Patents by Inventor Charles A. McPherson

Charles A. McPherson has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11939989
    Abstract: A ceiling fan or similar air-moving device can include a motor for rotating one or more blades to drive a volume of air about a space. A connector can be used to connect the blade to a blade iron to mount the blade to the motor. The connector can include a set of receptacles configured to insert into openings on the blade, with the set of receptacles connected by a set of arms. A set of mount posts on the blade iron can seat within the receptacles to mount the blade to the blade iron.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Hunter Fan Company
    Inventors: Charles William Botkin, Douglas Troy Mason, Bobby Neal Norwood, Matthew McPherson
  • Publication number: 20240097734
    Abstract: A ceiling fan or similar air-moving device can include a motor for rotating one or more blades to drive a volume of air about a space. A connector can be used to connect the blade to a blade iron to mount the blade to the motor. The connector can include a set of receptacles configured to insert into openings on the blade, with the set of receptacles connected by a set of arms. A set of mount posts on the blade iron can seat within the receptacles to mount the blade to the blade iron.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2023
    Publication date: March 21, 2024
    Inventors: Charles William Botkin, Douglas Troy Mason, Bobby Neal Norwood, Matthew McPherson
  • Patent number: 11644527
    Abstract: Local terrain feature location data is obtained from a local sensor device at a user location without a prior-known global position. The local terrain feature location data characterizes relative distances and directions to a plurality of local terrain features nearest to the user location. Global terrain feature location data stored in at least one hardware memory device is accessed. The global terrain feature location data characterizes relative distances and directions between a plurality of distinctive terrain features located in a defined terrain region in terms of absolute global location coordinates. The local terrain feature location data is compared to the global terrain feature location data to develop multiple pattern matching hypotheses, wherein each pattern matching hypothesis characterizes a likelihood of a subset of the local terrain features matching a subset the global terrain features. Global location coordinates for the user location is then determined from the pattern matching hypotheses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Patrick O'Shea, William W. Whitacre, Christopher C. Yu, Juha-Pekka J. Laine, Charles A. McPherson
  • Publication number: 20190368877
    Abstract: Local terrain feature location data is obtained from a local sensor device at a user location without a prior-known global position. The local terrain feature location data characterizes relative distances and directions to a plurality of local terrain features nearest to the user location. Global terrain feature location data stored in at least one hardware memory device is accessed. The global terrain feature location data characterizes relative distances and directions between a plurality of distinctive terrain features located in a defined terrain region in terms of absolute global location coordinates. The local terrain feature location data is compared to the global terrain feature location data to develop multiple pattern matching hypotheses, wherein each pattern matching hypothesis characterizes a likelihood of a subset of the local terrain features matching a subset the global terrain features. Global location coordinates for the user location is then determined from the pattern matching hypotheses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2019
    Publication date: December 5, 2019
    Inventors: Patrick O'Shea, William W. Whitacre, Christopher C. Yu, Juha-Pekka J. Laine, Charles A. McPherson
  • Patent number: 10365953
    Abstract: A mechanism for tracking applications on a node of a multi-tenant PaaS environment is disclosed. A method of the invention includes providing an agent of a server orchestration system on a multi-tenant node of a network-based application hosting system, wherein the node comprises a virtual machine (VM) of a cloud computing environment configured to host a plurality of Web application components of different owners, and maintaining, by the agent, a plurality of facts about the node. One of the facts is a number of source code management (SCM) software repositories on the node; each software repository containing at least one of the plurality of Web application components, which is determined by and updated by the agent to reflect the number of determined software repositories.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: Red Hat, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael P. McGrath, Matthew Hicks, Daniel Charles McPherson
  • Patent number: 10255110
    Abstract: A method includes instantiating a first web application for a first application owner on a virtual machine and instantiating a second web application for a second application owner. The second application owner is different than the first application owner. Instantiating the second web application includes determining that the second web application is associated with an attribute. The first web application is also associated with the attribute, and the attribute comprises an implementation related property of the first web application and the second web application. Instantiating the second web application also includes identifying the virtual machine as configured to host web applications having the attribute, responsive to identifying the virtual machine, instantiating the second web application on the virtual machine hosting the first web application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Red Hat, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael P. McGrath, Matthew Hicks, Daniel Charles McPherson
  • Publication number: 20180101408
    Abstract: A method includes instantiating a first web application for a first application owner on a virtual machine and instantiating a second web application for a second application owner. The second application owner is different than the first application owner. Instantiating the second web application includes determining that the second web application is associated with an attribute. The first web application is also associated with the attribute, and the attribute comprises an implementation related property of the first web application and the second web application. Instantiating the second web application also includes identifying the virtual machine as configured to host web applications having the attribute, responsive to identifying the virtual machine, instantiating the second web application on the virtual machine hosting the first web application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Publication date: April 12, 2018
    Inventors: Michael P. McGrath, Matthew Hicks, Daniel Charles McPherson
  • Patent number: 9842002
    Abstract: A mechanism for node selection for a new application in a multi-tenant cloud hosting environment is disclosed. A method of the invention includes receiving a request to host a software application on one of a plurality of nodes of a cloud computing infrastructure, each node configured to host multiple software applications. A set of available nodes from the plurality of nodes can be identified on which the software application can be hosted and the capacity of each identified node to host additional software applications can be determined. Then, a node is selected to host the software application using the determined capacities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: Red Hat, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael P. McGrath, Matthew Hicks, Daniel Charles McPherson
  • Patent number: 9689682
