Patents Assigned to Polytechnic University
  • Methods for designing a chamber to reduce noise in a duct
    Patent number: 6988057
    Abstract: Low-frequency duct noise is relatively difficult to deal with by passive methods such as porous duct lining. Reactive methods like expansion chamber are rather bulky, while compact resonators are to narrow-banded. This invention shows that a suitably stetched thin membrane backed by a slender cavity can achieve a satisfactory performance from low to medium frequencies over an octave band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2006
    Assignee: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Lixi Huang, Yat-Sze Choy
  • Power converter with power factor adjusting means
    Patent number: 6987676
    Abstract: A power converter for operating with an alternate current power source, including a storage capacitive means and a transformer, said storage capacitive means being adapted for power factor correction, said transformer including an input for connecting to an alternating current power source and at least a first output and a second output respectively for connecting to said storage capacitive means and the load, said transformer including input windings, first output windings and second output windings which are respectively connected to said input, said first and second outputs wherein said transformer and said storage capacitive means being adapted that the voltage across said storage capacitive means being related to the voltage of said first output of said transformer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2006
    Assignee: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Ki-Wai David Cheng, Yim-Shu Lee, Dah-Chuan Dylan Lu
  • Method and apparatus for sensing body gesture, posture and movement
    Patent number: 6984208
    Abstract: A method for indirectly assessing the gesture, posture or movement of a body part of a person includes transmitting an ultrasound signal into the soft tissue, particularly the muscle, of body part and manipulating the reflected ultrasound signal to obtain parameter data. The parameter data is compared to reference information to obtain gesture, posture or movement information for the body part. Apparatus includes an ultrasound transmitter and receiver for transmitting, a signal processor, and a processor for storing reference information and determining gesture, posture or movement information for the body part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2006
    Assignee: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventor: Yongping Zheng
  • Methods and apparatus for routing in a mobile ad hoc network
    Patent number: 6980524
    Abstract: A “peer-to-peer” hierarchical routing protocol—also referred to as Zone-based Hierarchical Link State Routing protocol (or “ZHLS”)—which incorporates location information into a novel “peer-to-peer” hierarchical routing approach. The network may be divided into non-overlapping zones. Aggregating nodes into zones conceals the detail of the network topology. Initially, each node knows its own position and therefore zone ID through a position determination unit, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS). After the network is established, each node knows the low level (node level) topology about node connectivity within its zone and the high level (zone level) topology about zone connectivity of the whole network. A packet may be forwarded by specifying the hierarchical address—zone ID and node ID—of a destination node in the packet header.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2005
    Assignee: Polytechnic University
    Inventors: I-Tai Lu, Mario Joa-Ng
  • Database and method for storing a searchable set of keywords
    Patent number: 6976025
    Abstract: A methods for storing a searchable set of keywords includes concatenating the keywords to form a string, and defining one or more links between two or more characters in the string. A delimiting character separates the keywords in the string, and the links are pointers. Any inaccessible characters in the string are removed to improve the storage cost the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2005
    Assignee: Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Robert Wing Pong Luk, Wai Chung Yip
  • Electronic circuit board
    Publication number: 20050263321
    Abstract: A circuit board, for an electronic circuit having a passive circuit component, has a component region, non-component region, and circuit wiring conductors on its surface. The component region includes a polymer composition comprising a mixture of polymer resin and filler material that, in combination with the circuit wiring conductors, forms the passive circuit component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 9, 2005
    Publication date: December 1, 2005
    Applicant: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Ka Cheng, Chak Tang
  • Modified beta-lactamases and uses thereof
    Publication number: 20050261270
    Abstract: A tool that can screen bacteria for ?-lactamases against a panel of various antibiotics is desirable. A biosensor incorporating an indicator molecule into ?-lactamases may achieve this purpose, but it requires that the attached indicator molecule must not impair the binding affinity of the protein to a great extent to provide a higher sensitivity. A modified ?-lactamases with a residue on the ?-loop or outside the ?-loop but close to the active site of ?-lactamase being replaced by a reactive residue is developed in this invention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2003
