Patents Assigned to Northern Research
  • Patent number: 5391024
    Abstract: A method for determining machining instructions for flank milling of a workpiece which reduces the undercut by analyzing the cutter orientation at a plurality of orientations to determine an orientation which results in a minimum undercut, smooths the machining instructions by analyzing the movement of the cutter and the workpiece in spherical coordinates and improves machinability by analyzing for near-axial conditions and selecting a modified cutter orientation for such near-axial conditions using a multi-criteria weighting factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 21, 1995
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corporation
    Inventors: Alan R. Levine, Brad W. Amidon
  • Patent number: 5353597
    Abstract: An inlet air cooling system for natural gas compression. The system provides both inlet air refrigeration for the internal combustion engine and additional natural gas compression. Also provided is a leakage control system for any natural gas or hydrocarbon leakage from the combined cycle system. The leakage is collected and introduced into a low pressure portion of the engine air intake system where it is burned along with the normal engine fuel. An alternate embodiment uses the compressed natural gas to drive an expansion turbine which provides additional power to the inlet air turbocharger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 11, 1994
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corporation
    Inventors: Henry B. Faulkner, Michael C. Swarden
  • Patent number: 5345827
    Abstract: The invention is an in-line torque meter for use with an absorption dynamometer in which the twist of a rotating shaft that transmits torque from an engine to an air dynamometer is measured by a single sensor on the adjacent stationary structure. The torque shaft is supported at the dynamometer end by a splined attachment to the shaft of the dynamometer and at the engine end in a pair of preloaded angular contact ball bearings. Torque from the engine causes the shaft to twist. Attached to and rotating with the shaft are two sleeves with projecting teeth, one sleeve attached at each end of the torque shaft. The projecting teeth are interleaved and are located so that both sets of teeth can be sensed by an adjacent single sensor. When the shaft is twisted by the applied torque, the teeth on the two sleeves are angularly displaced with respect to each other. This angular displacement is measured as a phase shift in the signal generated by the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1994
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corporation
    Inventors: Walter L. Brassert, Paul N. Dahlstrand
  • Patent number: 5324175
    Abstract: A two stage free piston pneumatically operated air compressor having an integral and coaxial power piston, first stage piston and second stage piston. The discharge of the compressor first stage is the inlet for the compressor second stage. A piston-type throttling valve is used to control the speed of the reciprocating piston. The piston-type throttling valve is responsive to the pressure drop across a fixed orifice.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: June 28, 1994
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corporation
    Inventors: Harold P. Sorensen, Ward H. Robinson
  • Patent number: 5316261
    Abstract: A flow measuring or flow metering device having a dynamically variable inner diameter. The flow device uses electrorheological fluid to support an inner flexible membrane. The quantity of electrorheological fluid is varied to change the inner diameter of the flexible membrane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 1992
    Date of Patent: May 31, 1994
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corp.
    Inventor: George S. Stoner
  • Patent number: 5312235
    Abstract: An apparatus for reducing the pressure pulse amplitudes in the discharge piping of a screw compressor. A stub pipe is added to the compressor discharge piping. By tuning the stub pipe dimensions, the reflected pulse from the stub pipe is combined with the reflected pulse from the discharge piping so that the pulse arriving back at the discharge of the compressor is out of phase with the compressor discharge pulse, reducing the pulse amplitude in the pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 17, 1994
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corporation
    Inventor: Paul McHugh
  • Patent number: 5259196
    Abstract: An inlet air cooling system for natural gas compression. The system provides both inlet air refrigeration for the internal combustion engine and additional natural gas compression. Also provided is a leakage control system for any natural gas or hydrocarbon leakage from the combined cycle system. The leakage is collected and introduced into a low pressure portion of the engine air intake system where it is burned along with the normal engine fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1993
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Henry B. Faulkner, Michael C. Swarden
  • Patent number: 5215439
    Abstract: A centrifugal impeller includes a hub formed about an axis of rotation with a plurality of substantially radially extending blades affixed to the hub, each blade having a suction surface, and a pressure surface formed on the adjacent blade facing the suction surface. The blades have a height being measured in a radial direction from the hub. A portion of the hub, having a hub configuration, extends between the pressure surface and the suction surface. An imaginary plane extending in a direction normal to the axis of rotation is used to define a cross-sectional view of the impeller. A first and a second concentric circle are formed in the plane with the center of the concentric circles being the axis of rotation. The first circle passes through a point on the hub located closest to the axis of rotation. The second circle has a radius greater than the first circle by an amount equal to five percent of the blade height, wherein a portion of the hub extends outside of the second circle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 1, 1993
