation of the at least one distress sensor causes activation of the at least one distress indicator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: SDB IP Holdings, LLC
    Inventors: Shawn D. Bush, Donald Ray Elliott
  • Patent number: 9721449
    Abstract: A vehicle keyfob locator system includes a keyfob locator control panel, a display, a plurality of keyfob locator antennas and a controller. The keyfob locator control panel and the display are located within a passenger compartment of a vehicle. The plurality of keyfob locator antennas are installed at predetermined positions of a vehicle body structure of the vehicle. The controller is operably connected to the keyfob locator control panel and each of the keyfob locator antennas. The controller is configured to operate the keyfob locator antennas and determine a location of a keyfob within the vehicle body structure in response to activation of the keyfob locator control panel and further configured to display an approximate location of the keyfob on the display in response to determining the location of the keyfob within the vehicle body structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: Nissan North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Adam Wehner, Balkishan Malay Gupta
  • Patent number: 9715893
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and information processing apparatuses. The medium stores instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method including automatically reading first management data from a first storage medium. The first management data identifies files of source data stored on the first storage medium. One of the files of source data is automatically identified based on the first management data and second management data. The second management data identifies files of transferred data stored on a second storage medium. The one of the files of source data is absent from the second storage medium and automatically transferred to the second storage medium. The one of the files of source data being transferred becomes one of the files of transferred data. The method further includes automatically displaying transferring status of the one of the files of source data by a symbolic figure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: Data Scape Ltd.
    Inventors: Koji Hirano, Shoji Inagaki, Ryuichiro Togashi
  • Patent number: 9710781
    Abstract: A data acquisition system includes a terminal device and a plurality of data acquisition apparatuses located at multiple layers and communicating with the terminal device. Each of the plurality of data acquisition apparatuses includes a control unit, a data obtaining unit, a data transmission unit, and a detection unit. The data obtaining unit is electronically coupled to the control unit and directed by the control unit to obtain data from articles. The data transmission unit is electronically coupled to the terminal device, and the plurality of data acquisition apparatuses are interconnected via the data transmission unit to send the data to the terminal device. The detection unit detects whether the plurality of data acquisition apparatuses cooperatively form a communication loop, and outputs an indication signal if the communication loop is formed among the plurality of data acquisition apparatuses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Zong-Yuan Sun
  • Patent number: 9703993
    Abstract: A system for testing performance of mobile Radio Frequency Identification tags, comprising: a test device including a mobile car and a test channel; the test channel comprises a magnetic label on a ground for labeling a test driving route of the mobile car and a framework fixed on to the ground and provided with a reading device for the RFID tags; a magnetic recognition device is provided at a bottom of the mobile car to identify to the magnetic label and the mobile car is driven along the test driving route; the plurality of RFID tags are fixed on under-test goods loaded on the mobile car; a testing equipment configured to control the reading device to identify the RFID tags fixed on under-test goods; wherein the RFID tags are fixed on to under-test goods which are loaded on the mobile car. The performance test experiment of identifying RFID tags is repeated to get the best recognition rate by adjusting the status of the reader and reader antennas and the speed of the mobile car.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: INSTITUTE OF AUTOMATION, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
    Inventors: Jie Tan, Na Mao, Hongsheng Zhao, Xiaofeng Ning
  • Patent number: 9690958
    Abstract: An RFID registration apparatus for registering units comprising RFID tags. The registration apparatus comprises: a detector space defined by a top, a bottom and four vertical sides including a first vertical side and a second vertical side, wherein the second vertical side is opposite the first vertical side; a receiver adapted to receive a number of units and be placed inside the detector space; a first antenna configured for reading RFID tags by emitting and receiving electromagnetic radiation within a first frequency range; and at least four plane reflector surfaces. Wherein a first primary reflector surface and a first secondary reflector surface span a first angle, and a second primary reflector surface and a second secondary reflector surface span a second angle. The first angle and the second angle are in the range of 70-140 degrees.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Caretag Surgical ApS
    Inventor: Soren Bilsoe Mortensen
  • Patent number: 9691585
    Abstract: A multi charged particle beam writing method includes, shifting a writing position of each corresponding beam to a next writing position by performing another beam deflection of multi charged particle beams, in addition to the beam deflection for a tracking control, while continuing the beam deflection for the tracking control after the maximum writing time has passed; emitting the each corresponding beam in the “on” state to the next writing position having been shifted of the each corresponding beam, during a corresponding writing time while continuing the tracking control; and returning a tracking position such that a next tracking start position is a former tracking start position where the tracking control was started, by resetting the beam deflection for the tracking control after emitting the each corresponding beam to the next writing position having been shifted at least once of the each corresponding beam while continuing the tracking control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: NuFlare Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Matsumoto, Munehiro Ogasawara, Ryoichi Yoshikawa
