Patents Examined by Kimthanh Tbui
  • Patent number: 5005125
    Abstract: An EAS (electronic article surveillance) system and tag of type responsive to incident energy comprising EAS messages and other messages related to pricing and identification of articles includes circuitry for response to such EAS messages and for the receipt, storage and issuance of such pricing and article identification data, message generator apparatus for transmitting such EAS and other messages in the form of tag incident energy, and apparatus for interrogating the tags to cause such tag issuance of such stored pricing and identification data. An inventory store is responsive to issuance of tag stored identification data to decrement the inventory store and the use of article price totalizer apparatus responsive to the tag issuance of such stored pricing data. Further, the tag includes display apparatus for visual presentation of such pricing data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1986
    Date of Patent: April 2, 1991
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: James G. Farrar, Ezra D. Eskandry
  • Patent number: 4975840
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for evaluating the insurability of a potentially insurable risk has data bases for storing information, and the ability to correlate selected elements of information in respective data bases. Certain elements are assigned weights on the basis of predetermined relationships existing between elements of information in one data base and corresponding elements of information in another. Information is displayed from a data base for use by an underwriter in assigning a weight to a selected element, or an expert module corresponding to the selected element is identified and used for assigning the weight. A risk classification is determined for the potentially insurable risk from the weights assigned. The system can identify additional elements of information required for evaluating the potentially insurable risk, and can request entry of such information for subsequent storage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 4, 1990
    Assignee: Lincoln National Risk Management, Inc.
    Inventors: Arthur W. DeTore, Russell D. Suever, David W. Jones, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4974162
    Abstract: Monopolar ECG signals are converted into the multichannel spectrum and autocorrelation domains, and different decision variables are identified from the autospectra. Statically validated threshold levels are used for comparison with the decision variables to determine the probability of normal and ischemic conditons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 27, 1990
    Assignee: University of Maryland
    Inventors: John H. Siegel, Chrysostomos L. Nikias
  • Patent number: 4920488
    Abstract: A system and method for the inventory of physical assets utilizes a digital computer based system including work station terminals each having an interactive graphics display screen in which the information displayed on the display screen may be graphically altered by the user. Inventory designation data may be obtained by a hand-held laser reader from a bar code label affixed to the item. Absolute geographic location data in terms of latitude, longitude and elevation, each within one foot of accuracy, is associated with each inventory item and with its designation data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 24, 1990
    Inventor: Oliver D. Filley
  • Patent number: 4910676
    Abstract: A processing system manages investments, wherein certain types of investments are represented in two redundant media, the first media being an investment that produces revenue and the second media being a negotiable draft similar to a traveler's check, drawn against an issuer other than the investor. The processing system supervises the issuance of drafts in response to the addition of a first media investment to an investment account, permits issued drafts to be transferred between account holders and to non-holders, and supervises buy and sell orders relating to each account to ensure that an appropriate balance of values is maintained between the first and second media investments in each account such that each outstanding draft is supported by a first media investment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 20, 1990
    Inventor: Robert L. Alldredge
  • Patent number: 4888694
    Abstract: An ultrasound blood flow imaging system employing a moving-target-type Doppler processor having a passband extending from zero hertz to the repetition frequency of the pulses generated and processed during each beam. The system is able to image low-velocity blood flow by reducing the frequency at which pulses are generated and processed during each beam, thereby increasing the gain of the flow processor at low frequencies. In order to avoid a corresponding decrease in the frame rate, the ultrasound pulses for several beams are alternately generated and processed in interleaved sequence rather than generating and processing all of the ultrasound pulses for each beam before generating and processing ultrasound pulses for the next beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1987
    Date of Patent: December 19, 1989
    Assignee: Quantum Medical Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard H. Chesarek
  • Patent number: 4862361
