Patents Examined by Michael Tang
  • Patent number: 10767886
    Abstract: A building management system includes building equipment, a sensor, and a saturation detector. The building equipment is configured to operate at an operating capacity to drive a variable state or condition of a building zone toward a setpoint. The operating capacity and the setpoint vary over time. The sensor is in the building zone and is configured to provide a zone measurement of the variable state or condition of the building zone. The saturation detector is configured to determine whether the operating capacity is in a non-transient region for a threshold amount of a time period upon determining that an error for the building zone exists for the time period, and, in response to a determination that the operating capacity is in the non-transient region for at least the threshold amount of the time period, indicate the time period as a saturation period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Anas W. I. Alanqar, Matthew J. Ellis, Michael J. Wenzel
  • Patent number: 10747212
    Abstract: Provided is a management system for performing quality management on production equipment. A management system that includes: an acquisition component that acquires status information for production equipment that is subject to management; a detection component that, on the basis of the acquired status information, detects the occurrence of some event; and a display component that displays, separated according to inclusion in the four perspectives Machine, Man, Material, and Method, a plurality of factors that could be presumed to have caused the detected event in a manner in which the contents thereof and a probability of having caused the event can be compared.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: OMRON Corporation
    Inventor: Minoru Oka
  • Patent number: 10745832
    Abstract: A material shape simulation apparatus for simulating deformation of a three-dimensional woven fiber material is provided and includes: an orientation vector field generation unit generating a model shape orientation vector field on three-dimensional meshes of a model shape of a three-dimensional woven fiber material obtained by stacking sheets of two-dimensional woven fabric made of X-yarn and Y-yarn and binding them with Z-yarn; a parameterization unit that searches for a gradient vector for calculating a material shape orientation vector field, being an orientation vector field of a material shape before deformation of the model shape, from the model shape orientation vector field; and an orientation vector updating unit that updates the model shape orientation vector field by applying a condition of preserving a volume between the model shape orientation vector field and the material shape orientation vector field and a condition that neither the X-yarn nor the Y-yarn expands or contracts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignees: IHI CORPORATION, The University of Tokyo
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Hishida, Koichi Inagaki, Takeshi Nakamura, Fumiaki Watanabe, Kotaro Morioka, Yutaka Ohtake, Hiromasa Suzuki, Yukie Nagai
  • Patent number: 10747207
    Abstract: An apparatus, method, and non-transitory machine-readable medium provide for accurate automatic determination of alarm-operator action linkage for operator assessment and alarm guidance using custom graphics and control charts. The apparatus includes a memory and a processor operably connected to the memory. The processor receives process control system data regarding a field device in an industrial process control and automation system; extracts information from the process control system data; generates a tuple based on the extracted information; and performs a rectifying operation in the industrial process control and automation system based on the generated tuple of the field device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Ananthapadmanabha Krishnamurthy, Ramakrishnan Ganapathi, Viraj Srivastava, Anand Narayan, Prangya Priyadarsini
  • Patent number: 10731872
    Abstract: A water heating system includes a plurality of water heaters of which exhaust paths are connected in common to an exhaust path assembly, a control device configured for centralized control of the plurality of water heaters, and a non-volatile storage unit. The plurality of water heaters include control units configured to control hot water supply operations based on communication with the control device, respectively. The storage unit is configured to store information on the water heater of which control unit is recorded to have established communication with the control device. The control device turns off all of the plurality of water heaters when information on the water heater of which control unit has currently established communication with the control device does not match with the information stored in the storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: NORITZ CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinichi Okamoto, Takao Muko
  • Patent number: 10712021
    Abstract: An underfloor heating (UFH) system limits the floor temperature of an environmental entity (for example, a room) by pulsing (pulse modulating) the flow rate through a hydronic emitter (circuit) heating the environmental entity. Once the heated water fills the circuit during time interval Ton, the flow is stopped for a fixed time Toff before allowing the cycle to repeat until a target temperature is reached. The ratio of flow/no flow (Ton/Toff) may be a proportional lower floor temperature compared to a traditional circuit supporting a constant water flow. The UFH system may heat a plurality of rooms, each having different floor temperature limitations. The floor temperatures may be limited differently by pulsing the hydronic emitters (circuits) rooms differently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Computime Ltd.
