Patents Examined by Feba Pothen
  • Patent number: 10921287
    Abstract: A drive coil assembly to generate a specific spatial distribution of eddy currents within the walls of a conductive tube or pipe, which may be used in conjunction with a separate array of magnetic sensors to detect defects in the tubing wall. The drive coil assembly comprises a plurality of coils which are generally wrapped around the circumference of a cylindrical probe body, but which are further shaped with serpentine undulation in the axial direction. The undulation is characterized by a spatial amplitude, a spatial phase and a spatial frequency; typically, the spatial frequency results in an integer number of undulations around the circumference of the drive coil and the phase is chosen to uniformly distribute the lobes about the circumference. The temporal phase of the electrical current in each coil is chosen to null out net current of the assembly around the circumference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: ZETEC, INC.
    Inventor: Noa M. Rensing
  • Patent number: 10914797
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for a sensor having non-ratiometric fault trip level setting. In embodiments, a sensor has a sensing element with a fixed gain. A signal processing module receives the fault trip level setting and maintains the fault trip level setting constant during changes in the supply voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: Allegro MicroSystems, LLC
    Inventors: Alexander Latham, Stephen Marshall, Aaron Cook
  • Patent number: 10901006
    Abstract: The disclosed apparatus relates to an apparatus for sensing current that includes a Rogowski coil assembly and a circuit board. The Rogowski coil assembly has a housing, a slot in the housing configured to receive a conductor through the slot, a Rogowski coil formed within the housing, and a connector. The circuit board has a substantially planar substrate, which has a slot through the substrate configured to receive the Rogowski coil assembly. A complementary connector of the circuit board is configured to receive the connector of the Rogowski coil assembly. The Rogowski coil assembly is positioned through the slot of the substrate, and the complementary connector of the circuit board couples with the connector of the Rogowski coil assembly. In various embodiments, the conductor can be a conductive trace on the substrate of the circuit board, and the Rogowski coil is configured to detect a current through the conductive trace.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: Covidien LP
    Inventors: Aaron G. Mattmiller, Dean C. Buck, Gary E. MacIndoe, Tom E. McMunigal
  • Patent number: 10901010
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for measuring flux, current, or integrated charge of a beam are provided. The apparatus and method include a cup on which the beam is incident. The cup includes an inner cylinder, a coaxial cylinder, and an aperture. The coaxial cylinder surrounds the inner cylinder and is electrically insulated therefrom. An offset current source is in electrical communication with the inner cylinder. An electrometer, a charge integrator, or a counter may be electrically connected to the cup and the offset current source. When the beam is incident on the cup and aligned with the aperture, the electrometer can measure the beam current and the charge integrator can measure the integrated charge of the beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Matthew W. Copel, Michael S. Gordon, Kenneth P. Rodbell
  • Patent number: 10901034
    Abstract: This disclosure describes a novel method and apparatus for testing TSVs within a semiconductor device. According to embodiments illustrated and described in the disclosure, a TSV may be tested by stimulating and measuring a response from a first end of a TSV while the second end of the TSV held at ground potential. Multiple TSVs within the semiconductor device may be tested in parallel to reduce the TSV testing time according to the disclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Lee D. Whetsei, Baher S. Haroun
  • Patent number: 10895657
    Abstract: Obscured feature detectors and methods of detecting obscured features are disclosed. An obscured feature detector can include a plurality of sensor plates and a common plate. The sensor plates may be arranged linearly to form a sensor array. The common plate may extend along the sensor array and have a length that is shortened. A controller is coupled to the sensing circuit to analyze the capacitances measured by the sensing circuit. One or a plurality of indicators are coupled to the controller, and can be selectively set to identify a location of an obscured feature behind a surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: Franklin Sensors Inc.
