Patents by Inventor Ralph Thomas

Ralph Thomas 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: 8553976
    Abstract: Techniques for differentially enhancing selected areas within a digital image are disclosed. In certain embodiments, one or more attributes of a selected pixel or a group of pixels is determined. Examples of such attributes include color properties, grayscale properties, and/or multi-pixel properties, such as texture. In certain embodiments, the attribute may be used in conjunction with the properties of a modification tool, such as a brush, to selectively modify pixels having the attribute value or a similar attribute value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy David Cherna, Ralph Thomas Brunner
  • Patent number: 8539478
    Abstract: A dynamic web installer, in which a user selects components via an external input selector (e.g. a web page) and, based on those selections, generates a custom installer to include only the components requested by the user. The user can then retrieve this installer and perform the installation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ralph Thomas Jackson, Wazim Imrhan Reid, Ashaki Ayanna Ricketts, Teresa Shen Swingler, Nedzad Taljanovic
  • Publication number: 20130079639
    Abstract: Embodiments presented herein describe a method, a system and a computer program product for ultrasound imaging. The method in one example includes receiving a plurality of ultrasound echo signals from a plurality of transducer elements in response to ultrasound transmit beams. The method computes beam sums of ultrasound echo signals originating from a point to be imaged, for the corresponding ultrasound transmit beams. The method generates a time record comprising a plurality of beam sums, wherein the time record includes beam sums corresponding to multiple instants of time in a time window. The method filters the time record based, at least in part, on a predetermined response function. Finally, the method reconstructs the point to be imaged based on one or more of the filtered time records corresponding to one or more of the plurality of ultrasound transmit beams. The method repeats this process for each point to be imaged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2011
    Publication date: March 28, 2013
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Ralph Thomas Hoctor, Larry Yiu Lau Mo
  • Patent number: 8388544
    Abstract: A technique is provided for computing or monitoring blood viscosity. The technique includes measuring a cross sectional area of a arterial segment and a volumetric flow rate of blood flowing through the arterial segment at two or more locations, estimating a compliance transfer function from blood measurements to scale the arterial cross sectional area into a pressure waveform, deriving a transmission line model of the arterial segment based on the cross sectional area, as scaled by the compliance transfer function, of the arterial segment at the two or more locations and the volumetric flow rate of blood at the two or more locations. The technique also includes computing the blood viscosity based on the transmission line model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ralph Thomas Hoctor, Aaron Mark Dentinger
  • Patent number: 8392909
    Abstract: A computer processor subsystem, e.g. called a “target”, in response to receiving an update to vital product data of the system from a source computer processor subsystem, examines the update to detect the vital product data of the target computer processor subsystem stored by the source computer processor subsystem; and, in response to the detected vital product data being incorrect, the target computer processor subsystem forwards its correct vital product data to the source computer processor subsystem having the incorrect vital product data. A computer processor subsystem is the authoritative reference for its vital product data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Gary Anna, Ralph Thomas Beeston, Joseph Whitney Dain, Henry Zheng Liu, Jeffrey Wayne Pilch
  • Patent number: 8379967
    Abstract: A system for controlling a swarm that includes a plurality of autonomous objects may include a processing system and a controller. The processing system may compute the primitives to be applied to each pair of objects in the swarm, and may combine the primitives to generate higher-level primitives. The processing system may generate a graph of the computed primitives, and identify the cliques in the graph. The controller may cause the primitives to be applied between each pair of objects in the swarm, and cause each object to maximize its respective set of primitives so as to induce the desired group behavior. The controller may detect the desired group behavior in the swarm by monitoring the primitives computed by the processing system and the cliques identified by the processing system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Francis Bush, John Hershey, Ralph Thomas Hoctor, Glen William Brooksby, Ambalangoda Gurunnanselage Amitha Perera, Anthony James Hoogs
  • Publication number: 20130012283
    Abstract: During operation of a gaming machine, information about future game outcomes is provided to player-users. A processor of the machine determines outcome(s) of the one or more selected games; stores the outcome(s) on non-transient storage media of the machine; and relays information, through an output device of the machine, about at least one of said outcome(s), before one or more selected games has been played.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 8, 2011
    Publication date: January 10, 2013
    Inventor: Ralph Thomas
  • Patent number: 8315224
