Patents Examined by Jack Keith
  • Patent number: 7388808
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for depth migrating seismic data. The method includes pre-stack time migrating the seismic data to form a stacked, time migrated image. The stacked, time migrated image is demigrated, and post-stack depth migration is then performed on the demigrated image. In some embodiments, the pre-stack time migration and the demigration account for ray bending in vertically transversely isotropic media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2008
    Assignee: PGS Americas, Inc.
    Inventors: Shu-Schung Lee, John Willis, Yeashung Lin
  • Patent number: 7386382
    Abstract: A method of controlling a vehicle drive system is provided for a vehicle having an internal combustion engine, free-wheeling steerable front wheels, driven rear wheels, an infinitely variable transmission (IVT) transmitting torque from the engine to the rear wheels, and a control unit for controlling the IVT as a function of sensed parameters and supplying a speed command to the IVT for commanding a speed of the rear wheels. The method includes sensing a steering angle of the front wheels, sensing a front wheel speed, sensing a rear wheel speed, generating a corrected estimated vehicle speed as a function of the front wheel speed and the sensed steering angle, and increasing the speed command in response to a comparison between the corrected estimated vehicle speed and the rear wheel speed. The infinitely variable transmission is preferably embodied by a hybrid electric drive system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2008
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Arun Kumar Seksaria, Mervin Peter Kizlyk, Robert Eugene Kasten
  • Patent number: 7386385
    Abstract: System for evaluating the traffic environment of a motor vehicle and for influencing the speed of the motor vehicle in its own traffic lane, comprising an electronic control unit, which is connected to a signal transmitter that produces a signal characteristic of the desired speed of the motor vehicle, a signal transmitter that produces a signal characteristic of the yaw of the motor vehicle about its vertical axis, a signal transmitter that produces a signal, which is characteristic of the articles situated, in the direction of travel of the motor vehicle, in front of the motor vehicle in terms of their spacing and orientation relative to the motor vehicle and which reproduces the speed relative to the speed of the system motor vehicle and/or the spacing relative to the system motor vehicle and/or the angular offset or the cross track distance relative to the vehicle longitudinal axis of the system motor vehicle, and a signal transmitter that produces a signal characteristic of the speed of at least one whee
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2008
    Assignee: Lucas Automotive GmbH
    Inventor: Sascha Heinrichs-Bartscher
  • Patent number: 7383111
    Abstract: A steering apparatus for a vehicle includes a steering angle measuring unit, a vehicle speed measuring unit, a yaw rate measuring unit, a yaw rate-based reaction force control unit for controlling a steering reaction force depending on an actual yaw rate measured by the yaw rate measuring unit, and a yaw rate deviation-based reaction force control unit for determining a standard yaw rate depending on at least the steering angle and the vehicle speed, calculating a yaw rate deviation between the standard yaw rate and the actual yaw rate, and controlling the steering reaction force depending on the yaw rate deviation, and a primary control unit for executing a control operation such that a degree of contribution of the yaw rate-based reaction force control unit is decreased and a degree of contribution of the yaw rate deviation-based reaction force control unit is increased as the yaw rate deviation increases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigenori Takimoto, Osamu Tsurumiya, Yasushi Shoda, Masato Yuda
  • Patent number: 7379236
    Abstract: An optical fiber communication system is provided which uses remote pumping that is capable of improving pumping efficiency and reducing a noise figure. A coupler (20) of a linear repeater (18) couples signal light to pumping light outputted from a pumping light source (19). The outputted signal light and pumping light reach a linear repeater (25) through transmission fibers (22 to 24) and remote pumping modules (27F and 27R). A coupler (30) of the linear repeater (25) couples the signal light to the pumping light supplied from a pumping light source (29), to output the signal light and the pumping light to the transmission fiber (24). The remote pumping module (27F) divides the pumping light propagated in the transmission fiber (22), from the signal light. The remote pumping module 27F branches the divided pumping light in two directions with a predetermined ratio. After branching, each of the branched pumping light is coupled to the signal light to be supplied to both ends of an erbium-doped fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2008
    Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroji Masuda, Hiroto Kawakami, Yutaka Miyamoto
  • Patent number: 7376046
    Abstract: The present invention provides a seismic surveying method in which vibrators in a first vibrator group are actuated at time T0 and vibrators in a second vibrator group are actuated at time T1, where T0<T1<T0+S1+L and S1 is the sweep time of the first group and L is the listening time. This method enables the time required to complete a seismic survey to be reduced. In other embodiments, vibrators in the first vibrator group may be actuated at time T2, where T1<T2<T1+S2+L and S2 is the sweep time of the first group, and vibrators in the second vibrator group at time T3 where T2<T3<T2+S1+L and T3?T2?T1?T0. Such embodiments providing that by appropriately combining the shot records noise may be eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2008
    Assignee: WesternGeco L.L.C.
