Patents Examined by Marc S. Hoff
  • Patent number: 7209864
    Abstract: A method for testing performance of a constrained resources computing device (CRCD) is provided which includes determining that a data sample was generated and generating a time stamp corresponding to when the data sample was generated. The method also includes determining a defined time interval corresponding to the time stamp and incrementing a counter associated with the defined time interval corresponding to the time stamp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Terrence Barr, David Proulx
  • Patent number: 7209842
    Abstract: A start signal output circuit having an RF/DC conversion circuit to which radio frequency power (RF) of specified frequency is inputted and from which a direct current potential (DC) is outputted, comprises a detection/amplification circuit 210 which includes a voltage doubler wave-detector circuit 10 configured including a sensing diode Q1 (Tr34) for sensing the RF power, a differential amplifier including differential pair transistors Tr31 and Tr32, and a current mirror circuit. A base current of one Tr31 of the differential pair transistors is brought into substantial agreement with a DC component of a current flowing through the sensing diode Q1 (Tr34). A total of currents flowing through the differential pair transistors Tr31 and Tr32 is regulated to a substantially constant value by the current mirror circuit. Thus, the start signal output circuit which is small in size, high in sensitivity and low in power consumption can be realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: DENSO Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuo Mizuno, Ryu Kimura, Yoshiyuki Kago, Yukiomi Tanaka, Kazuhiko Endo, Hisanori Uda, Hiroaki Hayashi
  • Patent number: 7209860
    Abstract: An expert diagnostic service system using a distributed architecture for generating expert diagnostic suggestions based on input received from a plurality of diagnostic systems. The expert service system collects data related to effective diagnostic results, such as effective fixes, corresponding to various symptoms/faults from a plurality of diagnostic systems via a data transmission network, and accumulates the number of each effective fix corresponding to each of the various symptoms. The expert service system then assigns at least one effective fix to one of the various symptoms based on a result of the accumulating step, such as the rank of the accumulated number of each fix. The expert service system uses the assigned fix corresponding to a symptom as expert suggestions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Snap-On Incorporated
    Inventors: Dale A. Trsar, Tyrone J. Moritz, Mark H. Petersen, Edward A. Maron, Richard H. Shepherd, Randall S. Harbin, Neil Davis, Mary Beth Siddons, David R. Ellingen, Brad R. Lewis
  • Patent number: 7209851
    Abstract: A method for managing a pattern object file in a modular test system is disclosed. The method includes providing a modular test system, where the modular test system comprises a system controller for controlling at least one site controller, and where the at least one site controller controls at least one test module and its corresponding device under test (DUT). The method further includes creating an object file management framework for establishing a standard interface between vendor-supplied pattern compilers and the modular test system, receiving a pattern source file, creating a pattern object metafile based on the pattern source file using the object file management framework, and testing the device under test through the test module using the pattern object metafile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Advantest America R&D Center, Inc.
    Inventors: Harsanjeet Singh, Ankan Pramanick, Mark Elston, Yoshifumi Tahara, Toshiaki Adachi
  • Patent number: 7209863
    Abstract: A performance information monitoring method using computers includes the steps of accepting information on a group relating to a first computer in the first computer; storing the accepted group information in a storage in the first computer; accepting performance information from a second computer in the first computer; comparing performance information of the second computer previously stored in a storage with the performance information received from the second computer in the first computer; judging whether or not the second computer is included in the information of the group when finding a difference between the performance information in the comparison result; and transmitting an instruction to the computer included in the group information to change a performance information collection interval according to the judgment result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yusuke Fukuda, Tadashi Numanoi, Tomohiro Kominami, Naoki Shimada
  • Patent number: 7209844
    Abstract: A first magnetic field generated by a first coil operatively associated with a first portion of a vehicle interacts with at least one conductive element operatively associated with or at least a part of a second portion of the vehicle so as to generate an eddy current in the conductive element, which affects the magnetic field sensed by a magnetic sensor. A conductive element operatively coupled to a portion of the vehicle susceptible to a crash, e.g. a bumper or a door, provides for sensing a crash with the signal from the magnetic sensor. In another aspect, a second magnetic field is generated in the frame of a vehicle by a second coil wherein the frame is adapted so that the reluctance of the associated magnetic circuit is responsive to a crash. Signals from the first or second coils may be used to sense the associated magnetic fields.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Automotive Systems Laboratory, Inc.
