Patents by Inventor Craig A. Williams

Craig A. Williams 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: 9731313
    Abstract: A fluid applicator for applying a fluid to a surface protrusion. In one embodiment, an anticorrosion substance is applied to a structural fastener.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Inventors: Craig A. Williams, Bradley A. Spraw
  • Patent number: 9668593
    Abstract: A snap-in card top riser is provided having a riser and a display module. The riser has a hook profile that is adapted to be received into a channel on the display module so that the riser is secured to the display module in a manner that restricts removal of the riser from the display module. The channel has one or more tabs that are configured to cause the hook profile to compress while the tabs are engaging with the hook profile. A modular display tower is also provided that includes a base and one or more vertical display portions that are configurable to display different types of cards, items, and merchandise. The vertical display portions may interchangeably include curved display modules that receive one or more risers, or flat display portions, and the vertical display portions may be joined at respective edges with a bridge coupling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: Hallmark Cards, Incorporated
    Inventors: Craig William Cayce, Brian Lee Wegstein, Shaun P. Arness
  • Patent number: 9650821
    Abstract: A hinge assembly for connecting together upper and lower separable sections of a column comprises an upper member for attachment to the lower end of an upper column section and a lower member for attachment to the upper end of a lower column section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Inventor: Craig Williams
  • Publication number: 20170078217
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure include systems and methods for the automatic allocation and/or provisioning of various infrastructural computing resources upon which networks, such as telecommunication networks operate. In various aspects, data identifying one or more computing resources needed to implement, support, and/or otherwise facilitate the execution and/or development of a particular computing process, application, software, process, and/or service may be received via one or more interfaces, such as a graphical user-interface (“GUI”). The data may be processed to automatically provision the require resource.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2016
    Publication date: March 16, 2017
    Inventors: Craig William Hotes, Kevin Dean Wein, James Edward Borowicz, Madhukar Bandi, Ken Rumer, Nick Taylor, Rich Haase, William Charles Ramthum
  • Patent number: 9581085
    Abstract: Embodiments of hot streak alignment for gas turbine durability include structures and methods to align hot streaks with the leading edges of aligned first stage nozzle vanes in order to improve mixing of the hot streaks with cooling air at a stator nozzle of a first stage turbine and reduce usage of cooling air at first stage non-aligned stator nozzle vanes disposed adjacent to the aligned stator vanes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Robert Joseph Bartz, Joseph Steven Bubnick, Scott Matthew Bush, Kevin Robert Feldmann, Robert Alan Frederick, Craig William Higgins
  • Patent number: 9575145
    Abstract: An MR coil former apparatus includes a body, a coil array, and a coil cover. The body defines a patient-facing positive surface opposite a non-patient-facing negative surface. The positive surface of the body includes an anatomic contour, and the coil array is disposed adjacent and conformed to the anatomic contour. The coil cover is disposed overlying the coil array and conformed to the anatomic contour.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Craig William Culver, John Edward Lorbiecki, Michael James Calloway, Sahil Bhatia, Tae Young Yang, YunJeong Stickle, Tom Zink, Darren Gregan
  • Publication number: 20170036630
    Abstract: The present invention discloses embodiments of an apparatus, system and related method for diagnosing initiators in air bag systems. An embodiment of the system comprises a diagnostic circuit electrically connected between acceleration switches and one or more squib, that is user-activated via a momentary switch, and with user-feedback, wherein a user can diagnose the health of the one or more squib with no power drain while inactive. An embodiment of a method related to the system comprises activating a momentary switch, completing a circuit whereby a diagnostic circuit may function, indicating to the user that the diagnostic circuit is functioning, regulating the current into the diagnostic circuit so that the squib does not fire, boosting the signal to a window comparator, detecting the desired voltage by the window comparator, giving feedback to the user that the voltage is good, too high, or too low.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2016
    Publication date: February 9, 2017
    Applicant: TAKATA PROTECTION SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Mario Schnetger, Ray Garcia, Craig William White, Ahad M. Zadeh, Stefan Meier-Arndt
  • Patent number: 9549654
    Abstract: A notched fluid applicator comprising a base with a dispenser pad or a brush. The notch allows the application of a fluid to a surface containing one or more protrusions. The applicator may be used to apply fluid to the surface of an article such as a glass substrate, printed circuit board, or other surface containing one or more protrusions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: Designetics, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig A. Williams, Charles J. Barnhart, Kirk Toczynski
  • Publication number: 20170005794
    Abstract: Electronic devices are adapted to generate cryptographic keys from one or more biometrics. According to one examples, an electronic device can obtain a non-encoded bit string associated with biometric information for an individual. The non-encoded bit string can be treated as if it were encoded and a decoding operation may be applied to the bit string, resulting in a modified bit string. One or more cryptographic keys can then be generated based at least in part on the modified bit string. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also included.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2015
    Publication date: January 5, 2017
    Inventors: Michael William Paddon, Miriam Wiggers De Vries, Philip Michael Hawkes, Craig Brown, Guilherme Luiz Karnas Hoefel, Craig William Northway
  • Patent number: 9538590
    Abstract: Solid state lighting apparatuses and related methods are described. In some aspects, a solid state lighting apparatus includes a substrate. The substrate includes a non-metallic body having a first surface and one or more electrical components supported on the first surface of the substrate. At least one electrical component is spaced from the non-metallic body by one or more non-metallic layers. The apparatus can also include an array of solid state light emitters supported by the first surface of the substrate and electrically coupled to the one or more electrical components thereof. The apparatus can further include a receiver supported by the first surface of the substrate, wherein the receiver is adapted to receive alternating current (AC) directly from an AC power source. Related systems and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: Cree, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher P. Hussell, Jeremy Allen Johnson, Craig William Hardin
  • Patent number: 9535933