    Inventors: David M. Dorrough, Daniel Scott Toborg
  • Patent number: 10892723
    Abstract: A semiconductor amplifier circuit comprising an input block adapted for receiving a voltage signal to be amplified, an integrator circuit having an integrating capacitor providing a continuous-time signal representative for the integral of the voltage signal, a first feedback path comprising: a sample-and-hold block and a first feedback block, the first feedback path providing a proportional feedback signal upstream of the current integrator. The amplification factor is larger than 1 for a predefined frequency range. Charge stored on the integrating capacitor at the beginning of a sample period is linearly removed during one single sampling period in such a way that the absolute value of the charge is smaller at the end of the sampling period than at the beginning of the sample period when the voltage signal to be amplified is equal to zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: Melexis Technologies SA
    Inventors: Johan Raman, Pieter Rombouts
  • Patent number: 10886588
    Abstract: An oscilloscope probe includes a tip network, a low-loss signal cable, and a terminating assembly. The tip network is connected to the signal cable and is configured to electrically connect to a device under test via a tip network node. The terminating assembly includes an amplifier, a feedback network and a terminating attenuator. The amplifier has an inverting input, a non-inverting input connected to ground, and an amplifier output configured to connect to an oscilloscope input. The feedback network is connected between the inverting input and the amplifier output. The terminating attenuator includes a first loop circuit and a second loop circuit. The first loop circuit is provided between the signal cable and the inverting input of the amplifier. The second loop circuit is provided between the signal cable, and ground. Resistance of terminating resistors in the loop circuits are selected to match characteristic impedance of the signal cable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: Keysight Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael J. Lujan, Mike T. Mctigue
  • Patent number: 10859630
    Abstract: A circuit test method for a test device to test a device under test is provided. The circuit test method includes the steps of applying zero volts to a plurality of power pins of the device under test; applying a test voltage to a first signal pin among a plurality of signal pins of the device under test; and measuring a current on a second signal pin among the plurality of signal pins of the device under test and determining whether there is a leakage current in the device under test.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: SILICON MOTION, INC.
    Inventors: Hung-Sen Kuo, Te-Wei Chen, Hung-Sheng Chang, Ming-Wan Kuan
  • Patent number: 10852364
    Abstract: Various embodiments include devices and methods for mitigating the bias of a magnetometer resulting from operating various hardware components on a device such as a drone or a computing device. Various embodiments may improve the accuracy of magnetometer output by estimating the bias or magnetic interference caused by the hardware components based on a utilization or operating state of each hardware component, and adjusting the magnetometer output to compensate for the estimated bias.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Aleksandr Kushleyev, Daniel Warren Mellinger, III, Travis Van Schoyck
  • Patent number: 10845447
    Abstract: A system and method for controlling a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to create magnetic resonance (MR) angiograms of a subject. The method includes controlling the MRI system to acquire MR data by performing a pulse sequence that includes at least one set of modules formed by a first ?/2 module, a (readout, ?)n module, a second ?/2 module. In this case, ? denotes a radiofrequency (RF) flip angle and n denotes a number of times that the set of modules is repeated. The method also includes reconstructing an MR angiogram of the subject from the MR data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: NORTHSHORE UNIVERSITY HEALTHSYSTEM
    Inventors: Robert R. Edelman, Ioannis Koktzoglou
  • Patent number: 10838795
    Abstract: A method can be used for monitoring a processing circuit. The processing circuit generates a response to a request and the response is compared with an expected response. A pass pulse is generated when the response matches the expected response. The causing, comparing and generating steps are repeated a number of times A frequency at which pass pulses occur is evaluated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Martin Kaltenegger, Simon Brewerton, Michael Hausmann
  • Patent number: 10838101
    Abstract: An example method includes introducing a solution into at least part of a reservoir. The solution includes a contrast agent and a fluid. The contrast agent includes a polymer having a dielectric constant that may be greater than a predefined value. The example method also includes using at least one EM transmitter antenna to direct a first electromagnetic (EM) signal into the reservoir. The first EM signal passes through the at least part of the reservoir into which the solution was introduced. The first EM signal is received using at least one EM receiver antenna following passage through the at least part of the reservoir. Data is determined that represents a difference between a first travel time of the first EM signal transmitted through the contrast agent in the reservoir and a second travel time of a second EM signal transmitted through water-saturated reservoir rock. Information about a physical feature of the at least part of the reservoir is generated based on the data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
    Inventors: Erika Shoemaker Ellis, Howard Khan Schmidt, Jason Cox, Jesus Manuel Felix Servin
  • Patent number: 10837933
