Patents Examined by Minh N. Tang
  • Patent number: 10175511
    Abstract: Provided is a set of techniques for measuring different properties or parameters of liquid crystal mixtures by applying a driving waveform and measuring the response current and/or the optical response. This may be done by using specific liquid crystal test cells. Also provided are the optimized test cell parameters that are used in the algorithms for calculating the properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Inventors: Henry Zhong Zou, Lianhua Ji
  • Patent number: 10168383
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for destructive testing of a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). The PCBA contains embedded components on a printed circuit board within a non-functional area. At least one of these embedded components is susceptible to defects and exposed to conditions that facilitate destructive testing which leads to accelerated measurements. The accelerated measurements on the non-functional area are more representative of variability than measurements on a functional module while providing insights into potential future defects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Mark K. Hoffmeyer, Stephen M. Hugo, Mark J. Jeanson, Matthew S. Kelly
  • Patent number: 10161764
    Abstract: Apparatus and methods have been developed to provide speed, location, and direction detection of a moving object or moving component using a single inductive sensor system. Direction detection, speed detection, and location detection may be provided by the same inductive sensor and used as feedback in a motion control systems. Control systems of tractors, draglines, power shovels, and cranes may be easily upgraded with added safety, precision control, and automation using the inductive sensor system described herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Inventor: Milton D. Olsen
  • Patent number: 10156601
    Abstract: The system includes a plurality of probe antennas that receive radio signals at a plurality of measurement positions located within a measurement plane in a near field region of an antenna to be measured, a probe scanning mechanism that moves the respective probe antennas to a plurality of measurement positions while maintaining relative positions of the plurality of probe antennas, an amplitude and phase difference measurement unit that measures a phase difference between the radio signals and measures amplitudes of the radio signals, every time the respective probe antennas are moved to the measurement positions, and a phase calculation unit that calculates a phase of the radio signal at each measurement position from the phase difference measured by the amplitude and phase difference measurement unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: ANRITSU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Aya Hinotani, Takashi Kawamura, Shigenori Mattori
  • Patent number: 10156457
    Abstract: A method for measuring an angular position of a rotating shaft, the method including providing a magnetic field which rotates with the shaft about an axis of rotation, positioning an integrated circuit having first and second magnetic sensing bridges within the magnetic field at a radially off-center position from the axis of rotation, the first and second magnetic sensing bridges respectively providing first and second signals representative of first and second magnetic field directions, the integrated circuit having a set of adjustment parameters for modifying attributes of the first and second signals, modifying values of the set of adjustment parameters until errors in the first and second signals are substantially minimized, and determining an angular position of the shaft based on the first and second signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Wolfgang Granig, Dirk Hammerschmidt, Udo Ausserlechner
  • Patent number: 10156614
    Abstract: The concepts, systems, circuits and techniques described herein are directed toward sensing a voltage transient within a magnetic field sensor integrated circuit, such as a current sensor. A magnetic field sensor integrated circuit includes a substrate having a first surface and a second opposing surface, at least one magnetic field sensing element supported by a first surface of the substrate, an electromagnetic shield layer disposed on a shielded region of the first surface of the substrate adjacent to an unshielded region of the first surface of the substrate and an electrode disposed in the unshielded region of the first surface of the substrate and configured to permit detection of the voltage transient. In some embodiments, the shielded region and/or the electrode can be omitted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: Allegro MicroSystems, LLC
    Inventors: Alexander Latham, William P. Taylor
  • Patent number: 10156742
    Abstract: Provided is a set of techniques for measuring different properties or parameters of liquid crystal mixtures by applying a driving waveform and measuring the response current and/or the optical response. This may be done by using specific liquid crystal test cells. Also provided are the optimized test cell parameters that are used in the algorithms for calculating the properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Inventors: Henry Zhong Zou, Lianhua Ji
  • Patent number: 10145863
    Abstract: A probe apparatus has probe wires with a contact pattern on one side. The contact pattern is for contacting a respective contact pattern on another test equipment or component, such as a circuit board. The probe wires have tips that probe a device desired for testing. Signals are transmitted through the probe wires from the probe card, for example, through a circuit board to other diagnostic equipment. The contact of the probe card with the circuit board allows signals to be transferred through the probe wires to the other diagnostic equipment. On another side of the probe card is a connector structure. The connector structure includes a retainer that can allow the probe card to be replaced from a test system, such as allowing it to be connected and disconnected from a holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: Celadon Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: William A. Funk, John L. Dunklee, Bryan J. Root
  • Patent number: 10145929
    Abstract: In a method and a controller for generating a parameter map for a target volume in an examination object, that represents a field deviation from the resonance frequency of a first spectral component of tissue of object in a magnetic resonance tomography scanner, a spatial region of the object, which includes at least the target volume, is excited. At least three echo signals are formed, wherein a first echo time difference between two the echo signals is chosen such that the phase evolutions of the signals of a second spectral component of the tissue differ, during the first echo time difference, from the first spectral component substantially by 2?, and an echo time of at least a further one of the echo signals is chosen such that it lies between the echo times of the two echo signals having the first echo time difference. Raw data are then acquired from the three echo signals, and the parameter map is then generated therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Alto Stemmer
  • Patent number: 10145889
    Abstract: A testkey structure including the following components is provided. A fin structure is disposed on a substrate and stretches along a first direction. A first gate structure and a second gate structure are disposed on the fin structure and stretch along a second direction. A first common source region is disposed in the fin structure between the first gate structure and the second gate structure. A first drain region is disposed in the fin structure at a side of the first gate structure opposite to the first common source region. A second drain region disposed in the fin structure at a side of the second gate structure opposite to the first common source region. A testkey structure is symmetrical along a horizontal line crossing the first common source region. The present invention further provides a method of measuring device defect or connection defect by using the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORP.
