Patents Examined by Eman Alkafawi
  • Patent number: 9557169
    Abstract: This invention allows tracking of a defect across multiple inspections. The inventive solution translates every inspection record into a common set of fields that are first archived into a relational database. Then the defect coordinates from the inspection records of the same mask are all transformed into a common reference frame having the same origin and orientation with respect to the mask coordinate system. Following this, the defect having coordinates within a given tolerance distance are paired up and reported to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: RETICLE LABS LLC
    Inventor: Mohammad Saghir Munir
  • Patent number: 9551623
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for measuring and determining the force, the torque and the power on a crank, in particular the pedal crank of a bicycle, comprising an evaluation device, in particular a bicycle computer, and at least one pedal, wherein the force and angular speed variables are converted into electrical signals and supplied to the evaluation device, the pedal comprises a pedal body, a deformation element, a pedal shaft and an angle transmitter, and wherein the force variable is determined by measuring the deformation of the deformation element using strain gauges, preferably by measuring the individual normal strains of the strain gauges, and wherein four pairs of strain gauges assigned to each other are arranged at different angles, preferably +/?45, with respect to the pedal shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: Momes GmbH
    Inventors: Michael Biermann, Jean-Michel Asfour
  • Patent number: 9551758
    Abstract: A method of remote sensing a charge includes charging or discharging a capacitor of an RC circuit to a predetermined threshold voltage using a power source. A response signal is provided from a communications module to a handheld computing device comprising a reader system once the capacitor reaches the predetermined threshold voltage. An amount of time taken for the handheld computing device to receive the response signal is determined using a processor. The processor determines charge information using the amount of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: DURACELL U.S. OPERATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Jordan Todorov Bourilkov, Sergio Coronado Hortal, Steven Jeffrey Specht
  • Patent number: 9534907
    Abstract: A location tracking unit for use with a location based service system is presented. The location tracking unit comprises: a navigation receiver adapted to implement a location tracking function; data processing means adapted to determine an occupied location according to a first location matching process, the first location matching process using navigation data from the navigation receiver and a first set of geographic data; and data processing means adapted to verify the integrity of the first location matching process based on a second location matching process using navigation data and a second set of geographic data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: Telit Automotive Solutions NV
    Inventors: Michael Peeters, Claude Debast, Tim Froidcoeur
  • Patent number: 9513095
    Abstract: A system and method for providing information regarding the trajectory of a projectile is disclosed. The system comprises two subsystems: a non-magnetic sleeve designed to fit over the barrel of a gun, with a series of rings of magnetic material disposed thereupon, and an onboard measurement and control system comprising at least one magnetic sensor and control electronics, located within a projectile. As the projectile passes through the sleeve, the magnetic sensors within the projectile produce signals as the projectile passes through the magnetic rings. From the time profile of the signals thus produced, the projectile's linear and angular muzzle velocities are determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Inventor: Yesaiahu Redler
  • Patent number: 9506786
    Abstract: Apparatus, systems and methods are provided for monitoring yield while harvesting grain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: Precision Planting LLC
    Inventors: Michael D. Strnad, Justin L. Koch
  • Patent number: 9486889
    Abstract: When detecting a tolerance of a shape of a measured object having a complicated shape that makes it difficult to perform a continued measurement, a plurality of partial measurement data that are set are retrieved. Next, a reference position is set from first partial measurement data. Then, each of the partial measurement data is combined into one data using the reference position. Further, the tolerance is calculated using the combined data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: MITUTOYO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Junji Sakurada
  • Patent number: 9455767
    Abstract: A method and a measuring device for monitoring a power transmission line are disclosed. Measured data are acquired by means of the measuring device at a measuring point of the power transmission line and are coupled in to said power transmission line to transmit the measured data via the power transmission line to a measured data acquisition device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: OMICRON ELECTRONICS GMBH
    Inventor: Ulrich Klapper
  • Patent number: 9435709
    Abstract: A system and method for detecting hose degradation are disclosed. In one aspect, a hose degradation monitoring system includes a hose assembly including a hose having a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer, and a monitoring circuit in electrical communication with the first and second conductive layers. The degradation monitoring circuit includes a circuit element having a non-linear electrical property in response to changed voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventor: James Joseph Hastreiter
  • Patent number: 9417256
    Abstract: A population comparison system, method and a computer program product therefor. A stored list of population members, e.g., hydrocarbon reservoirs, characteristics and analogous members is partitioned into lists for each member. A weighting system automatically uses the partitions to determine a weight set (w*) for population member characteristic and a similarity function. The weighting system may include an objective model that iteratively, blindly identifies analogous members for each population member until the identified analogous members match the listed analogous members. An analogous member selector uses the weights set (w*) and similarity function to automatically select analogous listed members for each new population member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignees: REPSOL, S. A., International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Mohamed Ahmed Hegazy, Sonia Mariette Embid Droz, Hilario Martin Rodriguez, Bruno Da Costa Flach, Davi Michel Valladao, Bianca Zadrozny
  • Patent number: 9408372
