Patents by Inventor David J. Kenny

David J. Kenny 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).

  • Patent number: 9138171
    Abstract: A system and method for detecting swallowing activity is provided. In an embodiment, a method includes receiving an electronic signal from an acceleronic signal from an accelerometer that represents swallowing activity, extracting at least two features from the signal, classifying the signal as a type of swallowing activity based on the extracted features, and generating an output of the classification. Exemplary activities include swallows, aspirations, movement and vocal artifacts. By indicating whether an activity is a swallow or an aspiration, the manner in which a patient afflicted with an increased likelihood for aspirations is fed can be adjusted to increase the likelihood of achieving a swallow instead of an aspiration during feeding. In turn this could reduce hospitalizations for aspiration pneumonia in patients with acute or chronic injury.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
    Inventors: Thomas T. K. Chau, David J. Kenny, Michael J. Casas, Glenn Berall
  • Patent number: 7749177
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for detecting swallowing activity is provided. In an embodiment, a method includes receiving an electronic signal from an accelerometer that represents swallowing activity, extracting at least two features from the signal, classifying the signal as a type of swallowing activity based on the extracted features, and generating an output of the classification. Exemplary activities include swallows, aspirations, movement and vocal artifacts. By indicating whether an activity is a swallow or an aspiration, the manner in which a patient afflicted with an increased likelihood for aspirations is fed can be adjusted to increase the likelihood of achieving a swallow instead of an aspiration during feeding. In turn this could reduce hospitalizations for aspiration pneumonia in patients with acute or chronic injury.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: Bloorview Kids Rehab
    Inventors: Thomas T. K. Chau, David J. Kenny, Michael J. Casas, Glenn Berall
  • Publication number: 20090227908
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for detecting swallowing activity is provided. In an embodiment, a method includes receiving an electronic signal from an accelerometer that represents swallowing activity, extracting at least two features from the signal, classifying the signal as a type of swallowing activity based on the extracted features, and generating an output of the classification. Exemplary activities include swallows, aspirations, movement and vocal artifacts. By indicating whether an activity is a swallow or an aspiration, the manner in which a patient afflicted with an increased likelihood for aspirations is fed can be adjusted to increase the likelihood of achieving a swallow instead of an aspiration during feeding. In turn this could reduce hospitalizations for aspiration pneumonia in patients with acute or chronic injury.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2009
    Publication date: September 10, 2009
    Applicant: Bloorview Kids Rehab
    Inventors: Thomas T.K. Chau, David J. Kenny, Michael J. Casas, Glenn Berall
  • Publication number: 20080269646
    Abstract: A system and method for detecting swallowing activity is provided. In an embodiment, a method includes receiving an electronic signal from an acceleronic signal from an accelerometer that represents swallowing activity, extracting at least two features from the signal, classifying the signal as a type of swallowing activity based on the extracted features, and generating an output of the classification. Exemplary activities include swallows, aspirations, movement and vocal artifacts. By indicating whether an activity is a swallow or an aspiration, the manner in which a patient afflicted with an increased likelihood for aspirations is fed can be adjusted to increase the likelihood of achieving a swallow instead of an aspiration during feeding. In turn this could reduce hospitalizations for aspiration pneumonia in patients with acute or chronic injury.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2005
    Publication date: October 30, 2008
    Applicant: BLOORVIEW MACMILLAN CHILDREN'S CENTRE
    Inventors: Thomas T. K. Chau, David J. Kenny, Michael J. Casas, Glenn Berall
  • Patent number: 7246434
    Abstract: A printed-circuit board (PCB) module has co-planar solder pads on a bottom surface. The solder pads can be surface-mounted to pads on a main board, allowing the PCB module to be surface mounted without wire leads extending from the PCB module substrate. A cavity is formed between the solder pads on the bottom surface. The cavity is formed by milling away some of the thickness of a sacrificial insulator layer, which is the insulator layer under the solder-pad metal layer. The sacrificial insulator layer can be made thicker to allow for milling the cavity without milling into inner metal layers on the PCB module. After milling away much of the sacrificial insulator layer, stand-offs remain under the solder pads, providing a stand-off gap between the top of the cavity and the solder pads when soldered to the main board. The stand-off gap allows for cleaning under the PCB module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Assignee: Pericom Semiconductor Corp.
    Inventors: Craig M. Taylor, David J. Kenny
  • Patent number: 7173495
    Abstract: A redundant-source clock generator has only two oscillators, rather than three oscillators. A secondary oscillator is phase-locked to a primary clock from a primary oscillator using a phase detector, charge pump, and filter that generate a control voltage to the secondary oscillator that determine the frequency of a secondary clock. The primary clock is compared to the secondary clock to detect primary clock failure. When clock failure is detected, a mux is switched to select a delayed secondary clock rather than a delayed primary clock to output as a system clock. Since the mux receives delayed clock signals, clock-failure detection has additional time to detect the clock failure before the clock failure is propagated through the mux. When the primary oscillator fails and the clock failure is detected, the phase detector stops comparing a feedback secondary clock to the primary clock and instead holds the control voltage steady.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: Pericom Semiconductor Corp
    Inventors: David J. Kenny, Kyusun Choi
  • Patent number: 6359476
    Abstract: A frequency correction circuit includes a temperature sensor (100) disposed to measure temperature and produce temperature signals representing sensed temperatures. A data supplier (110) stores information items, receives digital input signals representing and produces a digital output information signal representing an item selected in accordance with the digital input signal. A control circuit (120) receives the temperature signals and receives the digital output information signal. The control circuit (120) produces control signals based on the temperature signals. A clock circuit (150) is disposed to generate a reference frequency signal. A digital synthesizer (130) receives the reference frequency signal and the control signals. The digital synthesizer produces an output frequency signal as directed by the control signals received from the control circuit (120).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2002
    Assignee: The Connor Winfield Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth D. Hartman, David J. Kenny, Matthew J. Klueppel
  • Publication number: 20010030556
    Abstract: A frequency correction circuit includes a temperature sensor (100) disposed to measure temperature and produce temperature signals representing sensed temperatures. A data supplier (110) stores information items, receives digital input signals representing and produces a digital output information signal representing an item selected in accordance with the digital input signal. A control circuit (120) receives the temperature signals and receives the digital output information signal. The control circuit (120) produces control signals based on the temperature signals. A clock circuit (150) is disposed to generate a reference frequency signal. A digital synthesizer (130) receives the reference frequency signal and the control signals. The digital synthesizer produces an output frequency signal as directed by the control signals received from the control circuit (120).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2001
    Publication date: October 18, 2001
    Inventors: Kenneth D. Hartman, David J. Kenny, Matthew J. Klueppel
  • Patent number: 6249155
    Abstract: A frequency correction circuit includes a temperature sensor (100) disposed to measure temperature and produce temperature signals representing sensed temperatures. A data supplier (110) stores information items, receives digital input signals representing and produces a digital output information signal representing an item selected in accordance with the digital input signal. A control circuit (120) receives the temperature signals and receives the digital output information signal. The control circuit (120) produces control signals based on the temperature signals. A clock circuit (150) is disposed to generate a reference frequency signal. A digital synthesizer (130) receives the reference frequency signal and the control signals. The digital synthesizer produces an output frequency signal as directed by the control signals received from the control circuit (120).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2001
    Assignee: The Connor Winfield Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth D. Hartman, David J. Kenny, Matthew J. Klueppel