Patents by Inventor Michael Patrick Hills
Michael Patrick Hills 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).
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Patent number: 11986951Abstract: Pre-plating systems and related methods are disclosed. A pre-plating system includes a press, an infeed robot configured to deliver a structural member to the press, and an outfeed robot configured to remove the structural member from the press. The press is configured to secure a plate to the structural member while the structural member is held in position by at least one of the infeed robot or the outfeed robot. A pre-plating system includes a press, a transfer pedestal, a plate picking robot, and a press loading robot. The plate picking robot is configured to pick a plate from a container and position the plate on the transfer pedestal. The press loading robot is configured to transfer the plate to the press. The press is configured to press the plate into a structural member positioned within the press.Type: GrantFiled: December 8, 2022Date of Patent: May 21, 2024Assignee: House of Design LLCInventors: Michael Patrick Baker, Cole Jay Logemann, Anthony Edward Lancaster, Chris Scot Annin, Anthony Wayne Foster, Jeffrey Michael Hill, Shane Christopher Dittrich, Kristopher Ryan Okelberry
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Patent number: 11949406Abstract: A driver can be configured to provide sensed phase currents as feedback to a controller to indicate the output currents from each phase of a switch mode power supply (SMPS). The driver can be configured to temperature compensate the sensed currents in one of two ways. If a temperature sensor is directly coupled to the driver, then the driver may be configured to temperature compensate the sensed currents from each phase based on a temperature measurement made by the temperature sensor. If a temperature sensor is not directly coupled to the driver, then the driver may be configured to temperature compensate the sensed current from each phase based on a temperature signal received from a bus coupled to the driver. The bus can communicate the temperature signal so that multiple drivers can utilize one temperature sensor.Type: GrantFiled: February 16, 2022Date of Patent: April 2, 2024Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLCInventors: Paul J. Harriman, Thomas Patrick Duffy, James George Hill, Michael Scott Lay, Margaret Spillane
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Patent number: 9684418Abstract: A water-resistant capacitance sensing apparatus comprising a plurality of capacitive sense elements and a capacitance sensing circuit configured to measure both the mutual capacitance and self-capacitance on the plurality of capacitive sense elements. A method for water-resistant capacitance sensing, the method comprising performing a self-capacitance scan and a mutual capacitance scan, and detecting, by a processing device, a presence of an object with the plurality of sense elements. The method further determines whether the detected presence of the object is legitimate.Type: GrantFiled: July 8, 2014Date of Patent: June 20, 2017Assignee: PARADE TECHNOLOGIES, LTD.Inventors: Michael Patrick Hills, Volodymyr Burkovskyy, Oleksandr Karpin, Seok-Pyong Park, Patrick Prendergast
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Patent number: 9684409Abstract: A method calculates the position of a conductive object hovering above a plurality of mutual capacitance sensors, where each mutual capacitance sensor is represented as a unit cell in an array of unit cells. The method measures the capacitance of each sensor. The method identifies a peak unit cell based on the measured capacitances and calculates an edge cutoff value. A plurality of unit cells with measured capacitances within a range defined by the edge cutoff value are selected and the position of the hovering object is calculated. In some embodiments, the array comprises a first plurality of capacitance sensing electrodes disposed along a first axis and a second plurality of capacitance sensing electrodes disposed along a second axis. In some embodiments, the array and a controller form a user interface device, and the controller is configured to calculate the position of the conductive object using the method described above.Type: GrantFiled: December 15, 2015Date of Patent: June 20, 2017Assignee: PARADE TECHNOLOGIES, LTD.Inventors: Michael Patrick Hills, Patrick N. Prendergast, Wei He
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Publication number: 20160117017Abstract: Apparatuses and methods of high-voltage capacitance-sensing circuits are described. One apparatus includes a capacitance-sensing circuit coupled to a capacitive-sense array of electrodes. The capacitance-sensing circuit includes a self-capacitance sensing channel, a first voltage source (e.g., a low-voltage drive source) to drive a reference voltage, and a second voltage source (e.g., high-voltage drive source) to drive a sensing voltage. The sensing voltage is greater in magnitude than the reference voltage. The capacitance-sensing circuit also includes 1) a first set of switches to selectively couple the self-capacitance sensing channel or the second voltage source to a sensing electrode of the capacitance-sensing array; and 2) a second set of switches to selectively couple the first voltage source or the second voltage source to a shielding electrode of the capacitance-sensing array.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 15, 2015Publication date: April 28, 2016Inventors: Viktor Kremin, Andriy Maharyta, Michael Patrick Hills
