Patents Examined by Thomas Stevens
  • Patent number: 8494664
    Abstract: A programming tool provides an interface between an industrial controller and a motor drive that allows the logic development tool used to program the industrial controller to be used to configure the motor drive and its supported components directly. This allows a programmer to configure the topology for the motor drive and provide configuration data that can be verified directly from within the controller programming software rather than requiring separate programming and diagnostic tools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael R. Keller
  • Patent number: 8483883
    Abstract: A variable-air-volume system for modulating the speed of a supply fan by measuring a plurality of inlet static pressures within the inlet of a corresponding plurality of terminal boxes within the system; calculating a plurality of setpoint errors equal to the difference between the plurality of inlet static pressures and a corresponding plurality of terminal box setpoint pressures; selecting minimum setpoint error out of all of the calculated setpoint errors; and modulating the fan speed as a function of the minimum setpoint error. The system can also utilize a power adjustment factor to modify the terminal box set point pressures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Inventor: David Stanley Watson
  • Patent number: 8483847
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a control system includes a first controller, a second controller, and a network connector. The network connector is configured to network-connect the first controller and the second controller. The first controller is configured to designate an activation mode of the second controller. The second controller is configured to be activated based on firmware corresponding to the activation mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Katsuhiko Araki
  • Patent number: 8483860
    Abstract: The present application relates to a technique of calculating an environmental load amount of each product produced on a production line including types of processing apparatuses. Power consumption required for producing a product is obtained more accurately and in an earlier stage. Power consumption required for producing each product is obtained by using the power consumption for each product with respect to each apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomohiko Akahori, Osamu Namikawa
  • Patent number: 8463450
    Abstract: An aggregated management system for managing a commodity, such as electricity or gas, is disclosed. The system includes: a plurality of commodity resources; an availability calculator; a resource aggregator, wherein each resource, depending on availability data from the availability calculator, is aggregated to represent an aggregated resource; a resource controller, wherein each commodity resource, depending on availability, is selectively operated by the resource controller in response to a resource instruction; and an interlace to provide information regarding the aggregated resource and receive resource instructions regarding the aggregated resource for the resource controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Flexitricity Limited
    Inventor: Alastair Martin
  • Patent number: 8463411
    Abstract: One or more techniques are provided for the sharing of variable trajectories between multiple controllers in a control system. In general, the present technique is based upon the sharing of predicted desired variable trajectories between multiple controllers requiring a common input variable. In one embodiment, a common input variable is shared between two controllers, wherein one controller is tuned to have dominant control with regard to the shared variable. Each controller determines and communicates their own desired trajectory for the shared variable to the other controller and in doing so, the constraints associated with each controller are shared and honored by the other controller. Based on the communicated trajectories, the dominant controller may exercise control over the shared variable, thus improving overall process control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Kent Stephenson, Lina M. Rueda Velandia
  • Patent number: 8463422
    Abstract: An extruder or injection molding machine with user-specifically monitoring and regulating processing of plastic materials includes a material feed, a plasticizer, and a mold. A process input variable, e.g. cost of the apparatus, raw material, power, and processed quantity, can be inputted with an input device and transmitted to a controller. A process monitoring variable, e.g. the duration of a product cycle, product cost, raw material used/power consumed per product cycle, expected purchase price for a given quantity of a product, and number of product cycles until maintenance, can be determined in real time from a process control variable and/or process input variable. A value of a process monitoring variable, such as the actual desired, or mean value, the value integrated since starting, the history or tendency of this value, can be outputted on an output device in form of a characteristic diagram.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Markus Betsche, Günther Grimm, Arno Wyrwoll
  • Patent number: 8457786
