Patents Examined by John S. Hilten
  • Patent number: 6502059
    Abstract: A method is provided of determining waveform stability of a pulse echo layer transducer (PELT) used for measuring paint film thickness of painted bodies. The method includes the steps of reading a signal with the PELT transducer with respect to a desired location of the vehicle. The method also includes the steps of determining whether a maximum absolute value of the read signal is greater than a noise threshold (&phgr;) and computing a measure (&rgr;) based on an option (k). The method includes the steps of determining whether the computed measure (&rgr;) is above or below a predetermined threshold (T) based on the option (k), and concluding a stable/unstable signal from the PELT transducer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2002
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Dimitar P. Filev, Frank Migda, Sunil Bharitkar
  • Patent number: 6502043
    Abstract: Process and device for reducing the spectral line noise inside an aircraft, especially a rotating-wing aircraft, in particular a helicopter. Said device (1) comprises sensors (Ca, Cb) for measuring the values of vibratory and/or acoustic parameters, controllable mechanical elements (A) forming secondary sources of noise, and a main computer (CAL) determining, on the basis of the values measured by the sensors (Ca, Cb), control commands for the mechanical elements (A), as well as at least one reference sensor (CO) for measuring a reference parameter which is correlated with the noise, and possibly an auxiliary computer (4) for calculating, on the basis of the values measured by the reference sensor (CO), a reference signal, and said main computer (CAL) determines the control commands by carrying out filtering with respect to the reference signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2002
    Assignee: Eurocopter
    Inventor: Marc Dussac
  • Patent number: 6498991
    Abstract: An apparatus for monitoring the condition of a hose (100) including an inner liner (104) and a carcass (106) having at least one ply (108a, 108b, 108c, 108d or 108e) disposed in surrounding relationship with the inner liner (104) and an outer cover (300) about the carcass (106). The monitoring apparatus includes an electronic hose tag (310) connected to the hose (100) for measuring the vibration of the hose. In another embodiment, the hose includes at least one sensing element (112) helically wound about the inner liner (104) and an inner sensing element monitoring circuit (404) with a microprocessor (500) connected thereto for determining whether there is a discontinuity in the inner sensing element (112) and thus a worn through area of the inner liner (104). An alarm signal can be transmitted with transmitter structure (430) to a remote receiver (654).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2002
    Assignee: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
    Inventors: John Roux Phelan, Richard Stephen Pollack
  • Patent number: 6498995
    Abstract: A method for inspecting a wireharness is disclosed that enables reduced inspection time. The method comprises inspecting a wireharness, including a plurality of wires and connectors for receiving terminals attached to ends of the wires, to judge wireharness quality.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2002
    Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
    Inventors: Nobuhiro Kawase, Shigeo Funakoshi, Katsuhiko Ishihara
  • Patent number: 6497473
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a wiping apparatus for an ink jet printer, which apparatus prevents the area surrounding the wiping apparatus from being contaminated by ink. The wiping apparatus reduces the amount of ink splashed on the surroundings when a wiper is out of the lower part of a cartridge. The apparatus comprises a housing having an upper part which is open, a cartridge which can be moved from one side to another side in an upper part of the housing, a nozzle for ejecting ink and provided on one side of the cartridge, a wiper installed on an upper part of the housing and made of an elastic material for cleaning the nozzle, a holding unit for holding the wiper and rotatable in a direction of the nozzle when the wiper is bent in one direction for cleaning the nozzle, and an operation unit which operates the holding unit and is provided to move together with the cartridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2002
    Assignee: SamSung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Dong-Hun Kim
  • Patent number: 6496784
