Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Samuels, Gauthier & Stevens, LLP
  • Patent number: 6330966
    Abstract: The invention relates to an automatic welding machine comprising an X-Y-Z moving mechanism (100) with three linear motion devices each driven by a motor (101, 102, 103) with a self-locking drive. The X-Y-Z moving mechanism (100) has a handle (41) with integrated sensors (a . . . f) which is to be held by an operator. The sensors (a . . . f) are coupled to a control unit (300) and the motors (101, 102, 103) of the X-Y-Z moving mechanism (100) can be moved exclusively in accordance with the output signals of said sensors (a . . . f).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2001
    Assignee: Roman Eissfeller GmbH
    Inventor: Roman Eissfeller
  • Patent number: 6330939
    Abstract: There is a large difference in frequency dependent, complex electrical permittivity between genuine and counterfeit documents, including paper currency. Genuine bills have a substantially different complex permittivity which is distinct from the permittivity of counterfeit bills. The invention broadly measures the complex permittivity, &egr;, of the ‘paper’ bills to determine if the bill(s) is genuine or counterfeit. In one aspect, the present invention comprises a device and method for determining the genuineness of a document by measuring the complex permittivity based on the frequency dependent dielectric properties of the document. The complex electric permittivity of a dielectric material is typically read by measuring complex impedance using a capacitor to sense material properties. The document may include an enhanced region comprising an additive that establishes a known permittivity in the enhanced region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2001
    Inventor: George W. Pratt
  • Patent number: 6329013
    Abstract: A method for substantially dynamic flow control when dispensing a substantially viscous material by means of a dosing system, including at least one dosing unit controlled by means of a computer unit, which dosing unit consists of at least one pressure part, a material container for containing the material to be applied, a nozzle and a pressure member displaceable in the material container. A test sequence is run before the dispensing operation and during the test sequence data is collected mainly about the dosing unit including the pressure within at least one pressure part, the position of the pressure member of the dosing unit, and a material feed pressure by the computer unit, a set value is determined for a material feed pressure and a material flow substantially with regard to the collected data and the material is dispensed with regard to the set value for flow controlled by means of a regulator, as a direct value of the set flow value and at the same time the application flow is controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2001
    Assignee: Scranex Automation AB
    Inventor: Ain Pütt
  • Patent number: 6321444
    Abstract: In a surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) device and method of fabricating the same, a SAW chip is flip-chip mounted in a package. The package has a window facing an electrode formed surface of the SAW chip. After the SAW chip is mounted, the in-process item is inserted into reactive ion etching equipment, with the window open. The substrate or electrodes of the SAW chip is etched by an etching gas introduced into the ion etching equipment. Films may be formed on the electrode formation surface, in place of etching. Thus, variation in characteristics stemming from variations in manufacturing processes can be suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2001
    Assignee: Japan Radio Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiromi Yatsuda, Hiroaki Iijima, Nobuhiro Mineshima
  • Patent number: 6323801
    Abstract: A method and circuit for providing a reference voltage to a charge balance circuit. The method includes transferring charge corresponding to VBE and charge corresponding to &Dgr;VBE to a summing node of the charge balance circuit, where VBE is a voltage produced across a p-n junction and where &Dgr;VBE is a difference between two VBE voltages. With such method, instead of forming a bandgap reference circuit which produces a bandgap reference voltage and applying such voltage to the reference sampling and charge transfer circuit, charge corresponding to VBE and charge corresponding to &Dgr;VBE are transferred to the input summing node of the modulator in correct proportion and with a polarity corresponding to the modulator output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2001
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Damien McCartney, John O'Dowd, Niall McGuinness, John Keane
  • Patent number: 6320430
    Abstract: A system for processing a signal s(t) from a sensor to recover sensed signal information within the bandwidth of the summation signal, wherein the signal s(t) includes a sensed signal m(t) and an offset signal having a first frequency f1. The system comprises: a sampling device for sampling the signal s(t) at a second frequency f2 that is a multiple of the first frequency f1, to create a sequence of sampled values; and an averaging device for averaging the sequence of sampled values to provide a sequence of averaged sampled values indicative of the sensed signal m(t).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Micronas GmbH
    Inventor: Lothar Blossfeld
  • Patent number: 6320500
    Abstract: An indicating device in a vehicle that supplies complementary information to the driver of the vehicle. The device is provided with at least one scale for displaying basic information on an index disc. The index disc includes indicators arranged in close connection with and in relation to individual indexes of the scale and arranged as individually controllable light sources for indicating complementary information, which is relatable to the scale. The scale is arranged so that the basic information includes the vehicle speed and the complementary information of a relative speed to a vehicle in front.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: AB Volvo
