Patents Examined by Tod R. Swann
  • Patent number: 6859534
    Abstract: This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus, as implemented by a software program on a computer system, for digitally producing counterfeit-deterring scrambled or coded indicia images, typically in a printed form. This method and system are capable of combining a source image with a latent image so the scrambled latent image is visible only when viewed through a special decoder lens. The digital processing allows different latent images to be encoded according to different parameters. Additionally, latent images might be encoded into single component colors of an original visible image, at various angles from each other. A second embodiment teaches a method of forming an optical surface having diffraction properties that vary over the optical surface in accordance with a security graphic image that includes an encoded recognizable indicium formed as a parallax panoramagram image through a lenticular line screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2005
    Inventor: Alfred Alasia
  • Patent number: 6408076
    Abstract: In order to descramble sections of scrambled data interleaved with sections of unscrambled data in a transport stream of broadcast video data, while leaving the sections with the original timing relationship in the transport stream, a common data flow path (1-5) is provided both for sections of scrambled data and sections of unscrambled data and signal path loops (6,7; 8,9) including cipher means (62,64) to enable the descrambling of scrambled data, and a control state machine for controlling the flow of data through said common data flow path and said signal path loops to enable passage of unscrambled data sections and descrambling of scrambled data sections, while maintaining the desired relative positions of the data sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Assignee: LSI Logic Corporation
    Inventor: Simon Bewick
  • Patent number: 6396927
    Abstract: A counterfeit-resistant document comprises a contrasting layer and a dynamic camouflaging layer. The contrasting layer is highly contrastive and includes a latent message that can be reproduced over a broad range of copy device control settings. The dynamic camouflaging layer is applied over the contrasting layer to suppress the latent message. The visual density of the dynamic camouflaging layer, which comprises a camouflage pattern that is printed in thermochromic ink, inversely varies with temperature. In this manner, the dynamic camouflaging layer is inactivated at room temperatures so that the latent message is suppressed on the original document, and activated at scanning temperatures so that the latent message is exhibited on a reproduction of the original document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2002
    Assignee: Verify First Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: George K. Phillips
  • Patent number: 6385710
    Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, a cache memory subsystem includes a processor, a cache control unit and a SRAM serving as the cache memory. The SRAM is a synchronous SRAM. The cache control unit provides appropriately timed control signals to the SRAM when the processor is accessing the cache memory. The SRAM can be either a pipelined architecture SRAM (register output SRAM) or a flow-through access architecture SRAM (latch output SRAM). The cache control unit is selectably configured to operate in a pipelined mode (1-1-1) or a flow-through (2-2) mode. The cache control unit is configured in the 1-1-1 mode when the SRAM is a pipelined architecture SRAM having a clock rate equal to the processor. When the SRAM is a flow-through architecture SRAM that cannot be clocked at the same rate as the processor, the cache control unit is configured in the 2-2 mode and the SRAM is clocked at a clock rate half of the processor clock rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2002
    Assignee: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Gary S. Goldman, Christopher Chen, Douglas W. Forehand
  • Patent number: 6374122
    Abstract: A 32 bit digital “amended electronic serial number” (AESN) is generated from a 56 bit “extended electronic serial number” (EESN). The AESN distinguishes each subscriber unit within a wireless system from each other subscriber unit. Two distinct methods are disclosed. In the first method, a manufacturers code field (“MFR”) is tested to determine whether the subscriber unit has been assigned an EESN. If so, then the least significant 8 bits of the manufacturer's code field (“EMFR”) are appended to the “serial number” field (“SN”). In the second method, each manufacturer generates serial numbers by applying a pseudo-random sequence. The “seed” for the pseudo-random sequence is based on the manufacturer's EMFR. This serial number is then combined with the 8 bit MFR.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Inc.
