U.S. Patents Awarded to Inventors in Georgia (Dec. 7)

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ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in Georgia.

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AT&T Intellectual Property I Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- AT&T Intellectual Property I, Atlanta, has been assigned a patent (8,074,269) developed by Samuel N. Zellner, Dunwoody, Ga., Mark J. Enzmann, Roswell, Ga., and Robert T. Moton Jr., Alpharetta, Ga., for a "system and method for controlling devices at a location."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A system and method for controlling, by an outside entity, one or more devices associated with a location. A representative embodiment of the system architecture comprises an internal computer system through which a device may be remotely controlled by the outside entity during a communication session between the outside entity and the internal computer system through an external computer network. The external computer network can be the Internet. When the outside entity is requested to control the device, the outside entity's identity information is authenticated before the communication session is established. In a preferred embodiment, the internal computer system is protected by a firewall. The firewall allows the outside entity to access the internal computer system to control the device if the outside entity can provide proper identity information. The identity information of the outside entity may be a password that is recognized by the firewall. In the preferred embodiment, the identity information is a digital certificate issued to the outside entity by a certificate authority. In preferred embodiments, after the communication session is established, only the outside entity can terminate the communication session."

The patent application was filed on July 29, 2008 (12/181,675). 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=8,074,269&OS=8,074,269&RS=8,074,269

Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

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Beyondvia Technologies Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Beyondvia Technologies, Altanta, has been assigned a patent (8,074,176) developed by Mark Grace, Alpharetta, Ga., for "electronic communications dialog using sequenced digital images stored in an image dictionary."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A system and method for an electronic communications dialog between a plurality of users using digital images via a web portal. The user selects a template for entering a plurality of words and associated images that constitute an initial electronic message. The user then enters a plurality of words into the template corresponding to the initial electronic message. A plurality of images are selected having a direct correspondence with the plurality of words entered into the template. Each image is inserted into the template in a sequence corresponding to the initial electronic message. When the initial template is complete, the initial electronic message containing the sequenced images is sent to at least one other user via the web portal. A visual dictionary can be created for each user using a facility which takes images from any electronic source and allows users to apply naming tags to store the images for subsequent retrieval. A visual library can be created for each user to save completed and partially completed templates that can be retrieved for further editing or use."

The patent application was filed on April 30, 2008 (12/112,842). 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=8,074,176&OS=8,074,176&RS=8,074,176Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi.

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Starpound Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Starpound, Smyrna, Ga., has been assigned a patent (8,073,784) developed by Matthew Rosenhaft, Atlanta, and Barry Brager, Smyrna, Ga., for a "multi-function code activated product and service delivery."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A system for providing a wide range of telecommunications initiated data fulfillment services in which a multi-function code, such as "*#" (star, pound), input into an originating telecommunications device, such as a conventional land-line or wireless telephone, triggers the treatment of the input sequence as a multi-function code service request rather than a dialed directory number. The multi-function code is followed by an input data string to complete the multi-function code service request, which the user typically enters into the telecommunications device just like a conventional telephone call, except that the input string begins with the multi-function code. The telecommunications system recognizes the multi-function code as a trigger, and in response takes one or more actions, such as automatically terminating the call to an announcement and routing a data message to a data fulfillment center, which responds to the message by implementing a response action indicated by the multi-function code service request. For example, the data fulfillment center may respond by transmitting a message over a wireless data network or the Internet to implement a service, such as activation of a vending machine, remote control of device, delivery of a message over the Internet or wireless data network, initiation of an interactive Internet session with the originating device, or a wide range of other services. In addition, a charge for this service may be automatically charged to an account associated with the originating telecommunications device, which may be billed separately or incorporated on the user's conventional monthly telecommunications invoice."

The patent application was filed on Jan. 3, 2011 (12/983,378). 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=80,73,784.PN.&OS=PN/80,73,784&RS=PN/80,73,784

Written by Ruby Maibam; edited by Jaya Anand.

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Firethorn Mobile Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Firethorn Mobile, Atlanta, has been assigned a patent (8,073,769) developed by four co-inventors for "methods and systems for payment transactions in a mobile environment." The co-inventors are Brady Lee Rackley III, Atlanta, Warren Derek Porter, Atlanta, Gregory Michael Rickman, Atlanta, and Kyle Leighton Cochran, Mableton, Ga.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Methods and systems for conducting financial transactions in a mobile environment utilizing a mobile device such as a mobile telephone or wireless connected personal digital assistant (PDA) that communicates with a mobile financial transaction system (MFTS) that stores user and transaction information. The MFTS receives information on behalf of a mobile device user corresponding to bills to pay or other payments to make. The MFTS also receives information corresponding to payment sources available for use in making payments. Selected payments information and payment source information are communicated to the mobile user via a wireless network and displayed for user selection. The user selects a payment to make and a payment source. A mobile payment instruction is generated and communicated to the MFTS. The MFTS instructs a payment instruction recipient to make a payment to an identified payee. Real-time updated account and payment balances are provided to the user's mobile device."

