Patents Examined by Sarah Monfeldt
  • Patent number: 9909879
    Abstract: Successive offer communications are sent to an offer recipient. A first offer communication includes an offer of a merchant and the second offer communication includes an announcement about the offer. The first and second offer communications are each formatted to be rendered by respective communication device, such as a mobile phone of the offer recipient or a Point of Interaction (POI) terminal. The content of the offer communications may be tailored to the offer recipient based on the offer recipient's past transactions within a transaction processing system or a real time geographical location of the offer recipient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Visa U.S.A. Inc.
    Inventors: James Alan VonDerheide, Rajasekaran Dhamodharan
  • Patent number: 9841282
    Abstract: Successive offer communications are sent to an offer recipient. A first offer communication includes an offer of a merchant and the second offer communication includes an announcement about the offer. The first and second offer communications are each formatted to be rendered by respective communication device, such as a mobile phone of the offer recipient or a Point of Interaction (POI) terminal. The content of the offer communications may be tailored to the offer recipient based on the offer recipient's past transactions within a transaction processing system or a real time geographical location of the offer recipient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: Visa U.S.A. Inc.
    Inventors: James Alan VonDerheide, Rajasekaran Dhamodharan
  • Patent number: 9754325
    Abstract: Methods and systems for monitoring use and determining risks associated with operation of a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features are provided. According to certain aspects, a virtual log of data regarding performance of the features in a non-test environment may be recorded during operation of the vehicle. This may include information regarding the vehicle, the vehicle environment, use of the autonomous operation features, and/or control decisions made by the features. The control decisions may include evasive maneuvers performed by the vehicle under the control of the features. The performance data in the virtual log may be used to determine risk levels associated with vehicle operation by the autonomous operation features. The risk levels may further be used to adjust an insurance policy associated with the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
    Inventors: Blake Konrardy, Scott T. Christensen, Gregory Hayward, Scott Farris
  • Patent number: 8818890
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a method of managing trading is provided. A first offer for a particular instrument in a particular market is received from a first market maker at a first offer price. A first bid for the same particular instrument in the same particular market is received from a second market maker at a first bid price, the first bid price being higher than or equal to the first offer price. As a result of the first bid price being higher than or equal to the first offer price, the first offer price is automatically increased to a price higher than the first bid price such that a trade is not executed between the first offer and the first bid. In some embodiments, such method may be used to protect market makers from unwanted trades caused by inherent latency in the market makers' pricing engines and/or networks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: BGC Partners, Inc.
    Inventors: Nigel J Renton, Michael Sweeting
  • Patent number: 8818891
    Abstract: An electronic negotiation auction platform derives final market pricing for and assembles the investor pool to fund a borrower's loan request or to sell an existing debt instrument. The platform conducts the auction in two phases. The first phase involves junior lienholders, whereas the second phase involves senior lien holders. Phase I comprises establishment of a purchase price by junior lienholders (B) tranche given minimum return information. Phase II comprises subscription of the (A) tranche which, now has a defined value and full range of information to consider the safest of the investment vehicles for this asset. Competition among investors desiring to participate in the (A) tranche results in a lower yield for the (A) tranche and a higher yield for the junior lienholders if the (A) tranche is oversubscribed. This extra yield is passed on to junior lienholders, serving as incentive to participate in the junior tranche.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Inventor: Dean DiCarlo
  • Patent number: 8775311
    Abstract: Methods and systems which allow one or more money transfer transactions to be implemented in a manner which provides additional certainty to a receiving party are provided. In one embodiment, a money transfer service authorizes a sender to transfer up to a certain amount of money. With this authorization, a money transfer transaction regiment is established, while the money transfer service maintains an accounting of the balance to insure that the balance remains below the pre-determined authorized amount. In another embodiment, a money transfer services utilizes reliability criteria to authorize a sender to transfer money with the money and service charge being collected after the transfer is completed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Moneygram International, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Davis, Kunle Olamuyiwa, Sabrina Chan, Tara Bertram
  • Patent number: 8712902
    Abstract: Among other disclosure, an operating system that presents one or more advertisements to a user. The operating system can disable one or more functions while the advertisement is being presented. At the end of the advertisement, the operating system can again enable the function(s). The advertisement can be visual or audible. The presentation of the advertisement(s) can be made as part of an approach where the user obtains a good or service, such as the operating system, for free or at reduced cost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2014
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Steven Jobs, Freddy A. Anzures, Mike Matas, Gregory N. Christie, Patrick Coffman
  • Patent number: 8706608
    Abstract: A computer-implemented system and method for executing trades of financial securities according to a combination passive/aggressive trading strategy that reliably executes trades of lists of securities or blocks of a single security within a desired time frame while taking advantage of dynamic market movement to realize price improvement for the trade within the desired time frame. A passive trading agent executes trades at advantageous prices by floating portions of the order at the bid or ask to maximize exposure to the inside market and attract market orders. An aggressive agent opportunistically takes liquidity as it arises, setting discretionary prices in accordance with historical trading data of the specified security.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: ITG Software Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Tomas Bok, Jose E. Gutierrez, Sam Shteingart
  • Patent number: 8694427
    Abstract: A number of memory spaces are defined for a memory structure. Transaction data is received, and financial transactions are scored based on the transaction data to generate a batch of scores for the financial transactions. A score range is divided into k bins, each of the k bins representing one memory space of the memory spaces of the memory structure. The batch of scores are aggregated by storing a count of each score in a memory space, and a percentile is computed for each score in the batch of scores based on a set of values associated with each score. Each new financial transaction is scored to generate a new score, and a new percentile is assigned to the new score according to the set of values. The new percentile is then translated to a calibration score with fixed percentile characteristics according to a fixed reference curve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: Fair Isaac Corporation