    Inventor: Nikolai K. N. Leung
  • Patent number: 6335972
    Abstract: A Secure Key Management Framework (SKMF) defines an infrastructure for a complete set of cryptographic services augmented with key recovery enablement. There are three major layers—the application layer invokes the SKMF layer, while the SKMF layer invokes the service provider (SP) layer. The application layer code invokes the cryptographic API and key-recovery API supported by the SKMF. Multiple key recovery mechanisms and cryptographic mechanisms can be implemented as service providers that log-in underneath the framework using the well-defined service provider interfaces provided by the framework. The SKMF implements the supported ATP calls by making appropriate invocations of the service provider modules using the SPIs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sekar Chandersekaran, Sarbari Gupta
  • Patent number: 6314519
    Abstract: A secure messaging system (900) generates a secure financial transaction message. A wireless selective call signaling system controller (102) receives the secure financial transaction message as a selective call message request including a destination identifier. A selective call message processor (1104) encapsulates the secure financial transaction message in a selective call message that includes a selective call address corresponding with the destination identifier. A selective call transmission service (904) conveys the selective call message to a financial messaging unit (906) that receives the selective call message, and in response to correlating the selective call address with a selective call address corresponding with the financial messaging unit (906), recovers the secure financial transaction message to effect a financial transaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2001
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Walter Lee Davis, Jeff LaVell
  • Patent number: 6310957
    Abstract: Apparatus for interdicting television channels of a cable television system comprises a plurality of oscillators dedicated to jamming the audio portion of television channels to be interdicted, and a further plurality of different oscillators dedicated to jamming the video portion of television channels to be interdicted. The number of jamming oscillators for jamming the audio is less than or equal to the number of jamming oscillators for jamming the video. The hopping rate for video jamming is greatly in excess of the hopping rate for audio jamming. On the other hand, the dwell time for audio jamming is greatly in excess of the dwell time for video jamming. At least two levels of jamming effectiveness of both audio and video portions can be addressably controlled from the headend of a system including such interdiction apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2001
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: Michael Wyndham Heller, Jack Elden James, Byron Lynn Johnson, Ronald Lee Katz, Stephen Gratzer McWilliams
  • Patent number: 6275810
    Abstract: A scheduling method operative in association with a display device of a data processing system connected in a distributed computing environment having nodes located across geographically-dispersed boundaries. The method begins by defining a set of holiday objects corresponding to a set of holidays specific to a given locale. The calendar, together with at least one holiday defined by at least one of the set of holiday objects, are then selectively displayed. A management task (e.g., a software load distribution) is then initiated to take place during a given holiday in the locale to minimize disruption to the computer enterprise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David James Hetherington, David Bruce Kumhyr
  • Patent number: 6275939
    Abstract: A secure client/server system allows remote access to a database system without allowing unauthorized users to access data stored within the database system. A server receives a request for data from a client located at a remote location. The server translates the request for data into an appropriate query or queries. The queries are used by the server to retrieve data from databases associated with the server. If the requested data resides in a plurality of databases that utilize different protocols, the server submits a plurality of queries which are respectively compatible with the databases. Furthermore, if some of the information requested by the request for data is located in a remote database, the server creates a second request for data and transmits the second request for data to a remote server associated with the appropriate database. The remote server translates the second request for data into a second query and retrieves the requested data from the remote server with the second query.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2001
    Assignee: Westcorp Software Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Greg B. Garrison
  • Patent number: 6269349
    Abstract: A system protects private information provided in an exchange between a client and a server. The system receives the private information from the client and determines whether it is of a type to which a bond may be assigned. The bond provides an indemnity to the client for misuse of the private information. The system then assigns a bond to the private information, if it is determined to be of the type to which a bond may be assigned, and provides the private information to the server under bond.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2001
    Assignee: A6B
    Inventors: Mario A. Aieta, Donald T. Beldock, James G. Beldock
  • Patent number: 6266419
    Abstract: A method of compressing media content in which a first predetermined portion of a media content is compressed using a first data-based compression algorithm and inserted into a first portion of a data frame. A second predetermined portion of the media content is compressed using a second data-based compression algorithm and is inserted into a second portion of the data frame. The second predetermined portion of the media content is different from the first predetermined portion of the media content, and the second data-based compression algorithm is different from the first data-based compression algorithm. At least one of the first and second data-based compression algorithms is a private data-based compression algorithm. A plurality of data frames are generated and are made available for distribution, for example, by transmission over a computer network, such as the Internet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2001
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: John Blakeway Lacy, Schuyler Reynier Quackenbush, James H. Snyder
  • Patent number: 6260144
    Abstract: A PSD has a private key which is associated with a specific public key that is stored in the host PC. The host PC sends the PSD public key private key to the PSD. If the PSD determines that the received PSD public key corresponds to its private key, the system has determined that the expected PSD is connected to the Host system and the PSD is activated to accept postal value requests from the host PC. Additionally, a PSD state identification, such as a checksum of a PSD transaction log file stored in the host may be verified by the PSD, which also has stored therein a PSD transaction log file. In this manner the PSD verifies that the PSD has performed all transactions with the host PC sending the checksum. Methods for verifying in the PSD that the expected host PC is coupled to the PSD mirrors the two embodiments for verifying the expected PSD.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: David E. Pitchenik, Robert A. Cordery, Frederick W. Ryan, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6260027
