Patents Examined by Michael D. Masinick
  • Patent number: 11204595
    Abstract: A control device of a machine tool includes a position controller and a model of a position-controlled axis. The position controller receives a position setpoint value, a corresponding actual position value and a compensation value; determines therefrom a resulting value; determines based on the resulting value an actuating signal; and outputs the actuating signal to the position-controlled axis. The position and/or the orientation of the tool relative to the workpiece are adjusted based on the actuating signal. A sequence of successive control errors is stored, in a storage device and read out sequentially in accordance with a sequence of the position setpoint values and supplied to the model. The model determines from the read-out control error a respective compensation value which is then supplied to the position controller, while simulating the mechanically dynamic behavior of the position-controlled axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Philipp Rost, Elmar Schäfers, Jürgen Reiser
  • Patent number: 11187426
    Abstract: A method to control a carrier fluid through a service line (5) of a conditioning and/or heating system (1). The service line includes a heat exchange unit (7), a flow regulator (8), temperature sensors (9; 9a, 9b) detecting a temperature difference (?Ti) between the carrier fluid in a first section (5a) of the service line (5) upstream of said heat exchange unit (7) and carrier fluid in a second section (5b) of the service line (5) downstream of the same heat exchange unit (7). The method includes calculating a value assumed by a control parameter (Pc) which is a function of at least one or more values assumed by the temperature difference in the transition of the flow regulator from a first to a second operating condition, for then determining whether the value of the control parameter (Pc) is higher than a threshold (S).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: FIMCIM S.P.A.
    Inventors: Roberto Cimberio, Tiziano Guidetti, Matteo Zanchi, Silvia Garone, Antoine Frein
  • Patent number: 11181878
    Abstract: A method and system improve on the accuracy of and power consumption of occupancy detection systems. Embodiments may provide a dual mode system that includes a passive infrared sensor with low power consumption and a RADAR-based sensor with higher power consumption that is only powered when the system determines a room is occupied with the passive sensor and no new movement is detected after a threshold duration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Adnoviv Inc.
    Inventors: Amy Diane Droitcour, Chenyan Song
  • Patent number: 11167504
    Abstract: A method and system for assisting in the manufacture of composite parts such as those used for various high-strength assemblies such as aircraft wings, vertical stabilizers, racing car shells, boat hulls, and other parts which are required to have a very high strength to weight ratio. The system uses laser technology to measure the resultant surfaces of a first manufactured composite part. A computer system analyzes and compares the as-built dimensions with the required production specifications. Supplemental composite filler plies are designed including shape and dimensions. These plies are nested together into a single composite sheet and manufactured to minimize wasted material. The plies are then cut out and applied to the first part guided by a laser projection system for locating the plies on the part. The part is then re-cured. The final assembly is then re-measured for compliance with production dimensions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Spellman, Jeff Godfrey, Gregory MacLean
  • Patent number: 11163270
    Abstract: A server includes an interface, programmed to receive, from a vehicle, vehicle data indicative of vehicle status and user data indicative of usage of vehicle features by a user; and a processor, programmed to analyze the vehicle data and the user data using artificial intelligence (AI) logic to generate a comfort prediction for the user; and configure a comfort device associated with the user, external to the vehicle, using the comfort prediction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Lear Corporation
    Inventors: Francesco Migneco, David Gallagher, Mark Weaver, Katie Rimell
  • Patent number: 11156976
    Abstract: A method for operating a plurality of technical units as a pool on an electric distribution network. A central controller is used to receive flexibility data from each technical unit. The flexibility data is used by the unit to indicate a power interval within which the electric power of the unit is allowed to vary or varies in an expected manner. Depending on a specified optimization target of the pool, an individual non-binding stimulus function is ascertained for each unit from the flexibility data of each unit and is provided to the respective unit. In response to the individual stimulus function, a respective schedule which describes a time curve of the power exchange planned according to a local optimization target of the unit is then received from each unit, and an overall schedule for the pool is generated from the schedules of the units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Jens Berger
  • Patent number: 11150615