    Abstract: Methods and systems and computer program products for reusing radio resources in a medical telemetry networks are provided. The method receives at a server, traffic information for a plurality of mobile transceivers, from a plurality of distributed receivers. The method identifies time slot assignments and frequency channel assignments of the plurality of mobile transceivers based on traffic information. The method then updates one or more time slot assignments and/or one or more frequency channel assignments based, at least in part, on traffic information. Finally, the method broadcasts updated instances of the time slot assignments and updated instances of frequency channel assignments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ralph Thomas Hoctor, David Michael Davenport, Neal John Seidl, Matthew George Grubis, Sahika Genc
  • Publication number: 20120274650
    Abstract: Techniques for differentially enhancing selected areas within a digital image are disclosed. In certain embodiments, one or more attributes of a selected pixel or a group of pixels is determined. Examples of such attributes include color properties, grayscale properties, and/or multi-pixel properties, such as texture. In certain embodiments, the attribute may be used in conjunction with the properties of a modification tool, such as a brush, to selectively modify pixels having the attribute value or a similar attribute value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2012
    Publication date: November 1, 2012
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy David Cherna, Ralph Thomas Brunner
  • Patent number: 8296684
    Abstract: A computing device runs multiple activities concurrently and provides at least two modes for interacting with the activities. The user may toggle between the modes as desired. In a full-screen mode, one activity occupies substantially an entire display screen. In a windowed mode, the activity is visible within a window, and a portion of at least one other window is also visible. In the windowed mode, the user can cause windows to move, thereby changing focus from one activity to another. For example, the window having focus can be moved off the screen, to be replaced by a new window that is then given focus. The windows are ordered in a sequence and move in concert with one another; pushing one window off one edge of the screen causes a new window to appear at the opposite edge. A persistent positional relationship can be established among windows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Matias Gonzalo Duarte, Daniel Marc Gatan Shiplacoff, Jeremy Godfrey Lyon, Paul Mercer, Ralph Thomas
  • Patent number: 8266187
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for presenting static and dynamic data corresponding to an entity within an application on a mobile device. An entity object is created as part of a data model within the application such that the entity object has a plurality of fields with the plurality of fields having static data corresponding to the entity. Based on the static data corresponding to the entity, dynamic data corresponding to the entity is received into the entity object from at least one of a plurality of applications executable within the mobile device. The static and dynamic data from the entity object corresponding to the entity is displayed simultaneously within a user interface of the application in a single presentation view.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Paul Mercer, Ralph Thomas, Srikiran Prasad
  • Publication number: 20120216617
    Abstract: Methods, systems and computer program products for nondestructive ultrasound imaging are provided. An example method defines a plurality of subarrays, each comprising a plurality of ultrasound transducer elements. The method transmits a plurality of ultrasound beams from each of the plurality of subarrays, each ultrasound beam being transmitted at a preset beamsteering angle. Subsequent to each transmit, the method receives, at the array, a plurality of ultrasound reflections corresponding to the plurality of ultrasound beams. For each point to be imaged, the method selects one set of received element data for each of the plurality of subarrays. The selected set of element data corresponds to an ultrasound beam having a focal point closest to the point to be imaged. Finally, the method reconstructs a point to be imaged based on the selected received element data, and constructs an ultrasound image by repeating this process for each point to be imaged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2011
    Publication date: August 30, 2012
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Ralph Thomas Hoctor, Stephen Eric Zingelewicz
  • Patent number: 8239570
    Abstract: Link information for a plurality of links to at least one target node indicates for each link a send throughput for sending data, a receive throughput for received data, a slate of the link indicating whether the link is online, offline or degraded. The send throughput of the links having the online state is processed to select one of the links to the receiving node m response to determining that more than one of the links has the online state. The data of the send operation is sent using the selected link to the receiving node. The receive throughput is processed to select one of the links having the online state to the sending node in response to determining that more than one of the links has the online state. The data of the receive operation is received using the selected link to the sending node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ralph Thomas Beeston, Thomas William Bish, Joseph Whitney Dain, Jonathan Wayne Peake
  • Patent number: 8229211
    Abstract: Techniques for differentially enhancing selected areas within a digital image are disclosed. In certain embodiments, one or more attributes of a selected pixel or a group of pixels is determined. Examples of such attributes include color properties, grayscale properties, and/or multi-pixel properties, such as texture. In certain embodiments, the attribute may be used in conjunction with the properties of a modification tool, such as a brush, to selectively modify pixels having the attribute value or a similar attribute value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy David Cherna, Ralph Thomas Brunner
