The R&D Dept.: Local patent roundup for 4.23.25

Matchmaking Attendees For Virtual, In-person, And Hybrid Events
Patent No. 12277609
Media, methods, and systems are provided for matchmaking for in-person, virtual, and hybrid events are disclosed. Event attendees may be added to a networking pool When the networking pool reaches a capacity, the event attendees may be added to other event attendees. Networking events may be one-to-one meetings or group meetings. Group meetings may be dedicated to a topic. Event attendees may be matched to other attendees or to a group meeting based on interest and behavioral data associated with the event attendee. When the networking event ends, the event attendees may be added back into the networking pool for further networking events.
Inventors: Justin Shaw (Richmond); Remo Kommnick (Richmond); Jagoda Pietrzak (Poznan, Poland)
Assignee: Ringcentral (Belmont, Calif.)
April 15, 2025

Techniques To Generate And Store Characteristics Of A Signature On A Transaction Card Circuit
Patent No. 12277545
Various embodiments are generally directed to techniques to perform transaction with transaction cards utilizing characteristics of customer’s signature. Techniques may further include determining characteristics of a signature including a reduced set of data points for the signature and storing the characteristics in secure memory of transaction card.
Inventors: Anthony Reynolds (Richmond); Eric K. Barnum (Midlothian, Va.)
Assignee: Capital One Services (McLean, Va.)
April 15, 2025

Low-nicotine Tobacco Plants And Tobacco Products Made Therefrom
Patent No. 12274230
The present application provides tobacco inbred plants dS1746, dS1746MS, dS1564 and dS1564MS. The present application also provides parts of such plants and products made from those parts. The present application also includes progeny of the provided plants including hybrids.
Inventors: Andrew C. Adams (Midlothian, Va.); Marcos F. De Godoy Lusso (Chesterfield, Va.); Sreepriya Pramod (Glen Allen, Va.); Dongmei Xu (Glen Allen, Va.)
Assignee: Altria Client Services (Richmond)
April 15, 2025

In-place Recovery Of Fatal System Errors At Virtualization Hosts
Patent No. 12277040
In-place recovery of fatal system errors at virtualization hosts. A device identifies an occurrence of a fatal system error in the first instance of a host operating system (OS) executing in a computer system. The device determines to perform an in-place recovery for the fatal system error. The device performs the in-place recovery, including pausing the execution of a virtual machine (VM) by the first instance of the host OS, preserving a state of the VM within system memory of the computer system, and resuming the execution of the VM by a second instance of the host OS executing in the computer system based on the state of the VM that is preserved within the system memory of the computer system.
Inventors: Binit Ranjan Mishra (Kenmore, Wash.); Mukhtar Ahmed (Everett, Wash.); Christina Marianne Curlette (Redmond, Wash.); Steven Adrian West (Redmond, Wash.); Gaurav Jagtiani (Kirkland, Wash.); Naga Kiran Govindaraju (Medina, Wash.); James George Cavalavis (Bothell, Wash.); Drew Douglas Cross (Bothell, Wash.); Jason Stewart Schwartz Jr. (Seattle, Wash.); Jennifer Marie Bourlier (Seattle, Wash.); Sri Harsha Kanukuntia (Morganville, N.J.); Emma Sutherland Boyd (Richmond); Scott Chao-Chueh Lee (Bellevue, Wash.); Vijaybalaji Madhanagopal (Redmond, Wash.)’ Terence Kwok Tak Chan (Redmond, Wash.); Yuri Dotsenko (Redmond, Wash.); Peter Hanpeng Jiang (Kirkland, Wash.); Aacer Hatem Daken (Renton, Wash.); Emily Nicole Wilson (Seattle, Wash.); Emily Cara Clemens (Snohomish, Wash.); Cody Dean Hartwig (Seattle, Wash.); Raz Meir Aloni (Seattle, Wash.); Sharon Scarlet Tang (Kirkland, Wash.); Minsang Kim (Bellevue, Wash.); Shen Wang (Sammamish, Wash.)
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing (Redmond, Wash.)
April 15, 2025

