Patents Examined by John B. Sotomayor
  • Patent number: 9494682
    Abstract: Disclosed is a radar weather data signal processing module comprising: a pulse compression unit for pulse-compressing a received weather signal; a correlation coefficient calculation unit for calculating a correlation coefficient on the basis of the pulse-compressed weather signal; and a weather variable calculation unit for calculating a weather variable on the basis of the calculated correlation coefficient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: WEATHERLINK CO., LTD
    Inventor: Jeongho Choi
  • Patent number: 9488719
    Abstract: An integrated circuit for processing transmitted and received signals is positioned on a first printed circuit board. A second printed circuit board is provided which has a plurality of antenna elements and at least one transmission line. The first printed circuit board is bonded to a first side of a metal housing and the second printed circuit board is bonded to a second side of the metal housing, so that the integrated circuit is sealed from environmental exposure between the first printed circuit board and the metal housing. A waveguide chamber is provided and is located between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board. A signal is allowed to propagate from the integrated circuit to the metal trace to the square metal section to the waveguide chamber to the at leas one transmission line to the plurality of antenna elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul D. Schmalenberg, Jae Seung Lee
  • Patent number: 9488720
    Abstract: An active and passive detection device is provided with a low probability of interception having a fixed antenna structure, transmission means and reception means. The antenna structure is formed by a plurality of radiating elements grouped into identical subnetworks and comprises at least one transmission subnetwork and at least three reception subnetworks. The transmission means are capable of generating an unfocused continuous waveform having low peak power in one plane and of transmitting said waveform. The reception means are capable of detecting the targets following the formation of a plurality of directional beams on the basis of the signals received on the reception subnetworks. The reception means are likewise capable of implementing the interception of radar signals from other radar sources using cross correlation processing between the signals received on at least three reception subnetworks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Pascal Cornic, Patrick Le Bihan, Stephane Kemkemian
  • Patent number: 9470785
    Abstract: A method for detecting oil at the sea by means of a coherent oil spill radar with a transmitter and a receiver antenna includes the transmitter and receiver antenna being directed towards a sea surface in the near area out to a given distance of 1000-4000 m under a grazing angle of between 0.5 and 30 degrees, the transmitter antenna transmits at a frequency between 2 GHz and 18 GHz, and frequency modulated with an adjustable bandwidth and with a given transmitted effect less than 10 W. The transmitter antenna has a horizontal antenna lobe smaller than its vertical antenna lob. The transmitter and receiver antenna are controlled electronically to transmit and detect vertical polarization and horizontal polarization, with an adjustable modulation time of less than 4 ms between the polarizations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: ISPAS AS
    Inventor: Richard Norland
  • Patent number: 9470782
    Abstract: Described herein is an automotive radar system which utilizes a three channel switched antenna to improve the angular resolution of an azimuth tracking two-channel, radar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: VALEO RADAR SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Jeffrey Millar, Joseph S. Pleva
  • Patent number: 9473111
    Abstract: A sensor device for monitoring the environment of a vehicle includes at least two sensors, each with a signal generator, a transmitting antenna, and at least two receiving antennas, characterized in that at least one reference clock pulse generator for generating a common reference clock pulse for the signal generators of the at least two sensors is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: HELLA KGAA HUECK & CO.
