Patents Examined by Brian Sircus
  • Transient suppressor and power converter employing the same
    Patent number: 7187531
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a transient suppressor, a method of suppressing a peak voltage associated with a rectifier, and a power converter employing the same. In one embodiment, the transient suppressor includes a saturable reactor circuit interposed between a rectifier and a transformer winding. The transient suppressor also includes a RC circuit, coupled between the rectifier and the saturable reactor circuit and across the transformer winding, configured to cooperate with the saturable reactor circuit to suppress a peak voltage associated with the rectifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: Tyco Electronics Power Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Daoshen Chen
  • Electric steering lock apparatus for protecting actuator from overheating
    Patent number: 7187089
    Abstract: An electric steering lock apparatus that protects an actuator from overheating without enlarging the actuator. The electric steering lock apparatus includes a lock pin engaged with a steering shaft to lock the steering shaft. An actuator moves the lock pin between a lock position in which the lock pin is engaged with the steering shaft and an unlock position in which the lock pin is disengaged from the steering shaft. A control unit controls the actuator. The control unit generates a calculated value related to operation time of the actuator and suspends operation of the actuator when the calculated value is greater than a predetermined operation suspension threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho
    Inventors: Yuji Fukano, Kenji Tanaka, Mitsuo Mori, Tomoyuki Funayama, Mikito Yagyu, Tomoo Kakegawa
  • Device and a method for stabilizing a web or a filament of ferromagnetic material moving in one direction
    Patent number: 7187532
    Abstract: A device and a method for stabilising a metallic object of magnetic material. The metallic object is transported along a transportation path or plane. The plane includes a transportation direction and is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the object therein. A sensor is arranged to sense the valve of a parameter depending on the position of the object with respect to the plane. An electromagnetic actuator is arranged to apply a magnetic force to the object in respone to the sensed position. The magnetic force has a force component directed transversely to the transportation direction and transversely to the plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: ABB AB
    Inventors: Per Lennart Eriksson, Bengt Rydholm, Sven Karlsson, Magnus Hallbäck, Göte Tallbäck
  • Electrostatic discharge protection circuit
    Patent number: 7187530
    Abstract: An electrostatic discharge protective circuit may comprise a low-pass filter and a high-pass filter to receive and filter signals of a supply line. Control logic may receive output signals of the low-pass and high-pass filters and may operate a gateable channel to shunt current of the supply line dependent on the output signals from the filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: T-Ram Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig Thomas Salling, Siak Chon Kee, Pierre Dermy
  • Power supply apparatus for electric vehicle
    Patent number: 7187088
    Abstract: To provide a power supply apparatus for an electric vehicle wherein the insulation of a power supply line for supplying a drive voltage to an electric motor can be simplified and the cost for the insulation can be reduced. A power supply apparatus for an electric vehicle includes batteries for driving a motor and general electric parts. An node A of an intermediate voltage of 24 V between a drive voltage of 48 V of the batteries and the ground voltage is connected to a ground line for the general electric parts. An inverter produces a voltage to be applied to the general electric parts based on the drive voltage of 48 V of the batteries and the intermediate voltage of 24 V. By adjusting the duty ratio of the inverter, a voltage of AC 24 V or AC 12 V can be applied to the general electric parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Satoshi Honda
  • Floor mat for collecting process particles and grounding the electrostatic charge
    Patent number: 7184255
    Abstract: A conductive floor mat is disclosed for collecting process particles and grounding the electrostatic charge accumulated on operators who stand on the mat. The conductive floor mat includes a frame assembly, a plurality of parallel spaced ribs, a plurality of parallel spaced supports and grounding wires. The frame assembly includes four frame members and a bottom surface. At least one of the four frame members has an angled top surface. Both ends of the ribs and supports are mounted to the opposite of the frame members. The supports are perpendicularly fixed to the ribs for increasing the supporting capacity thereon. The grounding wires are extending from the frame assembly to discharge the electrostatic charge accumulated on the operators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Inventor: Ching-Lung Chen
  • Semiconductor device and method for producing the same
    Patent number: 7183671
    Abstract: In a power supply disconnection cell, a power supply connection switch is added in parallel to a protection transistor having a fixed gate. The power supply connection switch electrically connects or disconnects a plurality of power supplies according to a control signal externally input through an external control terminal. In a WLBI process, a plurality of power supplies are connected by the power supply connection switch, and therefore, a voltage is applied to other power supply pads by voltage application to a specific input terminal. After the WLBI process, the power supplies are disconnected, and electric charges produced by an abnormal voltage, such as a surge, or the like, are released by the protection transistor provided between the power supplies, whereby breakdown of a semiconductor device is prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kei Kawanishi, Noriyuki Shimazu, Ayako Morita
