Patents Examined by Kevin J. Teska
  • Patent number: 6728666
    Abstract: An evolvable circuit includes a plurality of reconfigurable switches, a plurality of transistors within a region of the circuit, the plurality of transistors having terminals, the plurality of transistors being coupled between a power source terminal and a power sink terminal so as to be capable of admitting power between the power source terminal and the power sink terminal, the plurality of transistors being coupled so that every transistor terminal to transistor terminal coupling within the region of the circuit comprises a reconfigurable switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2004
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Inventors: Adrian Stoica, Carlos Harold Salazar-Lazaro
  • Patent number: 6725184
    Abstract: The ability to perform Assembly/Disassembly analysis of one or more components of the geometric model (e.g., a CAD model) of a multi-component assembly is helpful for design, construction and tear-down, maintenance (in-place and replacement), and reuse/recycling of the assembly. To facilitate assembly and disassembly analysis of geometric models, methods have been developed which allow generating, editing, validating and animating/digitizing assembly/disassembly sequences and directions for 3D geometric models, e.g., CAD models. These methods allow assembly/disassembly analysis to be performed based on non-contact geometric reasoning (i.e., spatial reasoning rather than contact reasoning) to determine an optimal non-interfering sequence (a valid sequence) to disassemble/assemble the modeled components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Rajit Gadh, Hari Srinivasan
  • Patent number: 6718253
    Abstract: A method for forming an actuating variable to be output periodically by a control unit in output periods for controlling an apparatus, in particular the ignition or fuel injection of internal combustion engines, includes reading output signals of at least two sensors into the control unit and ascertaining individual components of the actuating variable based on the output signals. The sensor output signals are read-in and the individual components are determined periodically at intervals of one read-in period or one determination period being equal to or a multiple of the output period of the actuating variable. The read-in period of a sensor output signal is dependent on a speed of variation of the sensor output signal, and in particular it increases as the maximum speed of variation of the sensor output signal decreases. The determination period of each individual component is dependent on the read-in periods of the sensor output signals involved in each individual component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2004
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Helmut Wellnhofer, Reinhold Dirnberger
  • Patent number: 6714852
    Abstract: An engine crankshaft torque observer (10) and method of operation. An engine combustion process (14) is modeled (26) to develop modeled pressure estimates of combustion chamber pressures in engine cylinders according to certain engine inputs, such as fuel (20), EGR (22), and timing (24), that influence combustion chamber pressures. Kinematics (16) relating reciprocal motion of pistons in the engine cylinders to an engine crankshaft and engine friction (18) relating running friction of the engine to engine crankshaft rotation are also modeled (28; 30). A processor processes the certain engine inputs through the combustion process model to develop modeled pressure estimates which are processed through the kinematics model to develop modeled positive torque contribution due to combustion processes and through the friction model to develop modeled torque loss due to running friction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2004
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Donald Lorenz, Roy Inge Davis
  • Patent number: 6714901
    Abstract: An electronic device for processing image data, particularly image data pertaining to medical procedures, includes a user interface with force feedback (4) corresponding to tool reactions, a “collision” module (18) for estimating a point of intersection between a straight line embodying a displacement derived from the action of the tool and a surface mesh of a given object, and an internal forces module (16) which estimates internal forces exerted on nodes of a first part of at least a volume mesh of the object, on the basis of a displacement applied on nodes pertaining to the surface mesh containing a point of intersection, of boundary conditions, and of node tensors and link tensors, from matrices of rigidity, and a reaction module (20) for determining the reaction force of the object corresponding to its deformation estimated on the basis of the internal forces, such that the force generated by the user interface (4) is balanced by reaction force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2004
    Assignee: Inria Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique
    Inventors: Stéphace Cotin, Hervé Delingette, Nicholas Ayache
  • Patent number: 6711533
    Abstract: The delay time control entails a static term and a corrective term and a current sampling time, the control calculated at the preceding sampling time is applied and the control intended to be applied at the following sampling time is determined. The determination of the following control is made from the working point of the generator, estimated at the following time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2004
    Assignee: GE Medical Systems, SA
    Inventors: Nicolas Aymard, Jérôme Boichot, Emmanuel Godoy
  • Patent number: 6704696
    Abstract: A designing apparatus comprises symbol mark memory for storing fluid controllers usable in fluid control devices in terms of symbol marks representing the functions, fluid channels and contours of the controllers, and a flowchart preparing device for preparing a flowchart of a fluid control device represented by symbol marks. The flowchart preparing device successively selects controllers, such as valves and massflow controllers, from a symbol mark file in the memory, arranges the selected controllers on a screen as suitably positioned, automatically selects a suitable coupling member for interconnecting adjacent two of the controllers from a coupling member data file and automatically arranges te controllers and the coupling members thus selected to prepare a flowchart.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: Fujikin Incorporated
