Patents Examined by Phung T Nguyen
  • Patent number: 6940422
    Abstract: An emergency vehicle traffic light preemption system for preemption of traffic lights at an intersection to allow safe passage of emergency vehicles. The system includes a real-time status monitor of an intersection which is relayed to a communications controller for transmission to emergency vehicles as well as to a central dispatch office. The system also provides for audio warnings at an intersection to protect pedestrians who may not be in a position to see visual warnings or for various reasons cannot hear the approach of emergency vehicles. A transponder mounted on an emergency vehicle provides autonomous control so the vehicle operator can attend to getting to an emergency and not be concerned with the operation of the system. Activation of a Code 3 situation provides communications with each intersection being approached by an emergency vehicle and indicates whether the intersection is preempted or if there is any conflict with other approaching emergency vehicles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2005
    Assignee: California Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Aaron D. Bachelder, Conrad F. Foster
  • Patent number: 6937149
    Abstract: A garage door opener remote controller unit is mountable on the handlebar of a motorcycle or other handlebar steered vehicle and includes a radio frequency transmitter and a push button actuator for sending a door control signal. The controller unit includes a housing and opposed mounting parts for mounting the controller unit on a handlebar assembly. The controller unit is mounted on a handlebar assembly by screw type fasteners which secure the controller unit housing and mounting parts in assembly. At least one of the mounting parts may include a recess or channel for training vehicle control cables and electrical conductors therethrough and along the handlebar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2005
    Assignee: Overhead Door Corporation
    Inventor: Michael T. McMahon
  • Patent number: 6927684
    Abstract: A remotely activated control device responsive to a specific transmitter operating in a frequency band assigned to radio telephone equipment, such as cellular telephone networks, cordless telephones, etc. The control device includes a radio receiver which provides a received pulse train to an assurance logic circuit. The assurance logic circuit determines if the received pulse train is limited to no more than a transmitter identification code and an action code, the combination of which is less than the code required to activate a relay network or initiate a radio telephone connection. Pulse trains accepted by the assurance logic circuit are compared to a stored code by a comparitor. The stored code includes the identification of a specific transmitter or group of transmitters and at least one action code. If the received pulse train matches the stored code, a switching circuit is activated to control a user supplied device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2005
    Inventors: Victor Joyner, Kevin P. Reilly, Harold A. Gell
  • Patent number: 6924734
    Abstract: A vehicular remote control apparatus warns a driver when the driver moves from the inside of a vehicle to the outside of the vehicle while an engine is operating. The vehicular remote control apparatus is located inside the vehicle and includes a transmitter-receiver for generating a first request signal and a portable device for generating a transmission signal in response to the first request signal and transmitting the transmission signal to the transmitter-receiver. The first request signal is transmitted to outside the vehicle. The transmitter-receiver includes a determining device for determining whether the engine is operating and a warning signal transmission device for generating a first warning signal if the engine is operating when receiving the transmission signal and transmitting the first warning signal to the portable device located outside the vehicle. The portable device includes a warning device for giving a warning when the portable device receives the first warning signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2005
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho
    Inventors: Chikao Nagasaka, Toru Nakamura, Toshiyuki Isogai, Shinji Kishida
  • Patent number: 6844808
    Abstract: Base stations in an outdoor warning siren system monitor the system communication radio frequency to detect the command signals used to activate remotely located warning units. A valid command signal includes a portion identifying the base station generating the signal. When a base station detects a signal bearing its identification, the base station compares the detected signal to its own station ID. If the detected signal matches the detecting station's ID then a system breach is declared. The outdoor warning siren system may respond to a breach by automatically de-activating any alarms activated by the unauthorized signal and/or producing a breach indication to emergency personnel who may respond according to the situation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2005
    Assignee: Whelen Engineering Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas M. Fredericks, Kenneth S. Lemieux
  • Patent number: 6756908
    Abstract: A plurality of wires (33, 34; 35, 36) are disposed near the bottom (23-25) of blade root sockets (16-18) of a rotating disk 39 of a gas turbine engine by vapor deposition and etching, the wires including connections to excitation nodes (40, 42) and detection nodes (41, 43). A nearby stationary member of the engine mounts an oscillator amplifier (55) which drives a coil (57) that excites the circuitry, and a coil (62) drives an amplifier (65) and a processor (67) which provides an indication of whether or not one or more of the wires are broken by a crack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2004
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Frank D. Gass, Gonzalo J. Rey
  • Patent number: 6741167
    Abstract: A trailer vehicle is provided with an audible alarm that is sounded when a removable activator pin in a electrical circuit is withdrawn as a consequence of initial rotation of a trailer vehicle roadway wheel during movement of the trailer vehicle from a parked condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Inventor: Lynn Mulkey
