Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Menlo Patent Agency LLC
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Patent number: 8150651Abstract: An inclinometer using a speedometer and a forward-looking accelerometer for measuring inclination angle.Type: GrantFiled: June 11, 2008Date of Patent: April 3, 2012Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventor: Peter Van Wyck Loomis
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Patent number: 7681192Abstract: A project data delivery apparatus for automatically delivering project data files to a construction machine based on the geographical location and identification of the construction machine. The apparatus includes a project data distributor for storing, maintaining and transmitting project data files that are associated with project site locations and project plan machine identifications.Type: GrantFiled: January 31, 2005Date of Patent: March 16, 2010Inventors: Christopher M. Dietsch, Mark Edwards Nichols, Arthur J. Taylor
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Patent number: 7514970Abstract: A frequency synthesizer and method for synthesizing decimal frequencies. The synthesizer includes a seed generator, a clock synthesizer and an output synthesizer. The clock synthesizer includes a binary accumulator in a feedback signal path using a base reference frequency and a clock seed word for synthesizing a clock frequency and the output synthesizer includes a binary accumulator in a forward signal path using the clock frequency and an output seed word for synthesizing an output frequency. The output frequency is synthesized in decimal frequency steps from a decimal base reference frequency. Several output synthesizers may be driven in parallel from the same clock frequency for synthesizing several output frequencies in parallel.Type: GrantFiled: August 23, 2006Date of Patent: April 7, 2009Assignee: Giga-Tronics, Inc.Inventor: Roland Hassun
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Patent number: 7383114Abstract: An apparatus and method using GPS for dynamically adjusting side-to-side positioning of a farm implement along a geographical path. The apparatus includes a global positioning system (GPS) antenna disposed on the farm implement, a GPS receiver coupled to the GPS antenna for determining a location of the GPS antenna, and a dual guidance computer for comparing the location to stored geographical coordinates of a desired path for providing a guide signal for offsetting the lateral position of an adjustable hitch or angling a wheel or ground rudder in a steerable implement for guiding the implement along the path; and a range extent signal for maintaining the offset of the hitch or steering angle of the implement within its dynamic range.Type: GrantFiled: April 7, 2006Date of Patent: June 3, 2008Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventors: Arthur F. Lange, Timothy J. Funk
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Patent number: 7379015Abstract: A positioning system for tracking the location of a first responder emergency worker. The system includes mobile enabler units and a personnel badge having a ranging transponder. Two enabler units can use two-way ranging signals, a prescribed turn around time and differential altitude for automatically tracking the location of the badge.Type: GrantFiled: December 1, 2005Date of Patent: May 27, 2008Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventor: Dennis Lee Workman
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Patent number: 7365681Abstract: A GPS receiver having a fast method for determining GPS clock time. The GPS receiver includes a signal processor for receiving GPS signals from GPS satellites and detecting current GPS data bits carried by the respective GPS signals, a chapter memory for storing a block of expected GPS data bits for the respective GPS satellites, and a GPS time detector for detecting a successful match when a chunk of the expected data bits within a selected search range within the block matches a chunk of the current data bits, and using the successful match for determining the GPS clock time. In an anytime embodiment the GPS receiver enters an operation mode at any time in order to minimize user request latency. In a focused embodiment the GPS receiver enters the operation mode at a prescribed time-of-entry in order to minimize power consumption for cycles of standby and operation modes.Type: GrantFiled: September 19, 2005Date of Patent: April 29, 2008Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventor: Yiming Yu
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Patent number: 7348921Abstract: A GPS receiver having a fast method for determining GPS clock time. The GPS receiver includes a signal processor for receiving GPS signals from GPS satellites and detecting current GPS data bits carried by the respective GPS signals, a chapter memory for storing a block of expected GPS data bits for the respective GPS satellites, and a GPS time detector for detecting a successful match when a chunk of the expected data bits within a selected search range within the block matches a chunk of the current data bits, and using the successful match for determining the GPS clock time. In an anytime embodiment the GPS receiver enters an operation mode at any time in order to minimize user request latency. In a focused embodiment the GPS receiver enters the operation mode at a prescribed time-of-entry in order to minimize power consumption for cycles of standby and operation modes.Type: GrantFiled: September 19, 2005Date of Patent: March 25, 2008Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventor: Yiming Yu