    Inventors: Michio Kuramochi, Masayuki Hatano, Hiroshi Ogawa
  • Patent number: 6704695
    Abstract: A method and structure for creating a photomask data set includes inputting a design data set, creating a simulated printed data set by applying a lithography simulation model to chosen levels of the design data set, merging each chosen level of the design data set with each corresponding level of the simulated printed data set in order to produce a merged design data set, applying at least one test to the merged design data set, correcting the design data set based on results of the test to produce a corrected design data set, repeating the creating of the simulated printed data, merging, applying the test and correcting using the corrected design data set until the corrected design data set passes the test, and outputting the corrected design data set as the photomask data set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Orest Bula, Daniel C. Cole, Edward W. Conrad, William C. Leipold
  • Patent number: 6704694
    Abstract: A ray-based interaction system and related techniques are described. The ray-based interaction system and rendering techniques can be used to display haptic interactions between objects having one or more dimensions and a haptic probe modeled as a line segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Cagatay Basdogan, Chih-Hao Ho, Mandayam A. Srinivasan
  • Patent number: 6701290
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for evaluating an integrated circuit design to determine whether a pass FET is part of a RAM cell structure in the integrated circuit design. The apparatus comprises a computer capable of being configured to execute a rules checker program which analyzes information relating to the integrated circuit to determine whether a pass FET in the integrated circuit is part of a RAM cell structure of the integrated circuit. The rules checker program of the present invention evaluates each pass FET which is channel-connected at one of its terminals to a latch node and determines whether that pass FET is channel-connected at one of its other terminals to the drain or source terminal of at least one other pass FET. If so, the pass FET being evaluated is part of a RAM cell structure. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rules checker program evaluates nodes in an integrated circuit to detect latch nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: John G McBride
  • Patent number: 6701288
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for designing and editing a distribution system for a building is disclosed. Elements of such distribution systems and requirements of relevant standard, are stored in a computer's memory. Building parameters are entered into a computer manually. The user identify the standard to be followed and the element to be optimized. The system divides the building into sections as appropriate to the user identified standard. The system then computes layout needed to comply with the selected standard. The layout is routed and sized to avoid building structural members, yet the elements of the layout are optimized for size and length. The apparatus prints out a hard copy of the design layout which can include an elements listing needed to complete the system. The design layout as well as the building parameters can be edited. The edited layout is checked for compliance with the identified standard as well as avoidance of building parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: First Graphics, Inc.
    Inventors: Linda M. Normann, Charles L. Hines, III, Gene Michael Cox
  • Patent number: 6687660
    Abstract: A reservoir in payrock in analysed using finite element simulation. A reservoir engineer selects an appropriate model from a set of template models, each including a set of polygons in plan and layers in elevation. The polygons are defined in objects instantiated from classes by control points and the layers as depth values of control points. A pattern object sweeps rotationally about a wellbore in a wellbore polygon to define a pattern of elements, fewer in number with distance from the wellbore. A polygon object also sweeps linearly from a generator line in the direction of a base line. The generator and base lines correspond to polygon boundaries. Finite element simulation is performed with the model so derived.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: Kepler Research & Development Limited
    Inventors: James Robinson, John Campbell
  • Patent number: 6678726
    Abstract: A method and system is provided for a message queuing computer to automatically determine system topology information regarding its location in a message queuing system. Such topology information includes a message queuing address that may include a message queuing site and a message queuing connected network on which the message queuing computer currently resides. Upon initialization of its message queuing software, the message queuing computer determines if there have been changes in its transport network indicating that it has moved to a new location in the message queuing system. If so, the message queuing computer broadcasts a request for potentially existing message queuing servers around it to provide the topology information concerning its current location. If no reply to the broadcast request is received, the computer sends a datagram to a server at a known network address for the topology information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventor: Lior Moshaiov
  • Patent number: 6672776
    Abstract: Provided are a method, article of manufacture, and apparatus for estimating delays of networks. An automated design system comprises a computer configured to identify a critical path in a network, calculate a delay for the technology-mapped version of the network, calculate a delay for the technology-independent version of the network, calculate a scale factor from the technology-mapped and technology-independent delays, and apply the scale factor to all the delays in the technology-independent network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Cadence Design Systems