  • Publication number: 20120174225
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for malware scanning and detection. In one exemplary embodiment, the method includes a hub computing device that receives, from a controller computing device, a scan request, and identifies spoke computing devices for performing the scan request. The method performed by the hub computing device also includes sending to the identified spoke computing devices, the scan request, receiving, from the spoke computing devices, results associated with the scan request, and sending, to the controller computing device, the results associated with the scan request.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2010
    Publication date: July 5, 2012
    Inventors: Karthik Shyamsunder, Trevor Tonn, Ralph Thomas, Alexander Holmes, James Krahulec, Srinivas Sunkara
  • Publication number: 20120174224
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for malware scanning and detection in a computing system. In one exemplary embodiment, the method includes launching, in a computing device of the computing system, a virtual machine, and launching, in the virtual machine of the computing device, an internet browser. The method also includes requesting, by the internet browser, data from a web page, and performing, using one or more analysis tools, analysis on the web page. In the method, performing analysis on the web page includes performing monitoring and recording of system application programming interface (API) calls, and creating software objects associated with the web page. The method also includes performing antivirus scanning of the software objects, de-obfuscating JavaScript associated with the software objects, and correlating data associated with the performed analysis to determine if the web page is a malicious web page.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2010
    Publication date: July 5, 2012
    Inventors: Ralph Thomas, Michael LaPilla, Trevor Tonn, Gregory Sinclair, Blake Hartstein, Matthew Cote
  • Publication number: 20120119139
    Abstract: A liquid phase process is disclosed for producing halogenated alkane adducts of the formula CAR1R2CBR3R4 (where A, B, R1, R2, R3, and R4 are as defined in the specification) which involves contacting a corresponding halogenated alkane, AB, with a corresponding olefin, CR1R2?CR3R4 in a dinitrile or cyclic carbonate ester solvent which divides the reaction mixture into two liquid phases and in the presence of a catalyst system containing (i) at least one catalyst selected from monovalent and divalent copper; and optionally (ii) a promoter selected from aromatic or aliphatic heterocyclic compounds which contain at least one carbon-nitrogen double bond in the heterocyclic ring. When hydrochlorofluorocarbons are formed, the chlorine content may be reduced by reacting the hydrochlorofluorocarbons with HF. Azeotropes of CClF2CH2CF3 with HF and azeotropes of CF3CH2CHF2 with HF are also disclosed; as are process for producing such azeotropes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2011
    Publication date: May 17, 2012
    Applicant: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventors: Ralph Thomas Baker, Ralph Newton Miller, Viacheslav Alexandrovich Petrov, Velliyur Nott Mallikarjuna Rao, Allen Capron Sievert
  • Publication number: 20120096401
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for presenting static and dynamic data corresponding to an entity within an application on a mobile device. An entity object is created as part of a data model within the application such that the entity object has a plurality of fields with the plurality of fields having static data corresponding to the entity. Based on the static data corresponding to the entity, dynamic data corresponding to the entity is received into the entity object from at least one of a plurality of applications executable within the mobile device. The static and dynamic data from the entity object corresponding to the entity is displayed simultaneously within a user interface of the application in a single presentation view.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Publication date: April 19, 2012
    Inventors: Paul Mercer, Ralph Thomas, Srikiran Prasad
  • Patent number: 8151798
    Abstract: The preferred embodiments provide, e.g., a high quality flexible tracheostomy tube assembly including an outer tracheostomy cannula and a disposable, flexible inner cannula. In preferred embodiments, the product provides a single patient use, sterile device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: Tyco Healthcare Group LP
    Inventors: Ralph Thomas, Luigi Tateo, Duane L. Horton, Steven M. Brackney
  • Publication number: 20120084711
    Abstract: A computing device runs multiple activities concurrently and provides at least two modes for interacting with the activities. The user may toggle between the modes as desired. In a full-screen mode, one activity occupies substantially an entire display screen. In a windowed mode, the activity is visible within a window, and a portion of at least one other window is also visible. In the windowed mode, the user can cause windows to move, thereby changing focus from one activity to another. For example, the window having focus can be moved off the screen, to be replaced by a new window that is then given focus. The windows are ordered in a sequence and move in concert with one another; pushing one window off one edge of the screen causes a new window to appear at the opposite edge. A persistent positional relationship can be established among windows.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Publication date: April 5, 2012
    Inventors: Matias Gonzalo Duarte, Daniel Marc Gatan Shiplacoff, Jeremy Godfrey Lyon, Paul Mercer, Ralph Thomas