Patents Examined by Jermaine L Jenkins
  • Patent number: 11441961
    Abstract: A method for forming a pressure sensor is provided wherein an optical fibre is provided, the optical fibre comprising a core, a cladding surrounding the core, and a birefringence structure for inducing birefringence in the core. The birefringence structure comprises first and second holes enclosed within the cladding and extending parallel to the core. A portion of the optical fibre comprising of the core and the birefringence structure is encased within a chamber, wherein the chamber is defined by a housing comprising a pressure transfer element for equalising pressure between the inside and the outside of the housing. An optical sensor is provided along the core of the optical fibre. The cladding is internally etched by flowing an etchant through the first and second holes along a length of the portion of optical fibre which comprises the optical sensor so as to increase the width of the first and second holes. The chamber is filled with a substantially non-compressible fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Crispin Doyle, Dirk Havermann
  • Patent number: 11441968
    Abstract: A sealed cooling system includes a coolant tank having a liquid space configured to hold liquid coolant, and a gas space configured to hold gas. A temperature sensor detects the temperature of the liquid coolant. A pressure sensor detects the pressure in the coolant tank. A processor compares the pressure in the coolant tank to predicted pressure in the coolant tank as a function of liquid coolant temperature. The processor determines and outputs a signal indicative of a leak in the sealed cooling system if the pressure in the coolant tank deviates from the predicted pressure in the coolant tank according to predetermined criteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.
    Inventor: Alan W. Smith
  • Patent number: 11440646
    Abstract: A remaining tire tread depth management system includes a remaining tire tread depth measurement device configured to measure a remaining tread depth of at least one of aircraft tires mounted on an aircraft, a tire wear amount estimation device configured to estimate a wear amount of all of the aircraft tires mounted on the aircraft including the aircraft tires, and a tire management server configured to estimate a remaining tread depth and a number of available flight times of all of the aircraft tires in accordance with measurement data output from the remaining tire tread depth measurement device and estimation data output from the tire wear amount estimation device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hayato Toda, Seigo Hata
  • Patent number: 11427465
    Abstract: In an embodiment a system includes a sensor including a base having a base electrode and a first membrane suspended above the base, wherein the first membrane has a first membrane electrode, wherein the first membrane is configured to deflect with respect to the base electrode in response to an environmental condition, and wherein the sensor is configured to measure a capacitance between the base electrode and the first membrane electrode. The system further includes a first device of the system configured to generate electrical interference signals, a first electrically conductive shield layer positioned between the sensor and the first device of the system, wherein the first electrically conductive shield layer defines a plurality of first apertures extending through the first electrically conductive shield layer and a dielectric material disposed in the plurality of first apertures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: SCIOSENSE B.V.
    Inventors: Olaf Wunnicke, Frederik Willem Maurits Vanhelmont, Willem Frederik Adrianus Besling, Remco Henricus Wilhelmus Pijnenburg, Casper Van Der Avoort, Anderson Pires Singulani, Martijn Goossens
  • Patent number: 11428593
    Abstract: Methods and apparatuses related to freeze resistant sensing assemblies are provided. An example pressure sensing assembly may include: a first member defining an aperture, the aperture comprising an inner opening disposed on an inner surface of the first member and an outer opening disposed on an outer surface of the first member; a protection diaphragm disposed on the inner surface of the first member; and a sensing diaphragm disposed in a second member fastened to the first member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Lokesha Bhat, Palani Thanigachalam, Vijaya Krishna N K, Vijayakumar S, Shridhara Shanbhogue
  • Patent number: 11422147
    Abstract: Apparatus and associated methods relate to detecting turbulence of an airstream over an airfoil surface of an aircraft using a sequence of acoustic transducers attached to the airfoil surface of the aircraft along a path. Each of the sequence of acoustic transducers is configured to detect acoustic waves indicative of airstream condition proximate the acoustic transducer. A processor is configured to determine, for each of the sequence of acoustic transducers, a level of turbulence of the airstream proximate the acoustic transducer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: Rosemount Aerospace Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Hawley, Jaime Sly, Brian Daniel Matheis
  • Patent number: 11422049
    Abstract: It is desired to further reduce output errors which are caused by temperature characteristics. A sensor device is provided which includes a sense circuit which outputs a sense signal according to a magnitude of a detected physical quantity, an amplifier circuit which amplifies the sense signal, and a switching unit which switches at least one of a sensitivity of the sense circuit and an offset of the amplifier circuit discontinuously according to whether a temperature measurement value exceeds a threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: FUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Matsunami, Mutsuo Nishikawa, Ryohei Uzawa
