Patents Examined by Leo T. Hinze
  • Patent number: 10668778
    Abstract: A pressure ratio between a setpoint tire pressure and an actual tire pressure for a tire of a vehicle is ascertained by the following steps: Ascertaining a wheel load which is acting on the tire. Ascertaining a dynamic tire radius of the tire. Ascertaining the pressure ratio as a function of the wheel load and the dynamic tire radius.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: Volkswagen AG
    Inventors: Simon Steinmeyer, Marc-Michael Meinecke, Pär Degerman, Carsten Deeg
  • Patent number: 10670490
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for a measurement system configured to test a flexible bio-process bag, the method comprising providing at least one flexible bio-process bag having a volume, wherein the at least one flexible bio-process bag is initially filled with a gas and inflated to a reference pressure (Pu), obtaining a leak model, obtaining baseline information, wherein the baseline information comprises at least a weighed first mass value (mbaseline) and a first time value (t1), obtaining evaluation information, wherein the evaluation information comprises at least a weighed second mass value (mevaluation) and a second time value (t2), testing the flexible bio-process bag based on the leak model, the baseline information and the evaluation information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences Corp.
    Inventors: Robert Douglas Burchesky, James Molloy
  • Patent number: 10663479
    Abstract: In some examples, a method determines an open/close status of a pivotable barrier on a moveable platform based on selective use of a plurality of different filters for filtering measurement data from a sensor device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Dake He, Alexander Levato, Yu Gao
  • Patent number: 10661555
    Abstract: A doctor blade holder and adjustment mechanism that may be utilized with a flexographic printing system. The doctor blade holder and adjustment mechanism may utilize a constant displacement of the doctor blade against an anilox roller, rather than a constant force, to reduce ink build up on the back side of the doctor blade, and subsequently, intermittent dropping of the accumulated ink onto the post-shearing side of the anilox roller (“spitting”). The doctor blade holder and adjustment mechanism may provide adjustability of a combination of doctor blade pressure, angle and displacement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: Mark' Andy, Inc.
    Inventors: Dat Chu, William Ross North
  • Patent number: 10655283
    Abstract: This invention relates to a method to determine the quality of an asphalt pavement, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing and initializing at least one sensor (1) connected to a processor arrangement (2) comprising at least one processor (20A, 20B) connected to at least one memory (21A, 21B), for recording at least the temperature values (Tn), time (t) and/or position (X) momentarily for the entire width (W) of an asphalt pavement (4) in connection with its production along a pavement path (X) b) scanning and registering a number (P) individual temperature ranges (TIn) for a number (P) of the section ranges (?X?) in a section (?X) c) compiling said temperature ranges (TIn) in said section (?X) distributed along said width (W) d) determining and storing in said memory (21) an average temperature range (TIm) presenting an average temperature range (TIm) for the said number (P) of compiled temperature ranges (TIn) distributed along said width (W) of said section (?X), e) repeating steps b) to d) until
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: CA KONSULT
    Inventor: Conny Andersson
  • Patent number: 10656109
    Abstract: A test apparatus for evaluating thermal properties of a test specimen across a wide range of thermal conductivities and temperature ranges using a flat plate cup cryostat. The test apparatus includes: a heater assembly having an upper surface to receive a test specimen; a cold plate positioned on top of the test specimen; a vessel comprising an outer cylindrical tube closed on a bottom end by the cold plate; an inner cylindrical tube concentrically received in an upper portion of the outer cylindrical tube above the vessel to vent the vessel; insulation material surrounding at least the heater assembly, test specimen, cold plate, and vessel; a sensor that detects boiloff or evaporation rate of liquid from the vessel vented from the inner cylindrical tube; temperature sensors positioned to detect temperatures of the heater assembly and the cold plate; and a data recording device to record the boiloff or evaporation rates and temperature values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of NASA
    Inventors: James E. Fesmire, Wesley L. Johnson, Jared P. Sass
  • Patent number: 10648997
    Abstract: A rotation rate detecting apparatus that includes a rotation rate calculating unit configured to calculate a rotation rate of a pedal in a riding apparatus having the pedal rotating by pedaling operation of a user, based on sensor information of an acceleration sensor. The rotation rate calculating unit calculates a rotation rate based on information corresponding to acceleration in a traveling direction of the riding apparatus or a roll direction with respect to the traveling direction in association with movement of the user or the riding apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masashi Ookubo, Yoshitaka Suga
  • Patent number: 10605719