    Inventors: Kuei-Sheng Wu, Wen-Jung Liao, Wen-Shan Hsiao
  • Patent number: 10132883
    Abstract: In one example, an RF coil array includes a first RF coil configured to generate a magnetic field along a first axis, the first RF coil having a first surface, a second RF coil configured to generate a magnetic field along a second axis, orthogonal to the first axis, the second RF coil having a second surface, and a first foldable interconnect coupling the first RF coil to the second RF coil. The first foldable interconnect may be adjusted to couple the first RF coil to the second RF coil with a first amount of overlap and with the first surface and second surface facing a common direction, or couple the first RF coil to the second RF coil with a second amount of overlap, larger than the first amount of overlap, and with the first surface in face to face position with the second surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Dashen Chu, Scott Allen Lindsay, Dawei Gui, James Hiroshi Akao, Zhu Li
  • Patent number: 10132876
    Abstract: An exemplary assembly for testing a wireless charge transmit system includes a portable tester that is configured to mimic a vehicle mounted charge receive system and to wirelessly interface with a wireless charge transmit system. An exemplary method of testing a wireless charge transmit station for an electrified vehicle includes positioning a portable tester relative to the wireless charge transmit station, and using the portable tester to mimic an electrified vehicle interfacing with the wireless charge transmit station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher W. Bell, John Paul Gibeau, James A. Lathrop
  • Patent number: 10132874
    Abstract: A system for monitoring a nickel-cadmium battery incorporating twenty nickel-cadmium battery cells connected in series in a passenger aircraft includes a plurality of cell sensors for measuring the cell voltage and the cell temperature of individual battery cells and a data processing unit, and is set up to measure the battery current. The data processing unit is set up to determine a state of health value which is indicative of the state of health of the battery from the measurement data of the cell sensors and the measured battery current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: LUFTHANSA TECHNIK AG
    Inventors: Florian Sperling, Andrej Guettler
  • Patent number: 10126366
    Abstract: An apparatus for the in situ NMR monitoring of a battery including an anode, a separator and an air cathode is provided. The apparatus includes a non-metallic anode container portion, a non-metallic cathode container portion, and non-metallic connecting structure and sealing structure for connecting and sealing the anode container portion and the cathode container portion to define a hermetically sealed interior space for containing the battery with an anode of the battery adjacent the anode container portion and an air cathode of the battery adjacent the cathode container portion. The cathode container portion includes an air chamber portion with an air inlet and an air outlet. The air chamber portion can be adjacent to the air cathode such that air flowing from the air inlet to the air outlet will contact the air cathode. A method of evaluating an air cathode battery and a battery assembly for the NMR spectroscopy of an air cathode battery are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.
