Patents Examined by Blake A Tankersley
  • Patent number: 10215668
    Abstract: An air quality test unit for attachment to a vent of a HVAC system with air flow there through. The air quality test unit is a closeable collection container is used with only one substrate panel. The substrate panel with the collection container has one or more ball and socket pivot hinges coupling the substrate panel to the clip. The air quality test unit is attachable to the vent by the clip. The collection container of the substrate panels capture airborne substances and contaminants emanating from the air flow of the HVAC system vent and is then closed with a detachable cover. A culture growth medium may be disposed in the collection container. The air quality test unit kit provides a user with an air quality test unit and process for shipping the unit to the laboratory for analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Inventors: Luigi Novaro, Randy Miller
  • Patent number: 10215669
    Abstract: An air quality test unit for attachment to a vent of a HVAC system with air flow there through. The air quality test unit contains at least two substrate panels arranged in a v-shape form wherein at least one panel includes a sticky surface or a collection container. The air quality test unit is attachable to the vent by one or more clips. The sticky surfaces or collection container of the substrate panels capture airborne substances and contaminants emanating from the air flow of the HVAC system vent. A culture growth medium may be disposed in the collection container or on the sticky surface. The air quality test unit kit provides a user with an air quality test unit and process for shipping the unit to the laboratory for analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Inventors: Luigi Novaro, Randy Miller
  • Patent number: 10207203
    Abstract: Systems and methods for mud logging wherein the effectiveness of a primary gas trap is measured during operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Inventor: Brian Ochoa
  • Patent number: 10202973
    Abstract: A movable counterweight that can reduce lifting and lowering torque. In one embodiment, a beam pumping unit can have a movable beam counterweight attached to a positioning drive on the beam and can be intelligently positioned to achieve lowest net torque required by one or more of a prime mover and lowest net gear torque in in the speed reducer. Optionally, positioning can be calculated by one or more of monitoring current requirements of the motor and monitoring the beam load with a load cell, which can then be merged with crank position readings and processed into signals sent to the positioning drive, which causes the counterweight to move to the best position along the on the length of the beam to achieve one or more of near to lowest current draw by the prime mover and lowest net gear torque in in the speed reducer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Inventor: George R Dreher
  • Patent number: 10203309
    Abstract: Chromatographs of a measurement target sample measured in FID and MS are displayed on display unit in a time range defined with reference to the retention index of the target component computed based on the standard retention time and calibration retention time for the target component in FID. The retention index is not readily influenced by difference in column length, thus making it possible to display the peaks of the target component measured with FID and MS in a corresponding time range by displaying the chromatograms on display unit in a time range defined with reference that retention index. Therefore, even in cases where the retention times of the target component in FID and MS are different, measurement results for an identical target component from FID and MS can be easily compared.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: SHIMADZU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Katsuyuki Taneda
  • Patent number: 10191432
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a storage unit configured to store a recording medium; a conveyance unit configured to convey the recording medium from the storage unit; an image formation unit configured to perform an image formation for forming an image to be transferred onto the recording medium conveyed from the storage unit; and a detection unit configured to detect a start of the image formation. Upon the detection unit detecting the start of the image formation, the conveyance unit moves the recording medium by a predetermined distance from the storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Shunsuke Hamahashi
  • Patent number: 10184869
    Abstract: A test fixture for testing a flat sample of a material is disclosed. The test fixture having a test vessel for a fluid selected to test the desired properties of the material. The test fixture having a housing with a first end, a second end, and at least one wall extending from the first end to the second end. The housing may have a cylindrical configuration, a parallelpiped configuration, or other geometries. An opening in the housing is provided for receiving the flat test sample such that the assembled housing and the sample form a pressure vessel with an interior chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: Virtus Precision Tube, LLC
    Inventor: Timothy L. Goebel
  • Patent number: 10167608
