Patents Examined by Joshua T Sanders
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Patent number: 10599119Abstract: A ladder-program managing device includes: a database that has a ladder-program-storing region in which ladder program for individually controlling a plurality of pieces of machinery are stored, and that contains ladder-program-history information storing, in association with each other, identification information for identifying contents of alterations that have already been applied to the plurality of pieces of machinery and correction programs required to perform the alterations; and a database managing portion that manages the database, wherein the database managing portion is provided with an identification-information-searching portion that searches for, in the ladder-program-history information, identification information corresponding to an alteration content to be applied to an alteration-target machinery, and a merging portion that identifies the correction program corresponding to the searched identification information in the ladder-program-history information, and that merges the correction progrType: GrantFiled: November 27, 2017Date of Patent: March 24, 2020Assignee: FANUC CORPORATIONInventor: Noritake Nagashima
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Patent number: 10599137Abstract: A safety control system has a control unit with safety control logic, a safety sensor arrangement, a machine arrangement operable in different operation modes, each operation mode having a different productivity, the control unit receiving and evaluating input from the safety sensor arrangement, and, in reaction to evaluation result(s), activating an operation mode determined by the safety control logic, the safety sensor arrangement having at least two functionally redundant subsystems, control unit input including information indicating availability of the functionally redundant subsystems, the control logic being configured to activate normal operation mode with normal productivity if input indicates availability of all subsystems, activate fail-stop operation mode with zero productivity if input indicates unavailability of all subsystems, activate fail-operate operation mode with productivity less than normal but above zero if input indicates at least temporary unavailability of at least one and availabilType: GrantFiled: August 1, 2017Date of Patent: March 24, 2020Assignee: ABB AGInventors: Fan Dai, Bjoern Matthias, Hao Ding, Christoph Byner, Yauheni Veryha
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Patent number: 10594506Abstract: A device information acquirer acquires device information of each electrical device of a plurality of electrical devices from a control apparatus. A device information display associates and displays on a screen an identifier, an expected installation location, and a device state for each electrical device based on the device information of each electrical device acquired by the device information acquirer. The device information acquirer acquires from the control apparatus the device state information of an electrical device of interest newly collected by the control apparatus after the electrical device installed at the expected installation location of the electrical device of interest is operated by the user. The device information display explicitly shows on the screen whether the device state of the electrical device has changed due to the operation by the user based on the device state information of the electrical device of interest acquired by the device information acquirer.Type: GrantFiled: November 14, 2013Date of Patent: March 17, 2020Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric CorporationInventors: Yuki Ogawa, Hirotoshi Yano, Masaaki Yabe, Satoshi Minezawa, Ichiro Maruyama
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Patent number: 10564614Abstract: A computer-implemented method for progressive profiling in a home automation system is described. Data related to a premises and an occupant of the premises may be analyzed and one or more observations may be made based on the analysis of the data. Upon detecting one or more conditions associated with the one or more observations made, an offer to perform one or more actions may be communicated to the occupant.Type: GrantFiled: January 28, 2015Date of Patent: February 18, 2020Assignee: Vivint, Inc.Inventors: Jefferson Lyman, Nic Brunson, Wade Shearer, Mike Warner, Stefan Walger
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Patent number: 10530154Abstract: A control apparatus includes a receiving unit, a demand response unit, a power consumption fluctuation unit, a fluctuation-amount-estimation unit and an adjustment control execution unit. The receiving unit receives a demand pertaining to power consumption sent from an energy management apparatus. The demand response unit executes a demand-response control in order to adjust total power consumption of a plurality of devices set up in a property in accordance with the demand. The power consumption fluctuation unit executes a non-demand-response control in order to cause total power consumption to fluctuate regardless of the demand. The fluctuation-amount-estimation unit estimates a power consumption that will fluctuate due to the non-demand-response control during the demand-response control.Type: GrantFiled: July 2, 2014Date of Patent: January 7, 2020Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.Inventor: Chikara Maeda
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Patent number: 10488839Abstract: Disclosed are a method and apparatus for controlling and managing an industry process using an industry internet operating system. In the method, interfaces with same type of function from different manufacturers are integrated in a function interface library created over a development platform to assist a developer in programming PLC rapidly and more efficiently to address problems in the prior art of lower reuse rate of codes, degrading efficiency of programming, because the PLC has to be programmed respectively for terminals from different manufacturers. In the invention, a framework of a software defined industry process, and a unified set of industry object models are created so that various integrated heterogeneous field devices, and an industry production process to be controlled and managed can communicate and interoperate with each other in an industry internet architecture to thereby accommodate highly real-time and efficient production in a discrete industry and a process industry.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 2017Date of Patent: November 26, 2019Assignee: KYLAND TECHNOLOGY CO., LTDInventors: Qiyun Jiang, Shengqin Xu, Weikang Guo