    Abstract: Implementations of the present invention relate to for analyzing behavior of small live test subjects. More specifically, methods and devices of the present invention can allow a researcher to use a single device for analyzing effects of genetic modifications made to the test subjects on the test subject's behavior and movements. Additionally, the methods and devices may allow for analysis of effects that various medications may have on the test subject's behavior and movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2016
    Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
    Inventors: Kenneth L. Ratzlaff, Robert W. Young, George R. Fullen, Stephen C. Fowler
  • Patent number: 9383202
    Abstract: Disclosed here are methods and systems that relate to determining an orientation of an object. The orientation of the object may be represented by an Euler angle which identifies a rotation of the object from a reference frame. The methods and systems may rely on readings collected from two or more barometric pressure sensors to estimate an altitude difference between the pressure sensors. The methods and systems may calculate the Euler angle based on the altitude difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Shuchang Zhou, Edward Y. Chang
  • Patent number: 9372258
    Abstract: A method for electromechanically characterizing an object placed in a chamber, at least some walls of which have low absorbance at said frequency, one of the chamber walls being provided with an antenna array. In a first step, the parameters S of a first system consisting of the chamber and the antenna array are measured and in a second step, the same parameters S of a second system consisting of the chamber, the object and the antenna array are measured. The parameters S of the first system are subtracted from the parameters S of the second system to obtain a matrix of corrected parameters that is then diagonalized. The eigenvalues of the matrix constitute a characteristic electromagnetic signature of said object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2016
    Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives
    Inventors: Aurore Cognault, Sylvain Morvan, Olivier Vacus
  • Patent number: 9366772
    Abstract: Method for segmenting a geophysical data volume such as a seismic data volume (10) for ranking, prioritization, visualization or other analysis of subsurface structure. The method takes any initial segmentation (11) of the data volume, and progressively reduces the number of segments by pair combination (13) so that an optimal stage of combination may be determined and used for analysis (15).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventor: Matthias Imhof
  • Patent number: 9350163
    Abstract: A device includes interface circuitry. The interface circuitry receives first input signals related to measurements of characteristics of electricity passing through a first power line. The device includes filtering circuitry that filters the first input signals to generate filtered data. The device also includes a processor that estimates an oscillation frequency of the filtered data via a time-domain frequency estimation method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2016
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Zhiying Zhang, Ilia Voloh, Jorge Eduardo Cardenas Medina
  • Patent number: 9335382
    Abstract: The battery tester has a casing having an input device and two detecting wires, a microprocessor, a loading unit and a battery power status detector. The microprocessor builds a strategic decision process therein to determine a discharge time of a battery according to an output current, a preset load having 1/N CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) and a preset loading time inputted from the input device. Therefore, the battery tester can detect the health of batteries with different capacities and provides accurate detecting results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: DHC SPECIALTY CORP.
    Inventor: Hsien-Fang Sheng
  • Patent number: 9320126
    Abstract: Systems and methods for determining a value of a variable on a radio frequency (RF) transmission model are described. One of the methods includes identifying a complex voltage and current measured at an output of an RF generator and generating an impedance matching model based on electrical components defined in an impedance matching circuit coupled to the RF generator. The method further includes propagating the complex voltage and current through the one or more elements from the input of the impedance matching model and through one or more elements of an RF transmission model portion that is coupled to the impedance matching model to determine a complex voltage and current at the output of the RF transmission model portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: John C. Valcore, Jr., Bradford J. Lyndaker
  • Patent number: 9310399
    Abstract: A fiber-optic current sensor includes a measuring unit having a light source and a light detector, and a sensing head having a sensing fiber wound around a conductor and a retarder connected to the sensing fiber. The scale factor as a function of current of the fiber-optic current sensor is described by the product of two scaling functions fe? and fs? for the measuring unit and the sensing head, respectively. The data describing the scaling functions fe?, fs? is stored in a memory of the measuring unit, while the data describing the scaling function fs? is also stored in a memory of the sensing head. Providing two such memory devices allows to store the scaling functions fe? and fs? separately, thereby turning the control unit as well as the sensor head into easily replaceable modules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: ABB RESEARCH LTD
    Inventors: Klaus Bohnert, Andreas Frank, Robert Wüest
  • Patent number: 9291739
    Abstract: Systems and methods for well-drilling operations involving magnetic ranging with a rotating magnetic dipole are provided. In one embodiment, a system for determining a relative location of a magnetic dipole includes a three-axis magnetometer configured to obtain measurements of a time-dependent magnetic field caused by the magnetic source rotating about an axis and data processing circuitry configured to determine a transverse angle of rotation of the measurements such that one of two transverse components is in phase with one axial component when the transverse angle of rotation is used to transform the measurements. The data processing circuitry may determine a spatial relationship between the magnetic source and the three-axis magnetometer based at least in part on the transverse angle of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Brian Clark
  • Patent number: 9282945
    Abstract: A method of calibrating an ultrasound probe includes mounting an ultrasound probe onto a calibration system, transmitting an ultrasound test signal from an element of the probe through a test medium of the calibration system, and receiving the test signal on a matrix of hydrophones such that an element's position relative to other elements and other arrays within the same probe can be computed. Further, the system described herein is configured to detect the acoustic performance of elements of a probe and report the results to an end user or service provider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: MAUI IMAGING, INC.
    Inventors: David M. Smith, Sharon L. Adam, Donald F. Specht, Kenneth D. Brewer, John P. Lunsford, David J. Specht