Patents Examined by Jason M Crawford
  • Patent number: 9680476
    Abstract: A PLD in which a configuration memory is formed using a nonvolatile memory with a small number of transistors and in which the area of a region where the configuration memory is disposed is reduced is provided. Further, a PLD that is easily capable of dynamic reconfiguration and has a short startup time is provided. A programmable logic device including a memory element, a selector, and an output portion is provided. The memory element includes a transistor in which a channel is formed in an oxide semiconductor film, and a storage capacitor and an inverter which are connected to one of a source and a drain of the transistor. The inverter is connected to the selector. The selector is connected to the output portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Kurokawa, Takayuki Ikeda
  • Patent number: 9678494
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with controlling lighting based on a presentation display, such as a television, mobile device, white board, etc. The disclosed embodiments can involve a lighting system, a presentation display, a monitoring system, and a controller. The lighting system provides light to an area and may include a light source and an adjustment mechanism to adjust the light source. The lighting system can include natural light sources and/or artificial light sources. The adjustment mechanism may adjust, for example, one or more of an intensity, orientation, polarization, color, flicker rate, polarization, and other characteristics of the light source. The presentation display can be monitored by a monitoring system to monitor a status of the presentation display. The controller processes the status of the presentation display and signal the adjustment mechanism to adjust the light source, based on the status of the presentation display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: ELWHA LLC
    Inventors: Roderick A. Hyde, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Tony S. Pan
  • Patent number: 9673026
    Abstract: Systems and methods for performing edge ramping are described. A system includes a base RF generator for generating a first RF signal. The first RF signal transitions from one state to another. The transition from one state to another of the first RF signal results in a change in plasma impedance. The system further includes a secondary RF generator for generating a second RF signal. The second RF signal transitions from one state to another to stabilize the change in the plasma impedance. The system includes a controller coupled to the secondary RF generator. The controller is used for providing parameter values to the secondary RF generator to perform edge ramping of the second RF signal when the second RF signal transitions from one state to another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: John C. Valcore, Jr., Bradford J. Lyndaker, Andrew S. Fong
  • Patent number: 9668315
    Abstract: Controlling the color temperature of a composite light source including at least one discrete-spectrum light source is disclosed. For example, the color temperature of a composite light source including at least one discrete-spectrum light source may be determined and/or adjusted based on one or more of the ambient color temperature of a space, the actual temperature of the space, the relative brightness of the space, the occupancy of the space, a time clock, a demand response command (e.g., from an electrical utility), the absolute location of the composite light source, the location of the composite light source relative to other light sources, inputs from a camera or other external devices, the operation of appliances or other machines in the vicinity of the composite light source, media content being utilized in the vicinity of the composite light source, and/or other sensor inputs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: LUTRON ELECTRONICS CO., INC.
    Inventors: Thomas M. Shearer, Arya Abraham, Ethan Charles Biery, Timothy P. Gredler, Juha Mikko Hakkarainen
  • Patent number: 9658985
    Abstract: A configurable processing circuit capable of handling multiple threads simultaneously, the circuit comprising a thread data store, a plurality of configurable execution units, a configurable routing network for connecting locations in the thread data store to the execution units, a configuration data store for storing configuration instances that each define a configuration of the routing network and a configuration of one or more of the plurality of execution units, and a pipeline formed from the execution units, the routing network and the thread data store that comprises a plurality of pipeline sections configured such that each thread propagates from one pipeline section to the next at each clock cycle, the circuit being configured to: (i) associate each thread with a configuration instance; and (ii) configure each of the plurality of pipeline sections for each clock cycle to be in accordance with the configuration instance associated with the respective thread that will propagate through that pipeline se
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Silicon Tailor Limited
    Inventor: Paul Metzgen
  • Patent number: 9659646
    Abstract: A non-volatile programmable circuit configurable to perform logic functions, is provided. The programmable circuit can employ two-terminal non-volatile memory devices to store information, thereby mitigating or avoiding disturbance of programmed data in the absence of external power. Two-terminal resistive switching memory devices having high current on/off ratios and fast switching times can also be employed for high performance, and facilitating a high density array. For look-up table applications, input/output response times can be several nanoseconds or less, facilitating much faster response times than a memory array access for retrieving stored data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: CROSSBAR, INC.
    Inventors: Mehdi Asnaashari, Hagop Nazarian, Lin Shih Liu
  • Patent number: 9655215
    Abstract: A lighting control system and method is disclosed for not only controlling visual content loaded within a group set of illumination devices configured within a wireless network, but also for ensuring minimal control delay to those grouped devices. The lighting control system can include a lighting controller device that controls a plurality of lamps within a mesh network, not only to group those lamps but also to assign content to lamps within that group. The combination of a guaranteed groupcast to each of the group of lamps and an acknowledge back from those lamps that is aggregated over a single path achieves the improved lighting control system disclosed herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: Ketra, Inc.
