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U.S. Patents Awarded to Inventors in California (Aug. 19)(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Targeted News Service Targeted News Service ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- The following federal patents were awarded to inventors in California. *** University of California Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- The University of California, Oakland, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,550) developed by Frank H. Morrison, Berkeley, Calif., and Erika Gasperikova, Berkeley, Calif., for a "multi-sensor system for the detection and characterization of unexploded ordnance." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "To fully characterize the inductive response of an isolated conductive object, such as buried unexploded ordinance, one needs to measure its response to stimulation by primary magnetic fields in three linearly independent (e.g., approximately orthogonal) directions. In one embodiment this is achieved by measuring the response to magnetic fields of three independent transmitters arranged to have magnetic fields that are linearly independent. According to the apparatus and methods employing the system of this invention, multiple transmitters and receivers of known relative position and orientation on a single platform are used. In a preferred embodiment, matched sets of receiver pairs connected in gradient mode are positioned adjacent to closely spaced pairs of transmitting coils, such that a minor displacement of one or both of the receiver coil pairs relative to the paired transmitting coils will not affect the detected secondary signals emitted by a buried metallic object." The patent application was filed on Sept. 25, 2008 (12/237,668). 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=7,999,550.PN.&OS=PN/7,999,550&RS=PN/7,999,550 Written by Anjali Jha; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Applied Materials Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Applied Materials, Santa Clara, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,540) developed by G. Laurie Miller, Eastham, Mass., Boguslaw A. Swedek, Cupertino, Calif., and Manoocher Birang, Los Gatos, Calif., for an "eddy current apparatus and method for in-situ profile measurement." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An eddy current monitoring system may include an elongated core. One or more coils may be coupled with the elongated core for producing an oscillating magnetic field that may couple with one or more conductive regions on a wafer. The core may be translated relative to the wafer to provide improved resolution while maintaining sufficient signal strength. An eddy current monitoring system may include a DC-coupled marginal oscillator for producing an oscillating magnetic field at a resonant frequency, where the resonant frequency may change as a result of changes to one or more conductive regions. Eddy current monitoring systems may be used to enable real-time profile control." The patent application was filed on Aug. 16, 2006 (11/505,659). 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=7,999,540.PN.&OS=PN/7,999,540&RS=PN/7,999,540 Written by Anjali Jha; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Broadcom Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Broadcom, Irvine, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,000,083) developed by seven co-inventors for "scalable integrated circuit high density capacitors." The co-inventors are Victor Chiu-Kit Fong, San Jose, Calif., Eric Bruce Blecker, San Jose, Calif., Tom W. Kwan, Cupertino, Calif., Ning Li, Fremont, Calif., Sumant Ranganathan, Sunnyvale, Calif., Chao Tang, Mountain View, Calif., and Pieter Vorenkamp, Laguna Niguel, Calif. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "The present invention provides several scalable integrated circuit high density capacitors and their layout techniques. The capacitors are scaled, for example, by varying the number of metal layers and/or the area of the metal layers used to form the capacitors. The capacitors use different metallization patterns to form the metal layers, and different via patterns to couple adjacent metal layers. In embodiments, optional shields are included as the top-most and/or bottom-most layers of the capacitors, and/or as side shields, to reduce unwanted parasitic capacitance." The patent application was filed on July 29, 2009 (12/511,398). 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=8,000,083.PN.&OS=PN/8,000,083&RS=PN/8,000,083 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Lam Research Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Lam Research, Fremont, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,000,082) developed by four co-inventors for an "electrostatic chuck assembly with dielectric material and/or cavity having varying thickness, profile and/or shape, method of use and apparatus incorporating same." The co-inventors are Rajinder Dhindsa, San Jose, Calif., Eric Lenz, Pleasanton, Calif., Lumin Li, Santa Clara, Calif., and Felix Kozakevich, Sunnyvale, Calif. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An electrostatic chuck assembly having a dielectric material and/or having a cavity with varying thickness, profile and/or shape is disclosed. The electrostatic chuck assembly includes a conductive support and an electrostatic chuck ceramic layer. A dielectric layer or insert is located between the conductive support and an electrostatic chuck ceramic layer. A cavity is located in a seating surface of the electrostatic chuck ceramic layer. An embedded pole pattern can be optionally incorporated in the electrostatic chuck assembly. Methods of manufacturing the electrostatic chuck assembly are disclosed as are methods to improve the uniformity of a flux field above a workpiece during a plasma processing process." The patent application was filed on March 17, 2009 (12/405,906). 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=8,000,082.PN.&OS=PN/8,000,082&RS=PN/8,000,082 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** O2Micro International Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- O2Micro International, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, has been assigned a patent (7,999,554) developed by Constantin Bucur, Santa Clara, Calif., and Marian Niculae, San Jose, Calif., for a "single floating battery cell voltage level translator circuitry." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Voltage translator circuitry may include a path including a first resistor, a current controlling device, and a second resistor coupled in series. The voltage translator circuitry may further include an operational amplifier having a positive supply terminal to accept a positive supply voltage and a negative supply terminal to accept a negative supply voltage, neither the positive or negative supply voltage at ground voltage. The first resistor may further be coupled to a positive terminal of the battery cell to be monitored. The operational amplifier may have an input coupled to a negative terminal of the battery cell to be monitored. The voltage translator circuitry may further include an output terminal coupled to a node of the path between the current controlling device and the second resistor. The output terminal may be configured to provide the ground referenced cell voltage for the battery cell." The patent application was filed on Nov. 1, 2005 (11/264,768). 