Patents Represented by Attorney Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher, LLP
  • Patent number: 7286001
    Abstract: The first terminals of a plurality of resistor elements are connected to the intermediate connection points of a plurality of FETs connected in series, and a voltage, having a phase opposite to that of the voltage applied to the gate terminals of the plurality of FETs, is applied to the second terminals of the plurality of resistor elements. With this configuration, the potentials at the intermediate connection points of the plurality of FETs connected in series can be prevented from lowering. As a result, the power that can be handled can be increased. Furthermore, since the potentials at the intermediate connection points of the plurality of FETs connected in series can be prevented from lowering, the deterioration of the distortion characteristic and the isolation characteristic owing to the lowering of the potentials at the intermediate connection points of the plurality of field-effect transistors connected in series is prevented, and excellent high-frequency characteristics are obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tadayoshi Nakatsuka, Katsushi Tara, Shinji Fukumoto
  • Patent number: 7285354
    Abstract: A method for producing a polymer electrolyte membrane type fuel cell including a polymer electrolyte membrane, fuel and air electrodes that sandwich therebetween the polymer electrolyte membrane and that each include a gas diffusion layer and a catalyst layer provided in contact with the polymer electrolyte membrane, and separators provided in contact with the gas diffusion layers. A paste containing at least a carbon powder having a catalyst supported thereon is spread over a predetermined support, and the coated support is dried to form the catalyst layer. A cracking occupation area on the electrodes is controlled to a predetermined tolerance by controlling at least one of (1) a thickness of the catalyst layer, (2) a kind of carbon having the catalyst supported thereon, and (3) a drying rate of a solvent of the paste.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Ueyama, Masaru Watanabe, Nobuyuki Kamikihara, Eiichi Yasumoto
  • Patent number: 7286980
    Abstract: A speech processing apparatus and method may identify divisions of a signal spectrum as having a speech component or having no speech component. A comb filter is generated, based on a high-accuracy speech pitch obtained in the identified speech component divisions, for enhancing speech information in the speech component divisions. The comb filter is applied to the speech component divisions to suppress noise.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Youhua Wang, Koji Yoshida
  • Patent number: 7286709
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to precisely and stably detect a motion in an monitoring image, excluding effects of an illumination change and flicker. The frame division means divides an inputted X-th image frame F (X) into a plurality of blocks B(X)ij. Representative (e.g, average) luminance values BLrep (X)ij of block B (X) ij, a representative luminance value FLrep (X) of F (X), block luminance differences ?BLrep (X)ij between the frame F (X) and a frame prior to F (X) and a frame luminance difference ?FLrep (X) between the present frame F (X) and a frame prior to F (X) are calculated. Then, a certain block is determined to include a motion, if | ?BLrep (X)ij??FLrep (X) | for that certain block is greater than a prescribed threshold. The threshold may be adaptively changed in accordance with the luminance state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tsukimi Wakabayashi, Naoko Yurino
  • Patent number: 7286077
    Abstract: A system for aiding the landing of an aircraft on a runway uses an angular vertical position of the aircraft and includes at least one landing aid radio. In a stand-alone manner, the position of the aircraft in latitude and longitude is determined, and the position of the threshold of the runway in latitude and longitude is determined. A computing unit corrects, on the basis of positions of the aircraft and of the threshold of the runway, the angular vertical position of the aircraft. The corrected angular vertical position is used to aid the landing of the aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Airbus France
    Inventors: Michel Falcati, Gilles Tatham
  • Patent number: 7283895
    Abstract: A method and device for calculating a target speed of an aircraft may include a flight point time determining section that determines when the aircraft actually gets to a particular flight point, taking account of the aircraft's current target speed. A time interval calculating section calculates a time interval between the predetermined time at which the aircraft must get to the particular flight point and the determined actual time. A speed updating section updates the target speed and applies the updated target speed to the aircraft if the calculated time interval is greater than a duration of comparison, which is variable and depends on the actual distance so as to decrease when the actual distance decreases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Airbus France
