Patents Examined by John Breene
  • System, controller, and method for determining conductance of an object
    Patent number: 9687169
    Abstract: A system for determining a conductance of an object includes a sensor configured to emit an electromagnetic field when an excitation signal is received, wherein the electromagnetic field interacts with the object when the object is positioned within the electromagnetic field. A signal processing circuit is coupled to the sensor and configured to provide an adjustable capacitance to the sensor to adjust a phase angle of a current flowing through the sensor, to generate a voltage measurement representative of a voltage across the sensor, and to generate a current measurement representative of the current flowing through the sensor. A controller is coupled to the signal processing circuit and configured to calculate an admittance of the sensor based on the voltage measurement and the current measurement, and to determine a conductance of the object based on the calculated admittance of the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: KIMBERLY-CLARK WORLDWIDE, INC.
    Inventor: Joseph R. Feldkamp
  • Apparatus and methods to mirror a battery operated instrument
    Patent number: 9689709
    Abstract: Techniques for mirroring to allow for data transmissions from a device through mirror capable device. In an embodiment, a plurality of mirror capable devices may report their capability, which may include signaling conditions related thereto. A mirror capable device may be selected from the plurality of mirror capable devices based on signaling conditions associated with the utility device's power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Aclara Meters LLC
    Inventors: Bradley Richard Ree, John Christopher Boot
  • In-use automatic calibration methodology for sensors in mobile devices
    Patent number: 9683865
    Abstract: A method, system and computer readable medium for calibrating an accelerometer in a portable device is disclosed. The method, system and computer readable medium comprises receiving data from the accelerometer, and providing accelerometer samples from the data based upon one or more selection rules that adaptively selects data that satisfy certain criteria. The method system and computer readable medium also includes fitting the accelerometer samples to a mathematical mode. The method system and computer readable medium further includes providing a bias of the accelerometer based upon a center of the mathematical model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: InvenSense, Inc.
    Inventors: William Kerry Keal, Yuan Zheng, Anjia Gu, James Lim, Shang-Hung Lin
  • System and method for scanning an intraoral cavity
    Patent number: 9683835
    Abstract: According to the invention, a method and system are provided for scanning, and for facilitating scanning of, an intraoral cavity. The target parts of the intraoral cavity that it is desired to have scanned are identified, and the spatial relationships between a scanning device and the target parts of the intraoral cavity suitable for enabling said target parts to be scanned by said scanning device, are also identified or otherwise determined. These relationships are then displayed, and the displayed relationships are used as a guide for scanning the intraoral cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Avi Kopelman, Eldad Taub, Noam Babayoff
  • Method for determining time differences between signals measured by at least two coupled measuring devices and measurement system and corresponding switching device
    Patent number: 9678153
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and to a switching device (4) and a measurement system (1). In the method according to the invention for determining time differences between measurement signals measured by at least two couple measurement devices (2, 3), a time basis signal is first generated for the measurement devices (2, 3). A common reference signal is further generated by a signal generator (5). The common reference signal is fed to measurement signal inputs (8, 9) of the coupled measuring devices (2, 3) via the switching device (4). A measurement signal is then fed to said measurement signal inputs (8, 9) of the coupled measuring devices (2, 3) and the time position of the measurement signals relative to the reference signal is determined in each of the coupled measuring devices (2, 3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Johannes Steffens, Markus Freidhof, Kurt Schmidt, Manfred Mueller
  • Battery internal state estimating apparatus and battery internal state estimating method
    Patent number: 9678164
    Abstract: To learn a parameter of a simulation model of a battery efficiently. A battery internal state estimating apparatus, estimating an internal state of a battery based on a simulation model of the battery, includes a storing section (RAM10c) that stores a plurality of parameters of the simulation model, a detecting section (I/F10d) that detects a discharge current flowing from the battery to a load, a selecting section (CPU 10a) that selects a parameter to be subjected to adaptive learning based on a value of the discharge current detected by the detecting section, and an adaptive learning section (CPU 10a) that performs adapting learning on a parameter selected by the selecting section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignees: Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., Furukawa Automotive Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Taiji Mitsuyama, Takezo Sugimura, Etsuzo Sato, Antal Kovats
  • Method and device for monitoring energy efficiency performance of equipment
    Patent number: 9671470