  • Vehicle generator control system
    Patent number: 7183749
    Abstract: A generator control system of a vehicle generator includes a switching element which turns on or off field current, a field current detecting circuit, a calculating circuit which calculates an average value of the field current when the switching element turns on according to an amount of the detected field current, and a switch control circuit which cyclically controls the switching element according to the average value and a limit value of the field current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Fuyuki Maehara
  • Plastic barrel and method for manufacturing the barrel
    Patent number: 7180721
    Abstract: A plastic barrel, embodied as a bung barrel or a lid barrel, is manufactured as a single-layer container or multi-layer container by extrusion blow molding. The plastic barrel has a barrel body having an inner surface and an outer surface. The barrel body has sections integrated into the barrel body, wherein the sections are made of electrically conducting plastic material and form electric connections between the inner surface and the outer surface of the barrel body so that electric charges of the interior of the barrel can be dissipated to the outer surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
    Assignee: Schütz GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventor: Udo Schütz
  • Integrated overvoltage and overcurrent device
    Patent number: 7180719
    Abstract: An electrical circuit protection device has an overcurrent protection portion and an overvoltage protection portion. The overcurrent protection portion has a surface. The overvoltage protection portion is disposed on the surface and thermally coupled to the overcurrent protection portion. A number of terminations connect the overcurrent protection portion and the overvoltage protection portion to a printed circuit board or other electrical circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
    Assignee: Littelfuse, Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen J. Whitney
  • Temperature sensor
    Patent number: 7180211
    Abstract: A temperature sensor is comprised of a device adapted to provide a first signal having a parameter responsive to temperature. A generator provides a reference signal having a parameter that is substantially consistent over a preselected temperature range. A comparator is electrically coupled to the device and the generator and is adapted to provide a second signal in response to the parameter of the first signal differing from the parameter of the reference signal. A digital filter is coupled to the comparator and is adapted to provide a third signal in response to receiving the second signal for a preselected duration of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
    Assignee: Micro Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Manoj K. Sinha, Glen E. Hush
  • Failure detection device for hydraulic motor and hydraulic drive vehicle
    Patent number: 7180720
    Abstract: A failure detection device for a hydraulic motor according to the present invention comprises a hydraulic pump 3 that is driven by a prime mover 2; a hydraulic motor 1 for traveling that is driven by hydraulic oil discharged from the hydraulic pump 3; a transmission 7 that is connected with an output shaft of the hydraulic motor 1 for traveling; a stopping detection device 26 that detects that a traveling vehicle has stopped; a fluid level detection device 35 that detects an oil level in the transmission 7; and a warning device 39, 40 that issues a warning when the stopping detection device 26 detects that the traveling vehicle has stopped, and also the fluid level detection device 35 detects that the oil level in the transmission 7 has reached a predetermined value La.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
    Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Ichimura
  • ALCI with reset lockout and independent trip
    Patent number: 7177126
    Abstract: Resettable circuit interrupting devices, such as ALCI and IDCI devices, that include reset lockout portion are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Richard J. Ulrich, William R. Ziegler, Nicholas L. Disalvo, Frantz Germain
  • Brushless DC fan motor driving circuit
    Patent number: 7177124
    Abstract: The present invention is a brushless DC fan motor driving circuit, comprising a control unit, a Hall element, a temperature sensor with negative temperature coefficient, and a motor, as tied in with a plurality of resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors. Accordingly, through sensing environment temperature by the temperature sensor and feeding back the temperature sensed to the motor to control the resolving speed, the ambient temperature of the system is maintained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Datech Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Jian-Xuan Lee
  • Method and apparatus for determining a switching signal state
    Patent number: 7177132
