Patents Examined by Dylan White
  • Patent number: 9615430
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention disclose a mobile messaging device that is battery powered with no hard wire connection to the vehicle's electrical system. Signage is backlit for visibility in both low and high ambient lighting conditions. To conserve battery power, the signage is lit after braking (deceleration) of the vehicle for a brief period of time. To further conserve battery power, the signage is backlit at different intensity levels which depend on ambient lighting conditions. Deceleration sensing is provided by a sensor fully incorporated within the mobile messaging device, which requires no external wiring to the vehicle's electrical system. The deceleration sensor is user adjustable to minimize false triggering. Messaging can be provided by user replaceable transparent placards or by backlit, user programmable liquid crystal display panels. In one configuration, the mobile messaging device is incorporated into a vehicle license tag frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Inventor: Ron Meritt
  • Patent number: 9601054
    Abstract: There is provided a display device including a pixel array unit in which a plurality of pixels are arrayed in a matrix shape. A predetermined amount of light emission variation is added to a light emission state of each pixel and a cycle of the light emission state of the pixel array unit in the case of the addition is shorter than the cycle of a light emission state of the pixel array unit before the predetermined amount of light emission variation is added.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: JOLED INC.
    Inventor: Tsutomu Shimayama
  • Patent number: 9595970
    Abstract: One embodiment describes a superconducting cell array logic circuit system. The system includes a plurality of superconducting cells arranged in an array of at least one row and at least one column. The superconducting cell array logic circuit system can be configured to implement a logic operation on at least one logic input signal received at at least one respective input associated with the respective at least one row to provide at least one logic output signal on at least one respective output associated with the at least one column based on a predetermined selective coupling of the at least one input to the at least one output via the plurality of superconducting cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation
    Inventors: William Robert Reohr, Robert J Voigt
  • Patent number: 9591711
    Abstract: A luminaire can comprise a system that automatically adjusts light output from the luminaire to control light level in an illuminated area. The system can increase light output if the light level in the area falls below a target light level or decrease light output if the light level in the area rises above the target. For example, when the area is illuminated by a combination of sunlight and luminaire light, the light level can be maintained at the target level by gradually decreasing light output as the sunlight contribution increases in the morning and by gradually increasing light output as the sunlight contribution decreases in the evening. The system adjustments can take into consideration whether the light level is offset from the target due to a change in the target or a short-term fluctuation that may be due to a cloud temporarily blocking the sun.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: Cooper Technologies Company
    Inventors: Michael Alan Lunn, Brian Eugene Elwell
  • Patent number: 9578735
    Abstract: The embodiments relate to integrating a venting system in a circuit board. Three or more interconnected accesses (VIAs) are formed in a printed circuit board (PCB). The VIAs are interconnected by routing a bi-planar channel spanning through the VIAs. The channel includes at least two sections, including a first channel section at a first plane extending from the first VIA to the second VIA and a second channel section at a second plane extending from the second VIA to the third VIA. The first and second sections are at different planar levels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael J. Fisher, Roger S. Krabbenhoft
  • Patent number: 9572207
    Abstract: Representative implementations of devices and techniques provide a dimming arrangement for a variable load, such as a lamp. The dimming arrangement is coupled to a drive circuit for the load and arranged to reduce a drive current associated with the drive circuit, based on a control voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventors: Tiam Poh Lau, Zhongfang Wang
  • Patent number: 9559537
    Abstract: The invention is directed to activating a guidance light for a mobile device. The guidance light is located proximate to connector, such that activation of the guidance light serves to help a user guide a charging wire into the connector, especially during less than ideal lighting conditions. Specific embodiments of the invention provide for determining, at the mobile occurrence of a trigger and, in response to determining the trigger event activating the guidance light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
    Inventor: Olof Zander
  • Patent number: 9560718
    Abstract: A dimming system includes an alternating current input, a reference crossing detector operable to detect when a signal derived from the alternating current input crosses a reference level, a ramp signal generator operable to generate a ramp signal with a changing voltage, wherein the ramp signal generator is operable to restart the ramp signal based on an output of the reference crossing detector, a switch operable to control a current derived from the alternating current input to a load output, a switch driver operable to control the switch based at least in part on the ramp signal, and a difference amplifier operable to generate a difference between the ramp signal and an input from a light sensor, wherein the switch driver is operable to control the switch based at least in part on the difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Inventor: Laurence P. Sadwick
  • Patent number: 9559584
