Patents by Inventor Thomas Schaaf
Thomas Schaaf 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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Publication number: 20230402030Abstract: Systems and techniques for identifying dictation within an audio stream are disclosed including training a first neural network model stored in a computer memory that is configured to process audio data to identify one or more audio segments that are indicative of dictation without using automatic speech recognition, training a second neural network model stored in the computer memory that is configured to process audio data using automatic speech recognition, analyzing the stored audio data using the first neural network to identify one or more segments in the audio data that are indicative of dictation, and analyzing the one or more identified segments that are indicative of dictation to extract one or more features from the one or more identified segments.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 19, 2021Publication date: December 14, 2023Inventors: Thomas Schaaf, Alireza Bayestehtashk, Mark C. Fuhs
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Patent number: 11767936Abstract: A pipe connection includes at least one end of a plastic pipe or a metal plastic composite pipe and one connecting element with at least one support body provided with circumferential ribs, onto which the end of the pipe is slid. For the expansion ratio R(exp) of the pipe connection, the following applies: 0.05<R(exp)=[D(max)/D(internal)]?1<0.35 wherein D(max) stands for the maximum external diameter of the circumferential ribs and D(internal) for the internal diameter of the pipe.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2016Date of Patent: September 26, 2023Assignee: REHAU CONSTRUCTION LLCInventors: Dörte Hundeshagen, Thomas Schaaf, Hansi Homburg, Oliver Vocks, Andreas Kirchberger
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Patent number: 11767935Abstract: A connecting element produces a pipe connection between the connecting element and a plastic pipe or a metal-plastic composite pipe by using axial pressing technology. The connecting element has at least one support body provided with circumferential external ribs for press-fitting an expanded end of the pipe onto, and includes at least one circumferential collar, wherein the connecting element between the circumferential collar and the nearest circumferential external rib to the circumferential collar includes a pre-stop for limiting the sliding onto of the expanded end of the pipe. The distance between the edge of the pre-stop facing the circumferential external ribs and the edge of the circumferential collar facing the pre-stop is 0.10 times to 0.30 times the length of the support body.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2016Date of Patent: September 26, 2023Assignee: REHAU Construction LLCInventors: Dörte Hundeshagen, Thomas Schaaf, Hansi Homburg, Oliver Vocks, Andreas Kirchberger
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Patent number: 11512802Abstract: A sliding sleeve for axially sliding onto an expanded end of an all-plastic pipe or a plastic composite pipe, into which is slid a support body having circumferential external ribs of an connecting element is made of an elastically-deformable polymeric material. The internal surface of the sliding sleeve has an average roughness value Ra in a range starting from 1 ?m to half of the average wall thickness of the sliding sleeve. In another embodiment, the inner surface of the sliding sleeve has a plurality of macroscopic irregularities, the depth of which does not exceed half of the average wall thickness of the sliding sleeve.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2016Date of Patent: November 29, 2022Assignee: REHAU CONSTRUCTION LLCInventors: Thomas Schaaf, Hansi Homburg, Oliver Vocks, Andreas Kirchberger
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Patent number: 11404075Abstract: Techniques for confirming an operator of a vehicle is drowsy are described. A vehicle computing system sends data (e.g., raw sensor data and/or alert data corresponding to an indication that a driver is impaired determined based on the raw sensor data) to a remote server(s). The remote server(s) confirms the driver is impaired based on the raw sensor data and/or other contextual data. The remote server(s) then receives output data from a speechlet and causes the vehicle computing system to present output audio corresponding to output data.Type: GrantFiled: November 9, 2017Date of Patent: August 2, 2022Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Hamza Lakhani, Thomas Schaaf, Leah Rose Nicolich-Henkin, Ricardo DeMatos, Mingzhi Yu