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Patent number: 7336225Abstract: A positioning system or synthetic phase processor or rover station for providing high integrity positions with graduated accuracies. The positioning system includes one or more real time kinematic (RTK) reference stations for receiving GPS signals at established reference positions and measuring reference phases. The positioning system or the rover station selects a synthetic offset vector and uses the synthetic offset vector for inferring synthetic reference phases to a synthetic position. The rover station uses the synthetic reference phases with actual or virtual reference positions for determining a rover position having an added positional error controlled by the synthetic offset vector. For another embodiment a secure rover station dithers a secure position with a synthetic offset vector for providing an unsecure rover position having the added positional error.Type: GrantFiled: May 23, 2006Date of Patent: February 26, 2008Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventors: Dennis Connor, David G. Bird
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Patent number: 7295156Abstract: A mobile GPS location system. The location system includes a mobile radio transceiver for transmitting a radio positioning signal and receiving a responsive radio system signal having a radio positioning system (RPS)-based time and position derived from the radio positioning signal; a mobile global positioning system (GPS) receiver; and a code range selector using the RPS-based time and position for selecting a code search range. The mobile GPS receiver uses the code search range for focusing a code phase search to a narrow range for rapidly acquiring a GPS signal. The RPS-based time and position are derived from a plurality of radio signal times-of-arrival (TOA)s determined by a plurality of system units from the radio positioning signal.Type: GrantFiled: August 8, 2005Date of Patent: November 13, 2007Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventor: Peter Van Wyck Loomis
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Patent number: 7295911Abstract: A construction machine for automatically receiving selected project data files based on the geographical location and identification of the machine. The machine includes an auto-start transceiver for transmitting the local location and identification of the machine and receiving project data files from a project data distributor that are selected for the local location and identification for operation of the machine.Type: GrantFiled: May 7, 2007Date of Patent: November 13, 2007Inventors: Christopher M. Dietsch, Mark Edwards Nichols, Arthur J. Taylor
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Patent number: 7292183Abstract: A positioning system or synthetic phase processor or rover station for providing high integrity positions with graduated accuracies. The positioning system includes one or more real time kinematic (RTK) reference stations for receiving GPS signals at established reference positions and measuring reference phases. The positioning system or the rover station selects a synthetic offset vector and uses the synthetic offset vector for inferring synthetic reference phases to a synthetic position. The rover station uses the synthetic reference phases with actual or virtual reference positions for determining a rover position having an added positional error controlled by the synthetic offset vector. For another embodiment a secure rover station dithers a secure position with a synthetic offset vector for providing an unsecure rover position having the added positional error.Type: GrantFiled: June 8, 2005Date of Patent: November 6, 2007Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventors: David G. Bird, Dennis Connor
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Patent number: 7283091Abstract: A mobile location system. The GPS location system includes a radio positioning system (RPS) for determining times-of-arrival at several locations for a radio positioning signal transmitted from a mobile unit and then using the times-of-arrival for determining an RPS-based position and time for the mobile unit. The mobile unit uses the RPS-based position and time for focusing a code phase search to a narrow range for rapidly acquiring a GPS signal.Type: GrantFiled: August 8, 2005Date of Patent: October 16, 2007Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventor: Peter Van Wyck Loomis
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Patent number: 7280767Abstract: An optical duobinary transmitter. The transmitter uses a half-rate precoder, half-rate non-linear modulation drive circuits and a multiplex modulator for generating duobinary modulation on an optical signal from which full-rate data can be detected without decoding. The intensity of the optical signal is modulated to be zero between data symbols.Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 2004Date of Patent: October 9, 2007Assignee: StrataLight Communications, Inc.Inventors: Keangpo Ricky Ho, Ross Alexander Saunders
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Patent number: 7266144Abstract: Apparatus and methods for determining the timing of the data bit transitions. āNā assumptions of data bit transitions are used for determining N integrations of an incoming spread signal for data bit time periods where N is the data bit time period divided by the code time period. In a first variation, the N assumptions use N start times separated by code time periods. In a second variation, the N assumptions use N sign inversion times separated by code time periods. In either variation the unsigned values of the N integrations, respectively, may be combined for several data bit time periods. The assumed transition timing that results in the strongest of the N integrations is indicative of the timing of the data bit transitions.Type: GrantFiled: August 8, 2005Date of Patent: September 4, 2007Inventor: Jeffrey D. Sanders
