Patents by Inventor William To

William To 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: 8545316
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the gaming system and method disclosed herein maintains a progressive award that is associated with a plurality of different progressive award trigger values or progressive award hit values. In such embodiments, the displayed value of the progressive award does not reset to a reset value or reset amount until the displayed value of that progressive award has incremented to each of the plurality of progressive award hit values associated with that progressive award. In these embodiments, the gaming system provides a plurality of displayed incremented values of a progressive award a plurality of times before the displayed value of that progressive award is reset to the reset value. Such a configuration provides that after the gaming system provides a currently displayed value of a progressive award to a player at least a first time, the displayed value of that progressive award continues incrementing from the provided value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: IGT
    Inventors: Jason P. Pawloski, Rogelio S. Decasa, William K. Hughes, Eric S. Boese, Jeffrey D. Urmston
  • Patent number: 8545540
    Abstract: Removable drill guide tips are pre-assembled into threaded holes of a bone plate. The tips may be used with an extension to together function as a conventional drill guide. After drilling, the extension or another tool is used to remove the tips from the plate. According to another use, the tip is used as a guide for a drill bit without any additional extension and then removed with a tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Biomet C.V.
    Inventors: Javier E. Castaneda, Jorge L. Orbay, William F. Doyle
  • Patent number: 8544395
    Abstract: An applicator unit for applying slurry fertilizer beneath the soil with reduced soil displacement includes a spring-cushioned main mounting shank and a forward spring-biased coulter. A narrow applicator shank, mounted to the main mounting shank just above the surface of the soil, is oriented generally upright and includes a leading nose portion having a small low angle forward protruding tip and a tapered leading edge for forming a furrow without tilling the soil. The furrow is formed in four stages: by the small low angle forward protruding tip, the upright tapered leading edge of the sweep shank, by a bulge on each side of the casting near the soil surface, a slurry tube widens the slot further, facilitating the delivery of the slurry in the vertical slot. Swept back wings gently lift the soil to allow horizontal distribution of the slurry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Inventor: William J. Dietrich, Sr.
  • Patent number: 8546146
    Abstract: Process for evaluating a plurality of refinery feedstocks, by providing an array of refinery feedstocks, the array having at least a plurality of different refinery feedstocks, and fractionating each of the refinery feedstocks in the array, either in parallel or in a rapid serial fashion, to produce a further array having a plurality of fractions with different chemical and/or physical properties, each fraction being representative of a process stream that might be present in a refinery. Each of the plurality of fractions is analyzed to determine one or more chemical and/or physical properties of the fractions, the analyzes being performed at least partially in parallel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: BP Oil International Limited
    Inventors: Graham Butler, John William Couves, Paul Greenough, Nicholas John Gudde, Michael Graham Hodges
  • Patent number: 8544665
    Abstract: A capping system and method of use for sealing injectable drugs within vials is disclosed. The system includes a closure assembly and a locking cap. The closure assembly includes a retainer member and a resilient stopper located within the retainer member. The retainer member is arranged to be disposed on the vial whereupon a gap results between the stopper and the vial. The retainer member is movable to close that gap. The locking cap is used to permanently seal the vial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Genesis Packaging Technologies
    Inventors: F. William Bogle, Roger P. Asselta
  • Patent number: 8546374
    Abstract: A compound having Formula (I) or Formula (II) is disclosed as an P2X7 antagonist, wherein A, B, C, Y, Y, Z, m, v, R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5, are as defined in the description. Methods and compositions for treating disease or condition modulated by P2X7 are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Abbvie Inc.