    Inventors: William D. Merrick, William Todd Watson, Timothy J. Bomya, Leonard S. Cech
  • Patent number: 7206711
    Abstract: A system for automatically comparing test points of a PCB includes an application server (1) and a database (6). The application server includes: a PCB file selecting module (10) for selecting a target file and a source file from the database; a test point data extracting module (12) for extracting test point data from the target file and the source file; a table generating module (14) for generating a target table according to the extracted test point data from the target file and generating a source table according to the extracted test point data from the source file; a comparing module (16) for comparing the test point data of the target table and the source table one by one and storing comparison results on those test points which have been modified; and a report generating module (18) for generating a comparison report. A related method is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignees: Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., Hon Hai Precision Indusrty Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Xiao-Yu Du, Mo-Ying Tong
  • Patent number: 7206705
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are for balancing capacitors in a capacitor bank. Three voltage levels are produced by a reference voltage source, to monitor the state of charge of the capacitors. The capacitor voltage on each capacitor is determined and is compared with the voltage levels. After the charging of the capacitors, normal operation starts when the capacitor voltage reaches the lowest voltage level and before it has reached the central voltage level. A balancing operation starts when the capacitor voltages of all the capacitors have reached the central voltage level, and ends when the capacitor voltage of all the capacitors has once again reached the lowest voltage level. When the lowest voltage level is reached once again, normal operation starts again. A fault is indicated upon reaching the highest voltage level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Gerd Hein
  • Patent number: 7206713
    Abstract: A method of adjusting a strobe timing includes a first determining step in which an output pattern is compared with an expected result pattern at a strobe timing to determine whether the output pattern is matched to the expected result pattern; a variation range setting step in which a variation range of the strobe timing is set when the output pattern is not matched to the expected result pattern; a varying step in which the strobe timing is varied within the variation range; and a second determining step in which the output pattern is compared with the expected result pattern at the varied strobe timing to determine whether the output pattern is matched to the expected result pattern. Based on a result of the comparison, a function test is performed using the strobe timing to determine a pass/fail result of the semiconductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Koji Nakamura
  • Patent number: 7203599
    Abstract: A method for controlled source electromagnetic Earth surveying includes deploying a plurality of electromagnetic sensors in a selected pattern at the top of an area of the Earth's subsurface to be surveyed. At least one of a transient electric field and a transient magnetic field is applied to the Earth in the vicinity of the sensors at a plurality of different positions. At least one of electric field amplitude and magnetic field amplitude at each of the sensors is recorded each time the transient electric field and/or magnetic field is applied. Each recording is adjusted for acquisition geometry. An image is generated corresponding to at least one sensor position using at least two stacked, adjusted recordings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: KJT Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Kurt M. Strack, Leon A. Thomsen, Horst Rueter
  • Patent number: 7203627
    Abstract: A method for processing missing values in measured data is provided. The method includes assigning weights to measured objects or measured items, according to a priority of the measured objects or measured items; selecting a set of the measured objects and measured items including the missing values having the smallest sum of the weights among a plurality of sets of the measured objects and measured items including the missing values; and removing the measured objects and measured items included in the selected set from the measured data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kyunghee Park, Yunsun Nam
  • Patent number: 7203615
    Abstract: A flight test installation system for collecting aircraft data includes a sensor level configured to convert aircraft physical inputs into plural measurable electrical parameters, an acquisition level configured to perform at least one of an analogue, discrete or digital bus data acquisition to acquire each of the plural measurable electrical parameters, and a concentration level configured to receive data streams from each of the analogue, discrete and digital data buses, and to switch and duplicate frames in the received data streams without modifying a content of the data streams. The flight test installation system also includes a recording and analysis level configured to record and analyze the content of each of the data streams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Airbus France
    Inventors: Jean-Pierre Mao, Jean-Pascal Caturla, Pascale Maether, Nathalie Revaux, Frederic Abadie
  • Patent number: 7200529