The patent application was filed on July 6, 2006 (11/428,857). 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=80,73,769.PN.&OS=PN/80,73,769&RS=PN/80,73,769

Written by Ruby Maibam; edited by Jaya Anand.

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Mann Conroy Eisenberg & Associates Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Mann Conroy Eisenberg & Associates, Greensboro, N.C., has been assigned a patent (8,073,750) developed by six co-inventors for a "computer support for multi-jurisdictional investment." The co-inventors are Crispina O. Caballero, Stouffville, Canada, Thomas F. Conroy, Englewood, Colo., Steven A. Eisenberg, Atlanta, Brian G. Holland, Needham, Mass., Stephen F. Kraysler, Chokoloskee, Fla., and Richard W. Mann, Greensboro, N.C.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Machine and related manufacturer controlling multi-jurisdictional investment; a computer system arranged to receive information and locate said information into a memory, the information including investment specifications and pricing data for the financial product, the computer system further including: an input device for receiving the information and converting the information into signals; a program control to compute, from said signals, for calculating respective valuations of parts of investment in respective jurisdictions and a program control to trigger printing documentation, including said valuations, to carry out the implementation of the parts in the respective jurisdictions. In variations thereof, such as optimizing, separating, valuation, and execution are supported."

The patent application was filed on May 4, 2004 (10/555,801). 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=80,73,750.PN.&OS=PN/80,73,750&RS=PN/80,73,750

Written by Ruby Maibam; edited by Jaya Anand.

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Kabbage Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Kabbage, Atlanta, has been assigned a patent (8,073,744) developed by Robert James Frohwein, Atlanta, and Kathryn Tison Petralia, Atlanta, for a "method to provide liquid funds in the online auction and marketplace."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method, apparatus, and computer readable storage to implement a lending system for use with electronic commerce web sites such as auction sites. A seller may receive a cash loan for items placed for sale but not yet purchased by a buyer. The seller can be required to pay back the loan after a predetermined amount of time or as soon as the item for sale is sold and payment is received from the buyer. The lender would charge interest or commission for the loan. In this manner, sellers can receive cash for items listed on auction sites before those items are actually sold, generating additional cash flow for the seller."

The patent application was filed on June 13, 2011 (13/159,080). 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=80,73,744.PN.&OS=PN/80,73,744&RS=PN/80,73,744

Written by Ruby Maibam; edited by Jaya Anand.

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Checkfree Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Checkfree, Norcross, Ga., has been assigned a patent (8,073,773) developed by Casey W. Kozee, Lawrenceville, Ga., Teri W. Bemis, Marietta, Ga., and William R. McMichael, Cummings, Ga., for a "technique for identifying probable billers of a consumer."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A technique for identifying a candidate electronic biller having bills available for electronic presentment to a consumer is provided. An electronic commerce service provider receives location information of a first consumer. The service provider accesses information associated with providing a payment service to a second consumer located near the first consumer. This accessing is based on the received location information. At least one potential biller of the first consumer is identified in the accessed information."

The patent application was filed on March 27, 2003 (10/397,834). 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=80,73,773.PN.&OS=PN/80,73,773&RS=PN/80,73,773

Written by Ruby Maibam; edited by Jaya Anand.

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Guardian Life Insurance Company of America Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, has been assigned a patent (8,073,714) developed by Robert Ball, Atlanta, for "interactive systems and methods for insurance-related activities."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Systems and methods for performing insurance related activities are provided. Software can be implemented to provide an application that includes an interactive interface for use by insurance professionals in managing clients, marketing insurance, and storing information. For example, a network application can be implemented that a user can access via a web browser and which is intuitive for quick comprehension and interaction by users. The application can include multiple layers directed to particular stages of the insurance-client relationship. The application can include a workflow wizard to aid the user in managing and maintaining client information and tracking progress. Aggregation services can also be incorporated into the application. Interactive insurance-and-client specific display pages can be incorporated to aid in understanding a client's current insurance information and to generate presentations. "Value" calculators may be implemented to illustrate a comparison of a client's current level of protection to a client's current financial state."

The patent application was filed on Aug. 25, 2006 (11/510,537). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=8,073,714.PN.&OS=PN/8,073,714&RS=PN/8,073,714

Written by Shabnam Sheikh; edited by Jaya Anand.

