Patents by Inventor A. Smith

A. Smith has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9020592
    Abstract: Methods and related systems for modulating neural activity by cyclical blocking of conduction in peripheral neural structures with electrical blocking stimuli are disclosed. In an aspect, neural activity is blocked cyclically with an electrical blocking stimulus source implanted adjacent a nerve. In an aspect, a conduction block is produced in a sensory nerve. Neural modulation may be used, for example, to modulate an immune or inflammatory response or process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, LLC
    Inventors: Ralph G. Dacey, Jr., Gregory J. Della Rocca, Colin P. Derdeyn, Joshua L. Dowling, Eleanor V. Goodall, Roderick A. Hyde, Muriel Y. Ishikawa, Jordin T. Kare, Eric C. Leuthardt, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Michael A. Smith, Lowell L. Wood, Jr., Victoria Y. H. Wood, Gregory J. Zipfel
  • Patent number: 9018516
    Abstract: Solar cells with silicon oxynitride dielectric layers and methods of forming silicon oxynitride dielectric layers for solar cell fabrication are described. For example, an emitter region of a solar cell includes a portion of a substrate having a back surface opposite a light receiving surface. A silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy, 0<x, y) dielectric layer is disposed on the back surface of the portion of the substrate. A semiconductor layer is disposed on the silicon oxynitride dielectric layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: SunPower Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Shepherd, David D. Smith
  • Patent number: 9019632
    Abstract: Apparatus, methods, and systems provide negatively-refractive focusing and sensing of electromagnetic energy. In some approaches the negatively-refractive focusing includes providing an interior focusing region with an axial magnification substantially greater than one. In some approaches the negatively-refractive focusing includes negatively-refractive focusing with a transformation medium, where the transformation medium may include an artificially-structured material such as a metamaterial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Bowers, Roderick A. Hyde, Edward K. Y. Jung, John Brian Pendry, David Schurig, David R. Smith, Clarence T. Tegreene, Thomas A. Weaver, Charles Whitmer, Lowell L. Wood, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9017945
    Abstract: The invention relates to methods for pairwise sequencing of a double-stranded polynucleotide template, which permit the sequential determination of nucleotide sequences in two distinct and separate regions on complementary strands of the double-stranded polynucleotide template. The two regions for sequence determination may or may not be complementary to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Illumina Cambridge Limited
    Inventor: Geoffrey Paul Smith
  • Patent number: 9017305
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide various properties of slow recovery polymers, films, and laminates that in combination with an hydrogenated block copolymer provide for (1) an order-disorder transition temperature of greater than about 135° C., (2) a hard phase glass transition temperature of greater than about 60° C., (3) a combination of one or more hard block associating ingredients that maintain or increase the glass transition temperature of at least one equivalent hard block polymer of the hydrogenated block copolymer, (4) a force retention factor of greater than about 2, (5) aromatic substitution of either or both the soft block and the hard block, (6) hard blocks with a solubility parameter of greater than about 9.1 (cal/cm3)1/2, and (7) compositions that remain extendable to at least 50% engineering strain after exposure to isopropyl palmitate for 30 hours at room temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: The Procter Gamble Company
    Inventors: David Harry Melik, Steven Daryl Smith, Janet Neton
  • Patent number: 9020265
    Abstract: A system and method is provided for automatically recognizing building numbers in street level images. In one aspect, a processor selects a street level image that is likely to be near an address of interest. The processor identifies those portions of the image that are visually similar to street numbers, and then extracts the numeric values of the characters displayed in such portions. If an extracted value corresponds with the building number of the address of interest such as being substantially equal to the address of interest, the extracted value and the image portion are displayed to a human operator. The human operator confirms, by looking at the image portion, whether the image portion appears to be a building number that matches the extracted value. If so, the processor stores a value that associates that building number with the street level image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Bo Wu, Alessandro Bissacco, Raymond W. Smith, Kong Man Cheung, Andrea Frome, Shlomo Urbach
  • Patent number: 9018512
    Abstract: A thermoelectric generation system for turbine engines and the like has at least one thermoelectric generator disposed proximate the turbine engine such that waste heat from the turbine engine can be converted into electricity. Vehicle performance and efficiency can be enhanced by mitigating the need for mechanically driven electric power generators, which undesirably drain power from the turbine engine thus adversely affect the vehicle's performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: David W. Kwok, James P. Huang, John A. Skorupa, John W. Smith
  • Patent number: 9017272
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present concept are directed to medical devices having features that prevent contaminants from infiltrating the housing of the device while providing a mechanism to provide clear auditory sounds to aid a rescuer in providing care to a patient. In one example, a medical device includes a housing having a transmission area associated with an enclosed voice coil. An exterior diaphragm formed integrally with the housing surrounds the transmission area and provides a watertight seal of the transmission area. In addition, the diaphragm is structured to generate a sound that can be heard by the rescuer from the voice coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Physio-Control, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard C. Nova, Robert E. Smith, Gregory V. Browne, Ryan D. Lee
  • Patent number: 9021458
    Abstract: Embodiment are directed towards managing application delivery over a network. Change information that corresponds to changes to an application may be provided to a delivery pipeline. The change information may be verified in part based on a static analysis of the content of the change information, compiling, and unit testing. Reviewers may be notified to approve the change information. A version of the application that includes the change information may be generated. Acceptance testing may be performed that includes provisioning computing resources in an acceptance computing environment. And, deploying a version of application that includes the change information into the acceptance computing environment. If the acceptance testing passes, a shipping operation may be enabled pausing the delivery pipeline until an authorized user activates the shipping operation restarting the delivery pipeline and deploying the application to one or more computing environments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Chef Software, Inc.