    Abstract: An electric circuit of a switchable current source (10) comprises an input path (IP) comprising a first resistor (R1) and a controllable current source (CS) to provide a changeable current (Itrim) and an output current path (OP) including a controllable output driver (MN), a second resistor (R2) and an output terminal (LDR_PIN). A sensing voltage (VSENSE) is tapped at the output current path (OP) and is fed back to a regulator circuit (RC) by a feedback path (FP). The regulator circuit (RC) is connectable to the input path (IP) and the output path (OP) and provides an output signal (Vout2) to control the output current driver (MN). The switchable current source (10) enables to provide an output current (ILDR) at the output terminal (LDR_PIN) in dependence on the first and second resistor (R1, R2) and the changeable current (Itrim).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: AMS AG
    Inventor: Gonggui Xu
  • Patent number: 9554440
    Abstract: A dimmable LED lighting apparatus including a power input unit generating drive voltage through rectification of received AC power and outputting the generated drive voltage to the drive controller, an insulation type signal transceiver receiving a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal output from a PWM dimmer and outputting the PWM signal to the drive controller, while electrically insulating the PWM dimmer from the drive controller, a first LED group to an nth LED group, n being a positive integer of 2 or greater, receiving the drive voltage and sequentially operating under control of the drive controller, and a drive controller controlling sequential operation of the first LED group to the nth LED group according to a voltage level of the drive voltage, determining a dimming level based on the received PWM dimming signal, and controlling dimming of the first LED group to the nth LED group based on the determined dimming level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Keon Young Lee
  • Patent number: 9554451
    Abstract: A wallmount dual beam sensing device has a microcontroller unit (MCU) mounted inside a housing and electrically connected to an ambient light detector, an infrared detector and a microwave sensing module. The MCU determines if the infrared detector and the microwave sensing module are activated according to detected luminance by the ambient light detector and outputs a control signal when the infrared detector and the microwave sensing module are activated and any one of the infrared detector and the microwave sensing module detects the presence of people in a monitored environment. Accordingly, the infrared detector and the microwave sensing module statically and dynamically sense the monitored environment in a 3D manner at the same time, thereby ensuring a stable and reliable sensing result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: IR-TEC International Ltd.
    Inventor: Wen-I Huang
  • Patent number: 9553583
    Abstract: To reduce a leakage current of a transistor so that malfunction of a logic circuit can be suppressed, a semiconductor device includes a first conductive layer over an insulating layer, a semiconductor layer over the first conductive layer, a second conductive layer over the semiconductor layer, a gate insulating layer over the second conductive layer, and a gate electrode over the gate insulating layer. The semiconductor device may further include wiring layers. The logic circuit includes a transistor which includes an oxide semiconductor layer having a function of a channel formation layer and in which an off current is 1×10?13 A or less per micrometer in channel width, and may be 1×10?17 A or less per micrometer. A first signal, a second signal, and a third signal that is a clock signal are input as input signals. A fourth signal and a fifth signal whose voltage states are set in accordance with the first to third signals which have been input are output as output signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Jun Koyama, Masashi Tsubuku, Kosei Noda
  • Patent number: 9553590
    Abstract: A programmable integrated circuit device includes a plurality of clusters of programmable logic resources. Programmable device interconnect resources allow user-defined interconnection between the clusters of programmable logic resources. A plurality of specialized processing blocks have dedicated arithmetic operators and programmable internal interconnect resources, and having inputs and outputs programmably connectable to the programmable device interconnect resources. A plurality of dedicated memory modules have inputs and outputs programmably connectable to the programmable device interconnect resources. Programmably connectable direct interconnect between at least one respective individual one of the specialized processing blocks and at least one respective individual one of the dedicated memory modules allow the formation of a processor element from a specialized processing block and a memory module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Valavan Manohararajah, David Lewis
  • Patent number: 9549449
    Abstract: A fault detection apparatus coupling with a lamp module includes a current detector and a controlling module. The controlling module is coupled with the current detector. A fault detection method of a fault detection apparatus is also provided in the present disclose. The method includes providing a current detector to detect a current variation of one lamp of a lamp module in a period, and provide a controlling module to compare the current variation with a reference value stored in the controlling module to determine a state of the lamp module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2017
    Assignee: ADVANCED OPTOELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventor: Yuan-Ching Chen
  • Patent number: 9544956
    Abstract: In a two-stage power converter providing voltage regulation in a first stage, zero voltage switching (ZVS) is provided in switches in an unregulated, constant frequency second stage of a two-stage power converter by an inductor of a CLL resonant circuit connected in parallel with both a series connection of an external inductor and a primary winding of one or more transformers connected in series and an output of the switching circuit so that the output capacitances of the switches can be charged and discharged, respectively, by current in the parallel-connected inductor and independently of current in the magnetizing inductance of the transformer. Therefore, the magnetizing inductance of the transformer can be made sufficiently large to balance currents delivered to respective loads as is particularly desirable for driving a plurality of unbalanced LED strings independently of the value of the parallel-connected inductor which is desirably small.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.