  • Patent number: 11422150
    Abstract: An aircraft airflow sensor probe configured to correct measurements based on aircraft movement includes a vane assembly configured to sense a direction of local airflow outside an aircraft, at least one accelerometer configured to detect aircraft movement, a sensor configured to sense and output a rotational position of the vane assembly, and an angle of attack processor configured to determine at least a measured angle of attack of the aircraft based on the rotational position of the vane assembly. The angle of attack processor further configured to determine a correction value based on the aircraft movement data provided by the at least one accelerometer and output a corrected angle of attack of the aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: AEROSONIC LLC
    Inventors: Rick Snyder, Charles Lang
  • Patent number: 11415473
    Abstract: If the bridge circuit fails due to damage of the diaphragm, the damage is detected at an early stage. A pressure sensor comprises: a substrate provided with a diaphragm; a bridge circuit having four resistor devices provided at the diaphragm, the bridge circuit being applied with high-voltage-side voltage and low-voltage-side voltage, and having two output terminals; a detecting unit for detecting a first output at a first output terminal and a second output at a second output terminal, each output terminal being of the bridge circuit; and a failure detecting unit for detecting failure of the bridge circuit based on a detection result at the detecting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: FUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Matsunami
  • Patent number: 11415594
    Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for indicating the presence of a threshold directional differential pressure between separated adjacent spaces. A conduit contains at least one movable element that indicates whether the pressure difference between the two spaces is at least as high as a threshold pressure difference. The apparatus is adjustable to have different threshold set points by adjusting the pivot arm inclination relative to a horizontal plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: AirFlow Direction, Inc.
    Inventor: Brian M. Wiseman
  • Patent number: 11415485
    Abstract: A tire state detection device that includes: a temperature sensor that detects a temperature in a tire air chamber; an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration associated with rotation of a tire; a pressure sensor that detects pressure in the tire air chamber; a storage unit that stores a plurality of maps for calculating a fatigue state of the tire on the basis of the detected temperature, the detected acceleration and the detected pressure; and a tire fatigue index calculation unit that calculates, by referring to each of the plurality of maps, a tire fatigue index from the detected acceleration, the detected temperature, and the detected pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yasumichi Wakao
  • Patent number: 11408791
    Abstract: A pressure sensor includes a pressure detecting element; a base material on which the pressure detecting element is mounted; a pad electrode provided on the base material and electrically connected to the pressure detecting element; a ground electrode provided on the base material and spaced from the pad electrode; and a cap having a tubular shape, the cap surrounding a periphery of the pressure detecting element on the base material and being attached to the ground electrode with a conductive adhesive. An inner receiving section is provided between an inner peripheral surface of the cap and a ground-electrode-side end surface of the cap, the inner receiving section thereby preventing excessive spreading of the conductive adhesive. The cap can be attached to the base material with the conductive adhesive without causing excessive spreading of the conductive adhesive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: ALPS ALPINE CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hisanobu Okawa, Katsuya Kikuiri, Shoji Yoshida
  • Patent number: 11402310
    Abstract: A measuring apparatus for measuring a flexural strength of a test piece includes a support unit having a first support member and a second support member that are spaced from each other, for supporting a lower surface of the test piece, a presser for pressing the test piece, a moving mechanism for relatively moving the presser toward and away from the test piece supported by the support unit, a load measuring unit for measuring a load applied to the presser when the presser presses the test piece supported by the support unit, and a controller having a calculating section for calculating the flexural strength of the test piece on the basis of a thickness and a width of the test piece, a spacing between the first support member and the second support member, and a maximum value of the load measured by the load measuring unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: DISCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Saito, Yusaku Ito
  • Patent number: 11397192