    Inventors: Johnson Chan Limqueco, Hong Li, Krishna Belkhale, Devadas Varma
  • Patent number: 6668315
    Abstract: A processor based computer system having dependency checking logic and a register stack, wherein the system overrides the dependency logic such that move instructions associated with the stack registers may be executed in parallel. The system operates such that it can be determined whether a stack underflow exception has occurred and if it has, the move instructions can be flushed, and a micro-code handler algorithm invoked that operates to allow execution of the move instructions in parallel without a stack underflow exception.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2003
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Kevin David Safford, Patrick Knebel
  • Patent number: 6662144
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for designing and editing a distribution system for a building is disclosed. Elements of such distribution systems and requirements of relevant standard, are stored in a computer's memory. Building parameters are entered into a computer manually. The user identify the standard to be followed and the element to be optimized. The system divides the building into sections as appropriate to the user identified standard. The system then computes layout needed to comply with the selected standard. The layout is routed and sized to avoid building structural members, yet the elements of the layout are optimized for size and length. The apparatus prints out a hard copy of the design layout which can include an elements listing needed to complete the system. The design layout as well as the building parameters can be edited. The edited layout is checked for compliance with the identified standard as well as avoidance of building parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: First Graphics, Inc.
    Inventors: Linda M. Normann, Charles L. Hines, III, Gene Michael Cox
  • Patent number: 6662148
    Abstract: Spinal modeling is based on a concept called spinal energy which assumes that the spine assumes a shape to minimize spinal energy. Spinal energy depends on parameters called stiffness coefficients. These parameters can be determined from human data which, by hypothesis, are universal for a large class of humans. The method adapts Newton's method to the manifold SO(3)n to find a solution of model of the human spine. Where basins of attraction are small in Newton's method, homotopy methods are introduced to move from known solutions to unknown solutions. By setting the gradient of the spinal energy to zero, Newton's method is used to solve the inverse problem of finding stiffness coefficients from human data. A new approach to improving deformed spines uses the modeling method based on spinal energy. This approach preserves maximally the range of motion of the spine. The technique used is vertebraplasty; i.e.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Roy L. Adler, Jean-Pierre Dedieu, Alan D. Kalvin, Joseph Y. Margulies, Marco Martens, Michael Shub
  • Patent number: 6654195
    Abstract: A disk drive provides head position information as position status variables to a host. The position status variables are derived from information formatted on a disk and processed by a media controller for storage in a position register set. The position information includes both radial and circumferential position references. The disk drive is connected to the host over a host interface which enables the position information to be stored automatically in a host memory so that the host can scan the position information to determine an optimum order of data transfer commands to be sent to the disk drive. A method for selecting a next command to transmit to a disk drive employs the position variables to optimize the command selection. In an alternative method, a host selects a command to be executed by one of an array of disk drives and then determines the disk drive to receive the command based on position information variables which have been stored and updated by the disk drives in the array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: Western Digital Ventures, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles W. Frank, Jr., Thomas D. Hanan, Robert W. Warren, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6651037
    Abstract: A method of optimized design of an HVAC air-handling assembly for a climate control system on a vehicle includes the steps of generating a basic design of the HVAC air-handling assembly and analyzing a performance of the basic design of the HVAC air-handling assembly using an engineering analytical technique. The method also includes the steps of varying the basic design of the HVAC air-handling assembly based on the performance analysis and using the optimized basic design of the HVAC air-handling assembly in generating the HVAC air-handling assembly design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy J. Hall, Steven Kelley Howell, Yuan (John) Li
  • Patent number: 6647361
    Abstract: A system and method for detecting and filtering non-violation events in a traffic light violation prediction and recording system, including at least one violation prediction image capturing device, such as a video camera, and a violation prediction unit. The prediction unit generates a prediction reflecting a probability that the vehicle will violate a red light phase of the traffic signal. A non-violation event filter determines whether the vehicle approaching the traffic signal is actually performing a non-violation action. Non-violation events may include a variety of actions performed by the vehicle, and are fully configurable to meet the needs and policies of various specific intersections and jurisdictions. When the non-violation event filter determines that the vehicle is performing a non-violation action, resources that may have been allocated to recording the non-violating vehicle may be released, and a determination may be made that additional resources need not be allocated to such recording.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Nestor, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark D. Laird, Steven I. Small, Michael T. Tinnemeier