Patents by Inventor Conrad R. Hoffman

Conrad R. Hoffman 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).

  • Electromechanical actuators with magnetic frame structure and methods thereof
    Patent number: 11848596
    Abstract: An actuator assembly includes one or more conductive coils each positioned in a movable supporting frame configured to be coupled to a load. A pair of permanent magnets are located on each side of each of the coils to provide opposite polarity magnetic fields to each of the coils. A drive circuit is coupled to the each of coils and configured to supply a drive current to each of the conductive coils. A controller is coupled to each of the coils through the drive circuit and is configured to independently control the drive current supplied to each of the coils to provide movement of the supporting frame to provide a force to the load, based on the opposite polarity fields and the drive current, wherein the movement of the supporting frame is in proportion to an amplitude and polarity of the drive current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: New Scale Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Conrad R. Hoffman, Robert Culhane, Qin Xu, David A. Henderson
  • ELECTROMECHANICAL ACTUATOR DEVICES AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF
    Publication number: 20210126519
    Abstract: An actuator assembly includes one or more conductive coils each positioned in a movable supporting frame configured to be coupled to a load. A pair of permanent magnets are located on each side of each of the coils to provide opposite polarity magnetic fields to each of the coils. A drive circuit is coupled to the each of coils and configured to supply a drive current to each of the conductive coils. A controller is coupled to each of the coils through the drive circuit and is configured to independently control the drive current supplied to each of the coils to provide movement of the supporting frame to provide a force to the load, based on the opposite polarity fields and the drive current, wherein the movement of the supporting frame is in proportion to an amplitude and polarity of the drive current.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2020
    Publication date: April 29, 2021
    Inventors: Conrad R. Hoffman, Robert Culhane, Qin Xu, David A. Henderson