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Patent number: 11321756Abstract: In some cases, a handheld device that includes a microphone and a scanner may be used for voice-assisted scanning. For example, a user may provide a voice input via the microphone and may activate the scanner to scan an item identifier (e.g., a barcode). The handheld device may communicate voice data and item identifier information to a remote system for voice-assisted scanning. The remote system may perform automatic speech recognition (ASR) operations on the voice data and may perform item identification operations based on the scanned identifier. Natural language understanding (NLU) processing may be improved by combining ASR information with item information obtained based on the scanned identifier. An action may be executed based on the likely user intent.Type: GrantFiled: September 18, 2017Date of Patent: May 3, 2022Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Thomas Schaaf, Stan Weidner Salvador
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Patent number: 11273778Abstract: Techniques for engaging a drowsy or otherwise impaired driver of a vehicle in a VUI dialog are described. A vehicle computing system sends data (e.g., raw sensor data and/or an indication that a driver is impaired determined based on the raw sensor data) to a remote server(s). The remote server(s) may separately determine whether the driver is impaired based on the raw sensor data and/or other contextual data. The remote server(s) selects a speechlet to provide output data based on the sensor data, contextual data, and or a level at which the driver is impaired. The remote server(s) then causes the vehicle computing system to present output audio corresponding to output data provided by the speechlet.Type: GrantFiled: November 9, 2017Date of Patent: March 15, 2022Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Hamza Lakhani, Thomas Schaaf, Leah Rose Nicolich-Henkin, Ricardo DeMatos, Mingzhi Yu
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Patent number: 11090789Abstract: A sliding element for transmitting a sliding force onto a sliding sleeve which is provided to be slid, at least in sections, onto a widened end region of a tube has at least one stop surface with a recess, wherein the stop surface is designed for arranging the sliding sleeve on the stop surface and the recess is designed for the arrangement of a portion of the tube. The stop surface has an edge facing away from the recess and an edge facing the recess. The stop surface comprises at least two raised regions which are arranged spaced apart from that edge of the stop surface which faces away from the recess, and/or the stop surface comprises two extension portions which extend the stop surface on both sides of the recess beyond the end of a respective limb.Type: GrantFiled: February 10, 2017Date of Patent: August 17, 2021Assignee: REHAU CONSTRUCTION LLCInventors: Andreas Kirchberger, Thomas Schaaf, Hansi Homburg, Oliver Vocks
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Patent number: 11060644Abstract: A sliding sleeve connection between an expanded end of an all-plastic pipe or of a plastic composite pipe and a connecting element includes an expanded end of an all-plastic pipe or of a plastic composite pipe; a connecting element having at least one support body provided with circumferential external ribs, onto which the expanded end of the all-plastic pipe or of the plastic composite pipe is slid, and at least one circumferential collar; and a sliding sleeve made of elastically deformable polymer material axially slid onto the expanded end. The connecting element includes a pre-stop between the circumferential collar and the nearest circumferential external rib to the latter. The pre-stop constitutes a limitation for sliding onto the end of the pipe. The end of the sliding sleeve facing the circumferential collar protrudes beyond the end of the pre-stop facing the circumferential external rib.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2016Date of Patent: July 13, 2021Assignee: REHAU CONSTRUCTION LLC.Inventors: Dörte Hundeshagen, Thomas Schaaf, Hansi Homburg, Oliver Vocks, Andreas Kirchberger
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Publication number: 20210069880Abstract: The invention relates to a sliding element (10) for transmitting a sliding force onto a sliding sleeve (54), which is provided to be slid, at least sectionally, onto a widened end area (40) of a tube (42). The sliding element (10) is provided with at least one stop surface (20) having a recess (22), wherein the stop surface (20) is designed for arranging the sliding sleeve (54) on the stop surface (20), and the recess (22) for arranging a section of the tube (42). The stop surface (20) has a rim (25) that is facing away from the recess (22) and a rim (26) that is facing the recess (22), wherein the stop surface (20) comprises at least two raised areas (27, 27?), which are arranged spaced apart from the rim (25) of the stop surface (20) that faces away from the recess (22), and/or wherein the stop surface (20) comprises two extension sections (30, 30?), which on both sides of the recess (22) extend the stop surface (20) beyond the end of a respective leg (23, 24).Type: ApplicationFiled: February 10, 2017Publication date: March 11, 2021Inventors: Andreas KIRCHBERGER, Thomas SCHAAF, Hansi HOMBURG