    Inventors: Thomas Wixforth, Andreas von Rhein
  • Patent number: 9470784
    Abstract: Each antenna system processor performs coherent integration on a prescribed number of correlation values between a reception signal and a transmission code. A correlation matrix generator generates a correlation matrix on the basis of coherent integration values. A distance estimator estimates a distance to a target. A direction vector storage is stored with direction vectors each of which includes an azimuth component with respect to a target and an elevation angle component of a line connecting a transmission antenna and the target in which a prescribed direction is used as a reference. An incoming direction estimator estimates a signal incoming direction from the target using the correlation matrix and the direction vectors in which the elevation angle component range is restricted on the basis of the distance to the target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventors: Takaaki Kishigami, Hirohito Mukai
  • Patent number: 9465105
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication-based vehicle identification apparatus and an identification method thereof. The V2V communication-based vehicle identification apparatus includes a radar sensor unit sensing radar information corresponding to relative distances to object vehicles, a GPS module unit generating GPS information from GPS satellites, a V2V communication unit transmitting the generated GPS information to the object vehicles and receiving GPS information of the object vehicles from the object vehicles through vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, and a controller calculating probabilities that the GPS information of the object vehicles will be located at areas, set based on the sensed radar information, and identifying vehicles corresponding to the radar information and the GPS information of the object vehicles based on the calculated probabilities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Mando Corporation
    Inventor: Man Bok Park
  • Patent number: 9465106
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are directed toward attenuation correction of radar data. Atmospheric attenuation is a function of atmospheric water drop size and temperature. A number of different theoretical models are available to mathematically describe the particle drop shape that influences attenuation estimation. Each of these models has proven effective in different scenarios. It can be difficult, however, to predict which theoretical model to use. The total differential phase gives an idea of the attenuation, but it depends on the model. Moreover, the total attenuation along a rain path must be apportioned to different parts of the radar path in order to correct for attenuation along a radar path. Embodiments of this invention allows for a system to apportion the attenuation to different parts of the radar beam. Embodiments of the invention also allow for optimization of a number of different theoretical models for both drop size and temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Colorado State University Research Foundation
    Inventors: Chandrasekaran Venkatachalam, Sanghun Lim
  • Patent number: 9465098
    Abstract: A method for mitigating low duty factor electronic attack (EA) includes taking M samples of each of N pulses of radar return energy. The method includes forming an M×N pulse sample data matrix (PSDM) using the M samples and N pulses of the radar return energy including in-phase and quadrature phase components of the radar return energy and jamming data from the low duty factor EA. The method includes defining a 2N×1 vector for each row of the PSDM. The method includes computing a 4N×1 vector separating the in-phase and quadrature phase measurements of the jamming data from the low duty factor EA into a respective half of the 4N×1 vector using the 2N×1 vector and a measurement matrix dictionary. The method includes extracting the jamming data from the 4N×1 vector and forming a clean M×N PSDM that is free of the jamming data using the 4N×1 vector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Raytheon Company
    Inventor: Michael T. Ho
  • Patent number: 9464888
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for sensing boundaries between materials are provided. The method for sensing boundaries between materials comprises the steps of: fixing sensing modules in place; transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals; and analyzing radio frequency signals. The method enables real-time detection of positions of the boundaries between materials and handling and monitoring of changes in the boundary positions. The apparatus for sensing boundaries between materials comprises at least two sensing modules, or a radio frequency transmitting unit and a plurality of radio frequency signals receiving unit, or a plurality of radio frequency transmitting unit and a radio frequency signals receiving unit. The radio frequency signals are transmitted, received and analyzed by the radio frequency transmitting unit and the radio frequency signals receiving unit to determine the boundary positions and changes therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: National AppliedResearch Laboratories
    Inventors: Chun-Ming Huang, Chen-Chia Chen, Yung-Bin Lin, Chien-Ming Wu
  • Patent number: 9459342
    Abstract: A radar device capable of reducing load of a clustering process and improving the tracking performance is provided. A tracking calculation unit 116 of a radar device 100 performs a clustering process, in which an input detected data set is grouped into clusters, and a tracking process, in which an averaged value and a prediction value are calculated for each of the clusters. In the radar device 100, the shape of cluster areas for grouping the detected data is defined to be a fan shape. The clustering process and tracking process using fan-shaped cluster areas can reduce the load of the clustering process and improve the tracking performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignees: FURUKAWA ELECTRIC CO., LTD., FURUKAWA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS INC.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Itohara, Yasushi Aoyagi
  • Patent number: 9459347
    Abstract: An environment monitoring system for a vehicle includes at least two distance sensors for detecting distance by measuring the propagation time of detection signals. The distance sensors are each designed as a transmitting unit and receiving unit for the detection signals and, in a direct operating mode, emit detection signals, receive reflected components of the detection signals emitted by the distance sensors; and emit active measurement signals according thereto. The system also includes a control device that receives the measurement signals of the distance sensors and determines the object distance of a detected object. At least one distance sensor additionally can be operated in an indirect operating mode to detect a detection signal emitted by another distance sensor and reflected by the object and to generate an indirect measurement signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2016
