Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Harness, Dickey & Pierc PLC
  • Refrigeration-cycle component assembly and vehicular refrigeration system
    Patent number: 8176744
    Abstract: A refrigeration-cycle component assembly includes a pipe connecting member, a box temperature-sensitive expansion valve, an ejector, a passenger-compartment high-pressure pipe, and a passenger-compartment low-pressure pipe. The component assembly is provided in a flat space, which is defined at a side of an air-conditioning unit in a vehicle transverse direction, and which is flat in the vehicle transverse direction. The pipe connecting member and the refrigerant suction portion are intensively arranged at a vehicle front side in the flat space. The component assembly is entirely covered by a heat insulating member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Oshitani, Mika Gocho, Yoshiaki Takano
  • Image sensors, color filter arrays included in the image sensors, and image pickup apparatuses including the image sensors
    Patent number: 8179456
    Abstract: A color filter array may include two or more yellow filter pixels, one or more green filter pixels, and one or more cyan filter pixels. The two or more yellow filter pixels may be disposed in a first row or rows in a first direction. The one or more green filter pixels and the one or more cyan filter pixels may be disposed in a second row or rows in the first direction. The first row or rows and the second row or rows may alternate in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. In the second direction, either the one or more green filter pixels and at least one of the two or more yellow filter pixels alternate or the one or more cyan filter pixels and at least one of the two or more yellow filter pixels alternate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Jung-yeon Kim, Hiromichi Tanaka
  • Location range setting apparatus, control method and controller for apparatus mounted in mobile object, and automotive air conditioner and control method for the same
    Patent number: 8180539
    Abstract: A location range setting apparatus includes: a location information acquiring unit for acquiring location information indicating the location of a mobile object; a road information acquiring unit for acquiring road segment information indicating a specific segment of a road; a segment determining unit for associating the location information with corresponding road segment information; a storage unit for storing a plurality of pieces of location information and road segment information respectively as learned data; a clustering unit for clustering the plurality of pieces of road segment information included in the learned data into at least a first cluster or a second cluster; and a location range setting unit for determining first and second ranges for the location of the mobile object from the road segment information included in the first and second clusters, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Yasufumi Kojima, Hiroshi Takeda, Kosuke Hara
  • Very high damping mount with bolt-through construction
    Patent number: 8177201
    Abstract: A hydraulic mount has an upper support member and a lower support member. An upper elastomeric spring and a lower elastomeric spring are disposed between the upper support member and the lower support member to define an upper fluid chamber and a lower fluid chamber. A channel extends between the upper and lower chambers. During compression and extension of the hydraulic mount, fluid transfers between the upper and lower chamber to provide a damping force for the hydraulic mount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: The Pullman Company
    Inventor: Robert J. Goudie
  • Electronic safing system
    Patent number: 8180520
    Abstract: The electronic safing system is provided with a safing sensor, a comparator, and a microcomputer. The microcomputer has a programmable analog I/O port which is connected to a built-in AD-DA converter. The programmable analog I/O port can be switched to an analog input port and an analog output port according to an internal register. The programmable analog I/O port is connected to an input terminal of the comparator. When diagnosing the comparing circuit, the microcomputer switches the programmable analog I/O port to the analog output port and outputs a predetermined voltage for diagnosis. Then, the microcomputer diagnoses the comparing circuit by monitoring the output of the comparing circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Shinichi Kiribayashi
  • Vehicle-installation obstacle detection apparatus
    Patent number: 8180561
    Abstract: A vehicle-installed obstacle detection apparatus includes a forward-view camera, and processes resultant image data to detect objects as possible obstacles. A size value such as tail lamp spacing, transmitted from a preceding vehicle, and a corresponding size value as measured in a captured image, are used to calculate the distance of the preceding vehicle. This is used together with a height value transmitted from the preceding vehicle and a corresponding height value measured in the captured image, to calculate the relative height difference between the vehicles, which is then used to discriminate between detected objects which are actual obstacles and objects such as road surface markers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Satoshi Osanai
  • Electric current collector, electrode and charge accumulating device
    Patent number: 8173304