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Patent number: 7245999Abstract: A construction machine for automatically receiving selected project data files based on the geographical location and identification of the machine. The machine includes an auto-start transceiver for transmitting the local location and identification of the machine and receiving project data files from a project data distributor that are selected for the local location and identification for operation of the machine.Type: GrantFiled: January 31, 2005Date of Patent: July 17, 2007Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventors: Christopher M. Dietsch, Mark Edwards Nichols, Arthur J. Taylor
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Patent number: 7230568Abstract: A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver using phase lock loops for strong GNSS signals and automatic frequency control (AFC) loops for weak GNSS signals on a satellite-by-satellite basis. The phase lock loops or the AFC loops associated with particular GNSS satellites generate frequency feedback adjustments for tracking the carrier frequencies of the incoming GNSS signals in order to determine pseudoranges for calculating a location fix. The transition from an AFC loop to a phase lock loop is controlled for each GNSS signal depending on location quality parameters including a history of previous loop transitions, knowledge of whether a transition is in-progress, and a conditional PDOP. The conditional PDOP is the calculated PDOP where the pseudorange from the particular GNSS signal is removed from the computation of the location fix.Type: GrantFiled: November 5, 2004Date of Patent: June 12, 2007Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventors: Krishnaranjan S. Rao, Gregory C. Best, Jeffrey D. Sanders
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Patent number: 7227496Abstract: A positioning system or synthetic phase processor or rover station for providing high integrity positions with graduated accuracies. The positioning system includes one or more real time kinematic (RTK) reference stations for receiving GPS signals at established reference positions and measuring reference phases. The positioning system or the rover station selects a synthetic offset vector and uses the synthetic offset vector for inferring synthetic reference phases to a synthetic position. The rover station uses the synthetic reference phases with actual or virtual reference positions for determining a rover position having an added positional error controlled by the synthetic offset vector. For another embodiment a secure rover station dithers a secure position with a synthetic offset vector for providing an unsecure rover position having the added positional error.Type: GrantFiled: May 26, 2005Date of Patent: June 5, 2007Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventor: David G. Bird
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Patent number: 7215167Abstract: A frequency synthesizer and a method using a first seed word and a variable clock rate derived from a second seed word for synthesizing a signal frequency. An accumulator accumulates the first seed word at the variable clock rate with a remainder word for updating a reference word at the variable clock rate. The reference word has a most significant bit (MSB) and less significant bits (LSB)s. The remainder word corresponds to the LSBs at overflows of the MSB. A tracking filter filters the MSB for providing a filtered output signal having an output frequency derived from the first seed word and the variable clock rate. The variable clock rate is derived by direct synthesis from the second seed word and single sideband frequency upconversion. The tracking filter can be a phase lock loop with frequency upconversion.Type: GrantFiled: April 28, 2006Date of Patent: May 8, 2007Assignee: Giga-Tronics, Inc.Inventor: Roland Hassun
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Patent number: 7208990Abstract: A frequency synthesizer and a method for synthesizing a microwave output signal frequency. The synthesizer uses a reference signal having a variable frequency and accumulation in feedback of a phase locked loop for synthesizing a microwave output frequency. The feedback accumulation rate is derived from a first seed word and the variable reference frequency is derived from a second seed word. A spur suppressor having arithmetic frequency conversions reduces the levels of in-band spurious signals of the variable reference frequency signal in order to reduce the spurious signal levels in the output signal.Type: GrantFiled: April 28, 2006Date of Patent: April 24, 2007Assignee: Giga-Tronics, Inc.Inventor: Roland Hassun
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Patent number: 7202813Abstract: A positioning system or synthetic phase processor or rover station for providing high integrity positions with graduated accuracies. The positioning system includes one or more real time kinematic (RTK) reference stations for receiving GPS signals at established reference positions and measuring reference phases. The positioning system or the rover station selects a synthetic offset vector and uses the synthetic offset vector for inferring synthetic reference phases to a synthetic position. The rover station uses the synthetic reference phases with actual or virtual reference positions for determining a rover position having an added positional error controlled by the synthetic offset vector. For another embodiment a secure rover station dithers a secure position with a synthetic offset vector for providing an unsecure rover position having the added positional error.Type: GrantFiled: May 27, 2005Date of Patent: April 10, 2007Assignee: Trimble Navigation LimitedInventor: David G. Bird