    Abstract: An optimization device includes: a state hold circuit that holds values of state variables included in an evaluation function that represents energy; an objective function calculation circuit that calculates an energy change value in an objective function included in the evaluation function for each of state transitions when a state transition occurs in response to a change in any of the values of the state variables; a constraint term calculation circuit that calculates a constraint term evaluation value, which is an evaluation value of a constraint term included in the evaluation function, for each of the state transitions; a temperature control circuit that controls a temperature value that indicates a temperature; and a transition control circuit that determines stochastically whether to accept any of the state transitions based on the temperature value, a random number value, and a sum of the change value and the constraint term evaluation value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventors: Satoshi Matsubara, Motomu Takatsu
  • Patent number: 11150639
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product, include recording high-frequency wave data of local arid adjacent fault curves of a power grid to compare the high-frequency wave data with historical fault data to detect an actual fault region in the power grid, the power grid having a plurality of sensors distributed in the power grid, each sensor being upstream of one adjacent sensor and downstream of an other adjacent sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Xin Jie Lv, Lingyun Wang, Wei Da Xu, Chao Zhang, Ke Xu Zou
  • Patent number: 11144016
    Abstract: A temperature control unit has an acquisition unit that acquires first information regarding driving and stopping of a heater and second information indicating whether or not to subject a time proportional output to an SSR to autonomous control and an SSR control unit that performs time proportional output of an instruction to drive or stop the heater, to the SSR.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Kikunaga, Kenji Sato
  • Patent number: 11147200
    Abstract: A pick and place nozzle performance analytics system streams production data from pick and place machines used in electronic assembly to a cloud platform as torrential data streams, and performs analytics on the production data to track, visualize, and predict performance of individual nozzles in terms of rejects or miss-picks. The analytics system generates a performance vector for each nozzle based on the collected production data, the performance vector tracking both the accumulated rejects and the percentage of rejects as respective dimensions of an x-y plane. The system monitors and analyzes the trajectory of this vector in the x-y plane to predict when performance degradation of the nozzle will reach a critical threshold. In response to predicting that nozzle performance degradation will exceed a threshold at a future time, the system can generate and deliver notifications to appropriate client devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Mikica Cvijetinovic, Gregory J. Vance, Francisco P. Maturana
  • Patent number: 11135985
    Abstract: Provided is a system, comprising: an electrical power meter comprising: a network interface; electrical power inputs configured to receive electrical power from a power-distribution system of a vehicle facility configured to host a plurality of vehicles; first and second electrically controlled switches coupled to vehicle power connectors; and a client-side processor configured to communicate with a remote server system; and the remote server system, configured to: cause a user-computing device of a user to display a user interface by which power-delivery is configurable; receive a request to deliver electrical power via a vehicle power connector; and in response, transmitting, to the electrical power meter, a command that causes the client-side processor to adjust the electrically controlled switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Wild Energy, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael Sorensen
  • Patent number: 11129418
    Abstract: An electronic inhalation device comprising a power cell and a computer. The computer comprises a computer processor, a memory and an input-output means. The computer is configured in use to enter a menu mode when a user activates the menu mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Nicoventures Trading Limited
    Inventor: Christopher Lord
  • Patent number: 11122713
    Abstract: An insert for monitoring pressure changes between a cold environment and a hot environment, such as a cold aisle/hot aisle cooling system, includes a conduit having two separated openings, and a frame configured for placement between the hot environment and cold environment. One or more temperature sensors are positioned within the conduit proximate to both of the openings, and configured to sample a first temperature corresponding to the cold environment near the first opening and a second temperature associated with the hot environment near the second opening. In a cooling system, the insert can be used in conjunction with a controller to receive temperature data associated with the first and second temperatures, and determine, based on the temperature data, a direction of flow of air flowing in the conduit and a degree of overpressure or underpressure associated with the cold environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Alan Joseph Lachapelle
  • Patent number: 11112135
    Abstract: A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to determine an active operating condition of the heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system based on the active operating data related to the HVAC system, retrieve an existing service log having a maintenance procedure corresponding to the active operating condition of the HVAC system, and record an entry service log. The entry service log includes the active operating data, the active operating condition, and an updated version of the maintenance procedure corresponding to the active operating condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Jonathan A. Burns, Theresa N. Gillette, Tyler P. McCune