    Abstract: Scattered light in the sky (sky glow) from light sources at one or more known geographic locations is used as reference point(s), from which geographic location of a system observing the sky glow is automatically ascertained. The light is scattered by particulates in the atmosphere. An upward looking camera captures an image of the sky, including the sky glow. A search engine automatically searches a catalog of modeled or pre-stored sky glows for a model that matches the image. Each model is associated with a geographic location. The models characterize each sky glow, such as in terms of color, intensity, etc., as the sky glow would appear from the associated geographic location. If a matching model is found, within a predetermined match criterion, the system outputs the geographic location associated with the matching model. Optionally, the geographic location is used to select and display a map of the geographic location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
    Inventors: Juha-Pekka J. Laine, Benjamin F. Lane, William W. Whitacre, Robin Mark Adrian Dawson, Charles A. McPherson, Jr., Stephen P. Smith, Matthew A. Sinclair
  • Patent number: 9317325
    Abstract: A mechanism for idling an application in a multi-tenant cloud hosting environment is disclosed. A method of the invention includes detecting, by a reverse proxy of a node of a cloud computing architecture, a lack of minimum usage of an application hosted on the node, the application being one of a plurality of applications being hosted on the node and instructing the node to shut down the application in response. The reverse proxy is then; and reconfigured to point to a restarter instead of the application, wherein the restarter restarts the application in response to detecting an access to the application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Red Hat, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael P. McGrath, Matthew Hicks, Daniel Charles McPherson
  • Patent number: 9245111
    Abstract: A owner command to an application hosted by a platform as a service (PaaS) system can be performed, in one embodiment, by receiving the command from the authenticated owner at a first resource pool containing a first application component of the application, wherein the first node hosts a plurality of resource pools each containing application components belonging to different application owners. A second resource pool associated with the application is then identified, the second resource pool being hosted on a second node and containing a second application component of the application. The, a command implementation sequence defining the implementation of the received command over multiple application components is executed by performing a first action on the first application component on the first node and performing a second action on the second application component on the second node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Red Hat, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael P. McGrath, Matthew Hicks, Daniel Charles McPherson, James Martin Jagielski
  • Publication number: 20130297672
    Abstract: A mechanism for tracking applications on a node of a multi-tenant PaaS environment is disclosed. A method of the invention includes providing an agent of a server orchestration system on a multi-tenant node of a network-based application hosting system, wherein the node comprises a virtual machine (VM) of a cloud computing environment configured to host a plurality of Web application components of different owners, and maintaining, by the agent, a plurality of facts about the node. One of the facts is a number of source code management (SCM) software repositories on the node; each software repository containing at least one of the plurality of Web application components, which is determined by and updated by the agent to reflect the number of determined software repositories.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicant: RED HAT, INC.
    Inventors: Michael P. McGrath, Matthew Hicks, Daniel Charles McPherson
  • Publication number: 20130297673
    Abstract: A mechanism for node selection for a new application in a multi-tenant cloud hosting environment is disclosed. A method of the invention includes receiving a request to host a software application on one of a plurality of nodes of a cloud computing infrastructure, each node configured to host multiple software applications. A set of available nodes from the plurality of nodes can be identified on which the software application can be hosted and the capacity of each identified node to host additional software applications can be determined. Then, a node is selected to host the software application using the determined capacities.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicant: Red Hat, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael P. McGrath, Matthew Hicks, Daniel Charles McPherson
  • Publication number: 20130297795
    Abstract: A owner command to an application hosted by a platform as a service (PaaS) system can be performed, in one embodiment, by receiving the command from the authenticated owner at a first resource pool containing a first application component of the application, wherein the first node hosts a plurality of resource pools each containing application components belonging to different application owners. A second resource pool associated with the application is then identified, the second resource pool being hosted on a second node and containing a second application component of the application. The, a command implementation sequence defining the implementation of the received command over multiple application components is executed by performing a first action on the first application component on the first node and performing a second action on the second application component on the second node.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicant: RED HAT, INC.
    Inventors: Michael P. McGrath, Matthew Hicks, Daniel Charles McPherson, James Martin Jagielski
  • Publication number: 20130297668
    Abstract: A mechanism for idling an application in a multi-tenant cloud hosting environment is disclosed. A method of the invention includes detecting, by a reverse proxy of a node of a cloud computing architecture, a lack of minimum usage of an application hosted on the node, the application being one of a plurality of applications being hosted on the node and instructing the node to shut down the application in response. The reverse proxy is then; and reconfigured to point to a restarter instead of the application, wherein the restarter restarts the application in response to detecting an access to the application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicant: RED HAT, INC.
    Inventors: Michael P. McGrath, Matthew Hicks, Daniel Charles McPherson
  • Publication number: 20070084525
    Abstract: A fuel tank valve apparatus includes a fuel conductor adapted to mate with an outlet end of a fuel tank filler neck and extend into a fuel tank. The fuel conductor includes an inlet check valve.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 5, 2006
    Publication date: April 19, 2007
    Applicant: STANT MANUFACTURING INC.
    Inventor: Charles McPherson
  • Patent number: 5523920
    Abstract: A printed circuit board (10) comprises a polymeric coating (30) and a metal circuit trace (26) applied to a substrate (22). The coating defines an opening (32) whereat the substrate is uncoated. The metal circuit trace includes a runner section (28) that is covered by the polymeric coating and a bond pad (20) integrally formed to the runner section at the opening and having an upper surface (40) that includes lip (36) overlying the polymer coating to facilitate positioning of a component for solder bonding to the pad. The bond pad preferably also includes a surface accessible within the opening to enhance solder bonding to the bond pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 4, 1996
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven C. Machuga, Janice M. Giesler, Grace O'Malley, Charles A. McPherson