    Abstract: A method of calibrating the offset of angle sensors, which determine an angle to be determined on the basis of a sine signal assigned to the angle and a cosine signal assigned to the angle. This method includes determining the sine signal and the cosine signal for at least three different angles to obtain at least three value pairs, each pair containing one sine signal value and one cosine signal value; displaying the at least three value pairs in an at least two-dimensional coordinate system that represents a sine signal-cosine signal plane and determining a point, representing the offset to be calibrated, in the coordinate system with regard to which point the at last three value pairs are located on an arc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: Robert Bosch Gmbh
    Inventors: Anton Dukart, Franz Jost
  • Patent number: 6494560
    Abstract: When ink is sucked from the nozzles during a cleaning process, a rubber cap having a plural number of small spaces independently operable for ink suction is applied to a print head, and only the small space associated with a clogged nozzle of those nozzles of the print head is connected to a suction pump. A user looks up in advance the number and location of a clogged nozzle, judges the cause of the clogging of the nozzle on the basis of the number and location of the clogged nozzle, and selects a suitable type of cleaning process, a selective cleaning (based on the specified-nozzle suction) or a conventional cleaning (based on the all-nozzle suction).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsuya Seshimo, Hikonosuke Uwai
  • Patent number: 6494562
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a replaceable printing component for use in a printing system having at least one replaceable printing component. The replaceable printing component is of the type sold through a plurality of sales channels. The replaceable printing component includes a radio frequency link for receiving information indicative of a particular sales channel of a plurality of sales channels. Also included in the replaceable printing component is an electrical storage device for storing information indicative of the particular sales channel. The electrical storage device provides information indicative of the particular sales channel for reordering the replaceable printing component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Ray A. Walker, Robert E. Haines, Michael L. Bullock
  • Patent number: 6494629
    Abstract: There is disclosed a data processing method for correcting heating data for a thermal head of a thermal printer, to eliminate influence of heat energy accumulated in first to Nth heat accumulating layers of the thermal head. Basic heating data of a subject line is corrected with first to Nth correction data obtained by multiplying first to Nth heat accumulation data by predetermined coefficients respectively. The heating elements are driven in accordance with the corrected heating data, to print the subject line. A drive voltage to be applied across heating elements of the thermal head is determined at the start of printing a frame of image, according to an environmental temperature around the thermal head and a head temperature measured through a thermistor mounted in the Nth heat accumulating layer of the thermal head. The Nth coefficient is calculated according to a formula that includes the head drive voltage as a parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Hayashi, Hisashi Enomoto
  • Patent number: 6496782
    Abstract: A machine monitoring method includes obtaining signals indicative of machine conditions, machine rotational speed, direction, and load conditions over a segment of time, transforming the obtained signal indicative of machine conditions into a frequency spectrum, identifying low level features of the frequency spectrum, and processing the low level features to obtain an indicator value representative of the machine conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Bernhard Erich Hermann Claus, Gerald Burt Kliman, Nicolas Wadih Chbat
  • Patent number: 6496781
    Abstract: The present invention provides an improvement to the two, inaccurate, traditional approaches relating concentration to density. The first of these assumes that the solute is completely insoluble in the solvent; the second is based on a soluble solute. The present improved relationship is referred to as the CONCENTRATION-DENSITY MODEL. This model allows for a theoretical determination of the concentration-density relationship for a multi-component solid/liquid or liquid/liquid mixture. Included in the Concentration-Density Model is a new concept referred to as ADDITIVE VOLUME COEFFICIENT (AVC). This concept compensates for the fact that the net volume of a mixture does not always equal the sum of the volumes of each component. This improved Concentration-Density Model provides fluid-handling manufacturers with a method for accurately determining a mixture's concentration on-line with the aid of current density measurement instrumentation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: Appleton Papers Inc.