    Abstract: An analysis controller determines multi-dimensional characteristics of one or more corrosion pits in equipment. These characteristics can include depths, widths, and/or aspect ratios of the corrosion pits. The controller also determines one or more stresses on the equipment based on the characteristics of the corrosion that are determined. The analysis controller also generates a control signal to implement one or more remedial actions to one or more of remove the one or more corrosion pits, repair the equipment, or restrict operation of the equipment based on the one or more stresses that are determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Andrew Joseph Detor, Bernard Patrick Bewlay, Monica Soare
  • Patent number: 10551407
    Abstract: In some examples, a sensor device is to mount to a barrier pivotable between an open position and a closed position, the barrier being on a moveable platform. The sensor device includes an accelerometer to measure acceleration data and a rotation sensor to measure rotation about an axis. The sensor device includes at least one processor configured to determine an open/close status of the barrier based on the acceleration data and the rotation data, and an orientation of the moveable platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Sandeep Chennakeshu, Dake He, Yu Gao
  • Patent number: 10520298
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method of assessing a structural defect presence in a structure, the method comprising the steps of: determining at least one critical damage strain value of the structure, capturing a first image of a surface of the structure under a first loading condition; capturing a second image of the surface of the structure under a second loading condition; assigning a position matrix on the captured first image; obtaining a deformation matrix comprising a deformation value at each position of the position matrix by using an image correlation technique on the first and second images, and by comparing deformation of corresponding parts of the surface captured therein; calculating a strain matrix using the obtained deformation matrix; and determining a micro-crack to be present at a position if an element of the strain matrix representing the strain at the position is greater than or equal to a predetermined critical damage strain value, wherein the critical damage strain value is a strain value at which
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: BAE SYSTEMS PLC
    Inventors: Jiye Chen, Heman Mamand
  • Patent number: 10508974
    Abstract: A “store on alert” vibration data acquisition mechanism uses scalar data produced by a vibration monitoring device as a predicate to capturing and storing analytical vibration data in the vibration monitoring device. The scalar data may consist of scalar process variables generated in the vibration monitoring device that are acquired at a fixed interval, such as PeakVue and Overall Vibration. At each interval, these scalar data values are compared to machine performance threshold levels, such as ADVISE, MAINT and FAIL, to determine whether analytical vibration data is to be stored separately inside the vibration monitoring device. Since the analytical vibration data is captured based on a predicate inside the vibration monitoring device (i.e., comparison of the scalar value to the thresholds), the analytical vibration data includes more relevant diagnostic information about a specific machine performance event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: Computational Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Bradford J. Duncan, Robert D. Skeirik, Stewart V. Bowers, III
  • Patent number: 10509138
    Abstract: A system and method for accurately detecting contact between two objects in a medium comprises at least one sensor for detecting vibration of a first of the two objects and a central processing unit (CPU) for receiving an output of the at least one sensor, wherein the CPU performs the steps: converting the output of the sensor into digital form; during a calibration phase, changing the data from time domain to frequency domain; and during the calibration phase, determining a first frequency range associated with actual contact between the two objects, and a second frequency range associated with a false positive contact between the two objects. A signal processor is provided for filtering all data except that which falls within the first frequency range so as to confirm actual contact between the objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Jacob Pretorius, Sanjay Sarma, Stephen Sai-Wung Ho
  • Patent number: 10502677
    Abstract: For a monitored corrosion sensor, such as a sensor based on one or more mechanical oscillators disposed in a fluid flow, one or more values are measured over time. The values can be measured at a desired frequency, such as a once per second, once per minute, or another convenient frequency. The measured data can then be analyzed as a time series. The goal of the analysis is to identify variations in the time series data that are sufficiently unexpected relative to the prior behavior of the time series within a given time window. The identified variations can then, for example, be excluded from consideration when determining a corrosion-related value for the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
    Inventors: Krishnan Kumaran, Alan Mark Schilowitz, Henry Alan Wolf
  • Patent number: 10471779