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Willem Jansen, Melvin Platt
  • Patent number: 5193166
    Abstract: A cache-memory system comprising a processor bus for communicating between an associated processor (CPU) and associated cache-memory management units (CMMUs) communicating through the processor bus and each having a single cache address tag for addressing one associated cache; and each one of the plurality of CMMUs communicating through an associated one of a plurality of memory buses with a main memory of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 9, 1993
    Assignee: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
    Inventor: Victor J. Menasce
  • Patent number: 5189844
    Abstract: A compressed air driven hand-held tool including a body adapted to be grasped by the hand, an air inlet adapted to be connected to an air supply hose, an air motor driving an output shaft carrying a work implement, and a throttle valve controlling the supply of air to the motor. A spring acts on a valve piston to urge the throttle valve to a closed position. The piston is acted on by air pressure to allow the throttle valve to open. A control chamber in the tool body receives air pressure from the air supply through a restricting orifice at a controlled rate, has an air outlet adapted to closed by the hand of the operator when grasping the tool body and is connected to the air pressure side of the valve piston. When uncovered, the air outlet exhausts the air in the control chamber at a rate to maintain the pressure in the control chamber at an atmospheric level. When covered by the operator's hand, the air pressure in the control chamber rises and acts on the valve piston to open the throttle valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 2, 1993
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Michael C. Swarden, Walter L. Brassert
  • Patent number: 5122966
    Abstract: A computer generated tool path interference check including a method of checking for interference between a workpiece and a cutting tool during the numerical control machining of the workpiece by the cutter tool. Computer simulation is utilized to determine at least a portion of the workpiece that is desired to be checked for possible interference with the path of the cutter tool. The spatial relationship between the workpiece and the cutter tool during the machining are modelled as the relative positioning of the computerized images of the portion of the workpiece and the cutter tool, respectively. The relative positioning of the computerized images of the portion of the workpiece and the cutter tool are observed to check whether an interference will occur between the workpiece and the cutter tool during the machining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1989
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1992
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering
    Inventors: Willem Jansen, Alan R. Levine, Melvin Platt
  • Patent number: 5107436
    Abstract: A method for determining a smooth machining course for a cutting tool during machining of a workpiece. Each possible cutting tool position, with respect to the workpiece, is defined by a separate reference vector. A progression of points are defined as a tool path. A first specified portion of the reference vector will follow the tool path during machining of the workpiece. A series of reference planes are generated, each plane defines a planar set of all possible reference vector positions for each point. An acceptable range from eahc set is established which defines acceptable reference vector positions within each plane for each point. A tool course is generated, which will be followed by a second portion, distant from the first portion, of the reference vector utilizing an algorithm to minimize irregularities of the course, and to contain the course entirely within the acceptable range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1992
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Alan R. Levine, Pedro H. Moura, Brad W. Amidon, Willem Jansen, Melvin Platt
  • Patent number: 4965811
    Abstract: In some digital communications systems, such as the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), problems may occur in recovering timing from signals generated by several terminals located varying distances from a common transmitter. Timing recovery is facilitated by detecting a marker of a frame transmitted to the several terminal equipments, detecting a corresponding marker receives shortly afterwards from one of the terminal equipments; and sampling the received digital signal at a sampling instant delayed relative to a specific feature of the received marker, for example, a zero crossing immediately following a frame bit. Preferably, the delay between the sampling instant and the occurrence of the specific feature used as a reference point is proportional to the time elapsed between detection of the outgoing or transmitted marker and detection of the incoming or received marker and hence proportional to the round trip propagation time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 23, 1990
    Assignee: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
    Inventor: Thomas C. Sparks
  • Patent number: 4858143
    Abstract: In a routing method for efficiently routing the interconnections of a printed circuit board, the list of interconnections to be made is ordered to provide a work order for deriving routes. The circuit board is notionally divided into a grid of addressable cells. Then grid lines are considered in turn. A particular grid line may have a certain number (x) of cells that are full and so cannot be used for routing and other cells which are empty and so available for routing (capacity). If all interconnections to be made were made by direct spans then that particular grid line would have grid crossings occupying a certain number (y) of cells (occupancy). A MAOMIC (maximum occupancy-minimum capacity) product of that grid line is derived. When assigning routes, the routes of those interconnections which, if directly made, would cross the grid line of highest MAOMIC product are assigned first.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1986
    Date of Patent: August 15, 1989
    Assignee: Bell-Northern Research, Ltd.