    Inventors: Xuebing Chen, Daocheng Huang, Qiang Li, Fred C. Lee
  • Patent number: 9543950
    Abstract: A programmable logic is provided that uses only NMOS pass transistors to pass a true output signal to an internal true node and to pass a complement output signal to an internal complement node. The internal true and complement nodes are cross-coupled through PMOS transistors so that the discharge of one of the internal true and complement nodes switches on a corresponding one of the cross-coupled PMOS transistors to charge a remaining one of the internal true and complement nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Brad Sharpe-Geisler, Senani Gunaratna, Ting Yew
  • Patent number: 9543740
    Abstract: An ignition system has an ignition coil unit, an ignition plug, and a voltage limiter. The ignition coil unit has a primary coil and a secondary coil which are magnetically coupled with each other. The ignition plug has a center electrode and a ground electrode. The ignition plug generates discharge spark between the center and ground electrodes to which voltage is applied on the basis of the magnetic energy accumulated in the ignition coil unit. The voltage limiter limits an absolute value of the voltage applied to the center and ground electrodes of the ignition plug to a voltage limit value. The voltage limiter increases the voltage limit value as cumulative usage time of the ignition plug increases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masataka Deguchi
  • Patent number: 9538622
    Abstract: A multi-scene, multi-zone lighting device includes a support structure supporting multiple lighting zones, an ensemble of the zones defining a lighting scene. A master dimming control built into the support structure has a power input line and multiple dimmers. The zones are coupled to the dimmer output lines to receive a controlled setting from the corresponding dimmer. A remote control device communicates with the master dimming control, and has a memory for storing settings for the multiple zones and a user interface for a user to select a stored setting for each zone or a scene composed of multiple zones. Settings can be prestored or programmed by the user. The master dimming control includes a controller responsive to receiving the set of settings to set the controlled setting of the corresponding dimmer for each zone in the selected scene to conform the zones to the settings in the selected scene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: DOLAN DESIGNS INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Patrick S. Dolan
  • Patent number: 9537338
    Abstract: GaN-based half bridge power conversion circuits employ control, support and logic functions that are monolithically integrated on the same devices as the power transistors. In some embodiments a low side GaN device communicates through one or more level shift circuits with a high side GaN device. Both the high side and the low side devices may have one or more integrated control, support and logic functions. Some devices employ electro-static discharge circuits and features formed within the GaN-based devices to improve the reliability and performance of the half bridge power conversion circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: NAVITAS SEMICONDUCTOR INC.
    Inventors: Daniel M. Kinzer, Santosh Sharma, Ju Jason Zhang
  • Patent number: 9538614
    Abstract: Methods and apparatuses relate to detection and provisioning for lighting interfaces. In one embodiment, a hardware apparatus includes a sensing module to detect a lighting interface from a plurality of lighting interfaces to power a light emitting element, and a dimming module to supply multiple power levels of the lighting interface to the light emitting element. In another embodiment, a hardware apparatus further includes a communication module to provide a signal from a network to the sensing module to detect the lighting interface. A lighting interface may be a digital lighting interface or an analog lighting interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: Echelon Corporation
    Inventor: Vijay Dhingra