    Abstract: An apparatus for carrying out bi-directional load testing of close ended driven piles and injection piles utilizing a hydraulic jack, comprising an enclosure for housing the hydraulic jack. The apparatus includes a first hollow body, a second hollow body and a third hollow body. The first hollow body has an open upper end, an open lower end, and a base for attaching the top of the hydraulic jack. The second hollow body has an open upper end, an open lower end, and a base for attaching the base of the hydraulic jack. The third hollow body has an open upper end and an open lower end, and has an inner diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the first hollow body and the second hollow body, the third hollow body being capable of being axially received by both the first hollow body and the second hollow body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: WILL N WELL PROPERTY SDN BHD
    Inventor: Yee Kong Wai
  • Patent number: 10161842
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a filament stretching rheometer for measuring rheological and/or mechanical properties of a sample, comprising: a pair of opposed surfaces for holding the sample therebetween; an actuator configured to provide a controlled axial displacement of at least one of said opposed surfaces; and a sample scanning unit for measuring a diameter of said sample, the sample scanning unit configured for measuring said sample diameter at an axial position controlled independently of the displacement of the opposed surfaces, the sample scanning unit configured for being positioned at a starting point before said controlled axial displacement, wherein the starting point is selected from a position where a minimum diameter of the said sample is determined by said sample scanning unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet
    Inventors: Nicolas Javier Alvarez, Ole Hassager
  • Patent number: 10161838
    Abstract: Shear force and pressure on a structure are simultaneously monitored using signals received from sensors with antennas on the structure. For example, sensors and systems for monitoring shear force and pressure have applications including ulcer prevention associated with structures including shoes, prosthetics, wheel-chairs, and beds of bed-bound patients.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: Board of Regents, The University of Texas System
    Inventors: Haiying Huang, Hao Jiang
  • Patent number: 10156553
    Abstract: An electronic device may have input-output devices such as sensors. The sensors may include environmental sensors that make measurements on the environment surrounding the electronic device. The environmental sensors may make measurements such as temperature measurements, humidity measurements, gas composition measurements, and particulate level measurements. A sensor may communicate with external air through a sensor port in an electronic device housing. An electronic device may have a movable member. The movable member may be moved in response to motion of the electronic device when handled by user or motion of a button or other movable member that is actuated by the user. As the movable member moves, the movable member may create enhanced airflow through the sensor port. This may refresh the air adjacent to an environmental sensor and enhance sensor response time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Hyuk J. Choi, Roberto M. Ribeiro
  • Patent number: 10155636
    Abstract: The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that reduces image artifacts caused by the back tension of a separating unit. A control unit decreases the number of rotations (the rotational speed) of a resist roller pair after the leading edge of a sheet reaches a transfer position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takashi Kuwata, Motoyasu Muramatsu
  • Patent number: 10151076
    Abstract: An apparatus for carrying out bi-directional load testing of close ended driven piles and injection piles utilizing a hydraulic jack, comprising an enclosure for housing the hydraulic jack (13). The enclosure (1) includes a first hollow body (10) a second hollow body (15). The first hollow body (10) had a covered upper end (10a) and an open lower end (10b), with the upper end being capped by an attached top plate (11) having an external surface (11a) which the lower end (81b) of a first pile (81) may be axially attached to, and an internal surface (11b). The open lower end (10b) has a cut-out (12) originating on the edge of the open end (10b) of the first hollow body for receiving a hydraulic connection (14) for the jack (13). The second hollow body (15) is capable of housing the hydraulic jack (13), has an open upper end (15a) and a lower end (15b).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: WILL N WELL PROPERTY SDN BHD
    Inventor: Yee Kong Wai
  • Patent number: 10134924
    Abstract: Screen-printing system comprising a metal stencil (12), and a cloth (15) fixed to the entire periphery of said metal stencil (12) to form a trampoline assembly, characterized in that the cloth (15) fixed to the metal stencil (12) has at least one free end, in order to decrease or prevent deformation under the effect of a doctor blade (20).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
    Inventor: Armand Bettinelli
  • Patent number: 10126277
