Patents Examined by Kevin J Comber
  • Patent number: 11929204
    Abstract: A magnetic drive includes a base plate, an energy source mounted to the base plate, a control unit, a first magnetic field generator, and a switching circuit. The energy source and the first magnetic field generator are interconnected by the switching circuit. The control unit is configured to control the switching circuit to provide energy to the first magnetic field generator. The first magnetic field generator is configured to generate a magnetic field when being supplied with energy. The control unit is configured to control the switching unit to achieve a desired polarity of the generated magnetic field to interact with the external magnetic field so that a rotational force selectively in clockwise or counterclockwise direction is generated to rotate the first magnetic field generator within the external magnetic field in a desired direction of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: TOMORROW'S MOTION GMBH
    Inventor: Lutz May
  • Patent number: 11926570
    Abstract: A composite sintered body includes a base material that includes ceramic as a main component, and an electrode arranged inside the base material or on a surface of the base material. The electrode contains W and ZrO2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
    Inventors: Kyohei Atsuji, Keita Miyanishi, Asumi Nagai, Hirofumi Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 11923674
    Abstract: A method for controlling a solid state circuit breaker includes detecting a direction of a current flowing through the solid state circuit breaker, obtaining a breaking current value of the solid state circuit breaker according to the detected direction of the current, obtaining a value of a maximum threshold current to flow through the solid state circuit breaker, obtaining a predicted current value within a next sampling period of a present sampling period of the solid state circuit breaker, comparing the predicted current value with the breaking current value, and upon the predicted current value being greater than the breaking current value, delaying the solid state circuit breaker, and upon the predicted current value being greater than the maximum threshold current value, controlling the solid state circuit breaker to disconnect a circuit in which the solid state circuit breaker resides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Feng Du, Wei Gang Chen
  • Patent number: 11923229
    Abstract: A plasma processing method includes supplying a voltage to an electrode provided in an electrostatic chuck, thereby adsorbing a substrate onto an upper surface of the electrostatic chuck; after the voltage supplied to the electrode of the electrostatic chuck is stabilized, cutting off the supply of the voltage to the electrode, thereby bringing the electrode into a floating state; and after the voltage supplied to the electrode of the electrostatic chuck is stabilized, performing a predetermined processing with plasma on a surface of the substrate adsorbed onto the electrostatic chuck.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Yusuke Aoki
  • Patent number: 11916069
    Abstract: The semiconductor device of the present invention includes a semiconductor substrate, a switching element which is defined on the semiconductor substrate, and a temperature sense element which is provided on the surface of the semiconductor substrate independently from the switching element and characterized by being dependent on a temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: ROHM CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yuki Nakano
  • Patent number: 11912217
    Abstract: A vehicle is positively charged with static electricity due to an external factor. The vehicle includes a battery, a static eliminator sheet, and a holding member. The battery includes at least one cell, an electrolyte, a resin case, and negative and positive terminals. The resin case accommodates the components and electrolyte of each cell. The negative terminal is grounded to the vehicle body. The positive terminal is supplied with electric power from a charger. The static eliminator sheet is made of a material on a positive side of a triboelectric series with respect to a material of the resin case. The holding member holds the static eliminator sheet and the resin case in contact with each other. The holding member holds the battery at a predetermined location of the vehicle body in a state where the resin case and the static eliminator sheet are slidable due to vehicle body vibrations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koushi Yamada, Junichi Sudo, Kenichiro Sakurai, Kazuhiro Maeda, Toshio Tanahashi
  • Patent number: 11910729
    Abstract: A superconducting current limiter having at least one superconducting conductor (3) wound so as to form a coil (2) extending in a single plane and connecting a first electrical connection terminal to a second electrical connection terminal, an electrically insulating spacer (8) being arranged between two turns of the coil. The superconducting conductor (3) consists of at least two separate superconducting cables (5) wound in parallel and whose ends are electrically connected by the first electrical connection terminal and by the second electrical connection terminal, respectively. An electrically conductive spacer (12) is arranged between two of said separate superconducting cables (5), this electrically conductive spacer (12) being able to be traversed by a cooling fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignees: Supergrid Institute, Institut Polytechnique De Grenoble
    Inventors: Pierre Legendre, Pascal Tixador
