Patents Examined by Daniel Miller
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Patent number: 10274560Abstract: At least two RF transmission coil arrangements are provided. Each of the at least two RF transmission coil arrangements includes at least one RF transmission antenna. The at least two RF transmission coil arrangements are actuatable by a transmission apparatus of the magnetic resonance imaging system for transmitting RF pulses.Type: GrantFiled: July 21, 2014Date of Patent: April 30, 2019Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventor: Stephan Biber
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Patent number: 10259484Abstract: A steering wheel is provided with a sensor structure for detecting the occupancy of a heated contact surface. The steering wheel includes a contact surface which forms at least one part of the outer layer of the steering wheel; a steering wheel frame; a sensor heating layer which is equipped with at least one sensor electrode for occupancy detection and at least one heating wire; and a potential layer which is arranged between the sensor heating layer and the steering wheel frame. A defined potential can be applied to the potential layer.Type: GrantFiled: April 7, 2017Date of Patent: April 16, 2019Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AktiengesellschaftInventors: Michael Streifinger, Stefan Heller
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Patent number: 10241161Abstract: Provided is a technique capable of achieving safety and image quality at the same time in an MRI device using a transmission coil including plural channels. An SAR distribution is calculated, and an imaging parameter is determined for optimizing a radio frequency magnetic field distribution in an imaging region while suppressing a maximum value of an SAR to be equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold value. The determined imaging parameter includes a radio frequency magnetic field parameter for specifying radio frequency pulses to be transmitted through each of the plural channels. The SAR distribution is calculated using a database that retains an electric field distribution of each of the plural channels for each subject model retained in advance.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2014Date of Patent: March 26, 2019Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Yukio Kaneko, Yoshihisa Soutome, Hisaaki Ochi
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Patent number: 10240947Abstract: A waveguide structure to allow device to determine its orientation are disclosed. The waveguide may be formed of a dielectric core and a cladding. The dielectric core may be formed of a solid dielectric material that conducts radio waves at millimeter wave frequencies and above. The cladding may encapsulate the core, and may include at least two conductive portions. Each conductive portion may be disposed around less than the entire core. The conductive portions allow electrical signals to flow between two devices to determine an orientation of the waveguide.Type: GrantFiled: August 24, 2015Date of Patent: March 26, 2019Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Benjamin J. Kallman, Daniel C. Wagman
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Patent number: 10234376Abstract: Systems and methods for monitoring microorganisms on a surface are provided. In particular, a flat, patterned sensing electrode can be positioned proximate a surface in non-contact relationship with the surface. The sensing electrode can include a working electrode and a counter electrode. The surface and the sensing electrode can be submerged in an aqueous medium. An alternating current signal can be applied at the working electrode. The signal can propagate through the aqueous medium and can be measured at the counter electrode. The presence of microorganisms on the surface can cause changes in the signal as the signal propagates through the aqueous medium. Such changes in the signal can be used to determine impedance parameters, which can correspond to microbial characteristics associated with the surface. For instance, the microbial characteristics can be associated with a biofilm, corrosion and/or bio-corrosion on the surface.Type: GrantFiled: May 12, 2015Date of Patent: March 19, 2019Assignee: SAVANNAH RIVER NUCLEAR SOLUTIONS, LLCInventors: Charles E. Turick, Charles E. Milliken, Hector Colon-Mercado, Scott D. Greenway
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Patent number: 10230325Abstract: Electrical component location is provided. Employed location techniques may include providing a cycling signal, having components to be located sense the cycling signal at the same time, report back the sensed signal, and determining relative locations for one or more of the components using the sensed signals reported by the components.Type: GrantFiled: October 14, 2016Date of Patent: March 12, 2019Assignee: Enphase Energy, Inc.Inventors: Patrick L Chapman, Fernando Rodriguez, Philip Rothblum, Anant K Singh
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Patent number: 10228391Abstract: A two-piece spring probe in electrical contact with a piece of testing equipment is used for probing an object to be tested. The two-piece spring probe includes a coiled compression spring and a conductive element. The coiled compression spring has a non-uniform outer diameter and is used to electrically contact the object. The conductive element is directly connected to the coiled compression spring and in electrical contact with the testing equipment.Type: GrantFiled: January 12, 2016Date of Patent: March 12, 2019Assignee: WINWAY TECH. CO., LTD.Inventors: Chyi-Lang Lai, Po-Hong Chen, Chun-Kiu Tan, Chia-Pin Sun
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Patent number: 10222444Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) system that can be operated while a subject performs, experiences, or otherwise undergoes naturalistic motion. This movable MRI (“mMRI”) system includes a magnet whose position and orientation can be changed while the subject is moving, such that the magnet and subject maintain a substantially fixed spatial relationship relative to each other.Type: GrantFiled: May 8, 2015Date of Patent: March 5, 2019Assignees: The General Hospital Corporation, Massachusetts Eye and Ear InfirmaryInventors: Daniel Merfeld, Jerome Ackerman
