Patents Examined by Robert Nappi
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Patent number: 6719092Abstract: A loudspeaker enclosure is disclosed. The loudspeaker enclosure comprises a base panel, a first side panel configured to attach to the base panel, a second side panel configured to attach to the base panel, a top panel configured to attach to the first side panel and the second side panel, a front panel configured to attach to the base panel, the first side panel, the second side panel, and the top panel, the front panel defining at least one loudspeaker opening configured to receive a loudspeaker, and a rear panel configured to attach to the base panel, the first side panel, the second side panel, and the top panel.Type: GrantFiled: May 28, 2003Date of Patent: April 13, 2004Inventor: Anthony T. Barbetta
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Patent number: 6715581Abstract: A chromed exhaust pipe and muffler for motorcycles that is capable of withstanding the extreme heat generated at high rpm's of a motorcycle engine without discoloring or “bluing”. A double wall construction is utilized for the exhaust pipe and muffler with the back side of the exterior chromed pipe cut away along the length of the pipe from the mounting flange to the muffler core. The cut-away exterior pipe is dimensional to allow the interior pipe to be inserted in one piece from the mounting flange to the muffler core, as well as cooling the exterior pipe, thereby preventing heat discoloration of the exterior chromed pipe. Spacers are welded to the interior pipe and the exterior pipe at the backside cut-away of the exterior pipe to space the interior pipe within the exterior pipe. The muffler core includes a baffle core enclosed by an interior pipe section, allowing gases to flow out the back end only. The interior pipe is spaced apart from and enclosed in the exterior chromed pipe.Type: GrantFiled: June 25, 2002Date of Patent: April 6, 2004Inventor: Mark W. Dooley
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Patent number: 6717042Abstract: An apparatus is equipped to provide dance visualization of a stream of music. The apparatus is equipped with a sampler to generate characteristic data for a plurality of samples of a received stream of music, and an analyzer to determine a music type for the stream of music using the generated characteristic data. The apparatus is further provided with a player to manifest a plurality of dance movements for the stream of music in accordance with the determined music type of the stream of music.Type: GrantFiled: August 22, 2002Date of Patent: April 6, 2004Assignee: WildTangent, Inc.Inventors: Siang L. Loo, Jeremy A. Kenyon
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Patent number: 6715582Abstract: The invention relates to a suction muffler for a hermetically enclosed compressor, with a housing having a first part with an outlet channel and a second part with an inlet channel, flow conducting means being arranged between the outlet channel and the inlet channel, said means forming, together with the inlet channel and the outlet channel, a flow path, and a filter being arranged in the outlet channel. Further improvements of the noise damping are endeavored. For this purpose, the filter has a sieve-like embodiment and that the flow path comprises at least one second filter with a sieve-like embodiment.Type: GrantFiled: March 8, 2002Date of Patent: April 6, 2004Assignee: Danfoss Compressors GmbHInventors: Jens Erik Nissen, Christian Svendsen
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Patent number: 6718125Abstract: A motor control system creates a rounding effect on square wave phase currents which results in reduced acoustic noise. The control system includes a voltage source for providing a DC bus current, and an inverter. The inverter has a switching circuit for regulating the DC bus current to a fixed level. The switching circuit also forces consecutive phases of the motor to share the bus current at commutation. Forcing consecutive phases of the motor to share a desired amount of the DC bus current creates a “rounding” effect on the phase currents, which results in reduced acoustic noise. The preferred inverter has a plurality of transistors, and a control module. The control module selectively engages the transistors such that each phase of the motor has a phase turn-on point that occurs before a phase turn-off point of a preceding phase. The control module also pulse width modulates the transistors such that the DC bus current is regulated to the fixed level.Type: GrantFiled: January 25, 2001Date of Patent: April 6, 2004Assignee: Emerson Motor Co.Inventors: Bret S. Clark, J. Stephen Thorn
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Patent number: 6713980Abstract: A sunroof apparatus comprises a drive motor which actuates a roof glass and a control section. The control section rotates the drive motor reversely when the movement of the sunroof is obstructed by a caught foreign matter. When a drive voltage to be supplied to the drive motor becomes lower than a reference voltage, the control section determines that the drive voltage is abnormal and stops supplying the drive voltage to the drive motor to inhibit the drive motor from being operated. A first reference voltage is used as the reference voltage at the time the drive motor is stopped, and a second reference voltage lower than the first reference voltage is used as the reference voltage at the time the drive motor is operated. It is therefore possible to detect a foreign matter being caught before an abnormality of the drive voltage is determined.Type: GrantFiled: July 30, 2002Date of Patent: March 30, 2004Assignee: Asmo Co., Ltd.Inventors: Daisuke Mukai, Motoya Yamamoto, Yoshinobu Toyoda