    Abstract: A method for measuring a change between two values for one or more data elements over time uses a “delta” value to indicate the significance of the change. The delta value is the difference between the two values, added to the ratio between those values multiplied by an asymptote. Experimental data sets with known values may be used to create data sets to which selection criteria are applied in order to calculate an optimal asymptote for the application of the delta values. This optimal asymptote may then be used for calculating delta values across an entire population for predictive purposes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: Acxiom Corporation
    Inventor: Craig William Tomarkin
  • Patent number: 9529827
    Abstract: A method for constructing a change database reduces the footprint of a standard longitudinal data database and increases the manageability of the data for many applications. The change database concatenates representations of a time period for the change, the direction of the change, and the value of the change into a single string. The change database is constructed by creating foundation files from formatted historical data, constructing change files from these foundation files, and iteratively creating master files that encapsulate the change data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: Acxiom Corporation
    Inventor: Craig William Tomarkin
  • Publication number: 20160357189
    Abstract: An apparatus for determining the location and state of an object in an environment is disclosed. Three or more light-emitting beacons are located in the environment, and each beacon transmits a light pattern that contains information needed to identify the beacon. An optical receiver is attached to the object whose location needs to be determined. The optical receiver comprising one or more cameras images the beacons, and identifies the apparent direction from which the beacon is coming based on the pixel or pixels illuminated by the beacon. The optical receiver also decodes the light pattern transmitted by each beacon to identify it. Finally, based on knowledge of the locations of the beacons in the environment and based on the apparent directions from which the beacons appear to be coming, the optical receiver determines its location, and thus the location of the object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2016
    Publication date: December 8, 2016
    Inventors: Geoffrey Louis Barrows, Gregory Brill, Craig William Neely
  • Patent number: 9509625
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure include systems and methods for the automatic allocation and/or provisioning of various infrastructural computing resources upon which networks, such as telecommunication networks operate. In various aspects, data identifying one or more computing resources needed to implement, support, and/or otherwise facilitate the execution and/or development of a particular computing process, application, software, process, and/or service may be received via one or more interfaces, such as a graphical user-interface (“GUI”). The data may be processed to automatically provision the require resource.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
    Inventors: Craig William Hotes, Kevin Dean Wein, James Edward Borowicz, Madhukar Bandi, Ken Rumer, Nick Taylor, Rich Haase, William Charles Ramthum
  • Patent number: 9499115
    Abstract: The present invention discloses embodiments of an apparatus, system and related method for diagnosing initiators in air bag systems. An embodiment of the system comprises a diagnostic circuit electrically connected between acceleration switches and one or more squib, that is user-activated via a momentary switch, and with user-feedback, wherein a user can diagnose the health of the one or more squib with no power drain while inactive. An embodiment of a method related to the system comprises activating a momentary switch, completing a circuit whereby a diagnostic circuit may function, indicating to the user that the diagnostic circuit is functioning, regulating the current into the diagnostic circuit so that the squib does not fire, boosting the signal to a window comparator, detecting the desired voltage by the window comparator, giving feedback to the user that the voltage is good, too high, or too low.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignee: TAKATA PROTECTION SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Mario Schnetger, Ray Garcia, Craig William White, Ahad M. Zadeh, Stefan Meier-Arndt
  • Publication number: 20160305213
    Abstract: A tool insert is removable from a fluid passage in a drill tool body by pressurizing fluid in a removal volume defined between the tool insert and the drill tool body, to by exerting a net fluid pressure bias on the tool insert in a removal direction along the fluid passage. The tool insert can be an annulus sealing assembly mounted in a rotating control device (RCD), with the removal volume being defined radially between a body of the RCD and a bearing assembly of the annulus sealing assembly. A common hydraulic liquid may be used for lubricating the bearing assembly and for hydraulically actuated removal of the annulus sealing assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2013
    Publication date: October 20, 2016
    Inventors: Craig William Godfrey, Owen Ransom Clark, Derrick W. Lewis
  • Patent number: 9451838
    Abstract: A snap-in card top riser is provided having a riser and a display module. The riser has a hook profile that is adapted to be received into a channel on the display module so that the riser is secured to the display module in a manner that restricts removal of the riser from the display module. The channel has one or more tabs that are configured to cause the hook profile to compress while the tabs are engaging with the hook profile. The hook profile, once fully received into the channel, returns to an original or uncompressed position to prevent removal of the hook profile from the channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: HALLMARK CARDS, INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Craig William Cayce, Brian Lee Wegstein
  • Patent number: 9433968
    Abstract: A fluid applicator for applying a fluid to a surface protrusion. In one embodiment, an anticorrosion substance is applied to a structural fastener.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: Designetics, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig A Williams, Charles J Barnhart
  • Patent number: 9424417
    Abstract: Methods, devices, systems, and non-transitory processor-readable storage media for authenticating a computing device to access functionalities. An embodiment method may include operations for receiving in the computing device a signal from a proximity beacon device, obtaining from the received signal information that indicates whether the proximity beacon device has detected movement, determining whether the obtained information matches stored data corresponding to the proximity beacon device, performing an abbreviated authentication operations for the computing device to access the functionalities when it is determined that the obtained information from the received signal matches the stored data, and performing a normal authentication operations for the computing device to access the functionalities when it is determined that the obtained information from the received signal does not match the stored data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2016
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Craig Matthew Brown, Joel Benjamin Linsky, Michael William Paddon, Craig William Northway
  • Patent number: D772314
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignee: Designetics, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig A. Williams, Charles J. Barnhart