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=7,999,554.PN.&OS=PN/7,999,554&RS=PN/7,999,554 Written by Anjali Jha; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Intersil Americas Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Intersil Americas, Milpitas, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,530) developed by four co-inventors for a "device under test power supply." The co-inventors are Patrick Sullivan, San Diego, Steven R.Bristow, San Jose, Calif., William Robert Creek, San Diego, and Jeffrey Allen King, San Francisco. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A power supply with and input and output includes an amplifier configured to set an output voltage of the power supply output equal to a fixed input voltage for the power supply. The power supply has a first output stage coupled to the amplifier and configured to source and sink current at the output of the power supply between a first voltage rail and a third voltage rail. The power supply has a second output stage coupled to the amplifier and configured to source and sink current to the output of the power supply between a second voltage rail and the third voltage rail. A selection device is configured to enable the first and second output stages based on a selection input signal. The selection device is situated outside of the first and the second output stages." The patent application was filed on March 20, 2009 (12/408,157). 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=7,999,530.PN.&OS=PN/7,999,530&RS=PN/7,999,530 Written by Anjali Jha; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Marvell International Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Marvell International, Hamilton, Bermuda, has been assigned a patent (8,000,067) developed by four co-inventors for a "method and apparatus for improving supply noise rejection." The co-inventors are Xiaodong Jin, Sunnyvale, Calif., Sehat Sutardja, Los Altos Hills, Calif., Lawrence Tse, Fremont, Calif., and King Chun Tsai, San Jose, Calif. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An electrostatic discharge (ESD) circuit operable to protect an internal circuit from ESD events and protect the internal circuit from high-side supply noise." The patent application was filed on March 26, 2004 (10/811,031). 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=8,000,067&OS=8,000,067&RS=8,000,067 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** SAE Magnetics (HK) Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- SAE Magnetics (HK), Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, has been assigned a patent (8,000,061) developed by four co-inventors for a "gimbal mounted slider assembly with transverse bars connecting inner edges of ramp limiter arms." The co-inventors are Qinghua Zeng, Fremont, Calif., Chao-Hui Yang, Milpitas, Calif., Yen Fu, San Jose, Calif., and Ellis Cha, San Ramon, Calif. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Gimbal designs are provided that minimize adverse dynamic performance of a HDD suspension, particularly subsequent to head-disk-interface (HDI) interactions. The improvement of operational performance can be seen in graphical representations of the vibrational modes of a gimbal mounted slider subsequent to such HDI interactions. Each gimbal design includes a ramp limiter formed as two separated arms connected by one or two transverse bars and a routing of conducting traces that relieves stress and minimally contacts these bars." The patent application was filed on March 5, 2010 (12/660,901). 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=8,000,061&OS=8,000,061&RS=8,000,061 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Hitachi Global Storage Assigned Patent for Magnetic Recording Disk and Disk Drive With Track Identification Using Phase-type Servo Patterns ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Hitachi Global Storage, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, has been assigned a patent (8,000,048) developed by Bruce Alexander Wilson, San Jose, Calif., for a "magnetic recording disk and disk drive with track identification using phase-type servo patterns." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A magnetic recording disk drive has a disk with a head positioning servo pattern of multiple circumferentially-spaced chevron patterns of discrete patterned servo islands. The disk drive has servo electronics that decodes the chevron patterns to determine the absolute radial position of the head without the need for separate track identification fields. The chevron pattern with the smallest radial period has a radial period P1 and each of the other chevron patterns has a period which is a unique multiple of P1. In one embodiment the first chevron pattern read by the head has period P1 and each successive chevron pattern read by the head has a period that is greater than the period of the chevron pattern immediately preceding it such that the period of each chevron pattern progressively increases." The patent application was filed on Dec. 9, 2009 (12/634,240). 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=8,000,048&OS=8,000,048&RS=8,000,048 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Hong Kong Applied Science & Technology Research Institute Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Hong Kong Applied Science & Technology Research Institute, Hong Kong, has been assigned a patent (7,999,512) developed by four co-inventors for a "single-power-transistor battery-charging circuit using voltage-boosted clock." The co-inventors are Kwok Kuen David Kwong, Davis, Calif., Yat To William Wong, Hong Kong, Ho Ming Karen Wan, Hong Kong, and Chik Wai David Ng, Hong Kong. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A charge/discharge protection circuit protects a battery from inadvertent shorting on a charger node that can connect to a charger or to a power supply of a portable electronic device. A single n-channel power transistor has a gate that controls a channel between the battery and the charger node. The gate is connected to the charger node by a gate-coupling transistor to turn off the power transistor, providing battery isolation. The gate is driven by a voltage-boosted clock through a switch activated by an enable signal. The enable signal also activates a grounding transistor to ground a gate of the gate-coupling transistor. A comparator compares voltages of the charger and battery nodes, and the compare output is latched to generate the enable signal. An inverse enable signal activates a second switch that drives the voltage-boosted clock to the gate of the gate-coupling transistor to turn off the power transistor." The patent application was filed on Dec. 16, 2008 (12/336,514). 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=7,999,512.PN.&OS=PN/7,999,512&RS=PN/7,999,512 Written by Anjali Jha; edited by Jaya Anand. *** GM Global Technology Operations Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- GM Global Technology Operations, Detroit, has been assigned a patent (7,999,503) developed by five co-inventors for a "control module for dynamic operation of a power inverter using an application specific integrated circuit." The co-inventors are Daniel L. Kowalewski, Redondo Beach, Calif., Ted D. Peterson, Playa Del Rey, Calif., David Tang, Fontana, Calif., Mark L. Selogie, Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Michael R. Grimes, Saline, Mich. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Systems and apparatus are provided for a control module for operating an inverter in a vehicle. A control module comprises a first circuit card assembly and a microprocessor mounted on the first circuit card assembly. The microprocessor is configured to determine a phase modulation command for a first motor phase and determine a modulation criterion for the inverter. An integrated circuit is communicatively coupled to the microprocessor. The integrated circuit is configured to generate a first modulation signal based on the phase modulation command and the modulation criterion and generate a second modulation signal based on the phase modulation command and the modulation criterion." The patent application was filed on Sept. 24, 2008 (12/237,183). 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=7,999,503.PN.&OS=PN/7,999,503&RS=PN/7,999,503 Written by Anjali Jha; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Marvell International Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Marvell International, Hamilton, Bermuda, has been assigned a patent (7,999,500) developed by Edward Ying, Berkeley, Calif., and Pantas Sutardja, Los Gatos, Calif., for a "calibrating spindle motor controllers." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, are described for calibrating spindle motor controllers. In one aspect, a method is provided that includes receiving a compensator output from a spindle motor controller that compensates for variations in a velocity of an associated spindle motor, and filtering the compensator output to compensate for a spindle motor system pole and produce a high frequency roll-off." The patent application was filed on Aug. 15, 2008 (12/192,901). 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=7,999,500.PN.&OS=PN/7,999,500&RS=PN/7,999,500 Written by Anjali Jha; edited by Jaya Anand. *** QUALCOMM Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- QUALCOMM, San Diego, has been assigned a patent (8,000,068) developed by Gary Lee Brown Jr., Oceanside, Calif., and Alberto Cicalini, San Diego, for an "ESD protection for field effect transistors of analog input circuits." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "During an ESD event, an ESD current flows from a ground node of a first ESD protection circuit and out of an integrated circuit to a terminal of a package that houses the integrated circuit. To improve ESD performance, a second ESD protection circuit is provided. A diode of the second ESD protection circuit is coupled between the ground node and the body of an input transistor of a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA). If the voltage on the ground node changes quickly during an ESD event (for example, due to a current spike flowing across a wire bond), then the diode charges the body of the transistor, thereby preventing a large gate-to-body voltage from developing across transistor. In some embodiments, another ground bond pad is provided and the second ESD protection circuit includes other diodes that charge or discharge other nodes during the ESD event to prevent transistor damage." The patent application was filed on Oct. 27, 2008 (12/259,158). 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=8,000,068.PN.&OS=PN/8,000,068&RS=PN/8,000,068 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Hitachi Global Storage Assigned Patent for Perpendicular Magnetic Write Head with a Thin Wrap Around Magnetic Shield ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Hitachi Global Storage, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, has been assigned a patent (8,000,059) developed by Ming Jiang, San Jose, Calif., and Changqing Shi, Mountain View, Calif., for a "perpendicular magnetic write head with a thin wrap around magnetic shield." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A magnetic write head for perpendicular magnetic recording having a thin wrap-around magnetic shield. The small thickness and forming method of the thin wrap-around magnetic shield allow it to be electroplated using a thin photoresist frame mask. The thin photoresist frame mask has better critical dimension and straight wall control than a thicker mask, which allows the wrap-around magnetic shield to be constructed with much more straight and uniform back edge for shield throat height control than is possible when forming a thicker (i.e. taller) shield. The thin wrap-around magnetic shield can be stitched to a trailing return pole to avoid magnetic saturation of the wrap-around shield." The patent application was filed on Dec. 12, 2007 (11/955,305). 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=8,000,059.PN.&OS=PN/8,000,059&RS=PN/8,000,059 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** AltaSens Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- AltaSens, Westlake Village, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,340) developed by six co-inventors for an "apparatus and method for forming optical black pixels with uniformly low dark current." The co-inventors are Giuseppe Rossi, Los Angeles, Lester Kozlowski, Simi Valley, Calif., Henry Lin, San Jose, Calif., John Richardson, Newbury Park, Calif., Gregory Chow, Camarillo, Calif., and Gaurang Patel, Newbury Park, Calif. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An apparatus and method for forming optical black pixels having uniformly low dark current. Optical Black opacity is increased without having to increase Ti/TiN layer thickness. A hybrid approach is utilized combining a Ti/TiN OB layer in conjunction with in-pixel metal stubs that further occlude the focal radius of each pixel's incoming light beam. Additional metal layers can be used to increase the opacity into the infrared region." The patent application was filed on March 7, 2007 (11/715,799). 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=7999340.PN.&OS=PN/7999340&RS=PN/7999340 Written by Ankresh Ranjan; edited by Jaya Anand. *** 02Micro International Assigned Patent for Circuits and Methods for Battery Charging ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- 02Micro International, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, has been assigned a patent (7,999,516) developed by Alexandru Hartular, San Jose, Calif., Eftimie Caraghiorghiopol, San Jose, Calif., and Dan Simon, Santa Clara, Calif., for "circuits and methods for battery charging." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Circuits and methods for battery charging are disclosed. In one embodiment, the battery charging circuit comprises an AC to DC converter, a charging control switch, and a charger controller. The AC to DC converter provides a charging power to a battery pack. The charging control switch is coupled between the AC to DC converter and the battery pack. The charging control switch transfers the charging power to the battery pack. The charger controller detects a battery status of the battery pack and controls the charging control switch to charge the battery pack in a continuous charging mode or a pulse charging mode according to the battery status. The charger controller also controls the AC to DC converter to regulate the charging power according to the battery status." The patent application was filed on June 28, 2010 (12/824,411). 