    Inventor: Serge Fournier
  • Patent number: 4817164
    Abstract: A holder for an electret microphone of the type having a front acoustic aperture and peripheral acoustic apertures is made of insulating material and includes a first sleeve portion of a diameter to receive the microphone snugly and a second sleeve portion of larger diameter. An internal stop limits the extent to which the microphone can be inserted such that the rear portion of the microphone projects into the second sleeve portion. Through holes in the second sleeve portion provide an acoustic passage to the peripheral acoustic apertures. The internal stop is in one embodiment formed by an apertured web. In another embodiment an internal shoulder forms the stop but in that embodiment too an apertured web is provided. A concentric small cylinder extends from the web in that case and terminates short of the shoulder. In either embodiment, a rectangular plate is molded with the sleeves and this forms the cover of a microphone enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 28, 1989
    Assignees: Northern Telecom Limited, Bell-Northern Research Limited
    Inventors: Friedrich Bertignoll, Mark W. Pocock
  • Patent number: 4744724
    Abstract: In the embodiment depicted, the dynamometer is of an absorption type, for fluid, having fluid entries on both axial ends thereof, and a rotor having blades disposed, in a radial exit flow path, in parallel with the rotor axis. Adjustable, annular, blade shrouds, controlled simultaneously, expose more or less of the blade lengths to the radial exit fluid flow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1987
    Date of Patent: May 17, 1988
    Assignee: Northern Research and Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Walter L. Brassert, Pat A. Capone, Anthony F. Carter, Arnold M. Heitmann, Willem Jansen, Robert M. Sexton, Salaiyur N. Thirumalaisamy
  • Patent number: 4718702
    Abstract: The coupling comprises a sleeve which receives a pair of tubular elements thereabout. One of the elements is pinned to the sleeve, and the other has a restricted, axially-movable relationship with the sleeve. Terminal ends of the tubular elements are spaced apart, in a mutually confronting relationship, and have mounted thereto circular and resilient webs or discs. The peripheries of the discs are fastened together, and the discs resiliently flex to accommodate for expansion and contraction of the tubular elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1985
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1988
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Company
    Inventors: Calvin Rushforth, Walter L. Brassert
  • Patent number: 4717075
    Abstract: A depicted embodiment of the apparatus comprises a housing having a chamber therewithin and a pair of ports opening into the chamber. One port admits an energized gas, and the other admits a particulate powder, into the chamber. Tubes conduct the powder through the chamber, isolated from the energized gas, to exit ends of the tubes which have convergent/divergent ejector nozzles circumjacent thereto. The ejector nozzles discharge the gas therethrough in fine streams, to draw powder from the tube exit ends for conveyance with the gas streams, and direct the streams of gas and powder to adjacent and collinear diffusers for dispersion of the gas-borne powder from the apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1986
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1988
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Anthony F. Carter, Calvin Rushforth, Walter L. Brassert, Arnold M. Heitmann
  • Patent number: 4697520
    Abstract: The invention is a smoke generator which atomizes fog oil by means of a slinger disc affixed to, and rotating with, a turbine wheel. The atomized fog oil mixes with, and is evaporated by, the hot, turbine exhaust gas. Upon leaving the generator, the evaporated fog oil recondenses into a smoke cloud. The smoke cloud generated is to provide a visual screen on a battlefield for concealing the whereabouts of troops and equipment from observance by an enemy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 1986
    Date of Patent: October 6, 1987
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Walter L. Brassert, Arnold M. Heitmann
  • Patent number: D355253
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 7, 1995
    Assignee: Northern Research & Engineering Corporation
    Inventors: Willem Jansen, Steve H. Pancygrau, Bradford R. Myrick, John M. Griffith