Patents Represented by Attorney Howison & Arnott, L.L.P.
  • Patent number: 8233299
    Abstract: A drive control circuit generates switching drive signals for a single phase of a multiphase voltage regulator. A driver circuitry generates the switching drive signals for the voltage regulator responsive to a clock signal. A clock circuitry generates the clock signal responsive to a monitored external clock signal. A phase number detector determines a number of active phases in the multiphase voltage regulator in real time responsive to an indicator on a phase number input monitored by the phase detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2012
    Assignee: Intersil Americas Inc
    Inventors: Faisal Ahmad, Weihong Qiu, Nattorn Pongratananukul
  • Patent number: 8232789
    Abstract: A voltage regulator, comprises first circuitry for generating an output voltage responsive to an input voltage and a plurality of switching control signal. Switching control circuitry generates the switching control signals responsive to the output voltage and at least one of a buck ramp signal and a boost ramp signal. Voltage ramp generation circuitry generates each of the buck ramp signal and the boost ramp signal. The boost ramp signal comprises the buck ramp signal offset by the peak value of the buck ramp signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2012
    Assignee: Intersil Americas LLC
    Inventor: Zaki Moussaoui
  • Patent number: 8233256
    Abstract: A system and method for controlling an over current protection trip point for a voltage regulator includes an input for receiving a monitored operating parameter of the voltage regulator. Control logic responsive to this input generates a digital current control signal. A digital to analog controller converts the digital current control signal to an analog current control signal and this analog current control signal is used for controlling a current source for generating a current that establishes the over current protection trip point of the voltage regulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2012
    Assignee: Intersil Americas Inc
    Inventors: Gustavo James Mehas, Atul Wokhlu, Naveen Jain, Xiaole Chen
  • Patent number: 8228049
    Abstract: A control circuit for generating a control signal to add phases to a multiphase voltage regulator. The control circuit includes an input for receiving an error correction voltage from an error amplifier of the multiphase voltage regulator and at least one output for providing a PWM control signal. Control circuitry generates at least one PWM control signal to add a phase to the multiphase voltage regulator responsive to a determination that the error correction voltage has exceeded a threshold level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: Intersil Americas LLC
    Inventors: Weihong Qiu, Bogdan Duduman, Jason Lin, Michael Jason Houston, Doug Mattingly
  • Patent number: 8218444
    Abstract: An improved system and method are disclosed for peer-to-peer communications. In one example, the method enables an endpoint to transfer data directly to another endpoint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2012
    Assignee: Damaka, Inc.
    Inventors: Sivakumar Chaturvedi, Satish Gundabathula
  • Patent number: 8212726
    Abstract: A novel geometry, the geometry of Space-Filling Curves (SFC) is defined in the present invention and it is used to shape a part of an antenna. By means of this novel technique, the size of the antenna can be reduced with respect to prior art, or alternatively, given a fixed size the antenna can operate at a lower frequency with respect to a conventional antenna of the same size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: Fractus, SA
    Inventors: Carles Puente Baliarda, Edouard Jean Louis Rozan, Jaume Anguera Pros
  • Patent number: 8210283
    Abstract: A system and method for surface steerable drilling are provided. In one example, the system receives feedback information from a drilling rig and calculates an estimated position of a drill bit in a formation based on the feedback information. The system compares the estimated position to a desired position along a planned path of a borehole. The system calculates multiple solutions if the comparison indicates that the estimated position is outside a defined margin of error relative to the desired position. Each solution defines a path from the estimated position to the planned path. The system calculates a cost of each solution and selects one of the solutions based at least partly on the cost. The system produces control information representing the selected solution and outputs the control information for the drilling rig.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: Hunt Energy Enterprises, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Todd W. Benson, Teddy C. Chen
  • Patent number: 8209541
    Abstract: A system and method links first and second computers of a network to implement a single sign on feature. The first computer generates a link request having a plaintext component and a hashed component. The plaintext component includes an identifier associated with the first network computer and information for locating a resource of the second network computer. The hashed component includes a first hash result formed by applying a hashing function to the plaintext component and a secret known to the first network computer and the second network computer. The second computer authenticates the link request without using a two-way encryption process by generating a second hash result by applying the hashing function to the plaintext component of the link request and the secret and comparing the first hash result with the second hash result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: RPX Corporation
    Inventors: Frank Deutschmann, Benjamin J. Tilly
  • Patent number: 8207893
    Abstract: A novel geometry, the geometry of Space-Filling Curves (SFC) is defined in the present invention and it is used to shape a part of an antenna. By means of this novel technique, the size of the antenna can be reduced with respect to prior art, or alternatively, given a fixed size the antenna can operate at a lower frequency with respect to a conventional antenna of the same size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: Fractus, S.A.
