Patents Represented by Attorney Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
  • Patent number: 7977187
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductive channel region and a gate region. The gate region has at least one buried part extending under the channel region. The buried part of the gate region is formed by forming a cavity under the channel region. That cavity is at least partial filled with silicon and a metal. An annealing step is performed so as to form a silicide of said metal in the cavity. The result is a totally silicided buried gate for the semiconductor device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignees: STMicroelectronics (Crolles 2) SAS, STMicroelectronics S.A.
    Inventors: Emilie Bernard, Bernard Guillaumot, Philippe Coronel
  • Patent number: 7978502
    Abstract: A memory device of the irreversibly electrically programmable type is provided with a memory cell having a dielectric zone disposed between a first electrode and second electrode. An access transistor is connected in series with the second electrode, and an auxiliary transistor is connected in series with the first electrode. The auxiliary transistor is biased to have a saturation current which is lower than a saturation current of the access transistor when both the auxiliary and access transistors are actuated. A number of the memory cells are arranged in a memory plane to form the memory device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.A.
    Inventor: Joel Damien
  • Patent number: 7975765
    Abstract: An enclosed circulation tool for a well including a tubular body having a top end, a bottom end and an interior cavity. A progressive cavity pump positioned at the bottom end of the body, the pump having a rotor mounted within a stator. The rotor has an upper end and a lower end, with the upper end extending into the interior cavity. A drive is coupled to and adapted to rotate the rotor in order to draw sand into the interior cavity. A first fluid passage is provided along which fluids from pumped from surface pass to fluidize solids within the interior cavity. A second fluid passage is provided along which fluidized solids from within the interior cavity pass to surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: Logan Completion Systems Inc.
    Inventor: Ken Manson
  • Patent number: 7978425
    Abstract: A lens barrel is mated with a lens mount through use of a screw thread whereby relative rotation adjusts lens focus. The lens barrel and lens mount are additionally provided with an interengaging formation that is interposed between an optical axis of the lens barrel and the screw thread. This formation provides a cylindrical sliding contact which isolates any particles produced by operation of the screw thread from reaching the optical components at or near the optical axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) Ltd
    Inventor: Eric Christison
  • Patent number: 7971660
    Abstract: A rock bit includes a shaft and a cone mounted for rotation about the shaft at a journal bearing. A seal gland for the rock bit is defined at least by the shaft and the cone. A compressible seal ring is positioned within the seal gland. A thermal insulating ring is installed within the seal gland and positioned between the compressible seal ring itself and the journal bearing to insulate the compressible seal ring from heat radiating from the journal bearing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2011
    Assignee: Varel International, Ind., L.P.
    Inventor: Thomas Gallifet
  • Patent number: 7967051
    Abstract: A torsion coil spring type counterbalance system for an upward acting door includes one or more sleeves disposed over or within the spring coils and engageable with a pre-determined number of spring coils during operation of the spring to modify the spring rate to more closely approximate the required counterbalance forces exertable on the door when the door moves between open and closed positions. The counterbalance system is particularly advantageous for upward acting sectional doors which have one or more sections which are heavier than the other sections, including an uppermost section which may be heavier due to the provision of windows or other structural features of the section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignee: Overhead Door Corporation
    Inventor: Juan M. Diaz
  • Patent number: 7962949
    Abstract: A dual-conversion tuner firstly upconverts so as to place itself outside the receive band and then downconverts with zero intermediate frequency. A filter of the surface acoustic wave type is disposed between the two frequency transposition stages of the tuner. After baseband filtering, the signals are digitized then processed in a digital block comprising a channel decoding module. With the exception of the surface acoustic wave filter, the components are entirely embodied in integrated fashion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.A.
    Inventors: Pierre Busson, Daniel Saias, Frederic Paillardet, Franck Montaudon
  • Patent number: 7959844
    Abstract: Plastic containers are injection molded of HDPE blow molding grade resin having a density of about 0.960 to 0.965 g/cc and a melt index of about 0.7 to 1.0 g/10 min. at injection temperatures of 570° F. to 670° F. and mold cavity pressures of 20,000 psig to 27,000 psig. Relatively thin walled, rigid, livestock feed containers can be manufactured using about 20% to 50% less material while retaining strength and durability comparable to containers molded of HDPE injection molding grade resins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignee: Maxi-Life, Inc.