  • Patent number: 6727821
    Abstract: An apparatus for monitoring and controlling the operation of an electrical power transformer includes a processor with input transducers for providing to the processor inputs indicative of electrical current in a winding of the transformer and ambient temperature outside the transformer. The processor is arranged using an algorithm based upon heat transfer to repeatedly calculate a first prediction, based upon the present values of electrical current and ambient temperature, of a time period before the hot spot temperature exceeds a pre-set allowable maximum and a second prediction, based upon the current value of power, of a time period before the accumulated loss of life exceeds a pre-set allowable maximum. If the shorter time period of the two calculations is less than a pre-set value, for example one half hour, the processor generates an alarm signal and a display counting down the time remaining in the period, together with a second alarm signal at a shorter second time of for example one quarter hour.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2004
    Assignee: Perseus 2000, LLC
    Inventors: Mark Anthony Weekes, Robert George Coish, Zhiying Zhang, Glenn William Swift
  • Patent number: 6707393
    Abstract: A traffic signal light is caused to have improved visual perceptibility and distinctiveness by the addition of blue light sources that interact with the conventional red and green lights to alter their hues. The blue light sources have a rapidly varying intensity, producing a flickering effect. The combination of the change in hue and flickering effect causes the red and green lights to attract greater visual attention and to be more readily distinguished from other lights encountered during driving, especially during night-time driving.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Inventor: Elburn S. Moore
  • Patent number: 6696957
    Abstract: A system and method for remotely ascertaining movement or non-movement of an individual in order to determine a possible emergency condition. The system includes a plurality of base systems, a central monitoring system, and a plurality of client systems. Each base system is associated with a site to be monitored and includes at least one monitoring device for generating information in response to detected movement of an individual. The central monitoring system is remotely located from the base systems and is coupled thereto for receiving the generated information. The central monitoring system includes a database for storing and retrieving at least a portion of the generated information from each base system. Each client system is remotely located from the base systems and central monitoring system and is couplable to the central monitoring system for retrieving at least a portion of the stored information in the database.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2004
    Inventor: Isaac Shepher
  • Patent number: 6646562
    Abstract: A hooking-type fully automatic electric meter with a function of fully automatic detecting and choosing a measuring mode among the electric current, voltage and resistance measuring modes. A user only needs to turn on the electric power of the electric meter without performing any other procedures; he can get an accurate reading of the volume of electricity on the display screen. The meter is different from the manually selected clamping type meters with different functional positions for measuring the values of electric current, voltage and resistance. With the meter, damage to the main body of the electric meter in operating electric measuring and to the safety of the user himself can be avoided. This can significantly raise the industrial safety in measuring large volume of electric current, and can save actions and time for operating the electric meter, and convenience and efficiency in operating can be increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: APPA Technology Corp.
    Inventor: Shan-Wen Chang
  • Patent number: 6642838
    Abstract: A system detects the presence of an occupant in a land vehicle after the engine of the land vehicle has been turned off. The system activates an alarm and a cooling system as well as unlocks the doors of the vehicle. Thus, help can be notified and the temperature of the vehicle near the occupant can be maintained cool until help arrives. A GPS system can be included in some forms of the invention as well as a plurality of different alarms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2003
    Inventors: Charles A. Barnas, Linda Barnas
  • Patent number: 6624749
    Abstract: In an indicating instrument (1) intended for a motor vehicle, a plurality of display levels (2, 3, 4) partially superposed on one another permit a display at staggered depths. As a result, not only three-dimensional forms of display but also a preferred arrangement of the essential information according to the operating conditions can be provided on the first display level (2). For unproblematical exchange or later retrofitting, the display levels (2, 3, 4) fixed in a housing of the display instrument (1) a plug-in connection (11). The indicating instrument (1) can consequently be adapted to individual requirement in a simple way.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: Mannesmann VDO AG
    Inventor: Horst Winterkorn
  • Patent number: 6621422
    Abstract: An apparatus for communicating with law enforcement during vehicle travel and associated methods are provided. The apparatus preferably includes a department server in communication with a vehicle computer and also in communication with a plurality of law enforcement databases. The vehicle computer includes mobile data communications software and officer communications enhancing software. The officer communications enhancing software preferably includes one or more of an audio communicator to transmit enhanced audio law enforcement data received from the mobile data communications software to the officer, an incident form completing enhancer to generate and populate incident forms, and a quick mapper to quickly generate and display a site overview map such as a top plan street view to an officer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Advanced Public Safety, Inc.