    Abstract: The electric current collector of the present invention comprises a substrate composed of aluminum, a junction layer, formed on the surface of the substrate, in which aluminum and an electrically conductive material having electrical conductivity have been mixed, and an electrical conductor layer, formed on the junction layer, comprising the electrically conductive material. The electrode and the charge accumulating device of the present invention employ the electric current collector of the present invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Kenichirou Kami, Gen Suzuki, Junji Otobe
  • Streaming data playback apparatus
    Patent number: 8176194
    Abstract: A handsfree apparatus performs an operation for requesting a connection of a Bluetooth connection link to a cellular phone after guaranteeing a continuous playback of music streaming data by an audio player in a time slot that does not have packet transfer of the music streaming data, if the connection request of the Bluetooth connection link to the cellular phone is generated during a time of A2DP connection that defines packet transfer of the music streaming data with the audio player. The connection request of the Bluetooth connection link to the cellular phone is thus handled appropriately without interrupting a continuous playback of the music streaming data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Soichi Saito, Hideaki Suzuki
  • In-vehicle apparatus with handsfree function
    Patent number: 8175657
    Abstract: When an in-vehicle handsfree apparatus establishes concurrent connection with a cellular phone via a Bluetooth interface device with respect to a phone book access profile (PBAP) for realizing a phone book data transfer as well as a handsfree profile (HFP) for realizing a handsfree phone call and a message access profile (MAP) for realizing a mail transfer, the in-vehicle apparatus is configured to start a connection process of PBAP without inserting the connection process of MAP, after the completing of the connection process of HFP.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Takafumi Okayasu
  • External combustion engine
    Patent number: 8171730
    Abstract: An external combustion engine provided with a pipe-shaped main container with a heating portion and a cooling portion, an output part converting displacement of the liquid part of said working fluid generated due to the change in volume of said working fluid accompanying generation and condensation of said steam to mechanical energy for output, a venturi provided at a communicating part of the main container and an auxiliary container, a communicating member forming a communicating passage bypassing the venturi and communicating the main container and the auxiliary container, and a shutting means for closing the communicating passage at the time of normal operation and opening the communicating passage at the time of startup, wherein at the time of startup, the pressure loss at the communicating passage becomes smaller than a saturated steam pressure at the temperature of the heating portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Shuzo Oda, Shinichi Yatsuzuka, Yasunori Niiyama, Takashi Kaneko
  • Blower unit
    Patent number: 8167550
    Abstract: A blower unit includes a rotation shaft, a centrifugal fan and a casing. The centrifugal fan has blades arranged around the rotation shaft. The casing has a wall part defining an opening. The ring part has a ring shape having a center coinciding with an axis of the rotation shaft. The ring part is provided at first axial ends of the blades and support the blades. The ring part includes an arcuate wall curved in a radially inward of the centrifugal fan. The centrifugal fan is housed in the casing such that the arcuate wall of the ring part is located radially inside of the opening of the wall part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Takahito Nakamura, Koji Ito, Masaharu Sakai
  • Centrifugal fan and blower having the same
    Patent number: 8167562
    Abstract: A centrifugal fan includes a plurality of blades, a first wall disposed at first axial ends of the blades, and a second wall disposed at second axial ends of the blades and having a shaft portion at a center. At least one of the first wall and the second wall has a cutout portion configured to control balance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Masaharu Sakai, Yoshiki Kondo, Toshinori Ochiai, Tomonori Akatsuka
  • Method and apparatus for estimating behaviors of vehicle using GPS signals
    Patent number: 8170797
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for estimating behaviors of a vehicle are provided. At least two GPS antennas are located along a longitudinal axis of a vehicle so that speed vectors at the positions where the GPS antennas are located can be determined based on GPS signals received by the GPS antennas. The speed vectors are known to be estimated with high accuracy based on the GPS signals. The positions of the GPS antennas on the local coordinate system are estimated based on such highly accurate speed vectors, so that the estimated positions may also have high accuracy. Based on a line connecting these highly accurate positions of the GPS antennas, an inclination of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle is estimated. Use of the high-accuracy speed vectors enables high-accuracy estimation on the positions of the GPS antennas and the vehicle direction on the local coordinate system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Okada, Mamoru Sawada, Takehito Fujii, Hiromichi Tanaka
