Patents Examined by Son Tang
  • Patent number: 7132938
    Abstract: A tire pressure warning system has an air pressure detecting device 3, a low pressure warning display unit 5 and a fuel consumption deterioration warning display unit 4. The air pressure detecting device 3 detects an air pressure of each tire 2 of a vehicle. The low pressure warning display unit 5 warns an occupant of a reduced air pressure when an air pressure detected by the air pressure detecting device 3 is lower than a running inhibition tire pressure 11 set in advance. The fuel consumption deterioration warning display unit 4 warns the occupant of a deterioration in a fuel consumption when the air pressure is lower than a fuel consumption deteriorating tire pressure 12 which is set higher than the running inhibition tire pressure 11.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2006
    Assignee: Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akira Suzuki
  • Patent number: 7132928
    Abstract: A threat detection system interface that provides translates threat diction information into a tactile signal for a user to indicate the direction and distance of an identified threat relative to an object. The threat detection system interface having applications for use with military vehicles, and in particular military aircraft, but also having application in connection with flight training simulators, computer and/or video games.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2006
    Inventor: Nicholas V. Perricone
  • Patent number: 7129823
    Abstract: A communications setting method for a communications network system for performing data communications among a plurality of devices through power line has a house code notification including a house code to be uniquely set for the communications network system is transmitted from a first device in the communications network system to a second device in the communications network system more than once in a first predetermined time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2006
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Shintani, Shigeo Yoshida, Akira Koji
  • Patent number: 7123149
    Abstract: An integrated system for tracking assets (tools and materials) and personnel associated with a work site. Personnel are equipped with tracking devices having at least geolocation capability. Assets are tagged with RFID tags, which are interrogated at portals, by mobile scanners, or by personnel tracking devices having RFID reading capability. The tag readers and tracking devices are all in communication with a common “information backbone” and all data is delivered to, and processed by, a common command and control subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2006
    Assignee: Zachry Construction Corporation
    Inventors: Brent M. Nowak, Michael F. Milam, Myron L. Moodie, Kenneth A. Oleson, Michael J. Lake, Sandra G. Dykes, Larry D. Canady, Charles A. Poer, John E. Fike, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7123126
    Abstract: A monitoring method includes acquiring tag identification information unique to a radio frequency identification tag carried by a person, and reader identification information about a tag reader that detects the radio frequency identification tag. Next, attribute information about the person is acquired based on the tag identification information, and area information about a detection area of the tag reader is acquired based on the reader identification information. Finally, it is determined whether the person carrying the radio frequency identification tag having the attribute information acquired is allowed to enter into the detection area based on the area information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2006
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Toshiaki Tanaka, Takeichiro Nishikawa, Naoki Imasaki
  • Patent number: 7123130
    Abstract: An emergency lamp for use in an area during ambient low light conditions is provided. The emergency lamp comprises a hand-held housing having a first end and a second end with at least one light emitting source within the housing. A power mechanism mounted within the housing illuminates the light emitting source. An activation mechanism activates the power mechanism only during low light conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2006
    Inventor: Charles Bolta
  • Patent number: 7123138
    Abstract: A system utilizing a transmitter emitting a unique signal and a base station receiver having a database of household members is used to ascertain the identity of household members who are home at any particular time. Such information is used by the local telephone network to provide specialized telephone services to the household based on the identity of the household members who are home. A manual and emergency services override is provided to permit the completion of telephone calls from emergency services personnel and other persons irrespective of the presence or absence of any household member. The information regarding the presence or absence of household members also may be used to intelligently provide other household services such as heating and cooling or home security depending on the identity of persons who are home.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2006
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventor: William J. Infosino
  • Patent number: 7119692
    Abstract: Techniques for detecting radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags are disclosed. For example, an exit control system is described that detects unauthorized removal of articles from a protected facility. A series of antennas are setup to produce interrogation corridors located near the exit of the protected area. RFID tags are attached to the articles to be protected. Each tag includes information that uniquely identifies the article to which it is affixed and status information as to whether the articles removal from the facility is authorized. The RF reader outputs RF signals through the antennas to create electromagnetic fields within the interrogation corridors. The reader outputs RF power from a single port to the multiple antennas via a splitter/combiner. In this way, a single RF reader with only one transmitter/receiver port simultaneously interrogates multiple antennas. A variety of techniques are described by which the reader can detect the removal of an unauthorized article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2006
