Patents Examined by Zoila E. Cabrera
  • Patent number: 7421309
    Abstract: A plurality of condition setting screens necessary to set various operation conditions of an injection molding machine is switched and displayed on a touch-panel-equipped display unit of a human-machine interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2008
    Assignee: Toshiba Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Makoto Nishizawa, Yutaka Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 7418306
    Abstract: A generic automation framework is provided to divide a process into a sequence of stages. The stages in the process may depend on each other and this dependency dictates the flow of the process. A stage may be an instance of a stage type, which provides a generic definition of a stage. A stage may be customized according to the specific requirement of the process. A stage may have one or more properties. Such a property may reflect the status of the stage during the progression of the process, identify the owner responsible for proper execution of the stage, and describe an escalation policy that indicates what to do upon the occurrence of a particular event in the stage. A user interface may be provided that separately displays information for each stage. The user interface may also graphically indicate the status of each stage in the process at a given moment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Sivaprasad V Padisetty, Thirunavukkarasu Elangovan
  • Patent number: 7418308
    Abstract: A method of determining parameters of plurality of thermal cycles to achieve a set glass strain level includes providing a plurality of input parameters for a glass substrate and a plurality of parameters for a plurality of thermal cycles. The method also includes iteratively modifying at least one of the pluralities of thermal cycle parameters so the glass strain is not greater than the set glass strain level after a final thermal cycle is completed. An aspect of the method usefully enables a user to determine from the material parameters and processing sequences of the glass manufacturer and further entities that may further process the glass (e.g., the glass manufacturer's customers) whether a particular glass strain can be achieved; and if not the example embodiments allows the manufacturer to calculate changes in the customers' processes to meet the desired glass strain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Corning Incorporated
    Inventors: Douglas C. Allan, Motoya Anma, Josef C. Lapp
  • Patent number: 7412363
    Abstract: Irregular volumes within one or more three-dimensional volume datasets are identified and extracted in response to criteria. The processing involves automatically finding a seed voxel or seed cell that meets the criteria and thus belongs to an irregular volume of interest, and then identifying cells related to the seed cell by one or more predetermined relationships that are therefore also to be grouped into that irregular volume. Information, which can be of any suitable type, identifying each such cell as being related to other cells and belonging to an irregular volume is stored in a suitable data structure. The location or similar neighborhood information and other data describing properties or attributes of the identified cell are also stored. Because the irregular volumes are extracted and pre-processed in this manner, operations including rendering them on a display and performing Boolean and arithmetic operations on them can readily be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Landmark Graphics Corporation
    Inventor: Andres C. Callegari
  • Patent number: 7409269
    Abstract: A method of analyzing the vibro-acoustic optimization potential of a structure of vibro-acoustically coupled subsystems having internal and coupling loss factors by means of statistical energy analysis (SEA). The method optimizes the vibro-acoustic behavior of the structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2008
    Assignee: Magna Steyr Fahzeugtechnik AG & Co KG
    Inventor: Thorsten Bartosch
  • Patent number: 7409322
    Abstract: A system and method for object modeling. A compositing module embeds geometric shapes to model varying densities of an object. The compositing module represents each volume domain of constant density within a segment with a separate geometric shape. A mass set properties module in the system calculates estimates of mass set properties such as center of mass by first subtracting integrals related, for example, to the lungs from an integral related to the total chest cavity. A deforming module in the system provides a geometric shape that is deformable to more closely match data points from the object. The deforming module adjusts a B-spline solid having control points to fit an irregularly shaped object. Movement and location of the control points locally adjust the B-spline solid's surface. These variation can be used to determine mass set properties including mass, volume, center of mass, inertia tensors, principal moments, and the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2008
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Victor Ng-Thow-Hing
  • Patent number: 7403877
    Abstract: System, method and computer product for baseline modeling a product or process. A service database contains process data. A preprocessor processes the data into a predetermined format. A baseline modeling component builds a baseline model from the preprocessed data, wherein the baseline model relates process performance variables as a function of process operating conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: James Kenneth Aragones, Jeffrey William Stein, Jeremiah Francis Donoghue, Ronald George Maruscik
  • Patent number: 7403834
    Abstract: Presented are methods and apparatus for controlling the processing of a substrate during a process step that is sensitive to one or more process conditions. One embodiment includes a method performed with corresponding apparatus that includes a controller. One step includes constructing a perturbation model relating changes in control parameters for the apparatus to one or more resulting changes in the process. The method also includes the step of using the perturbation model with at least one of a performance objective and a constraint to derive optimized control parameters for the controller. Another step in the method includes operating the controller with the optimized control parameters. Another embodiment includes an apparatus for processing substrates where the apparatus comprises optimized control parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2008