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Patent number: 10488828Abstract: Multi-resonant control of a 3 degree-of-freedom (heave-pitch-surge) wave energy converter enables energy capture that can be in the order of three times the energy capture of a heave-only wave energy converter. The invention uses a time domain feedback control strategy that is optimal based on the criteria of complex conjugate control. The multi-resonant control can also be used to shift the harvested energy from one of the coupled modes to another, enabling the elimination of one of the actuators otherwise required in a 3 degree-of-freedom wave energy converter. This feedback control strategy does not require wave prediction; it only requires the measurement of the buoy position and velocity.Type: GrantFiled: December 4, 2017Date of Patent: November 26, 2019Assignees: National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, Michigan Technological University, South Dakota Board of RegentsInventors: Ossama Abdelkhalik, Shangyan Zou, Rush D. Robinett, III, David G. Wilson, Giorgio Bacelli, Ryan Geoffrey Coe, Umesh Korde
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Patent number: 10478935Abstract: A deburring apparatus including: a robot that uses a deburring tool to deburr an object supported by a support in a machine tool, a visual sensor, a relative movement mechanism for causing relative movement between the visual sensor and the object supported by the support; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to conduct: an operation process that operates the relative movement mechanism based on a visual sensor relative movement program for controlling an operation of the relative movement mechanism so that a ridge of the object supported by the support is detected by the visual sensor during the relative movement; and a deburring operation program generation process which generates a deburring operation program by using the detected ridge obtained by the visual sensor when the relative movement mechanism is operated based on the visual sensor relative movement program.Type: GrantFiled: December 5, 2017Date of Patent: November 19, 2019Assignee: FANUC CORPORATIONInventors: Yihua Gu, Takashi Satou
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Patent number: 10463110Abstract: The present invention provides a method (200) of modifying a shoe-last, comprising: acquiring (201) current digital data representing a foot shape; providing (202) reference digital data representing a shoe-last shape to be modified; comparing (203) the current digital data with the reference digital data to design patch shapes and patch positions; providing a shoe-last corresponding to the reference digital data; producing (204) patch elements corresponding to the patch shapes; and applying (204) the patch elements on the shoe-last in accordance with the patch positions obtaining a modified shoe-last. The production and the application of the patch elements on the shoe-last are performed by employing an additive manufacturing technique.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 2018Date of Patent: November 5, 2019Assignee: Else Corp. S.r.l.Inventor: Andrey Golub
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Patent number: 10459429Abstract: Methods and systems display a computer-aided design (CAD) model with finish material specificity. An example embodiment begins by defining a CAD model in memory where the CAD model represents a real world physical object and the CAD model comprises a plurality of parts. Next, the example embodiment obtains spreadsheet data that relates material finishes with item numbers, and then, reformats the obtained spreadsheet data into a structured database. In turn, indications associating the parts or model elements of the CAD model with the item numbers are received and the CAD model is automatically displayed with the parts having the material finishes based on the structured database and the received indications of item numbers associated with the parts of the CAD model.Type: GrantFiled: December 23, 2016Date of Patent: October 29, 2019Assignee: DASSAULT SYSTEMES 3DEXCITE CORP.Inventors: Alan Lilly, Thomas Celusnak
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Patent number: 10423129Abstract: A computer-based method controls a dynamical system in an uncertain environment within a bounded probability of failure. The dynamical system has a state space and a control space. The method includes diffusing a risk constraint corresponding to the bounded probability of failure into a martingale that represents a level of risk tolerance associated with the dynamical system over time. The state space and the control space of the dynamical system are augmented with the martingale to create an augmented model with an augmented state space and an augmented control space. The method may include iteratively constructing one or more Markov Decision Processes (MDPs), with each iterative MDP represents an incrementally refined model of the dynamical system. The method further includes computing a first solution based on the augmented model or, if additional time was available, based on one of the MDP iterations.Type: GrantFiled: July 26, 2017Date of Patent: September 24, 2019Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyInventors: Vu Anh Huynh, Emilio Frazzoli
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Patent number: 10421238Abstract: The hardware and software properties of a three-dimensional printer can be queried and applied to select suitable directly printable models for the printer, or to identify situations where a new machine-ready model must be generated. The properties may be any properties relevant to fabrication including, e.g., physical properties of the printer, printer firmware, user settings, hardware configurations, and so forth. A printer may respond to configuration queries with a dictionary of capabilities or properties, and this dictionary may be used to select suitable models, or determine when a new model must be created. Similarly, when a printable model is sent to the printer, metadata for the printable model may be compared to printer properties in the dictionary to ensure that the model can be fabricated by the printer.Type: GrantFiled: December 31, 2014Date of Patent: September 24, 2019Assignee: MakerBot Industries, LLCInventors: Alison N. Leonard, Joseph Sadusk
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Patent number: 10409273Abstract: A method of monitoring power usage of a load includes defining one or more parameters of the load that vary with a mode of operation of the load, receiving measurement data related to the one or more parameters of the load over a first period of time, recording the measurement data, determining a plurality of groups, each group defining a set of measurements in a continuous range of values, each group having a lower threshold value and an upper threshold value, the lower and upper threshold values defined by having less than a minimum threshold number of recorded measurements of the lower and upper threshold values, and associating a mode of operation with each of the plurality of groups.Type: GrantFiled: January 16, 2013Date of Patent: September 10, 2019Assignee: SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC USA, INC.Inventors: John C. Van Gorp, Shawn Edward Balding, Jacques Roland van Campen