    Inventors: Victor A. Sahm, III, Charles Hansen
  • Patent number: 7961776
    Abstract: A device for decoding a direct sequence spread spectrum-encoded binary message includes a sampler that captures at least one sequence of binary samples corresponding to one bit of the transmitted message. The captured sequence of samples are applied to a filter matched to the spreading code used, thus making it possible to delete the spreading applied to the original message. The device further includes, at the output of the sampler, an error correction block including a memory storing a plurality of binary sequences corresponding to all of the possible values for a captured sequence of samples. A replacement circuit replaces the captured sequence of samples with the stored sequence, thereby minimizing the number of samples different from the captured sequence of samples, and allowing the stored sequence to be applied to the matched filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignees: STMicroelectronics (Rousset) SAS, Universite de Provence d'Aix-Marseille I
    Inventors: Benoît Durand, Christophe Fraschini, Philippe Courmontagne, Stéphane Meilleire
  • Patent number: 7961203
    Abstract: A display screen is controlled through successive scans of the display screen. Each scan of the display screen includes a successive selection of rows of the display screen. For each row selected, and in accordance with a normal selection, a first column selection mode is implemented wherein a first selection signal is generated for the column, that first selection signal going from a first state towards a second state with an intermediate plateau level therebetween. In an alternative operation, a second column selection mode is provided which replaces the first column selection mode, the second column selection mode including the generation of a second selection signal going from the first state to the second state without any intermediate plateau level. At least at the start of each scan, the first selection mode is replaced by the second selection mode and this second selection mode is maintained for a given column, at the latest, for as long as no deselection of the column has been effected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.A.
    Inventors: Jean-Raphaël Bexal, Jérôme Bourgoin
  • Patent number: 7960734
    Abstract: A finFET field effect transistor is produced by the formation of an electrical junction between the thin fin portion of semiconductor material which forms the channel of the transistor and the circuit substrate. Doping particles are implanted in the substrate through a mask which is then subsequently used to form the thin fin portion of the channel. The channel of the finFET transistor is thus electrically insulated from the circuit substrate in the same manner as in MOS integrated circuits realized from bulk silicon substrates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignees: STMicroelectronics (Crolles 2) SAS, Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum
    Inventor: Damien Lenoble
  • Patent number: 7961969
    Abstract: PSF coding has become well known in recent years. Although it enables significant increases in the depth of field, defocus introduces artifacts in images that are a major detraction from the final image quality. A method is described that enables the deduction or defocus and consequently the removal of these artifacts. The principle of the disclosed techniques involves iteratively adjusting the restoration algorithm according to a chosen image metric and choosing the defocus parameter that yields the image the lowest level of artifact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) Ltd
    Inventors: Ewan Findlay, Andrew Harvey, Bertrand Lucotte, Gonzalo Muyo
  • Patent number: 7960255
    Abstract: A process for forming a wire portion in an integrated electronic circuit includes epitaxially growing the wire portion on a side surface of a seed layer portion (11, 12). Cross-sectional dimensions of the wire portion correspond to a thickness of the seed layer portion and to a duration of the growing step. The seed layer portion is then selectively removed while the wire portion is retained fixedly on the circuit. Afterwards, heating of the circuit can cause the wire portion becoming rounded in cross-section. The wire portion obtained may be about 10 nanometers in diameter. It may be used for forming a channel of a MOS transistor devoid of short channel effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignees: STMicroelectronics (Crolles 2) SAS, NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Philippe Coronel, Benjamin Dumont, Arnaud Pouydebasque, Markus Müller
  • Patent number: 7955871
    Abstract: A switchable resistive device has a multi-layer thin film structure interposed between an upper conductive electrode and a lower conductive electrode. The multi-layer thin film structure comprises a perovskite layer with one buffer layer on one side of the perovskite layer, or a perovskite layer with buffer layers on both sides of the perovskite layer. Reversible resistance changes are induced in the device under applied electrical pulses. The resistance changes of the device are retained after applied electric pulses. The functions of the buffer layer(s) added to the device include magnification of the resistance switching region, reduction of the pulse voltage needed to switch the device, protection of the device from being damaged by a large pulse shock, improvement of the temperature and radiation properties, and increased stability of the device allowing for multivalued memory applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Board of Regents, University of Houston
