Patents Examined by Brett Squires
  • Patent number: 9325173
    Abstract: The invention provides a method and system for operating a solar farm inverter as a Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) device—a STATCOM—for voltage control. The solar farm inverter can provide voltage regulation, damping enhancement, stability improvement and other benefits provided by FACTS devices. In one embodiment, the solar farm operating as a STATCOM at night is employed to increase the connectivity of neighboring wind farms that produce peak power at night due to high winds, but are unable to connect due to voltage regulation issues. The present invention can also operate during the day because there remains inverter capacity after real power export by the solar farm. Additional auxiliary controllers are incorporated in the solar farm inverter to enhance damping and stability, and provide other benefits provided by FACTS devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: The University of Western Ontario
    Inventors: Rajiv Kumar Varma, Vinod Khadkikar, Shah Arifur Rahman
  • Patent number: 9287703
    Abstract: Generally, systems, devices, and methods for a generalized architecture for power and networking in robotic systems is presented. On a robotic chassis, a branching cable harness routes multiple power connections and communications interfaces from an onboard computer and multiple power supplies to various locations on the chassis. Each branch carries all the power and communications connections that are needed by various peripherals, and all the branches terminate with identical connectors. A custom patch cable for each peripheral, such as a camera, taps the appropriate power and communications interfaces from the branches for the peripheral. The peripherals can be relocated on the chassis by unplugging their respective patch cables from the central cable, relocating, and then plugged the patch cables into the nearest branch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: DRS Sustainment Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Wootton, Travis Dierks
  • Patent number: 9281708
    Abstract: A device for inductive transfer of electric energy from a stationary unit including at least one primary inductance to a vehicle that is adjacent to the unit and has at least one secondary inductance. The stationary unit has a device for detecting the presence of an electrically conductive object in a predetermined area that borders the primary inductance. The area can be between the primary and secondary inductance during the inductive energy transfer. The device has at least one measuring inductance, a measuring unit for measuring the impedance of the measuring inductance and an evaluation unit connected to the measuring unit. Preferably, the device is equipped with a plurality of measuring inductances which form a regular two-dimensional arrangement extending approximately in one plane, the plane lying perpendicular to the main direction of the magnetic field that is generated by the primary inductance during operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: CONDUCTIX-WAMPFLER GMBH
    Inventors: Mathias Wechlin, Andrew Green
  • Patent number: 9276428
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a management circuit for a portable device includes an input terminal, a first step-up converter, a first step-down converter, and a second step-down converter. The input terminal is coupled to receive a supply voltage from a power supply. The first step-up converter, coupled to the input terminal, selectively converts the supply voltage to a boosted voltage. The first step-down converter, coupled to the first step-up converter, selectively provides a first output power voltage to a first radio frequency (RF) module. The second step-down converter, coupled to the first step-up converter, selectively provides a second output power voltage to a second radio frequency (RF) module. The first step-up converter performs the conversion of the supply voltage when the supply voltage is under a threshold voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: HTC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hsun-Hsin Chuang, Chien-Shen Tsai, Yueh-Hsiang Chen
  • Patent number: 9220179
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a power cell chamber for a drive system includes moveable and fixed portions. The moveable portion includes a rectifier stage to rectify an input signal received from a secondary winding of a transformer to provide a rectified signal and an inverter stage having a plurality of switching devices to receive a DC signal and output an AC signal. This moveable portion can be slidably adapted within a cabinet of the drive system. In turn, the fixed portion includes a DC link having at least one capacitor to receive the rectified signal and provide the DC signal to the inverter stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2015
    Assignee: TECO-Westinghouse Motor Company
    Inventors: Enrique Ledezma, Thomas Keister, Mehdi Abolhassani, Ryan Edwards, Alex Skorcz, Randall Pipho, Srinivas Satumahanti
  • Patent number: 9214815
    Abstract: A power supply system includes an inverter controller which amplifies a deviation between a bus voltage command signal and a bus voltage signal obtained by detecting a bus voltage, inputs the amplified deviation to a first limit unit for limiting output power of a commercial power supply, divides the deviation into a first deviation within a first limit value of the first limit unit and a second deviation which exceeds a range of the first limit value, and controls an inverter on the basis of the first deviation, and a DC/DC converter controller which controls a DC/DC converter on the basis of the second deviation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2015
