Patents Examined by Jerold Murphy
  • Patent number: 8704698
    Abstract: Disclosed are a universal remote control apparatus, a system for controlling a universal remote control, and a method for the same based on a batch instruction, in which at least one device is selected using a pointing scheme performed by a user, and a standard control command is acquired from the selected device, thereby automatically generating the batch instruction. The universal remote control apparatus, which includes a device selection unit for receiving, from a user, a selection input with respect to a first device and a second device; a pointer providing unit for providing a pointer for selecting the first device and the second device; and a batch instruction-generation unit for generating a batch instruction for controlling the first device and the second device based on device information with respect to the first device and the second device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sang Do Park, Jun Hyeong Kim
  • Patent number: 8692694
    Abstract: A method of detecting and recovering from stuck keys on an electronic device keyboard comprises receiving one or more messages by a processor based upon a predetermined periodic scan rate and each message corresponding to a pressed key, determining one of the pressed keys is a stuck key based upon the received one or more messages corresponding to a pressed key, sending a mock key-up message from the processor to a keyboard controller in response to the determined stuck key, operating the keyboard controller at a changed scan rate in response to the mock key-up message, detecting the electronic device keyboard is in a released key state by the processor; and operating the keyboard controller at the predetermined periodic scan rate in response to the detected released key state. The processor can include two components, such as a keyboard processor and a keyboard controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Conor O'Neill, Christopher James Grant
  • Patent number: 8665108
    Abstract: In one aspect, a method for assessing quality of a downhole data is provided. The method, according to one embodiment, may include defining a quality criterion based on one or more parameters of interest, determining a quality assessment value for a first data, determining a quality assessment value for each run of a plurality of runs using the quality criterion, determining a quality factor from the computed quality assessment values of the plurality of runs, and determining a quality level of the first data using the quality assessment value of the first data and the quality factor of the computed quality assessment values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2014
    Assignee: Baker Hughes Incorporated
    Inventors: Oleg N. Akimov, Ansgar Baule, Christian Fulda, Andreas Hartmann
  • Patent number: 8648737
    Abstract: A telephone keypad for one touch text messaging the QWERTY pattern of keys in a matrix of nine keys. Using the multi position biasing keys only one touch is needed for each character, so in use to input the letter “C” you touch one key one time, decreasing the time spend text messaging from cell phones or desk tops and dialing phone numbers advertised in letters. The keypad also has a shift key to get upper case included in the nine keys, and a 2nd key to double functionality of the keys.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Inventor: James Harrison Bowen
  • Patent number: 8629790
    Abstract: A letter input structure of a two-click keyboard adapting a Morse code and an input method of the same, and a recording medium of the method are disclosed. A certain letter is created in selective combination with two keypads among seven keypads consisting of a dot(•) group keypad of a dot(•) keypad, a dot dot(•) keypad and a dot dot dot(•) keypad of a Morse code, a dash(-) group keypad of a dash(-) keypad, a dash dash(- -) keypad, and a dash dash dash (- - -) keypad which are separated and arranged at left and right sides (or upper and lower sides) and one function keypad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Inventor: Maeng Won Oh
  • Patent number: 8629782
    Abstract: A system and a method use dual telemetry for tools located in a wellbore. A first telemetry system and a second telemetry system coordinate communication with the tools. Both the first telemetry system and the second telemetry system may transmit data regarding the tools and/or drilling conditions from the tools to a surface location simultaneously. The first telemetry system or the second telemetry system may communicate with the surface location if communication using the other telemetry system is interrupted. The first telemetry system and the second telemetry system may have a master/slave relationship so that data requests from a specific telemetry system do not interfere with data requests from the other telemetry system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Qiming Li, Desheng Zhang, Yi Zhang, Lili Zhong, Tang Xueyan, Brian Clark
  • Patent number: 8610602
    Abstract: A mobile wireless communications device may include a portable, handheld housing, and a display and keyboard carried by the portable, handheld housing. The keyboard may include a plurality of multi-symbol keys each having indicia of a plurality of respective symbols thereon, and a predetermined multi-symbol key may have a comma/apostrophe symbol and at least one other symbol thereon. A controller may be used for generating, in response to an ambiguous input including an ambiguous punctuation input, a menu of possible desired words including at least one word with a comma and at least one word with an apostrophe and at least one other character additional to the ambiguous input. The device further includes a multiple-axis input device that is operable to provide movement inputs to move to, for example, a variant output and is further operable to provide a selection input as to, for example, the variant output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventor: Sherryl Lee Lorraine Scott