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=7,999,516.PN.&OS=PN/7,999,516&RS=PN/7,999,516 Written by Anjali Jha; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Hitachi Global Storage Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Hitachi Global Storage, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, has been assigned a patent (8,000,062) developed by Thomas Dudley Boone Jr., San Jose, Calif., Bruce Alvin Gurney, San Jose, Calif., and Ernesto E. Marinero, Saratoga, Calif., for an "enhanced magnetoresistance and localized sensitivity by gating in lorentz magnetoresistors." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A Lorentz magnetoresistive sensor that employs a gating voltage to control the momentum of charge carriers in a quantum well structure. A gate electrode can be formed at the top of the sensor structure to apply a gate voltage. The application of the gate voltage reduces the momentum of the charge carriers, which makes their movement more easily altered by the presence of a magnetic field, thereby increasing the sensitivity of the sensor." The patent application was filed on Dec. 30, 2008 (12/345,795). 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=8,000,062.PN.&OS=PN/8,000,062&RS=PN/8,000,062 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** US Sensor Systems Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- US Sensor Systems, Valencia, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,946) developed by seven co-inventors for a "fiber optic particle motion sensor system." The co-inventors are James K. Andersen, Westlake Village, Calif., Eric Lee Goldner, Valencia, Calif., Leo Lam, Calabasas, Calif., William Morey, Porter Ranch, Calif., Ira Jeffrey Bush, Los Angeles, Gerald Baker, West Hills, Calif., and Agop Cherbettchian, Santa Monica, Calif. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A sensor apparatus combines an optical sensor in which acceleration, acoustic velocity, or displacement (vibration) causes a corresponding shift in the center wavelength of the sensor output, coupled to a high speed interferometric interrogator, through an unbalanced fiber interferometer. The unbalanced interferometer functions to translate optical wavelength shift into phase shift, which is easily demodulated by the interrogator." The patent application was filed on Oct. 16, 2008 (12/253,161). 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=7,999,946&OS=7,999,946&RS=7,999,946 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Toshiba Assigned Patent for System and Method for User-specific Discovery and Initiation of a Default Document Processing Device ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Toshiba, Tokyo, and Toshiba Tec, Tokyo, have been assigned a patent (7,999,959) developed by Ming-Teh Shen, Irvine, Calif., Sheng W. Lee, Irvine, Calif., and William Su, Riverside, Calif., for a "system and method for user-specific discovery and initiation of a default document processing device." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "The subject application is directed to a system and method for user-specific discovery and initiation of a default document processing device. First, a computing device is placed in data communication with an associated data network. Device data corresponding to document processing devices accessible by the computing device is then retrieved. Via the associated data network, data communication is established between the computing device and the document processing devices. The relative location between the computing device and each of the document processing devices is then determined according to the established data communication. A default document processing device subset is thereafter selected from the available document processing devices based upon the determined location. Operation of the document processing device subset is then enabled via the computing device." The patent application was filed on April 1, 2008 (12/060,374). 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=7,999,959&OS=7,999,959&RS=7,999,959 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Ophthonix Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Ophthonix, Vista, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,000,013) developed by five co-inventors for "tinted lenses that correct for high order aberrations." The co-inventors are Jagdish M. Jethmalani, San Diego, Gomaa Abdelsadek, San Diego, Erdem Cetin, San Diego, Shawn McCarty, San Diego, and Junhao Ge, San Diego. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Disclosed herein are photopolymerizable compositions and formulations that comprise photochromic dyes, photochromic blue light blocking dyes, permanent dyes, permanent blue blocking dyes, and/or their combinations. In some variations, these formulations are suited for example, for sandwiching between lens blanks to form semi-finished lens assemblies to form a tinted lens useful in sunglasses. The formulations are also suitable for correcting optical aberrations, and may provide a photochromic effect when exposed to sunlight." The patent application was filed on March 20, 2007 (11/726,075). 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=8,000,013.PN.&OS=PN/8,000,013&RS=PN/8,000,013 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Seagate Technology Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Seagate Technology, Scotts Valley, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,338) developed by five co-inventors for a "magnetic stack having reference layers with orthogonal magnetization orientation directions." The co-inventors are Yuankai Zheng, Bloomington, Minn., Zheng Gao, San Jose, Calif., Wenzhong Zhu, Apple Valley, Minn., Wonjoon Jung, Bloomington, Minn., and Haiwen Xi, Prior Lake, Minn. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A magnetic cell includes a ferromagnetic free layer having a free magnetization orientation direction and a first ferromagnetic pinned reference layer having a first reference magnetization orientation direction that is parallel or anti-parallel to the free magnetization orientation direction. A first oxide barrier layer is between the ferromagnetic free layer and the first ferromagnetic pinned reference layer. The magnetic cell further includes a second ferromagnetic pinned reference layer having a second reference magnetization orientation direction that is orthogonal to the first reference magnetization orientation direction. The ferromagnetic free layer is between the first ferromagnetic pinned reference layer and the second ferromagnetic pinned reference layer." The patent application was filed on July 13, 2009 (12/502,209). 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=7999338.PN.&OS=PN/7999338&RS=PN/7999338 Written by Ankresh Ranjan; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Prysm Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Prysm, San Jose, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,000,005) developed by nine co-inventors for "multilayered fluorescent screens for scanning beam display systems." The co-inventors are David Kindler, Concord, Mass., Sergey A. Bukesov, Acton, Mass., Roger A. Hajjar, San Jose, Calif., Amit Jain, Saratoga, Calif., David L. Kent, Framingham, Mass., Phillip H. Malyak, Canton, Mass., Brian Massey, Marlborough, Mass., John Ritter, Harvard, Mass., and John Uebbing, Palo Alto, Calif. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Fluorescent screens and display systems and devices based on such screens using at least one excitation optical beam to excite one or more fluorescent materials on a screen which emit light to form images. The fluorescent materials may include phosphor materials and non-phosphor materials such as quantum dots." The patent application was filed on Aug. 31, 2006 (11/514,720). 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=8,000,005&OS=8,000,005&RS=8,000,005 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Inthinc Technology Solutions Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Inthinc Technology Solutions, West Valley City, Utah, has been assigned a patent (7,999,670) developed by Scott McClellan, Heber City, Utah, Eric Capps, Salt Lake City, and Todd Follmer, Cote de Caza, Calif., for a "system and method for defining areas of interest and modifying asset monitoring in relation thereto." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "System and method for tracking assets comprises determining if an asset is inside a geofence area, using a first set of asset monitoring parameters to monitor operation of the asset, if the asset is inside the geofence area, and using a second set of asset monitoring parameters to monitor operation of the asset, if the asset is outside the geofence area. The invention further comprises a system and method for providing one or more competitors with an asset tracking device, wherein the asset tracking device allows each competitor's location to be monitored, defining one or more geofence areas on a racetrack, and detecting when the competitors enter a designated geofence area." The patent application was filed on July 2, 2007 (11/772,661). 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=79,99,670&OS=79,99,670&RS=79,99,670 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Boeing Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Boeing, Chicago, has been assigned a patent (7,999,667) developed by Michael Alexander Carralero, Huntington Beach, Calif., Kirby J. Keller, Chesterfield, Mo., and Charles E. Morris, Des Peres, Mo., for a "vehicle health management system." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method, apparatus, and computer program product for processing health management data for a vehicle. A plurality of modulated signals is received on a bus system in the vehicle. The plurality of modulated signals contains health management data from a plurality of data acquisition units. Each modulated signal has a different frequency from another modulated signal in the plurality of modulated signals to form a plurality of frequencies. The plurality of frequencies is selected to avoid interference with other data transmitted over the bus system by a plurality of data processing systems in the vehicle. The plurality of modulated signals is processed based on the plurality of frequencies used to transmit the plurality of modulated signals." The patent application was filed on Jan. 7, 2009 (12/349,643). 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=79,99,667&OS=79,99,667&RS=79,99,667 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** QUALCOMM MEMS Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- QUALCOMM MEMS Technologies, San Diego, has been assigned a patent (7,999,993) developed by Clarence Chui, San Mateo, Calif., and Mark W. Miles, San Francisco, for a "reflective display device having viewable display on both sides." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An interferometric light modulating device having two viewing surfaces is provided. In some embodiments, the device can generate two distinct images, one on each side of the device, simultaneously." The patent application was filed on Nov. 8, 2007 (11/937,437). 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=7,999,993&OS=7,999,993&RS=7,999,993 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Second Sight Medical Products Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Second Sight Medical Products, Sylmar, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,000,000) developed by Robert J. Greenberg, Los Angeles, Kelly H. McClure, Simi Valley, Calif., and Arup Roy, Valencia, Calif., for a visual prosthesis. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A visual prosthesis apparatus and a method for limiting power consumption in a visual prosthesis apparatus. The visual prosthesis apparatus comprises a camera for capturing a video image, a video processing unit associated with the camera, the video processing unit configured to convert the video image to stimulation patterns, and a retinal stimulation system configured to stop stimulating neural tissue in a subject's eye based on the stimulation patterns when an error is detected in a forward telemetry received from the video processing unit." The patent application was filed on Oct. 18, 2007 (11/874,690). 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=8,000,000.PN.&OS=PN/8,000,000&RS=PN/8,000,000 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Intel Assigned Patent for Optical Modulator Using a Dual Output Laser Embedded in a Mach Zehnder Interferometer ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Intel, Santa Clara, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,988) developed by Brian R. Koch, San Bruno, Calif., for an "optical modulator using a dual output laser embedded in a mach zehnder interferometer." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A laser is placed inside the Mach-Zehnder interferometer and the output from opposite ends of the laser are fed directly into the opposite arms of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. If the output from opposite sides of the laser are equal in amplitude and wavelength, then when the outputs are recombined at the output of the modulator the intensity is dependent on the relative phase of the light in the two arms of the Mach-Zehnder, just as in a normal Mach-Zehnder modulator. Thus by modulating the phase of one or both arms of the modulator, an intensity modulated source is created. This reduces the overall size of the device, and may ensure that all of the output power from the laser is utilized." The patent application was filed on Dec. 30, 2009 (12/649,882). 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=7,999,988&OS=7,999,988&RS=7,999,988 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** California Inventor Develops Patent for Door Excess Weight Alarm ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Steven Shilts, San Diego, has developed a patent (7,999,690) for a "door excess weight alarm." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A weight alarm system for indicating excess weight applied to a door is disclosed. The alarm system comprises an excess weight sensing means, such as a pressure strip means fixed around a peripheral edge of the door or a load cell fixed between the peripheral edge of the door and a structural mount for the door. A door latching mechanism includes traverses either a front or a rear side of the door and includes a latching bolt. When the excess weight sensing means if actuated a signaling means is activated to alert those nearby to a possible suicide attempt." The patent application was filed on Oct. 7, 2008 (12/247,061). 