Patents Examined by Jonathan Teixeira Moffat
  • Patent number: 7505851
    Abstract: Multicomponent induction measurements are used to estimate horizontal and vertical resistivities of an earth formation. From these resistivity estimates, Net/gross sand thicknesses may be estimated. These are indicative of the position of the well within a deep water channel sequence. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract which will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2009
    Assignee: Baker Hughes Incorporated
    Inventors: Adriaan A. Bal, David J. Prosser, Tsili Wang
  • Patent number: 7505853
    Abstract: Since ultrasonic velocities in anisotropic media can change by a factor of 3 or more depending on the direction of propagation, accounting for these changes is extremely important. Also many anisotropic materials are made up of multiple layers of varying orientation, hence the need to account for refraction at ply boundaries. In the present invention, an algorithm is used to calculate these velocities and travel times and properly account for refraction phenomena. Specifically a multilayer SAFT algorithm has been developed that will calculate the time shift, shift and sum A-scan waveforms in layered anisotropic media at any given depth, ply orientation, and number of plies. The algorithm showed an improvement in signal to noise ratio with synthetic data as was expected. This algorithm can be used as a replacement for homogenizing material properties in layered media and will calculate time shifts with increased accuracy since exact material properties are used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2009
    Assignee: San Diego State University Research Foundation
    Inventors: Cody Royce Engstrand, Ronald Alan Kline
  • Patent number: 7502705
    Abstract: A system for identifying a subset of sensors to sample to reduce the frequency of sensor access. The system determines rise times and records values for the sensors in the system. A time criticality of the sensors is determined based on the rise times. The system processes the sensors by first creating sensor subsets based on one or more constraints on the sensors. The system monitors the values of the sensors in a sensor subset and flags a sensor when it makes a determination that, prior to a next scheduled sampling of the sensor subset, the value of a sensor in the monitored sensor subset will exceed a threshold constraint. The system moves those flagged sensors to a second sensor subset which complies with the sensor's constraints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Andreas Bieswanger, Michael S. Floyd, Andrew J. Geissler, Soraya Ghiasi, Hye-Young McCreary, Guillermo J. Silva, Malcolm S. Ware
  • Patent number: 7502692
    Abstract: A method and a computer program product for estimating the true intrinsic relaxation time T2 and the internal gradient Gint for a multi-frequency nuclear magnetic resonance imaging tool for well logging includes providing at least two frequencies in a plurality of echo trains, evaluating the signal decay in each echo train, quantifying the signal decay and correlating the signal decay to the internal gradient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2009
    Assignee: Baker Hughes Incorporated
    Inventor: Songhua Chen
  • Patent number: 7499818
    Abstract: A system for developing sampling plans includes a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) that inspects features of objects. The system includes an input module that is used to input inspection criteria to generate a sampling plan for said CMM and that is used to selectively modify said inspection criteria to develop multiple sampling plans. The system includes a storage device that stores said inspection criteria and a control module that controls the CMM using said inspection criteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2009
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard L. Engel
  • Patent number: 7499833
    Abstract: A sensor includes transducer(s) for observing a region, and produces raw data representing the observed object. The raw data is processed to produce evidence signals representing one or more characteristics of the object. Taxonomic (type) classification is performed by a method using N Bernoulli trials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2009
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Mark A. Friesel, Joseph R. Mingrone
  • Patent number: 7496475
    Abstract: Methods of providing maintenance management of a machine are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method involves identifying a machine component failure that, if not repaired, will result in a functional failure of the machine. A criticality factor is assigned to the machine component failure based on at least a probability of occurrence of the functional failure and a consequence of the functional failure to a machine user. A maintenance task is generated to repair the machine component failure, and a triggering condition that activates the maintenance task is defined. The method further involves conducting a machine repair in response to a detection of the triggering condition, and maintaining a record that includes information relating to the conducted machine repair. The method of providing maintenance management is also modified based on at least the record.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2009
    Assignee: Solar Turbines Incorporated
    Inventors: Brian Dara Byrne, Kevin Brady, Arthur Stack
  • Patent number: 7487059
    Abstract: A method for diagnosing the health of a transducer may include transmitting a signal to a transducer to cause the transducer to transmit a stress wave into an object being monitored, wherein the signal has a predetermined frequency range or bandwidth. The method may also include receiving response data for the transducer and transforming the response data to data representative of an impedance curve of impedance versus frequency for the predetermined frequency range. The method may further include extracting selected parameters from the impedance curve to diagnose the health of the transducer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2009
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Christopher L. Davis, Justin D. Kearns, V. John Mathews
  • Patent number: 7474975
    Abstract: Making use of the values of error items quantified during full n-port calibration, an indicator of whether or not all calibration steps have been uniformly conducted (calibration consistency) is calculated and the result of the calibration is confirmed based on this indicator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2009
    Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Yasuaki Komatsu
  • Patent number: 7454294
    Abstract: Clinical data that are measured at a plurality of sequential time points are interpreted by monitoring the Z-value of the clinical data. The Z-value of the measured data is calculated at each of the time points. The calculated Z-values are plotted and compared against a pre-selected Z-value, which may be Z=5, in one exemplary embodiment. The clinical data are determined to have undergone a statistically significant change, compared to a baseline value BV of the data, when the calculated Z-value for the measured data is greater than or substantially equal to the pre-selected Z-value. In this way, signal detection from biomarker data may be enhanced. Also, the toxicity level of drugs that are tested in clinical trials may be determined in a more reliable fashion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2008
    Inventor: Gordon F. Kapke
  • Patent number: 7447601
    Abstract: A power supply controller determines the value of an input power and uses the value of the input power to regulate a value of the output voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2008
    Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Francois Lhermite, Joel Turchi
  • Patent number: 7433784
    Abstract: The properties of a water-lain sediment body are determined from a measurement of grain size distribution and deposit thickness at one location in the body is disclosed. The flow properties at the measured location are determined, the flow properties are extrapolated back to the inlet through which the depositing flow was emitted, at least one property of the water-lain sediment throughout the sediment body is determined by modeling the flow properties using the extrapolated flow properties at the inlet as a boundary condition. The flow properties associated with the sediment body include flow velocity, suspended sediment volume fractions, deposition time, and flow height. The properties of the water-lain sediments include, in addition to the flow properties associated with deposition of the sediments, the thickness of the sediment body, the size of the body, the shape of the body, and the grain size distribution at each point within the body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Max Deffenbaugh, David C. Hoyal, Neal L. Adair, Chun Huh
  • Patent number: 7430487
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer-usable medium for implementing a programmable DMA master with data checking utilizing a drone system controller. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a drone processor generates a collection of random data and stores a first and second copy of the collection of random data in a first and second memory location in a drone memory. The drone processor writes a third copy of the collection of random data in a processor memory. When the drone processor retrieves the third copy from the processor memory, the drone processor writes the third copy in the second memory location in the drone memory. When the drone processor compares the first copy with the third copy, the results of the compare is written in a status location within the drone processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert W. Berry, Jr., Michael Criscolo, Christopher J. Kuruts, James P. Kuruts, Steven J. Smolski