    Inventors: Naijuan Wu, Xin Chen, Alex Ignatiev
  • Patent number: 7956718
    Abstract: Low cost, low power consumption radio frequency transceivers are incorporated in barrier operator control systems for transmitting signals between an operator control unit, one or more remote control units, a diagnostic or calibration device and an obstruction detector. Similar detector devices, including such transceivers, may be employed in loading docks for detecting the status of dock levelers and vehicle restraint devices. Radio frequency communication eliminates the need for hard wiring and also provides for transmission of commands and status information between various control units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Overhead Door Corporation
    Inventors: Larry D. Murphy, Brian M. Yackey, Grant B. Carlson
  • Patent number: 7946193
    Abstract: An multi-piece foot peg for use with power sport vehicles such as motorcycles and ATVs is provided that, in one embodiment, includes a base that attaches to the frame of the vehicle and a cleat member that attaches to the base wherein the cleat member may be replaced without replacing the entire foot peg thereby enabling economical replacement of worn cleats and enabling the adjustment of foot peg height and aggressiveness of the cleats. The base is configured to define an opening between two sub-components that extend away from the frame of the vehicle. The cleat member includes cleats and at least one opening between the cleats positioned to facilitate the passage of debris through the opening in the cleat member and through the opening in the base such that debris will not build up on the upper surface of the cleat member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignee: Ed Tucker Distributor, Inc.
    Inventor: Brad Smith
  • Patent number: 7949072
    Abstract: A single sideband mixer circuit includes a voltage controlled oscillator operable a tunable frequency f1. The mixer circuit outputs a frequency signal at a frequency f1±f2. A tracking filter operates to filter the frequency signal and generate a first output signal at the frequency f1±f2. A resonance frequency fr of the tracking filter is tunable to substantially match the frequency f1±f2 of the frequency signal. The output signal of the tracking filter may be processed by a phase lock loop circuit to generate a control signal for controlling the setting of the tunable frequency f1 and resonance frequency fr. Alternatively, the output signal of the tracking filter may be divided and the divided signal processed by a phase lock loop circuit to generate the control signal for controlling setting of the tunable frequency f1 and resonance frequency fr.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Assignee: ST-Ericsson SA
    Inventors: Ivan Krivokapic, Thierry Divel
  • Patent number: 7942964
    Abstract: A fiber cement composite material that incorporates a blend of bleached and unbleached cellulose fibers as a partial or complete substitute for premium grade cellulose pulp is provided. Bleached standard grade cellulose fibers are used in conjunction with unbleached, standard grade cellulose fibers to provide a fiber cement composite product having substantially equal or even superior flexibility and strength as an equivalent fiber cement composite material reinforced by premium grade, unbleached cellulose fibers. A synergistic combination of bleached and unbleached standard grade cellulose fibers to produce a composite material with the desired properties previously achievable only through the use of premium grade cellulose pulp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Inventors: Caidian Luo, Donald J. Merkley
  • Patent number: 7944693
    Abstract: A housing for holding electronic plug-in assemblies having a component installation space open toward the front side of the housing for the plug-in assemblies and a fan space arranged above the component installation space with a cover plate and a lateral air outlet. The fan space contains at least one axial fan with an air outlet on the top side of the fan. The axial fan is arranged in the fan space such that air is drawn out from the component installation space. An air-guiding plate that runs in the direction of the air outlet of the fan space is positioned between the top side of the fan and the cover plate of the fan space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: Schroff GmbH
    Inventor: Heinz Kempf
  • Patent number: 7941738
    Abstract: A bit detection event within a read period is characterized by sub-dividing each read period into elementary time intervals. Certain ones of the elementary intervals are selected to for a window and a counting operation for a number of bits detected during the intervals within the window is performed. The elementary time intervals are defined by a difference between a frequency corresponding to the read period and a bit detection timing frequency. The counting result for the intervals in the window over several consecutive read periods is statistically processed. A reduction of an integrated electronic circuit test duration results from limiting the counting operations performed to the selected elementary time intervals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.A.
    Inventors: Hervé Le-Gall, Paul Armagnat, Jean-Christophe Pont