    Abstract: System and method for specifying a signal analysis function. User input is received specifying a first operation implementing at least a portion of a signal analysis function. Prior operations input by the user are programmatically analyzed to determine and assign an input source for the first operation that provides a first input signal, e.g., based on inputs and their signal or data types required for the first operation, one or more prior operations are determined that provide respective output signals of the respective signal or data types, where the one or more prior operations comprise the input source, and where the respective output signals comprise the first input signal. The first operation is performed on the first input signal, producing an output signal which is then displayed on a display. The programmatically analyzing, performing, and displaying are performed for each of a plurality of first operations input by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: National Instruments Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher G. Cifra, Philippe G. Joffrain, Alain G. Moriat, Christophe A. Restat, John A. Pasquarette, J. Clinton Fletcher
  • Patent number: 7200498
    Abstract: The present invention defines a system (100) for detecting copper contamination within a semiconductor manufacturing process. According to the present invention, a semiconductor wafer (102) is transferred (108) from a semiconductor manufacturing component (104), which may have exposed the wafer to copper contamination, to a measurement system (106). The measurement system measures an electrical value at a plurality of locations along a surface of the wafer, prior to and after exposure of the surface to an activation system (112). The activation system is provided to cause any copper contamination along the surface to form a precipitate thereon. An analysis component (110) is provided to receive electrical value and location information from the measurement system and to identify, from the measurements, the presence and location of copper contamination along the semiconductor wafer surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Deepak A. Ramappa
  • Patent number: 7200520
    Abstract: The invention concerns a method and a corresponding device for monitoring a technical installation. The invention is characterized in that a dynamic model of at least one system of the technical installation is enhanced by means of an artificial intelligence based algorithm during the operation of said system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Mirko Appel, Wolfgang Fick, Uwe Gerk
  • Patent number: 7200523
    Abstract: A data filter for filtering process data to a statistical control model is provided to enhance the performance of the control model. The data filter selects a set of template data from a set of statistical process data. A set of grids is formed comprising the set of template data and a set of sample data and an absolute distance is calculated between each point of a grid in the set of grids and a minimum accumulated distance of a point of the grid is calculated using the absolute distance. A global optimal path is identified based on the minimum accumulated distance of the point, and a set of sample data is remapped to form a set of warped data based on the global optimal path and the set of reference data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shuh-Chwen Yeh, Chun-Hsien Lin
  • Patent number: 7200524
    Abstract: A method of diagnosing sensor faults for a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system includes the steps of creating a component model for a specific component within the system. The component model is created through the use of commonly available manufacturing data. Data within the system is input into the component model and compared to calculated and predicted values that are also calculated using the identical component models. Differences between the calculated and actual values is determined and compared to a threshold difference value. If the difference exceeds the threshold value, then a fault is detected. The specific type of sensor fault is determined using probability distribution analysis. Each type of sensor fault produces a different type of statistical deviation from normal distribution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventors: Pengju Kang, Mohsen Farzad, Slaven Stricevic, Payman Sadegh, Alan M. Finn
  • Patent number: 7200497
    Abstract: A test system for testing a portable electronic apparatus is described. The test system has at least a display, a platform, and a controller. The controller controls the display to display test images in sequence. The controller commands the portable electronic apparatus, via a test interface, to capture the test images on the display to generate image data. The controller determines whether the image data meet a predetermined test requirement. The test system can further include at least a light source and a reflector. The reflector reflects the light on the display, so that the display reaches a predetermined uniformity of light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Quanta Computer Inc.
    Inventors: Chih-Cheng Wang, Hung-Yang Wu, Chuan-Hung Chiang
  • Patent number: 7197412
    Abstract: A method for use in a multifunction handheld device includes receiving a first plurality of digitally formatted files from a host device when coupled to the host device via a host interface. A selected one of the first plurality of digitally formatted files is played, the playing includes generating an audio output. The method monitors for a low voltage condition produced by a low battery voltage. When the low voltage condition is detected, a first fail safe algorithm is enabled to disable the audio output, store an audio setting corresponding to the playing of the audio output, and to shutdown the multifunction handheld device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: Sigmatel, Inc.
    Inventors: Marcus W. May, Daniel P Mulligan, Matthew Brady Henson
  • Patent number: 7197410
    Abstract: Method arid apparatus for accelerating a multi-phase motor having a rotatable rotor are disclosed. The method incorporates use of a motor control circuit to predict a subsequent loss of frequency lock between the motor control circuit and a motor while the motor control circuit and the motor remain frequency locked, and based on the prediction, steps to avert a loss of frequency lock during acceleration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC
    Inventors: Jeffrey Alan Heydt, David Ray Street