    Assignee: SANYO DENKI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yoshiaki Okui
  • Patent number: 9196440
    Abstract: A portable electronic device includes a casing, four actuating mechanisms and a control module. The four actuating mechanisms are disposed inside the casing. Each actuating mechanism includes a slot structure and an actuating component. The actuating component is disposed on an end of the corresponding slot structure. The control module is electrically connected to the four actuating mechanisms. The control module is for switching from a first status to a second status of the portable electronic device as the portable electronic device rotates in a rotating direction so as to drive each actuating component from the end of the slot structure to the other end of the slot structure due to centrifugal force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Wistron Corporation
    Inventor: Hsu-Ming Lee
  • Patent number: 9197076
    Abstract: A battery system includes a plurality of groups of series-connected battery cells, a plurality of DC/DC converters and a first switch. The groups of series-connected battery cells are themselves in turn connected in series. The DC/DC converters are connected on the input side to a first pole and to a second pole of a group of battery cells associated with the respective DC/DC converter, and are connected in series on the output side between a first output of the battery system and a second output of the battery system. The first switch is connected in a first current path between the first pole of a first group of battery cells and the first output of the battery system, and has a control input, which is connected to a controller, for a first control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Stefan Butzmann
  • Patent number: 9190847
    Abstract: A power distribution system includes a DC-DC converter which outputs a DC power after converting the DC power outputted from a DC power source to a desired voltage level. In the power distribution system, the DC-DC converter is controlled so as to operate only when the input voltage falls in a predetermined range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideki Tamura, Takuya Kagawa, Hiroaki Koshin
  • Patent number: 9184793
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a power-line-communication adapter including a main functional unit (PLTC) supplied with direct voltage by an internal voltage converter (AC/DC), characterized in that said adapter includes at least one switch (I1, I2) for interrupting the direct current supply to the main unit (PLTC) while the adapter is operating in standby mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: SAGEMCOM BROADBAND SAS
    Inventor: Nicolas Dangy-Caye
  • Patent number: 9182795
    Abstract: A power distribution system includes two or more power components that distribute power to one or more electrical components. At least some of the power components send and receive signals over power transmission lines to upstream or downstream power components in the power distribution system. The signals include information about power components in the power distribution system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Peter J. Hill, Matthew D. Rehder, Joseph J. Lindsay, John W. Eichelberg, Daniel J. Rohrabaugh, Andrew B. Dickinson, Thomas Bradley Scholl, Travis S. Pepper, Michael P. Czamara, Richard M. Lotz, Paul A. Stancik, Eduardo M. Parra, Samuel Joseph Mortimer
  • Patent number: 9154000
    Abstract: In this uninterruptible power supply apparatus, even after electric power supply to a load stops due to prolonged power failure time, the operation of an inverter is continued, a DC power supply voltage is generated based on an output of the inverter, and a control circuit is driven by the DC power supply voltage. Therefore, when electric power supply from a commercial AC power supply is resumed during the stop of electric power supply to the load, electric power supply to the load is automatically resumed by the control circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: TOSHIBA MITSUBISHI-ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Eduardo Kazuhide Sato, Masahiro Kinoshita, Yushin Yamamoto, Tatsuaki Amboh
  • Patent number: 9142966
    Abstract: A method for controlling a grid-connected power supply system having multiple power supply modules, a relay commonly connected to output terminals of the power supply modules and connected between the power supply modules and a mains power grid, and a controller controlling each power supply module and the relay. The method is performed by the controller after the grid-connected power supply system is started and has steps of determining if each power supply module outputs power, activating each power supply module and charging an energy storage capacitor of the power supply module, and activating the relay when the stored voltages of the energy storage capacitors of all the power supply modules are greater than a preset peak voltage of the mains power. Accordingly, required number of relays is reduced and the size of the system can thus be more compact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Cyber Power Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Yuchih Lin, Chong-Yu Huang
  • Patent number: 9130479
    Abstract: The invention relates to an adaptive controlling method for controlling energy supplied by an electrical source to a resonance tank that is connectable to an electric load. The method comprises the step of determining an energy amount to be supplied to the tank, based on information of energy in the resonance tank.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: Optimos Apto B.V.
