Patents Examined by Melissa Koval
  • Patent number: 10551461
    Abstract: A method of parallel magnetic resonance imaging of a body, comprising:—acquiring a set of elementary magnetic resonance images of said body from respective receiving antennas having known or estimated sensibility maps and noise covariance matrices, said elementary images being under-sampled in k-space; and performing regularized reconstruction of a magnetic resonance image of said body; wherein said step of performing regularized reconstruction of a magnetic resonance image is unsupervised and carried out in a discrete frame space. A method of performing dynamical and parallel magnetic resonance imaging of a body, comprising:—acquiring a set of time series of elementary magnetic resonance images of said body from respective receiving antennas having known or estimated sensibility maps and noise covariance matrices, said elementary images being under-sampled in k-space; and performing regularized reconstruction of a time series of magnetic resonance images of said body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives
    Inventors: Lotfi Chaari, Sebastien Meriaux, Philippe Ciuciu, Jean-Christophe Pesquet
  • Patent number: 10379172
    Abstract: A mobile robot includes a body movable over a surface within an environment, a calibration coil carried on the body and configured to produce a calibration magnetic field, a sensor circuit carried on the body and responsive to the calibration magnetic field, and a controller carried on the body and in communication with the sensor circuit. The sensor circuit is configured to generate calibration signals based on the calibration magnetic field. The controller is configured to calibrate the sensor circuit as a function of the calibration signals, thereby resulting in a calibrated sensor circuit configured to detect a transmitter magnetic field within the environment and to generate detection signals based on the transmitter magnetic field. The controller is configured to estimate a pose of the mobile robot as a function of the detection signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Alexander D. Kleiner, Nikolai Romanov, Frederic D. Hook
  • Patent number: 10309992
    Abstract: Apparatus and associated methods relate to a measurement system that calculates a current in a conductor based on an odd-order spatial derivative function of signals representing magnetic-field strengths within a hole in the conductor. In an illustrative embodiment, the odd-order spatial derivative function may generate an output signal representing a spatial derivative of the in-hole magnetic field greater than the first-order. The three or more magnetic-field sensors may be configured to align on the hole's axis when inserted into the hole. When inserted into the hole, the sensors may be aligned on an axis perpendicular to a direction of current flow and be responsive to a magnetic-field directed perpendicular to both the direction of current flow and the aligned axis. Some embodiments may advantageously provide a precise measurement indicative an electrical current in the electrical conductor while substantially rejecting a stray magnetic field originating from an adjacent electrical conductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Andy Peczalski, Bharat B. Pant
  • Patent number: 10295584
    Abstract: An energy storage system may include battery packs, such that one terminal of the battery packs is electrically coupled to a resistor representative of an isolation resistance of the battery system. The system may include a semiconductor relay switch, a plurality of resistors configured to electrically couple to the battery packs via the semiconductor relay switch, a gain field-effect transistor (FET) configured to electrically short at least one resistor of the plurality of resistors, and a control system. The control system may send a first command to the semiconductor switch to close, acquire a first voltage waveform, send a second command to the semiconductor switch to open, send a third command to the gain FET to close, send a fourth command to the semiconductor switch to close, acquire a second voltage waveform, and determine the isolation resistance based on the first voltage waveform and the second voltage waveform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Ronald J. Dulle, Mark R. Johnson
  • Patent number: 10267873
    Abstract: An apparatus for operation in a magnetic particle imaging mode for influencing and/or detecting magnetic particles in a field of view, and for operation in a magnetic resonance imaging mode, includes a selector having a selection field signal generator and selection field coils, a driver having a drive field signal generator and drive field coils for changing the position in space of the two sub-zones in the field of view by a magnetic drive field so that the magnetization of magnetic particles changes locally, and a focuser having a focus field signal generator and a focus field coil unit for changing the position in space of the field of view by a magnetic focus field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
    Inventors: Bernhard Gleich, Juergen Erwin Rahmer
  • Patent number: 10241155
    Abstract: A method for inspecting a constituent unit cell to be stacked in an all-solid secondary battery of the present disclosure includes (A) measuring an open-circuit voltage between the positive electrode and the negative electrode of a constituent unit cell before a short-circuiting step is performed, (B) temporarily short-circuiting the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the constituent unit cell, (C) measuring an open-circuit voltage between the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the constituent unit cell after a given time has elapsed since the end of step (B), and (D) judging the constituent unit cell to be unusable when the open-circuit voltage measured in step (C) is less than a threshold value. A method for manufacturing an all-solid secondary battery of the present disclosure includes stacking a plurality of constituent unit cells excluding constituent unit cells judged to be unusable by the above inspection method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuji Yamashita
  • Patent number: 10241158
    Abstract: A system for determining an orientation of a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material is disclosed. The system includes the NV diamond material having a plurality of NV centers, a magnetic field generator that generates a magnetic field, a radio frequency (RF) excitation source that provides RF excitation, an optical excitation source that provides optical excitation, an optical detector that receives an optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material, and a controller. The controller controls the magnetic field generator to generate a control magnetic field and controls the magnetic field generator to successively generate calibration magnetic fields. The controller successively receives light detection signals from the optical detector, stores measurement values based on the successively received light detection signals, and calculates an orientation of the NV diamond material based on the stored measurement values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Arul Manickam, Peter G. Kaup, John B. Stetson, Jr.