  • Patent number: 9666220
    Abstract: Devices that include a near field transducer (NFT), the NFT having a disc and a peg, and the peg having five surfaces thereof; and at least one adhesion layer positioned on at least one of the five surfaces of the peg, the adhesion layer including one or more of the following: yttrium (Y), tin (Sn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), carbon (C), holmium (Ho), gallium (Ga), silver (Ag), ytterbium (Yb), chromium (Cr), tantalum (Ta), iridium (Ir), zirconium (Zr), yttrium (Y), scandium (Sc), cobalt (Co), silicon (Si), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), niobium (Nb), palladium (Pd), titanium (Ti), rhenium (Re), osmium (Os), platinum (Pt), aluminum (Al), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), vanadium (V), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), tungsten (W), hafnium (Hf), carbon (C), boron (B), holmium (Ho), antimony (Sb), gallium (Ga), manganese (Mn), silver (Ag), indium (In), bismuth (Bi), zinc (Zn), ytterbium (Yb), and combinations thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC
    Inventors: Vijay Karthik Sankar, Tong Zhao, Yongjun Zhao, Michael C. Kautzky, Hui Brickner, Sarbeswar Sahoo
  • Patent number: 9649934
    Abstract: A driving safety controlling method is provided. The controlling method is running on a wearable device, a smart key and a vehicle. The control controlling method comprises steps: obtaining sensing data stored in a first storage unit of the wearable device; obtaining a unique identifier stored in a second storage unit of the smart key and controlling a first wireless communication unit of the smart key to transmit a high-frequency signal containing the unique identifier and the sensing data to the vehicle; obtaining a predefined identifier and a range from a third storage unit of the vehicle, comparing the unique identifier with the predefined identifier, and comparing the sensing data with the range; and controlling a prompt unit to generate a prompting when the unique identifier is determined to match with the predefined identifier and the sensing data is within the range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Wei-An Chen
  • Patent number: 9652733
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for measuring and tracking radio-frequency (RFID) tags. Inlay data, converting data, and tag scan data can be received from entities in the supply chain and stored in a database. The tag scan data, including measurement and performance data, can be stored and used for applications such as determining whether RFID tags are defective. The tag scan data, inlay data, and converting data can be analyzed to produce analytic data for reporting and failure prediction purposes. Inlay-SKU combinations of RFID tags can be validated to ensure that the correct inlays are being utilized for RFID tags intended for particular products. More accurate inventory data may be obtained and costs for re-tagging products that have defective RFID tags may be reduced. Entities in the supply chain can also be assisted to comply with various quality control, licensing, and tracking requirements related to the RFID tags.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Inventor: George Kevin Hoffman
  • Patent number: 9646639
    Abstract: A heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) writer is described. The HAMR writer is coupled with a laser that provides energy having a first polarization state. The HAMR writer has an air-bearing surface (ABS) configured to reside in proximity to a media during use, a plurality of waveguides, a main pole and at least one coil. The main pole writes to the media and is energized by the coil(s). The waveguides receive the energy from the laser and direct the energy toward the ABS. The waveguides include an input waveguide and an output waveguide. The input waveguide is configured to carry light having the first polarization state. The output waveguide is configured to carry light having a second polarization state different from the first polarization state. The waveguides are optically coupled and configured to transfer the energy from the first polarization state to the second polarization state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: WESTERN DIGITAL (FREMONT), LLC
    Inventors: Derek A. Van Orden, Sergei Sochava, Jianwei Mu, Ge Yi
  • Patent number: 9646489
    Abstract: A remote control method and an apparatus for home appliances, wherein a remote controller performs situation recognition using sensors and automatically controls home appliances without a control message from a portable device when communication with the portable device is not possible, are provided. The remote control method is designed for a remote controller managing home appliances installed in a home. The remote control method includes receiving a remote control request from a portable device capable of remotely controlling one or more home appliances, performing, upon reception of the remote control request, situation recognition with respect to the home appliances, and controlling operations of the home appliances based on situation recognition results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chi Hong Cho, Dong Keon Kong, Se Hoon Kim, Joon Ho Park, Eun Hui Bae, Hyoung Kyu Lim
  • Patent number: 9641892
    Abstract: Example disclosed media source detection methods include determining first trending coefficients for a first audio signal obtained from a first media source in communication with a media device, wherein the first trending coefficients correspond to a set of frequency bands. Example disclosed media source detection methods also include determining second trending coefficients for a second audio signal obtained from monitoring media presented by the media device, wherein the second trending coefficients correspond to the set of frequency bands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Marko Panger, Joe Kerkes, Joze Arh