    Inventor: Christophe Bouchet
  • Patent number: 7283854
    Abstract: The foldable portable terminal apparatus with a camera includes display sections on the front side (side A) and backside (side B) of the housing. When the housing (1) is open, both the person who is taking a picture using a camera (10, 8) and the person who gets his/her picture taken can check the captured image simultaneously using the display (11, 7). When the housing (1) is closed, the image taken can be checked with the display section on the front. Images taken in the past are stored in association with telephone numbers. When a call arrives from one of the persons, ringing tone sounds and at the same time the image of the sender is displayed on the display section (11, 7).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Noriyoshi Sato, Suguru Suzuki
  • Patent number: 7281331
    Abstract: A spindle assembly for a machine tool comprising a housing having at least one bearing seat, a bearing having inner and outer races mounted in the bearing seat, a sleeve disposed between a race of the bearing and the housing, adhesively bonded to the housing, and a spindle mounted on the other race of the bearing wherein the spindle is axially aligned relative to the bearing and the spindle and bearing are displaceable axially relative to the sleeve rigidly secured to the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Thermwood Corporation
    Inventor: David A Stutsman
  • Patent number: 7281683
    Abstract: An aircraft takeoff process may include applying a pitch command deflecting an adjustable horizontal tailplane of the aircraft by a predetermined angle. Thereafter, the pitch command is corrected in accordance with the deviation between a takeoff rotation speed and a stall reference speed VRref of the aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Airbus France
    Inventors: Franck Delaplace, Gérard Mathieu, Nicolas Daniel
  • Patent number: 7282979
    Abstract: A phase shifting device includes a signal source; a variable phase shifter; first and second doubling circuits; and a 90-degree phase comparator. An output from the signal source is connected to an input of the variable phase shifter and to an input of the second doubling circuit, an output from the variable phase shifter is connected to an input of the first doubling circuit, an output from the first doubling circuit serves as a first output signal, and an output from the second doubling circuit serves as a second output signal. The first output signal and the second output signal are inputted to the 90-degree phase comparator. The amount of phase shift rotation of the variable phase shifter is changed by a phase shift control signal outputted from the 90-degree phase comparator. By this, an exact 90-degree phase shift is obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takatoshi Tanaka, Mitsuru Tanabe, Shigeru Kataoka
  • Patent number: 7284089
    Abstract: A data storage device comprises a non-volatile, re-writable solid state memory 10 having relatively high and low speed ports 12, 14 allowing data to be written into the memory via the high speed port at a substantially faster speed that it is read out from the low speed port, and a memory control 16 for controlling the writing and reading of data to and from the memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: YQA Now Limited
    Inventors: Ian Gallivan, John McSweeney, Anita Dore, Chris Armstrong
  • Patent number: 7280896
    Abstract: A device for constructing a synthetic image of an aircraft environment may include information sources having information relating to the aircraft and to its environment. An information processor constructs a synthetic image of the environment of the aircraft on the basis of information emanating from the information sources. A display presents, on at least one part of a display screen, a synthetic image, which is constructed with the aid of a conical projection onto a plane of projection that is orthogonal to a line of aim that forms angles of lateral separation and angles of vertical separation with the course of the aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2007
    Assignee: Airbus France
    Inventors: Benoit Morizet, Pierre Lecomte, Jean-Claude Wanner, Nicole Wanner, Sébastien Lhote, Patrick Morere, Vincent Amade
  • Patent number: 7280553
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a transceiver and communication method involving a time division multiple transmission method, which performs data transmission among a plurality of transceivers. The transceiver includes a transmitter sending data, a receiver receiving data, a switch operable to switch among connecting the transmitter to a transmission line, connecting the receiver to the transmission line, or disconnecting both the transmitter and the receiver to the transmission line or connecting the transmission line to high impedance, and a controller operable to control the switch. The switch connects the transmitter or the receiver to the transmission line at a time that the transceiver has a relation to a communication designated by the time division multiplex transmission method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobutaka Kodama, Hisao Koga
