Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Patterson, Thuente, Skaar & Christensen LLC
  • Patent number: 6622924
    Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a low-cost in-car sensor equipped with an aspirator fan motor, which is capable of detecting temperature and humidity. A thermistor for detecting temperature and a humidity sensor are arranged at desired positions on a mounting board, and the temperature and humidity of air drawn from an air inlet port and exhausted from an air outlet port are detected. At the same time, the use of electronic circuit components forming a voltage regulator circuit and a filter circuit for coping with electromagnet interference which have been employed in a brushless motor drive circuit for the aspirator fan motor is shared by the humidity sensor. This makes it possible to reduce the number of electronic circuit components necessary for the humidity sensor, and provide a low-cost in-car sensor equipped with an aspirator fan motor, enabling construction of a more inexpensive automotive air conditioner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: TGK Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsushi Arata, Takashi Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 6601501
    Abstract: A paper discharging apparatus, which is provided in a printing machine, for transferring sheets of paper having different thickness. The paper discharging apparatus has a first gripper unit fixed in a groove, which extends along the cylindrical surface of a printing cylinder, and a second gripper unit, which moves along a discharging rail. The second gripper unit has a gripper and a base to hold the sheet. The position of the base is adjusted in accordance with the thickness of the sheet. A relatively thin sheet of paper is held by the first gripper unit and a relatively thick sheet of paper is held by the second gripper unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2003
    Assignee: Sakurai Graphic Systems Corporation
    Inventor: Mitsuji Takai
  • Patent number: 6587518
    Abstract: A method for decoding a pulsed signal coded by phase jumps, in which each bit is coded by N pulses of the coded signal and a change of the value of a bit in relation to the previous bit is coded by an inversion of the coded signal phase. The method has steps of sampling the coded signal by a pulsed strobe of the same frequency as the coded signal, with a sampling window the duration of which is less than the duration of one pulse of the coded signal. For each group of N pulses of the coded signal, the number of sampled pulses resulting from the sampling of the coded signal is counted, and then the value of the bit coded by the group of N pulses is deduced from it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Assignee: Inside Technologies
    Inventor: Bruno Charrat
  • Patent number: 6584431
    Abstract: A method for monitoring a plurality of identical actuators of a common operational assembly having the following steps: operating actuators one by one in similar powering conditions; measuring the energy agent flux during the excitation cycle of each; elaborating for each a time-based curve of the measure flux; elaborating a superposition from curves, and deducing therefrom a normality tracing; isolating the curves showing variations with respect to the normality tracing; and establishing a trouble shooting for each isolated curve, based on variations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2003
    Assignee: La Poste (Exploitant Public)
    Inventors: Didier Thieriot, Pierre Darchis
  • Patent number: 6575936
    Abstract: A liquid infusion apparatus for fixing an outer cylinder of a syringe and a driver for pushing a plunger in a predetermined direction so as to exhaust liquid in the syringe, an incremental linear encoder arranged along the feeding axis of said driver for pushing the plunger, a detector of said incremental linear encoder mounted on a slider portion of the driver for pushing the plunger so as to generate a signal indicating a moving quantity of the plunger, and a sensor provided in the vicinity of a liquid exhaust port of the outer cylinder for setting along the feeding axis a remaining liquid quantity small section so as to generate a signal about a position of the plunger at the remaining liquid quantity small section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignees: Japan Servo Co., Ltd., JMS Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Kojima, Katumi Tominaga, Shigeo Hayashi, Hiromu Miura
  • Patent number: 6571402
    Abstract: A portable toilet seat is attachable to a vehicle mounted hitch receptacle having an elongated square opening. The toilet seat includes a coupling portion configured to be slidably inserted into and supported within the hitch receptacle and a seat portion connected to the coupling portion and comprising a single curvilinear band in the shape of an incomplete oval and defining an open center.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Inventor: Frank J. Dobron
  • Patent number: 6570376
    Abstract: A detector for detecting a rotational angle of a gearshift lever. The detector includes a magnet that forms a magnetic flux in a predetermined direction along its surface. A magnetic resistance sensor generates a detection signal corresponding to the direction of the magnetic flux. The detected object is connected to the magnet or the magnetic resistance sensor. The magnet and the magnetic resistance sensor are rotated relatively to each other to generate the detection signal and obtain the rotational angle of the detected object. The magnetic resistance sensor is separated from an axis of rotation of the sensor or the magnet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho
    Inventors: Kazuhito Matsui, Masakata Kanbe
  • Patent number: 6564077
    Abstract: An apparatus for determining the oxygenation of blood. The apparatus includes a detector that is configured to sense a first signal of a first wavelength, the first signal having a first arterial blood component and a first noise component. The detector is also configured to sense a second signal of a second wavelength, the second signal having a second arterial blood component and a second noise component. The first arterial blood component is related to the second arterial blood component by an arterial blood absorption ratio and the first noise component is related to the second noise component by a noise absorption ratio. The apparatus also includes a controller that is configured to determine a value of the noise absorption ratio that maximizes the magnitude of an autocorrelation function. The controller is further configured to determine the oxygenation of blood from the noise absorption ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: Mortara Instrument, Inc.