    Abstract: A method and apparatus capable of estimating a tire wear amount even on snow-covered road surfaces accurately and reliably are provided. To that end, a differentiated acceleration waveform of a radial acceleration waveform of a tire is obtained, and an operation of calculating a leading-end differentiated peak value and a trailing-end differentiated peak value from the differentiated acceleration waveform is repeated a plurality of times. At the same time, a differentiated peak ratio, which is a ratio between the leading-end differentiated peak value and the trailing-end differentiated peak value, is calculated for each of the leading-end differentiated peak values and the trailing-end differentiated peak values obtained. Either one of the leading-end differentiated peak values and the trailing-end differentiated peak values, having a differentiated peak ratio within a lower limit range of 0.6 to 0.8 and an upper limit range of 1.0 to 1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takeshi Masago
  • Patent number: 10473535
    Abstract: A stress sensing system for measuring stress in a conductive target material includes at least one sensor positioned proximate to the conductive target material. The sensor is configured to measure stress in the conductive target material and to transmit a signal indicative of the measured stress to a controller. The controller is coupled in communication with the sensor. The controller is configured to receive the signal from the sensor, determine a runout portion of the signal corresponding to the runout of the conductive target material, determine a runout pattern waveform from the runout portion, and subtract the runout pattern waveform from the signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Brian Howard, Dan Tho Lu, Lysle Turnbeaugh, David Erik Folkner
  • Patent number: 10473708
    Abstract: The invention provides methods and systems for real-time monitoring of the insulation state of wind-powered generator windings comprising the following steps: a) capturing in real-time, during a predetermined time period (in situations where the generator is synchronized to the electrical network but is not yet couplet thereto as well as in situations where the generator is producing energy) the values of one or more electrical and vibration variables of the generator; b) obtaining in real-time, the temporal evolution of the vibration and of the inverse components of electrical variables at one or more predetermined frequencies; c) identifying a possible generator insulation fault when the inverse component of at least one electrical variable and/or one vibration at a predetermined frequency exceeds an absolute threshold or a temporal increase threshold pre-sets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: GAMESA INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY, S.L.
    Inventors: Jose Luis Rodriguez Izal, Isaac Gude Rodriguez, Guillermo Sanchez Vitorica, Almudena Munoz Babiano
  • Patent number: 10474143
    Abstract: A rotor life estimation device of a vacuum pump including a rotor rotatably driven by a motor and a rotor temperature detection section configured to detect a temperature of the rotor, comprises: an arithmetic section configured to calculate a strain equivalent corresponding to creep strain of the rotor based on a correlation between a creep strain speed equivalent and the temperature of the rotor and the temperature detected by the rotor temperature detection section; an estimation section configured to estimate a rotor life based on the calculated strain equivalent; and a providing section configured to provide information on the estimated rotor life.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation
    Inventor: Junichiro Kozaki
  • Patent number: 10451491
    Abstract: A system and method for calculating aircraft total air temperature from bypass flow temperature in a turbofan gas turbine engine having a bypass flow duct includes sensing aircraft speed (M), sensing engine fan speed (N1), sensing core engine speed (N2), and sensing bypass air flow temperature (T15) in the bypass flow duct. Total air temperature (TAT) is calculated as a function of the sensed aircraft speed, the sensed engine fan speed, the sensed core engine speed, and the sensed bypass air flow temperature. In some embodiments, fan bleed airflow is determined, and a correction is applied to the sensed bypass airflow temperature, and aircraft total air temperature (TAT) is further based on the corrected bypass airflow temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventor: Gregory J. Chapman
  • Patent number: 10436672
    Abstract: A system for the purpose of condition monitoring of gearboxes includes processing equipment that is configured to receive data that contains information of a spectrum of mechanical vibrations measured from a gearbox being monitored. The processing equipment is configured to search, from the spectrum of mechanical vibrations, at least two spikes on such frequencies which correspond to a phenomenon such as for example a bearing fault. The phenomenon is defined with at least two phenomenon-specific frequencies and with reference values of amplitudes relating to these phenomenon-specific frequencies. The processing equipment is configured to form an indicator of probability of occurrence for the phenomenon on the basis of amplitudes of the searched spikes and the reference values of the amplitudes. The fact that the indicator is formed on the basis of amplitudes of two or more spikes which relate to this phenomenon improves the reliability of the indicator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: MOVENTAS GEARS OY
    Inventors: Joonas Kiviniemi, Jukka Elfström, Markus Pylvänen
  • Patent number: 10437264
    Abstract: The disclosed embodiments include a method, apparatus, and computer program product for improving the accuracy of a rate of decay measurement for real time correction in a mass flow controller or mass flow meter by using a thermal model to minimize thermally induced error in the rate of decay measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
    Inventors: Anthony Kehoe, Berwin Banares, Chris Ellec, John Lull, William Valentine