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Seth A. Lieffort, Edward D. Goff, Ronald D. Jesme, Thomas C. Mercer
  • Patent number: 7113108
    Abstract: An emergency vehicle traffic signal preemption system using existing inductive traffic loops that is either “car-active” or “car-passive”. In the “car-active” system, a passive element having position information transmits an ID tag and the position information to a transceiver in the vehicle when an emergency vehicle is detected by the existing inductive traffic loop. In the “car-passive” system, a transceiver at the intersection is activated to send an excitation signal to a transponder on the emergency vehicle. The transponder responds with the emergency vehicle ID. The transceiver in the vehicle in the “car-active” system or the transceiver at the intersection in the “car-passive” system, transmit position information to the traffic controller to preempt operation of the traffic signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2006
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Aaron D. Bachelder, Conrad F. Foster
  • Patent number: 7109867
    Abstract: A radio-frequency identification (RFID) and an electronic article surveillance (EAS) tag includes an RFID device and an EAS device. The RFID device may operate in a plurality of states including an activated state in which communication with a reader is enabled and a deactivated state in which communication with a reader is disabled. The EAS device may operate in a plurality of states including an activated state in which activation of an alarm is enabled and a deactivated state in which activation of an alarm is disable. The RFID device may be deactivated when the EAS device is deactivated. For example, the same piece of equipment that deactivates the EAS device also deactivates the RFID device at the same time. The RFID device may include an antenna, an RFID chip connected to the antenna for communicating with a reader, and an active element operatively disposed with respect to the antenna.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2006
    Assignee: Avery Dennison Corporation
    Inventor: Ian James Forster
  • Patent number: 7109874
    Abstract: A smoke detector unit (20) comprising a housing containing a smoke detector (24) and at least two component mounting boards, such as printed circuit boards, in a stacked arrangement, the housing having at least one air gap (34), wherein one of the boards (36) is inverted with respect to the other and the detector is positioned on the lower board whereby, in use, the detector extends upwardly between the boards. The housing may be in the form of a ceiling rose.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2006
    Assignee: Acbond Limited
    Inventor: David James Pilkington
  • Patent number: 7106185
    Abstract: A full function light bar is provided mountable inside a vehicle against the windshield. The light bar is an assembly of several light sources, including strobe lamps, flashing lamps, oscillating lamps, and an aimable take down lamp. The light bar is not limited in application to one specific vehicular model and is adaptable and adjustable to conform to the windshield, rear window, or other interior cab surfaces of varying shape (curvature). The light sources are supported on a flexible support mount which has adjustable, flexible gaskets. End caps and the gaskets screen the inside of the vehicle from the light emitted by the light bar. The support mount is hung on adjustable brackets which allow the light bar to be raised, lowered and tilted to further facilitate conformance with the windshield.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Assignee: Star Headlight and Lantern Co., Inc.
    Inventor: Steven W. Neufeglise
  • Patent number: 7091858
    Abstract: An electronic article surveillance antenna system for wide exit interrogation zones is provided. In a first aspect, a first and a second transmit antenna, each adapted for installation on opposite sides of a wide interrogation zone. A third transmit antenna is adapted for installation adjacent the ceiling of the wide interrogation zone. The first, second, and third transmit antennas are connectable to a transmitter for generation of an interrogation signal for transmission into the wide interrogation zone. A plurality of amorphous core receiver antennas are adapted for installation in the grout region of a floor of the wide interrogation zone. The output of each of the plurality of amorphous core receiver antennas are connectable to a receiver for detection of a response signal from an electronic article surveillance tag disposed in the wide interrogation zone. The response signal is responsive to the interrogation signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2006
    Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Richard L. Copeland, Stewart Hall, William Farrell
  • Patent number: 7091848
    Abstract: One or more enclosures constructed about one or more objects at which hot work is to be performed at a facility containing flammable and/or combustible material. Hot work includes such things as welding, torch cutting, grinding and the like that produces heat, spark, slag or flame. The one or more enclosures are capable of being simultaneously and independently controlled and monitored by a single control and monitoring system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2006
    Assignee: Alford Safety Services, Inc.