  • Patent number: 11908619
    Abstract: An electromagnetic protection device is proposed to prevent adhesion of paraffin and other impurities dissolved in a hydrocarbon liquid to the inner surface of a metal pipeline. The device includes a power supply (battery or industrial electric grid), microprocessor unit, radiating antenna, antenna amplifier including solenoid, MOSFET transistor, capacitors, current and voltage sensors. A virtual capacitor, participating in generating electromagnetic waves preventing the adhesion, is formed between surfaces of the pipeline and a conductive part of the radiating antenna. The microprocessor allows setting an optimal operating mode of the device. The device is preferably furnished with two mount units including extendable rotatable spacers and flexible bands, adjustably fixing the device and radiating antenna to the pipeline.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Inventors: Leonid Mikhaylovich Kovalev, Evgeniy Leonidovich Kovalev, Evgeny Sokryukin, Kirill Sokryukin, Egor Sokryukin
  • Patent number: 11908350
    Abstract: A display device includes a rollable display panel and a discharger. The rollable display panel with a first portion and a second portion includes a displaying side and a non-displaying side opposite to the displaying side. The discharger is disposed on one of the displaying side and the non-displaying side, wherein the discharger is positioned between the first portion and the second portion when the rollable display panel is rolled and the first portion and the second portion move close to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
    Inventors: Yuan-Lin Wu, Tsung-Han Tsai
  • Patent number: 11901207
    Abstract: A semiconductor wafer processing system includes a stocker having an interior surface, a wafer carrier disposed within the stocker, a wafer shelf disposed within the wafer carrier for storing a semiconductor wafer, and a discharge circuit including a first conductor electrically coupled to the wafer shelf and a first current controller electrically coupled to the first conductor and to the interior surface of the stocker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Kai-Hung Hsiao, Chi-Chung Jen, Yu-Chun Shen, Jhang-Jie Jian, Wen-Chih Chiang
  • Patent number: 11901723
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed for battery current monitoring. An example apparatus includes a haptic device, an isolation switch to deliver power from a battery to the haptic device, an integrator to integrate a signal based on a current from the battery to the haptic device to generate an integrator output, and control logic to control the isolation switch based on a comparison of the integrator output to a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Tahoe Research, Ltd.
    Inventors: Devin Cass, Jorge Zabaco, George D. Beckstein, III
  • Patent number: 11899445
    Abstract: Embodiments of this present disclosure may include a system with a first power converter and a control system. The first power converter may supply a first output power to a first backplane at least sometimes concurrent to a second power converter supplying a second output power to a second backplane. The control system may be electrically coupled to the first backplane and the second backplane. The control system may balance a first electrical property and a second electrical property provided to each of one or more load components electrically coupled to the first backplane and the second backplane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen E. Denning, Sean P. Overberger, James R. Hissem
  • Patent number: 11894186
    Abstract: A magnetic manipulation system and method for moving and navigating a magnetic device in a body are provided. The system includes a robotic parallel mechanism having at least three electromagnets and at least three electromagnetic coils coupled to the at least three electromagnets, respectively. The electromagnetic coils are actuated to keep the electromagnets in static conditions or move the electromagnets along a desired trajectory, a current control unit supplying currents to the electromagnetic coils which have soft iron cores. The currents supplied by the control unit are configured to generate dynamic magnetic field in the soft iron core's linear region. The current control unit and the robotic parallel mechanism are configured to generate desired dynamic magnetic fields in desired positions within a workspace to control a magnetic device, and a three-dimensional position sensor is configured for performing a close loop control of the robotic parallel mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center Limited
    Inventors: Li Zhang, Lidong Yang, Moqiu Zhang
  • Patent number: 11894770
    Abstract: A Voltage Regulator Module (VRM) includes a first voltage rail circuit board oriented in a first plane having formed therein a first plurality of conductors and configured to produce a first rail voltage, a second voltage rail circuit board oriented in a second plane that is substantially parallel to the first plane having formed therein a second plurality of conductors and configured to produce a second rail voltage. The VRM also includes a first capacitor circuit board oriented in a third plane that is substantially perpendicular to the first plane and a second capacitor circuit board oriented in a fourth plane that is substantially parallel to the third plane. The VRM includes a plurality of conductors intercoupling the first voltage rail circuit board, the first capacitor circuit board, the second voltage rail circuit board, and the second capacitor circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Tesla, Inc.