  • Heat exchanger fin with planar crests and troughs having slits
    Patent number: 8167028
    Abstract: A heat exchanger has a pair of header tanks with a plurality of tubes and a plurality of fins extending between the pair of header tanks. Each fin forms a plurality of corrugations extending in a length direction between the pair of tanks. Each corrugation extends in a width direction and defines a plurality of sections which are offset from each other in the length direction of the fin. Each section is separated from an adjacent section by a slit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Jonathan Raver
  • Memory devices having volatile and non-volatile memory characteristics and methods of operating the same
    Patent number: 8169823
    Abstract: Multi-bit semiconductor memory devices having both volatile and nonvolatile memory characteristics and methods of operating the same are disclosed, the semiconductor memory device including a floating body on an upper region of a substrate, a gate electrode on the floating body and electrically insulated from the floating body, source and drain regions on the substrate adjacent to the gate electrode and a charge trap layer between the floating body and the gate electrode, where first bit data is written in one of the charge trap layer and the floating body, and second bit data is written in one of the charge trap layer and the floating body in which first bit data is not written.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Dong-II Bae
  • Fiducial marker and protective cap
    Patent number: 8170645
    Abstract: This document discusses, among other things, a fiducial marker kit. In one example, the kit includes a fiducial marker assembly that includes a bone screw base for receiving an imageable marker or locatable divot. A valved protective sleeve prevents debris from accumulating in a receptacle portion of the base, which may otherwise degrade the accuracy of patient registration in an image-guided surgical procedure. In one example, the valve automatically opens or closes upon insertion or removal of a screwdriver or other tool, or a shaft portion of the imageable marker or locatable divot. Various bone screw base and receptacle combinations are also discussed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew S. Solar, Mark Stephen Freas, Thomas L. Bridges, David M. Lee
  • Image recognition apparatus utilizing plurality of weak classifiers for evaluating successive sub-images extracted from an input image
    Patent number: 8165408
    Abstract: The position of a face image within an input image is detected based on results from applying a plurality of weak classifiers in sequence to each of sub-images extracted from the input image. A decision whether to interrupt the sequence and reject a currently extracted sub-image is made based on the sum of a total of weighted decision values obtained up to the current point in the sequence and a total of potential weighted decision values obtainable from the remaining weak classifiers if the extracted sub-image were a face image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Naoki Fukaya, Takashi Bando
  • Method and apparatus for positioning a guide relative to a base
    Patent number: 8165658
    Abstract: A system for positioning a guide relative to an anatomy is provided. The system can include a base adapted to be coupled to the anatomy, and a guide that can move relative to the base. The system can include at least one tracking device that can be coupled to the base and the guide, and a tracking system that tracks a position of the tracking device. The system can include a navigation system that determines a position of the base and the guide relative to the anatomy, and whether the position of the base and the guide are in a desired position. The system can include a display, which can display at least one icon superimposed on the image of the anatomy that graphically indicates a manipulation of the guide required to move the guide into the desired position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey M. Waynik, Andrew N. Csavoy, Keith Sootsman, Matthew S. Solar, Thomas I. Miller
  • Signal jamming avoidance method for a frequency hopping communication system
    Patent number: 8165242
    Abstract: To avoid signal jamming, a method is provided for selecting a dwell channel on a receiver in a frequency hopping communication system. The method includes: measuring a noise level on channels over which a data signal is received at the receiver; selecting a dwell channel based on the estimated noise levels, where the dwell channel having the lowest noise level amongst a group of permissible channels over which to acquire a signal from a transmitter; and tuning the receiver to the selected dwell channel during a search state in which the receiver attempts to synchronize with a transmitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Harris Corporation
    Inventors: Paul Edward Voglewede, Edwin McCall Leiby, III, Mark Walter Chamberlain, Patrick Lang, Fred C. Kellerman, Daniel Ernest Stephens
  • Method for identification of anatomical landmarks
    Patent number: 8160677
    Abstract: A method for determining anatomical landmarks is provided. The anatomical landmarks can be used to determine anatomical targets of a patient. The method may be used for planning a procedure and performing a procedure, such as performing a procedure in the brain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Frans L. H. Gielen, Frank Hertel, Peter Gemmar, Peter Appenrodt