    Inventors: Jian-ping Zheng, Annadanesh Shellikeri
  • Patent number: 10128601
    Abstract: A contactor device includes: a first body substrate; a second body substrate; a flexible membrane connected to the first body substrate and second body substrate, wherein the second substrate body is movable relative to the first substrate body by flexure of the flexible membrane; an electrical contact member carried by the second substrate body; a microfluidic-channeled substrate coupled to the first body substrate, the microfluidic-channeled substrate having a chamber and a microfluidic channel in fluid communication with the chamber; and a 3-dimensional flexible membrane enclosing the chamber, wherein the 3-dimensional flexible membrane flexes toward the second body substrate when a fluid pressure is applied to the chamber through the microfluidic channel whereby a force or a movement is transferred to the second body substrate by the 3-dimensional flexible membrane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: Componentzee, LLC
    Inventor: Masud Beroz
  • Patent number: 10114090
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging system acquires magnetic resonance data from a target volume in a subject. The magnetic resonance imaging system includes multiple excitation sources for generating a slice-selective or slab-selective spatial radio frequency (RF) excitation magnetic field targeting slice/slab spatial variations in the target volume, and a controller coupled to the excitation sources. The controller is adapted for: determining a power level required by the excitation sources for generating the slice-selective/or slab-selective spatial RF excitation magnetic field, decomposing the slice-selective or slab-selective spatial RF excitation magnetic field into respective RF excitation constituents of the excitation sources, controlling each of the excitation sources to simultaneously generate the respective RF excitation constituent, using the determined power level for acquiring the magnetic resonance data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventors: Ulrich Katscher, Hanno Heyke Homann, Peter Boernert
  • Patent number: 10107861
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus are disclosed to detect faults in a rotary machine having a rotor and at least two stator windings. The method comprises generating an input signal and applying the input signal to stator windings while the rotor is locked at a rotor position, measuring output signals from the stator windings and processing all the output signals by Fourier transform to obtain frequency responses of the stator windings, forming derived quantities from all the frequency responses so that the derived quantities are independent of the rotor position, comparing the derived quantities with corresponding reference quantities, determining that there is a fault in the rotary machine if a magnitude or phase difference between the derived quantities and the corresponding reference quantities exceeds a threshold number. The apparatus is designed to test a rotary machine using the inventive method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: QSD Solutions LLC
    Inventor: Xiaoyuan Qi
  • Patent number: 10090846
    Abstract: A control apparatus includes, for at least two-phase signals detected from a resolver excited by a carrier signal having a carrier frequency fc, a first phase shifter that shifts a phase of a first phase signal of the resolver with a pole at a frequency f1 lower than the carrier frequency fc, a second phase shifter that shifts a phase of a second phase signal of the resolver with a pole at a frequency f2 higher than the carrier frequency fc, a signal generator that generates a correction signal for canceling out an error component of the carrier signal, and a synthesizer that synthesizes the phase-shifted first phase signal, the phase-shifted second signal, and the correction signal for canceling out the error component, in order to create a phase-modulated signal that is the carrier signal being modulated at a rotation angle of a rotor of the resolver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yuji Shimizu, Akane Hiroshima, Yutaka Ono
  • Patent number: 10082543
    Abstract: In view of drivers cannot equip their vehicles with conventional intelligent battery monitoring system by themselves because the wire connections of the intelligent battery monitoring system are complex, the present invention particularly discloses a non-contact intelligent battery sensing system showing the advantages of simple circuit framework and low manufacturing cost. Since the non-contact intelligent battery sensing system only comprises a magnetic field sensor and a sensor controlling module, it is very easy for the drivers to equip their vehicles with this non-contact intelligent battery sensing system by themselves. To apply the non-contact intelligent battery sensing system, the driver just needs to firstly dispose the magnetic field sensor at one position near to a power line of a battery to be sensed, and then install a sensor controlling application program in his smart phones. Apparently, the non-contact intelligent battery sensing system further shows the advantage of easy to be installed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: Prolific Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Yun-Kuo Lee, Chia-Chang Hsu, Ren-Yuan Yu, Ching-Te Chen, Ke-Ciang Shen
  • Patent number: 10073050
    Abstract: An assembly comprising an upstream pipe, a downstream pipe, and a system (1) for measuring variation in the gas content of a two-phase flow, the assembly including: an insulating sheath (6), an upstream ground (2), a measurement electrode (3), a guard electrode (7), and a downstream ground (4) arranged in succession in the insulating sheath (6) and each presenting an identical internal section defining an internal flow duct for a two-phase flow from the upstream ground (2) towards the downstream ground (4) in line with the upstream pipe and the downstream pipe, the guard electrode (7) being subjected to the same potential as the measurement electrode (3), the measurement electrode (3) measuring the capacitance of the two-phase flow relative to the upstream ground (2) and variation in that capacitance, the upstream ground (2) and the downstream ground (4) being electrically connected to the upstream pipe and to the downstream pipe, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: Safran Aircraft Engines
    Inventors: Alain Bruere, Philippe Nivet, Simon Fammery