Patents Examined by Kenneth W Good
  • Patent number: 11959997
    Abstract: A method of using a first device to locate a second device is disclosed. The first device, while in a first mode, transmits a first signal and receives a second signal comprising a reflection of the first signal by the second device. The first device determines, based on the received second signal, a position of the second device relative to the first device. The first device transitions to a second mode, and while in the second mode, receives a third signal from the second device. The first device determines, based on the third signal, an orientation of the second device relative to the first device. The first device comprises one or more receiving antennas, and the second device comprises one or more transmitting antennas. The third signal corresponds to a transmitting antenna of the second device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Magic Leap, Inc.
    Inventors: Koon Keong Shee, Jose Felix Rodriguez, Ricardo Arencibia, Aly H. M. Aly
  • Patent number: 11947033
    Abstract: A method for improving dynamic frequency selection (DFS) includes receiving, by an access point, a plurality of pulses in a DFS channel of the access point, determining, by the access point, a plurality of characteristics of the plurality of pulses, varying, by the access point, a threshold for radar detection, and determining, by the access point and based on at least one of the plurality of characteristics, whether the plurality of pulses are radar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
    Inventors: Jean-Francois Gagnon, Andre Beaudin, Myung Cheol Kim
  • Patent number: 11906614
    Abstract: This document describes techniques and systems directed at slow-time modulation for multiple radar channels. A set of transmit channels are modulated using code sequences to phase-modulate transmission signals. A second set of transmit channels are modulated using the same codes for phase modulation as well as using a frequency phase shift. Demodulation is achieved by multiplying received signals by the code sequences. Fast Fourier transforms (FFT) are applied to the received signals to generate a range-Doppler map for each receive channel. A non-coherent integration is performed on the range-Doppler maps to form a range-Doppler average map. The range-Doppler average map is shifted by the frequency phase shift, and the minimal of the range-Doppler average map and the shifted range-Doppler average map is retained. These techniques may reduce the impact of signal residue and increase angular resolution by enabling multiple transmit channels to be utilized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Aptiv Technologies Limited
    Inventors: Zhengyu Peng, Zhengzheng Li, Christopher D. Gianelli
  • Patent number: 11892561
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a system and method for determining a thickness of ice on Radio Frequency (RF) systems The system includes a sensor unit for use in determining the thickness of ice on a surface of a RADAR system having a RADAR antenna, the sensor unit including a sensor unit antenna tunable to a harmonic of a RADAR antenna signal, the harmonic having a frequency within an ice absorption band, wherein the sensor unit antenna emits the harmonic at a first signal strength; and, a sensor unit receiver communicatively coupled to the sensor unit antenna and configured to detect a second signal strength of the harmonic received by the sensor unit antenna.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Nanowave Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Justin Dinsdale Miller, Charles William Tremlett Nicholls
  • Patent number: 11892556
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method and apparatus for generating a radar signal, in which performance of radar detection is ensured while increasing a spectrum efficiency in a radar network. The method comprises generating a set of frequency-modulation waveforms, generating an orthogonal code set, generating a set of coded frequency-modulation waveforms through element operation between the set of frequency-modulation waveforms and the orthogonal code set, calculating an objective function for the set of frequency-modulation waveforms with regard to a different set of coded frequency-modulation waveforms and previous sets of coded frequency-modulation waveforms, and selecting a current polyphase code set as an optimized polyphase code set when a result of current calculation is better or smaller than a result of previous iteration, and performing phase perturbation by replacing an element randomly selected in the current polyphase code set selected as the optimized polyphase code set with another admissible-phase element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
    Inventors: Hyung Jung Kim, Min Soo Kang, Sang In Cho
  • Patent number: 11885908
    Abstract: This application relates to a method for selecting sources of illumination to jam, performed by an apparatus of selecting sources of illumination to jam for passive radar jamming. The method may include, predicting sources of illumination used by a virtual passive radar of interest disposed within a jamming range with respect to the location of a passive radar jammer. The method may also include selecting sources of illumination as candidates for jamming if the signal strength of a target reflection signal received by the virtual passive radar of interest from the sources of illumination is equal to or greater than an acceptable received signal strength. The method may further include picking out which sources of illumination to jam from the sources of illumination selected as candidates for jamming, based on how frequently the virtual passive radar of interest uses each of the selected candidates for jamming.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Agency for Defense Development
    Inventors: Inhwan Jeong, Sanhae Kim, Hyungyu Kwak, Jonghwan Lee, Kyuha Song, Byungnam Lee
  • Patent number: 11879969
    Abstract: A system to provide navigation solutions for vehicle landing guidance comprises onboard aiding sensors, an IMU, a radar altimeter, a map database, and a navigation system including a navigation filter that outputs estimated kinematic state statistics for the vehicle. An onboard processor inputs horizontal and vertical position statistics from the navigation filter into the map database, and computes an estimated ground/object height, ground/object velocity, ground/object acceleration, and error statistics thereof, based on terrain and object map data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Vibhor L. Bageshwar, Zdenek Kana, Milos Sotak
