Patents by Inventor Charles E. Huffman

Charles E. Huffman 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: 6484993
    Abstract: A display lifting device which is mounted within a ceiling plenum and is arranged for concealing a support framework, lifting arm and display within the ceiling area. A support arm for the display is pivotally mounted within the framework and is biased in the downward position and supported by a cable mounted on a cable drum drivingly connected to a reversible motor. The support arm comprises at least two telescoping sections with the cable connected to the end of the inner lower most section so that as the cable is extended the arm pivots downward with the telescoping sections extending through gravity to their fullest extent. In this way, the display can extend a considerable distance from the ceiling for viewing by the audience while in the retracted position a very small opening and space within the plenum is required for concealment. Mechanical stops and limit switches are provided at both extremes of the movement of the display and support arm to restrict the angular movement of the arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2002
    Assignee: Safety Lock & Lift, Ltd.
    Inventor: Charles E. Huffman
  • Publication number: 20020073632
    Abstract: A display lifting device is provided which is mounted within a ceiling plenum and is arranged for concealing a support framework, lifting arm and display within the ceiling area. A support arm for the display is pivotally mounted within the framework and is biased in the downward position and supported by a cable mounted on a cable drum drivingly connected to a reversible motor. The support arm comprises at least two telescoping sections with the cable connected to the end of the inner lower most section so that as the cable is extended the arm pivots downward with the telescoping sections extending through gravity to their fullest extent. In this way, the display can extend a considerable distance from the ceiling for viewing by the audience while in the retracted position a very small opening and space within the plenum is required for concealment. Mechanical stops and limit switches are provided at both extremes of the movement of the display and support arm to restrict the angular movement of the arm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2000
    Publication date: June 20, 2002
    Inventor: Charles E. Huffman
  • Patent number: 5366203
    Abstract: A remote control, ceiling mounted lifting device is provided for concealing, supporting and providing floor level access to audio visual objects such as color video/data projectors. The overall height of the lifting device is extremely shallow to allow the device to be mounted and concealed within the ceiling clearance area. The device has an outer frame with an open inner section. A support carriage is provided which is sized to fit and nest with the open inner section of the support framework. The carriage has an inverted U-shaped structure which allows the projector to be recessed upwardly within the confines of the carriage. A scissor-like stabilizer mechanism is mounted on each side of the carriage and support structure. These stabilizer mechanisms are located on the outer edges of the device to minimize the overall height of the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 22, 1994
    Assignee: Safety Lock and Lift, Ltd.
    Inventor: Charles E. Huffman
  • Patent number: 5261645
    Abstract: A remote control, ceiling mounted lifting device is provided for concealing, supporting and providing floor level access to audio visual objects such as color video/data projectors. The overall height of the lifting device is extremely shallow to allow the device to be mounted and concealed within the ceiling clearance area. The device has an outer frame with an open inner section. A support carriage is provided which is sized to fit and nest with the open inner section of the support framework. The carriage has an inverted U-shaped structure which allows the projector to be recessed upwardly within the confines of the carriage. A scissor-like stabilizer mechanism is mounted on each side of the carriage and support structure. These stabilizer mechanisms are located on the outer edges of the device to minimize the overall height of the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1991
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1993
    Inventor: Charles E. Huffman
  • Patent number: 4992143
    Abstract: A continuous multistage process for separating a partially water soluble organic component from a slurry containing an insoluble solid, a partially water soluble organic component and optionally water. In this process, the slurry is continuously fed to a tower or column equipped with a suitable vapor/liquid contact device. Energy is applied at a point below the vapor/liquid contact device. Vapors containing the partially soluble organic component exit the tower or column overhead and the inorganic solid is recovered at the bottom of the tower or column. This application of distillation technology to slurries is particularly advantageous in that a more efficient separation of that solid material from the partially soluble organic component is obtained. The improved separation efficiency can be utilized to either lower separation cost and/or to affect a more complete separation in order to obtain a solid material with a lower residual amount of the organic component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 12, 1991
    Assignee: Mobay Corporation
    Inventors: Heinrich E. Steude, Joerg Krell, Charles F. Ho, Charles E. Huffman, Michael E. Bowsher
  • Patent number: 4631719
    Abstract: When a digital muldem employs protective switching, a requirement exists to perform revertive switching. The present disclosure illustrates a way to test the failed module after a switch to determine whether the module is actually failed or the decision to switch was based on momentary external conditions. The test is accomplished by looping back the "failed" module, passing data from one of the operative channels through the "failed" module and doing a bit by bit compare of input and output data for identity. If all of the muldems convert signals to a common frequency, only a single compare circuit need be used on a multiplexed basis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1984
    Date of Patent: December 23, 1986
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Charles E. Huffman, Paul E. Pepmiller
  • Patent number: 4601028
    Abstract: Actual customer data is routed through a composite muldem which comprises a high speed section and a plurality of low speed sections with the signals being switched or transferred between the high speed and low speed sections all at a common frequency. This same customer data is then tested by a bit by bit comparison circuit which tests the data after it is split, rerouted in various datapath configurations and compared in a logical fashion to first detect datapath failure and then isolate the failure to a specific part of the composite muldem by a set of logical deductions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1984
    Date of Patent: July 15, 1986
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Charles E. Huffman, Paul E. Pepmiller
  • Patent number: 4595907
    Abstract: An interface device for use between a North American PCM channel bank and a CCITT PCM channel bank which allows data to stay in digital format rather than being converted to voice frequency. The interface takes care of not only the completely different serial data rates, but the different transfer characteristics of the channel data words. Synchronization is obtained by dividing the serial data stream into enough channel banks so that there is less than one-half cycle time period difference between the frequency of the incoming and outgoing data streams for one cycle of channel data words.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 1983