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Publication number: 20200271260Abstract: The present invention relates to a sliding sleeve (1) for axially sliding onto an expanded end of an all-plastic pipe (4) or a plastic composite pipe, into which is slid a support body (6, 6a) having circumferential external ribs (7, 7a, 7b, 7c) of an connecting element (3), wherein the sliding sleeve (1) is made of an elastically-deformable polymeric material, wherein the internal surface (2) of the sliding sleeve (1) has an average roughness value Ra in a range starting from 1 ?m to half of the average wall thickness of the sliding sleeve (1).Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2016Publication date: August 27, 2020Inventors: Thomas SCHAAF, Hansi HOMBURG, Oliver VOCKS, Andreas KIRCHBERGER
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Patent number: 10296959Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for automated analysis of audio recordings and/or automated recommendations of audio recordings. The audio recordings may be automatically analyzed based on power, frequency, tempo, complexity, dimensionality, other audio features, and/or some combination thereof. Automated recommendations of audio recordings may be provided based at least on the variability levels. User interfaces may be provided to receive user feedback of preferred audio recordings and to select audio recordings to recommend based on the user feedback and the automated analysis. The automated recommendations may be further based on user purchase data and/or listening history.Type: GrantFiled: March 30, 2015Date of Patent: May 21, 2019Assignee: Audible, Inc.Inventors: Darya Chernikhova, Thomas Schaaf
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Publication number: 20180372252Abstract: The present invention relates to a sliding sleeve connection (6) between an expanded end (8) of an all-plastic pipe (7) or of a plastic composite pipe and a connecting element (1), which comprises an expanded end (8) of an all-plastic pipe (7) or of a plastic composite pipe; a connecting element (1) having at least one support body (2, 2a) provided with circumferential external ribs (3, 3a, 3b), onto which the expanded end (8) of the all-plastic pipe (7) or of the plastic composite pipe (7) is slid, and at least one circumferential collar (5, 5a); and a sliding sleeve (9) made of elastically deformable polymer material axially slid onto the expanded end (8), wherein the connecting element (1) comprises a pre-stop (4, 4a) between the circumferential collar (5, 5a) and the nearest circumferential external rib (3b) to the latter, and said pre-stop (4, 4a) constitutes a limitation for sliding onto the end of the pipe (8), wherein the end of the sliding sleeve (9) facing the circumferential collar (5, 5a) protrudeType: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2016Publication date: December 27, 2018Inventors: Dörte HUNDESHAGEN, Thomas SCHAAF, Hansi HOMBURG, Oliver VOCKS, Andreas KIRCHBERGER
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Publication number: 20180372249Abstract: The present invention relates to a pipe connection (1), which comprises at least one end of a plastic pipe (2) or metal plastic composite pipe (2) and one connecting element (3) with at least one support body (4, 4a) provided with circumferential ribs (5, 5a, 5b, 5c), onto which the end of the pipe (2) is slid, wherein, for the expansion ratio R(exp) of the pipe connection (1), the following applies: 0.05<R(on)=[D(max)/D(internal)]?1<0.35 wherein D(max) stands for the maximum external diameter of the circumferential ribs (5, 5a, 5b, 5c) and D(internal) for the internal diameter of the pipe (2).Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2016Publication date: December 27, 2018Inventors: Dörte HUNDESHAGEN, Thomas SCHAAF, Hansi HOMBURG, Oliver VOCKS, Andreas KIRCHBERGER