    Inventor: David W. Mortara
  • Patent number: 6550262
    Abstract: An expansion valve unit which prevents a temperature-sensing error from occurring due to transmission of a temperature lowered by the expansion of the refrigerant to a temperature-sensing chamber. An expansion valve unit is configured such that a high-pressure refrigerant guide groove is formed circumferentially in a body between a temperature-sensing chamber and a low-pressure refrigerant passage so as to guide a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant from the high-pressure refrigerant guide groove to a valve hole by way of a high-pressure refrigerant passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: TGK Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takeshi Kaneko
  • Patent number: 6551431
    Abstract: An individually wrapped absorbent article such as a sanitary napkin which is simple, compact, sanitary, and easy to unwrap for use and to dispose of after use. The absorbent article avoids the need for a separate peel strip and pouch because it is provided with a wrapper that can be folded into a pouch. Substantially the entire backsheet of the absorbent article directly faces the wrapper and is secured to it to form an assembly. In the case of a winged or tabbed type absorbent article, this configuration obviates the need for a separate peel strip to cover the garment adhesive located on the wings or tabs. The assembly is wrapped by folding the lateral flaps thereof longitudinally over one another to enclose the article to prevent the garment adhesive from becoming contaminated. The package is then tri-folded laterally to form an e-shaped pouch. Wrapping and folding can be performed by an in-line process that uses simple equipment and that does not require reversal in the direction of article conveyance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
    Inventor: Colin Lee
  • Patent number: 6550908
    Abstract: A printing module includes a prism-shaped frame (8), two of its adjacent faces (10A, 10B) each defining a guiding path for a printing substrate (3A, 3B), the forward movement of the printing substrates being effected towards the extremity (11) of the two faces; two printing heads (30A, 30B) each placed on one of the paths; and bars (16A, 16B) for guiding and moving (20A-27A) each printing substrate on its path. Also relates to automatic distributors of printed or pre-printed substrates having printing modules of this type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: La Poste (Exploitant Public)
    Inventors: Dominique Heitz, Jean-Michel Marchand, Michel Monin, Christophe Peynet
  • Patent number: 6548923
    Abstract: The permeance between the small teeth provided on the stator magnetic pole and the rotor magnetic pole may be varied regularly according to the rotation of the rotor. The small stator teeth provided on the tip end of each stator magnetic pole are divided into sets of two or three small stator teeth and at least one pitch of the adjacent teeth is different from the other pitch of the other adjacent teeth, so that the vector sum of the quaternary harmonics of permeance in each set is substantially zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Japan Servo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuo Ohnishi, Masafumi Sakamoto, Koki Isozaki
  • Patent number: 6545376
    Abstract: In the three-phase hybrid type stepping motor according to the present invention, the small stator teeth formed on the tip end of the stator pole are classified to sets of two or three small teeth, the third harmonic vector sum of the permeances of the small teeth in each set is determine to substantially zero, and the third, fifth and sixth harmonic vector sum of the permeances of the small teeth of the sets is determine to substantially zero, under the consideration that the permeances between the small teeth of the stator magnetic pole and the rotor are varied according to the rotation of the rotor and that the permeances are varied regularly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Assignee: Japan Servo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuo Ohnishi, Masafumi Sakamoto, Koki Isozaki
  • Patent number: 6543672
    Abstract: A vacuum chamber-forming method for forming a vacuum chamber in a power element of a control valve for a variable capacity compressor through a reduced number of steps. A power element is assembled in the atmospheric air by arranging a disk, a diaphragm, a disk, a spring and an upper housing on a lower housing, caulking the periphery of the lower housing to the periphery of the upper housing, and then soldering the junction of the upper and lower housings. The assembled power element is placed in a vacuum container, and a small hole formed in the upper housing is subjected to spot welding in the vacuum atmosphere, whereby the small hole is sealed by a weld metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Assignee: TGK Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisatoshi Hirota, Shiniji Saeki, Kouji Habu
  • Patent number: 6540208