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=79,99,690&OS=79,99,690&RS=79,99,690 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** NTT DoCoMo, Hewlett-Packard Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- NTT DoCoMo, Tokyo, and Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, Calif., have been assigned a patent (7,999,965) developed by 12 co-inventors for an "information management apparatus, information output system, portable terminal, and information outputting method." The co-inventors are Kiyotaka Otsuji, Kamakura, Japan, Toshiki Iso, Yokosuka, Japan, Hiroki Suzuki, Yokohama, Japan, Shoji Kurakake, Yokohama, Japan, Toshiaki Sugimura, Yokohama, Japan, Hidenori Shimizu, Hachioji, Japan, Taro Sugahara, Setagaya-ku, Japan, Fumitoshi Ukai, Suginami-ku, Japan, Hironori Bouno, Suginami-ku, Japan, Kei Yuasa, Mountain View, Calif., Marc McEachern, Meguro-ku, Japan, and Shinya Nakagawa, Mitaka, Japan. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An information management apparatus 50 according to the present invention comprises: a database 30d for storing information relevant to a printer 40 therein; output request reception means 20a for receiving an output request transmitted from a portable terminal 14; inquiry signal transmission means 20a for transmitting an inquiry signal on the printer 40 being an output destination to the portable terminal 14; communication means for receiving image data transmitted from the portable terminal 14; recognition means 30b for recognizing the identification information of the printer 40 by analyzing the image data transmitted in response to the inquiry signal; retrieval means 30c for retrieving the information relevant to the printer 40 from the data base 30d on the basis of the acquired recognition information; and printing means 20c for outputting the information to the printer 40 on the basis of the information relevant to the printer 40 retrieved by the retrieval means 30c." The patent application was filed on June 22, 2009 (12/489,091). 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=7,999,965&OS=7,999,965&RS=7,999,965 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Raintree Scientific Instruments (Shanghai) Assigned Patent for Spectroscopic Ellipsometers ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Raintree Scientific Instruments (Shanghai), Shanghai, China, has been assigned a patent (7,999,949) developed by Tongxin Lu, San Jose, Calif., and Xiaohan Wang, Alameda, Calif., for spectroscopic ellipsometers. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "The present invention discloses an optical measurement and/or inspection device that, in one application, may be used for inspection of semiconductor devices. A method is disclosed for extracting information of a device-under-test for an ellipsometer, comprising the steps: providing a plurality of incoming polarized beams using a plurality of polarizers, where each of the beams being polarized at a designated polarizing angle; using a parabolic reflector to focus said plurality of incoming polarized beams on a spot on a DUT; using a parabolic reflector to collect a plurality of beams reflected from said DUT; and analyzing said collected beams using a plurality of analyzers, wherein each of the analyzers having a designated polarizing angle with respect to its respective polarizer." The patent application was filed on April 24, 2007 (11/739,679). 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=7,999,949&OS=7,999,949&RS=7,999,949 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** University of California Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- The University of California, Oakland, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,622) developed by Ian Galton, Del Mar, Calif., and Ashok Swaminathan, San Diego, for an "adaptive phase noise cancellation for fractional-N phase locked loop." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An embodiment of the invention is a circuit for adaptive phase noise cancellation for a fractional-N PLL. A preferred embodiment employs a split loop filter architecture. Two loop filter halves separately drive half-sized parallel varactors in a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and also drive a differential-input lowpass frequency selective circuit, e.g., a differential-input integrator in a least mean squared (LMS) feedback loop. The output of the differential-input lowpass frequency selective circuit controls the gain matching of a phase noise cancellation path to minimize phase noise arising from quantization error associated with the sequence of divider modulus values in the fractional-N PLL. The two varactor capacitances add together in the VCO tank, so the VCO frequency depends on the common-mode loop filter voltage and is relatively insensitive to differential-mode voltage. In contrast, the differential integrator operates on the differential-mode voltage from the two loop filter halves but attenuates their common-mode voltage." The patent application was filed on Jan. 12, 2009 (12/352,293). 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=79,99,622&OS=79,99,622&RS=79,99,622 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** ASML Netherlands Assigned Patent for Method of Performing Model-based Scanner Tuning ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- ASML Netherlands, Veldhoven, The Netherlands, has been assigned a patent (7,999,920) developed by Jun Ye, Palo Alto, Calif., and Yu Cao, Cupertino, Calif., for a "method of performing model-based scanner tuning." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A model-based tuning method for tuning a first lithography system utilizing a reference lithography system, each of which has tunable parameters for controlling imaging performance. The method includes the steps of defining a test pattern and an imaging model; imaging the test pattern utilizing the reference lithography system and measuring the imaging results; imaging the test pattern utilizing the first lithography system and measuring the imaging results; calibrating the imaging model utilizing the imaging results corresponding to the reference lithography system, where the calibrated imaging model has a first set of parameter values; tuning the calibrated imaging model utilizing the imaging results corresponding to the first lithography system, where the tuned calibrated model has a second set of parameter values; and adjusting the parameters of the first lithography system based on a difference between the first set of parameter values and the second set of parameter values." The patent application was filed on Aug. 22, 2007 (11/892,407). 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=7,999,920&OS=7,999,920&RS=7,999,920 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** QUALCOMM Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- QUALCOMM, San Diego, has been assigned a patent (7,999,625) developed by Koushik Krishnan, Santa Clara, Calif., for a "method and apparatus for calibrating oscillators." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method of calibrating oscillators is disclosed that includes searching, in an array storing an operational characteristic of the oscillator, for an index value that is associated with an output of the oscillator; determining that the output is within a predetermined accuracy as compared to a desired output; and generating the output based the index value. An apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed herein." The patent application was filed on Sept. 18, 2009 (12/562,399). 