Patents by Inventor Douglas Alexander

Douglas Alexander 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: 11261860
    Abstract: A method to control the temperature of an electromagnetic pump in an apparatus wherein a liquid metal is supplied through a feed tube from a container adapted to contain a liquid metal to an evaporator device in a vacuum chamber, wherein the temperature of the electromagnetic pump is controlled by controlling one or more of the force exerted on the liquid metal in the container, the current of the electromagnetic pump, and/or the strength of the magnet field of the electromagnetic pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: TATA STEEL NEDERLAND TECHNOLOGY B.V.
    Inventors: Edzo Zoestbergen, Colin Commandeur, Roland Jan Snijders, Eduard Paul Mattheus Bakker, Peter William Hazelett, Douglas Alexander Hamilton, Stephen James Widdis, Timothy Dean Kaiser
  • Patent number: 11256415
    Abstract: Disclosed are systems and methods that model a user's interaction with a user interface. There is provided a data input system, comprising a user interface having a plurality of targets and being configured to receive user input. The system comprises a plurality of models, each of which relates previous user input events corresponding to a target to that target. An input probability generator is configured to generate, in association with the plurality of models, a probability that a user input event corresponds to a particular target. There is also provided a method of modelling a target of a user interface having a plurality of targets and being configured to receive input, by modelling for each target previous user input events which correspond to that target. Furthermore, there is provided a method of inputting data into a system comprising a user interface having a plurality of targets and being configured to receive input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Benjamin William Medlock, Douglas Alexander Harper Orr
  • Patent number: 11220739
    Abstract: An apparatus for feeding liquid metal to an evaporator device in a vacuum chamber, wherein the apparatus includes a container adapted to contain a liquid metal, a feed tube from the closed container to the evaporator device and an electromagnetic pump provided in the feed tube, and wherein the electromagnetic pump is placed in a vacuum enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: TATA STEEL NEDERLAND TECHNOLOGY B.V.
    Inventors: Edzo Zoestbergen, Colin Commandeur, Roland Jan Snijders, Eduard Paul Mattheus Bakker, Peter William Hazelett, Douglas Alexander Hamilton, Stephen James Widdis, Timothy Dean Kaiser
  • Patent number: 11205110
    Abstract: An electronic device is described which has at least one input interface to receive at least one item of a sequence of items. The electronic device is able to communicate with a server, the server storing a neural network and a process which generates item embeddings of the neural network. The electronic device has a memory storing a copy of the neural network and a plurality of item embeddings of the neural network. In the case when there is unavailability at the electronic device of a corresponding item embedding corresponding to the received at least one item, the electronic device triggers transfer of the corresponding item embedding from the server to the electronic device. A processor at the electronic device predicts at least one candidate next item in the sequence by processing the corresponding item embedding with the copy of the neural network and the plurality of item embeddings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Matthew James Willson, Marco Fiscato, Juha Iso-Sipilä, Douglas Alexander Harper Orr
  • Patent number: 11115781
    Abstract: Receiving point of interest zones and alerts on user devices comprises communicating, by a user computing device to a remote computing device, a request for point of interest data corresponding to points of interest within a proximity of the user device; presenting the received point of interest data; identifying a particular point of interest; and outputting an alert regarding the particular point of interest. Receiving point of interest zones on user devices comprises communicating a request for point of interest data; receiving the point of interest data from the remote network device wherein a size of the point of interest zone is determined based on a density of points of interest in the proximity of the user, and wherein the shape of the point of interest zone is expanded in a direction of travel and contracted in the opposite direction; and presenting the received point of interest data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Xiaohang Wang, Farhan Shamsi, Yakov Okshtein, David Singleton, Douglas Alexander Gresham, Alan Newberger, Lixin Zhang
  • Publication number: 20210262559
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for a composite bicycle front sprocket are disclosed herein. One embodiment discloses a composite bicycle front sprocket assembly having an outer assembly of a first material. The bicycle front sprocket assembly also has a center assembly of a second material. The center assembly is disposed at least partially within the outer assembly. The center assembly is irremovably coupled with the outer assembly. The center assembly is irremovably coupled with the outer assembly without an external fastening device to irremovably couple the center assembly with the outer assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2021
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Applicant: Fox Factory, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Erik Moore, Douglas Alexander Chalmers
  • Publication number: 20210239110
    Abstract: A method to control the temperature of an electromagnetic pump in an apparatus wherein a liquid metal is supplied through a feed tube from a container adapted to contain a liquid metal to an evaporator device in a vacuum chamber, wherein the temperature of the electromagnetic pump is controlled by controlling one or more of the force exerted on the liquid metal in the container, the current of the electromagnetic pump, and/or the strength of the magnet field of the electromagnetic pump.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2017
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Applicant: TATA STEEL NEDERLAND TECHNOLOGY B.V.
