Patents Examined by Alex Devito
  • Patent number: 9903883
    Abstract: An angular acceleration sensor includes a stationary portion, a weight portion, a beam including a flat plate portion, one end portion of the flat plate portion in a lengthwise direction thereof being connected to the stationary portion and the other end portion thereof being connected to the weight portion, a central projection that projects in a thickness direction of the flat plate portion, and that is disposed at a center of the flat plate portion in a widthwise direction thereof, and end-side projections that are disposed at opposite ends of the flat plate portion in the widthwise direction, respectively, and that project in the thickness direction of the flat plate portion, and detection elements that are disposed on the flat plate portion at positions different from a center of the flat plate portion in the lengthwise direction, and that detect stress generated in the beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takahiro Konishi
  • Patent number: 9862344
    Abstract: A load exerted on one of supporting parts supporting a seat of a vehicle is detected and is corrected according to an inclination of the vehicle. A load object on the seat is determined a plurality of times of turning on and turning off an ignition of the vehicle using the load thus corrected or the load detected. The load object is determined as an adult at least when the load is greater than or equal to a first threshold and determined as other than an adult at least when the load is less than a second threshold that is less than the first threshold. A function is further provided of determining the load object from a combination of a magnitude relation between the load and a third threshold less than or equal to the first threshold and greater than the second threshold and the inclination of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yosuke Kubota
  • Patent number: 9851333
    Abstract: A nebulizer for a charged aerosol detection (CAD) system is disclosed. The nebulizer is provided with a spray emitter for generating a spray of droplets within a central region of a spray chamber. The central region is separated from an upper region by a horizontally projecting rib, which defines a passageway between the central and upper regions. The major direction of droplet travel within the upper region is substantially reversed with respect to the major direction of droplet travel within the central region. Larger droplets are unable to negotiate the turn from the central to upper regions and impinge on a rear surface of the spray chamber. Removal of larger droplets has the advantageous effect of enabling the detector to sense a smaller range of particle sizes, which establishes a relatively steady electrical current at the detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: Dionex Corporation
    Inventors: Alan Daniel Yim, Paul H. Gamache, Ryan S. McCarthy
  • Patent number: 9851335
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a system for analyzing rare gases present in a gaseous fluid (1). According to the invention, initially, the rare gases are extracted from the gaseous fluid by trapping by means of a getterizing substrate (5), then superconcentration of the rare gases is produced before injection (8) into the measuring instruments (9). By virtue of the invention, it is possible to increase the partial pressure of the rare gases in the gases to be analyzed before their injection into the analysis instruments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: IFP ENERGIES NOUVELLES
    Inventor: Virgile Rouchon
  • Patent number: 9841407
    Abstract: A liquid chromatograph analysis method and a liquid chromatograph minimize analysis time when performing analyses by switching columns and mobile phases. Liquid chromatograph 100 for performing a plurality of analyses according to a schedule table includes: mobile phase switching sections 15, 16 for switching a plurality of mobile phases to select a mobile phase to be used in analysis; column switching sections 31, 33 for switching a plurality of columns 32a-32f to select a column to be used in analysis; and control section 60 including memory 61 for storing an equilibration time of each of the plurality of columns 32a to 32f and an equilibration controller 66 for controlling column equilibration. If used columns or used mobile phases are different between two consecutively executed analyses, equilibration controller 66 equilibrates a column used in the later of the two analyses over an equilibration time read out from memory 61.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: SHIMADZU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroshi Ohashi
  • Patent number: 9835483
    Abstract: A hydraulic pressure source includes an oil tank for storing hydraulic oil, a hydraulic pump, a motor for driving this hydraulic pump, and an inverter for changing a rotational frequency of the motor. A pipe line for drawing the hydraulic oil from the oil tank by operation of the hydraulic pump branches to a supply pipe line for supplying the hydraulic oil to the hydraulic cylinder, and a release pipe line for releasing superfluous hydraulic oil into the oil tank. The release pipe line has arranged thereon a pressure regulating mechanism and a flowmeter which measures a flow rate of the hydraulic oil flowing into the release pipe line. Based on a measurement value of the flowmeter, the inverter is operable to change the rotational frequency of the motor to become a necessary minimum rotational frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: SHIMADZU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Motofumi Kimura
  • Patent number: 9823110
    Abstract: A radar liquid level measuring apparatus (10) includes a first oscillation module (102), a second oscillation module (104), a frequency comparator (106) and a control module (107). The first oscillation module (102) has a first oscillation frequency. The first oscillation module (102) generates a first pulse signal (10202). The second oscillation module (104) has a second oscillation frequency. The second oscillation module (104) generates a second pulse signal (10402). The frequency comparator (106) converts the first pulse signal (10202) and the second pulse signal (10402) into an adjusted signal (10602). The control module (107) compares the adjusted signal (10602) with an expectation value (10818) to obtain a comparative result signal. According to the comparative result signal, the control module (107) adjusts the second oscillation frequency, so that the second oscillation frequency and the first oscillation frequency have a constant frequency difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: FINETEK CO., LTD.
