Patents Examined by Erika J. Villaluna
  • Patent number: 11454564
    Abstract: There is provided a gas sensor fault detection device that detects a sensor fault in a gas leak inspection device. The gas sensor fault detection device includes: a gas blowing unit that blows a gas toward a detection area of a gas sensor of the gas leak inspection device; and a position fixing unit that fixes a position of the gas blowing unit with reference to a hypothetical gas leak position of an inspection target being inspected by the gas leak inspection device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: YAMAHA FINE TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yuichi Doki, Takeshi Kato
  • Patent number: 11454528
    Abstract: A Coriolis mass flowmeter having at least one measuring tube with at least one oscillation generator and at least two oscillation sensors and having at least two node elements. The at least one oscillation generator excites the measuring tube to oscillation during operation. The at least two node elements define the oscillation range. At least one node element has at least one stiffening element. An effective separation of undesired interference oscillations of the measuring tube is achieved by the at least one stiffening element increasing the stiffness of the measuring tube with respect to oscillations orthogonal to the excitation mode and to the Coriolis mode so that, during operation, the oscillation frequency of the oscillation orthogonal to the excitation mode and to the Coriolis mode is greater than the oscillation frequency of the excitation mode, preferably greater than that of the Coriolis mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: KROHNE AG
    Inventor: Tao Wang
  • Patent number: 11441934
    Abstract: A multichannel flow tube (300) for a vibratory meter (5), and a method of manufacturing the multichannel flow tube are provided. The multichannel flow tube comprises a tube perimeter wall (304), a first channel division (302b), and a first support structure (308a). The first channel division is enclosed within and coupled to the tube perimeter wall, forming a first channel (306b) and a second channel (306c). The first support structure is coupled to the tube perimeter wall and the first channel division.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Micro Motion, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark James Bell, Joel Weinstein, Mitalee Nayan Desai, Clinton R. Griffin
  • Patent number: 11441930
    Abstract: Disclosed is a tube configured to conduct a fluid flowing through the tube in a specified flow direction and for this purpose comprises a tube wall, which encloses a lumen of the tube, and an interference body, which is arranged within the tube but is nevertheless connected to the tube wall at an inner face of the tube wall facing the lumen. In the tube according to the present disclosure, the tube wall has a maximum wall thickness of more than 1 mm and at least two mutually spaced sub-segments with a respective wall thickness that deviates from said maximum wall thickness, wherein the sub-segment is positioned upstream of the interference body in the flow direction, and the sub-segment is positioned downstream of the sub-segment in the flow direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: ENDRESS+HAUSER FLOWTEC AG
    Inventors: Marc Hollmach, Christian Lais, Fabio Schraner, Oliver Popp
  • Patent number: 11441969
    Abstract: A method for determining the relative orientation of a gas leak relative to a sniffer leak detector includes a handpiece with a sniffer probe and a test gas inlet, a reference gas inlet disposed at the handpiece remote from the test gas inlet, a gas analyzer, and a switching valve. The switching valve is configured to alternately connect the test gas inlet and the reference gas inlet with the gas analyzer. Either gas is analyzed by the gas analyzer. Steps include supplying gas sucked in through the test gas inlet to the gas analyzer, determining the test gas concentration, switching the switching valve, supplying gas sucked in through the reference gas inlet to the gas analyzer, analyzing the test gas concentration, forming a differential signal, changing the spatial orientation of the handpiece, repeating the first through sixth steps, and determining whether the differential signal has changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventors: Marcel Ruth, Daniel Wetzig
  • Patent number: 11435254
    Abstract: The invention relates to a leak detector (10) for detecting leaked liquid. The leak detector (10) comprises a flexible and elongate fastener (12) configured to fit around a liquid containing pipe to thereby attach the leak detector to the liquid containing pipe. The leak detector also comprises a leak sensor and a housing (14) containing electrical circuitry. The leak sensor (is) comprised in at least one of the fastener and the housing. The leak sensor is configured to sense liquid leaking from the liquid containing pipe with the electrical circuitry being operative to detect a leak in dependence on an output from the leak sensor. The leak detector is configured such that the housing (14) and the fastener (12) are abreast.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: GLOBAL LEAK TECHNOLOGIES LTD
    Inventors: Graeme Macleod, James McGiffen
  • Patent number: 11415496
    Abstract: The invention consists of a novel system and method for controlling an actuator, such as a linear actuator, used to control motion of an object, such as a tensile specimen or other component. The invention comprises applying a controllable smart material to an actuator, wherein the controllable smart material varies the resistance to the actuator motion; deforming or moving the object; sensing the objects current state; recording an associated data set comprising a plurality of parameters related to the objects state; comparing the current state of the object to the target state of the object; and altering the resistance to the actuator by deforming the smart material until the target state is reached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Inventors: Wilburn Whittington, Haitham El Kadiri, Cory Krivanec
  • Patent number: 11415480
    Abstract: A self-charging sensor (SCS) adapted for use in a toilet or the like. The SCS includes a housing having a rechargeable battery; a turbine module having a multilevel impeller having offset wheels that are adapted to be driven by a fluid flow via an inlet port during an event, wherein a rotation of the impeller causes the turbine module to generate electricity that recharges the rechargeable battery; and a processing module that collects count data associated with the rotation during the event; and an attachment component adapted to seat the housing on an overflow tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: FLOWACTIVE, INC.