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Patent number: 6713981Abstract: A pole position detector correctly detects a pole position of a permanent magnet motor. Each magnetic sensor (27) provides an electric signal in response to leakage flux from a magnet rotor (17). A computation unit (2) detects a change in the output of the magnetic sensor as a base pole position &thgr;, corrects the base pole position by &Dgr;&thgr; according to the base pole position, the magnitude of each stat or current (IU, IV, IW), and a current phase, and calculates correct rotation angles &thgr;re and &thgr;re′ accordingly. With low-cost magnetic sensors (27), the pole position detector corrects the outputs of the magnetic sensors affected by stat or current and provides a correct pole position or a correct rotor rotation angle.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2001Date of Patent: March 30, 2004Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.Inventor: Yuki Nakajima
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Patent number: 6711823Abstract: A personal care apparatus (1) with a housing (2) and with apparatus parts (6) for treating body parts of a person, which apparatus parts (6) are provided in a head region (5) of the personal care apparatus (1), is fitted in its head region (5) with a noise protection cap (9) which is designed with a closed circumference and which has a cap edge (12) which can be placed on the skin of a person during operation of the personal care apparatus (1) in order to fulfill a noise protection function.Type: GrantFiled: March 25, 2002Date of Patent: March 30, 2004Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.Inventor: Hannes Floessholzer
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Patent number: 6714102Abstract: A method for fabricating an acoustic resonator, for example a Thin Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators (FBAR), on a substrate. A depression is etched and filled with sacrificial material. The FBAR is fabricated on the substrate spanning the depression, the FBAR having an etch hole. The depression may include etch channels in which case the FBAR may include etch holes aligned with the etch channels. A resonator resulting from the application of the technique is suspended in air and includes at least one etch hole and may include etch channels.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 2001Date of Patent: March 30, 2004Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Richard C. Ruby, Paul Bradley, Yury Oshmyansky, Domingo A. Figueredo
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Patent number: 6710561Abstract: A closure system including a closure moveable for substantially closing an aperture in use, and an actuator for at least closing the closure, the actuator being mounted by mounting means, the mounting means including one or more measurement cells for measuring, in use, parameters of the closure systems, in use the system being subjected to movement and being arranged such that it is possible to at least partially distinguish trap forces applied to the closure from acceleration forces applied to the closure as a result of the movement of the closure system by consideration of the measured parameters.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2001Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Meritor Light Vehicle Systems-FranceInventor: Simon Blair Dobson
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Patent number: 6710558Abstract: An electronically commutatable motor, in particular for a fluid pump, includes excitation windings that may be connected to and disconnected from a DC supply voltage via semiconductor switches that are controlled by control signals of a commutation device. Additional closed- and/or open-loop control of the output of the motor, is obtained with a temperature protection system in that the control signals of the commutation device are clocked by pulse width modulatable output signals of a PWM generator and in that the pulse width ratio of the output signals of the PWM generator may additionally be modified as a function of the output signal of the temperature sensor.Type: GrantFiled: May 17, 2002Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbHInventors: Rolf Mack, Stefan Koch
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Patent number: 6710571Abstract: A household electrical appliance for a.c. operation includes a synchronous motor, a dropping resistor, and a device for inserting the dropping resistor. The synchronous motor is rated at a first frequency. The device inserts the dropping resistor in series with the synchronous motor for operating the synchronous motor at a second frequency.Type: GrantFiled: April 8, 2002Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: BSH Balay S.A.Inventor: Maria Del Carmen Menendez Fernandez
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Patent number: 6710568Abstract: A motor drive device of the invention has means for producing a pulse signal having a fixed amplitude by comparing a drive signal that is a sinusoidal signal synchronous with the rotation of a motor with a predetermined high-frequency signal, and the switching of a switching device connected between a power source and the motor is controlled by the pulse signal. This prevents the lowering of the switching speed of the switching device connected between the power source and the motor near the zero-cross points of the sinusoidal drive signal. This helps minimize switching loss and enhance power efficiency. Moreover, the phase current that flows through the motor comes to have a sinusoidal waveform. This helps enhance rotation characteristics.Type: GrantFiled: January 14, 2002Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Rohm Co., Ltd.Inventor: Norio Fujii
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Patent number: 6710573Abstract: PWM AC power is supplied to an induction motor or other AC load. The frequency and magnitude of the waveforms is controlled by detecting the peak voltage or width of the reverse EMF pulses at the commencement of the power waveform applied to the load, and then adjusting the applied AC power based on the detected peak voltage or width. Alternatively, the depth of width of a notch that follows the reverse EMF pulse can be detected and used to control the applied AC power.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 2002Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Inventor: Andrew S. Kadah