    Inventor: Benjamin Peter Jeffryes
  • Patent number: 7373248
    Abstract: A method of providing navigational information to a vehicle operator includes processing destination information spoken by a vehicle operator with an on-board processing system on a vehicle. The processed voice information is transmitted via a wireless link to a remote data center and analyzed with a voice recognition system at the remote data center to recognize components of the destination information spoken by the vehicle operator. The accuracy of the recognition of the components of the destination information is confirmed via interactive voice exchanges between the vehicle operator and the remote data center. A destination is determined from confirmed components of the destination information, route information to the destination is generated at the remove data center, and the route information transmitted to the on-board processing system from the remote data center via the wireless link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: ATX Group, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas Schalk
  • Patent number: 7369300
    Abstract: The present invention provides an optical amplifier pre-emphasis and equalization method that alleviates the optical amplifier gain ripple penalty experienced in conventional optical communications systems. This method includes storing measured communications channel signal gain ripple information, acquired during factory calibration, in the internal memory of each optical amplifier module. When the optical amplifiers are assembled into a chain, system software retrieves this communications channel signal gain ripple information from each optical amplifier module and computes the pre-emphasis or equalization required for each channel in order to obtain a flat SNR at a receiver. The method also includes measuring the ambient temperature of each optical amplifier module and applying a correction based on the expected change in gain response of each optical amplifier. The method further includes, for Raman amplifiers and the like, applying a fiber type, gain setting, GFF error, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: Ciena Corporation
    Inventors: Balakrishnan Sridhar, Michael Y. Frankel
  • Patent number: 7366595
    Abstract: A vehicle drive assist system comprises a camera for picking up an image of an area existing in an advancing direction of a vehicle; display means for displaying the image picked up by the camera; steering angle detecting means for detecting a steering angle for steering the vehicle; traveling path predicting means for predicting a traveling path of the vehicle on the basis of the steering angle detected by the steering angle detecting means; and drive assist means for overlaying on the display means drive assist information containing the vehicle predictive traveling path predicted by the traveling path predicting means and guide lines prolonged from the lines defining the width of the vehicle body on the image of the area existing in the vehicle advancing direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Toshihiro Shimizu, Kazuhiro Sakiyama, Kazuya Sako
  • Patent number: 7366054
    Abstract: Methods of processing seismic data to remove unwanted noise from meaningful reflection signals are provided for. The methods comprise the steps of assembling seismic data into common geometry gathers in an offset-time domain without correcting the data for normal moveout. The amplitude data are then transformed from the offset-time domain to the time-slowness domain using a Radon transformation. A corrective filter is then applied to enhance the primary reflection signal content of the data and to eliminate unwanted noise events. The corrective filter has a pass region with a lower pass limit and a higher pass limit. The higher pass limit is set within 15% above the slowness of the primary reflection signals and, preferably, it is more closely set to the slowness of the primary reflection signals. The lower pass limit is also preferably set within 15% below the slowness of the primary reflection signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Inventor: Lawrence C. Wood
  • Patent number: 7355923
    Abstract: System and method for performing anisotropy corrections of post-imaging seismic data for a subsurface formation. The method may receive seismic data, preferably pre-stack seismic data comprising a plurality of traces, e.g., collected from a plurality of source and receiver locations. The seismic data may be imaged/migrated to produce imaged seismic data, which is organized into an arrangement that preserves aspects of the relative seismic propagation angle in the subsurface. One or more anisotropic parameters and corresponding corrections may be determined by analyzing the organized imaged seismic data. The determined parameters or corrections may be used to correct at least a subset of the imaged seismic data, thereby producing corrected seismic data which is useable in analyzing the formation. The corrected data may then optionally be stacked to produce a collection of corrected stacked traces, and/or analyzed as desired. The pre-stack data and/or the corrected seismic data may optionally be displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2008
    Assignee: Landmark Graphics Corporation
    Inventors: Moshe Reshef, Murray W. Roth
  • Patent number: 7353098
    Abstract: The invention provides a roll-over suppressing control apparatus for a vehicle which can suppress overturning of the vehicle while securing the traveling performance of the vehicle through appropriate slowing down control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2008
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation
    Inventor: Kunio Sakata
  • Patent number: 7353101
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to control electro-mechanical brakes are disclosed. A disclosed example method of controlling a brake actuator comprises receiving a value representative of a velocity of a piston associated with the brake actuator relative to a pressure plate mounted on a wheel, and determining a control input for the brake actuator based on the velocity value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2008
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventor: James Russell Phillips
  • Patent number: 7349767