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Publication number: 20160098147Abstract: A method calculates the position of a conductive object hovering above a plurality of mutual capacitance sensors, where each mutual capacitance sensor is represented as a unit cell in an array of unit cells. The method measures the capacitance of each sensor. The method identifies a peak unit cell based on the measured capacitances and calculates an edge cutoff value. A plurality of unit cells with measured capacitances within a range defined by the edge cutoff value are selected and the position of the hovering object is calculated. In some embodiments, the array comprises a first plurality of capacitance sensing electrodes disposed along a first axis and a second plurality of capacitance sensing electrodes disposed along a second axis. In some embodiments, the array and a controller form a user interface device, and the controller is configured to calculate the position of the conductive object using the method described above.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 15, 2015Publication date: April 7, 2016Inventors: Michael Patrick Hills, Patrick N. Prendergast, Wei He
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Patent number: 9213458Abstract: A method is disclosed for calculating position of a conductive object hovering above a plurality of mutual capacitance sensors. The method begins by measuring capacitance on a plurality of mutual capacitance sensors, each mutual capacitance sensor represented as a unit cell in an array of unit cells. After measuring the capacitances, the method identifies a peak unit cell based on the measured capacitances and calculates an edge cutoff value from the measured capacitances. After the edge cutoff value is calculated, a plurality of unit cells with measured capacitance within a range defined by the edge cutoff value is selected and the position of the hovering conductive object calculated. A user interface device is disclosed that comprises a first plurality capacitance sensing electrodes disposed along a first axis of an array, a second plurality of capacitance sensing electrodes disposed along a second axis of an array, and a controller.Type: GrantFiled: October 13, 2014Date of Patent: December 15, 2015Assignee: PARADE TECHNOLOGIES, LTD.Inventors: Michael Patrick Hills, Patrick N. Prendergast, Wei He
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Publication number: 20150103043Abstract: A method is disclosed for calculating position of a conductive object hovering above a plurality of mutual capacitance sensors. The method begins by measuring capacitance on a plurality of mutual capacitance sensors, each mutual capacitance sensor represented as a unit cell in an array of unit cells. After measuring the capacitances, the method identifies a peak unit cell based on the measured capacitances and calculates an edge cutoff value from the measured capacitances. After the edge cutoff value is calculated, a plurality of unit cells with measured capacitance within a range defined by the edge cutoff value is selected and the position of the hovering conductive object calculated. A user interface device is disclosed that comprises a first plurality capacitance sensing electrodes disposed along a first axis of an array, a second plurality of capacitance sensing electrodes disposed along a second axis of an array, and a controller.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 13, 2014Publication date: April 16, 2015Inventors: Michael Patrick Hills, Patrick N. Prendergast, Wei He
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Patent number: 8773146Abstract: A water-resistant capacitance sensing apparatus comprising a plurality of capacitive sense elements and a capacitance sensing circuit configured to measure both the mutual capacitance and self-capacitance on the plurality of capacitive sense elements. A method for water-resistant capacitance sensing, the method comprising performing a self-capacitance scan and a mutual capacitance scan, and detecting, by a processing device, a presence of an object with the plurality of sense elements. The method further determines whether the detected presence of the object is legitimate.Type: GrantFiled: March 30, 2011Date of Patent: July 8, 2014Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Michael Patrick Hills, Volodymyr Burkovskyy, Oleksandr Karpin, Seok Pyong Park, Patrick Prendergast
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Patent number: 8773396Abstract: A system comprises a processing device and a capacitive sense array that includes a plurality of electrodes is disclosed. When a touchdown of a touch object is detected, the change in a touch area (e.g., an area where the touch object is in contact with the touch panel) caused by the touchdown may not be reported as a movement of the touch object. When a liftoff of the touch object is detected, the change in the touch area caused by the liftoff may not be reported as a movement of the touch object.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 2013Date of Patent: July 8, 2014Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Petro Ksondzyk, Michael Patrick Hills, Chang Kyoung Kim