Patents Examined by Douglas N Washburn
  • Patent number: 7676327
    Abstract: A technique for decomposing a recorded wave field represented in a set of multicomponent, marine seismic data centers around a computer-implemented method including: estimating the statistics of the noise terms in each one of a predetermined group of seismic measurements in a seismic data set acquired in a marine survey; modeling the physical propagation of a recorded wave field represented in the seismic data set from the estimated statistics; and estimating a directional component of the recorded wave field from the physical propagation model that minimizes error relative to the seismic measurements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2010
    Assignee: WesternGeco L.L.C.
    Inventors: Ahmet Kemal Ozdemir, Ali Ozbek
  • Patent number: 7640137
    Abstract: A shape model generation method or system for generating a shape model from shape description data such as X-ray CT data, including a process by virtual probe measuring unit of causing a virtual probe defined as an area having a finite expansion in a virtual space in the shape description data to sequentially scan a plurality of probe paths sequentially set by probe path setting unit, measuring the shape description data and thereby acquiring a characteristic value specific to the position in the virtual space of the virtual probe for each of the probe paths and a process by the probe path setting unit of generating a new probe path using the characteristic value obtained for the probe paths and thereby sequentially setting the plurality of probe paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd
    Inventors: Shouhei Numata, Noriyuki Sadaoka, Tarou Takagi
  • Patent number: 7610170
    Abstract: A method for improving the measurement capability of multi-parameter inspection systems includes performing a measuring procedure to acquire a measured signature of a sample, calculating weighting factors representing a correlation between structural parameters of the sample by using a weighting algorithm, transforming the weighting factors into a sampling function by using a transforming rule, updating the measured signature to form an updated measured signature and generating a plurality of updated nominal signatures according to the sampling function, and comparing the updated measured signature and the updated nominal signatures to determine the structural parameters of the sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2009
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventors: Chun Hung Ko, Yi Sha Kuo, Chung Chu Chang
  • Patent number: 7584071
    Abstract: A remote-controlled motion apparatus is controlled by a remote control apparatus. The remote control apparatus transmits a target motion signal by radio. The remote-controlled motion apparatus includes a communication module, a terrestrial magnetism sensing module, a processing module and a driving module. The communication module receives the target motion signal from the remote control apparatus. The terrestrial magnetism sensing module senses a terrestrial magnetism of the remote-controlled motion apparatus to output a terrestrial magnetism sensing signal. The processing module is coupled with the terrestrial magnetism sensing module and the communication module, and processes the terrestrial magnetism sensing signal and the target motion signal to output a driving control signal. The driving module is coupled with the processing module to receive the driving control signal, and adjusts the driving of the remote-controlled motion apparatus according to the driving control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2009
    Inventor: Yu-Tuan Lee
  • Patent number: 7580809
    Abstract: A device for detecting a motional position of an object in motion uses a first unit and a second unit which are communicably linked with each other. The first unit repeatedly produces positional information indicative of the motional position of the object in response to a change in motional position of the object. The change in position is detected by a positional sensor placed to sense a movement of the object and reflects therein a motion of the object. The positional information is pulsed information. The first unit repeatedly transmits produced positional information every time when change in motional position of the object reaches a given unit quantity of change. The second unit repeatedly calculates motional position of the object based on a predetermined procedure including repeatedly counting a starting edge of positional information transmitted from the first unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2009
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshiharu Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 7577533
    Abstract: The invention relates to an ultrasound control device for non-destructively inspecting a workpiece. The inventive ultrasound control device comprises a transmitting-receiving sensor provided with an element for connecting to the input surface of a controlled workpiece, a transmitter which is connected to the sensor and sends pulses produced thereby to said sensor, a receiver connected to the sensor and a screen which is connected to the receiver for displaying electric echo signals received by the receiver. The sensor transmits ultrasound pulses which, on one hand are reflected by the input surface and return to said sensor, and penetrate into the workpiece and are reflected at least once by the back wall thereof, on the other hand. Said ultrasound control device also comprises a bar display for visualising the received electric echo signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2009
    Assignee: Agfa NDT GmbH
    Inventors: Paul Buschke, Bernd Kirchner
  • Patent number: 7574327
    Abstract: An all-in-one digital cantilever controller applicable to all SFM systems is disclosed that can perform many relevant experiments for cantilever control in scanned force microscopy. A compact optimized digital implementation replaces analog components associated with cantilever signal processing and control. It has minimal thermal drift, at least an order of magnitude less than analog components. It has a number of meaningful tuning parameters available, as well as a user-friendly graphical interface (GUI) for adjusting those tuning parameters and performing different types of experiments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2009