    Inventors: Shishuang Sun, Kevin Hurd, Satyan Chandra
  • Patent number: 11888310
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to monitor the precharging of high voltage circuits are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a switch that selectively enables or disables precharge current to a high voltage circuit based on a switch control signal. The apparatus also includes a comparison circuit that compares a scaled version of a circuit voltage to a reference voltage to generate the switch control signal. In one embodiment, the switch control signal is generated to enable the precharge current when the scaled version of the circuit voltage is greater than the reference voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Motiv Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Venkatesh Prasad Hanglur Narasimha, James Michael Castelaz
  • Patent number: 11888304
    Abstract: An integrated circuit with a hot-plug protection circuit includes input pins and an output pin. The input pins are electrically coupled to a common node in the hot-plug protection circuit via respective electrical connections. The integrated circuit includes clamping circuitry coupled between the common node and the output pin, the clamping circuitry activatable as a result of a voltage spike applied across the clamping circuitry. The plurality of electrical connections and the clamping circuitry provide respective current discharge paths between the input pins in the input pins and the output pin, the respective current discharge paths configured to become conductive as a result of a voltage spike applied to any of the input pins in the plurality of input pins being transferred to the common node via the respective electrical connection in the plurality of electrical connections electrically coupling said any of said input pins to the common node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventors: Vittorio D'Angelo, Salvatore Cannavacciuolo, Sergio Lecce, Valerio Bendotti, Orazio Pennisi
  • Patent number: 11887808
    Abstract: A thermal electrostatic clamp has a central electrostatic portion associated with a central region of a workpiece. A central body has a clamping surface and one or more electrodes are associated with the central body. One or more electrodes selectively electrostatically clamp at least the central region of the workpiece to the clamping surface based on an electrical current passed therethrough. One or more first heaters of the central body selectively heat the central electrostatic portion to a first temperature. A non-electrostatic peripheral portion associated with a peripheral region of the workpiece has a peripheral body encircling the central body, separated by a gap. The peripheral body is positioned beneath the peripheral region of the workpiece. The peripheral portion does not electrostatically clamp the peripheral region of the workpiece. One or more second heaters of the peripheral body selectively heat the non-electrostatic peripheral portion to a second temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Axcelis Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Atul Gupta, Scott E Galica
  • Patent number: 11889661
    Abstract: An integrated circuit thermal management system includes an enclosure, a heat exchanger, an integrated circuit, a slide having a moveable slide body, an electromagnetic coil, a magneto caloric material and controller circuitry. The heat exchanger is positioned on a first side of the enclosure, and the integrated circuit is positioned on a second side of the enclosure with a temperature sensor configured to generate a temperature signal indicative of a temperature of the integrated circuit. The slide is disposed in the enclosure extending between the heat exchanger and the integrated circuit. The electromagnetic coil and the magnetocaloric material are included on the slide body. The controller is configured to control energization of the magnetic coil and movement of the magnetocaloric material on the slide body between the heat exchanger and the integrated circuit based on the temperature signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignees: ROLLS-ROYCE NORTH AMERICAN TECHNOLOGIES INC., ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Richard Joseph Skertic, Eric E. Wilson, John Joseph Costello
  • Patent number: 11876445
    Abstract: An apparatus such as a power supply includes a controller and multiple power converter phases. The controller controls operation of the multiple power converter phases to produce an output voltage that powers a load. The multiple power converter phases are coupled in parallel to convert an input voltage into an output voltage. The controller further controls a flow of current through a series circuit path connecting multiple windings of the multiple power converter phases to operate the power supply in different modes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventors: Yong Zhou, Danny Clavette, Jens A. Ejury, Prasan Kasturi, Kushal Kshirsagar
  • Patent number: 11876090
    Abstract: An electrostatic discharge protection circuit capable of clamping both positive and negative ESD events and passing signals is provided. Generally, the circuit includes a p-channel field-effect transistor (PFET) clamp coupled to a pin to be protected, the PFET clamp including a plurality of PFETs in a DN-well, an n-channel field-effect transistors (NFET) clamp coupled between ground and the pin through the PFET clamp, the NFET clamp including a plurality of NFETs coupled in series, and a bias network for biasing a voltage of the DN well to substantially equal a voltage on the pin when the voltage on the pin is greater than ground potential, and to ground potential when the pin voltage is less than ground potential. The plurality of are PFETs coupled in parallel between the pin and the NFET clamp, each of the PFETs is coupled to the pin though one of a plurality ballast resistors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: David Michael Rogers, Eric N. Mann, Eric Lee Swindlehurst, Toru Miyamae, Timothy John Williams, Ryuta Nagai, Sungkwon Lee, Ravindra M. Kapre, Mimi Xuefeng Zhao Qian, Yan Yi, Dung Si Ho, Boo Chin-Hua