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Patent number: 10401825Abstract: According to an example, a method for area occupancy information extraction may include receiving a signal from a sensor, and determining a number of occupants moving within a first area based on the signal. The method may further include determining when an occupant is moving and a direction of motion of the occupant based on the signal, and determining a most likely trajectory based on the direction of motion of the occupant. The method may also include controlling, by a processor, a service in the first area based on the determination of the number of occupants, the determination of when the occupant is moving and the direction of motion of the occupant, and/or the determination of the most likely trajectory.Type: GrantFiled: January 31, 2013Date of Patent: September 3, 2019Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LPInventors: Alan A. McReynolds, Cullen E. Bash, Niru Kumari, Geoff M. Lyon, Amip J. Shah, Zhikui Wang, Rongliang Zhou
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Patent number: 10387581Abstract: A method of designing an optimized heating and cooling system includes: (1) automatically importing data from an energy model into an optimization model; (2) simulating energy use of a virtual heating and cooling system operating a thermal source or sink with the optimization model based upon the data from the energy model to obtain an optimized system design; (3) developing controls for an actual heating and cooling system based upon the optimized system design; and (4) automatically exporting the controls directly to a controller for the actual heating and cooling system.Type: GrantFiled: September 5, 2014Date of Patent: August 20, 2019Assignee: Greensleeves, LLCInventor: Stephen A. Hamstra
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Patent number: 10378513Abstract: To efficiently nm a wind turbine in varying wind speeds, the wind turbine may be configured to switch between two different electrical configurations that offer different efficiencies depending on wind speed. For example, a star configuration may be preferred during low wind speeds while a delta configuration is preferred for high wind speeds. Before switching, the power output by the turbine's generator may be driven to zero. Doing so, however, removes load from the rotor blades which cause the rotor speed to increase. Instead, the rotor speed may be controlled such that the speed stays at or above the speed of the rotor immediately before the generator power is ramped down. Maintaining rotor speed at or slightly above the current speed while switching between electrical configurations may mitigate the torque change experienced by the turbine and reduce the likelihood of structural failure.Type: GrantFiled: September 3, 2014Date of Patent: August 13, 2019Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/SInventors: Martin Ansbjerg Kjær, Peter Koldkjær, Rasmus Molgaard Hviid Knudsen, Maryam Soleimanzadeh, Martin Møller Sørensen, Ali Zaib, Arvishwa Kumar Singh, Poul Brandt Christensen, Michael Houlind Jensen
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Patent number: 10343335Abstract: Certain examples described herein relate to producing three-dimensional objects using additive manufacturing systems. These examples combine the use of material volume coverage vectors to define object data with octree data structures and models for tracking material placement error and available volumes. Material volume coverage vectors correspond to a volumes of three-dimensional objects and define a probabilistic distribution of materials available to an additive manufacturing system including combinations of said materials. In certain examples, a bottom level of the error tracking octree model is constructed to contain at least a portion of the data values for a set of obtained material volume coverage vectors. This is then used in an error distribution process to generate manufacturing control data for the additive manufacturing system.Type: GrantFiled: July 15, 2015Date of Patent: July 9, 2019Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Inventors: Jan Morovic, Peter Morovic, Jay S. Gondek
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Patent number: 10345800Abstract: Monitoring of a machine is performed by an acoustic monitor which acquires, through an acoustic sensor, acoustic signals from a vicinity of a machine, while the machine is operative. A processor calculates a frequency spectrum of a segment of the acquired acoustic signals, determines boundaries of a frequency band to be analyzed and extracts, from the calculated frequency spectrum, a base frequency window in the determined boundaries, and one or more harmonics windows of harmonics of the determined boundaries. For each of the base and harmonic windows a weight based on a distribution of values of frequencies in the windows is determined and a parameter of operation of the machine is calculated as a function of a weighted sum of the base and harmonic windows. The operation of the machine is evaluated responsive to the calculated parameter.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2016Date of Patent: July 9, 2019Assignee: 3D SIGNALS LTD.Inventors: Yair Lavi, Amit Ashkenazi, Ofer Affias, Amnon Shenfeld
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Patent number: 10331095Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relate to intelligent automation control of an environment based at least on intelligence associated with behavior of an operator and/or equipment.Type: GrantFiled: March 25, 2015Date of Patent: June 25, 2019Assignee: Cox CommunicationsInventors: Dipan Patel, Nadine Finnerty, Edgar V. Shrum, Jr., Andrew Goldberg, Haynes Taylor
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Patent number: 10305284Abstract: A data measurement device in a high voltage direct current (HVDC) system is provided. The data measurement device includes: a power measurement unit measuring pieces of power related data; and a control unit determining measurement times at which the pieces of power related data are measured respectively, and performing control based on pieces of power related data having a same measurement time among the pieces of power related data.Type: GrantFiled: March 10, 2016Date of Patent: May 28, 2019Assignee: LSIS CO., LTD.Inventor: Eun Jae Lee