    Abstract: Malfunctions of the cardiovascular control system may be diagnosed by examination of a patient's heart rate fluctuation power spectra. Particularly indicative of cardiovascular stress are: a level below about 0.1 (beats/min.).sup.2 in the power spectrum of heart rate fluctuations at a frequency between about 0.04 and about 0.10 Hz; a marked increase to above about 10 (beats/min.).sup.2 in a peak in the heart rate fluctuation power spectrum between about 0.04 to 0.10 Hz; and a ratio of the area under a heart rate power spectrum peak at a frequency between about 0.04 and 0.10 Hz to the area under a peak in the respiratory heart rate fluctuation power spectrum centered at the mean respiratory rate about about 0.10 Hz as having an absolute value less than 2.0 for longer than or equal to about one hour or as having an absolute value greater than about 50.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1985
    Date of Patent: August 29, 1989
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: David Gordon, Solange Akselrod, Richard J. Cohen, Jerome C. Tu, Stephen K. Burns, Victoria H. DeLeon
  • Patent number: 4845628
    Abstract: Disclosed is a real-time method for minimizing the expected, controllable unit cost over a future drilling interval by simulating the values of selected operating variables and lithologies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1986
    Date of Patent: July 4, 1989
    Assignee: Automated Decisions, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard L. Gray, Vivien J. Cambridge
  • Patent number: 4835688
    Abstract: A three-dimensional image processing apparatus includes a first three-dimensional memory for storing first voxel data representing a three-dimensional CT image, a level detector for comparing the first voxel data with CT values of an epidermis, a bone, and a blood vessel, second three-dimensional memories for storing second voxel data (binary) of the epidermis, the bone, and the blood vessel obtained by the level detector, a distance detector for detecting distances between a predetermined projection plane in a three-dimensional space and the second voxel data, a minimum detector for detecting a distance between the projection plane and one of the second voxel data of the epidermis, bone, and blood vessel, which is closest to the projection plane, and a surface image generating circuit for shading minimum values of pixels in the projection plane to generate a surface image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1989
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Tokunori Kimura
  • Patent number: 4835689
    Abstract: A method for phase conjugation adaptive reduction of phase aberration effects upon the time delays necessary for information of a beam of coherent energy focused within non-homogeneous medium at a selected range R from, and at an angle .theta. with respect to the normal to, the surface of an array of a plurality N of transducers, each for providing a portion of the energy of the beam when excited and for converting energy reflected thereto to a signal therefrom, first bounces from a large collection of scatterers, contained in a portion of the medium to be investigated, a probe beam for that beam angle .theta.; cross-correlating, for each probe beam, the received signals from each of the (N-1) pairs of adjacent transducers to derive a like number of phase conjugation correction signals; arithmetically operates upon the plurality of phase conjugation correction signals to provide a time correction for the time delay associated with each probe beam transducer, for that range R and angle .theta.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1987
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1989
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Matthew O'Donnell
  • Patent number: 4783741
    Abstract: A system for simulation of the reticular formation is described. The system comprises as a central processing unit a command computer (4) structured on the basis of a permutograph and comprising a plurality of storage modules (M), with the storage modules (M) corresponding to the elements and the connections between the storage modules to the edges of the permutograph. The connections establish internal circuits which correspond to the negation sequences of the permutograph in the form of Hamilton loops (HK), there being associated with each Hamilton loop a behavior pattern of the reticular formation. The command computer (4) is controlled by input computers (1, 2, 3) in which a preprogrammed intended action is related to environmental information. The possibly new intended action computed therefrom is entered in the command computer (4) as a control command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 1984
    Date of Patent: November 8, 1988
    Inventor: Bernhard Mitterauer
  • Patent number: 4769757
    Abstract: A CT scanner including a scanning device including (a) device for rotating an x-ray source around an object to be examined, the x-ray source radiating x-rays, while the x-ray source is being rotated, in the form of fan beams covering a region of the object to be examined, and (b) a multielement x-ray detector for detecting x-ray fan beams transmitted through the object to thus collect data around the irradiated object; an arithmetic device for arithmetically reconstructing the distribution of the x-ray absorption coefficients of the object across a measured cross-section from the data; and a display for displaying the distribution where the arithmetic device includes a device for producing data equivalent to data derived from parallel beams not regularly spaced apart from each other from the collected data around the irradiated object, a device for subjecting the produced data to filtering, and a device for correcting inhomogeneity in the data equivalent to data derived from parallel beams not regularly space
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 6, 1988
    Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventors: Isao Horiba, Hiroyuki Takeuchi, Hiroshi Nishimura
  • Patent number: 4763259