  • Patent number: 11874394
    Abstract: A system may include a processor configured to: receive ambient data from an environment; calculate an average amplitude of the ambient data as a measure of a noise floor; receive a signal of interest found by the signal exceeding a noise riding threshold, the noise riding floor being an upward offset from the noise floor; calculate a running average for amplitude and frequency of the signal of interest; calculate a running variance for the amplitude and the frequency of the signal of interest; use the running average and the running variance to provide an adjustment to limits for modulation detection; use an offset from the noise riding threshold to provide a signal qualification minimum amplitude; and qualify the signal of interest based at least on the signal qualification minimum amplitude.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony Szymanski, Clint W. McLaughlin
  • Patent number: 11858488
    Abstract: Methods, systems and devices for monitoring the stress of a rail, in particular, of continuous welded rail (CWR), providing a device that includes radar processing mechanisms and circuitry which is mountable on a rail to be monitored. The radar unit is sealed in a housing and projects a beam to a fixed target that is within a detection range of the radar unit. The radar unit also includes circuitry that allows programming of readings to take place at predetermined time intervals so changes and the extent of changes in conditions of the rail may be determined, and communicated to a remotely situated monitoring device, which may take place through a gateway or other communication network. The devices also may be used to measure temperature and other properties, rail conditions within a tunnel, such as proximity of the rail to walls, as well as ground condition, and bridge monitoring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Pennsy Digital Inc.
    Inventors: William Lefebvre, Wayne H. Murphy, Zachary Zasada, Zachary Ryan Brook
  • Patent number: 11862865
    Abstract: A target detection device is provided, which includes a transmission array and a signal generator. The transmission array includes a plurality of transmission elements configured to convert an electric signal into a transmission wave. The signal generator generates first and second sets of electric signals, each set being generated with different phase settings. The signal generator groups the transmission elements according to grouping configurations including first and second grouping configurations. In the first grouping configuration, the plurality of transmission elements are grouped into a plurality of groups each having p transmission elements, and, in the second grouping configuration, the plurality of transmission elements are grouped into a plurality of groups each having q transmission elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: FURUNO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shinya Tanimura, Yasunobu Asada
  • Patent number: 11846695
    Abstract: A method of determining a distance between a radio frequency device and a target is disclosed in which the radio frequency device receives a radio frequency signal from the target. The method comprises determining a time domain channel response from the received radio frequency signal, determining an amplitude of a largest peak in the time domain channel response, determining an amplitude of a second, earlier, peak in the time domain channel response, comparing the second peak amplitude to a threshold based on the largest peak amplitude, identifying the largest peak as a shortest path peak if the second peak amplitude is less than the threshold, identifying the second peak as a shortest path peak if the second peak amplitude is greater than the threshold, and calculating the distance between the radio frequency device and the target based on a time corresponding to the shortest path peak.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Nordic Semiconductor ASA
    Inventors: Daniel James Ryan, Per Erik Sandgren, Carsten Wulff
  • Patent number: 11835618
    Abstract: A multiple-target vital sign detector includes a self-injection-locked oscillator (SILO), a chirp up/down converter, a frequency demodulator and a multiple-target vital sign processor. The chirp up/down converter performs conversion from an oscillation signal generated by the SILO to a frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) signal to detect an area and from a received FMCW signal reflected from the area to an injection signal, while the SILO is injected with the injection signal to enter a self-injection-locked state. The locations and vital signs of multiple subjects are extracted from the oscillation signal using the frequency demodulator and the multiple-target vital sign processor. The objective of using the SILO is to improve the sensitivity of the FMCW detection process so as to more effectively distinguish the vital signs of multiple subjects at different locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: NATIONAL SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Tzyy-Sheng Horng, Fu-Kang Wang, Wei-Chih Su, Mu-Cyun Tang, Rezki El Arif
  • Patent number: 11808839
    Abstract: Various arrangements for performing an initial setup process of a sleep tracking device are presented. User input may be received that requests a sleep tracking setup process be performed. In response to the user input, a detection process may be performed based on data received from the radar sensor to determine whether a user is present and static. In response to the detection process determining that the user is present and static, a consistency analysis may be performed over a time period to assess a duration of time that the user is present and static. Based on the consistency analysis, sleep tracking may be activated such that when the user is detected in bed via the radar sensor, the user's sleep is tracked.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Dongeek Shin, Michael Dixon, Desmond Chik, Ajay Kannan, Andrew William Goldenson