    Abstract: A collecting agency supplies a collecting agency name and a money bag number to a service providing terminal. In response to dealing requests from user terminals, the service providing terminal sends, to the user terminals, information which contains the collecting agency name (Id) and the money bag number (Gb) supplied from the collecting agency. The user terminals generate digital signatures containing the received request information, affix the generated signatures to electronic tickets to be used, and send the electronic tickets with the signatures to the service providing terminal. The service providing terminal, which has received the used electronic tickets, collects those electronic tickets which include the same money bag number supplied from the collecting agency into a group (a money bag), and sends the group of electronic tickets to the collecting agency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignees: NTT Data Corporation, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshio Takahashi, Hidemi Moribatake
  • Patent number: 6249870
    Abstract: The invention makes it possible to properly certify a genuine owner, and to inhibit deterioration of image quality of media information to which an embedding operation is performed by adaptively determining amount of embedding for characteristic values such as pixel values. It includes a data hiding method for embedding message data into media data comprising the steps of obtaining a secondary key by inputting a key having a predetermined value to a specified function; determining hiding positions in which the message data will be embedded according to the obtained secondary key, and selecting one of plural hiding functions according to the secondary key so that the selected hiding function is used for each of the determined hiding positions; and embedding the message data into each of the determined hiding positions according to the selected hiding function corresponding to the hiding position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Seiji Kobayashi, Akio Koide, Norishige Morimoto, Shuichi Shimizu
  • Patent number: 6246997
    Abstract: An electronic commerce site, comprising: a point of sale (POS) system, having a POS loyalty database and a POS purchase history database; a list builder tool having an on-line shopping history database; a query interface between the POS system and the list builder tool, the POS system accepting data from an on-line shopper received by the list builder tool and routed through the query interface; the list builder tool returning at least one historical shopping list from the on-line shopping history database to the network browser through the query interface responsive to the on-line shopper's request; and, the on-line shopping history database of the list builder tool being updated with information from the POS system transmitted through the query interface. Communications between the query interface and the list builder tool can be over one or more of the Internet, a wide area network and a local area network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corp.
    Inventors: Richard C. Cybul, Robert M. Szabo, James J. Toohey
  • Patent number: 6240436
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for performing high-speed computation of a Montgomery value defined as 22k mod(n) for an arbitrary modulus n is disclosed. After loading the value of 2(h*m)+1 into a first register and the value of the modulus n in a second register, the bits of modulus n are shifted in a most significant bit direction before a repeated modular reduction and squaring process. This allows the computation of the Montgomery value for modulus values of arbitrary sizes while reducing the number of computations required by a processor with a limited operand size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2001
    Assignee: Rainbow Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Matthew Scott McGregor
  • Patent number: 6236727
    Abstract: Apparatus, method and computer program product are provided for digitally processing an encrypted data stream scrambled, for example, according to content scrambling system (CSS) technology. This digital processing insures against communication of clear data within the computer system from a central processing unit (CPU) to any accessible structure, such as memory or a system bus. Descrambling of the (CSS) scrambled data stream occurs within a module executing on the CPU, which is followed by reencryption of the data prior to transfer from the CPU. By so processing the data, integrity of copyrighted material is maintained, while allowing for software descrambling of the CSS encrypted data stream. Various techniques for establishing the encryption/decryption algorithm pair employed are described. Decryption of the re-encrypted data can occur at a receiving software module and/or a receiving hardware device, such as a decoder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Louis Ciacelli, John William Urda, Wai Man Lam, Jack Lawrence Kouloheris, John Edward Fetkovich
  • Patent number: 6237095
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an electronic module used for secure transactions. More specifically, the electronic module is capable of passing encrypted information back and forth between a service provider's equipment via a secure, encrypted technique so that money and other valuable data can be securely passed electronically. The module is capable of being programmed, keeping track of real time, recording transactions for later review, and creating encryption key pairs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2001
    Assignee: Dallas Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen M. Curry, Donald W. Loomis, Christopher W. Fox
  • Patent number: 6233339
    Abstract: According to the present invention, piracy of secret data is prevented without an attack detecting circuit or data deleting circuit. In a secret data processing unit, a cell contains fluid in a sealed space. Code generators arranged in the sealed space receive a code generation request to generate codes specified by the pressure value of the fluid. A key generator disposed in the sealed space generates encryption keys/decryption keys specified by the generated codes. An encryptor/decryptor also disposed in the sealed space receives requests for secret data encryption/requests for encrypted secret data decryption, and outputs code generation requests to the code generator to encrypt the secret data/decrypt the encrypted secret data by using the generated encryption key/decryption key. Both codes and encryption keys/decryption keys generated and used, are not statically stored in the cryptographic processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2001
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenji Kawano, Masahiro Taguchi, Masaki Hirota, Junji Okada, Masao Funada, Takashi Ozawa