Patents by Inventor Bruce Flinchbaugh

Bruce Flinchbaugh has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • System and method for determining the distance to an energy emitting object
    Patent number: 5249128
    Abstract: A method and system for range detection using a passive infrared sensing device (10) is disclosed. The method includes determining a region (35,38) on a moving object, such as an automobile (13, 36, 37), the region (35, 38) having a size characteristic of the object and emitting energy (14) characteristic of the object. The next step is to characterize the region by a plurality of feature points (31, 32, 33, 34) and sense the energy emitting from the feature points. The next step is to calculate the distance between the sensing device (10) and the moving object as a function of the feature points. The method has application in adaptive cruise control for automobiles (13, 36, 37). The method includes the use of perspective projection formulae to determine the distance between the sensing device (10) and the moving object 13, 36, 37). To smooth measurements to each other, one embodiment of the method includes the use of an Euler predictor to integrate measurements across measurement firmness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1993
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Vishal Markandey, Bruce Flinchbaugh, Floyd H. Hollister