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Patent number: 10209293Abstract: A sensor to monitor health of surge arresters such as metal oxide arresters is disclosed. The sensor including a housing; a sensor assembly contained in the housing, and a voltage measurement strap extending around a periphery of the housing. The voltage measurement strap being electrically connected to the electronics board and configured to measure voltage using electric field. The sensor assembly including: an electronics board to receive, transmit, process, and store signals; a Rogowski coil electrically connected to the electronics board to measure surge currents diverted by the surge arrestor; and a current transformer electrically connected to the electronics board to measure leakage current.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2017Date of Patent: February 19, 2019Assignee: Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.Inventors: Andrew John Phillips, Christiaan Engelbrecht, Robert Carlton Lynch, J. Mark Major
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Patent number: 10209297Abstract: An apparatus with a burn-in board containing a microcontroller unit and a heater socket for insitu testing of a packaged integrated circuit while under stress. A method for insitu testing of a packaged integrated circuit while under stress. A method for insitu testing of multiple packaged integrated circuits while under stress.Type: GrantFiled: January 11, 2016Date of Patent: February 19, 2019Assignee: Texas Instruments IncorporatedInventors: Ning Tan, Jose Abdiel Rodriguez-Latorre
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Patent number: 10197620Abstract: A contact device for an electric contact for electrically testing an electric test object, comprising a contact head and at least one printed circuit board. The contact head has a plurality of guide bores in which elongated contact elements that buckle elastically in a lateral direction upon contacting the test object are mounted in a longitudinally movable manner. One end of the contact element is used to contact the test object and the other end is in contact with first contact surfaces which are arranged in a specified pattern and which are located on a face of the printed circuit board in a first, central region of the printed circuit board face. Second contact surfaces are arranged in a further specified pattern, are electrically connected to the first contact surfaces through the printed circuit board, and lie on the other face of the printed circuit board in a second, central region of the printed circuit board face.Type: GrantFiled: February 15, 2016Date of Patent: February 5, 2019Assignee: FEINMETALL GMBHInventor: Rainer Schmid
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Patent number: 10191115Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and to a battery management system which are suitable for determining an open-circuit voltage profile (3) of a vehicle battery, dependent on a state of charge, in a vehicle. In this context, the following occur: complete discharging (S1) of the vehicle battery by vehicle-internal loads of the vehicle, sensing (S2) of a first sensed, state-of-charge-dependent voltage profile (1) during the discharging (S1) of the vehicle battery, complete charging (S3) of the vehicle battery by a charging device, sensing (S4) of a second sensed state-of-charge-dependent voltage profile (2) during the charging (S3) of the vehicle battery, and determination (S5) of the state-of-charge-dependent open-circuit voltage profile (3) by means of a weighted interpolation of the first sensed voltage profile (1) and of the second sensed voltage profile (2).Type: GrantFiled: September 25, 2014Date of Patent: January 29, 2019Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbHInventors: Michael Rueger, Andre Boehm
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Patent number: 10185005Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system is provided. The system includes a main field magnet generating a main magnetic field B0. Moreover, the system further includes an integrated magnet device. The integrated magnet device has field-shift coils including primary field-shift coils and field-shift shield coils, the primary field shift coils being placed closer to an object to be imaged within the imaging volume than the field-shift shield coils. The gradient coils are placed between the primary field-shift coils and field-shift shield coils. At least one substrate layer is included to provide mechanical support for the field-shift coils and the gradient coils.Type: GrantFiled: February 23, 2015Date of Patent: January 22, 2019Inventors: Geron Andre Bindseil, Chad Tyler Harris, William Bradfield Handler, Blaine Alexander Chronik
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Patent number: 10185019Abstract: A system and method for magnetic field distortion compensation includes a cryostat for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. The cryostat includes a vacuum casing having a vacuum therein. A cryogen vessel is disposed within the casing, the vessel having a coolant therein. A thermal shield is disposed between the vacuum casing and the cryogen vessel. An eddy current compensation assembly is disposed within the casing. The eddy current compensation assembly includes a plurality of electrically conductive loops formed on one of the vacuum casing, the cryogen vessel, and the thermal shield and constructed to mitigate vibration-induced eddy currents in the MRI system.Type: GrantFiled: December 8, 2015Date of Patent: January 22, 2019Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYInventors: Weijun Shen, Timothy John Havens, Longzhi Jiang, Saikat Saha, Benjamin Jacob Gronemeyer, Venkata Kishore Mogatadakala