    Abstract: A system for detecting a fluid type within a blood processing device includes a voltage source for electrical connection to a first electrode and to a second electrode, and a resistor in series between the voltage source and the first and/or second electrode. The voltage source may apply a voltage across the first and second electrodes. The system also includes a voltage detector that is electrically connected to the resistor and measures a voltage drop across the resistor. A circuit electrically connected to the voltage detector determines the type of fluid in contact with the first and second electrode based, at least in part, upon the measured voltage drop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Haemonetics Corporation
    Inventors: Sarah Kaczmarek, Bruno Piazzarolo, Samuel Vaughan
  • Patent number: 10823804
    Abstract: In a method and apparatus for capturing magnetic resonance data from an imaging volume of a patient in which liquid, such as particular blood, is moving, a bSSFP magnetic resonance sequence is executed in which nuclear spins located within the imaging volume are cyclically excited by radiation of a radio-frequency pulse, using a magnetic resonance scanner. A ramp pulse is used as the radio-frequency pulse, which establishes a flip angle of the spins that is spatially variable within the imaging volume. The flip angle is designed to be lower on a side or the imaging volume from which the liquid flows into the imaging volume than on the side at which the liquid flows out, and the flip angle increases monotonically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GmbH
    Inventors: Peter Schmitt, Peter Speier
  • Patent number: 10823582
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to servo technology, and particularly to a method and a device for detecting rotation angle of a multi-turn servo, and a multi-turn servo. The method includes: driving a multi-turn servo to be at a zero-point position; obtaining an accurate angle and a number of rotation when the multi-turn servo is at the zero-point position; detecting a current angle of the multi-turn servo in a real-time manner; incrementing the number of rotation by one in response to a zero-point forward jump between a current angle and a previous angle; decrementing the number of rotation by one in response to a zero-point backward jump between the current angle and the previous angle; and determining a current rotation angle of the multi-turn servo in accordance with an accurate angle, a current angle, and the number of rotation stored on the storage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: UBTECH ROBOTICS CORP
    Inventors: Youjun Xiong, Wenhua Fan, Yongping Zeng, Sheng Zhou
  • Patent number: 10816318
    Abstract: A magnetic sensor arrangement, comprising: a magnet assembly and a magnetic sensor; the magnet assembly forming a magnetic field having at least two magnetic field components with different angular periodicities at the location of the magnetic sensor and the magnetic sensor including means for sensing the different magnetic field components to produce at least a first and a second sensor element signal; and a computing element for receiving the at least first and second sensor element signals and combining them to produce a unique angular position of the magnet relative to the sensor. A method of determining a unique angular position is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: Melexis Technologies SA
    Inventors: Peter Vandersteegen, Jean-Claude Depoorter, Samuel Huber Lindenberger
  • Patent number: 10809102
    Abstract: Disclosed is an angle sensor, including a gear structure (1), an eddy current probe (2) and a processing unit (3), wherein the gear structure (1) is a gear mounted and fixed on the outer circumference of a rotating shaft or a gear formed by machining on the outer circumference of the rotating shaft, and a positioning structure (P) for feature angle recognition is provided on an outer circumferential side of the gear structure (1); the eddy current probe (2) is positioned at the outer circumferential side of the gear structure (1), and the eddy current probe (2) faces a gear tooth and a tooth groove of the gear; and the processing unit (3) is connected to the eddy current probe (2) and is used for processing signals and outputting an angle measurement signal. Also disclosed is an angle measurement method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, INC. OF ZHUHAI
    Inventors: Jiqing Geng, Weicai Huang, Weihao Yin
  • Patent number: 10809330
    Abstract: Described here are systems and methods for mitigating or otherwise removing the effects of short-term magnetic field instabilities caused by oscillations of the cold head in a cryogen-free magnet system used for magnetic resonance systems, such as magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) systems, nuclear magnetic resonance (“NMR”) systems, or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: Synaptive Medical (Barbados) Inc.
    Inventors: Chad Tyler Harris, Geron Andre Bindseil, Alexander Gyles Panther, Jeff Alan Stainsby, Philip J. Beatty
  • Patent number: 10788562
    Abstract: Methods and devices are provided for testing the function of a standard insulation monitoring device, installed in an ungrounded power supply system, during operation. The basic concept of the invention rests upon adding a testing apparatus to the ungrounded power supply system, which is being monitored using an insulation monitoring device according to regulations, between the active conductors of an ungrounded power supply system and ground, said testing apparatus systematically changing an insulation resistance of the ungrounded power supply system and observing the reaction of the insulation monitoring device in a fully automated manner in perpetually repetitive testing cycles. The power supply system is monitored perpetually during its operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: BENDER GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventor: Dieter Hackl