Patents Examined by David Henze-Gongola
  • Patent number: 8760109
    Abstract: A method for operating a motorized solar protection home automation installation, comprising: an actuator intended to unfold and fold up a fabric, comprising a motor and a motor control module, and a panel of photovoltaic cells that is fixed or mobile under the effect of the actuator, intended to supply energy to recharge a reserve of electrical energy powering the actuator, the operating method comprising the following automatic steps: determination of a criterion for recharging the energy reserve, if the criterion is satisfied, displacement of the panel of photovoltaic cells or of the fabric to a recharging position in which the panel is exposed directly or by reflection to the solar rays to recharge the energy reserve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Somfy SAS
    Inventors: Pierre-Emmanuel Cavarec, Fabien Rousseau
  • Patent number: 8754654
    Abstract: A power supply device includes battery units. Each unit includes a battery block, a voltage detector, a power supply circuit, and a disconnection detector. The block includes serially-connected battery cells. The voltage detector detects the cell voltages through voltage detection lines. The power supply circuit supplies power from the block to the voltage detector. The voltage detector is powered by electric power from the block. The disconnection detector detects disconnection of the lines based on the detected cell voltages. An unbalance resistor is connected to one of the blocks to increase power consumption of this block. Thus, a current flows in the line that is connected to a node between this block and an adjacent block connected next to this block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kimihiko Furukawa
  • Patent number: 8749244
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a circuit includes a measuring circuit coupled to an accumulator cell. A first output of the measuring circuit outputs a current signal based on a cell voltage of the accumulator cell. The circuit includes an interface circuit coupled to the first output of the measuring circuit and a second output of a level-shifter circuit configured to change a voltage level on the first output at the interface circuit. The level-shifter circuit includes a first input coupled to the first output and one or more transistors coupled in series with one or more gate terminals that are each coupled to each of one or more terminals of the accumulator cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Atmel Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Clemens Hauser
  • Patent number: 8704496
    Abstract: A charge control system (10) includes an electric power storage device (102), a variation suppression coefficient setting section (214) which sets a variation suppression coefficient, a variation suppression operation processing section which operates a charged state estimation operation value, and a charged state estimation section which estimates a charged state of the electric power storage device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masaru Kimura