    Inventors: Matthew Cusack, Frank Lipowitz, Robert Paul Borthwick
  • Patent number: 11415915
    Abstract: When an excess period, which is period in which the total of the power predicted by a power predicting unit and power stored by a power storing unit exceeds a predetermined power, exists during continuous feeding, the power supply to a plurality of heating elements by an power control unit is adjusted so that the total of the power supplied to the plurality of heating elements and power stored by the power storing unit does not exceed the predetermined power at least during the excess period, and, after the excess period, the transport interval is adjusted so that the temperature rising to a target temperature of the plurality of heating regions by supplying power in which the adjustment is cancelled is completed before the arrival of the recording material to the fixing portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Daisuke Momiyama
  • Patent number: 11408757
    Abstract: A measuring tube for guiding a fluid for a flow meter device according to the vortex measuring principle, wherein the measuring tube has an inflow-side opening in an inflow-side end face and an outflow-side opening in an outflow-side end face, between which the measuring tube extends in the axial direction includes: a bluff body which is arranged in the measuring tube, wherein the bluff body functions to bring about a Kármán vortex street with a flow-rate-dependent vortex frequency when a fluid flows through the measuring tube; at least one vortex detector for detecting vortexes of the vortex street and for providing vortex-dependent signals; and a control valve between the vortex detector and the outflow-side end face and axially spaced apart from the vortex detector, which annularly constricts the flow cross-section of the measuring tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: ENDRESS+HAUSER FLOWTEC AG
    Inventors: Ranier Höcker, Christian Lais
  • Patent number: 11402290
    Abstract: A leakage inspection device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: at least one memory storing a set of instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the set of instructions to: determine a measurement time; measure vibration waveforms for the measurement time by using at least two sensors set to a pipe; calculate a cross-correlation function of the measured vibration waveforms; detect peaks of the cross-correlation function at least twice in the measurement time; and determine that leakage occurs in a case where the peaks are repeatedly detected in the measurement time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shigeki Shinoda, Hirofumi Inoue, Junichiro Mataga, Takahiro Kumura, Katsumi Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 11397101
    Abstract: A flow meter includes a rotating structure, a sensing element and a processing circuit. The rotating structure has a shaft, a rotating element, and a magnetic element. The rotating element can be driven by a fluid in a pipeline to rotate around the shaft. The magnetic element is arranged on the rotating element with two magnetic poles parallel to a tangent line of rotating circle of the rotating element. The sensing element is separated from the rotating structure by a distance, and includes a first sensing unit and a second sensing unit, respectively sensing a magnetic field of the magnetic element in different directions to generate a first component signal and a second magnetic field component signal. The processing circuit is connected to the sensing element, and generates an angle of the rotating structure according to the first magnetic field component signal and the second magnetic field component signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: United Benefit Corp.
    Inventor: Yuan Hse Chang
  • Patent number: 11397398
    Abstract: In an authenticity determination system, an image forming apparatus acquires apparatus identification information for identifying the image forming apparatus from a memory of the image forming apparatus, and consumables container identification information for identifying a container of predetermined consumables from the container of the consumables mounted in the image forming apparatus. A server stores the apparatus identification information and the consumables container identification information in association with each other, receives the apparatus identification information and the consumables container identification information transmitted from the image forming apparatus, and determines whether the received apparatus identification information and the received consumables container identification information are stored in association with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Taira Otsuka, Masaki Yoshino
  • Patent number: 11391612
    Abstract: A coriolis mass flow meter, including: a housing body, having a flow inlet and flow outlet for a fluid medium, two measurement tubes, which are spaced apart from each other fastened to the housing body connecting the flow inlet and the flow outlet to each other, at least one electrically controllable vibration exciter for each measurement tube (23, 24), the vibration exciter being designed to cause the measurement tube to vibrate, and at least two electrically controllable vibration sensors, the vibration sensors being designed to sense the vibration of at least one of the two measurement tubes. The vibration exciter vibration sensors are spatially fixedly fastened to the housing body between the two measurement tubes and are designed as electromagnetic coils. Each coil interacts with a permanent magnet fastened to one of the measurement tubes. The permanent magnets are oriented in such a way that permanent magnets attract each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: HEINRICHS MESSTECHNIK GMBH
    Inventor: Thomas Chatzikonstantinou
  • Patent number: 11377875
    Abstract: Determining a position of a deadbolt used to lock and unlock a door is disclosed. An electromechanical lock can include a deadbolt that can retract or extend along a linear path as the door is to be locked and unlocked. A sensor such as an accelerometer can rotate along a non-linear path as the deadbolt moves along a linear path. The accelerometer can determine a gravity vector that can be indicative of a position of the accelerometer along the non-linear path. A controller can then determine a position of the deadbolt based on the gravity vector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Level Home, Inc.