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Publication number: 20180372248Abstract: The present invention relates to a connecting element (1) for producing a pipe connection (6) between the connecting element (1) and a plastic pipe (7) or a metal-plastic composite pipe by using axial pressing technology, wherein the connecting element (1) has at least one support body (2, 2a) provided with circumferential external ribs (3, 3a, 3b) for press-fitting an expanded end (8) of the pipe (7) onto, and comprises at least one circumferential collar (5, 5a), wherein the connecting element (1) between the circumferential collar (5, 5a) and the nearest circumferential external rib (3b) to said circumferential collar (5, 5a) further comprises a pre-stop (4, 4a) for limiting the sliding onto of the expanded end (8) of the pipe (7), wherein the distance between the edge of the pre-stop (4, 4a) facing the circumferential external ribs (3, 3a, 3b) and the edge of the circumferential collar (5, 5a) facing the pre-stop (4, 4a) is 0.10 times to 0.30 times the length of the support body (2, 2a).Type: ApplicationFiled: December 19, 2016Publication date: December 27, 2018Inventors: Dörte HUNDESHAGEN, Thomas SCHAAF, Hansi HOMBURG, Oliver VOCKS, Andreas KIRCHBERGER
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Patent number: 9767501Abstract: In some cases, a handheld device that includes a microphone and a scanner may be used for voice-assisted scanning. For example, a user may provide a voice input via the microphone and may activate the scanner to scan an item identifier (e.g., a barcode). The handheld device may communicate voice data and item identifier information to a remote system for voice-assisted scanning. The remote system may perform automatic speech recognition (ASR) operations on the voice data and may perform item identification operations based on the scanned identifier. Natural language understanding (NLU) processing may be improved by combining ASR information with item information obtained based on the scanned identifier. An action may be executed based on the likely user intent.Type: GrantFiled: November 7, 2013Date of Patent: September 19, 2017Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Thomas Schaaf, Stan Weidner Salvador
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Patent number: 9633669Abstract: An audio buffer is used to capture audio in anticipation of a user command to do so. Sensors and processor activity may be monitored, looking for indicia suggesting that the user command may be forthcoming. Upon detecting such indicia, a circular buffer is activated. Audio correction may be applied to the audio stored in the circular buffer. After receiving the user command instructing the device to process or record audio, at least a portion of the audio that was stored in the buffer before the command is combined with audio received after the command. The combined audio may then be processed, transmitted or stored.Type: GrantFiled: September 3, 2013Date of Patent: April 25, 2017Assignee: AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.Inventors: Stan Weidner Salvador, Thomas Schaaf
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Patent number: 9405741Abstract: Features are disclosed for recognizing inappropriate content in an output. The offensive content may be generated as a result of a speech processing error. A system may identify the inappropriate elements of a generated output and select among different appropriate alternatives. The system may be adjusted based on certain user characteristics. The system may be localized based on language and cultural features. The system may modify the generated output based on characteristics such as the tolerance threshold of known persons in the proximity of the system. The tolerance threshold may further be used to personalize and modify available content. Models used by the system may be further trained using input from a user.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 2014Date of Patent: August 2, 2016Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Thomas Schaaf, Sumedha Arvind Kshirsagar, Roger Alix-Gaudreau, Remus Razvan Mois, Rafal Kuklinski, Derek Christopher Murman
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Patent number: 9355636Abstract: Features are provided for selectively scoring portions of user utterances based at least on articulatory features of the portions. One or more articulatory features of a portion of a user utterance can be determined. Acoustic models or subsets of individual acoustic model components (e.g., Gaussians or Gaussian mixture models) can be selected based on the articulatory features of the portion. The portion can then be scored using a selected acoustic model or subset of acoustic model components. The process may be repeated for the multiple portions of the utterance, and speech recognition results can be generated from the scored portions.Type: GrantFiled: September 16, 2013Date of Patent: May 31, 2016Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Jeffrey Cornelius O'Neill, Jeffrey Paul Lilly, Thomas Schaaf
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Patent number: D827107Type: GrantFiled: June 16, 2017Date of Patent: August 28, 2018Assignee: Rehau AG & CoInventors: Thomas Schaaf, Oliver Vocks, Andreas Kirchberger, Hansi Homburg