    Inventors: William A. Carroll, Arturo Perez-Medrano, Alan S. Florjancic, Derek W. Nelson, Sridhar Peddi, Tongmei Li, Eric M. Bunnelle, Gavin Hirst, Biquin C. Li
  • Patent number: 8549163
    Abstract: A method for characterizing website visitors based on visitor passive parameters and using the characterization to select and/or market website content. The passive visitor parameters include data in the browser agent, time of a website visit, IP address, etc. Such visitor passive parameters are available each time a visitor visits a website. In a first step, a first embodiment of the method anonymously compares the visitor passive parameters with known demographics, for example, at financial websites, to create a statistical mapping between the visitor passive parameters and the demographics. In a second step, the mapping is used to estimate demographics data for future website visitors and then site content provided to the future website visitors is based on the estimated demographics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Inventors: Jonathan M. Urdan, John L. Williams
  • Patent number: 8545179
    Abstract: A system for the structural monitoring of blades 1 on a wind turbine. Each blade 1 has respective optical fiber bragg grating sensors 5. The system has a number of input connectors, which connect to the strain sensors 5 of respective blades 1. A single output connector connects to a data processing device 3 which processes signals from the strain sensors 5. The input connectors each have a signal path to the output connector that is different in length to the signal path from the other input connectors, such that signals from a given blade 1 can be identified at the data processing device 3 by the time of arrival of the signals. The system has the advantage that the each of the blades 1, including the sensors attached to it or embedded within it can be identical and therefore interchangeable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Moog Insensys Limited
    Inventors: Mark Volanthen, Philip Mark Rhead, Martin Peter William Jones, Glynn David Lloyd
  • Patent number: 8544946
    Abstract: The tree and post remover is a removably attachable accessory for an operating vehicle, such as a skid-steer machine, tractor, or similar working machine having hydraulic power output. The tree and post remover has a mounting plate having a fixed jaw assembly extending therefrom and a movable jaw assembly captured and sliding laterally within the fixed jaw assembly. A hydraulic strut resides within the movable jaw assembly, and has one end attached to the movable jaw assembly and its opposite end attached to the fixed jaw assembly. Actuation of the hydraulic strut drives the movable jaw assembly toward or away from the fixed jaw assembly to close or open the jaws relative to one another. Each jaw assembly preferably includes a plurality of individual jaw members, opposite jaw members meshing with one another to allow the jaws to close upon objects of relatively small diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Inventor: William R. Holden
  • Patent number: 8547526
    Abstract: Several embodiments of photolithography systems and associated methods of selective die exposure are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method for exposing a microelectronic substrate in a photolithography system includes producing an illumination radiation from a radiation source and identifying a field on the microelectronic substrate to be exposed. The field is partitioned into a first region discrete from a second region. The method further includes inhibiting the illumination radiation to expose the first region while simultaneously exposing the second region to the illumination radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: William A. Stanton, Gurtej S. Sandhu
  • Patent number: 8549088
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a system and method for facilitating the interpretation of Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) data. Specifically, embodiments disclosed herein are directed to receiving MIME data and identifying structural information encoded within the MIME data. A MIME reader is then used to analyze the MIME data to interpret the encoded structural information and generate at least one primitive based on the encoded structural information. A MIME writer may be used to generate corresponding MIME data from the at least one primitive based on the encoded structural information. Embodiments also provide that corrupted MIME data interpreted by the MIME reader may be identified and corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Roy Williams, Yuri Inglikov, Oleg V. Ouliankine, Nelly Porter, Loren Curtis
  • Patent number: 8547677
    Abstract: The application discloses novel internal structures of energy conditioners, assemblies of external structures of energy conditioners and mounting structure, and novel circuits including energy conditioners having A, B, and G master electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: X2Y Attenuators, LLC
    Inventors: William M. Anthony, David Anthony, Anthony Anthony
  • Patent number: 8547899
    Abstract: A channel aware scheduler (CAS) is disclosed that takes advantage of changing wireless channel conditions in order to maximize aggregated system throughput. The CAS is aware of the different channel conditions for one or more stations and adjusts its scheduling of packet transmissions in light of the same. A related CAS algorithm may take advantage of that knowledge in order to increase aggregated system throughput while concurrently addressing other potential fairness constraints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Ruckus Wireless, Inc.
    Inventor: William S. Kish
  • Patent number: 8544597
    Abstract: A method of making a damper member includes forming a lattice network of a first material using an additive powder forming technique. The lattice network includes interconnected pores. A matrix of a second, different material is then deposited within the interconnected pores to form a damper member having an acoustic attenuation that is tuned to dampen a target vibrational mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Aerojet Rocketdyne of DE, Inc.
