Patents Examined by David M. Gray
  • Patent number: 10088333
    Abstract: A method for real-time calibration of a gyroscope, configured for supplying a value of angular velocity that is function of a first angle of rotation about a first angular-sensing axis that includes defining a time interval, acquiring from an accelerometer an equivalent value of angular velocity that can be associated to the first angle of rotation; calculating a deviation between the value of angular velocity and the equivalent value of angular velocity; iteratively repeating the previous steps through the time interval, incrementing or decrementing an offset variable by a first predefined value on the basis of the values assumed by the deviations during the iterations, and updating the value of angular velocity as a function of the offset variable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.R.L.
    Inventor: Daniele Mangano
  • Patent number: 10082818
    Abstract: An electronic circuit includes a first consumption part, at least one second consumption part, and a current mirror circuit. The first consumption part passes a current to consume electricity when a voltage exceeding a first voltage is applied. At least one second consumption part is disposed in parallel with the first consumption part and passes a current to consume electricity. The current mirror circuit passes, to the second consumption part, a current corresponding to a current that flows through the first consumption part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, LTD.
    Inventors: Masashi Kasamai, Kohhei Yamaguchi, Yoshihiro Takahashi
  • Patent number: 10078299
    Abstract: A fusing apparatus includes a heater that heats a fuser belt at a nip between the fuser belt and a pressure roll through which a sheet is conveyed to permanently fuse an image onto the sheet. The heater has a silicon wafer with a smooth side that contacts and heats the fuser belt at the nip, and circuitry at a second side, with the circuitry generating heat through the silicon wafer to heat the fuser belt. The circuitry may include a plurality of heat producing integrated circuits etched in the silicon wafer, with each heat producing integrated circuit configured to heat the fuser belt. Each integrated circuit may self-control its amount of heat produced to the silicon wafer, for example, by automatically switching back and forth between a heat-on-state and a heat-off-state to maintain a desired temperature within the silicon wafer that heats the fuser belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Tab A. Tress, Brian J. Gillis, Donald N. Rechlin, Allen J. Thompson, Michael A. Fayette
  • Patent number: 10078005
    Abstract: A method for calibration or adjustment of any oscillatable unit with a mathematical model describing the oscillatable unit, wherein the oscillatable unit interacts with a medium located in a container, comprising the steps as follows: exciting the oscillatable unit via a real input signal to execute oscillations; the real output signal of the oscillatable unit is ascertained; the real output signal is digitized and a real output sequence is produced; the real input signal is digitized and a digital input sequence is produced; the digital input sequence is fed to a function block, which provides the mathematical model of the oscillatable unit in interaction with the medium. The mathematical model is defined by at least two sensor-specific variables; a virtual output sequence is produced via the mathematical model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: ENDRESS + HAUSER GMBH + CO. KG
    Inventors: Tobias Brengartner, Gerd Bechtel, Sascha D'Angelico
  • Patent number: 10076936
    Abstract: A pressure indicator device for a flat tire repair kit for motor vehicles, in which the flat tire repair kit includes a compressor and a pressure outlet and the pressure indicator device (1.1-1.3) is an indicator for a pressure that the compressor of the flat tire repair kit produces in a tire that is being filled and includes a base body, a conduit (4.1-4.3), an optical element, an acoustic element, and a throttle (5.1-5.3); and the throttle (5.1-5.3) includes an adjustable throttle valve, wherein the conduit (4.1-4.3) is operationally connected to the optical element and the acoustic element; an air flow (L) through the conduit that the air pressure produces in the base body is deflected into a horizontal and/or an inclined horizontal direction, and an indicator element of the optical element can be moved in the horizontal and/or inclined horizontal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
    Inventor: Martin P. Spindler
  • Patent number: 10078288
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a rotating polygonal mirror having reflection surfaces, and to reflect a luminous flux at each reflection surface so as to scan a photosensitive member; a detection unit configured to detect the luminous flux; a measurement unit configured to measure an interval between time points at which the detection unit detects the luminous flux; a storage unit configured to store correction value data for correcting an image signal for each reflection surface relative to a reference reflection surface; and a specification unit configured to select a characteristic value from among a plurality of values that are obtained from results of measurements, and to specify the reference reflection surface based on the characteristic value. The plurality of values include results of predetermined operations performed on two or more intervals measured by the measurement unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Fukuhara
  • Patent number: 10078303
    Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing rotator, a pressure rotator, a cooling assembly, and an air regulation plate. The cooling assembly blows air onto an outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator to cool the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator. The air regulation plate is disposed opposing the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator with a clearance between the air regulation plate and the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator, to regulate a flow direction or amount of one of air to be blown onto the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator and air having been blown onto the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator. The air regulation plate has a leading end opposing the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator. The leading end has a shape following the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yuuki Kikushima
  • Patent number: 10072922
    Abstract: Non-contacting caliper measurements of free standing sheets such as porous polymer and paper detect mid-IR interferometric fringes created by the reflection of light from the top and bottom surfaces of the sheet. The technique includes directing a laser beam at a selected angle of incidence onto a single spot on the exposed outer surface wherein the laser beam comprises radiation having a wavelength in the 3-50 micron range and scanning the laser beam through a selected angle range as the laser beam is directed onto the exposed outer surface and measuring the intensity of an interference pattern that forms from the superposition of radiation that is reflected from the exposed outer surface and from the inner surface. Thickness can be extracted from the fringe separation in the interference pattern. Rotating and focusing elements ensure that the spot position on the sheet remains the same while varying the incident angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: Honeywell Limited
    Inventors: Sebastien Tixier, Michael Kon Yew Hughes, Stephane Savard
  • Patent number: 10072956
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for detecting when a magnetic anomaly may impact the quality of data being output by a magnetometer. A plurality of detection algorithms may be performed in parallel on the sensor data. Further, indication of a anomaly from one or a combination of the detection algorithms may cause the magnetometer data to have a reduced contribution in any sensor fusion operation or may be omitted from a sensor fusion operation as desired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: InvenSense, Inc.
    Inventors: Yuan Zheng, Shang-Hung Lin, William Kerry Keal
  • Patent number: 10067443
    Abstract: A developer container includes a stirring member that stirs a developer and a conductive resin sheet that comes into contact with the stirring member when the stirring member rotates. Wherein, the developer container detects developer quantity using capacitance from the conductive resin sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Bunro Noguchi, Takayoshi Kihara, Go Shindo
  • Patent number: 10060944
    Abstract: A micromechanical sensor device, and a corresponding method, including an ASIC substrate having first front and rear sides, a first rewiring element on the first front side; a MEMS substrate having a second front side, and a second rear side having a base substrate and a second rewiring element formed thereon; a micromechanical functional layer having at least one movable sensor structure, and which is on the second front side of the second rewiring element; a capping element having third front and rear sides, the third rear side being applied to the second front side for capping the sensor structure; and a recess formed in the base substrate on the second rear side, or in the capping element on the third front side, and within which the ASIC substrate is suspended on a flexible layered first suspension element via the first rewiring element, forming a cavity surrounding the ASIC chip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventor: Jochen Reinmuth
  • Patent number: 10060743
    Abstract: A method of correcting an output value of a geomagnetic sensor that recursively calculates a state estimate, an estimate gain vector, and an estimate error co-variance based on the output value of the geomagnetic sensor that is acquired sequentially and corrects the output value of the geomagnetic sensor based on the value includes acquiring a kth output value of the geomagnetic sensor, calculating a kth estimate gain vector based on a k?1th estimate error co-variance and the kth output value, calculating a kth state estimate based on the calculated kth estimate gain vector and the kth output value and a k?1th state estimate, calculating the kth estimate error co-variance using the kth estimate gain vector and a k?1th estimate error co-variance, and correcting the output value of the geomagnetic sensor based on the kth state estimate, wherein k is a natural number larger than 1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: HAECHITECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Dong Yoon Kim, Byung Ki Kim, Seung Hwan Park, Hyung Sik Shin, Kyoung Suck Ki, Jo An Na, Young Joon Kim, Yeon Soo Choi
  • Patent number: 10061061
    Abstract: Methods of well treatment include modeling approaches that account for the effect of pore structure during well stimulation treatments. In one aspect, methods may include preparing a computer model of a porous medium; simulating an injection of a fluid into the computer model of the porous medium; measuring a pore-scale heterogeneity of the computer model of the porous medium, and designing a stimulating fluid treatment for the porous medium. Other aspects may include the development of a wellbore stimulation methodology that allows stimulation fluid breakthrough curves of differing formation samples to be plotted as a single curve that accounts for the varied pore structure of the respective samples.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Murtaza Ziauddin, Denis Klemin, Mark Andersen, Alexander Nadeev
  • Patent number: 10061251