    Assignee: WABCO GmbH
    Inventors: Christoph Lucking, Rainer Risse, Udo Ronnenberg, Axel Stender
  • Patent number: 9453906
    Abstract: This invention describes circuits and methods which can allow multiple radar receiver chips to be adjusted to have very low phase offset between them. Multiple receiver chips are used in frequency-modulated carrier-wave (FMCW) radar systems for beamforming to enable angle-of-arrival measurements. FMCW radar systems are widely used in collision-avoidance and adaptive cruise control systems in vehicles, which today are operating in the 76-81 GHz frequency band. In a multi-receiver system, each receive element must have a well-controlled phase response which can be calibrated over process, voltage, and temperature. Without calibration, phase offsets can result in erroneous beamforming receiver measurements. The inventive circuit provides a technique to adjust the phase of multiple receivers across multiple chips using a single local oscillator reference and built-in-test circuitry which consist of phase shifters, a multi-frequency nonlinear phase detection circuit, and power coupling circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignees: North Carolina State University, Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Floyd, Takeji Fujibayashi, Seiji Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 9448303
    Abstract: A first radar transmitter and a second radar transmitter transmit a first modulation signal and a second modulation signal which are generated by repeating a predetermined time of code sequences, each of which has a predetermined code length, using a first code width and a second code width, respectively. An A/D converter converts the modulation signal into a discrete signal in a sampling cycle shorter than a difference between the first code width and the second code width. A positioning section separates a plurality of reception signals using a first correlation value based on outputs from the A/D converter and a first delay section corresponding to the first code width and a second correlation value based on outputs from the A/D converter and a second delay section corresponding to the second code width.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takaaki Kishigami, Yoichi Nakagawa, Hirohito Mukai
  • Patent number: 9447773
    Abstract: An arrangement to measure deflection of a blade of a wind turbine is provided. A transmitter is arranged close to the tip end of the blade, while a receiver is arranged close to the root end of the blade. The transmitter and receiver are prepared for a wireless transfer of a monitoring signal, which is sent from the transmitter to the receiver. A monitoring system is arranged close to the root end of the blade. The monitoring system is adapted to generate the monitoring signal. The monitoring system is connected with the transmitter by a cable-bound communication line, thus the monitoring signal is transferred from the monitoring system to the transmitter. The monitoring system is connected with the receiver, thus the monitoring signal is transferred from the receiver to the monitoring system. The monitoring system is adapted to determine the deflection of the blade based on the transferred monitoring signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Per Egedal, Jesper Winther Staerdahl, Andreas Ziroff
  • Patent number: 9448302
    Abstract: In a method for operating a MIMO radar, an influence of an object motion on an angle estimate is substantially eliminated, and a time multiplex schema having a transmission sequence and transmission instants of transmitters of the MIMO radar is identified by optimizing the following mathematical relationship: d _ pulses , opt = arg ? ? max d _ pulses ? [ Var S ? ( d _ pulses ) - ( Cov S ? ( d _ pulses , t ) ) 2 / Var S ? ( t _ ) ] in which: dpulses,opt is optimized positions of the transmitters in the sequence in which they transmit; dpulses is positions of the transmitters in the sequence in which they transmit; t is transmission instants; VarS is sample variance; and CovS is sample covariance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
    Inventors: Michael Schoor, Goetz Kuehnle, Kilian Rambach, Benedikt Loesch
  • Patent number: 9442184
    Abstract: A radar data processing system is disclosed. The system includes a microcontroller and a data receiver-transmitter integrated circuit coupled to the microcontroller. The data receiver-transmitter integrated circuit includes a sensor and a dedicated error indicator pin. The data receiver-transmitter integrated circuit includes an inner safety monitor and the microcontroller includes an outer safety monitor. The inner safety monitor configured to receive and collate sensor data from the plurality of sensors and send, through the dedicated error indicator pin, a function warning signal to the outer safety monitor when the sensor data from the sensor is indicative of a functional irregularity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Cornelis Gehrels, Cicero Silveira Vaucher, Luc Van Dijk
  • Patent number: 9442194
    Abstract: A dump truck includes radars attached, facing backward, to a position projected sideward a front fender extended from a lower deck to an upper deck of a front side of the vehicle, in which an irradiation beam has an angle of dip to cross at least a front wheel; and radars attached, facing sideward, to the side of the lower deck, and the radars and the radars are arranged such that a horizontal forward detection limit line of each of the radar and a horizontal backward detection limit line of each of the radar overlap and the horizontal backward detection limit lines of the radar are directed to a side of a center plane of the vehicle to detect the obstacle in the side of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Kurihara, Masaomi Machida, Dai Tsubone, Yukihiro Nakanishi, Tomikazu Tanuki, Shinji Mitsuta, Shigeru Harada, Eishin Masutani
  • Patent number: 9434041
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a mechanical hand tool device, in particular a fret and/or a reciprocating saw device, including a locating unit having at least one antenna. The locating unit is configured to detect objects outside a workpiece and to detect objects inside the workpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Reiner Krapf, Heiko Sgarz, Ernie Fischer