    Inventor: Bryan William McEnerney
  • Patent number: 8544765
    Abstract: A solid stream nozzle providing an extend throw-distance achieved by reducing boundary layer effects within the nozzle bore and/or by accelerating peripheral regions of the ejected stream in order to help maintain cohesion of a free liquid stream without appreciable dispersion. The method includes generating a high-pressure fluid source, supplying the nozzle with high pressure; reducing boundary layer effect within the nozzle bore, and optionally, accelerating and/or inwardly re-directing the peripheral boundary of the ejected stream with a secondary higher pressure, higher speed fluid source. The apparatus includes a high pressure fluid source, a nozzle bore, a bleed ring within the nozzle bore to strip off a boundary layer, and optionally, a secondary higher pressure fluid source at the nozzle tip to accelerate and/or inwardly re-direct the ejected fluid stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Inventors: Donald E. Cornell, William M. Farrell
  • Patent number: 8544438
    Abstract: An intake system of an engine is provided. The intake system including an intake manifold, a vacuum port located in said intake manifold and in an air-flow path downstream of a throttle body and upstream of a plurality of intake runners, the vacuum port including a molded flow disruptor including a cross-beam traversing an outlet of the vacuum port, the cross-beam oriented at an angle between 0 and 90 degrees with respect to an axis of a throat in the intake manifold, and a vacuum passage coupling the vacuum port to a vehicle subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: John Carl Lohr, Katherine Jane Randall, Jeremy Walter Church, Christopher William Newman
  • Patent number: 8545335
    Abstract: A system and method for a toy with memory (flash memory) storage capabilities and a method for the toy to connect to other like toys and to a computer and he internet for online virtual play and simulation. Connection to a computer system allows the user the ability connect to the internet and register the toy allowing the user access to interact with a virtual activities and scenarios including a virtual computer image and animation of the toy connected to a computer which is connected to the Internet. User may also purchase or win a USB (Universal Serial Bus) node or dongle with codes that attach to the USB connection on the toy to allow access to special rooms and events in the virtual world on the website. The status of the game is saved back to the memory storage in the toy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Tool, Inc.
    Inventors: John D. Fiegener, Michael David Tinstman, Daniel Richard Armstrong, William Paul Liteplo, Chris Lohring
  • Patent number: 8548836
    Abstract: Disclosed is a business driven learning solution and related methods for managing the learning and training needs of a sales-oriented organization in a manner that is in responsive to dynamic business needs. The invention employs modules of interrelated and interdependent business processes for the identification and prioritization of learning needs, the selection of learning approaches, the development of learning content, the coordination and delivery of learning instruction, and the overall management and administration learning efforts. Embodiments of the inventions disclosed include sales training objects to provide a template for sales training that is focused on a solution, and how to position and sell the solution, rather than on the products that make up the solution. As a result, the sales force is educated, understands the customers' business requirements, and is able to craft specific value propositions to a given customer with respect to that solution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited
    Inventors: William Christopher Draper, John R. Hubbell, Thomas Kenneth Stovall, Renata Marek, Brian Leighton Koldyke
  • Patent number: 8545809
    Abstract: The present application discloses compositions and methods of synthesis and use of 18F or 19F-labeled molecules of use in PET, SPECT and/or MR imaging. Preferably, the 18F or 19F is conjugated to a targeting molecule by formation of a complex with a group IIIA metal and binding of the complex to a bifunctional chelating agent, which may be directly or indirectly attached to the targeting molecule. In other embodiments, the 18F or 19F labeled moiety may comprise a targetable construct used in combination with a bispecific antibody to target a disease-associated antigen. The disclosed methods and compositions allow the simple and reproducible labeling of molecules at very high efficiency and specific activity in 30 minutes or less. In preferred embodiments, the labeled molecule may be used for imaging in a subject without purification after labeling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Immunomedics, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher A. D'Souza, William J. McBride, David M. Goldenberg
  • Patent number: 8547797
    Abstract: A seismic survey is conducted by positioning an array of remote acquisition units (RAUs). Each of the RAUs records seismic data derived from one or more geophones in digital form in local memory. The data is collected by a harvester unit traversed across the survey territory as by an aircraft using point-multipoint communications, and subsequently transferred from the harvester unit to a central control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Sercel England Limited
    Inventors: Steven William Wilcox, John Christopher Whelan, Jonathan Alexander