    Inventors: Edzo ZOESTBERGEN, Colin COMMANDEUR, Roland Jan SNIJDERS, Eduard Paul Mattheus BAKKER, Peter William HAZELETT, Douglas Alexander HAMILTON, Stephen James WIDDIS, Timothy Dean KAISER
  • Publication number: 20210156776
    Abstract: A pressure test apparatus is provided for performing a pressure test on a part. The method of pressure testing the includes attaching the part to the pressure test apparatus and moving down a top plate assembly of the pressure test apparatus, where the moving down of the top plate assembly engages a connection to a transducer for the pressure test and blocks a connection to an air supply to the pressure test apparatus. Furthermore, the method includes measuring a level of pressure in the part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2019
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Inventors: Douglas Alexander Smalley, Mateusz Koziol, Oswald J. Mantilla, Leung M. Hung
  • Patent number: 11009112
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for a composite bicycle front sprocket are disclosed herein. One embodiment discloses a composite bicycle front sprocket assembly having an outer assembly of a first material. The bicycle front sprocket assembly also has a center assembly of a second material. The center assembly is disposed at least partially within the outer assembly. The center assembly is irremovably coupled with the outer assembly. The center assembly is irremovably coupled with the outer assembly without an external fastening device to irremovably couple the center assembly with the outer assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Fox Factory, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Erik Moore, Douglas Alexander Chalmers
  • Publication number: 20210129722
    Abstract: A seating system for a vehicle, comprises first and second seat portions, each providing upper load-bearing surfaces; the first seat portion including a mounting structure for connection to a vehicle body; and the second seat portion including a mounting structure allowing movement with respect to the first seat portion between first and second positions; wherein in the first position, the second seat portion overlies at least part of the upper load-bearing surface of the first set portion; and in the second position, the first and second seat portions are in a substantially side-by-side arrangement such that the respective upper load-bearing surfaces define a seat support surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2018
    Publication date: May 6, 2021
    Applicant: AEROMOBIL R&D, S.R.O.