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Patent number: 10177102Abstract: Tamper-proof electronic packages and fabrication methods are provided which include a glass substrate. The glass substrate is stressed glass with a compressively-stressed surface layer. Further, one or more electronic components are secured to the glass substrate within a secure volume of the tamper-proof electronic package. In operation, the glass substrate is configured to fragment with an attempted intrusion event into the electronic package, and the fragmenting of the glass substrate also fragments the electronic component(s) secured to the glass substrate, thereby destroying the electronic component(s). In certain implementations, the glass substrate has undergone ion-exchange processing to provide the stressed glass.Type: GrantFiled: December 5, 2017Date of Patent: January 8, 2019Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONInventors: James A. Busby, Silvio Dragone, Michael A. Gaynes, Kenneth P. Rodbell, William Santiago-Fernandez
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Patent number: 10168356Abstract: A probe for making electrical contact with a device-under-test test point includes a body, a rigid member capable of travelling linearly with respect to the body, a flexible arm having a test point contact at one end and fastened to the rigid member at the other end, and a flexible linkage fixed to the body and to the flexible arm. The flexible linkage is structured to cause the flexible arm to bend in response to travel of the rigid member in one direction, and to cause the flexible arm to unbend in response to travel of the rigid member in the other direction. A second flexible arm may be included, the two arms opening and closing to change the distance between test point contacts. A light source may be disposed on a portion of the flexible linkage that simultaneously articulates to automatically track the orientation of the test point contact.Type: GrantFiled: August 19, 2015Date of Patent: January 1, 2019Assignee: Tektronix, Inc.Inventors: Julie A. Campbell, William A. Hagerup, Ira G. Pollock
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Patent number: 10171028Abstract: A method and an apparatus for monitoring a photovoltaic module to reduce a commissioning workload and reduce commissioning complexity, the method includes obtaining communication addresses of all module voltage monitoring apparatuses, establishing a connection to a corresponding module voltage monitoring apparatus using the communication address, obtaining a relative voltage of a corresponding module relative to a voltage reference point from the module voltage monitoring apparatus to which the connection is established; obtaining, according to relative voltages obtained from all the module voltage monitoring apparatuses, a physical location that is of a module corresponding to each module voltage monitoring apparatus and that is in the photovoltaic string; establishing an information table according to the communication address of each module voltage monitoring apparatus and the physical location of the module corresponding to each module voltage monitoring apparatus, and performing module abnormality detectType: GrantFiled: April 11, 2017Date of Patent: January 1, 2019Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.Inventors: Yunyan Xu, Yongbing Gao
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Patent number: 10168443Abstract: A system for interfacing an LC sensor includes a starter configured to selectively start an oscillation of the LC sensor. The system also includes an analog peak detector configured to determine a signal (Vpeak) being indicative of a peak voltage of the oscillation of the LC sensor and a detector configured to determine a state of the LC sensor as a function of the signal (Vpeak) determined by the analog peak detector.Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 2015Date of Patent: January 1, 2019Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.Inventors: Daniele Mangano, Riccardo Condorelli
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Patent number: 10168405Abstract: Provided are a method and apparatus for processing a magnetic resonance (MR) image of an object including first and second materials on a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus by using multi-parameter mapping including applying to the object a plurality of radio frequency (RF) pulses separated by a first repetition time and a second repetition time, the first repetition time and the second repetition time being determined based on the first material and the second material; undersampling first MR signals corresponding to the first material and second MR signals corresponding to the second material in a K-space; and performing matching between the undersampled first and the undersampled second MR signals and a signal model for the multi-parameter mapping to determine attribute values corresponding to the first and the second materials at at least one point in an MR image of the object.Type: GrantFiled: November 11, 2015Date of Patent: January 1, 2019Assignees: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., INDUSTRY-ACADEMIC COOPERATION FOUNDATION, YONSEI UNIVERSITYInventors: Lae-hoon Kang, Dong-hyun Kim, Min-oh Kim, Dong-yeob Han, Do-sik Hwang, Yong-sup Park, Jong-buhm Park, Jae-sung Lee
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Patent number: 10168365Abstract: Disclosed is a radio frequency (RF) power calorimeter having a load electrically coupled to a RF input, a variable low-frequency power source electrically coupled to the load and configured to apply low-frequency bias to the load. The RF power calorimeter includes a thermal medium thermally coupled to the load. Additionally, the RF power calorimeter includes an outlet temperature sensor thermally coupled to the thermal medium, the outlet temperature sensor being positioned to measure the temperature of the thermal medium due to heating by the load. The RF power calorimeter also has circuitry configured to use temperature measurements of the thermal medium in thermal contact with an RF load in combination with the low-frequency bias to measure average power of an RF source electrically coupled to the RF input. Also disclosed in a method of measuring RF power using the RF power calorimeter.Type: GrantFiled: February 20, 2014Date of Patent: January 1, 2019Assignees: Bird Technologies Group Inc., The Research Foundation for the State University of New YorkInventors: Joel D. Meltzer, Albert H. Titus, Bilel Neji, Jing Xu