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=79,99,625&OS=79,99,625&RS=79,99,625 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Monolithic Power Systems Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Monolithic Power Systems, San Jose, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,618) developed by Farhood Moraveji, Saratoga, Calif., for a "high bandwidth, rail-to-rail differential amplifier with output stage amplifier." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An error amplifier expected to exhibit rail-to-rail operation, high bandwidth, and high slew rate, is described, the error amplifier comprising a first stage to receive an input differential voltage and to provide transconductance gain, an intermediate stage to provide current gain, and an output stage to drive a load." The patent application was filed on Feb. 19, 2010 (12/708,880). 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=79,99,618&OS=79,99,618&RS=79,99,618 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** n&k Technology Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- n&k Technology, San Jose, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,936) developed by Guoguang Li, Fremont, Calif., Abdul Rahim Forouhi, Cupertino, Calif., and Erik Nackerud, Campbell, Calif., for a "combined transmittance and angle selective scattering measurement of fluid suspended particles for simultaneous determination of refractive index, extinction coefficient, particle size and particle density." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "The refractive index, extinction coefficient, size and density of fluid suspended particles are simultaneously determined by combined transmittance and scattering measurements. The scattering measurements are preferably angle selective to obtain additional information about the scattered light. A charge-coupled device is employed for its high sensitivity to low light intensity in measurement of scattered light in combination with a photodiode array employed for its high signal to noise ratio, which is beneficial in transmittance measurement. The scattered light may be measured in an angle selective fashion by use of a motorized aperture that is concentrically positioned with respect to the impinging beam axis and moveable along the impinging beam axis. An ellipsoidal mirror collects the scattered light that passes through the motorized aperture and focuses the scattered light towards the charge-coupled device." The patent application was filed on April 2, 2009 (12/417,606). 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=7,999,936&OS=7,999,936&RS=7,999,936 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Optiscan Biomedical Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Optiscan Biomedical, Hayward, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,927) developed by six co-inventors for an "in vitro determination of analyte levels within body fluids." The co-inventors are James R. Braig, Piedmont, Calif., Peter Rule, Los Altos Hills, Calif., Philip C. Hartstein, Cupertino, Calif., Bernhard B. Sterling, Danville, Calif., Jennifer H. Gable, Newark, Calif., and Kenneth I. Li, Piedmont, Calif. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A reagentless whole-blood analyte detection system that is capable of being deployed near a patient has a source capable of emitting a beam of radiation that includes a spectral band. The whole-blood system also has a detector in an optical path of the beam. The whole-blood system also has a housing that is configured to house the source and the detector. The whole-blood system also has a sample element that is situated in the optical path of the beam. The sample element has a sample cell and a sample cell wall that does not eliminate transmittance of the beam of radiation in the spectral band." The patent application was filed on Jan. 14, 2011 (13/007,502). 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=7,999,927&OS=7,999,927&RS=7,999,927 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Konica Minolta Systems Laboratory Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Konica Minolta Systems Laboratory, San Mateo, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,657) developed by Yibin Tian, Menlo Park, Calif., and Wei Ming, Cupertino, Calif., for an "image registration method for image comparison and document authentication." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method for authenticating a printed document is disclosed. Barcode stamps are added to an original document image near the corners of the page to act as registration markers. The original document image bearing the barcode stamps is printed and circulated, while the original document image is stored in a database. To authenticate a printed document, the printed document is scanned into a target document image, which is compared to the stored original document image. The barcode stamps are used as registration markers to perform a global image registration. Then, the target image and the original image are divided into multiple sub-images, and local image registration is performed on the sub-images before performing an image comparison. Difference sub-images are generated from the pairs of sub-images, and merged into a global difference image for the purpose of detecting any alterations in the printed document." The patent application was filed on Dec. 7, 2009 (12/632,059). 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=79,99,657&OS=79,99,657&RS=79,99,657 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Lockheed Martin Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, Md., has been assigned a patent (7,999,922) developed by Andrew T. Cochrane, Livermore, Calif., and Raymond Mack Bell Jr., Redwood City, Calif., for a "coherent imaging system and method for producing high resolution images." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A coherent imaging system for producing high resolution images is provided. A coherent radiation source module produces two radiation beams, each at a different instance. An optical component directs the first radiation beam towards a target at a first angle to produce a first return beam, and also produces a first reference beam. Another optical component directs the second radiation beam towards the target at a second angle to produce a second return beam, and also produces a second reference beam. An aperture collects the first return beam and the second return beam. A detector module produces two coherent images based on interference between the return beams and the reference beams. The detector module also combines the first coherent image and the second coherent image to produce a high resolution coherent image, which has a resolution higher than a resolution of the first coherent image or the second coherent image." The patent application was filed on April 28, 2009 (12/431,700). 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=7,999,922&OS=7,999,922&RS=7,999,922 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Power Intergrations Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Power Intergrations, San Jose, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,606) developed by David Kung, Hillsborough, Calif., and Leif Lund, San Jose, Calif., for a "temperature independent reference circuit." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A temperature independent reference circuit includes first and second bipolar transistors with commonly coupled bases. First and second resistors are coupled in series between the emitter of the second bipolar transistor and ground. The first and second resistors have first and second resistance values, R1 and R2, and third and second temperature coefficients, TC3 and TC2, respectively. The resistance values being such that a temperature coefficient of a difference between the base-emitter voltages of the first and second bipolar transistors, TC1, is substantially equal to TC2.times.(R2/(R1+R2))+TC3.times.(R1/(R1+R2)), resulting in a reference current flowing through each of the first and second bipolar transistors that is substantially constant over temperature. A third resistor coupled between a node and the collector of the second bipolar transistor has a value such that a reference voltage generated at the node is substantially constant over temperature." The patent application was filed on Jan. 31, 2011 (12/931,377). 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=79,99,606&OS=79,99,606&RS=79,99,606 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Cymer Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Cymer, San Diego, has been assigned a patent (7,999,915) developed by six co-inventors for a laser system. The co-inventors are Alexander I. Ershov, San Diego, William N. Partlo, Poway, Calif., Daniel J.W. Brown, San Diego, Igor V. Fomenkov, San Diego, Robert A. Bergstedt, Carlsbad, Calif., and Ivan Lalovic, San Francisco. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A method and apparatus may comprise a line narrowed pulsed excimer or molecular fluorine gas discharge laser system which may comprise a seed laser oscillator producing an output comprising a laser output light beam of pulses which may comprise a first gas discharge excimer or molecular fluorine laser chamber; a line narrowing module within a first oscillator cavity; a laser amplification stage containing an amplifying gain medium in a second gas discharge excimer or molecular fluorine laser chamber receiving the output of the seed laser oscillator and amplifying the output of the seed laser oscillator to form a laser system output comprising a laser output light beam of pulses, which may comprise a ring power amplification stage." The patent application was filed on Oct. 30, 2007 (11/981,450). 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=7,999,915&OS=7,999,915&RS=7,999,915 Written by Satyaban Rath; edited by Hemanta Panigrahi. *** Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Alpha and Omega Semiconductor, Sunnyvale, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,600) developed by Sanjay Havanur, Cupertino, Calif., for a "device and method for limiting Di/Dt caused by a switching FET of an inductive switching circuit." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A circuit for limiting di/dt caused by a main switching FET during its turn-off against an inductive switching circuit is proposed. The circuit for limiting di/dt includes an auxiliary inductor in series with the main switching FET for inducing an auxiliary inductive voltage proportional to di/dt; an auxiliary FET in parallel with the main switching FET; the auxiliary FET gate is connected to produce a gate voltage equal to the auxiliary inductive voltage. When the di/dt tends to exceed a predetermined maximum rate of decrease the auxiliary FET produces an auxiliary current component counteracting further decrease of the di/dt. The main switching FET and the auxiliary FET can be formed from a single die with shared source and drain; the auxiliary inductor can be implemented as a parasitic inductance of an inherently required bonding wire connecting the main switching FET to its device terminal to simplify packaging with reduced cost." The patent application was filed on June 5, 2009 (12/479,552). 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=79,99,600&OS=79,99,600&RS=79,99,600 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** California Institute of Technology Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,621) developed by Seyed-Ali Hajimiri, Pasadena, Calif., Scott D. Kee, Dana Point, Calif., and Ichiro Aoki, San Clemente, Calif., for a cross-differential amplifier. The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A cross-differential amplifier is provided. The cross-differential amplifier includes an inductor connected to a direct current power source at a first terminal. A first and second switch, such as transistors, are connected to the inductor at a second terminal. A first and second amplifier are connected at their supply terminals to the first and second switch. The first and second switches are operated to commutate the inductor between the amplifiers so as to provide an amplified signal while limiting the ripple voltage on the inductor and thus limiting the maximum voltage imposed across the amplifiers and switches." The patent application was filed on Jan. 12, 2010 (12/686,161). 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=79,99,621&OS=79,99,621&RS=79,99,621 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Amalfi Semiconductor Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Amalfi Semiconductor, Los Gatos, Calif., has been assigned a patent (7,999,613) developed by Lawrence Burns, Los Altos, Calif., Chong Woo, Fremont, Calif., and Wendell Sander, Los Gatos, Calif., for a "method and apparatus for an improved power amplifier." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An amplifier system is provided that has a first balun with an input and an output, and a second balun with an input and an output. A first set of amplifiers is coupled in series and to the output of the first balun. A second set of amplifiers is coupled in series and to the output of the second balun. The first and second sets of amplifiers are in series or parallel. A load impedance of the first and second sets of amplifiers does not substantially change at an output of any amplifier that is switched on when another amplifier is switched off." The patent application was filed on Feb. 16, 2005 (11/060,622). 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=79,99,613&OS=79,99,613&RS=79,99,613 Written by Rajat Puri; edited by Jaya Anand. *** Northrop Grumman Systems Assigned Patent ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 19 -- Northrop Grumman Systems, Los Angeles, has been assigned a patent (7,999,923) developed by Adrian Kaehler, North Hollywood, Calif., for "systems and methods for detecting and analyzing objects." The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "Systems and methods are provided that employ one or more mirrors to harvest laser beams emitted by a physical rangefinder within a region of interest that would otherwise not intersect an object within the region of interest. The mirrors redirect the harvested beams back w For more information about Targeted News Service products and services, please contact: Myron Struck, editor, Targeted News Service LLC, Springfield, Va., 703/304-1897; [email protected]; http://targetednews.com. -1058195 (c) 2011 Targeted News Service |