    Inventors: Per Adelsson, Fredrik Botling, Staffan Wendeberg
  • Patent number: 6307493
    Abstract: Apparatus, and method, for producing a signal representative of a non-linear function of an input signal. The apparatus includes a feedback loop having a sigma-delta modulator fed by the input signal and a feedback signal, such feedback signal being a non-linear function of the output of the modulator. The output of the sigma-delta modulator is a stream of m-bit digital words. The output of the sigma-delta modulator is fed to an filter for converting the stream of m-bit digital words produced by the sigma-delta modulator into a corresponding stream of n-bit digital words. The n-bit and m-bit streams of digital words are fed to a multiplier. The multiplier produces an series of digital words, each one of the digital words representing the product of one of the n-bit digital words and a one of the n-bit digital words. The series of digital words produced by the multiplier is fed to the sigma-delta modulator as the feedback signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Eric Nestler
  • Patent number: 6306011
    Abstract: A system to smooth and radius a microhole in a workplace to calibrate the mircohole which comprises means for preconditioning a microhole with a liquid abrasive slurry at a first station, means for flowing a calibration fluid through the preconditioned microhole and means for flowing a slurry through the microhole for a predetermined time based on the flow rate of the calibration fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Dynetics Corporation
    Inventors: Winfield B. Perry, Liam O'Shea, Mark Wright
  • Patent number: 6300806
    Abstract: A function generator includes a switching stage for forming a defined signal waveform. The switching stage includes switching transistors that are turned on in a predetermined sequence of undelayed and delayed clock signals, with an output node summing the output currents of the switching transistors. The function generator also includes a delay device that generates the undelayed and delayed clock signals from an applied clock signal. The delays of the delayed clock signals define predetermined instants within at least one period of the applied clock signal. The switching edge is divided into different time ranges whose respective edge steepnesses are adjustable independently of each other. By point-mirroring the signal waveform about a medium value of the signal edge, frequencies at twice, four times, six times, etc. the frequency of the fundamental signal frequency are reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Assignee: Micronas GmbH
    Inventors: Ulrich Theus, Reiner Bidenbach
  • Patent number: 6300662
    Abstract: An electronic programmable read-only-memory (EPROM) is provided having a field effect transistor with the gate electrode thereof coupled to a capacitor adapted to store charge produced in a channel region of the transistor in response to a logic state programming voltage applied between one of the source and drain regions and the gate electrode. The field effect transistor and the capacitor are formed in a common semiconductor body along with CMOS transistors. The field effect transistor has relatively heavy doped source and drain regions separated by an oppositely doped channel region. A gate electrode is disposed over the channel region. Lightly doped regions, having the same conductivity type as the source and drain regions, extend laterally from the source and drain regions to peripheral regions of the channel region to suppress generation of “hot” electrons in the transistor and the CMOS transistors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Denis Doyle, Kieran Nunan, Michael O'Neill
  • Patent number: 6298037
    Abstract: An electronic filter has an input connector adapted for electrical connection to a complimentary output connector of an asymmetrical digital subscriber line. The input connector has an input voltage node for providing electrical input signals to the electronic filter. Similarly, the filter has an output connector adapted for electrical connection to a complimentary input connector of a data receiving device. The output connector has an output voltage node for providing electrical output signals from the electronic filter. The filter selectively passes frequency components of the electrical signals, frequency components below a predetermined corner frequency passing from the input connector to the output connector, frequency components above the predetermined corner frequency not passing from the input connector to the output connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2001
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Kamran Sharifi
  • Patent number: 6294475
    Abstract: A method of processing III-Nitride epitaxial layer system on a substrate. The process includes exposing non-c-plane surfaces of the III-nitride epitaxial layer system, for example by etching to a selected depth or cleaving, and crystallographical etching the epitaxial layer system in order to obtain crystallographic plane surfaces. In an exemplary embodiment, the III-Nitride epitaxial layer system includes GaN. In accordance with one aspect of the exemplary embodiment, the etching step includes reactive ion etching in a chlorine-based plasma, PEC etching in a KOH solution or cleaving, and the crystallographical etching step includes immersing the epitaxial layer system in a crystallographic etching chemical, such as phosphoric acid, molten KOH, KOH dissolved in ethylene glycol, sodium hydroxide dissolved in ethylene glycol, tetraethyl ammonium hydroxide, or tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2001
    Assignee: Trustees of Boston University
    Inventors: E. Fred Schubert, Dean A. Stocker
  • Patent number: 6295129