    Abstract: An intention estimation and operation assistance system for estimating an operator's intention and providing assistance to operation of a machine. Reference data, such as the operation of a plurality of hypothetical operators, is provided for comparison with the operation of a real operator, to determine an estimated intention of the operator. The estimated operator is utilized to alter the operation of the machine, to provide a safer and/or smoother operation experience in operating the machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignees: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Drexel University
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Kuge, Tomohiro Yamamura, Dario Salvucci
  • Patent number: 7349778
    Abstract: A real-time vehicle dynamics estimation system that employs a vehicle parameter estimator, a vehicle condition detector and a rich steering input detector for estimating vehicle understeer coefficient and front and rear cornering compliances in real time. The vehicle parameter estimator receives a front wheel steering angle signal, a rear wheel steering angle signal, a vehicle lateral acceleration signal, a vehicle yaw rate signal and a vehicle speed signal, and employs a linear parameter estimation algorithm for estimating the understeer coefficient, and the front and rear corning compliance. The vehicle condition detector receives the front wheel steering angle signal, the rear wheel steering angle signal, the vehicle yaw rate signal and the vehicle speed signal, and disables the vehicle parameter estimator if the vehicle is not operating in a linear region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Kwang-Keun Shin, Yuen-Kwok Chin
  • Patent number: 7346440
    Abstract: A vehicle air conditioner includes an operating unit operated by a passenger for setting an air conditioning state in a passenger compartment, and a control unit for automatically controlling the air conditioning state in accordance with a detection value of an environment condition. The control unit performs a learning correction of a control characteristic in accordance with manual operations of the operating unit, and a number of the manual operations is indicated by using an indicator. Further, a number of the manual operations performed in an initial period and a number of the manual operations performed in an immediately recent period are comparably indicated on the indicator. Therefore, a passenger can realize the effect of the learning correction, even when the number of the manual operation is decreased after the learning correction is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2008
    Assignee: DENSO Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshinori Ichishi, Tatsumi Kumada
  • Patent number: 7343236
    Abstract: The present invention provides a universal power control module for automatic transmissions. The power control module includes a processor and at least two sensor inputs that convey engine and vehicle data to the processor. This data may include vehicle speed, engine temperature, throttle position, engine RPM, and other operational parameters. Both the type and number of data input to the processor may be changed to accommodate different engine and transmission combinations. At least two outputs convey commands from the processor to the transmission. Program circuitry defines the gear shift pattern of the transmission according to the engine and vehicle sensor data. This program circuitry can be programmed to define an optimal gear shift pattern for any combination of engine and transmission, independent of make and model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2008
    Assignee: Autocraft Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Barry Wilson
  • Patent number: 7339723
    Abstract: An optical transmission system includes an optical fiber transmission line, one or more optical repeating apparatuses, an optical receiving apparatus, and a transferring route for transferring a supervisory signal based on a quality deterioration of an optical signal detected by the optical receiving apparatus to the optical repeating apparatus from the optical receiving apparatus. The optical repeating apparatus includes an optical level variation detecting unit for detecting a level variation of an optical signal and a level variation storing unit for storing information based on the level variation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2008
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Koji Asahi
  • Patent number: 7339852
    Abstract: A seismic acquisition system comprising a remote-controlled buoy for conducting seismic acquisition operations. The buoy comprises an operating system for operating a seismic wave production device on the buoy, a placement system, a communications system, and dynamic position locating system. The seismic acquisition system also comprises a remote control system for controlling the buoy systems. The seismic acquisition system also comprises receivers for receiving the seismic wave and generating a data signal indicative of the received seismic wave. The seismic acquisition system operates by controlling the placement system with the remote control system to position the buoy and then controlling the operating system with the remote control system to produce a seismic wave from the seismic wave production device. The receivers then receive the seismic wave and generate a data signal indicative of the seismic wave.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2008
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Darrell Gordy, Bruce E. Cornish, Denis P. Schmitt, Carl A. Robbins
  • Patent number: 7340326
    Abstract: An appropriate recovery process is made possible according to the situation of a power supply anomaly. When a system reset occurs, a storage unit stores an operation state of a system immediately before the reset in an operation state memory and also stores a recovery mode determined according to the stored operation state in a recovery mode memory. At the beginning of the recovery process, a necessary process is performed according to the stored recovery mode. Each time the recovery process is performed, a recovery counter performs enumeration and a normal-operation-time timer counter enumerates a normal operation time of the system. Such processes as a system halt and an engine recovery are performed according to the enumerated value and the normal operation time enumerated by the counters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2008
    Assignee: Bosch Corporation
    Inventor: Takeshi Abe