    Inventor: Jeff Rubenstein
  • Patent number: 6611205
    Abstract: An emergency control system for opening or closing a gate resides within a controller for regulating operation of the opening/closing mechanism of the gate. A safety station is in communication with the controller and includes means to signal the emergency control circuit to open or close the gate by using either of two pushbutton switches. Sensing means which detect an unsafe condition in the area of the gate such as human entrapment is connected to the controller and initiates an alarm mode operation of the controller when an unsafe condition is detected and turns on a sound alarm. Pushing either of the safety button switches turns off the sound alarm and moves the gate. Movement of the gate is stopped if the pressed button is released while the gate is in motion which otherwise continues to its limit. The emergency control circuit is responsive to input signals from the safety station only when the controller is in the alarm mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: Allstar Corporation
    Inventors: David C. Guthrie, Charles P. Coggins
  • Patent number: 6600410
    Abstract: A security arrangement for motor vehicle equipped with a programmed monitoring system (1) and with at least one specific system (2) to which the monitoring system transmits commands. The arrangement comprises hard-wired logic (4) mounted between a control facility (3) and the specific system, as is the monitoring system. This logic makes it possible to block a command (OV) transmitted by the monitoring system to the specific system, when this command corresponds to that which is obtained in respect of an instruction (C) received by the control facility and when such an instruction has not been received from the control facility by the hard-wired logic. The arrangement is intended to be fitted to a vehicle comprising a programmed monitoring system, such as a “hands-free” monitoring system, and one or more specific systems, for example an electrical anti-theft system or electrical supply monitoring system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2003
    Assignee: Valeo Electronique
    Inventor: Jacques Morillon
  • Patent number: 6587045
    Abstract: The position of an operated winker lever (104) is held by a moderation pin (108) and a moderation ridge portion (151). Further, a position detection means detects a position at which the winker lever (104) is held. Moreover, a projection portion (121) and a guide portion, which respectively interlock with an operating plate (131) of a solenoid (103) and a winker lever (104), are engaged with each other. Thus, as the magnetized operating plate (131) moves, the winker lever (104) is returned to a neutral position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
    Inventor: Yukiharu Sano
  • Patent number: 6577236
    Abstract: A FM CW cable guided radar for the detection and location of outdoor perimeter intruders. Helically wound outer conductors on coaxial transmit and receive transmission lines provide a slow wave structure to support the propagation of external electromagnetic fields. The two leaky coaxial lines are enclosed in an extruded plastic jacket with the outer conductors in continuous electrical contact along the length of the cable. A chirp frequency modulation provides a continuous target response having a baseband frequency that is proportional to the distance along the length of the cable. After location determination, the amplitude of the response is compared to a location specific threshold to determine if an intruder is present.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Inventor: Robert Keith Harman
  • Patent number: 6570498
    Abstract: An integrated access system includes an access device, a locking mechanism, a sensor, a controller, and a video device. The controller is coupled to the locking mechanism and the sensor and controls the locking mechanism in response to the access device being detected by the sensor. The video device captures images of a presenter of the access device. A housing houses the sensor and the video device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: Best Access Systems
    Inventors: Kenneth L. Frost, Roger Keith Russell
  • Patent number: RE38584
    Abstract: A meteorological information system useable by aircraft pilots and others. A receiver-calculator unit receives raw meteorological data and site-specific physical data from a ground-based weather station having a signal transmitter for broadcasting signals conveying data about weather conditions at the station. The transmitted raw data signals are received by the receiver-calculator unit in the aircraft. The receiver-calculator unit may feature an input with which the operator inputs information about the physical character, such as the heading, of the runway of interest. The receiver-calculator unit processes both received raw weather data and received site-specific physical data, and/or operator-input data, to derive additional meteorological information. The raw and derived weather conditions information is displayed by the unit to be available to the aircraft pilot during landing or take-off maneuvers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Assignee: Belfort Instrument, Inc.
    Inventor: Bruce R. Robinson