    Abstract: An acoustic airspeed sensor system can include at least one acoustic transmitter configured to provide an acoustic pulse, a plurality of acoustic receivers including at least a first acoustic receiver, a second acoustic, receiver, and a third acoustic receiver, each positioned at a first radial distance from the at least one acoustic transmitter. The first acoustic receiver, the second acoustic receiver, and the third acoustic receiver are each configured to receive the acoustic pulse at a first time, a second time, and a third time, respectively, and output a first receiver signal, a second receiver signal, and a third receiver signal respectively. The system can include a computation unit operatively connected to the acoustic receivers and configured to generate a propagation function. The computation unit is further configured to determine true air speed based upon a receiver signals and the propagation function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel W. Shannon, Sudarshan N. Koushik, Todd Anthony Ell
  • Patent number: 11385118
    Abstract: A pressure sensor assembly, which includes a support substrate, circuitry mounted to the support substrate, at least one conductor mounted to the support substrate and in electrical communication with the circuitry, and at least one vertically conductive path connected to and in electrical communication with the at least one conductor. The pressure sensor assembly also includes a diaphragm, at least one sealing glass section connected to the diaphragm and the support substrate, and at least one lateral conductive feed-through mounted to the diaphragm. At least one conductive joint is connected to the vertically conductive path and the lateral conductive feed-through, and the conductive joint provides electrical communication between the vertically conductive path and the lateral conductive feed-through.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Vitesco Technologies USA, LLC
    Inventors: Jeffrey J. Frye, Joe Pin Wang, David W. Ivaska, Richard E. Cronin, Erich Mattmann, Frank Langner
  • Patent number: 11371880
    Abstract: A vehicle body side system is provided with a second data communication unit that performs bidirectional communication with a tire side device and receives road surface data and measurement data transmitted from a first data communication unit, a road surface determination unit that determines the road surface condition of a road surface on which a vehicle travels based on the road surface data, a reception strength measurement unit that measures the reception strength of the measurement data, and a transmission angle setting unit that stores the reception strength of the measurement data during one rotation of a tire, sets as a transmission angle, a presence angle when the reception strength of the measurement data during one rotation of the tire is high, and transmits data indicating the transmission angle to the tire side device via the second data communication unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naohito Takasuka, Yoichiro Suzuki, Takatoshi Sekizawa
  • Patent number: 11358421
    Abstract: A pneumatic tire includes a first tread area portion, an electric power source, a transmission device, an accelerometer, and a control unit configured to operate in a power saving mode and a normal mode. A contact of the first tread area portion with a surface is detected by sensing acceleration of the first tread area portion by the accelerometer. The control unit is configured to switch from the normal mode to the power saving mode after a detection that the first tread area portion is on a contact patch of the tire. The control unit is configured to switch from the power saving mode to the normal mode when a first specified time depending on the rotation speed of the tire has elapsed since the detection that the first tread area portion is on the contact patch. A monitoring method and a system are used with the pneumatic tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Nokian Renkaat Oyj
    Inventors: Teemu Soini, Jani Räisänen, Atte Antikainen, Jari Ojala
  • Patent number: 11353477
    Abstract: An omnidirectional anemometer and a method for using such an anemometer to measure the airflow along a conveying path, such as a helical path through a processing chamber. The anemometer is a low-profile, omnidirectional, three-axis anemometer with minimal airflow-occluding structure. Because of its low profile, the anemometer can fit in spiral conveyors with a short tier pitch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
    Inventors: William S. Murray, David W. Bogle, Juan Borbon
  • Patent number: 11352720
    Abstract: A device for contactless measurement of one or more parameters of a linear textile formation (e.g., yarn) includes a yarn sensor with at least two mutually independent detection zones for one or a combination of the parameters of yarn presence, yarn movement, or yarn quality. The individual detections zones are arranged in defined positions relative to at least two different yarn paths of the yarn at a workstation depending on changed states of the yarn at the workstation so that at least one of the parameters is measured in each of the detections zones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Maschinenfabrik Rieter AG
    Inventors: Evzen Pilar, Bernd Bahlmann
  • Patent number: 11346736
    Abstract: A pressure gauge includes an introduction member, a connection member, a bourdon tube, a pointer, a dial plate, a detector, and an information communication unit. A battery installed in the information communication unit is disposed between a circuit board and a lid. The information communication unit is inserted in a through hole of the dial plate to be disposed astride between a front surface and a rear surface of the dial plate and the lid is disposed on a side of the information communication unit close to the front surface of the dial plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: NAGANO KEIKI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kaneko, Takayuki Mizukoshi, Shota Shioiri, Masaki Yanagisawa, Hidenori Saka, Yutaku Hashimoto