    Inventors: Fredrik Frank Arie Van Der Pijl, Jan Abraham Ferreira, Pavol Bauer, Miguel Castilla
  • Patent number: 9106100
    Abstract: A scheduler detects a change in one of an electricity consumption pattern and appliance cycle scheduling that affects electricity consumption in a future time slot of an appliance cycle schedule for a plurality of appliances. The appliance cycle schedule comprises a plurality of future time slots. Appliances scheduled for use during the future time slot are determined. A total electricity consumption for the future time slot is then computed. The total electricity consumption comprises a sum of predicted background electricity consumption during the future time slot and predicted appliance cycle electricity consumption during the future time slot. It is determined that the total electricity consumption exceeds a threshold electricity consumption associated with an electric meter associated with the plurality of appliances. A new appliance cycle schedule with each of the plurality of future time slots having total electricity consumption below the threshold electricity consumption is generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Scot MacLellan, Valeria Perticara′
  • Patent number: 9024468
    Abstract: A driver circuit and a diagnostic method are provided. The driver circuit includes a first voltage driver, a second voltage driver, an electrical current sensor, and a microprocessor. The microprocessor iteratively measures voltages on first and second sides of a contact to obtain a first plurality of voltage values and a second plurality of voltage values. The microprocessor determines first and second filtered voltage values based on the first and second plurality of voltage values, respectively. The microprocessor determines a difference value based on the first and second filtered voltage values. The microprocessor de-energizes a contactor coil if a first signal from an electrical current sensor is received, and the difference value is greater than a predetermined threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: LG Chem, Ltd.
    Inventor: Aneesh Basheer
  • Patent number: 9013073
    Abstract: A method for balancing input current with at least two parallel power supplies, including the steps of defining an input current difference tolerance, measuring input current from the at least two parallel power supplies, calculating an absolute value of the difference between the two measured input currents, and when the calculated value exceeds the tolerance, performing the subset of steps including employing an adjustment technique to calculate new operating parameters for the two power supplies, configuring the two power supplies with the new operating parameters, and repeating the steps above except for the defining step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Hsin-Chih Lee, Daniel Humphrey, Zachary J. Gerbozy, David Paul Mohr
  • Patent number: 8975782
    Abstract: A power Y-adapter provides power at a high voltage to an output end from at least two input ends to which power of a lower voltage and a phase difference is provided and includes a first polarity sensitive current isolation device, a second polarity sensitive current isolation device, a control section, and an output section. When the voltage signals supplied to the hot wire terminals of the first input connector and the second input connector sufficiently are out of phase, the Y-adapter can produce a voltage of higher magnitude between the first and the second hot wire terminals of the output connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Power Products, LLC
    Inventor: Kenneth E. Pagenkopf
  • Patent number: 8941258
    Abstract: A power supply device includes an AC generation part having a sinusoidal wave generation part generating a first sinusoidal wave signal, an integrator integrating a difference between the first sinusoidal wave signal and a feedback signal, a triangular wave generation part generating a triangular wave signal, a comparator comparing an output of the integrator and the triangular wave signal and outputting a PWM signal, a switching drive part amplifying the PWM signal and outputs an amplified PWM signal, a filter converting the amplified PWM signal into a second sinusoidal wave signal, a transformer increasing a voltage of the second sinusoidal wave signal and outputting an AC voltage, and a voltage divider dividing the AC voltage and generating the feedback signal, and a DC generation part generating a DC voltage. The power supply device superimposes the AC voltage and the DC voltage and outputs a superimposed voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Jun Tanabe
  • Patent number: 7617536
    Abstract: An unauthorized apparatus detection device detecting clones of a playback device. In a management server, a reception processing unit acquires a user terminal identifier and a first random number of a user terminal, judges whether a second management server random number, which is stored in a storage unit in correspondence with the user terminal identifier, matches the first user terminal random number. If the two fail to match, a display unit displays a message indicating that a clone exists. If the two match, a terminal information generation unit generates a new random number, and writes the generated random number as the second random number in the storage unit. A transmission processing unit transmits the generated random number to the user terminal via a transmission/reception unit and the user terminal updates the first user terminal random number to the generated random number.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2009
    Assignees: Panasonic Corporation, The University of Tokyo
    Inventors: Masao Nonaka, Toshihisa Nakano, Yuichi Futa, Motoji Ohmori, Takeshi Gomi, Kazukuni Kobara, Hideki Imai