    Abstract: A technique for controlling a switching circuit includes one or more sensing circuits that generate signals based upon the presence of an actuating object and upon a randomly applied strobe signal. The generated signals are sampled and are used as a for determining the state of an output signal. The sensing circuit may generate the signals based upon capacitive coupling with the actuating object. The randomization of the sampling enhances immunity to periodic noise. Where more than one sensing circuit is included, the output of the circuits may be considered together for determining the state of the output signal, such as based upon predetermined ranges of signal levels. Signals of the sensing circuit may be sampled in the absence of the strobe to provide an indication of the relative noise level. If the noise level is determined to be elevated, the output signal may not change states.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Lee Gasperi, David Dale Brandt, Thong T. Nguyen
  • Arc fault detection for SSPC based electrical power distribution systems
    Patent number: 7177125
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method detect arc faults in an electrical power distribution system of a vehicle. In one implementation, the apparatus (320) includes: a load current input (340) arranged to obtain a measurement of current being supplied to a load (140) via a solid state power switching device (310) of the electrical power distribution system; and an arc fault detector (330) arranged to compare the measured load current with a load signature, the load signature being a function of characteristics of the load (140) being supplied current via the solid state power switching device (310) and operating conditions of the solid state power switching device (310). The arc fault detector (330) outputs an arc fault indication signal when the measured current is outside an allowable range of the load signature to provide protection against arc faults.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: David Lazarovich, Ileana Rusan, David Knight
  • Power distribution web node and power management process
    Patent number: 7176585
    Abstract: A power management device (200) and a method for use in a power distribution network (100) receives electrical energy and first determines if the power is a primary or secondary power source. When a secondary power source, the power management device (200) waits in standby mode, but when the power is primary power source the power management device (200) configures itself to route power to another node in the power distribution network (100). Power levels and faults within the network can be monitored and controlled by a central controller. Likewise loads (218, 220) may then be powered on as determined by a central controller to reduce LdI/dt voltage spikes and other undesirable side effects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Temic Automotive of North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Walton Fehr
  • Method and apparatus for bipolar ion generation
    Patent number: 7177133
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating positive and negative ions, the method comprising: generating ac high voltage; providing different polarity of the high-voltage to at least one pair of ionizing electrodes mounted in separate conducting cages located adjacent to each other, each of the cages provided with an opening opposite the electrode; balancing ion currents emitted by each of the electrodes by providing a balancing unit, output from the ac high voltage being via the balancing unit to the electrodes, each electrode provided with different polarity; and generating an external electric field by using the ion current from each electrode across to the cage in which the electrode is mounted, passing through an element for producing a voltage drop, whereby some of the ions generated from the electrodes escape outside the cages due to the presence of electric field between the cages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Ionic Systems Ltd.
    Inventor: Yefim Riskin
  • DCDC voltage converter overload detector, and corresponding component and device
    Patent number: 7173798
    Abstract: The invention concerns a detector of overloads for DCDC converters, the said converter supplying a load current with an output voltage (Vout) that may be different from a supply voltage (Vbat), by means of an inductance (L) and a first transistor (TP0), made conductive or blocked by regulation devices depending on the quantity of current demanded by the said load, the said detector having a means of capturing an image of the said load current at a predetermined smaller scale, and also a means of analysis that takes into account the said load current image to provide overload information when the said quantity of current is higher than a predetermined current threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: Atmel Nantes S.A.
    Inventor: Philippe M. Messager
  • Computer rack with power distribution system
    Patent number: 7173821
    Abstract: The invention relates to a computer rack, frame or system having a direct current power supply positioned at the upper portion of the rack. In one variation, the DC power supply is placed in the highest shelf in the computer rack. In another variation, the DC power supply is placed on top of the computer rack. In yet another variation, a dual column computer rack with a back-to-back configuration is implemented with DC power supplies placed in a top shelf of the one of the computer columns. The DC power supply may comprise of one or more direct current power supply modules configured to provide fail over protection. In another aspect of the invention, the power supply modules are placed in a separate rack and provide direct current to support computers in one or more computer racks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: Rackable Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Giovanni Coglitore