    Inventor: Jason P. Albarado
  • Patent number: 7088266
    Abstract: A map image display device is configured and arranged to improve operability by enabling a map image of a location distant from a currently displayed map image to be appropriately displayed with a simple operation. The map image display device displays names that are subject to a user's input command superimposed on a map image, and, if one of the displayed names is specified, switches the map image to be displayed to a map image in the vicinity of the specified name. At this time, the map image display device selects as the name to be superimposed on the map image at least one distant map name that is not included in the map image to be displayed, and displays that selected distant map name superimposed in the map image peripheral part corresponding to the bearing from the center of the map image to be displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Watanabe, Fumio Seto, Okihiko Nakayama
  • Patent number: 7088259
    Abstract: In accordance with the present invention, a parent unit (receiver) of an infant monitor includes an electronics housing, an antenna, a speaker, and a visual light display portion. In one embodiment, the light display portion is mounted on the front surface of the monitor. In another embodiment, the light display portion is mounted in conjunction with the antenna. The light display portion may include elongate light display members associated with individual light sources (LEDs). Also in accordance with the present invention, a parent unit of an infant monitor includes an LED test or LED “try-me” switch which allows the parent to both test the visual output of the light display portion of the parent unit (prior to purchase) and test the functioning of the light display portion (after purchase and removal from the packaging) without actually receiving actual sound-representative signals from the infant unit (transmitter).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael D. Armbruster, Karen Fitzgerald
  • Patent number: 7084774
    Abstract: A method and implementing computerized system are provided for enabling point-specific temperature control for a given airspace. In an exemplary embodiment, infrared sensing devices are positioned in a vehicle to sense and record temperatures at various points within the vehicle airspace. This temperature profile is mapped relative to points within the vehicle and compared to a preferred temperature database to provide temperature control signals. The temperature control signals are, in turn, applied to temperature control air vent devices which are effective to direct appropriate air flows to specific areas such that actual measured temperatures at control points in the vehicle airspace approach the preferred temperatures for the respective control points. In another example, when sensed temperatures are above or below predetermined emergency condition limits for a predetermined period of time, various alarm systems are activated until the sensed emergency condition is corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Anthony Edward Martinez
  • Patent number: 7084758
    Abstract: A mobile computing device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) or smart phone (102), is equipped with a location detector, such as a WLAN transceiver (112) or global positioning system (GPS) receiver (134), and is programmed with a condition detection program (145) by the user to suppress or modify reminder alerts (212) for an event scheduled in the calendar program (141) if a condition or status associated with scheduled event is detected by the condition detection program (145). The condition detection program (145) is further programmed to issue a reminder alert (210) if the condition or status is not detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Terry Lynn Cole
  • Patent number: 7081835
    Abstract: A control device for the actuation of lamps in particular for internal aircraft lighting, wherein the control device (1) has an input (18) for the supply of an input signal and a plurality of outputs (21–28) for passing output signals to connected lamps (L1–L8). In the control device (1) a signal processing module (8–12) is preferably formed by a microprocessor and a preferably freely programmable electronic memory (13–17). The signal processing module (8–12) produces the output signals from the input signal in accordance with a conversion instruction deposited in the memory (13–17), wherein different conversion instructions can be stored in the memory (13–17) for output signals belonging to different outputs (21–28).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2006
    Assignees: Diehl Luftfahrt Elektronik GmbH, Airbus Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Walter Fleischmann, Carsten Kohlmeier-Beckmann
  • Patent number: 7079017
    Abstract: A warning system for a vehicle is provided. The warning system has a sensor for detecting an obstruction near the vehicle, a control apparatus to produce a signal in response to the detected obstruction, and an alert device configured to direct a driver's attention to the obstruction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2006
    Assignee: Lang-Mekra North America, LLC
    Inventors: Heinrich Lang, Michael Witzke, Jaap-Jan Snel