  • Patent number: 10241066
    Abstract: A microfluidic sensing device comprises a channel and an impedance sensor within the channel. The impedance sensor comprises a local ground and an electrode within the channel. The local ground and the electrode are to form an electric field region that is elongated along the channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Nicholas Matthew Cooper McGuinness, Melinda M. Valencia, Manish Giri, Chantelle Elizabeth Domingue, Jeremy Sells, Matthew David Smith
  • Patent number: 10228339
    Abstract: While stripping an electrical cable in a stripping device of a cable-processing system, detection by an electrically conductive cutting device with a sensor circuit takes place if contact with a conductor occurs. By connecting the sensor circuit to the cutting device a measuring capacitance is developed. Before incising the electrical cable, a capacitance value of the measurement capacitance is determined during a first measurement cycle in which a charge equalization is carried out between the measurement capacitance and a reference capacitance. A parameter is determined in a further measurement cycle in which a charge equalization is again carried out between the measurement capacitance and the reference capacitance, wherein, relative to the first capacitance, the parameter displays a change in the capacitance after incising into the electrical cable. A signal is produced, if the change is greater than an established threshold value, indicating contact with the conductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: KOMAX HOLDING AG
    Inventor: Benno Zemp
  • Patent number: 10228412
    Abstract: A purpose of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of suppressing an electric discharge during evaluation. A semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor base body having an element region and a terminal region; a plurality of electrode pads disposed in an area that is in the element region of the semiconductor base body and is separated from the terminal region, an insulating protection film having an opening provided above each of the electrode pads; and a plurality of conductive layers disposed on the protection film and electrically connected to the plurality of electrode pads, respectively, through the opening. In a planar view, each of the conductive layers is extended to the terminal region or the vicinity of the terminal region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Hajime Akiyama, Akira Okada, Kinya Yamashita
  • Patent number: 10228414
    Abstract: Sensor devices and methods are provided where a test signal is applied to a capacitive sensor. Furthermore, a bias voltage is applied to the capacitive sensor via a high impedance component. A path for applying the test signal excludes the high impedance component. Using this testing signal, in some implementations a capacity imbalance of the capacitive sensor may be detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Cesare Buffa, Richard Gaggl
  • Patent number: 10222506
    Abstract: A technique generates seismic data that may be analyzed. A combination sensor is operated and deployed in a borehole to obtain orientation data, such as data related to the local magnetic field and a log of the magnetic field direction in the borehole. Following the combination sensor, at least one multi-component seismic source is deployed downhole into the borehole. The at least one multi-component seismic source comprises sensors, such as an inclinometer and a magnetometer. Data from the combination sensor and from the at least one multi-component seismic source is processed to determine an absolute orientation of the at least one multi-component seismic source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Clement Kostov, Martin G. Luling, Mark Puckett
  • Patent number: 10224676
    Abstract: A shielded connection line for a magnetic resonance tomography system includes a signal conductor, a shield for the signal conductor, and a plug-in connector. The plug-in connector has a large number of connection contacts that are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix and are electrically insulated from each other in the plug-in connector. The signal conductor is in galvanic contact with a first connection contact, and three second connection contacts adjacent to the first connection contact and surrounding the first connection contact are galvanically connected to the shield.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Hemmerlein, Wolfgang Kraus, Thomas Kundner
  • Patent number: 10222441
    Abstract: During operation, a system may apply an external magnetic field and an RF pulse sequence to a sample. Then, the system may measure at least a component of a magnetization associated with the sample, such as MR signals of one or more types of nuclei in the sample. Moreover, the system may calculate at least a predicted component of the magnetization for voxels associated with the sample based on the measured component of the magnetization, a forward model, the external magnetic field and the RF pulse sequence. Next, the system may solve an inverse problem by iteratively modifying the parameters associated with the voxels in the forward model until a difference between the predicted component of the magnetization and the measured component of the magnetization is less than a predefined value. Note that the calculations may be performed concurrently with the measurements and may not involve performing a Fourier transform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: Q Bio, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey Howard Kaditz, Athanasios Polymeridis, Jorge Fernandez Villena
  • Patent number: 10215720