Dissolvable-chewable Tablet
Patent No. 12274276
A tablet that includes a solid solution of soluble fiber and one or more sugar alcohols, the solid solution having a glass transition temperature of less than 40° C., and one or more additives dispersed in the solid solution such that at least one additive is released from the tablet when the tablet is chewed or dissolved within an oral cavity.
Inventors: Feng Gao (Midlothian, Va.); Diane L. Gee (Chesterfield, Va.); Phillip M. Hulan (Midlothian, Va.); Shuzhong Zhuang (Glen Allen, Va.); William J. Burke (Nashville, Tenn.); Gerd Kobal (Sandy Hook, Va.)
Assignee: Altria Client Services (Richmond, Va.)
April 15, 2025

Heat-not-burn (HNB) Aerosol-generating Devices And Capsules
Patent No. 12274295
An aerosol-generating device includes a housing that defines a capsule-receiving cavity, a lid configured to close the housing, and a replaceable mouthpiece coupleable to the lid such that air entering the housing and drawn through the capsule-receiving cavity exits out of the mouthpiece. The lid may be fixedly coupled to the housing at a first point and releasably coupleable to the housing at a second point. The capsule-receiving cavity may have a first end having a first width, and a second end have a second width that is different from the first width. The capsule-receiving cavity may be tapered between the first end and the second end. The mouthpiece may be coupleable to the first end. One or more alignment member may be disposed at or towards the second end. The alignment members may include seals and/or electrical connections and/or flat surfaces and/or angled surfaces.
Inventors: Eric Hawes (Midlothian, Va.); Zack W. Blackmon (Williamsburg, Va.); Dean Twite (London, Great Britain); Ryan McGinley (St Neots, Great Britain); Rangaraj S. Sundar (Midlothian, Va.); Jarrett Keen (Richmond); Raymond W. Lau (Richmond)
Assignee: Altria Client Services (Richmond)
April 15, 2025

Burning Prediction And Communications For An Electronic Cigarette
Patent No. 12274309
An electronic cigarette comprises a battery portion which is operable to provide power to a heating element of the electronic cigarette, and a cartomizer coupled with the battery portion. The cartomizer comprises a liquid container which provides a liquid toward the heating element wherein the liquid is used for producing and flavoring a vapor of the electronic cigarette when the liquid is heated by the heating element, and a memory which is operable to record and store an amount of the liquid remaining in the liquid container.
Inventor: Nehemia Amir (Shoham, Israel)
Assignee: Altria Client Services (Richmond)
April 15, 2025

Rail Gear Assembly
Patent No. 12275284
A rail gear assembly includes a base, a first wheel arm, and a second wheel arm. The first wheel arm may have a first end pivotally coupled to the base at a first arm connection and may have a second end rotatably connected to a first wheel by a first axle. The second wheel arm may have a first end pivotally coupled to the base at a second arm connection and a second end rotatably connected to a second wheel by a second axle. The second axle may be independent of the first axle. The rail gear assembly may include actuators that move the first wheel arm and second wheel arm between retracted positions and extended positions. The actuators may permit adjustment of the first wheel arm and the second wheel arm in their respective extended positions such that a net adjustment of the first wheel arm and the second wheel arm with respect to the base is approximately zero.
Inventors: Thomas Dwyer (Richmond); Britt Calloway (Midlothian, Va.); Barry Isringhausen (Providence Forge, Va.)
Assignee: Cranemasters (Chesterfield, Va.)
April 15, 2025

Methods For Hydrocarbon Recovery
Patent No. 12275893
Provided herein are liquid polymer (LP) compositions comprising a synthetic (co)polymer (e.g., an acrylamide (co)polymer), as well as methods for preparing inverted polymer solutions by inverting these LP compositions in an aqueous fluid. The resulting inverted polymer solutions can have a concentration of a synthetic (co)polymer (e.g., an acrylamide (co)polymer) of from 50 to 15,000 ppm, and a filter ratio of 1.5 or less at 15 psi using a 1.2 μm filter. Also provided are methods of using these inverted polymer solutions in oil and gas operations, including enhanced oil recovery.
Inventors: Do Hoon Kirn (Katy, Texas); Dennis Arun Alexis (Richmond); Varadarajan Dwarakanath (Houston, Texas); David Espinosa (Houston, Texas); Taimur Malik (Houston, Texas); Logan Jackson (Norcross, Ga.); Tom Lynch (Roswell, Ga.); Ronald Robinson (Newnan, Ga.); Frances Fournier (Marietta, Ga.); Hong Yang (Atlanta, Ga.); Sukhjit Aujla (the Woodlands, Texas)
Assignee: Chevron U.S.A. (San Ramon, Calif.)
April 15, 2025