    Inventors: Qingyuan Chen, Robert J. Franda
  • Patent number: 6494630
    Abstract: A datum arrangement on the replaceable semi-permanent compact print cartridge includes three x-datums, one y-datum and two z-datums to assure proper seating of the print cartridge in the carriage as well as proper electric and fluidic interconnections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Kenneth R Williams, James P. Kearns, Jeffrey T Hendricks, Jose Antonio Alvarez, B Michael Eckard
  • Patent number: 6496786
    Abstract: An improved method, for obtaining a datum concerning the rotation speed (n) of a rotating object, such as a motor rotor (32), offers high precision. Typically, the motor has a sensor (61) which supplies a sensor signal that has, for each revolution of the rotor, a plurality A of events such as pulses or pulse edges which are counted by a microprocessor (23) associated with the motor. In order to keep the computation load on the microprocessor from increasing as the rotor speed increases, yet maintain high precision, the measurement is done over a full rotation of the rotor, starts at a first signal event (176), and ends after a third or nth signal event (182) which happens at the same rotational position as the first signal event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: Papst-Motoren GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Roland Dieterle, Hermann Rappenecker, Alexander Hahn
  • Patent number: 6493646
    Abstract: Degradation in reconstructed medical images is reduced by a method for calibrating a primary decay correction for a radiation detector having a decay curve that can be characterized by a plurality of components having different time constants. The method includes steps of: fitting the decay curve to a sum of a plurality of weighted exponentials having a first set of time constants; applying a correction to a measured response of the detector using a sum of the plurality of weighted exponentials having the first set of time constants to obtain a corrected response; selecting at least one additional exponential time constant dependent upon the corrected response; and fitting the decay curve to a sum of a second plurality of weighted exponentials including the first plurality of time constants and the at least one additional exponential time constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC
    Inventors: Jiang Hsieh, O. Erdogan Gurmen
  • Patent number: 6493652
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method involves, in response to movement of a user during at least one footstep taken by the user, generating a signal that experiences changes during a time period that the foot is airborne during the at least one footstep. At least one change in the signal generated after the foot has become airborne and before the foot contacts a surface is identified that is indicative of the foot being airborne during the at least one footstep. In another embodiment, a method involves generating a signal in response to movement of a user during at least one footstep taken by the user. The signal is monitored to determine when the signal has experienced a minimum degree of smoothness for at least a given period of time. In response to determining that the signal has experienced the minimum degree of smoothness for at least the given period of time, it is identified that the foot of the user is airborne.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: Personal Electronic Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Norbert Ohlenbusch, Jesse Darley, Thomas P. Blackadar, Paul J. Gaudet
  • Patent number: 6491369
    Abstract: A head cleaning unit for cleaning a printing head by sucking waste ink from the printing head, includes an ink collector attached to a cap so as to contact with the cap. The cap includes a plurality of first ink-suck holes formed on a bottom surface of a liquid room so as to communicate the liquid room with a space between the cap and the ink collector. The ink collector includes a second ink-suck hole form on a bottom surface of the ink collector, adjacent to the space so as to communicate the space with a vacuum. At least one of the cap and the ink collector includes an air-intake hole for providing air to the cap or the ink collector. At least one of the first ink-such holes is disposed along a periphery of the space, where the printing head and the cap are in contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Satoh, Hisanaga Shirasu
  • Patent number: 6493647
    Abstract: A method and arrangement for performing a memory built-in self test (MBIST) of an external memory and an internal memory of a network interface controller includes a series of burst write and burst read operations if an external memory is detected. The sequence of burst operations tests the back-to-back burst write, back-to-back burst write burst read, back-to-back burst read and back-to-back burst read burst write capabilities of the external memory, to thereby fully exercise the external memory. Additionally, the internal memory is tested by single write and single read accesses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Sie Boo Chiang, Beng Chew Khou, Jacques Wong
  • Patent number: 6491375
    Abstract: An integrated printhead package for acoustic ink printing includes a plurality of layers. Each of the layers is stacked against one of the other layers. A reservoir is defined within the layers and contains a first fluid. One of the layers forms a plate for covering an open side of the reservoir. The plate has apertures for passing the first fluid from the reservoir to an exterior area. A passage, formed by at least one of the stacked layers, communicates with the reservoir and the exterior area. The first fluid passes through the passage. At least one of a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor are located within the layers. The pressure sensor and temperature sensor measures a pressure and temperature, respectively, of the first fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: John S. Fitch
  • Patent number: 6493648
    Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention is a method for logic synthesis that reduces use of computer memory and reduces computer runtime. In particular, an embodiment of the present invention is a method for logic synthesis which includes the steps of: (a) analyzing an HDL model to develop a parse tree; (b) elaborating the parse tree to create a word-oriented netlist; and (c) inferring complex components from the word-oriented netlist.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: Sequence Design, Inc.
    Inventor: Glen R. Anderson
  • Patent number: 6490530
    Abstract: An aerosol hazard classification and early warning network is composed of a large number of detector and analysis units, called “detector stations,” which are deployed throughout a region to be warned of a potentially hazardous aerosol intrusion. Such aerosol threats may originate from fires, volcanic eruptions, or overt releases of biological and chemical agents dispersed in aerosol form. Among the former are the characteristic toxic aerosols released during refinery fires or explosions. The latter biological agents include bacterial spores, lyophilized bacterial cells, and virus preparations, whereas chemical agents might include various forms of nerve gasses and other anti-personnel gasses such as mustard, all commonly deployed in aerosol form.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2002
    Assignee: Wyatt Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Philip J. Wyatt