    Inventors: Carles Puente Baliarda, Edouard Jean Louis Rozan, Jaime Anguera Pros
  • Patent number: 8209054
    Abstract: An embodiment of a haptic gripper system includes a slave gripper device, a master gripper device, and a gripper motor controller. The gripper motor controller includes a slave encoder loop, a master encoder loop, and a haptic loop. The haptic loop is configured to receive a slave motor encoder loop output signal and a master motor encoder loop output signal, determine a difference signal between the slave motor encoder loop output signal and the master motor encoder loop output signal representative of a difference between a first relative angular position of a slave gripper motor and a second relative angular position of a master gripper motor, and provide a slave motor control signal to a slave motor control signal input, and provide a master motor control signal to the master motor control signal input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Inventors: William Howison, Ryder Winck
  • Patent number: 8204254
    Abstract: An amplifier is provided using digital potentiometer integrated circuits to control the tone of a vacuum tube preamplifier allowing digital control of the analog signal path of the amplifier. Using digital potentiometer integrated circuits to control the tone of a vacuum tube preamplifier results in an amplifier that preserves the unique tone quality of a vacuum tube amplifier that offers the flexibility, versatility, and user-friendly features of a digitally controlled amplifier, such as the ability to save and recall amplifier settings. The amplifier of the present invention is especially applicable for use with musical instruments such as for example, electric guitars.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2012
    Inventor: Donelson Arthur Shannon
  • Patent number: 8189599
    Abstract: A reconfigurable, protocol indifferent bit stream-processing engine, and related systems and data communication methodologies, are adapted to achieve the goal of providing inter-fabric interoperability among high-speed networks operating a speeds of at least 10 gigabits per second. The bit-stream processing engine operates as an omni-protocol, multi-stage processor that can be configured with appropriate switches and related network elements to create a seamless network fabric that permits interoperability not only among existing communication protocols, but also with the ability to accommodate future communication protocols. The method and systems of the present invention are applicable to networks that include storage networks, communication networks and processor networks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: RPX Corporation
    Inventors: Viswa Sharma, Roger Holschbach, Bart Stuck, William Chu
  • Patent number: 8184727
    Abstract: A robust integer carrier frequency offset estimation method for OFDM systems is disclosed. Compared with conventional methods which use either two consecutive OFDM symbols or only one training symbol, the method is insensitive to the timing offset as long as the channel spread is shorter than the OFDM cyclic prefix length. Most importantly, it does not require any information on the scrambling code used in systems such as STiMi. The method improves the accuracy of integer carrier frequency offset, especially in channels with long and strong echoes. It offers the receiver more freedom in setting the FFT window since it is insensitive to the timing offset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: ST-Ericsson, SA
    Inventors: Yushan Li, Kun Wah Stanley Yip
  • Patent number: 8185122
    Abstract: The Demographic Index (DI) was created for wireless communication network design, however has relevance in other marketing based applications. The DI combines a series of demographic census records into a single weighted index value that can be used to evaluate geographic importance in designing a wireless network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: Metropcs Wireless, Inc.
    Inventor: Dennis Jarret Guill, Jr.
  • Patent number: 8176777
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a device for measuring of layer thicknesses, especially for measuring of layer thicknesses of a structural part (18) during or after a coating process, with at least a first and a second path length measuring device (12, 14), wherein a first path length (a) to a surface (20) of a layer (22) being applied to the structural part (18) is measured by means of the first path length measuring device (12) and a second path length (b) to an uncoated surface (24) of the structural part (18) is measured by means of the second path length measuring device (14) continuously or at predetermined moments of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: MTU Aero Engines GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Jakimov, Manuel Hertter, Stefan Schneiderbanger
  • Patent number: 8170521
    Abstract: The invention provides a method and apparatus used in a receiver for sampling RF signals, particularly to provide a method and apparatus for greatly decrease the sampling rate performed in RF band. The invention provides an apparatus for sampling a RF signal including a plurality of interference frequency components and a useful frequency component, comprising: a filtering unit for filtering out at least one preset interference frequency component from the RF signal to generate a notch-filtered RF signal; a sampling unit for sampling the notch-filtered RF signal at a preset sampling rate to generate a discrete analog signal. The sampling unit can be implemented by a plurality of notch filters. RF sampling can be simply and conveniently implemented by using the method and apparatus according the invention, and the sampling rate can be decreased to about 1/N of the carrier frequency of the useful frequency component, which is much lower than the sampling rate in existing RF sampling scheme.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Assignee: ST-Ericsson SA
    Inventor: Xuecheng Qian
  • Patent number: 8166676
    Abstract: A method of removing a T-type fence post from the earth with a powered, mobile piece of equipment controlled by a human operator includes attaching a substantially flat plate to a lift arm of the powered, mobile piece of equipment such that the plate hangs substantially vertically from the lift arm and can move in an arc, the plate having an opening with a top wall and a bottom wall, moving the powered, mobile piece of equipment in a first direction to pull the plate over the fence post such that an upper portion of the post enters the opening with the bottom and upper walls of the opening engaging the post with sufficient force to retain the post in the opening when the post is pulled from the earth and raising the lift arm to pull the post from the earth in a substantially vertical direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2012
    Inventor: Thomas Ford
  • Patent number: 8159276
    Abstract: A circuit comprises a digital phase locked loop for generating a synchronization signal and a voltage regulator for providing regulated output voltage responsive to the synchronization signal from the digital phase locked loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Intersil Americas Inc.
    Inventors: Gustavo James Mehas, Sandeep Agarwal, Jayant Vivrekar, Xiaole Chen
  • Patent number: 8154463
    Abstract: An apparatus including a wireless communications device has an internal antenna system located within the wireless communications device. The internal antenna system includes a passive antenna set comprising at least one antenna element having at least one multilevel structure, a feeding point to the at least one antenna element and a ground plane. The feeding point and a point on the ground plane define an input/output port for said passive antenna set. The passive antenna set provides a similar impedance level and radiation pattern at two or more frequency bands such that the passive antenna set is capable of both transmitting and receiving wireless signals on selected channels. The selected channels are selectable from a plurality of channels throughout an entire frequency range within each of said two or more frequency bands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: Fractus, S.A.
    Inventors: Carles Puente Baliarda, Carmen Borja Borau, Jaume Anguera Pros, Jordi Soler Castany
  • Patent number: D662869
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Inventor: Claudio R. Ballard