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ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in Connecticut.

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Hartford Fire Insurance Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 -- Hartford Fire Insurance, Hartford, Conn., has been assigned a patent (8,224,677) developed by Leslie Ann Reynolds, Simsbury, Conn., Michael J. Roscoe, South Windsor, Conn., and Rodney R. Howard, Weatogue, Conn., for a "system and method for administering life insurance policies issued prior to underwriting."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A computer system for administering applications for life insurance has a processor and a memory storage device in communication with the processor. The processor is configured to receive data indicative of an application and an initial premium payment from a proposed insured for life insurance; based on the received data, determine whether the proposed insured is uninsurable; responsive to a determination that the proposed insured is not uninsurable, generate an output signal having data indicative of a decision to respond to the application by issuing a policy and commencing a comprehensive underwriting process; receive data indicative of a result of the comprehensive underwriting process; based on the result of the comprehensive underwriting process, determine a rating of the proposed insured; and, based on the rating, provide an output signal indicative of a same or changed premium for the policy."

The patent application was filed on Nov. 23, 2009 (12/624,044). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,224,677&OS=8,224,677&RS=8,224,677

Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

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Hartford Fire Insurance Assigned Patent for Method and System for Issuing Insurance Underwriting Instruments

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 -- Hartford Fire Insurance, Hartford, Conn., has been assigned a patent (8,224,674) developed by four co-inventors for a "method and system for issuing insurance underwriting instruments." The co-inventors are Bryan Blair, Hampton, Mass., Jay Burke, Glastonbury, Conn., Jim Morelewicz, Avon, Conn., and Bob Post, Canton, Conn.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method and system for issuing an insurance underwriting instrument using at least one computing processor. The system includes a computer processor and a first and second query-able plurality of memory locations storing data indicative of images of a plurality of forms associated with a particular type of fidelity or surety bond and data indicative of policies respectively. The system further includes a user interface for inputting data indicative of an insurance client and of the fidelity or surety bond. A calculator application is included which automatically calculates a premium for the insurance underwriting instrument based on the input data using the computer processor. The system includes software for selecting a sub-set of the data indicative of the images and software for automatically rendering the bond to be issued using the data of bond customer."

The patent application was filed on Sept. 25, 2008 (12/237,616). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,224,674&OS=8,224,674&RS=8,224,674

Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

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Catalina Marketing Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 -- Catalina Marketing, St. Petersburg, Fla., has been assigned a patent (8,224,691) developed by four co-inventors for a "system and method for distributing information through cooperative communication network sites." The co-inventors are Michael C. Scroggie, Laguna Niguel, Calif., David A. Rochon, Westport, Conn., David W. Banker, Mount Baldy, Calif., and Will Gardenswartz, Denver.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Information pertaining to products made by manufacturers and sold to consumers through retailers, is distributed to consumers through a communication network that connects consumer communication nodes to a cooperative network site having an accumulation of information about manufacturer product offers and retailer special deals. A consumer can obtain selected items of this information without knowledge of how to reach the cooperative network site, by simply logging in to a manufacturer network site or to a retailer network site. At a manufacturer site, the consumer can obtain a list of local retailers carrying the manufacturer offers and can then select from among the offers and receive complete details of the selected offers. At a retailer site, the consumer can obtain a list of manufacturer offers available at the retailer stores in the consumer's area, and can then select from among the available offers and receive their complete details. An additional feature of the invention makes use of a consumer "personal page," which is an individualized database in which consumer shopping preferences are defined, both by information that the consumer expressly provides and by the consumer's past shopping activity. Use of the personal page allows the consumer to receive product offers that are more targeted to the individual consumer, thus saving the consumer time and effort. Another embodiment of the invention provides for distribution of a product purchase incentive directly to the consumer in response to his or her selection of an advertising banner displayed on an independent commercial network site."

The patent application was filed on Feb. 16, 2000 (09/505,632). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,224,691&OS=8,224,691&RS=8,224,691

Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

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Hartford Fire Insurance Assigned Patent for System and Method for Administering Annuities

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 -- Hartford Fire Insurance, Hartford, Conn., has been assigned a patent (8,224,673) developed by Philip W. Michalowski, Glastonbury, Conn., Keith E. Golembiewski, Suffield, Conn., and Joseph M. Weiss, Glastonbury, Conn., for a "system and method for administering annuities."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A computer-implemented method for administering an annuity product includes storing by a processor in memory an amount of an initial funding payment, an interest rate formula and a term for an accumulation annuity, and storing terms including a deferral term for a guaranteed income annuity. If the processor determines that the current time is during the term, the processor calculates an amount of interest earned on the fixed rate annuity and storing in memory a credit of the calculated interest amount to a guaranteed income annuity. After the accumulation period, the processor provides an output signal indicative of instructions to provide a notice of expiration. After the deferral period, the processor calculates an income annuity payment amount from the guaranteed income annuity; and provides an output signal indicative of instructions for a payment to be made to an annuitant based on the income annuity payment amount."