    Publication date: November 24, 2005
    Applicant: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Kwok-Yin Wong, Thomas Leung, Pak-Ho Chan
  • Methods and systems for transceiving chaotic signals
    Publication number: 20050249271
    Abstract: A digital communication system based on the use of chaotic carriers is disclosed. For each symbol to be sent, the transmitter sends a reference chaotic signal followed by a transformed version of the reference chaotic signal. For different symbols, different transformations are performed. Also, the transformations are designed such that the transformed versions of the reference chaotic signal do not resemble the original reference chaotic signal. As a consequence, little information can be deduced by inspecting the frequency spectrum of the transmitted signal. Moreover, even if the communication could be detected, it is difficult to decode the messages because there are numerous transformations possible.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2004
    Publication date: November 10, 2005
    Applicant: The Hong King Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Chung-Ming Lau, Chi-Kong Tse
  • Double-skin tubular structural members
    Publication number: 20050229532
    Abstract: This invention provides double-skin tubular structural members having fibre-reinforced polymer outer tubes, steel or otherwise generally metallic inner tubes and generally a bound aggregate such as concrete in between the tubes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2004
    Publication date: October 20, 2005
    Applicant: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventor: Jin-Guang Teng
  • Magnetoelectric devices and methods of using same
    Publication number: 20050218729
    Abstract: Existing magnetoelectric materials relying on the use of metallic or ceramic magnetostrictive materials and ceramic piezoelectric materials as their constituent phases may have three problems. First, the operational frequency may be limited to a few kilohertz due to the presence of eddy-current losses in the metallic magnetostrictive phase. Secondly, it may be difficult to machine and fabricate devices due to the mechanical brittleness of the ceramic and some metallic magnetostrictive phases as well as of the ceramic piezoelectric phase. Thirdly, it may be difficult to tailor and optimize the properties (i.e., magnetoelectric voltage coefficient ?E, etc.) of the devices due to the limitation of the types of the constituent materials. This invention provides a magnetoelectric element including at least one set of alternative piezoelectric layer and magnetostrictive composite layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2004
    Publication date: October 6, 2005
    Applicant: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Siu Or, Helen Chan-Wong
  • Echo canceller
    Patent number: 6947549
    Abstract: An echo canceller includes two parallel filters and a controller. The controller chooses the best of the two filters for the final echo cancellation. The filter coefficients are exchanged between the two filters constantly so that both filters retain performance all the time even if double-talk and echo path variations occur very closely in time. One filter is strongly robust and will not diverge during double-talk, and another filter is weakly robust and will converge rapidly during echo path variation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2005
    Assignee: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Ka Fai Cedric Yiu, Jiaquan Huo, Kok Lay Teo
  • Scheduling the dispatch of cells in non-empty virtual output queues of multistage switches using a pipelined arbitration scheme
    Patent number: 6940851
    Abstract: A pipeline-based matching scheduling approach for input-buffered switches relaxes the timing constraint for arbitration with matching schemes, such as CRRD and CMSD. In the new approach, arbitration may operate in a pipelined manner. Each sub-scheduler is allowed to take more than one time slot for its matching. Every time slot, one of them provides a matching result(s). The sub-scheduler can use a matching scheme such as CRRD and CMSD.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2005
    Assignee: Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Eiji Oki, Hung-Hsiang Jonathan Chao, Roberto Rojas-Cessa
  • Microdensitometer system with micrometer resolution for reading radiochromic films
    Patent number: 6927859
    Abstract: Radiation dose deposited on a radiochromic film is considered as a dose image. A precise image extraction system with commensurate capabilities is required to measure the transmittance of the dose image and correlate it with radiation dose. The disclosed microdensitometer system is designed to achieve this goal according to the unique characteristics of the radiochromic films, namely (a) the linearity and sensitivity of the dose response of the radiochromic films being highly dependent on the wavelength of the analyzing light and (b) the inherently high spatial resolution of the radiocbromic films. The disclosed microdensitometer system consists of a monochromator which provides analyzing light of variable wavelength, a film holder on a high-precision scanning stage, a CCD-dedicated microscope in conjunction with a thermoelectrically cooled CCD camera, corresponding computer interfaces and a microcomputer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2005