  • Patent number: 7281189
    Abstract: A transmission apparatus and method turbo-encode data and output systematic bit and parity bit data. The systematic bit data and the parity bit data are modulated independently of each other such that communication quality is better when a modulation scheme for the systematic bit data is changed than when a modulation scheme for the parity bit data is changed. The systematic bit data and the parity bit data are then transmitted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Indutrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroaki Sudo
  • Patent number: 7277507
    Abstract: A Viterbi decoder capable of supporting a variety of constraint lengths and any arbitrary number of coefficients of a given estimated transmission path and composed of special hardware of small circuit scale. In the Viterbi decoder of the present invention, a branch metric calculation section (101) calculates the branch metrics of all paths from the state of the previous time to the state at the present time, selects the most probable path from the paths arriving at respective states based on the branch metrics (101a) and path metrics (103a) and outputs path select signal (102a) and path metric (102b). Path metric storage section (103) outputs path metric (103a) to be input to ACS calculation section (102) when performing ACS calculating at the next time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Nobuhiro Takagi
  • Patent number: 7276979
    Abstract: A differential type voltage control oscillator is formed of a differential tank circuit, an oscillation transistor, and a differential variable capacitance circuit. The differential variable capacitance circuit has a configuration wherein at least one pair of varactor diodes are connected in an anti-parallel manner, and are separated by means of a plurality of capacitors in a direct current manner. In addition, a differential control voltage is generated by a charge pump circuit which is controlled by the output of a phase comparator, and the differential control voltage is directly applied across the anodes and the cathodes of the varactor diodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kaoru Ishida, Toshiakira Ando
  • Patent number: 7276155
    Abstract: A wastewater treatment method and apparatus including a denitrification (anoxic) chamber for denitrifying wastewater, an aeration basin with Bio-Wheel for aerating the wastewater, and a membrane device in which sludge particles are separated out of the wastewater, leaving clean discharge water and reusable sludge. Sludge from the membrane chamber floor is sent back to the aeration basin or denitrification chamber or both. Excess sludge is wasted or held for further processing. Preferably, the method and apparatus facilitate both activated sludge and fixed film processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: Wastewater Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Donald D. Ricketts
  • Patent number: 7273505
    Abstract: A hydrogen generator comprises therein a reformer, a Shifter, a material flow passage with first evaporator through which a material is supplied to the reformer, a reformed gas flow passage for leading the reformed gas derived from the reformer to the Shifter, a shifted gas flow passage through which a shifted gas derived from the Shifter is taken out, and second steam flow passage formed adjacent to the reformed gas flow passage to be located at upstream side of the Shifter. The second evaporator is provided within the second steam flow passage. A part of heat of the reformed gas is recovered as latent heat by the second evaporator. Thereby, temperature of the Shifter is controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Motohiro Suzuki, Tomonori Asou, Yuji Mukai, Kunihiro Ukai, Akira Maenishi, Yoshio Tamura
  • Patent number: D553318
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Woodbury Box Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel T. Fuller, David Lee Roberson
  • Patent number: RE39883
    Abstract: An optical disc apparatus for recording, reproducing or erasing an information signal by converging a light flux onto a recording layer through a transparent substrate. The apparatus includes one or a plurality of optical heads having a plurality of objective lenses whose aberrations have respectively been corrected for a plurality of disc substrates of different thicknesses, a cartridge for enclosing the optical disc, a discrimination hole which is formed on the cartridge, and a sensor for detecting the opening/closing state of the discrimination hole and for generating a discrimination signal. In accordance with the result of the discrimination as to the thickness of the loaded optical disc, the objective lens, in which the occurrence of the aberration is smallest, is used, so that the information signal can preferably be recorded, reproduced or erased onto/from the optical discs having different substrate thicknesses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoyasu Miyagawa, Yasuhiro Gotoh