Patents Examined by G. Hayes
  • Patent number: 4729098
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for displaying three dimensional surface images includes the utilization of a case table for rapid retrieval of surface approximation information. Eight cubically adjacent data points associated with a given voxel element are compared with a predetermined threshold value or range to generate an eight bit vector. This eight bit vector is employed to rapidly produce vector lists of approximating surfaces. A non-linear interpolation operation is performed so as to more closely approximate the desired surface and to provide more accurate representations of vectors normal to the desired surface. The accurate representation of these normal directions provides means for accurately representing shading information on a display screen. The method and apparatus of the present invention are particularly useful for the display of medical images both from X-ray generated data and from data generated from various other sources including magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 1, 1988
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Harvey E. Cline, William E. Lorensen
  • Patent number: 4725949
    Abstract: An intelligent data acquisition interface for deriving and decoding data from the interface between a printer driver and a printing mechanism in an electronic cash register is shown. The apparatus is responsive to a wide variety of predetermined character position timing pulses available for various types of electronic cash registers (ECRs) to decode the characters as appropriate control signals are provided to the printing mechanism. As the apparatus collects and decodes data, it is loaded into a buffer within a microprocessor. When the device detects the provision of a complete print row of material for the receipt on the ECR, the contents of the buffer is transmitted serially, preferably in ASCII coded format, to a utilization system over a standard 9600 baud serial data link. The device is controlled by a microprocessor 65 having a program memory, and ECR specific look-up tables stored in an interchangeable PROM.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 1984
    Date of Patent: February 16, 1988
    Assignee: Supervision Control Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Bruce I. Dreher
  • Patent number: 4700300
    Abstract: Statistical variations in simultaneous shallow and deep investigation nuclear borehole logs are reduced using digital moving average data processing while maintaining responsiveness to formation changes, by transitioning through a combination of long and short filtered data as a function of the statistical variation of the deep log data differences of the long and short derived averages. Borehole rugosity is also indicated as a function of the difference between the shallow and the deep log indexes of the differences between their respective narrow and wide derived averages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1984
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1987
    Assignee: Halliburton Company
    Inventors: Ward E. Schultz, Harry D. Smith, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4694399
    Abstract: In a tomodensitometric image reconstruction process the detectors 11 of the tomodensitometer are offset by .DELTA.d/4 (.DELTA.d being the pitch of the detectors), and reconstruction is performed during one complete revolution of the detector assembly, the linear absorption values being weighed by a coefficient .alpha. and an equivalent number of intermediary values being produced by summing each time two successive juxtaposed real values (summation device 20) and weighing the resulting sum by a coefficient .beta./2 prior reconstructing the image on the basis of all these data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1985
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1987
    Assignee: Thomson-CGR
    Inventors: Siv C. Tan, Tri H. Nguyen, Claude D. Benchimol
  • Patent number: 4679142
    Abstract: Quantities of radioactive material are dispersed at a user location. Billing is accomplished by monitoring the decay of material and the degree of activity following each user withdrawal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1984
    Date of Patent: July 7, 1987
    Assignee: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventor: Denny L. Y. Lee
  • Patent number: 4674042
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for interactively manipulating a business chart as a group of draw graph objects. The chart is displayed using predefined data. A draw graph object of the business chart is selected for editing. When the editing action is completed, a check is made to determine whether the action on the business chart destroyed the relationship between the chart and the predefined data. If it did, a message is displayed to the operator indicating that the link between the chart and the data has been broken.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corp.
    Inventors: Irene H. Hernandez, Barbara A. Barker, Carol S. Himelstein, Beverly H. Machart
  • Patent number: 4674046
    Abstract: According to a scan planning method for obtaining any tomographic image by a CT system, projection data of a plurality of parallel slices is acquired by a computed tomographic scanning device. The tomographic images are interpolated in accordance with the tomographic data of the slices which is obtained by the CT scanning device thereby providing the three-dimensional image data. A three-dimensional object image is then displayed on a display in accordance with the three-dimensional image data. A viewpoint for the object image changes, and an orientation angle of the object image changes in accordance with a manually input coordinate information. A slice position image representing the designated position and angle of the slice is displayed three-dimensionally in accordance with the coordinate information. The CT scanning device is controlled in accordance with the position and angle of the slice position image with respect to the object image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Takeshi Ozeki, Shinichi Tsubura
  • Patent number: 4674044
    Abstract: Data processing based apparatus makes an automated trading market for one or more securities. The system retrieves the best obtaining bid and asked prices from a remote data base, covering the ensemble of institutions or others making a market for the relevant securities. Data characterizing each securities buy/sell order requested by a customer is supplied to the system. The order is qualified for execution by comparing its specifics against predetermined stored parameters. The stored parameters include the operative bid and asked prices, the amount of stock available for customer purchase or sale, and maximum single order size.Once qualified, the order is executed and the appropriate parameters are updated. The system provides inventory (position) control and profit accounting for the market maker. Finally, the system reports the executed trade details to the customer, and to national stock price reporting systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Assignee: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.