    Abstract: A method for installing and/or removing a cable (300) in conduits (500) for the passage of cables and to an associated implementing device. According to this method, a current of water is conveyed inside the conduits (500), the cable (300) to be installed has a conduit fill rate that can attain 90%, and the conduits (500) form a winding course on a length greater than 2000 m. This method is chiefly characterized in that the cable (300) is subjected to a thrust force that drives its speed of progression (v), and in that said thrust force and the pressure of the water flowing in the conduits are regulated so as to maintain a constant water flow rate inside the conduits (500).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2003
    Assignee: France Telecom
    Inventors: Alain Pecot, Jean-Luc Campion, Joel Le Cam
  • Patent number: 6540089
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a large stationary, aggregate processing screening tower by fabricating weldment modules and preassembling them with aggregate processing equipment internal within the weldment modules, transporting the preassembled weldment modules to a field work site where the tower is to be erected on a foundation, aligning the modules and stacking the modules in layers and then bolting adjacent modules together. A large stationary, aggregate processing screening tower has weldment modules preassembled with aggregate processing equipment internal within the modules. The preassembled modules are stacked up on one another and secured together and can receive aggregate product at the top module and the product is processed by screening and sizing as it moves downwardly by gravity through the modules and their processing equipment for final clarification and collection of the product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2003
    Assignee: Astec Industries Inc.
    Inventors: J. Don Brock, William R. Gray
  • Patent number: 6540147
    Abstract: An inductive coupling data receiving device having an inductive-type antenna circuit that has a coil through which an antenna signal passes, and a control circuit having binary ports that can be set to high impedance. The device has at least two filters arranged to receive a charge modulation signal that is present in the antenna signal on a first terminal, each connected by their other terminal to a control circuit port. The control circuit is arranged to select one of the filters by setting the port connected to the filter to be selected to “1”, and by setting the port connected to the other filter to high impedance state. Particularly applied to contactless smart card readers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2003
    Assignee: Inside Technologies
    Inventor: Bruno Charrat
  • Patent number: 6538450
    Abstract: Method for locating an insulation fault (Rd) in the screen (SCR) of a cable relative to the ground, the screen being electrically accessible at least at one point of origin (Po) and at one terminal point (Pe). A current is injected between the point of origin (Po) and the terminal point (Pe) of the screen (SCR), by a current or voltage generator (21) that is insulated from the ground, a first electric voltage (U1) is measured at the point of origin (Po), in reference to the ground, and a second electric voltage (U, U2) is measured at the terminal point (Pe). The ratio between the first (U1) and the second (U, U2) voltages measured is representative of the relative position (Pdr) of the insulation fault between the point of origin (Po) and the terminal point (Pe).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2003
    Assignee: Socrat
    Inventor: Jean Bussinger
  • Patent number: 6532764
    Abstract: An expansion valve of the degree-of-supercooling control type can be easily adjusted when assembling the degree of supercooling of a high-pressure refrigerant control to be held constant if an exerting force adjusting member is used for finely adjusting the exerting force. If either a throttling portion or a valve seat is formed with the exerting force adjusting member, a simple and compact design or construction can be achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2003
    Assignee: TGK Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisatoshi Hirota, Shinji Saeki, Tokumi Tsugawa, Yuusuke Inoue, Katsumi Koyama
  • Patent number: 6528965
    Abstract: A drive circuit of a brushless motor including a search coil L1 and a drive coil L2 is comprised of a Schmitt trigger circuit formed by a first operational amplifier OP1 which detects rotation of the motor by the search coil L1, and an oscillator circuit formed by a second operational amplifier OP2 which functions as an inverter during rotation of the motor and functions as a rotation stoppage signal-delivering section during stoppage of the motor, whereby the drive coil L2 is caused to be alternately driven by the first operational amplifier OP1 and the second operational amplifier OP2. This makes it possible to realize the drive circuit of the brushless motor by a simple construction using two operational amplifiers, and detect the stoppage of rotation of the motor, by causing the second operational amplifier to deliver a oscillating signal to the outside, when the rotation of the rotor is stopped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2003
    Assignee: TGK Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hirotaka Nakatukasa