Multi-layered Protective Cover For Transparent Vehicle Barriers
Patent No. 12275478
A protective cover designed for transparent barriers, such as those found on vehicles. The cover comprises two panels, each constructed from multiple layers that can include polymeric materials and coatings. These layers can be tailored to exhibit visual changes under varying lighting conditions or be constructed from iridescent fabrics. The cover and one or more optional aesthetic elements can be customized based on user input. An extender mechanism, equipped with specific attachment features, ensures adaptability for different barrier sizes. The design incorporates features like elastic elements and optional piping for a precise fit and augmented positional stability. The cover offers protection against environmental factors, including UV light, moisture, and debris, while also being easily installable and removable.
Inventor: Elizabeth Berryman Kent (Richmond)
Assignee: N/A
April 15, 2025

Removable Seat Attachment For A Stroller
Patent No. 12275449
A stroller is provided with the ability to removably couple and decouple a seat from the stroller as needed. The stroller can include a stroller frame. The stroller can also include one or more front wheels attached to the stroller frame and one or more rear wheels attached to the stroller frame. The stroller can also include a first seat coupled to the stroller frame. The stroller can include first and second seat attachment housings. Each of the seat attachment housings can include a cavity for receiving a corresponding one of the first and second seat attachment adapters. Each of the seat attachment housings can also include a door cover to prevent access to the respective cavity when not in use. The seat attachment adapters can be coupled to the respective seat attachment housings and a second seat can be coupled to the seat attachment adapters.
Inventor: Mark Zehfuss (Glen Allen, Va.)
Assignee: Baby Jogger (Atlanta, Ga.)
April 15, 2025

Systems And Methods For Converting Physical Meetings Into Virtual Meetings
Patent No. 12278793
Disclosed embodiments may include a system for converting a physical meeting into a virtual meeting. The system may receive scheduling and location data associated with a first user. The system may determine whether the first user has an upcoming meeting at a physical location, and responsive to such determination, may determine a proximity of the first user to the upcoming meeting. The system may determine, by an MLM and based on the proximity, a probability that the first user will be late to the upcoming meeting. The system may determine whether the probability exceeds a predetermined threshold, and responsive to such determination, may convert the upcoming meeting to a virtual meeting by generating a virtual meeting link, and may transmit, to user device(s), a notification comprising the virtual meeting link.
Inventors: Leeyat Bracha Tessier (Arlington, Va.); Tyler Maiman (Melville, N.Y.); Phoebe Atkins (Midlothian, Va.)
Assignee Capital One Services (McLean, Va.)
April 15, 2025

Antimicrobial Solid Surfaces And Treatments And Processes For Preparing The Same
Patent No. 12274261
Provided is an antimicrobial non-isotactic polymer based hard or semi-flexible surface in a thermoset and/or thermoplastic resin matrix wherein the active antimicrobial ingredient is copper oxide. Processes for preparing the same and applications thereof are also described.
Inventors: Kenneth Gauthier Trinder II (Norfolk, Va.); Vikram Kanmukhla (Henrico, Va.)
Assignee: EOS Surfaces LLC (N/A)
April 15, 2025

System For Generating Information Security Management Packages Through Malware Tracing, Logging, And Analysis
Patent No. 12284207
Systems, computer program products, and methods are described herein for generating information security management packages through malware tracing, logging, and analysis. A system in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may be configured for receiving one or more trace log files from one or more artifact data collection computing systems; parsing the artifact data and metadata to identify one or more relationships between the target malware and one or more malware artifacts; based on parsing the artifact data and metadata, generating one or more nodes within a malware graph database; and executing a coverage analysis of an information security management package configured to detect a presence of the target malware.
Inventors: Michael Scott Poley (Brunswick, Ohio); Michael Mitchell (Richmond)
Assignee: Cyborg Security (Lake Mary, Fla.)
April 22, 2025