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Blu Trend Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Blu Trend, Atlanta, has been assigned a patent (8,073,705) developed by four co-inventors for "systems and methods for the prevention of extended utility theft." The co-inventors are Michael Anderson, Atlanta, Anthony Anderson, Dacula, Ga., Rob Keith Johnson, Sharpsburg, Ga., and Brian King, Atlanta.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Notification systems and methods are provided for identifying utility theft for an entity associated with a premise under a Continuous Service Agreement with at least one utility service provider, where utility service is never turned off such that the entity may legally use utility services while a premise is vacant."

The patent application was filed on March 10, 2009 (12/401,250). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=8,073,705.PN.&OS=PN/8,073,705&RS=PN/8,073,705

Written by Shabnam Sheikh; edited by Jaya Anand.

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3M Innovative Properties Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- 3M Innovative Properties, Saint Paul, Minn., has been assigned a patent (8,073,709) developed by Paul W. Moreno, Alpharetta, Ga., Stephen K. Barclay, Woodstock, Ga., and Yuri P. Kobylniak, Marietta, Ga., for a "CPT pricing from MedPAR data."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Methods and systems for computing what a healthcare organization charged for a procedure, based on analysis of MedPAR data."

The patent application was filed on May 4, 2007 (11/744,556). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=8,073,709.PN.&OS=PN/8,073,709&RS=PN/8,073,709

Written by Shabnam Sheikh; edited by Jaya Anand.

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Cisco Technology Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Cisco Technology, San Jose, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,073,968) developed by five co-inventors for a "method and apparatus for automatically optimizing routing operations at the edge of a network." The co-inventors are Pritam Shah, Milpitas, Calif., Vamsidhar Valluri, Milpitas, Calif., Dana Blair, Atlanta, Philip C. Jacobs, Boxborough, Mass., and Kathleen Nguyen, Irvine, Calif.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An Optimized Edge Routing (OER) technique provides efficiently data routing at the edge of a network or subnetwork. The technique employs a Master node that manages a set of border nodes located at the edge of the network or subnetwork. The Master node may be a stand-alone network management node or may be incorporated into a network node, such as a border node. Unlike prior implementations, the Master node instructs the border nodes to dynamically acquire ("learn") prefixes of incoming and outgoing data flows and to selectively filter a set of learned address prefixes whose corresponding data flows match a predetermined set of criteria. The criteria may be based on routing metrics other than, or in addition to, conventional cost-based or distance-based metrics. Further, the criteria may include a set of filtering parameters that may be reconfigured, e.g., by the Master node, from time to time. Using the learned prefixes filtered by the border nodes, the Master node can distribute network traffic and utilize network bandwidth more efficiently than conventionally done."

The patent application was filed on Nov. 3, 2004 (10/980,550). 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=8,073,968.PN.&OS=PN/8,073,968&RS=PN/8,073,968

Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

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Microsoft Assigned Patent for Estimating Rank on Graph Streams

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Microsoft, Redmond, Wash., has been assigned a patent (8,073,832) developed by Sreenivas Gollapudi, Cupertino, Calif., Rina Panigrahy, Sunnyvale, Calif., and Atish Das Sarma, Atlanta, for an "estimating rank on graph streams."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "The rank of nodes in a graph may be inferred from a calculated probability that each node in the graph appears in a single random walk of the graph. Short random walks may be generated for each node in the graph. The generated random walks may be combined to form a longer single random walk. Multiple single random walks may be generated in this fashion. The probability of each node appearing in a single random may be calculated from the generated single random walks. The rank of each node may then be inferred from the calculated probabilities." The patent application was filed on May 4, 2009 (12/434,691). 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=8,073,832&OS=8,073,832&RS=8,073,832

Written by Arpi Sharma; edited by Anand Kumar.

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Fusion-IO Assigned Patent

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7 -- Fusion-IO, Salt Lake City, has been assigned a patent (8,074,011) developed by nine co-inventors for an "apparatus, system, and method for storage space recovery after reaching a read count limit." The co-inventors are David Flynn, Sandy, Utah, Bert Lagerstedt, Pleasant Grove, Utah, John Strasser, Syracuse, Utah, Jonathan Thatcher, Lehi, Utah, John Walker, Sandy, Utah, Michael Zappe, Wheat Ridge, Colo., Stephan Uphoff, Roswell, Ga., Joshua Aune, South Jordan, Utah, and Kevin Vigor, Salt Lake City. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for storage space recovery after reaching a read count limit. A read module reads data in a storage division of solid-state storage. A read counter module then increments a read counter corresponding to the storage division. A read counter limit module determines if the read count exceeds a maximum read threshold, and if so, a storage division selection module selects the corresponding storage division for recovery. A data recovery module reads valid data packets from the selected storage division, stores the valid data packets in another storage division of the solid-state storage, and updates a logical index with a new physical address of the valid data."

The patent application was filed on Nov. 18, 2008 (12/273,532). 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=8,074,011&OS=8,074,011&RS=8,074,011

Written by Kusum Sangma; edited by Anand Kumar.

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