    Inventors: Leslie P. Kalmus, Donald R. Trojan, Bradley Mott, John Strampfer
  • Patent number: 4674043
    Abstract: A method of updating business chart data by editing the business chart is disclosed. The chart is displayed using predefined data. A draw graph object of the business chart is selected for editing. When the editing action is completed, a check is made to determine whether the action on the business chart destroyed the relationship between the chart and the predefined data. If it did and if the user has selected the two-way editing mode, the predefined data is updated to reflect the edited chart.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corp.
    Inventors: Irene H. Hernandez, Barbara A. Barker, Carol S. Himelstein, Beverly H. Machart
  • Patent number: 4661908
    Abstract: A sales data processing system reads sales data containing article codes previously attached to sales articles, and executes registration of sales data according to the sales data thus read.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1985
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1987
    Assignee: Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichi Hamano, Hajime Yamato, Hideo Karasawa
  • Patent number: 4649483
    Abstract: Multi-phase fluid saturation in a sample of a porous media is determined through computed tomographic scanning. The sample is scanned with X-rays of differing energies in both the fluid saturated and fluid-extracted states. Each of the extracted fluids is also scanned at differing X-ray energies. The computed tomographic images produced are utilized in the determination of the X-ray mass attenuation coefficients for the sample and the extracted fluids. From these mass attenuation coefficients, the weight fractions and volume fractions of each of the extracted fluids are determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1984
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1987
    Assignee: Mobil Oil Corporation
    Inventor: James R. Dixon, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4642767
    Abstract: Data processing for an improved bookkeeping and accounting system supervises, implements and coordinates a collection of coded data, the number of which is fixed and does not exceed several dozens; which represent totals of accounts describing financial condition of a business; and which are distinguished by the feature that the total of all asset accounts are equal to the total of all equity accounts. Attributes of checks and invoices reflecting new business transactions are entered into the system and each document affects the collection according to the change of financial condition in such a way that the asset-equity equation is always kept in balance. Statement of financial condition and income statement are formed based on the last updated collection of coded data and on a comparison of the last and the reference collections. The attributes of documents of business transaction after having been processed are arranged to form a database for a subsequent updating of accounting journals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1984
    Date of Patent: February 10, 1987
    Inventor: Moisey Lerner
  • Patent number: 4642766
    Abstract: A multi-source feedstock distribution system is controlled by an optimization so as to substantially minimize the total cost of the feed while also meeting set points for flow rate and composition to feedstock users supplied by the multi-source feedstock distribution system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1985
    Date of Patent: February 10, 1987
    Assignee: Phillips Petroleum Company
    Inventors: Gary L. Funk, Robert D. Terhune, Cheryl C. Kania, Robert H. Kallenberger
  • Patent number: 4636955
    Abstract: A method for merging two adjacent gridded map data sets mismatched at their boundaries is disclosed wherein a first data set is assumed to be correct and the second data set is corrected to the first. The two data sets are gridded beyond their common boundary to obtain a difference between them in an artificial overlap zone between them. The difference between the two data sets in the artificial overlap zone is fit by an orthogonal polynomial set. The polynomial function for a predetermined order is computed over the entire area occupied by one of the data sets and that data set is adjusted by the polynomial function to be consistent with the other data set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1984
    Date of Patent: January 13, 1987
    Assignee: Mobil Oil Corporation
    Inventor: Merrill S. Ginsburg
  • Patent number: 4635196
    Abstract: An electronic cash register, wherein sales data such as sale information and classification information are input before a registration key is operated to cause a registration, includes a plurality of registration keys, a plurality of exemption flags each corresponding to the plurality of registration keys, an exemption flag set circuit for setting and resetting the plurality of exemption flags, an exemption flag detection circuit for detecting whether the set or reset condition of one of the plurality of exemption flags corresponding to one of the plurality of registration keys is actuated after the input of the sale data, and an exemption registration selection circuit responsive to the detection by the exemption flag detection circuit for selectively calculating the total sale price either free from the taxation or with the taxation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 1984
    Date of Patent: January 6, 1987
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yashuhide Nakamura, Shigeyuki Yamamura
  • Patent number: 4635198
    Abstract: Sound heads (SK1 to SK3) are fixed, distributed peripherally, on the part of the body, e.g. an arm or leg. Each of the sound heads is able to transmit ultrasonic signals along a measuring section (MS1 to MS3) leading to another sound head, which signals are received by the other sound head. The sound heads can consist of angularly arranged sound members (14). In this way, all three sides of a polygon formed by the sound heads are measured, from which measurements the surface area of the polygon can be determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 1984
    Date of Patent: January 6, 1987
    Assignee: Deutsche Forschungs-und Versuchsanstalt fur Luft-und Raum-fahrt e.V.
    Inventors: Hans Hohlweck, Gernold Plath, Friedhelm Baisch
  • Patent number: 4602333
    Abstract: A tomographic image processing apparatus includes at least an image data production device, a main memory, a compression circuit, a write circuit, a magnetic disk, a read circuit, an expansion circuit and an image processing device. The magnetic disk has at least two storage areas. The compressed image data and the non-compressed image data are made from one image data. The compressed image data has priority over the non-compressed image data in the storage operation of the magnetic disk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 1984
    Date of Patent: July 22, 1986
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Tomoyasu Komori