    Inventors: Sridhar Maddipati, Scott Michael Zoldi
  • Patent number: 8612267
    Abstract: A computerized method of allowing insurance customers to purchase travel medical insurance or other foreign medical insurance, based on user age, sex, and various user designed risk scenarios, and receive information on the payout amounts that various insurance plans will deliver based upon these factors. In one embodiment, a method for allowing customers who are unfamiliar with the medical cost structure of a foreign country to be informed both as to the costs of medical treatment in that country, and the benefits that a variety of foreign coverage medical insurance plans will provide under these user risk scenarios. These plans may then be evaluated according to different user selected parameters. The method can be implemented using computerized servers and client devices communicating using standard internet protocols over the internet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Maxn Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Rajeev Shrivastava
  • Patent number: 8494954
    Abstract: A fair exchange is disclosed to reduce potential inequities in an electronic trading environment. Market data is sent from a host system to client devices through one or more synchronized local communication servers such that the data can be displayed simultaneously or nearly simultaneously at each client device. Market data sent to client devices might include price information. Likewise, a host system may transaction data sent from client devices via the local communication servers. The ordering of transaction data is based, at least in part, on when the local communication servers received the transaction data from the client devices. Transaction data sent to a host system might include order information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc
    Inventor: Jens-Uwe Schluetter
  • Patent number: 8473398
    Abstract: A system, method, and computer-readable medium are provided for managing a portfolio using financial instrument rankings. A processor determines portfolio weights for financial instruments based on a ranking associated with each instrument, a cutoff rank, and a risk multiplier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2013
    Assignee: Westpeak Global Advisors, LLC
    Inventor: Ronan G. Heaney
  • Patent number: 8458019
    Abstract: A system and method for using a discount display system are provided in which a plurality of purchase option screens are displayed to a user. For each discount-eligible item identifier selected by the user, the price of the item is added to the user's total, the current discount available to the user is re-calculated and the updated discount is displayed to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Inventor: Russell Sergiades
  • Patent number: 8386320
    Abstract: A system and method are provided for qualifying leads originating from an advertisement published online. The system is configured to track certain events relative to an advertisement. Tracked event data may be recorded to a database.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: Contact at Once!, LLC
    Inventors: Marc Francis Hayes, Jr., Ahmad John Aslami, Scott David Bogartz, John Charles Hanger
  • Patent number: 8386353
    Abstract: Systems and methods to authenticate and process requests received via social networking websites. In one aspect, a system includes a data storage facility to store data associating a first phone number of a user with an identification of the user in a social networking website; and an interchange coupled with the data storage facility. The interchange includes a common format processor and a plurality of converters to interface with a plurality of controllers of mobile communications. The converters communicate with the controllers in different formats and with the common format processor in a common format. The common format processor receives a request including the identification of the user, identifies the first phone number of the user based on the data stored on the data storage facility, and uses the converters to communicate with a mobile phone at the first phone number to confirm the request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: Boku, Inc.
    Inventors: Ron Hirson, Nicholas Reidy
  • Patent number: 8374931
    Abstract: A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: SAP AG
    Inventors: Kulwant Singh Bhatia, Suresh Honnappanavar, Miguel Lencinas, Bianka Woelke, Steffen Rotsch, Thomas Schira, Beate Weiner
  • Patent number: 8374915
    Abstract: A system and method are provided for publishing certain advertising information on-line. Presence indicators are incorporated into merchant advertisements published online. The presence indicators are preferably active hyper-links that are configured to allow a consumer to send a request to a merchant for initiation of a 2-way real time communications session. The system provides for adding one of a pool of merchant representatives to an opened communications session with the consumer. Advertisements may be selectively published or withheld from publication based upon the availability status of an associated merchant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: Contact at Once!
    Inventors: Marc Francis Hayes, Jr., Ahmad John Aslami, Scott David Bogartz, John Charles Hanger
  • Patent number: 8370251
    Abstract: A fair exchange is disclosed to reduce potential inequities in an electronic trading environment. Market data is sent from a host system to client devices through one or more synchronized local communication servers such that the data can be displayed simultaneously or nearly simultaneously at each client device. Market data sent to client devices might include price information. Likewise, a host system may transaction data sent from client devices via the local communication servers. The ordering of transaction data is based, at least in part, on when the local communication servers received the transaction data from the client devices. Transaction data sent to a host system might include order information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc.
    Inventor: Jens-Uwe Schluetter
  • Patent number: 8359217
    Abstract: An exemplary method of providing an optimized resolution to a problem in an infrastructure includes a step of determining at least one target configuration of the infrastructure wherein the target configuration is aligned with at least one template. The exemplary method also includes determining at least one resolution to the problem suitable for the at least one target configuration. The exemplary method also includes calculating at least one metric associated with at least one combination of at least one determined target configuration and at least one determined resolution. The exemplary method also includes selecting at least one combination of at least one determined transformation and at least one determined resolution based at least in part on the at least one calculated metric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Alan Brodie, Ashwin Lall, Anca Sailer
  • Patent number: RE44393
    Abstract: Best bid and best offer rate data from deals concluded on an anonymous trading system in a fungible instrument such as a foreign currency pair are processed to derive indicative rates. A minimum indicative rates spread between bid and offer prices is defined. The indicative rate bid and offer prices are set to the received best bid and offer prices and alternately an amount is added to the indicative offer rates and subtracted from the indicative bid rates until the spread between the indicative bid and offer rates is greater than or equal to the predefined minimum indicative rates spread and greater than the spread between the best bid and offer prices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: EBS Group Limited
    Inventors: Alexander C. Riseman, Edward R. Howorka, James A. O'Hagan