Patents by Inventor Thomas Michael Shapland

Thomas Michael Shapland 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).

  • Determining sensible heat flux without calibration
    Patent number: 9714874
    Abstract: By correcting temperature measurements above a surface (such as the ground) for the first-order filtering associated with the thermal inertia of a temperature sensor (such as a thermocouple) that performed the temperature measurements, the heat flux conveyed from the surface by air can be accurately determined without requiring a calibration procedure. Instead, a predefined calibration value may be used. This predefined calibration value may be a function of a size of the temperature sensor and/or a distance between the temperature sensor and the ground. Moreover, the predefined calibration value may have a fixed value for a given size of the temperature sensor. In addition, the measurement of the heat flux conveyed from the surface can be used to accurately determine the residual heat flux that vaporizes water from the surface without a calibration procedure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignees: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Thomas Michael Shapland, Kyaw Tha Paw U, Richard Snyder, Andrew McElrone
  • DETERMINING SENSIBLE HEAT FLUX WITHOUT CALIBRATION
    Publication number: 20140348201
    Abstract: By correcting temperature measurements above a surface (such as the ground) for the first-order filtering associated with the thermal inertia of a temperature sensor (such as a thermocouple) that performed the temperature measurements, the heat flux conveyed from the surface by air can be accurately determined without requiring a calibration procedure. Instead, a predefined calibration value may be used. This predefined calibration value may be a function of a size of the temperature sensor and/or a distance between the temperature sensor and the ground. Moreover, the predefined calibration value may have a fixed value for a given size of the temperature sensor. In addition, the measurement of the heat flux conveyed from the surface can be used to accurately determine the residual heat flux that vaporizes water from the surface without a calibration procedure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2014
    Publication date: November 27, 2014
    Applicant: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Thomas Michael Shapland, Kyaw Tha Paw U, Richard Snyder, Andrew McElrone