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a controller, a transmitter, a receiver, and an input receiving device. Upon the controller detecting a replacement unit that needs to be replaced, the transmitter transmits, to an external device, unit information indicating the replacement unit. The receiver receives, from the external device via a network, replacement procedure information of the replacement unit detected by the controller and identification information of a worker who is to replace the replacement unit. Upon the input receiving device receiving input of identification information that matches the identification information of the worker received by the receiver, the controller shifts an operation state of the image forming apparatus from a normal power supply mode to a unit replacement mode in which power is supplied only to predetermined components of the image forming apparatus other than the replacement unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Nakachi
  • Patent number: 10061260
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a main assembly provided with an opening; a drawer movable while supporting an cartridge including a photosensitive drum between an inside position and an outside position; an optical unit in the main assembly to project light onto the drum a shutter member provided in the main assembly and movable between a closing position and an open position an operating portion to move the shutter member from the open position to the closing position in a process of movement of the drawer from the inside position to the outside position and to move the shutter member from the closing position to the open position in a process of movement of the drawer from the outside position to the inside position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takahiro Sakamoto, Yuichi Sakakibara, Tsutomu Nishiuwatoko, Takashi Akutsu, Daisuke Abe, Ken Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 10061249
    Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, an image forming unit forms a first image of a first color and a second image of a second color. An obtaining unit obtains information related to relative positions of a first measurement image, which is formed on an image carrier, of the first color and a second measurement image, which is formed on an image carrier, of the second color. A generation unit generates correlation data based on first information corresponding to a first image forming speed and second information corresponding to a second image forming speed. A controller, in a case where the image forming unit forms an image at the second image forming speed, corrects relative positions of the first image and the second image based on the first information in advance and the correlation data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yushi Oka, Shinichi Takata, Hiroshi Matsumoto, Ryou Sakaguchi, Kentaro Tamura, Kazuyuki Iwamoto, Takao Nakajima, Daisuke Aruga
  • Patent number: 10061258
    Abstract: A drum unit includes a photosensitive drum, a side plate, a cleaning unit, a waste-toner conveyor unit. The photosensitive drum has a first drum body and a second drum body, each having a photosensitive layer and a supported portion extending from one end of the drum body in a first direction along a rotational axis of the photosensitive drum. The side plate supports the supported portions. The cleaning unit has cleaners and conveyors corresponding to the drum bodies so as to remove waste toner from the photosensitive drums and convey the waste toner removed by the cleaners in the first direction. The waste-toner conveyor unit has a collecting conveyor configured to convey the waste toner conveyed by the. The collecting conveyor is disposed between the side plate and the drum bodies. The collecting conveyor is disposed below the first conveyor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Junichi Hashimoto, Ryuya Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 10056306
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure include a test structure that includes two or more devices. Each device includes a wire disposed within a dielectric and a first via disposed over the wire and in electrical contact with the wire. Each device includes a test pad electrically connected to the first via and a polysilicon resistor electrically connected to the wire. Each of the polysilicon resistors of the two or more devices are electrically tied together. A method for forming the interconnect structure to be used for testing is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
    Inventors: Edward C. Cooney, III, Gary L. Milo, Thomas W. Weeks, Patrick S. Spinney, John C. Hall, Brian P. Conchieri, Brett T. Cucci, Thomas C. Lee
  • Patent number: 10054879
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a transfer unit and a static eliminating unit. The transfer unit transfers a toner image formed on an image holding body to a recording medium. The static eliminating unit is disposed downstream of the transfer unit in a transport direction in which the recording medium is transported, stores electric charge while the recording medium is passing through a recording medium transfer region, and releases the electric charge when a leading edge of the recording medium enters the recording medium transfer region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshinori Takahashi, Masahiro Katahira
  • Patent number: 10054896
    Abstract: A drive transmission device includes a rotation shaft, a drive transmitter attached to the rotation shaft to slide in an axial direction and including an engaging portion extending in the axial direction, and a coil spring to bias the drive transmitter to one side in the axial direction, and a shaft-side drive transmitter disposed on the rotation shaft. The coil spring includes a sparse portion and a dense portion. The shaft-side drive transmitter engages the engaging portion to prevent the drive transmitter from disengaging from the rotation shaft. The coil spring and the engaging portion satisfy C>A?B where A represents a length of the coil spring in a state in which the shaft-side drive transmitter retains the drive transmitter, B represents a compressed height of the coil spring, and C represents a length of the coil spring in the axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroaki Takagi, Kimiharu Yamazaki, Naoyuki Suido, Shogo Sakamoto