  • Patent number: 8564461
    Abstract: A handheld device includes a plurality of input members, a first set of which each have a Roman character assigned thereto, a least some of which have a first non-Roman, second non-Roman character, and third non-Roman characters assigned thereto. The device is switchable between first and second modes. In the first mode, each Roman character may be input in response to actuation of the input member to which it is assigned, and in the second mode, each first non-Roman character may be input in response to a first type of actuation of the input member to which it is assigned, each second non-Roman character may input in response to a second type of actuation of the input member to which it is assigned, and each third non-Roman character may be input in response to a third type of actuation of the input member to which it is assigned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Dan Rubanovich, Vadim Fux, Aleksej Trefilov
  • Patent number: 8564460
    Abstract: A keyboard device includes multiple key switches, a scan memory that temporarily stores a result obtained by scanning keyboard as scan data, a confirmed data memory that stores a confirmed key input, a first determination mechanism that determines whether the scan data stored in the scan memory indicates that multiple keys on a single scan line are on, a readout mechanism that reads out a data of a scan line immediately preceding the scan line that is currently scanned from the data memory, a second determination mechanism that compares the data stored in the scan memory with the readout data from the readout mechanism and determines whether a single detection line includes two keys that are on, and a key confirmation mechanism that determines a current sneak when the second mechanism detects that the single scan line includes two key switches that are on and confirms the key input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Keisuke Takahashi
  • Patent number: 8547254
    Abstract: An improved handheld electronic device is movable among a retracted configuration and a deployed configuration. Several different exemplary embodiments are described, some having two members, others having more. In one embodiment, certain features or objects are unavailable in a retracted configuration but are available in a deployed configuration or an overtravel configuration. A method of responding to predetermined events comprises detecting a movement of a handheld electronic device away from a first configuration toward a second configuration without reaching the second configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Norman M. Ladouceur, Jason T. Griffin
  • Patent number: 8493231
    Abstract: A power meter having fault tolerance enhances the monitoring of electrical power by increasing the reliability of data output by the power meter having fault tolerance. The power meter having fault tolerance may enhance the monitoring process by transitioning from a faulty power monitoring device to a non-faulty power monitoring device without losing or corrupting power management data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Power Measurement Ltd.
    Inventor: Michael E. Teachman
  • Patent number: 8482437
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for selecting a keyboard key based on a position of a presence of a conductive object on a sensing device and a pre-defined area of the keyboard key. The apparatus may include a sensing device and a processing device. The sensing device may include a plurality of sensor elements to detect a presence of a conductive object on the sensing device. Multiple keyboard keys are assigned to pre-defined areas of the sensing device. The processing device is coupled to the sensing device using capacitance sensing pins, and may be operable to determine a position of the presence of the conductive object, and to select a keyboard key based on the position of the conductive object and the pre-defined areas of the sensing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Liu Hua, Jiang XiaoPing
  • Patent number: 8368579
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a remote controller apparatus including: preset holding means for holding, per preset code, preset information representative of correspondence between buttons of a plurality of trial-targeted remote controllers on the one hand, and an output signal given when each of the buttons is pushed on the other hand; evaluation value creating means for counting, out of the preset information held in the preset holding means, the number of preset codes of which the output signal is the same for each of the pushed buttons, before setting the largest count as an evaluation value of the button in question; and button presenting means for presenting as a trial button the button of which the evaluation value is the smallest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Toshifumi Yamamoto, Tomoko Kumagai, Masayuki Kihara, Atsushi Naoi
  • Patent number: 8339290
