Intel Patents: Computers, Cameras, Security and Medical Devices

Intel headquarters, Santa Clara, California.

Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, CA, is the world’s largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips used for computer processing jobs. Although the semiconductor is practically ubiquitous in our world, thanks to the quick proliferation of mobile electronic devices, Intel is currently focusing more strongly on developing Internet-based and mobile technologies. Even so, the company is still a strong manufacturer of computer processors, and the company’s next-generation of computer chip, known as the Broadwell, will be set for use in personal computers in 2014.

As a major developer of computer technologies, Intel is a logical choice for IPWatchdog’s Companies We Follow series. To give our readers an idea of the future of computer technology, we’ve pulled off a number of intriguing patent applications and issued patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that have been published recently and assigned to Intel.

As you might expect, a number of recently issued patents to Intel pertain to a series of novel computer improvements, which include but are not limited to (1) more efficient energy use in computing systems using multi-core processors, and (2) a system of aiding TCP-based communications when a processor enters sleep mode. Other issued patents show the widespread nature of Intel’s semiconductor technologies. In one patent the technology is used to improve security measures for video game servers to protect against cheaters or hackers who would manipulate the game environment.  Interestingly, Intel also earned the right to protect a method of coating medical devices with biocompatible substances to reduce the risk of infection in patients. Another issued patent to Intel also improves security measures for mobile devices by allowing the device to determine a user is unauthorized based on local data.

Today we also profile one patent application that has some very interesting implications for the future of using digital devices to access real-life services. With this patent application, Intel is trying to protect a system that would allow device owners to access kiosk services in a retail establishment and pay for that service without registering or handing over credit card information. Other patent applications of note describe a system of adjusting camera focus based on a user’s gaze on the camera’s viewfinder as well as a passive system of Bluetooth connection for transmitting sensor data.

[Patent-Watch]

 

Issued Patents of Note

Here at IPWatchdog, we’re not only interested in what a company is hoping to do with its future patent holdings, but we also pay close attention to recent additions to a corporation’s patent portfolio. Each week, the USPTO issues hundreds of patents to businesses all over the world. Intel has been the recent recipient of a number of these patents, many of which increase the semiconductor chip manufacturer’s intellectual property holdings in computer systems.

Many of these recent issued patents deal with power and security improvements to computing devices of multiple kinds. For example, U.S. Patent No. 8561138, entitled System and Method to Provide Added Security to a Platform Using Locality-Based Data, protects a system of locking out unauthorized users who may have gained password access to a device. If the device cannot detect certain familiar local data, such as preferred wireless networks, it can determine a user as unauthorized.

Fig. 1 of Patent No. 8561138, titled “System and Method to Provide Added Security to a Platform Using Locality-Based Data.”

U.S. Patent No. 8560869, issued under the title Dynamic Power Reduction, protects a system of more efficient energy use in computing systems using multi-core processors. U.S. Patent No. 8560749, which is titled Techniques for Managing Power Consumption State of a Processor Involving Use of Latency Tolerance Report Value, protects a system of aiding TCP-based communications when a processor enters sleep mode, which often times interrupts TCP communications between networks.

From U.S. Patent No. 8551555.

Other issued patents show the widespread nature of Intel’s semiconductor technologies, including their usage in video gaming and medical applications. Computer hackers will see much tougher security measures thanks to U.S. Patent No. 8561178, issued under the title Chipset Based Cheat Detection Platform for Online Applications. This patent protects a system of better detection of illegal player modifications to a software application directly from the application server. Finally, we were intrigued by U.S. Patent No. 8551555, entitled Biocompatible Coatings for Medical Devices. This patent protects a method of providing implanted medical devices with a more uniform biocompatible coating for a lower risk of infection.

 

Witnessed Ad-Hoc Uservices
U.S. Patent Application No. 20130275311

We live in a society where computing is considered by many to be pervasive throughout our world. Every new generation of digital devices provides more computing ability than their predecessors, and mobile electronics now provide the same range of functionality as much larger computer systems from earlier years. In public places, it can be assumed that a great many people will have a portable electronic computing device.

Electronic devices can communicate with uServices, or micro-services that customers can communicate with at stores or kiosks. One example of a uService would be a photo-printing kiosk where a digital camera owner could receive prints of images. These uServices are designed to be ad-hoc in nature, so that anyone can walk up to a kiosk with their device and take advantage of the service. However, in many cases, some form of user registration is required in order to process the service.

This patent application, filed with the USPTO by Intel, would protect a system of utilizing the pervasiveness of mobile digital devices to provide a better ad-hoc experience for uServices. If the transaction takes place properly between the device owner and the service provider, security measures implemented in this system would prevent the need for user registration. These measures include an artificial “witness” that could authenticate and process the transaction via the electronic device accessing the service.

In this way, Intel has created a system that reduces a consumer’s reliance on their credit or debit cards in order to make personal transactions. Additionally, consumers will benefit from not having to hand over their credit card or manually provide sensitive financial information as often. According to the patent application, this system could be implemented for the sale of physical goods or for purchasing rights for digital access to media, software or other files.

Claim 1 of this patent application would give Intel the right to protect:

“A method for a uConsumer to ad-hoc discover and consume a uService, of a uService Provider, comprising: discovering uServices offered by the uService Provider; selecting a uService of the uService Provider; negotiating requirements for a consuming of the uService; authenticating with a Witness configured to authorize the consuming; provisioning the uService; determining a result of success or failure for the consuming; and notifying selected ones of the uService Provider and Witness of the result.”

 

Other Patent Applications

Intel Corporation is setting much of its research and development in improving the communications that exist between computing devices to aid in various operations. For example, U.S. Patent Application No. 20130275615, which is titled System and Method for Adapting Video Communications, aims to improve the quality of experience for end users trying to access video communication services on their mobile devices. The application would protect a system of providing for a higher quality video connection between a source and a user equipment over a wireless wide area network (WWAN).

From U.S. Patent Application No. 20130275615, titled “System and Method for Adapting Video Communications.”

 

U.S. Patent Application No. 20130273851, entitled Device, System and Method of Bluetooth Communication, would protect a system that enables a Bluetooth device to transmit data passively to other Bluetooth-compatible services while the first device is in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mode.

From U.S. Patent Application No. 20130272576, titled “Human Head Detection in Depth Images.”

Along with the video communications improvements mentioned in the previous paragraph, Intel is also eyeing some legal protections for improvements to digital imaging systems. Optical aiming technologies for digital cameras may get a boost from U.S. Patent Application No. 20130258089, filed under the title Eye Gaze Based Image Capture. This patent application would protect a system of providing for automatic focus of a digital lens based on a user’s gaze on the camera’s viewfinder. Image recognition software is the focus of U.S. Patent Application No. 20130272576, titled Human Head Detection in Depth Images. This system of image recognition is based on depth data instead of color-based methods, making it easier to detect picture subjects from behind or other poor camera angles.

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One comment so far.

  • [Avatar for ip guy]
    ip guy
    October 23, 2013 06:31 am

    Can you follow medical device company Theranos and entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes? There is an interesting story there.