Systems and methods for providing extended shipping options
US Patent 8,521,656
August 27, 2013
Techniques for providing extended shipping options are described. In some embodiments, a user may specify extended shipping options that are not otherwise provided by or accessible via an existing shipment information specification user interface. In one embodiment, the user accesses a module configured to facilitate specification of extended shipping options and in response, provide an indicator of the specified extended shipping option, such as a tag or uniform resource identifier. The indicator of the extended shipping option is then incorporated into a user interface element, such as an address field, of the shipment information specification user interface. Once the user finalizes the order, the indicator of the extended shipping option is transmitted along with other shipment information items to a merchant and/or carrier system, where services specified by the extended shipping option are initiated.
Systems and methods for object localization and path identification based on RFID sensing
US Patent 8,514,081
August 20, 2013
A networked radio frequency identification system includes a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) tag readers, a computer in signal communication with the RFID tag readers over a network, and a software module for storage on and operable by the computer that localizes RFID tags based on information received from the RFID tag readers using a network model having endpoints and oriented links. In an additional example, at least one of the RFID tag readers includes an adjustable configuration setting selected from RF signal strength, antenna gain, antenna polarization, and antenna orientation. In a further aspect, the system localizes RFID tags based on hierarchical threshold limit calculations. In an additional aspect, the system controls a locking device associated with an access point based on localization of an authorized RFID tag at the access point and reception of additional authorizing information from an input device.
Device to measure functions of the eye directly
US Patent 8,511,820
August 20, 2013
A device for accommodation training includes a primary light and a sensor supported by a housing and configured to be worn atop the head of the user to capture light reflected by the retina. One or more alignment lights may be provided, along with mounts for adjusting the positioning of the lights and sensor. A feedback signal such as an audible tone is produced as a function of the detected light, providing confirmation to the user that a desired control over the ciliary muscle has been achieved.
Inventor’s Purchase Order to Supplier May Place Invention On Sale
August 15, 2013
| Intellectual Property News
The patent statutes provide that an invention cannot be patented when the inventor has placed the invention on sale more than a year before the filing date of the patent application. The so-called “on-sale bar” is clearly applicable when an inventor manufactures an item and sells it directly to others, but its application is less obvious when the inventor does not make or sell the item, and instead buys a quantity of it from a supplier. In a recent decision, the court held that the invention is on sale—and the patent will be barred—in such cases.
The on-sale bar applies when two conditions are satisfied before the “critical date,” which is typically one year before the patent application filing date: (1) the claimed invention must be the subject of a commercial offer for sale; and (2) the invention must be ready for patenting. An invention is on sale when there is an offer to sell that is sufficiently definite that another party could make a binding contract by simple acceptance. An invention is “ready for patenting” when prior to the critical date: (1) the invention is reduced to practice; or (2) the invention is depicted in drawings or described in writings of sufficient nature to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention.
In Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. v. Sunbeam Products, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that there is no “supplier exception” to the on-sale bar. Hamilton Beach had issued a purchase order to a supplier for a specific quantity (in this case, 2000 units) of slow cookers in a document that included price, part number, quantity, and delivery dates. Because the communication was one that could be simply accepted, it was sufficient to place the invention on sale even though it was a sale to the inventor rather than from the inventor.
The court left open the possibility that a lesser quantity might not trigger the on-sale bar, particularly where the nature of the purchase is a genuine experimental use rather than a commercial transaction. Nonetheless, it would be prudent to assume that a purchase from a manufacturer will trigger the on-sale bar, and therefore to file patent applications quickly enough thereafter to avoid the bar.
Out-of plane comb-drive accelerometer
US Patent 8,505,380
August 13, 2013
An out-of-plane comb-drive accelerometer. An example accelerometer linearizes a response. An example accelerometer includes one or more stators having a plurality of tines having a surface parallel to a surface of substrate. The tine surface is at a first distance from the surface of the substrate. A proof mass includes one or more rotors that include a plurality of rotor tines attached to an edge of the proof mass. The rotor tines are interleaved with corresponding ones of the stator tines. The rotor tines include a surface parallel to a surface of the substrate. The rotor tine surface is at a second distance from the surface of the substrate. The first distance and second distance are unequal by a threshold amount. Motion of the rotor relative to the stator in an out-of-plane direction provides a linear change in a capacitive value measured across the rotor and the stator.
Systems and methods for platinum ball bonding
US Patent 8,505,805
August 13, 2013
An annealed platinum free air ball is bonded to a first contact and to a second contact. The bonding work hardens the platinum so that a work hardened platinum ball is resistant to temperature induced creep.
Handheld bottle sleeve
US Patent D687,222
August 6, 2013
The ornamental design for the handheld bottle sleeve, as shown and described.
Batter shaker
US Patent D687,259
August 6, 2013
The ornamental design for the batter shaker, as shown.
Scanning antenna
US Patent 8,502,744
August 6, 2013
A reflector assembly implementable in a scanning antenna assembly having a stationary surface includes a support assembly coupled to the stationary surface, a substantially planar first reflector panel coupled to the support assembly so as to enable rotation of the first reflector panel about a central axis of the first reflector panel, and an actuator assembly comprising a translating arm coupled to the first reflector panel, wherein translational motion of the arm is operable to rotate the first reflector panel about the central axis back and forth through a predetermined angular range at a predetermined frequency.
Mounting system for torsional suspension of a MEMS device
US Patent 8,499,629
August 6, 2013
A mounting system for a MEMS device includes a proof mass selectively coupled to a substrate using a centrally located, single anchor mount that minimizes sensitivity to strain variations experienced by the MEMS device. The mounting system may include isolation cuts arranged in the proof mass to advantageously achieve a desired amount of strain isolation and to produce hinges that extend in opposite directions from the anchor mount. The single anchor mount is arranged to reduce a separation distance from a mid-point or centroid of the anchor mount to its perimeter as compared to conventional mounting schemes that have multiple anchor mounts positioned distally from a common mid-point.