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for monitoring energy efficiency performance of a device, which comprises: connecting the monitored device, obtaining input energy and output energy of the monitored device in a period of time, and calculating an energy efficiency index of the monitored device; and obtaining an energy efficiency deviation based on a standard energy efficiency index of the monitored device, and determining a state of the monitored device based on the energy efficiency deviation. The present invention further discloses a apparatus for monitoring energy efficiency performance of a device. Using the method and apparatus described above, the fine assessment for the device performance can be implemented in a simple way.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: ZTE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mingming Liu, Yanni Meng, Lingqiao Teng, Baohang Zhou, Shuwang Wei
  • Systems and methods for testing circuitry programmability
    Patent number: 9664740
    Abstract: Systems and methods in which circuitry programmability is tested through observing a change in voltage on a circuit node that is affected by the programmability under test. For example, one or more particular circuit node may be identified at which some measurable change in voltage occurs upon a change in state of a programmable circuit under test (PCUT). Thus, by detecting a change in voltage at such a circuit node in association with a programmable state change, embodiments may determine that respective circuit programmability is functional. Test circuitry of embodiments provides for circuitry programmability testing, through observing a change in voltage on a circuit node that is affected by the programmability under test, suitable for testing digital programmability which is deeply embedded in analog circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventor: Ayaskant Shrivastava
  • Regulating entry into a closed-loop operating mode of an insulin infusion system
    Patent number: 9662445
    Abstract: An electronic controller for an insulin infusion device includes at least one processor device and at least one memory element that cooperate to provide a processor-implemented closed-loop initiation module. The initiation module is operated to obtain a most recent calibration factor for a continuous glucose sensor, the most recent calibration factor representing a first conversion value applicable to convert a first sensor value to a first blood glucose value. The initiation module also obtains a prior calibration factor for the sensor, and calibration timestamp data for the most recent calibration factor and the prior calibration factor. The initiation module regulates entry into a closed-loop operating mode of the insulin infusion device, based on the most recent calibration factor, the prior calibration factor, and the calibration timestamp data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: MEDTRONIC MINIMED, INC.
    Inventors: Neha J. Parikh, Anirban Roy, Desmond Barry Keenan, John J. Mastrototaro, Benyamin Grosman
  • Systems and/or methods for event stream deviation detection
    Patent number: 9659063
    Abstract: Certain example embodiments described herein relate to systems and/or methods for event stream deviation detection. More particularly, certain example embodiments described herein relate to maintaining short and long-term statistics of an incoming stream of event data. In certain example embodiments, a deviation is calculated based at least in part on the long-term and short-term statistics. The deviation may then be compared to a threshold value. In certain example embodiments, the estimations required for the statistics are done with Kernel Density Estimators (KDEs).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: SOFTWARE AG
    Inventors: Michael Cammert, Christoph Heinz, Jürgen Kramer, Tobias Riemenschneider
  • Method of mapping reservoir fluid movement using gravity sensors
    Patent number: 9651708
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for acquiring multi-component gravity information for an earth formation. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to estimating the movement of fluid in an earth formation using at least one gravimeter configured to generate multi-component gravity information. The method may include estimating density changes in the earth formation. The method may include estimating a position of the at least one gravimeter. The apparatus may include a multi-component gravimeter configured to estimate gravity vectors for each vector component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Carl M. Edwards, Antonius M. Loermans
  • Inclination angle calculation device
    Patent number: 9651371
    Abstract: An inclination angle calculation device comprises a motion detector for detecting motions of a traveling object during travel, in two directions included in a cross-section surface of the traveling object, the two directions being orthogonal with each other; and an arithmetic unit for calculating an inclination angle of the traveling object during travel in the cross-section surface, using a frequency of the motion in one of the two directions and a rolling frequency in the other direction of the two directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF MARINE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
    Inventor: Yutaka Watanabe
  • Metrology management
    Patent number: 9652729
    Abstract: A method for managing a metrology system includes receiving a part, identifying, with a processing device, a part type associated with the part, retrieving, with the processing device, test rule logic associated with the part type from a database, retrieving, with the processing device, measurement data associated with the identified part type, processing, with the processing device, the measurement data, applying, with the processing device, the test rule logic to the processed measurement data to determine whether the part should be measured, outputting the part responsive to determining that the part should not be measured, and incrementing, with the processing device, a counter and saving a value of the counter in the database responsive to outputting the part responsive to determining that the part should not be measured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: William K. Hoffman, Jr., Timothy L. Holmes, Jonathan Levy, Christopher E. Pepe, Darryl D. Restaino, Eric P. Solecky, Roger M. Young
  • Impedance detector apparatus and method