    Inventor: Philip John Smith
  • Patent number: 10712032
    Abstract: A building automation system (BAS) platform includes one or more processors configured to provide an operating environment for developing and executing a plurality of building automation and control microservices. At least one of the plurality of building automation and control microservices is configured to receive live data from remote building equipment and provide control signals to the remote building equipment. The BAS platform further includes one or more application programming interfaces configured to interact with third-party building automation and control applications that run within the operating environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Youngchoon Park, Vaidhyanathan Venkiteswaran, Sudhi R. Sinha, Karl F. Reichenberger
  • Patent number: 10710240
    Abstract: A programming device for a welding robot includes a model obtaining unit that obtains three-dimensional models; a welding-line specifying unit that specifies a welding line; a target-angle setting unit that sets a target angle; an advance-angle setting unit that sets an advance angle; a coordinate-system setting unit that sets a tentative coordinate system having a first axis set on the basis of the welding line, a second axis perpendicular to the first axis and parallel to a face of one of workpieces to be welded together, and a tool coordinate system by rotating the tentative coordinate system about the first axis in accordance with the target angle and about the third axis in accordance with the advance angle; a position setting unit that sets a welding position of the tool on the basis of the newly set tool coordinate system; and a program creating unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Atohira
  • Patent number: 10712037
    Abstract: According to certain embodiments, operating an HVAC system comprises receiving zone temperature data from a temperature sensor, zone humidity-ratio data from a humidity sensor, a temperature set point from a user, and a relative-humidity set point from a user. A humidity-ratio set point is determined based on the temperature and relative-humidity set points. A first command to the HVAC system to perform a cooling operation is communicated upon determining that the temperature data exceeds a temperature threshold based on the temperature set point. Determining if the humidity data has reached a humidity-ratio threshold based on the humidity-ratio set point after determining that the temperature data has reached the temperature threshold. Operating the HVAC system according to a dehumidification-based cooling procedure upon determining that the humidity data has not reached the humidity-ratio threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Lennox Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Rohini Brahme, Umesh Gokhale, Derek Phillips
  • Patent number: 10705512
    Abstract: The objective of the invention is the computer-assisted selection of the optimal machine component for a use. In the selection, empirical values are collected to create a continuously improving system. To achieve this, the inventive method includes determining properties of the machine component and their corresponding influence quantities, possible uses for the machine component, and the influence quantities to be considered in the use-specific selection and design of the machine component. The method also includes receiving statements relating to the influence quantities and determining, influence quantity interactions. The method further includes formulating the influence quantities, feeding the use and associated influence quantities as inputs into a selection algorithm to select the machine component that is optimally suitable for the use, and supplying the selected machine component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Walther Flender GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Scholzen, Simon-Martin Schmidt
  • Patent number: 10705580
    Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to a system that controls cooling in a computer system. During operation, this system monitors a temperature of one or more components in the computer system. Next, the system determines a thermal-headroom margin for each of the one or more components in the computer system by subtracting the temperature of the component from a pre-specified maximum operating temperature of the component. Then, the system controls a cooling system that regulates an ambient air temperature for the computer system based on the determined thermal-headroom margins for the one or more components. In some embodiments, controlling the cooling system additionally involves minimizing a collective energy consumption of the computer system and the cooling system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Oracle International Corporation
    Inventors: Kenny C. Gross, Kalyanaraman Vaidyanathan, Sanjeev Sondur
  • Patent number: 10698374
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for managing water or other fluid that provides monitoring and reliable control of the use of water or other fluid in a given territorial area, facilitating the management of water use or other fluid in processes where it is involved, for example in tasks of irrigating agricultural land or in industrial processes using fluids such as leaching. The system and method of the invention operates on the basis of a distributed monitoring and control logic implemented to control and monitor a hydraulic system located in the given territorial area by an arrangement of sensors, actuators and controllers deployed in communication with a network of nodes that allows a user to monitor, control and automate the use of water in that territorial area, reducing to almost zero user intervention in the process of monitoring and control to almost zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: Ingiieria Wiseconn S.A.