    Inventors: John H. Martin, Kenneth D. Goto, Thomas E. King, Jordan R. Fountain, Wael S. Barakat
  • Patent number: 11378431
    Abstract: A mass flow measuring sensor includes: an oscillatable measuring tube bent in a tube plane; an oscillation exciter for exciting bending oscillations in a bending oscillation use-mode; two oscillation sensors for registering oscillations; a support system; and a measuring sensor housing; wherein the support system has support system oscillation modes, including elastic deformations of the support plate; wherein the support plate is cut to form a number of spirally shaped spring securements, via which the support plate is secured to the measuring sensor housing with oscillation degrees of freedom, whose eigenfrequencies are lower than a use-mode eigenfrequency of the bending oscillation use-mode, wherein the use-mode eigenfrequency is lower than the eigenfrequencies of the support system oscillation modes, wherein a calibration factor describes a proportionality between a mass flow through the measuring tube and a phase difference between oscillations of the measuring tube oscillating in the bending oscillation
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: ENDRESS+HAUSER FLOWTEC AG
    Inventors: Christof Huber, Benjamin Schwenter, Dieter Mundschin, Christian Schütze
  • Patent number: 11378432
    Abstract: The Coriolis flowmeter according to the present disclosure includes: a measuring sensor including a bent measuring tube mirror-symmetrical with respect to a transverse plane, wherein a measuring tube center line runs in a longitudinal plane oriented perpendicular to the transverse plane, wherein an equatorial surface runs perpendicular to the longitudinal plane along the measuring tube center line; an exciter for exciting measuring tube bending vibrations; a first pair of vibration sensors for capturing the bending vibrations of the measuring tube; and an operating and evaluation circuit for driving the exciter, for capturing signals from the vibration sensors, and for determining a mass flow measured value, wherein the measuring sensor has a second pair of vibration sensors, which are arranged in a mirror-symmetrical manner with respect to the transverse plane, wherein the first pair of vibration sensors is separated from the second pair of vibration sensors by the equatorial surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: ENDRESS+HAUSER FLOWTEC AG
    Inventors: Hao Zhu, Alfred Rieder
  • Patent number: 11365997
    Abstract: A Coriolis measuring device for measuring volume flow or density of a medium flowing through a measuring tube is disclosed, the device comprising: the measuring tube for conveying the medium; at least one exciter, which is adapted to excite the measuring tube to execute oscillations; at least one sensor, which is adapted to register the oscillations of the measuring tube; an electronic measuring/operating circuit, which is adapted to operate the exciter as well as the sensor and to determine and to output flow and/or density measurement values; wherein the electronic measuring/operating circuit has an electronics board, wherein at least one exciter has a stationary exciter element, and/or wherein at least one sensor has a stationary sensor element, wherein at least one stationary exciter element and/or at least one stationary sensor element is integrated into the electronics board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: ENDRESS+HAUSER FLOWTEC AG
    Inventors: Severin Ramseyer, Benjamin Schwenter
  • Patent number: 11359946
    Abstract: A vortex flowmeter configured for ease of installation in a pipe, having a piezoelectric vortex-sensing element located within its shedder bar and mounted in a removable capsule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: CDI Meters, Inc.
    Inventors: Roger E. Dennison, Emily Schaefer
  • Patent number: 11346697
    Abstract: Calibrating a plurality of fluid sensors of a remote metering system is disclosed. The system includes a material supply device including a main pump and a main flow sensor for monitoring an output of the main pump. The application system also includes a remote metering system for receiving the material flowing from the material supply device and applying the material to substrates. The remote metering system includes a first applicator assembly including a first applicator and a first flow sensor for monitoring an output of the first applicator, and a second applicator assembly including a second applicator and a second flow sensor for monitoring an output of the second applicator. The remote metering system further includes a controller in signal communication with the remote metering station and the material supply device. The controller performs a first and second calibration operations on the first and second flow sensors, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: Nordson Corporation
    Inventor: Alan R. Ramspeck