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Patent number: 6710567Abstract: Method and apparatus for accelerating a disc drive spindle motor to an operational velocity at which data are transferred between a host device and a disc rotated by the spindle motor. The spindle motor is initially accelerated from rest to an intermediate velocity at which sufficient back electromotive force (bemf) is generated by the rotation of the spindle motor to enable commutation circuitry of the disc drive to time the application of drive pulses to the spindle motor. The spindle motor is subsequently accelerated from the intermediate velocity to the operational velocity by applying a velocity dependent reference profile which establishes a sequence of reference levels to control the flow of current through the spindle motor during acceleration. The sequence of reference levels have different magnitudes at different velocities of the spindle motor between the intermediate velocity and the operational velocity.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2001Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Seagate Technology LLCInventors: Jeffrey A. Heydt, Christopher L. Hill
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Patent number: 6710572Abstract: A drive controller for brushless motors, comprising: a multiplicity of switching means each having a first switching element connected between a first power supply providing a first potential and an output terminal of the drive controller, and a second switching element connected between the output terminal and a second power supply providing a second potential; oscillator means for generating triangular signals; position signal generation means for generating sinusoidal position detection signals based on the signal detected by a position detector of the brushless motor; and comparator means for comparing the magnitudes of the triangular signals with the sinusoidal position detection signals to generate PWM signals. The first switching element and the second switching element of each switching means are turned ON/OFF alternately by the PWM signals. The mean potentials of the triangular signals and the sinusoidal position detection signals are set to the same potential.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 2001Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Rohm Co., Ltd.Inventor: Toshiro Okubo
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Patent number: 6708798Abstract: An easily controlled exhaust pipe has a manifold. One end of the manifold is connected to a distal end of a connecting tube. Another ends of the manifold are extended with a first branch tube and a second branch tube. The first branch tube is connected to a first outer tube and the second branch tube is connected to a second outer tube. The second branch tube has a controllable valve. Glass fibers and stainless steel and cotton structure are filled in the first and second outer tubes. A connecting piece welded between the first outer tube and the second outer tube. The controllable valve having a valve seat and washers. The valve seat controlled by a controller.Type: GrantFiled: January 2, 2002Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Liang Fei Industry Co., Ltd.Inventor: Ming-Tien Chang
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Patent number: 6710566Abstract: A servo control system for adjusting adhesive film thickness on a glue machine glue roll, wherein the glue machine includes a glue roll, a metering roll, and a glue gap defined between the glue roll and the metering roll. The system includes a servo motor for driving a glue gap adjusting mechanical linkage, a position encoder integrated into the servo motor, and a servo position controller coupled to the position encoder.Type: GrantFiled: October 1, 2001Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Chicago Industrial Group, Inc.Inventors: Robert E. Kaska, John R. Semenske
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Patent number: 6708797Abstract: The present invention relates to a LCD display that has a thin depth, rigid enclosure and includes a thin speaker so that the depth of the enclosure does not have to be increased to accommodate the speaker. The speaker is used to generate audio output that may correlate to the graphical information displayed on the LCD display. The enclosure has an opening for inclusion of a semi-rigid lens for viewing of an internal LCD module that is also used as a planar surface for the thin speaker. In order to provide a thin device in the enclosure that is driven by a driver to move air to generate sound, the driver is attached to the semi-rigid lens.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 2001Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Gilbarco Inc.Inventors: Joseph D. Long, Jonathan A. Gromatzky
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Patent number: 6710574Abstract: A reversible DC motor drive includes a DC/DC converter having a DC input, a first output having a first pulsed DC voltage and first DC voltage value, a second output having a second pulsed DC voltage and second DC voltage value, and a third output having a third pulsed DC voltage and third DC voltage value. The first and second outputs are adapted for electrical interconnection with armature terminals of a DC motor, and the third output is adapted for electrical interconnection with a field terminal of the motor. A microprocessor routine calculates motor speed from the motor armature voltage, field current and armature current. An outer control loop for motor speed and two separately controllable inner control loops for armature and field current control the DC/DC converter responsive to the calculated motor speed and a speed reference in order to independently control the three DC voltage values.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2001Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Eaton CorporationInventors: Anthony J. Davis, Bonne W. Posma, Michael A. Urbassik