    Abstract: An industrial robot system has at least one robot (1) having a robot coordinate system (xr1, yr1, zr1) and a positioner (2) having a positioner coordinate system (xp, yp, zp) and adapted to hold and change orientation of a workpiece by rotating about a rotational axis. Target points for the robot are programmed with respect to an object coordinate system (xo1, yo1, zo1). A robot controller (3), at least three calibration objects (24a-c) arranged on the positioner, and a calibration tool (26) held by the robot are provided. The positions of the calibration objects are determined for at least three different angles of the rotational axis of the positioner, to determine the direction of the rotational axis of the positioner and relation between the object coordinate system and the positioner coordinate system by performing a best fit between known and determined positions of the calibration objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2013
    Assignee: ABB Technology Ltd
    Inventor: Bjorn E. Andersson
  • Patent number: 8452425
    Abstract: A position control device for suppressing occurrence of stick-slip during a feed operation performed in a very low speed region is provided. Adders add an output obtained by multiplying actual speed deviation by a proportional gain, an integral component of actual speed deviation obtained by inputting actual speed deviation to an integral compensator, an output obtained by multiplying motor speed deviation by a proportional gain, and an integral component of the motor speed deviation obtained by inputting motor speed deviation to an integral compensator. The result is output as a torque feedback command. Each integral compensator has a coefficient changer capable of changing a coefficient from 0 to 1 to adjust integral gains in accordance with a speed feedforward command or a speed command. Large integral gain increases the response speed of switching from static to kinetic friction torque in a very low speed region thereby suppressing occurrence of stick-slip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Okuma Corporation
    Inventors: Yuji Kawazu, Tomohisa Kameyama
  • Patent number: 8442693
    Abstract: The disclosure provides systems and methods of use of an HVAC graphical interface dashboard. In various embodiments, the dashboard includes a weather tab, wherein invoking the weather tab advances to a weather screen. The dashboard also includes an indoor humidity tab, wherein invoking the indoor humidity tab advances to a humidity screen which displays at least a current indoor humidity, wherein the humidity screen interprets a percentage of humidity for a user. A programs tab and a home tab are also provided. At least one attribute of a presentation of the home screen is selectable by a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: Lennox Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Muhammad Ali Mirza, Timothy H. Thorson
  • Patent number: 8437878
    Abstract: The disclosure provides an HVAC data processing and communication network and a method of manufacturing the same. In one embodiment the network includes a system device and a user interface. The system device is configured to generate and locally store an alarm record in response to an alarm event. The system device is further configured to receive an alarm request message via a data bus. In response to receiving the alarm request message, the system device is configured to publish an alarm reporting message over the data bus. The user interface is configured to receive the alarm message and display an alert depending on a state of the flag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Lennox Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Wojciech Grohman, Amanda Filbeck
  • Patent number: 8437876
    Abstract: A person-support apparatus operates according to a set of default operating parameters, processes information corresponding to an occupant of the person-support apparatus from a receiver to determine if an optimal value for an operating parameter is different from the default value, modifies a default operating parameter to an optimal value based on the information corresponding to the occupant of the person-support apparatus to create a modified operating parameter, and operates the person-support apparatus utilizing the modified operating parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Hill-Rom Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy J. Receveur, Stephen C. Flint, Charles A. Lachenbruch
  • Patent number: 8428765
    Abstract: An optimal process determining system executes a step of calculating a temporary process that includes information of a plurality of individual processes. According to an example, each process includes a tooling including of a tool, a holder, a tool projection length, and a sequence of the plurality of individual processes. A similarity between the toolings of two individual processes is calculated. In addition, a calculation is performed relating to a plurality of integrated processes for which the tooling of one of the individual processes having a high similarity is integrated into the tooling of the other one of the individual processes. In addition, an optimal process is determined from the plurality of integrated processes on the basis of an actual machining time in each of the integrated processes, a unit integration reduction time reduced as one of the toolings of the individual processes is integrated, and the number of the individual processes integrated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignee: JTEKT Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Okita, Yoshimasa Kuwano, Kazunari Teramoto
  • Patent number: 8392009