  • Patent number: 11112138
    Abstract: An air-conditioning control method includes: acquiring a first sensor value measured by a first sensor device provided at a different position within an identical space to a second sensor device at a first frequency; acquiring a second sensor value measured by the second sensor device at a second frequency, wherein the second frequency is higher than the first frequency; generating a first sensor predicted value from the second sensor value based on a correlation between the first sensor value and the second sensor value in a period in which the second sensor value is acquired and the first sensor value is not acquired; and determining an operation of an air-conditioning apparatus based on the first sensor predicted value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Taiji Sasaki, Hiroko Sugimoto, Minghao Ni
  • Patent number: 11109546
    Abstract: Some embodiments provide systems for use in controlling irrigation, comprising: an irrigation controller configured to couple with one or more valves at a site and to control activation and deactivation of the one or more valves in accordance with an irrigation schedule stored in the irrigation controller; a wireless adapter directly communicationally coupled through a direct wired connection with the irrigation controller; and a network adapter wirelessly coupled over a point-to-point wireless communication path with the wireless adapter, wherein the network adapter is configured to further couple through a direct wired connection with a local router configured to provide communication over a distributed network to a remote server; wherein the wireless adapter is configured to poll the irrigation controller to acquire and locally store status information; and the wireless adapter is configured to communicate, over the point-to-point wireless channel, the status information to the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC
    Inventors: Steven W. Weiler, David M. Redmond, Harvey J. Nickerson, Timothy J. Crist, Gregory W. Decker
  • Patent number: 11105529
    Abstract: A system and method of conditioning air within a multi-zone system using a controller in communication with at least one sensor located within at least one of a plurality of zones, the method comprising the steps of: operating the at least one sensor to measure at least one environmental condition within at least one of the plurality of zones, identifying which, if any, of the plurality of zones is occupied, determining whether a demand condition exists within at least one occupied zone, calculating the difference between an actual environmental condition and a desired environmental condition within the plurality of zones to create a zone demand value if a demand condition exists in two or more occupied zones, and determining whether a cumulative zone demand value is equal to a zone balance point value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: CARRIER CORPORATION
    Inventors: Rajendra K Shah, Douglas W. Durnil
  • Patent number: 11067973
    Abstract: A data collection system pertaining to one embodiment of the present invention collects time-series data which is output from sensors installed on equipment which is a monitored object and carries out detecting an abnormality of the equipment. The data collection system stores plural fault models as data for comparison with time-series data and, in a learning process, determines a range to examine within time-series data by comparing the time-series data with each one of the fault models. An abnormality detection process includes extracting a partial frequency spectrum to examine from the frequency spectrum of time-series data, using information on the range to examine within the time-series data determined through the learning process, and carrying out detecting an abnormality of the equipment using the extracted frequency spectrum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Yuji Ogata, Daisuke Ishii
  • Patent number: 11054165
    Abstract: An architecture is presented for one or more climate systems controlled by one or more thermostat devices located in one or more dwellings associated with one or more users. Depending on the combination of the above factors, ecorank information is determined and presented. In some cases, the thermostats operate independently and settings are not propagated. In other cases, the thermostats operate dependently and settings are mirrored. One thermostat may be used to control another. Setting changes in at one thermostat may be presented at another thermostat. In some cases, the setting changes may require confirmation. In some instances, a hub device may be used to interconnect a thermostat device and server device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: Ikorongo Technology, LLC
    Inventor: Hugh Blake Svendsen
  • Patent number: 11050249
    Abstract: The invention includes systems and methods for power cogeneration. In certain embodiments the cogeneration systems include one or more units that are modularized; in some of these embodiments, the modules contain components that are integrated and ready for use with a control system that optimizes a result for the cogeneration plant. In some cases, the cogeneration system is part of a network of cogeneration systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: Concentric Power, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Mark Curtis, Riyaz Mohammed Shipchandler