    Inventors: Adam Brent Jacob, Seth Yosef Falcon, Lamont Curtis Granquist, Jon Morrow, Christopher Brown, Kevin Smith
  • Patent number: 9018228
    Abstract: Disclosed are compounds of Formula 1, N-oxides, and salts thereof, wherein Z is O or S; and R1, R2, R3, Q and n are as defined in the disclosure. Also disclosed are compositions containing the compounds of Formula 1 and methods for controlling a parasitic nematode comprising contacting the parasitic nematode or its environment with a biologically effective amount of a compound or a composition of the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: E I du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventors: George Philip Lahm, Renee Marie Lett, Brenton Todd Smith, Benjamin Kenneth Smith, Clarice Anne Tyler
  • Patent number: 9018153
    Abstract: The invention relates to compositions including a hypohalite or hypochlorous acid and a soluble salt of 2,4,6 mesitylene sulfonate. The compositions may include a surfactant, a buffer, or combinations thereof. Other adjuvants may also be present. Such compositions do not require the inclusion of high concentrations of sodium hydroxide or other soluble hydroxide salts to drastically increase pH (and thus stability), although such hydroxides may be present if desired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: The Clorox Company
    Inventors: David R. Scheuing, Arun Agarwal, David E. Dabney, Gregory P. Dado, Lafayette D. Foland, Shuman Mitra, Jacqueline M. Pytel, William L. Smith, Erika Szekeres, Michael R. Terry, Kenneth L. Vieira
  • Patent number: 9020487
    Abstract: System(s), apparatus(es), and method(s) are provided for managing content of wireless equipment (WE) over-the-air (OTA). Content is germane to feature(s) of the WE and is related to operation thereof. Management of the content is automatically implemented in response to attachment of the WE to a confined-coverage access point (AP). The WE and a network server enable, in part, such management. The confined-coverage AP enables exchange of signaling and data associated with management of the content amongst the WE and the network server. Content includes software (SW); management OTA of SW can include update of an in-use version of a SW application or related SW component(s). SW update signaling can comprise message(s) conveying a WE identifier and in-use version(s) of SW; request(s) for an update instruction; request(s) for at least one file associated with the SW; message(s) indicative of availability of version(s) of SW newer than the in-use version(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignees: AT&T Mobility II LLC, AT&T Intellectual Property I, LP
    Inventors: Arthur Richard Brisebois, Juan Derrick Smith
  • Patent number: 9019509
    Abstract: A chip scale star tracker that captures plane-wave starlight propagating in free space with a wafer-thin angle-sensitive broadband filter-aperture, and directs the light into a waveguide structure for readout. Angular information about the star source is determined from characteristics of the starlight propagating in the waveguide. Certain examples include internal propagation-constant-based baffling to elimination stray light from extreme angles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
    Inventors: Juha-Pekka Laine, Gregory P. Blasche, Murali V. Chaparala, Robin Dawson, Benjamin Lane, Stephen P. Smith, Erik Waldron
  • Patent number: 9021113
    Abstract: Sharing content between users of different social networks includes: in a source social network implemented by at least one processor, receiving shared content uploaded by a source user with an indication of a number of recipients of the shared content; establishing a trusted communication link between the source social network and at least one external social network; and allowing the number of recipients to retrieve the shared content from the source social network via the trusted communication link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Derek Wayne Carr, Thomas Schaeck, Andrew Bryan Smith, Michael C. Wanderski, Mark Douglas Weitzel
  • Patent number: 9016226
    Abstract: A suspension system for passenger modules used with high-speed boats, the suspension system including a shock absorbing assembly, for supporting the passenger module relative to the vessel. The passenger module is attached to the vessel via an assembly of pivoting spars in which the vessel attachment locations are spaced athwart a greater distance than the passenger module attachment locations. The suspension system may include means for resisting relative lateral movement (e.g. a panhard rod or a Watt's linkage) and for attenuating motion associated with pitch and roll.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Inventor: David Alvin Smith
  • Patent number: 9021220
    Abstract: A method, system and computer readable medium that identify orphan storage and release the orphaned storage before application or system outages can result. More specifically, in certain embodiments, a method, system and computer readable medium periodically scan through common memory storage and identifies those areas that are no longer associated with a running task or have been allocated for longer than a running task with a matching task address. These areas are then identified as potentially orphaned storage locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David B. LeGendre, David C. Reed, Esteban Rios, Max D. Smith
  • Patent number: D727806
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: James E. Grake, George Bucher, Michael Smith, Joel Piaskowski
  • Patent number: D727852
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: FCI Americas Technology LLC
    Inventors: Jonathan E. Buck, Stuart C. Stoner, Steven E. Minich, Douglas M. Johnescu, Stephen B. Smith
  • Patent number: D728052
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Inventors: Robert Smith, Tyler Livesay
  • Patent number: D728164
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Warrior Sports, Inc.
    Inventor: Peter B. Smith