    Inventors: Cristóbal Alberto Rivas Sabelle, José Francisco Ulloa Suárez, Max Mauricio Weinstein Crenovich
  • Patent number: 10695783
    Abstract: An example system includes at least one acoustic sensor configured to generate at least one time-dependent acoustic data signal indicative of an acoustic signal generated by a thermal spray system performing a process associated with a plurality of process attributes. The example system includes a computing device including an acoustic data signal module and a control module. The acoustic data signal processing module may transform the at least one time-dependent acoustic data signal to a frequency-domain spectrum. The control module may determine a process attribute of the plurality of process attributes that deviates from a predetermined operating range by identifying at least one characteristic of the frequency-domain spectrum, selecting at least one component of the thermal spray system based on the process attribute, and controlling the thermal spray system to adjust the process attribute toward the predetermined operating range by sending a control signal to the at least one component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignees: Rolls-Royce Corporation, Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc., Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing
    Inventors: Taylor K. Blair, Michael Cybulsky, Gary Pickrell, Benjamin Zimmerman, Romesh Batra, Matthew R. Gold
  • Patent number: 10691096
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a system includes a HMI module. The HMI module includes a first external application unit that has first external application unit. The first external application unit has a first interface for the HMI module. The HMI module further includes a second external application unit that has a second interface for the HMI module. The HMI module can correspond with both the first interface and the second interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Joachim Schadow, Florian Esenwein, Thomas Schomisch
  • Patent number: 10678205
    Abstract: This instrumentation control system includes: input/output modules provided correspondingly and adjacently to respective field devices; control logic units implemented inside the input/output modules and performing various control calculation processes for the field devices; and a communication network connecting the input/output modules to each other by a communication line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Susumu Okuda
  • Patent number: 10678217
    Abstract: An example technique for creating a voxel representation of a three dimensional (3-D) object can include obtaining a shape specification of a 3-D object and a number of 3-D objectives. The example technique for creating a voxel representation of the 3-D object can also include creating a voxel representation of the 3-D object by assigning a material type from a number of material types to each voxel of the voxel representation that defines the 3-D object. The example technique creating a voxel representation of a 3-D object can also include evaluating the voxel representation to determine whether the number of objectives are met.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Jun Zeng, Sebastia Cortes, Scott A. White
  • Patent number: 10678219
    Abstract: A method for processing a workpiece on a numerically controlled machine tool by a tool includes the steps of: controlling a relative movement of the tool relative to the workpiece for processing the workpiece, producing an ultrasonic vibration of the tool by an ultrasonic generator, detecting at least one sensor signal outputted from the ultrasonic generator and identifying a change in the material at the workpiece while controlling the relative movement of the tool relative to the workpiece on the basis of the at least one sensor signal outputted from the ultrasonic generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: SAUER GmbH
    Inventors: Jens Ketelaer, Manuel Praetorius
  • Patent number: 10668536
    Abstract: First subareas of a layer of powder applied on a substrate are heated locally with a process beam so as to heated, but not yet interconnect the grains of the powder in the first subareas. A temperature profile of the applied layer is evaluated proximate to the first subarea as a function of the distance from the respective first subarea and/or the time. The local thermal conductivity and/or local diffusivity are determined for the respective first subarea based on the temperature profile. Second subareas of the applied layer which at least partially overlap the first subareas are then heated locally with the process beam so as to interconnect the grains of the powder in the second subareas. A process variable of the process beam influencing heating of the second subareas is determined based on the local thermal conductivity or diffusivity previously determined for the at least partially overlapping first subarea.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventor: Jürgen Zettner
  • Patent number: 10668666
    Abstract: In some examples, a plurality of print material combinations for object generation are determined, each print material combination having an associated color. A plurality of color descriptions may be determined, the color descriptions corresponding to a combination of voxels, each of the voxels of the combination of voxels having a defined print material combination and a defined depth with respect to a surface. A color mapping resource may be defined, the color mapping resource associating a color description with a print instruction, each print instruction being for use in causing an object generation apparatus to generate the combination of voxels corresponding to the associated color description.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Peter Morovic, Jan Morovic
  • Patent number: 10671028
    Abstract: An automated method for managing a work flow in a process plant includes determining the steps of performing a work item and generating associated displays for an operator or other personnel to perform the steps of the work item. A work item is created specifying a task to be performed in the process plant and determining from the specified task a set of procedures for execution of the work item. For each procedure, an associated display is generated and the associated displays are displayed on a mobile user interface device sequentially in an order in which the set of procedures are to be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: FISHER-ROSEMOUNT SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Mark J. Nixon, Ken J. Beoughter, Daniel D. Christensen