    Assignee: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Cheuk Sang Kwok, Kit Yee Lee
  • Enzyme-catalyzed esterification of pendant carboxylic acid groups
    Patent number: 6924129
    Abstract: A method for enzymatically synthesizing a polymer by combining a preselected quantity of an enzyme, a first reactant selected from polymers with at least one carboxylic acid pendant group, a second reactant selected from alcohols, i.e., polyols, in a reaction vessel; heating the reaction vessel to a preselected temperature; and maintaining the reaction vessel at the preselected temperature for a preselected time with mixing, wherein an esterification reaction results at at least one carboxylic acid pendant group of the polymer with one hydroxyl group from the polyol and results in a modified polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2005
    Assignee: Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Riahcrd A. Gross, Bishwabhusan Sahoo
  • Photocatalyst and methods of making such
    Publication number: 20050164876
    Abstract: The conversion efficiency of existing photocatalysts may decrease with increasing humidity level. The photocatalyst of this invention is made be first mixing an alcohol, a titanium alkoxide and a binder in the presence of a catalytic acid to form a mixture. This mixture is then heated at about 100° C. for at least 2 hours, and then calcinated at about 450° C. for at least 2 hours. The resulting catalyst is found to have improved efficacy at high humidity level.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2004
    Publication date: July 28, 2005
    Applicant: The Hong Hong Polytechnic University, a university of Hong Kong
    Inventors: Shun-Cheng Lee, Chio-Hang Ao
  • Complex waveform electroplating
    Patent number: 6919011
    Abstract: A method of electroplating an object includes providing a electroplating bath solution with one or more anodes therein, disposing an object to be electroplated in the bath, and passing a complex current waveform between the anode nodes and the object. The waveform is a cyclic alternating type having two portions, a positive triangular shaped portion including one or more spikes and a negative portion. The method further includes vibrating the object and/or agitating the bath solution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2005
    Assignee: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Kang Cheung Chan, Kam Chuen Yung, Tai Men Yue
  • Method of determining elastic modulus
    Publication number: 20050154540
    Abstract: Errors in current methods of determining elastic modulus through depth-sensing indentation may be resulted from three major factors: 1. error in estimating the projected contact area A(hc) by indirect means such as from the unloading curve, especially in the cases where “piling-up” occurs; 2. reliance on the use of the initial unloading slope Su, which in some cases is not easily determined reliably; and 3. insufficient consideration on the influences due to indenter bluntness in some important models based on numerical treatments. This invention provides a new method of determining elastic modulus of an indented material, which overcomes the above deficiencies. The maximum load and the total displacement of the indenter (to give a nominal hardness defined in this invention), elastic work and total work are measured.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2004
    Publication date: July 14, 2005
    Applicant: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Dejun Ma, Chung-wo Ong
  • Core and composition having magnetic properties
    Publication number: 20050151123
    Abstract: A magnetic core is made of a composite magnetic material having a relative permeability of between 1 and 29 at a frequency range from 20 kHz to 2.5 MHz. The composite magnetic material consists of cobalt and nickel particles having an average diameter in the range of 1 to 100 micrometers, and a polymer base binding the particles to form a core.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2004
    Publication date: July 14, 2005
    Applicant: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Ka Cheng, Chak Tang, David Cheng, Hang Wu
  • Hazard warning means for vehicles
    Publication number: 20050154501
    Abstract: A hazard warning means for a vehicle, including:—deceleration triggered actuation means, controlling means, and visual indicators, wherein said deceleration triggered actuation means including means for detection of a deceleration of a prescribed threshold and means for generating an actuation signal upon detection of said deceleration, said controlling means includes means for causing said visual indicating means to generate visible signals representing hazard conditions for a predetermined time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2004
    Publication date: July 14, 2005
    Applicant: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Kok Lo, Kum Wheang Yeck
  • Methods for manufacturing polyurethanes
    Publication number: 20050107563
    Abstract: This invention provides water-dispersible polyurethanes made by a difunctional alcohol, a difunctional isocyanate, and a chain extender containing reactive hydrogen groups.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2003
    Publication date: May 19, 2005
    Applicant: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Inventors: Jinlian Hu, Zhuohong Yang, Kwok-Wing Yeung, Subrata Mondal