The patent application was filed on May 20, 2008 (12/123,739). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,224,673&OS=8,224,673&RS=8,224,673

Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

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International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Energy Limit in a Sliding Window in Power and Heat Management

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,224,497) developed by Liana L. Fong, Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Jeffrey Owen Kephart, Ridgefield, Conn., and Yanbin Liu, Yorktown Heights, N.Y., for an "energy limit in a sliding window in power and heat management."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A system and method for specifying a temporal window of a fixed size that slides along time; specifying energy consumption as the accumulated power consumption in a temporal window; and applying a threshold that limits the energy consumption in a sliding window, while the power consumption can fluctuate within the window. Power-aware systems apply energy limit as a constraint in performance optimization."

The patent application was filed on Aug. 21, 2009 (12/545,711). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,224,497&OS=8,224,497&RS=8,224,497

Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

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Intuitive Surgical Operations Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 -- Intuitive Surgical Operations, Sunnyvale, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,224,484) developed by Nitish Swarup, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Scott Manzo, Shelton, Conn., for "methods of user interface with alternate tool mode for robotic surgical tools."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "In one implementation, a method is disclosed in which a lock sensing mode is entered for a robotic surgical instrument. In the lock sensing mode, the degrees of freedom of movement in the robotic surgical instrument are switchably reduced. Further in the lock sensing mode, one or more end effectors of the robotic surgical instrument are switchably clamped together in the robotic surgical instrument. An increased level of torque may also be applied to the end effectors to increase a gripping force applied by the one or more end effectors in response to the reduced degrees of freedom of movement in the robotic surgical instrument."

The patent application was filed on Feb. 8, 2008 (12/028,755). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,224,484&OS=8,224,484&RS=8,224,484

Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

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Gen-Probe Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 -- Gen-Probe, San Diego, has been assigned a patent (8,224,584) developed by James M. Carrick, San Diego, Mark R. Kennedy, Madison, Conn., and Jeffrey D. Chismar, Plymouth, Minn., for a "parametric system for quantifying analyte polynucleotides."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "System for quantifying analyte polynucleotides employs computer-implemented analysis of real-time amplification data using a calibration curve defined by parametric equations."

The patent application was filed on Oct. 27, 2010 (12/913,591). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,224,584&OS=8,224,584&RS=8,224,584

Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

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International Business Machines Assigned Patent for Techniques for Personalized and Adaptive Search Services

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 -- International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., has been assigned a patent (8,224,857) developed by Yurdaer Nezihi Doganata, Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., Youssef Drissi, Ossining, N.Y., and Lev Kozakov, Stamford, Conn., for "techniques for personalized and adaptive search services."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Techniques are presented for automatically selecting information sources that are most relevant to user queries. Results of searches returned by information sources for queries are analyzed and the information sources are ranked based on this analysis. The information sources that have high rankings for a query are subsequently used to search for relevant results. This process can be adaptive, as the returned results of old queries can be analyzed at a later date to update the ranking of the information sources, automatic searches can be performed to update the ranking of the information sources, new queries can be used for analysis and stored, new information sources added, and old information sources deleted. A linguistic library is used to store personal categories for one or more users and general categories. Each category is associated with keywords and ranked lists of information sources. The library also contains general categories, taxonomies, and dictionaries." The patent application was filed on July 8, 2008 (12/169,306). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,224,857&OS=8,224,857&RS=8,224,857

Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

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Defibtech Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19 -- Defibtech, Guilford, Conn., has been assigned a patent (8,224,441) developed by Gintaras A. Vaisnys, Chicago, Giovanni C. Meier, Madison, Conn., and Glenn W. Laub, Princeton, N.J., for a "automatic external defibrillator with active status indicator." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An AED includes defibrillation circuitry housed within an enclosure, a first processor programmed to periodically test the operability of the defibrillation circuitry and a second processor in communication with the first processor. The AED further includes a visual indicator, such as a red/green LED, positioned at the exterior of the enclosure that is operatively connected to the second processor. The second processor is programmed to control the visual indicator in response to the periodic test results provided to it by the first processor."

The patent application was filed on April 1, 2011 (13/078,298). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,224,441.PN.&OS=PN/8,224,441&RS=PN/8,224,441

Written by Kusum Sangma; edited by Anand Kumar.

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