    Inventors: Horace C. Ho, Rebecca Frank, Mark Quilling, Rebecca M. Ho, Nav Sooch
  • Patent number: 9654106
    Abstract: A dynamic digital filtering system for detecting electrical noise in a discrete I/O circuit. The dynamic digital filtering system has a controller for monitoring the logic signal produced by a logic device monitoring a remote I/O device. The logic device includes a circuit for dynamically adjusting the impedance across a power terminal and a terminal receiving a binary signal from the I/O device. Upon a change of state of the monitored logic signal the controller commands the impedance adjusting circuit to momentarily change its input impedance to determine if the binary signal responsible for the monitored change of state of the logic signal was true or false. If the monitored logic signal does not change state during the momentary change in impedance the binary signal will be verified as “true”. If the monitored logic signal does change state during the momentary change in impedance the binary signal will be considered as “false”.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC USA, INC.
    Inventors: Kevin M. Jefferies, Benjamin W. Edwards, Matthew L. White, Konstantin Alexander Filippenko, Richard Karl Weiler
  • Patent number: 9654110
    Abstract: Magnetoelectronic circuits include Hybrid Hall Effect devices implemented with Spin Transfer Torque write capability. The circuits include reconfigurable processing systems, logic circuits, non-volatile switches, memory cells, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Inventor: Mark B Johnson
  • Patent number: 9655195
    Abstract: Various embodiments provide a method of controlling a lighting device to generate light of a desired natural scene. The lighting device may include a plurality of warm white LEDs having a first intensity range and a plurality of cool white LEDs having a second intensity range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: King Jet Tseng, Szu-Cheng Chien, Yee Loon Sum, Boon Hee Soong
  • Patent number: 9643533
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods for providing a switch adjacent to a vehicle turn signal lever to increase frequency rate of the on and off existing front turn lights and existing rear turn lights when the vehicle is attempting a U-turn. The increase can be approximately two to approximately three times the steady state blinking rate of the vehicle turn signal lights. The switch can be a button switch on the side or end of the existing turn signal lever. The invention does not require the use of extra lights to be installed on a vehicle for the U-turn.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Inventor: Max Houss
  • Patent number: 9647662
    Abstract: A superconducting system is provided that includes a coplanar superconducting circuit. The coplanar superconducting circuit includes a first ground plane region, a second ground plane region electrically isolated from the first ground plane region by portions of the coplanar superconducting circuit, and a tunable coupler having a first port and a second port. The tunable coupler comprises a variable inductance coupling element coupled between the first port and the second port, a first termination inductor having a first end coupled between a first end of the variable inductance element and a second end coupled to the first ground plane region, and a second termination inductor having a first end coupled between a second end of the variable inductance element and a second end coupled to the second ground plane region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Mohamed O. Abutaleb, Anthony Joseph Przybysz, Joel D. Strand, Ofer Naaman
  • Patent number: 9648682
    Abstract: A current control circuit is provided for a driving circuit system of LEDs coupled in series. The driving circuit system includes a rectifier and current modules. In the current control circuit, a first voltage-division circuit divides an output voltage of the rectifier to obtain a first voltage. A first operational amplifier has a non-inverting input terminal receiving a reference voltage, an inverting input terminal coupled to a common output terminal, and an output terminal coupled to one terminal of a capacitor and a first input terminal of a multiplier. A first input terminal of the multiplier receives an output voltage of the first operational amplifier, and the second input terminal thereof receives the first voltage. The other terminal of the capacitor is coupled to the ground. One terminal of a resistor is coupled to the common output terminal, and the other terminal thereof is coupled to the ground.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: PRINCETON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Sheng-You Zhang
  • Patent number: 9640110
    Abstract: A light-emitting device comprising an emitting unit including at least two emitting elements, a driving unit configured to control the emitting unit, and a capacitor unit formed over the driving unit. A shield layer may be located between the two emitting elements. In one example, the capacitor unit is formed at a level higher than a level of the driving unit, and a shield layer that is located between the two emitting elements is formed at a level that is higher than the level of the driving unit and equal to or lower than the level of the capacitor unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuo Minami, Junichi Yamashita
  • Patent number: 9633928