    Abstract: A thermal conductivity detector includes a heatable resistive detector configured to be physically arranged in an analytes flow eluting from a chromatography column and electrically arranged with resistors in separate arms of a measuring bridge, an amplifier which detects differential voltage between two opposite nodes of the bridge and applies an output voltage to other opposite nodes of the measuring bridge to maintain the detector at a constant operating temperature, and an additional resistor with a controllable switch in parallel connected in series with the detector or resistor arranged in one arm of the bridge, where the switch is periodically turned on and off at a predetermined duty cycle and/or controlled by information on characteristic times-of-arrival of analytes at the detector to compensate for operating temperature uncertainties due to manufacturing variations of the resistors and/or to allow for processing small and large peaks of a chromatogram with highest available resolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Udo Gellert, Glen Eugene Schmidt
  • Patent number: 10124573
    Abstract: A gravure printing system comprising a gravure cylinder having a first plurality of discrete cells disposed upon an outer surface thereof is disclosed. Each cell of said first plurality of discrete cells has a nominal diameter and is capable of receiving a fluid that is a first combination of at least two primary fluids. The fluid is fluidically displaceable through a discrete channel having a single entry point at said first position and a single exit point into a first cell of said first plurality of discrete cells. The outer surface has a metal plating disposed thereon. The metal plating reduces the nominal diameter of each cell of the first plurality of discrete cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Kevin Benson McNeil, Michael Scott Prodoehl, Gustav André Mellin, Thomas Timothy Byrne
  • Patent number: 10123582
    Abstract: An impact sensor for characterizing impact at a headpiece comprises: a flexible base; an acceleration sensor provided on the flexible base and configured to generate impact data; a control unit provided on the flexible base and configured to receive the impact data from the acceleration sensor; a power source provided on the flexible base and in communication with the acceleration sensor and the microcontroller; a communication module provided on the flexible base and configured to send impact data for processing; and a housing enclosing the flexible base, the acceleration sensor, the microcontroller and the power source, the housing shaped and constructed for mounting an interior surface of the headpiece such that it is flush with internal geometry of the headpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: I1 SENSORTECH, INC.
    Inventors: Daniel Crossman, Scott E. Clark, Richard Stewart Eady
  • Patent number: 10126263
    Abstract: A device for detecting a concentration of a substance in a fluid sample includes a substrate; an insulating layer arranged on the substrate; and a plurality of individually electrically addressable semiconducting nanowires arranged on the insulating layer. Each one of the plurality of nanowires is covered by an insulating material and arranged for sensing of the substance through an electrical characteristic of the nanowire. The device further includes a sample compartment for providing the fluid sample in contact with each of the plurality of nanowires. For each of the plurality of nanowires, at least one of the cross sectional dimension, the insulator thickness and the type of insulating material is selected such that each of the nanowires has a different detection range, and such that the dynamic range of the device is higher than the dynamic range of each of the individual nanowires.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventors: Johan Hendrik Klootwijk, Marcel Mulder
  • Patent number: 10113998
    Abstract: A method of testing an air sample and/or testing equipment may comprise introducing aerosolized sample particles into an air flow to create sample air upstream from an air quality sampling device. The method may include introducing the sample air to an offset sample inlet of a bell cap inlet adaptor coupled to a sample tube. The method may include merging at least a portion of the introduced sample air with axially flowing air with little to no turbulence based on the geometry of the bell cap inlet adaptor and/or a containment cavity. The method may include introducing at least a portion of the sample air into the sample tube. Next, a test of at least one of the quality of the sample air and/or the functionality of the bell cap inlet may be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION
    Inventor: Michael D Tissandier
  • Patent number: 10107221
    Abstract: A method for producing a soot sensor is provided. The method includes steps of applying a contiguous metallic layer on an electrically insulating substrate and structuring the metal coating with a laser beam by vaporizing areas of the metallic layer. At least two interlaced contiguous electrically conductive structures are produced. The electrically conductive structures are spatially separated from one another with the laser beam and are electrically insulated from one another such that the conductive structures substantially extend next to one another and close to one another in an area relative to a total length thereof. A soot sensor produced using such a method is also provided. The soot sensor has an electrically insulating substrate and at least two contiguous electrically conductive structures which are spatially separated from one another and are interlaced as structured metallic layers. An intermediate space between the conductive structures is burned free with a laser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: Heraeus Sensor Technology GmbH
    Inventors: Karlheinz Wienand, Matsvei Zinkevich, Dieter Teusch