    Abstract: The present device relates to a sensor capable of detecting changes in the electromagnetic field it generates when in proximity to either conductive or nonconductive materials. This occurs by way of oscillating a transmit coil with an electro motive force at a resonant frequency thus creating an electromagnetic field. The magnetic field passes through a target of either conductive or nonconductive material and is then intercepted by a receive coil which likewise oscillates at a resonant frequency, which when in proximity to the transmit coil and transmit coils resonant frequency produces an enhanced signal by way of the interaction of the respective resonant frequencies and receive coil output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Inventor: Kevin D. McGushion
  • Patent number: 10215686
    Abstract: The objective of the present invention is to provide a corrosion resistance evaluation method and evaluation device that make it possible to estimate crevice corrosion depth and pitting depth in a short period of time. A corrosion resistance evaluation method according to the present invention is characterized in that the surface potential of a metal under evaluation is measured in a state in which the metal is immersed in a usage-environment liquid, the surface potential distribution of the metal is determined, the surface potential differences in the microstructure of the metal are calculated on the basis of the surface potential distribution, and the corrosion rate of crevice corrosion and corrosion rate of pitting are predicted using the maximum surface potential difference from among the calculated surface potential differences as an evaluation index for corrosion evaluation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kyoko Hombo, Kenya Ohashi, Masahiro Itoh, Mitsuharu Ikeda, Takeshi Fukuma, Naritaka Kobayashi, Shoichiro Ogata
  • Patent number: 10215822
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to an embodiment includes a processor, and a memory that stores processor-executable instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the instructions cause the processor to give a sample value to at least a part of sampling positions having no sample value in first k-space data so as to create a second k-space data, the first k-space data having a sample value at a part of sampling positions on a k-space. The instructions cause the processor to create a first image from the first k-space data and a second image from the second k-space data. The instructions cause the processor to derive weighting factors for the first image and the second image. The instructions cause the processor to calculate a magnetic resonance image by performing weighted addition using the weighting factors on the first image and the second image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: TOSHIBA MEDICAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hidenori Takeshima
  • Patent number: 10215831
    Abstract: In a first method and magnetic resonance apparatus to determine a resonance frequency deviation given an excitation of a slice of a volume segment within an examination subject, by a slice selection gradient is activated along one direction, an RF excitation pulse is irradiated in order to excite nuclear spins in the slice, a readout gradient is activated along the direction of the slice selection gradient, and MR data are read out while the readout gradient is activated. Image points within an MR image reconstructed using the MR data are identified, that exhibit a signal intensity that is greater than a predetermined threshold, in order to determine one of the image points that has a maximum separation in the direction between this image point and the slice. The resonance frequency deviation is determined depending on the amplitude of the slice selection gradient, the amplitude of the readout gradient and the maximum separation. The slice selection gradient and the readout gradient have opposite polarity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Theresa Bachschmidt, Mathias Nittka
  • Patent number: 10215732
    Abstract: A dielectric barrier discharge ionization detector includes: a discharging section for generating plasma from argon-containing gas by electric discharge, including a dielectric tube on the outer wall of which a high-voltage electrode connected to AC power source as well as upstream-side and downstream-side ground electrodes and are circumferentially formed; and a charge-collecting section for ionizing sample-gas components by the plasma and detecting ion current formed by ionized components. The dielectric tube is made of a material whose resistivity is 1.0×1013 ?cm or lower. Furthermore, the detector satisfies at least one of the following conditions: the upstream-side ground electrode is longer than a ground electrode length which allows creeping discharge between the high-voltage electrode and a tube-line tip member; or the downstream-side ground electrode is longer than a ground electrode length which allows creeping discharge between the high-voltage electrode and the charge-collecting section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation
    Inventor: Kei Shinada
  • Patent number: 10215789
    Abstract: A device for monitoring a high-voltage contactor in a vehicle having a coil with an anchor, the coil is energized with a coil current or a coil voltage to switch the high-voltage contactor, and the high-voltage contactor is switched by a motion of the anchor, thus also changing the inductivity of the coil includes an interface for reading in a measurement value function for the generated coil voltage and/or for the generated coil current during the switching cycle of the high-voltage contactor; an analysis device for determining a motion information representing a travel distance of the anchor based on the measurement value function; and a comparison device for comparing the motion information with a threshold value information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Lisa Draexlmaier GmbH
    Inventor: Daniel Rosenow