Fall Protection System
Patent No. 12280277
A fall protection system includes an elevation mechanism including a base end and an elevated end, and that is configured to permit a user to scale the elevation mechanism. The first channel is disposed at a first side of the elevation mechanism and extends between the base end and the elevated end, and is configured to anchor a first shuttle to the elevation mechanism and permit the first shuttle to transition between the base end and the elevated end of the elevation mechanism. The second channel is disposed at a second side of the elevation mechanism and extends between the base end and the elevated end, and is configured to anchor a second shuttle to the elevation mechanism and permit the second shuttle to transition between the base end and the elevated end of the elevation mechanism.
Inventors: John Whitty (Richmond); Alan Shamblin (Oakton, Va.)
Assignee: Beacon Roofing Supply (Herndon, Va.)
April 22, 2025

Low Profile Watertight Connector And Method Of Using The Same
Patent No. 12283396
A connector adapted to secure an electrical power line entering an electrical meter box comprises (a) a cylindrical member adapted to be at least partially inserted into the meter box through an access hole, (b) a flange affixed to or integral with a first end of the cylindrical member and (c) a cylindrical grommet selectively insertable at least partially into a second end of the cylindrical member and securable therein. The flange remains outside of the meter box and abuts an outer surface of the wall of the meter box or abuts a gasket sandwiched between the flange and the outer surface of the wall of the meter box. The cylindrical member, the flange, and the grommet all have aligned through-holes through which the power line passes as the power line enters the meter box.
Inventor: Mark E. Marshall (Glen Allen, Va.)
Assignee: Dominion Energy (Richmond)
April 22, 2025

Electronic Devices For Aerosolizing And Inhaling Liquid Having An Enclosed Interior Air Passageway With Diaphragm And Pressure Sensor
Patent No. 12279650
An electronic device includes a hand held base assembly that includes circuitry including memory and firmware executed by a processor or microcontroller of the circuitry; and a cartridge assembly that includes memory that is read by the firmware of the handheld base assembly. The cartridge assembly and the handheld base assembly are configured to removably couple together to define the electronic device for producing an aerosol for inhalation by a person. An enclosed air passageway is defined by the cartridge assembly and by the handheld base assembly, which isolates the airflow from the electronics of the device. The enclosed air passageway extends between the opening of the mouthpiece for taking a breath and a diaphragm of the handheld base assembly, movement of the diaphragm changing the air pressure within an enclosed interior space having a pressure sensor for trigging the pressure sensor when a breath is taken.
Inventors: Mario Danek (Austin, Texas); Kassie Betts (San Diego, Calif.); Ian D. Kovacevich (Carlsbad, Calif.); Nouphone J. Bansansine (Temecula, Calif.); Joseph Gene Walsh (San Diego, Calif.); Christopher Kar-Heng Cheng (Portland, Ore.); Chris Breen (Clinton, Mass.); Josh Rigberg (Worchester, Mass.); Toriono Granger (Chicago, Ill.); Muawea Rawashdeh (St. Petersburg, Fla.); Ryan Hall (Holden, Mass.); Tonya Charles (Appleton, Wisc.); Jacquelyn Coker (Nashua, N.H.)
Assignee: QNovia Inc (Richmond)
April 22, 2025

Air Block Cap For Drain Pan Fitting And Associated Method
Patent No. 12281741
A cap covers an open end of a drain pan fitting of an appliance drain pan. The cap comprises a cylindrical body and a non-planar water-soluble membrane. The cylindrical body has a first end with a first end opening, a second end with a second end opening, and a longitudinal through-hole extending between the first end opening and the second end opening. The non-planar water-soluble membrane is positioned to at least partially obstruct the through-hole when the membrane is intact such that air flow through the through-hole is inhibited in the absence of water in the drain pan. The membrane is adapted to dissolve when exposed to water in the drain pan such that water in the drain pan is not inhibited from exiting the drain pan through the through-hole.
Inventors: Brian Patrick Kelleher (Richmond); Paul Maguire (Goochland, Va.)
Assignee: N/A
April 22, 2025