    Assignee: SC Solutions
    Inventors: Dirk de Roover, La Moyne L. Porter, II, Abbas Emami-Naeini
  • Patent number: 7571070
    Abstract: A method, system and program product are disclosed for optimizing a fleet of measurement systems. One embodiment determines a tool matching precision (TMP) and a fleet measurement precision (FMP) and normalizes these metrics across applications. An optimization is carried out in which usage weighting factors are assigned to each measurement system while enforcing usage enforcement rule(s) to ensure that each measurement system is optimally used and each application is adequately covered. The optimization re-assigns usage weighting factors to minimize a normalized FMP metric and enforce the usage enforcement rule(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Eric P. Solecky, Charles N. Archie, George W. Banke, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7571073
    Abstract: A system for acquiring the angular position of a gas twist grip in a motorcycle; the acquisition system is provided with a fixed supporting body; a rotating shaft turnable mounted in the supporting body; a transmission device mechanically connected to the gas twist grip and to the revolving shaft to transmit the motion of the gas twist grip to the revolving shaft itself; a main angular position sensor, which is carried by the supporting body, is coupled to the revolving shaft to determine the angular position of revolving shaft, and is adapted to provide two reciprocally redundant measures of the angular position of the revolving shaft; and an angular control position sensor, which is carried by the supporting body, is coupled to the revolving shaft to determine the angular position of the revolving shaft, and is adapted to provide two reciprocally redundant measures of the angular position of the revolving shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignee: Magneti Merelli Powertrin S.p.A.
    Inventors: Giuseppe Gamberini, Claudio Grossi, Roberto Piciotti, Maurizio Fiorentini
  • Patent number: 7567885
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for measuring a height of an object above a surface includes a housing with a first portion having an upper surface and a lower surface and an extension portion extending a first distance from the lower surface of the first portion. The extension portion defines a cavity opposing the lower surface of the first portion. The apparatus further includes one or more actuators passing through the lower surface of the first portion of the housing and extending into the cavity. Additionally, the apparatus includes a plate supported by one or more flexible members coupled to the extension portion. The plate has a top surface and a bottom surface that lies in a plane substantially parallel to the surface. Moreover, the apparatus includes a plurality of sensors disposed at predetermined positions of the plate. Each of the plurality of sensors is responsive to a height measured between each of the plurality of sensors and the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2009
    Assignee: Sokudo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Harald Herchen, Kim Vellore, Erica Renee Porras
  • Patent number: 7561984
    Abstract: With technical surfaces, in particular in semiconductor manufacture, it is a regular requirement to determine the reflection coefficient. For this purpose, a model spectrum of an object of a plurality of wavelengths and a defined number of intermediate points is calculated. To increase the calculating speed, the defined number of intermediate points is calculated prior to the execution of the calculation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2009
    Assignee: Vistec Semiconductor Systems Jena GmbH
    Inventor: Christian Halm
  • Patent number: 7561986
    Abstract: A system and method for monitoring changes in the pressure of a fluid line upstream of an infusion pump to determine when a fluid container has emptied, and to provide a signal indicating that the container needs replacement or replenishment. The difference between averaged pressures over separate time periods is monitored to determine when the fluid container is empty. The system and method are applicable to primary and secondary fluid container setups and can detect the point where the secondary has been emptied and the primary flow has resumed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2009
    Assignee: Cardinal Health 303, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy W. Vanderveen, Robert D. Butterfield
  • Patent number: 7561985
    Abstract: A maintenance mediation apparatus mediating maintenance information includes a maintenance center giving an instruction for a maintenance operation to maintenance target apparatuses connected thereto through a network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2009
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoichi Kanai
  • Patent number: 7558675
    Abstract: A method for forming a borehole image of an azimuthally sensitive borehole or formation parameter is disclosed. Such a borehole image may be formed, for example, by processing logging sensor data with a predetermined sensor response function (also referred to herein as a probability density function) to acquire probabilistically distributed sensor data. The sensor data may be distributed in either one-dimension (azimuthal) or two-dimensions (azimuthal and axial). Certain embodiments of this invention may be advantageously utilized in LWD imaging applications and provide for superior image resolution and noise rejection as compared to prior art binning techniques. Exemplary embodiments of the invention also advantageously conserve logging sensor data such that integration of the distributed data over the entire circumference of the tool provides a non-azimuthally sensitive logging measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2009
    Assignee: Smith International, Inc.