    Patent number: 9651592
    Abstract: Impedance detection methods and systems are presented for automatic computation of an electrical component impedance value at one or more specific frequencies of interest using quadrature voltage and current values generated by quadrature tracking filters based on sensed or measured voltage and current signals or values and a base frequency input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Russel J. Kerkman, Ahmed Mohamed Sayed Ahmed, Brian J. Seibel, Shiv Gupta, Prathamesh Ramesh Vadhavkar
  • Integrated dip from 3D resistivity tool and borehole imaging tool
    Patent number: 9645275
    Abstract: A method for determining a dip of a geological structure in a subterranean formation, involves generating, using a 3D resistivity analyzer, a first intermediate result describing the dip of the geological structure based on 3D resistivity data collected from a borehole penetrating the subterranean formation. The method further involves generating, using a borehole image analyzer, a second intermediate result describing the dip of the geological structure based on a borehole image collected from the borehole. The method further involves generating, by a computer processor combining the first intermediate result and the second intermediate result based on a pre-determined criterion, an integrated result describing the dip of the geological structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Anish Kumar, Ronald S. Hayden, George Richard Kear, Jeffrey Mark Grant, Elizabeth Ruiz, Souvick Saha, Bill Newberry, Raja Shahnawaz Khan, Steven Eugene Alderman
  • System and method for observing the swimming activity of a person
    Patent number: 9643068
    Abstract: A system for observing a swimming activity of a person includes a waterproof housing (BET) having a motion sensor (MS), and is furnished with fixing means (BEL) for securely fastening the housing (BET) to a part of the body of a user. The system has analysis means (AN) for analyzing the signals transmitted by the motion sensor (MS) to at least one measurement axis and which are adapted for determining the type of swimming of the user as a function of time by using a hidden Markov model with N states corresponding respectively to N types of swimming.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignees: Commissariat A L'energie Atomique et Aux Energies Alternatives, Movea SA
    Inventor: Pierre Jallon
  • Deriving broadband communication system service area for signal leakage detection
    Patent number: 9641263
    Abstract: An improved, adaptive and uniformly applicable estimation of the percentage or fraction of a broadband communication system (BCS) plant that is monitored for signal egress during a given period of time is provided by generating and collecting polygons along all possible routes traversed by BCS service vehicles within a service area, preferably by comparison with a roadway map, to define the service area with improved accuracy. The number of polygons generated and collected is then limited by the number of polygons in which DCS service vehicles have been reported in a given period of time or inspection interval. The limited number of polygons is then divided by the number of polygons generated and collected to determine a fraction or percentage of the BCS system which has been monitored during the given time period and can be used in a computation of a cumulative leakage index (CLI) value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: ComSonics, Inc.
    Inventors: Raymond Gregory Jones, Dennis A. Zimmerman
  • Current sensor and attachment structure of the same
    Patent number: 9638767
    Abstract: In a current sensor for detecting an electric current flowing in a current path, a magnetic field generating element generates a second magnetic field perpendicular to a first magnetic field generated by the electric current of the current path, and a magnetic sensor generates at least one of a first signal containing a sine value according to an angle defined between the second magnetic field and a synthetic magnetic field composed of the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field and a second signal containing a cosine value according to the angle. A signal processing unit includes a calculation circuit that calculates a tangential value according to the angle using the at least one of the first signal and the second signal, and outputs a sensor signal containing the tangential value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kousuke Nomura, Norihiro Kurumado
  • Estimating a baseline of a proximity sensor
    Patent number: 9632179
    Abstract: Described are methods and systems for estimating a baseline of a proximity sensor on an electronic device comprising: collecting proximity sensor data at the electronic device using the proximity sensor; collecting second data using a second source at the electronic device; obtaining a sample of the proximity sensor data at the electronic device when it is determined that no object is proximal to a first face of the electronic device based on the proximity sensor data and based on the second data; and approximating the baseline of the proximity sensor using the obtained sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Tennessee Carmel-Veilleux, Andrew Martin Garber
  • Apparatus for calculating feed value of alfalfa hay using information available at time of baling
    Patent number: 9632070
    Abstract: A method where the weight of the bale is measured by a scale on the baler, the moisture of the bale is measured by sensors on the baler and this information is sent to a processor. Based on compaction properties of the leaf verses the stem of the alfalfa, the processor calculates a feeding value for the hay including protein, energy and relative feed value on the dry density of the bale. Additional inputs such as the compaction setting of the baler and information about the hay being harvested can also be input into the processor for making adjustment to the feeding value calculation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Inventor: Jeffrey S. Roberts