    Inventors: I-Chu Lin, Liang-Chi Chang, Cheng-Huang Wu, Chao-Kai Cheng, Yi-Liang Hou
  • Patent number: 9810490
    Abstract: A device and a method for assessing a gasket pressure of a gasket arrangement between two adjacent heat transfer plates of a plate heat exchanger is provided. The gasket arrangement seals between adjacent heat transfer plates to define a flow channel between adjacent heat transfer plates, and the gasket arrangement is arranged to be exposed to a fluid passing through the flow channel. The device comprises a test object and a holder which are adapted to be arranged in a flow path of the fluid. The holder is arranged to hold the test object and the test object is arranged to be exposed to the fluid. The device is adapted to be arranged outside a space delimited by the adjacent heat transfer plates. The test object is arranged to be evaluated for an indirect assessment of the gasket pressure of the gasket arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: ALFA LAVAL CORPORATE AB
    Inventors: Matz Andersson, Magnus Nilsson, Klas Bertilsson
  • Patent number: 9791412
    Abstract: A sensing device is provided that has satisfactory sensing accuracy when a crystal unit where an excitation electrode is formed on both upper and lower surfaces of a piezoelectric piece is used to sense a sensing object. Adsorption regions are arranged in two places so as to intersect a direction of flow of a fluid, thus each of the adsorption regions senses the sensing object and reference regions are individually provided in these adsorption regions. A difference ?f1 between the oscillation frequencies of the regions and a difference ?f2 between the oscillation frequencies of the regions are added, and based on the result of the addition, whether the sensing object is present or not and its concentration are detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: NIHON DEMPA KOGYO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kukita, Shunichi Wakamatsu, Wakako Shinobu
  • Patent number: 9778160
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for sensing particulate matter in an exhaust system of a vehicle. An example system comprises a first outer tube with a plurality of intake apertures on an upstream surface, a second inner tube with a plurality of intake apertures on a downstream surface, and a particulate matter sensor placed within the second inner tube. The second inner tube may be positioned within the first outer tube such that a central axis of the second inner tube is parallel to a central axis of the first outer tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Xiaogang Zhang
  • Patent number: 9778088
    Abstract: The sensor device serves for detecting the absence or presence of a liquid (1) at the outlet (10a) of a feed line (10) through which there can be fed a feed substance which, when exiting from the outlet, has a pressure (p) in the feed line which has a course over time with a first characteristic in the absence of the liquid and has a course over time with a second characteristic in the presence of the liquid. The sensor device includes a sensing instrument (20-23) for sensing the pressure fluctuations in the feed line (10) and evaluator (30) which is designed to assign the sensed pressure fluctuations to the first or second characteristic and to generate a corresponding signal which indicates whether the liquid (1) is absent or present at the feed line outlet (10a).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: RHYTON GMBH
    Inventor: Hans Ulrich Ammann
  • Patent number: 9778237
    Abstract: Disclosed are methods, systems, and computer-readable mediums for determining combustion properties of wellhead gas. A methane concentration of a gas mixture is measured. A non-methane hydrocarbon concentration of the gas mixture is measured. An inert concentration of the gas mixture is calculated. A first surrogate for the non-methane hydrocarbon concentration is selected, where the first surrogate is selected as propane if the methane concentration is greater than a first threshold, and where the first surrogate is selected as pentane if the methane concentration is less than or equal to the first threshold. A methane number of the gas mixture is determined, where the methane number is based on the methane concentration, the first surrogate, and the inert concentration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: Cummins, Inc.