    Inventor: Junichi Sugiura
  • Patent number: 7555401
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for establishing the position of an actuating unit which is operated by an electric motor, in which a motor speed is determined from a motor model, the speed is integrated over a period of time and the position of the actuating unit is determined by multiplying the result of the integration by a proportionality factor. The motor model takes account of afterrunning of the electric motor at the instant of switch-off. The invention also relates to actuating units, brakes, pumps and transmissions for which the method can be used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: Lucas Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Christoph Linden, Michael Keller
  • Patent number: 7548835
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method and system for an innovative design of the automatic stabilization and pointing control of a device based on the MEMS technology, which is small enough and has acceptable accuracy to be integrated into many application systems, such as, laser pointing systems, telescopic systems, imaging systems, and optical communication systems. The stabilization mechanism configuration design is based on utilization of AGNC commercial products, the coremicro IMU and the coremicro AHRS/INS/GPS Integration Unit. The coremicro AHRS/INS/GPS Integration Unit is used as the processing platform core for the design of the MEMS coremicro IMU based stabilization mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2009
    Assignee: American GNC Corporation
    Inventor: Ching-Fang Lin
  • Patent number: 7548833
    Abstract: A method and apparatus uses a stored model of a building system to render an image showing a condition sensed of the building control system on a mobile display unit. The mobile display unit may be wirelessly integrated into the building control system. The mobile display unit may operate based upon voice commands and/or eye tracking.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2009
    Assignee: Siemens Building Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Osman Ahmed
  • Patent number: 7546217
    Abstract: The aim of the invention is to limit the number of possible phase ambiguity resolutions when taking measurements by means of satellite-aided positioning systems. Said aim is achieved by a method which allows the search sector to be better restricted. To this avail, information about the geometry of an antenna array is used for establishing restrictions for said antenna array. Said restrictions allow the search sector and thus the number of acceptable resolutions to be successively reduced. A restriction comprises the utilization of the connecting line between two antennas (A0, A1) that define a primary base line (S01). An additional, secondary base line (S0x) can be calculated by inventively parameterizing the degree of rotational freedom of said secondary base line (S0x) about the primary base line (S01) such that the process is accelerated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2009
    Assignee: Leica Geosystems AG
    Inventors: Hans-Jürgen Euler, Craig D. Hill
  • Patent number: 7542869
    Abstract: Apparatus for adaptively tracking the position of an object in a volume of interest, the apparatus including at least one transmitter, at least one sensor assembly, and a tracking processor, the transmitter being coupled with the volume of interest, for transmitting a multiple axis, time variant, electromagnetic field through the volume of interest, the sensor assembly including at least three sensors, the sensor assembly being coupled with the object, each of the three sensors respectively measuring a respective component of the electromagnetic field, the tracking processor being coupled with the transmitter and the sensor assembly, wherein the tracking processor produces and adapts a mathematical field model describing the electromagnetic field, the tracking processor further produces and adapts a mathematical sensing model, for compensating the effect of the translational and rotational velocity of each of the sensors, wherein the tracking processor estimates the position of the object from the measured re
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2009
    Assignee: Elbit Systems Ltd.
    Inventors: Mark Gandelsman, Giora Kornblau
  • Patent number: 7542877
    Abstract: Provided is a control method for a computer system including at least one computer, including: collecting information on operating statuses of the computer system; storing correlation information indicating a correlation among the collected pieces of information; at least one of: detecting a failure that has occurred in a service executed in the computer system from the collected information with reference to the correlation information and creating a process of recovering the detected failure; and accepting an input of a process performed with respect to the computer system; evaluating an effect and a side-effect given to the computer system through execution of at least one of the created process and the inputted process with reference to the correlation information; and determining at least one of a need, an order, and time of execution of the at least one process whose effect and side-effect are evaluated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2009
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Nakamura