    Abstract: A self-contained, down hole powered electrical system in which a well tool microprocessor and circuitry can be programmed from an external microprocessor and verified as to functional capabilities and data can be retrieved from the tool by use of a current and voltage encoded binary system. Further, the system includes an alarm system for verifying the operation of the tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1985
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1988
    Assignee: Panex Corporation
    Inventors: Leroy C. Delatorre, Homer M. Wilson, E. Rene Pingenot
  • Patent number: 4761740
    Abstract: A monochrome image of a cross-section of a body and a color representation of the velocity of blood flow therein are combined so that they are mutually exclusive by causing each pixel of a display to be in monochrome when a signal from which a velocity indicative signal may be derived is less than a minimum value or when that signal exceeds the minimum value and a weighted value of the velocity indicative signal is less than a weighted value of the signal for the monochrome image, and to be in color when the signal from which a velocity indicative signal may be derived exceeds the minimum value and a weighted value of a signal indicative of velocity exceeds a weighted value of the signal for the monochrome image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 1986
    Date of Patent: August 2, 1988
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventor: David Lipschutz
  • Patent number: 4758954
    Abstract: Tickets carrying information indicative of ticket fares are effective for use on different transportation routes run by different transportation entities. After the tickets have been retrieved at terminal ends or stations of the transportation routes, the information is read from the tickets, and the transportation entities are billed for ticket fares or fare differences calculated on the basis of the read information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1987
    Date of Patent: July 19, 1988
    Assignee: Computer Services Corporation
    Inventor: Kiyoaki Takiguchi
  • Patent number: 4752879
    Abstract: An improved medical diagnostic imaging method and apparatus. In both, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Computed Tomography imaging artifacts caused by the finite number of directions from which imaging data is obtained is minimized. An image is constructed and then modified by adjusting each image element with contributions from neighboring picture elements. When all picture elements have been so modified an improved image approximating a result that would have been achieved by interpolating and then reconstructing image data is obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 21, 1988
    Assignee: Picker International, Inc.
    Inventor: Carl J. Brunnett
  • Patent number: 4752880
    Abstract: The transfer of the temperature of a body to a fertility calculator (7) is only authorized by the time controller (20, 23) when a first counter shows that a first preselected period of time (e.g., 22 hours) has elapsed since the previous temperature measure and when a second counter (23) shows that the temperature is being taken during a second preselected time interval (e.g. 4 hours) following the first period of time. Accordingly, only one measure can be made per day at approximately the same time, thereby eliminating the important problem encountered when the temperature is taken at irregular intervals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 1987
    Date of Patent: June 21, 1988
    Assignee: Bioself International Inc.
    Inventor: Claude Aeschlimann
  • Patent number: 4748563
    Abstract: The invention relates to the automatic control of the lifting travel of a string of pipes suspended from a cable. To stop this string of pipes systematically in a specific position, a first passage check controlled by a sensor, for example sensitive to the rotation of the pulley over which the cable passes, is associated with a second location check controlled by a sensor, for example sensitive to the passage at a given level of the joints separating the pipes two by two.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 1985
    Date of Patent: May 31, 1988
    Inventor: Gilles G. Anthoine
  • Patent number: 4740897
    Abstract: A self-contained, down hole powered electrical system in which the tool has nonvolatile memory means which are independent of applied power thereby permitting the power to the system to be turned off between sampling and further including a system for reentering data to nonvolatile memories for retention during high temperature operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1985
    Date of Patent: April 26, 1988
    Assignee: Panex Corporation
    Inventors: Leroy C. Delatorre, Homer M. Wilson, E. Rene Pingenot
  • Patent number: 4716529
    Abstract: An electronic game apparatus has a handicap data memory for storing a plurality of types of handicap data corresponding to piece positions and the number of extra pieces displayed on a display unit, and a game level designation data memory for specifying a game level in accordance with the skill of the challenger. The game level is determined by a move guessing number, representing the number of further challenger moves that the computer can guess, and by the handicap data. When a game level is selected, the corresponding handicap data is read out from the handicap data memory to display the handicap data on a display unit under the control of a control section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1986
    Date of Patent: December 29, 1987
    Assignee: Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Jin Nakayama