    Abstract: A method and device for marking defects in or on a substantially planar strip (70, 170), preferably a strip of polymeric film. The defect is marked by means of firstly illuminating the width across the strip (70, 170) by means of a light source (90, 190) and detecting defects in or on the strip (70, 170) by means of a detector (10, 300). The strip (70, 170) is placed in a plane in connection with the light source (90, 190) and wherein the incident light is reproduced on the detector (10, 300). Thereafter, the defect is marked by means of a marker (200) which is placed in connection with the defect. The marker (200) is placed on a label (62, 162), which is attached onto the strip (70, 170).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2001
    Assignee: Svante Bjork AB
    Inventor: Svante Björk
  • Patent number: 6291321
    Abstract: A semiconductor structure including a semiconductor substrate, at least one first crystalline epitaxial layer on the substrate, the first layer having a surface which is planarized, and at least one second crystalline epitaxial layer on the at least one first layer. In another embodiment of the invention there is provided a semiconductor structure including a silicon substrate, and a GeSi graded region grown on the silicon substrate, compressive strain being incorporated in the graded region to offset the tensile strain that is incorporated during thermal processing. In yet another embodiment of the invention there is provided a semiconductor structure including a semiconductor substrate, a first layer having a graded region grown on the substrate, compressive strain being incorporated in the graded region to offset the tensile strain that is incorporated during thermal processing, the first layer having a surface which is planarized, and a second layer provided on the first layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2001
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventor: Eugene A. Fitzgerald
  • Patent number: 6292726
    Abstract: A method and system for controlling the switching in of ancillary equipment driven by an engine of a vehicle, the ancillary equipment being arranged to be driven by the engine until at least a minimum operating level relating to the status of the ancillary equipment is attained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2001
    Assignee: Volvo Lastvagnar AB
    Inventor: Tommy Gustavsson
  • Patent number: 6281813
    Abstract: An integrated circuit for decoding an analog audio signal includes a tuner that receives the analog audio signal and provides a sound intercarrier frequency signal. A digital demodulator receives and digitizes the sound intercarrier frequency signal to provide a digitized sound intercarrier frequency signal, and digitally demodulates the digitized sound intercarrier frequency signal to provide a digitized multichannel television sound (MTS) demodulated signal. A digital broadcast television system committee (BTSC) compatible decoder receives and decodes the digitized multichannel television sound (MTS) demodulated signal, and provides a summed (L+R) audio output signal and a difference (L−R) audio output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignee: Micronas GmbH
    Inventors: Matthias Vierthaler, Martin Winterer, Stefan Mueller, Thomas Hilpert, Carsten Noeske
  • Patent number: 6281724
    Abstract: An integrated circuit chip having formed thereon a voltage control circuit supply adapted to provide one of a pair of voltages selectively in accordance with an operating mode of the circuit. The circuit includes a comparator circuit fed by the pair of voltage sources. A first switch is controlled by the comparator circuit. A first one of the pair of voltage sources is fed through a second switch which may be a transistor or a diode. An input of the first switch is fed to a second one of the pair of voltage sources.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Denis Ellis
  • Patent number: 6276507
    Abstract: Device at refuse chute comprising one shaft (1), provided with one or more inlet openings (2), which ends in a refuse chamber (4) or the like, and at least two subchannels (3a, 3b) arranged in the shaft for transfer of the waste, which are arranged to open into said refuse chamber. The subchannels (3a, 3b) are formed partly by at least one shaft separator (7) of a pliable material, which is formed to extend along an essential part of the shaft, and partly from pants of the shaft walls (14). The shaft separator (7) is arranged to divide the shaft longitudinally essentially diametrically and its one longitudinal side edge (8b) is aligned with the inlet opening(s) (2). The side edge (8b) is laterally, displaceably arranged by one channel selector (6) arranged in or close to the inlet opening (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: Smedlund Miljosuste, AB
    Inventor: Lars Smedlund
  • Patent number: 6278392
    Abstract: A system having an adjustable gain includes: a modulator, for producing a stream of digital words representative of an input analog signal; and, a gain adjustor, fed by a gain signal representative of the adjustable gain, for converting the stream of digital words produced by modulator into an output stream of bits representative of the gain adjusted input analog signal. The stream of stream of digital words produced by modulator, which represent the gain adjusted input analog signal, can be produced with an register for storing the gain signal and an adder. Further, the stream of digital words bits produced by modulator can fed to an compact sinc filter for conversion into digital words which represent digital samples on the gain adjusted input analog signal. The system includes a sigma-delta modulator for producing a stream of digital words having values, M or N, such stream of digital words bits being representative of an input analog signal, X(t) fed to the modulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Assignee: Analog Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Eric Nestler