    Assignee: Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Kameshwar Poolla, Costas J. Spanos
  • Patent number: 7395130
    Abstract: A method and system for aggregating and combining manufacturing data for analysis for the purposes of increasing manufacturing efficiency and reducing manufacturing downtime due to abnormal conditions. An embodiment provides for a method of dividing an entire manufacturing process into parts and further into subparts for the purposes of tracking the path that a workpiece takes during the entire manufacturing process. Data is measured specific to the path and assigned to a data set stored on a data processing device for analysis of the conditions for the workpiece being examined. An embodiment provides for quicker data analysis which may result in less manufacturing product being discarded due to lengthy delays between abnormal conditions and the response to those conditions. An embodiment provides for users to be alerted when abnormal conditions are present. In one example, a data processing device non-manually halts production when abnormal conditions are present.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Naoki Toyoshima, Yuko Maeda
  • Patent number: 7386431
    Abstract: A method, practiced by a Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator software, is adapted for simulating a hydraulic fracture in an Earth formation, the formation including a plurality of layers, a slip zone, which represents a debonding between adjacent layers of the Earth formation, possibly existing between the adjacent layers, the method comprising the step of: setting up an Influence Coefficient Matrix, the matrix having a plurality of numbers, the plurality of numbers of the Influence Coefficient Matrix being calculated and determined such that the method, practiced by the Hydraulic Fracturing Simulator software for simulating the hydraulic fracture, will model, or take into account an existence of, the slip zone and/or the debonding between the adjacent layers of the Earth formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2008
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Eduard Siebrits, Anthony Peirce
  • Patent number: 6834212
    Abstract: Systems and methodologies are provided that adapt and control desired fabrication processes by utilizing a control model based solution. A suitable control model is obtained or derived from one or more other control models. A formulaic description is then obtained that predicts one or more desired outputs based on various process settings and inputs. A suitable solution to the description that achieves the desired outputs and is relatively close to ideal processing conditions is obtained utilizing a heuristic. The solution includes process control parameters or settings that are employed to control and/or modify a fabrication process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2004
    Assignee: Blue Control Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Sukesh Patel, Mark Freeland
  • Patent number: 6799090
    Abstract: A system for actuating a spray pump assembly comprises a reference platform, a motor, a drive transmission, a spray pump holder, a force coupler, a force transducer, and a system controller. The motor receives a power and control input, and produces a rotary drive output. The drive transmission receives the rotary drive output and produces a linear drive output. The spray pump holder secures the spray pump assembly. The force coupler couples the linear drive output to the spray pump, and applies a force to the spray pump. The force transducer produces a force signal proportional to the force applied to the spray pump. The system controller receives a set of test inputs and provides the control input to the motor as a function of the set of test inputs. The system actuates the spray pump mechanism according to an actuation profile defined by the set of test inputs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2004
    Assignee: Image Therm Engineering, Inc.
    Inventors: Dino J. Farina, Timothy M. Fallon, Socratis Kalogrianitis, Peter Taylor
  • Patent number: 6529795
    Abstract: By implementing a sequence control in a numerical control, tool-related machining operations and position elements are executed depending on the technology-dependent sequence in the machining program so that all cycles of a machining operation are selected consecutively as modal cycles, with all cycles being selected consecutively for a position element for each cycle for a machining operation, and the respective operation being executed at the position of the respective position element prior to the following cycle being selected as a modal cycle for an operation. Thus unnecessary tool changes are avoided and therefore machining productivity is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2003
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Ralf Friedrich, Stefan Peschke, Johannes Jennessen
  • Patent number: 6411862
    Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for managing and distributing design and manufacturing information throughout a factory in order to facilitate the production of components, such as bent sheet metal components. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the management and distribution of critical design and manufacturing information is achieved by storing and distributing the design and manufacturing information associated with each job. By replacing the traditional paper job set-up or work sheet with, for example, an electronically stored job sheet that can be accessed instantaneously from any location in the factory, the present invention improves the overall efficiency of the factory. In addition, through the various aspects and features of the invention, the organization and accessibility of part information and stored expert knowledge is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Amada Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kensuke Hazama, Kalev Kask, Satoshi Sakai, Anand Subbaraman