    Abstract: A through-silicon via access device (TSVAD) for establishing an electrical connection to a through-silicon via (TSV) located in a planar stack of semiconductor chips is disclosed. The TSVAD may include a switching circuit, having a conductive pad terminal, a TSV terminal, an input terminal coupled to a sending logic circuit, an output terminal coupled to a receiving logic circuit, and logic devices to, in response to control signals, couple the TSV terminal to the conductive pad terminal, in one configuration, and couple the TSV terminal to another terminal in another configuration. The TSVAD may also include a control circuit to generate control signals to cause an input selection circuit to drive a signal from the sending logic circuit onto the input terminal, and to cause an output selection circuit to drive a logic signal from the output terminal to the receiving logic circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Harry Barowski, Joachim Keinert, Sridhar H. Rangarajan, Haoxing Ren, Sourav Saha
  • Patent number: 9634667
    Abstract: An integrated circuit (IC) device can include a plurality of analog blocks, including at least one fixed function analog circuit, and at least one reconfigurable analog circuit block selected from: a continuous time (CT) block comprising a plurality of reconfigurable amplifier circuits and a discrete time block comprising amplifiers with a reconfigurable switch network; an analog multiplexer (MUX) configured to selectively connect any of a plurality of input/outputs (I/Os) of the IC device to the analog blocks, the analog MUX including at least one low noise signal path pair having a lower resistance than other signal paths of the analog MUX; at least one analog routing block reconfigurable to provide signal paths between any of the analog blocks; a digital section comprising digital circuits; and a processor interface coupled to the analog blocks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Eashwar Thiagarajan, Harold M. Kutz, Hans Klein, Jaskarn Singh Johal, Jean-Paul Vanitegem, Kendall V. Castor-Perry, Mark E. Hastings, Amsby D. Richardson, Jr., Anasuya Pai Maroor, Ata Khan, Dennis R. Seguine, Bruce E. Byrkett, Carl Ferdinand Liepold, Hans Van Antwerpen
  • Patent number: 9623794
    Abstract: Systems and methods for illuminating and tracking a work area is provided. Systems can include at least one lamp to couple to an object, the at least one lamp to illuminate the work area, and a height module, the height module in communication with the at least one lamp to provide an indication of a height of the work area. Methods can include the steps of determining a height data of the movable portion of the vehicle to be illuminated; communicating the determined height data of the movable portion to a stationary lamp, the lamp including a microprocessor and plurality of light sources, each light source controllable to illuminate an area at a predetermined height; and illuminating at least one of the plurality of light sources to correspond to the determined height data to illuminate the movable portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: J.W. Speaker Corporation
    Inventors: Charissa Quinlan, Bradley William Kay
  • Patent number: 9621161
    Abstract: According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a circuit includes a Correlated Electron Switch (CES) element and a programming circuit. The CES element includes a first input. The first input of the CES element is coupled to an input signal to be monitored. The CES element is programmed in a first impedance state. The programming circuit coupled to the CES element is configured to switch the CES element from the first impedance state to a second impedance state in response to a voltage transition on the input signal. The voltage transition indicates a fault event. The output element coupled to the first input of the CES element determines that the transition has occurred responsive to the CES element switching to the second impedance state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: ARM Ltd.
    Inventors: Shidhartha Das, Anand Savanth, David Bull
  • Patent number: 9621167
    Abstract: A logic circuit includes a setting circuit which holds and outputs setting information, a first flip-flop which holds data written to the setting circuit and outputs it in synchronization with an inputted clock, a second flip-flop which holds a write address for selecting the setting circuit and outputs it in synchronization with the inputted clock, and a third flip-flop which holds write enable which allows writing to the setting circuit and outputs it in synchronization with the inputted clock, wherein the setting circuit includes a fourth flip-flop which holds the setting information in synchronization with a given timing signal, and a fifth flip-flop which holds the output of the third flip-flop and outputs a write clock to the fourth flip-flop as the timing signal in synchronization with the inputted clock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Tsugio Takahashi
  • Patent number: 9622301
    Abstract: Systems and methods for driving optical sources operating at different wavelengths within a smoke sensor are described herein. Multiple optical sources such as light emitting diodes may be used in a photoelectric smoke sensor to detect particles of different sizes. Photoelectric smoke sensors can operate by pulsing the LEDs and measuring a response in a light sensor. The signal measured at the light sensor changes based on the quantity of particles existing in a smoke chamber. Each optical source may have different operational characteristics and thus require different drive currents to operate. LED driving circuitry according to embodiments discussed herein provide a consistent and reliable drive current to each optical source, while maximizing efficiency of power consumption across a range of possible voltages provided by different power sources.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: GOOGLE INC.
    Inventors: Daniel Adam Warren, Ian C. Smith, Brian Jonathan Conner