User And Intermediary Implementation Mechanisms For Digital Currencies
Patent No. 12282904
An electronic communication device (ECD) includes a memory that stores software instructions; and a processor that executes the software instructions. When executed by the processor, the software instructions cause the ECD to: generate and send formatted inquiries and formatted instructions for virtual notes of a national digital currency to a central system that tracks all instances of virtual notes of the national digital currency; and receive responses to the formatted inquiries and confirmations of the formatted instructions from the central system if the formatted inquiries and formatted instructions comply with a predetermined format required by the central system to process the formatted inquiries and formatted instructions.
Inventors: Joshua M. Povsner (Ashburn, Va.); Duncan Parker (Richmond)
Assignee: National Currency Technologies (Ashburn, Va.)
April 22, 2025

Gamma Cyclodextrin Flavoring-release Additives
Patent No. 12279639
Electrically heated cigarettes used in an electrical smoking system include a flavoring-release additive and sorbent effective to remove one or more gas-phase constituents of mainstream tobacco smoke. The flavoring-release additive includes gamma cyclodextrin and at least one flavoring. Flavoring is released in a cigarette upon the flavoring-release additive reaching at least a minimum temperature during smoking. The flavoring-release additive can have various forms including, for example, powder and films.
Inventors: Munmaya K. Mishra (Manakin Sabot, Va.); Susan E. Wrenn (Chesterfield, Va.); Jay A. Fournier (Richmond)
Assignee: Philip Morris USA (Richmond)
April 22, 2025

Low Profile Watertight Connector And Method Of Using The Same
Patent No. 12283396
A connector adapted to secure an electrical power line entering an electrical meter box comprises (a) a cylindrical member adapted to be at least partially inserted into the meter box through an access hole, (b) a flange affixed to or integral with a first end of the cylindrical member and (c) a cylindrical grommet selectively insertable at least partially into a second end of the cylindrical member and securable therein. The flange remains outside of the meter box and abuts an outer surface of the wall of the meter box or abuts a gasket sandwiched between the flange and the outer surface of the wall of the meter box. The cylindrical member, the flange, and the grommet all have aligned through-holes through which the power line passes as the power line enters the meter box.
Inventor: Mark E. Marshall (Glen Allen, Va.)
Assignee: Dominion Energy (Richmond)
April 22, 2025

URL-based Authentication For Payment Cards
Patent No. 12284183
Systems, methods, articles of manufacture for authentication of payment cards. A server may assign, in a database, an expected card identifier to a contactless card, the contactless card associated with an account. The server may receive, from a client device, a request comprising a uniform resource locator (URL), a parameter of the URL comprising a card identifier, wherein the URL is transmitted by the contactless card to the client device. The server may extract the card identifier from the URL and compare the extracted card identifier to the expected card identifier in the database. The server may determine, based on the comparison, that the extracted card identifier matches the expected card identifier. The server may authenticate the request based on the extracted card identifier matching the expected card identifier, and transmit, to the client device, an indication specifying that the request was authenticated.
Inventors: Paul Moreton (Glen Allen, Va.); Jeffrey Rule (Chevy Chase, Md.)
Assignee: Capital One Services (McLean, Va.)
April 22, 2025

Systems, Methods, And Computer Program Product For Content Exchange Services For Payment Networks
Patent No. 12282918
Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for secure content exchange. A secure content exchange platform includes a content exchanger and exchange gateway interface. The content exchanger stores a content item and generates a globally unique identifier (GUID) associated with the content item. The exchange gateway interface receives a registration request for the content item from a sending financial institution system, submits the content item to the content exchanger, receives the GUID associated with the content item from the content exchanger, returns the GUID to the sending financial institution system as a response to the registration request, receives a retrieval request from a recipient financial institution system, retrieves the GUID from the retrieval request to submit the GUID to the content exchanger, receives the content item from the content exchanger, and returns the content item to the recipient financial institution system as a response to the retrieval request.
Inventors: Tammy Lynn Wilson (Van Alstyne, Texas); Peter Andrew Davey (Powhatan, Va.)
Assignee: The Clearing House Payments Co. (New York, N.Y.)
April 22, 2025

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