    Inventors: Shu Li, Leon A. LaPointe, Aniket Gupta, Matthew L. Schneider
  • Patent number: 9779926
    Abstract: A method and system for formation and withdrawal of a sample from a surface to be analyzed utilizes a collection instrument having a port through which a liquid solution is conducted onto the surface to be analyzed. The port is positioned adjacent the surface to be analyzed, and the liquid solution is conducted onto the surface through the port so that the liquid solution conducted onto the surface interacts with material comprising the surface. An amount of material is thereafter withdrawn from the surface. Pressure control can be utilized to manipulate the solution balance at the surface to thereby control the withdrawal of the amount of material from the surface. Furthermore, such pressure control can be coordinated with the movement of the surface relative to the port of the collection instrument within the X-Y plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: UT-BATTELLE, LLC
    Inventors: Gary J. Van Berkel, Vilmos Kertesz
  • Patent number: 9781838
    Abstract: Provided are a gas sensor and a method of manufacturing the same. The gas sensor may include a transition metal chalcogenide layer on a substrate, a metal nano material on the transition metal chalcogenide layer, and an electrode on the transition metal chalcogenide layer with the metal nano material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Yonsei University
    Inventors: Hyungjun Kim, Kyung Yong Ko, Jeong-Gyu Song
  • Patent number: 9766111
    Abstract: A liquid surface detector includes a terminal, a covering portion, and a sealing film. The terminal includes a ridge portion between a first wall face and a second wall face. The terminal sends an electric signal relating to detection of height of a liquid surface. The covering portion covers the terminal. The sealing film is formed between the terminal and the covering portion and is put into close contact with the terminal and the covering portion. The terminal further includes a groove and two second slant faces. The groove has a V-shape in cross-section and includes two first slant faces. The groove cuts off in the V-shape the ridge portion of an area of the first wall face covered with the sealing film. The two second slant faces respectively connect together an area of the second wall face covered with the sealing film and the two first slant faces. A boundary portion formed by contact between the two second slant faces which are opposed to each other is continuous with a top portion of the groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenji Isobe, Yoshifumi Terada
  • Patent number: 9739739
    Abstract: The described sensor allows determination of the concentration of a gas in a two-component mixture at variable pressure by measuring the diffusivity and the thermal conductivity. The sensor is provided to alternately heat the membrane of a thermally conductive cell and allow it to cool such that the temperature TM of the membrane passes from a first stable value to a second stable value and vice versa via a transient mode. The cell produces a signal representative of the temperature TM of the membrane and the sensor extracts from the signal a first and a second parameter that respectively relate to said first stable value and said transient mode of the signal. A value of the concentration of said gas and of the pressure of said two-mixture is calculated from these two parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: Belenos Clean Power Holding AG
    Inventors: Yves De Coulon, Vincent Demarne
  • Patent number: 9726656
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an experiment apparatus for estimating ground surface deformation during gas hydrate recovery. The experiment apparatus may include: a high-pressure cell having a space in which a sample containing gas hydrate is stored; a pressurizing member mounted to move in one direction in the high-pressure cell, and moved to pressurize the sample stored in the space, wherein the surface of the sample is observed along the longitudinal direction of the pressurizing member through the pressurizing member from outside; and a recovery member inserted into the sample so as to recover the gas hydrate contained in the sample to the outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Korea Gas Corporation
    Inventors: Seung Hee An, Young Soo Lee, Young Mi Jang, Young Ho Yang
  • Patent number: 9719964
    Abstract: A system, method, and apparatus for detecting at least one condition of interest relating to a tube, e.g. the presence of an air bubble. In some embodiments, the sensor includes antennas, a split-ring resonator, a frequency generator capable of generating frequencies in the microwave range, and a detection component. The detection component may estimate at least one parameter of received microwave energy in order to determine if a condition of interest exists.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: DEKA Products Limited Partnership
    Inventor: David Blumberg, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9719909
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for measuring molecular diffusivity in porous powders or minerals, e.g., the microporous synthetic minerals used for gas separation and chemical catalysis, were invented that allows a varying pressure in the gas around the powder during the measurement. This obviates the need for the pressure to be constant and the attendant complicated component parts. A mass balance model equation of the sample cell with the diffusivity as an adjustable parameter is used to deduce the sample cell pressure change versus time (uptake curve) until the equilibration of gas diffusion into the powder. A numerical analysis method is used to solve the mathematical model to compute a simulated uptake curve. Curve fitting of the simulated and measured uptake curves is used to optimize the diffusivity parameter, which gives the measured diffusivity. The apparatus and method are simple, easy to use, and automation is also simple.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Inventors: Fei Wang, Dezheng Wang, Yao Wang
  • Patent number: 9719969
    Abstract: A pre-concentration device is provided for a gas analysis system (10) for collecting molecular contamination in a vacuum environment (11). The pre-concentration device (13) comprises a hollow element (15) having an entrance opening (20) for receiving molecules from the vacuum environment (11) in a collection phase, a gas outlet for transferring collected molecules to a vacuum compatible detector or second preconcentration device in a transfer phase. The device has an inner wall for adsorbing molecules in the collection phase and desorbing molecules in the transfer phase. The device has a filler element (14) that is movable from a first position outside the hollow element in the collection phase to a second position inside the hollow element in the transfer phase which second position leaves open a transfer channel to the gas outlet along the inner wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventors: Ruud Johannes Theodorus Soers, Hugo Hubertus Knobel, Pieter Klaas De Bokx