  • Patent number: 11799537
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to radar signal processing apparatuses and methods. As may be implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments, digital signals representative of received reflections of radar signals transmitted towards a target are mathematically processed to provide or construct a matrix pencil based on or as a function of a forward-backward matrix. Eigenvalues of the matrix pencil are computed and an estimation of the direction of arrival (DoA) of the target is output based on the computed eigenvalues.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Dongyin Ren, Michael Andreas Staudenmaier, Maik Brett
  • Patent number: 11782154
    Abstract: Various embodiments described herein provide for a terrain-aided location determination using a range/angle radar altimetry. Range/angle radar systems use vertical synthetic aperture radar measurements which do not include any cross-track resolution, such that if a range/Doppler cloud from a single VSAR image is compared to a regular DEM, there can be ambiguity in determining the cross-track position. By modifying the DEM to inherently include additional terrain signature information that could be compared to VSAR measurement, the limitation can be overcome, and a single range/angle radar system can provide an accurate position without the additional complexity of a range/angle/angle radar system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC
    Inventors: George R. Sloan, Tucker Caelan Ellis Haydon
  • Patent number: 11782149
    Abstract: Embodiments are provided for managing the operation of sensors in an electronic device. According to certain aspects, the electronic device may detect a change in motion from an initial set of sensor data generated by a sensor(s). A memory cache may store the initial set of sensor data or additional sensor data generated by the sensor(s). The electronic device may initiate a supplemental algorithm that analyzes the cached data. Based on the analysis of the cached data and whether the change in motion is confirmed or whether additional motion is detected, the electronic device may manage the operation of the supplemental algorithm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Andrew Felch, Christopher Findeisen, JinJie Chen, Mark Alexander, Shang Shi, Zhuo Wang
  • Patent number: 11782151
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) sensor disposed along a radio-frequency transmission line between a signal generator and an antenna. The VSWR sensor may gather VSWR measurements from radio-frequency signals transmitted by the signal generator over the transmission line. Control circuitry may identify a variation in the VSWR measurements over time and may compare the variation to a threshold value to determine whether an external object in the vicinity of the antenna is animate or inanimate. The control circuitry may reduce the maximum transmit power level of the antenna when the external object is animate and may maintain or increase the maximum transmit power level when the external object is inanimate. This may serve to maximize the wireless performance of the electronic device while also ensuring that the device complies with regulatory limits on radio-frequency energy exposure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Joonhoi Hur, Andreas Menkhoff, Bernhard Sogl, Jochen Schrattenecker, Rastislav Vazny
  • Patent number: 11774603
    Abstract: The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus for determining the status of coupled assets during transport. According to a first preferred embodiment, a method of the present invention preferably includes triggering a set of tracking devices to transmit time stamp data indicating when the tracked assets cross pre-set speed thresholds. The present invention preferably further includes comparing the received time stamp data to equivalent data points from other assets and identifying unique pairs of assets which crossed the same speed thresholds at similar times and positions (i.e. matching velocity profiles). The system then designates the unique pair of assets as coupled and may apply custom tracking rules and power saving algorithms to the coupled assets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: ORBCOMM, INC.
    Inventors: Kenn Humborg, Patrick Cahill
  • Patent number: 11774573
    Abstract: A system for determining a stationary state of a rail vehicle on a track includes a first radar mounted at an end of the rail vehicle and a second radar mounted at another end of the rail vehicle. A speed sensor is mounted on the rail vehicle. A series of fixed reflective track features are found along the track. A processing unit, communicably connected with the speed sensor, the first radar and the second radar receives data from the first radar and the second radar corresponding to the distance to the fixed reflective track features and determines the stationary state or low-speed condition of the rail vehicle and checks the state or condition by comparing it with an output of the speed sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: THALES CANADA INC.
    Inventors: Adam Le, Tyler Daoust, David Beach, Alon Green
  • Patent number: 11762074
    Abstract: A position calibration method including, moving body information including first global estimated position information indicating global position information recognized as a geographic position of the moving body, the method including: extracting local estimated position information indicating a position of the moving body within the detection target region from information acquired by the sensor unit; calculating second global estimated position information estimated as the geographic position of the moving body based on the local estimated position information; and performing calibration of third global estimated position information held as a geographic position of the sensor unit when a determination value obtained from the difference between the first global estimated position information and the second global estimated position information exceeds a preset threshold value and based on a result of calibration processing in which a difference between the first global estimated position information and the
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Mikikane Hirohata