    Abstract: A control method of an alterable key is applied in a portable electronic device including switch a plurality of function modes. The portable electronic device has an opaque key portion, a pattern template layer, and a plurality of light emitting portions. A pattern template layer has many groups of operating patterns. Light emitting portions are corresponding to the operating patterns and emit the specific light, and the operating patterns are corresponding to the function modes. The control method includes the following steps of receiving a first command to switch the corresponding function mode, brightening the light emitting portion corresponding to the function mode to show the corresponding operating patterns on the opaque key portion, receiving a second command to switch another corresponding function mode, and brightening the light emitting portion corresponding to another function mode to show another corresponding operating patterns on the opaque key portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
    Inventor: Andrew Mao
  • Patent number: 8339304
    Abstract: A remote control signal generation device for converting a primary remote control signal compliant to one code system into a secondary remote control signal compliant to another code system, includes an exterior member having shape and size suitable for being held in a battery holder, instead of one of the plural number of batteries, a converter section, responsive to the exterior member being held in the battery holder to convert the supplied voltage into an output voltage corresponding to the rated electromotive force, a primary remote control signal detection section for detecting the primary remote control signal, a signal code conversion processing section for generating the secondary remote control signal compliant to the another code system corresponding to the primary remote control signal detected by the primary remote control signal detection section, and a secondary remote control signal transmission section for transmitting the secondary remote control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yukio Yokozawa
  • Patent number: 8310369
    Abstract: Water is conserved by detecting unintended inflow of water into the tank of a flush toilet. A sensor acoustically and/or vibrationally coupled to the flush toilet detects sound and/or vibration generated due to turbulence in water flowing into the toilet tank. An electronic circuit analyzes the sensor output to detect cyclical water inflow not intended by a user. The electronic circuit generates an alert such as an audible and/or visual indication that the toilet is leaking.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: nth Solutions, LLC
    Inventors: Eric L. Canfield, Edward P. Cheslock
  • Patent number: 8294599
    Abstract: A handheld electronic device includes a reduced QWERTY keyboard and is enabled with disambiguation software that is operable to disambiguate compound text input. The device is able to assemble language objects in the memory to generate compound language solutions. The device is able to generate compound language solutions by employing different groupings of data sources to generate different portions of the compound language solutions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Research In Motion Limited
    Inventors: Vadim Fux, Michael Elizarov
  • Patent number: 8289193
    Abstract: A mobile wireless communications device may include a portable, handheld housing, and a display and keyboard carried by the portable, handheld housing. The keyboard may include a plurality of multi-symbol keys each having indicia of a plurality of respective symbols thereon, and a predetermined multi-symbol key may have a comma/apostrophe symbol and at least one other symbol thereon. A controller may be used for generating, in response to an ambiguous input including an ambiguous punctuations input, a menu of possible desired words including at least one word with a comma and at least one word with an apostrophe and at least one other character additional to the ambiguous input. The device further includes a multiple-axis input device that is operable to provide movement inputs to move to, for example, a variant output and is further operable to provide a selection input as to, for example, the variant output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Research In Motion Limited
    Inventor: Sherryl Lee Lorraine Scott
  • Patent number: 8274407
    Abstract: A compact electric device for coding and selecting characters, symbols and/or multiple choices, includes a matrix carrying a plurality of contact or proximity sensors (1,2,3,4,5,5,7,8), an activation member (10) of sensors and a single selection key (22). This key is operated by the user for bringing in turn the activation member at least partially in coincidence with at least a first and a second of the sensors, for transmitting a selectively different coded signal for each respective different sensor. The matrix comprises a first group of sensors (1,2,3), having function of selection of respective matrix fields, and a second group of sensors (4,5,6,7,8), having function of selection of characters associated to each matrix field. The sensors are distributed on the matrix according to modular zones, having a central zone (0) and radial sector zones (A, B, C, D).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Matrix Projects LLC
    Inventor: Pierluigi Dell'Orto
  • Patent number: 8274478
    Abstract: A telephone keypad for one touch text messaging the QWERTY pattern of keys in a matrix of nine keys. Using the multi position biasing keys only one touch is needed for each character, so in use to input the letter “C” you touch one key one time, decreasing the time spend text messaging from cell phones or desk tops and dialing phone numbers advertised in letters. The keypad also has a shift key to get upper case included in the nine keys, and a 2nd key to double functionality of the keys.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Inventor: James Harrison Bowen