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a semiconductor manufacturing method. The method includes performing a first process to a first plurality of semiconductor wafers; determining a sampling rate to the first plurality of semiconductor wafers based on process quality; determining sampling fields and sampling points to the first plurality of semiconductor wafers; measuring a subset of the first plurality of semiconductor wafers according to the sampling rate, the sampling fields and the sampling points; modifying a second process according to the measuring; and applying the second process to a second plurality of semiconductor wafers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Wang Jo Fei, Andy Tsen, Ming-Yu Fan, Jill Wang, Jong-I Mou
  • Patent number: 8386063
    Abstract: A foreign matter detection unit detects an entry of an unexpected foreign matter that is other than the substrates by light transmitting optical sensors 7 having light projecting portions 7a and light receiving portions 7b at opening sections 3a, 3b formed in cover members 2 through which the substrates pass. By executing an emergency stop processing, when the entry of the foreign matter is detected at one of the opening sections, to stop the electronic component mounting apparatus that is adjacent to the opening section at which the entry of the foreign matter is detected, safety of the machine operators is properly ensured in check and confirmation works conducted at the time of machine troubles etc even in an electronic component assembling line in which the small-sized thin unit apparatuses are combined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2013
    Assignee: Panasonic Corporation
    Inventor: Yuji Ogata
  • Patent number: 8370124
    Abstract: An emulation system includes a central time source generating a time reference and an emulated spacecraft control processor which contains an embedded processor that provides an emulated input/output interface to communicate simulated spacecraft data. The embedded processor processes the simulated spacecraft data and contains a real time clock engine having a real-time clock period. The system further has a first simulation that processes attitude control system data from the emulated spacecraft control processor to simulate an attitude control system of the spacecraft in real-time. The first simulation engine operative to produce sensor data for input to the emulated spacecraft control processor based on the simulated system dynamics and adjusts the real time clock period in response to the time reference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Jeffrey J. Gold, John D. Haskell, David L. Koza, Michael J. Surace, Steven R. Zammit
  • Patent number: 8352092
    Abstract: A method and system for workload balancing to assist in power grid load management. The method includes receiving a request to perform a task at a site powered by connection to an AC power grid, the task comprising either data processing or manufacturing an article; measuring an AC frequency of the AC power grid to obtain a current AC frequency; and performing or not performing the task at the site based on the current AC frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Gregory Jensen Boss, Rick Allen Hamilton, II, Julianne Frances Haugh, Anne R. Sand
  • Patent number: 8346400
    Abstract: A power-management system and method for photovoltaic installations connecting to the grid incorporates monitoring active and/or reactive power, account being taken at all times of grid requirements, in order to allow temporary demand arising in the grid to be addressed, thereby contributing to regulation of the grid and to the stability and quality thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Ingeteam Power Technology, S.A.
    Inventors: Roberto González Senosiain, Javier Coloma Calahorra, Jesús Mayor Lusarreta, Ainhoa Cárcar Mayor, Jorge Acedo Sánchez, David Solé López, Mikel Zabaleta Maeztu, Susana Simón Segura, Javier Pérez Barbáchano, Luis Marroyo Palomo
  • Patent number: 8340793
    Abstract: An electronic control configuration includes at least one secondary microprocessor operable to control a device. The at least one secondary microprocessor assumes protection control of the device responsive to a first type of failure by transmitting a protection control signal to a first effector. The at least one secondary microprocessor assumes backup control of the device responsive to a second type of failure by transmitting a backup control signal to a second effector. The backup control functionality of the at least one secondary microprocessor can be selectively disabled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffry K. Kamenetz, Gregory DiVincenzo, Mark A. Johnston, Jay W. Kokas, Luke T. Orsini, Steven R. Fischer, Jay H. Hartman, Kevin P. Roy, William Betterini
  • Patent number: 8332056
    Abstract: A communication control apparatus includes a first connection unit connecting to a power line, a second connection unit to which an external apparatus is connected, a power supply unit for supplying electric power to the external apparatus via the second connection unit, a communication unit for making the communication between a communication apparatus connected to the power line and the external apparatus via the first connection unit and the second connection unit, and a control unit for controlling the power supply unit to supply electric power to the external apparatus, based on information received from the external apparatus by the communication unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akihiro Tanabe