    Date of Patent: June 17, 1986
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Charles E. Huffman, Stephen R. Southerland
  • Patent number: 4581741
    Abstract: The present invention provides error checking for data dependent coding circuitry which checking is complicated by a considerable amount of circuitry which is activated only when the incoming data conforms to specific requirements (i.e., three or more consecutive logic zeros). Except for these occurrences, the output from the coding circuitry is straightforward representation of the nonreturn to zero input data. The present invention uses a straightforward detecting circuit to normally pass the data and a data compare circuit which compares the output of the detector with the output of the data dependent circuitry except for times when the specific condition of three consecutive logic zeros occurs. At that time, the data compare circuitry checks to make sure that both the code detector and the encoding circuit have detected the occurrence of this condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1983
    Date of Patent: April 8, 1986
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Charles E. Huffman, Richard L. Majefski
  • Patent number: 4574385
    Abstract: A circuit approach is illustrated for simplifying a count divider circuit by applying selected outputs of the counter to a J-K flip-flop as input to the J-K terminals whereby a comparatively high speed response is returned for presetting the counter as compared to the prior art approach which either required much more circuitry or intolerable time delays.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1984
    Date of Patent: March 4, 1986
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Charles E. Huffman, Jeffrey L. Foust
  • Patent number: 4551830
    Abstract: The overhead format for DS1C data must be removed and the data broken into two DS1 format data signals before being transmitted over DS2 or DS3 transmission lines. The present invention demonstrates a method whereby the stuff bit code for appropriate frames of a high speed transmission line can be violated and remotely detected whereby the signal is looped back at the destination end of the desired signal whether the remote signals are in the DS1C or DS1 data format.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1984
    Date of Patent: November 5, 1985
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventor: Charles E. Huffman
  • Patent number: 4434485
    Abstract: A drop and insert channel bank is provided for receiving data from and inserting data onto a multichannel digital transmission line, such as a microwave radio link, between end terminals. The channel bank has a plurality of single channel units which share common equipment, including a receiver and a transmitter from and to the transmission line and a switching unit therebetween. The switching unit includes user controlled selection circuitry enabling any channel on the line to be dropped to any of the channel units, and enabling any channel to be inserted on the line from any of the channel units. Through-traffic passes through the receiver, switching unit and transmitter of the channel bank in digital form without conversion to and from analog form. Unidirectional and bidirectional modes are disclosed, including various forms of each.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1980
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1984
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Charles E. Huffman, Stephen R. Southerland
  • Patent number: 4416009
    Abstract: A synchronization system for data coupling apparatus is provided by delaying clocked frame identification signals instead of delaying the data in data buffer storage. Data is passed between input and output transmission lines with only the inherent delay incurred in the requisite data manipulation therebetween. The framing alignment information extracted at the input is connected to the output through a delay such that the data and framing identification signals arrive at the output at the same time and in synchronous alignment. In addition to eliminating the need for a data buffer, the system also eliminates the need for a second identification bit alignment location derivation from the output. The system utilizes an edge-aligned clock which enables substitutional insertion of data to a desired location in the bit stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1980
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1983
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Charles E. Huffman, Stephen R. Southerland
  • Patent number: 4387459
    Abstract: In a digital transmission system, a loop-timing technique is provided for a channel bank which demultiplexes a high speed data stream into a plurality of lower rate channels, and which multiplexes a plurality of lower rate channels to a high speed data stream. Loop-timing is provided without elastic buffers by deriving stuff requests from stuff bits in the received high speed data stream, extracting a high speed clock signal from the received data stream, and applying the stuff requests and the high speed clock signal directly to the high speed multiplexer for providing stuff bits in the transmitted high speed data stream and for clocking the transmitted high speed data stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1981
    Date of Patent: June 7, 1983
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventor: Charles E. Huffman
  • Patent number: 4377861
    Abstract: A time division demultiplexer is provided which reassigns clock positions to the various channels in a serial data stream such that different data bit positions may be assigned to a channel. This enables each channel to be independent. A single channel can access any data bit position in the serial data stream, and several or all the channels can access the same data bit position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1980
    Date of Patent: March 22, 1983
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventor: Charles E. Huffman
  • Patent number: 4236250
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a system which accomplishes forwarding or retransmission of signals requiring preemphasis and signals not requiring preemphasis while using a single spare channel for forwarding either type of signal upon failure of a primary channel. This is accomplished by designing each channel to have passive and selectable circuits through which the signal is passed for preemphasis or attenuation depending upon the type of signal used in the primary portion of that communication channel before being applied to the selection switches of the spare channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 1979
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1980
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventor: Charles E. Huffman
  • Patent number: 4071700
    Abstract: Apparatus for testing the operability of a signal translation means which passes signal information containing a definable and repeatable characteristic such as a synchronization signal through the use of a spare similar device and a demodulating device which provides outputs upon detecting the signal passed by each signal translating device. As illustrated, regular and spare transmit multiplexing devices are used and logic information obtained from a spare receiver is used to indicate a failed condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1976
    Date of Patent: January 31, 1978
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Charles E. Huffman, Robert J. McGuire, John W. Waddill