    Inventors: Kenneth Douglas Alexander MACANDREW, Stanislav KOCIS
  • Publication number: 20210075084
    Abstract: Portable skid assemblies are shown and disclosed. In some embodiments, the portable skid assemblies include a frame having two or more pockets sized to receive the fork of a forklift, telehandler, or pallet jack. The portable skid assemblies additionally include a support assembly having a base attached to the frame and at least one support member that moves vertically relative to the base between a retracted position suitable for at least one of storage or transport, and an extended position where the skid assembly is configured to communicate wireless signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2020
    Publication date: March 11, 2021
    Applicant: ARRIS Enterprises, LLC
    Inventors: Charles Sidney Moore, Nicholas E. Burmylo, Rick Thomas Macias, Douglas Alexander Ridley, John Gatewood, Matthew J. Kuester
  • Patent number: 10872203
    Abstract: A data input system is described of the type which has a virtual keyboard which enables a user to type a text sequence into a computing device. The data input system has an input probability generator which is configured to compute keypress evidence. The keypress evidence comprises probabilities that user input events at the virtual keyboard correspond to characters or keyboard functions. The data input system has a trained keypress encoder, having been trained using keypress evidence and corresponding words. The trained keypress encoder encodes the keypress evidence into a numerical encoding. The data input system has a completion/correction predictor which is configured to take as input, the numerical encoding and an encoding of one or more text items of the text sequence already input to the computing device, in order to predict a text item in the text sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Douglas Alexander Harper Orr, Juha Iso-Sipilä, Marco Fiscato, Matthew James Willson, Joseph Osborne
  • Patent number: 10839413
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described herein for supporting loyalty tiers. According to certain aspects, a custom number of loyalty tiers may be specified. Dynamic tier boundaries may be defined for each tier based upon a specified number of loyalty points, a percentile of total loyalty points, or a combination thereof. Periodic recomputing of tier boundary values can support dynamic loyalty tiers. According to certain other aspects, a user loyalty status may include a current tier and a pending tier. User loyalty points may be updated for a current loyalty activity. The updated user loyalty points may be compared with a point boundary for the pending tier and the user may be updated to the pending tier. Transacting the tier update with the server may be bypassed to reduce tier update latency. Also, immediate access at the client to features associated with the updated current tier may be supported.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Andrew David Walbran, Kenneth Paul Stoltz, David Singleton, Douglas Alexander Gresham
  • Patent number: 10810370
    Abstract: There is provided a system and method for generating predictions. The predictions are generated using a model configured to associate text with at least one action associated with at least one of a plurality of applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Adam Clements, Matthew Willson, Douglas Alexander Harper Orr
  • Patent number: 10789529
    Abstract: A data entry system is described which has a user interface which receives a sequence of one or more context text items input by a user. The data entry system has a predictor trained to predict a next item in the sequence. The predictor comprises a plurality of learnt text item embeddings each text item embedding representing a text item in a numerical form, the text item embeddings having a plurality of different lengths. A projection component obtains text item embeddings of the context text items and projects these to be of the same length. The predictor comprises a trained neural network which is fed the projected text item embeddings and which computes a numerical output associated with the predicted next item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Douglas Alexander Harper Orr, Juha Iso-Sipila, Marco Fiscato, Matthew James Wilson, Joseph Osborne
  • Publication number: 20200204953
    Abstract: Receiving point of interest zones and alerts on user devices comprises communicating, by a user computing device to a remote computing device, a request for point of interest data corresponding to points of interest within a proximity of the user device; presenting the received point of interest data; identifying a particular point of interest; and outputting an alert regarding the particular point of interest. Receiving point of interest zones on user devices comprises communicating a request for point of interest data; receiving the point of interest data from the remote network device wherein a size of the point of interest zone is determined based on a density of points of interest in the proximity of the user, and wherein the shape of the point of interest zone is expanded in a direction of travel and contracted in the opposite direction; and presenting the received point of interest data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Publication date: June 25, 2020
    Inventors: Xiaohang Wang, Farhan Shamsi, Yakov Okshtein, David Singleton, Douglas Alexander Gresham, Alan Newberger, Lixin Zhang
  • Patent number: 10613746
    Abstract: A system comprising a feature identification means configured to generate one or more features from a plurality of samples, wherein each of the plurality of samples are sampled at a different time and correspond to a location of a single continuous gesture on a gesture-sensitive keyboard as the gesture is being performed and, wherein each of the one or more features relates to one of a plurality of targets of the gesture sensitive keyboard that a user may have intended to input when performing the gesture. The system comprises a prediction means configured to predict one or more terms from the one or more features, the prediction means comprising a prefix tree generating means configured to generate a prefix tree of terms which includes the one or more features, a path finding means configured to find one or more paths through the prefix tree of terms given the one or more features, and a predictor. A corresponding method is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Touchtype Ltd.
    Inventors: Benjamin Medlock, James Aley, Douglas Alexander Harper Orr
  • Publication number: 20200055359
    Abstract: A wheel suspension system for mounting a wheel on a vehicle body, such as a flying car, the system comprising: an upright assembly for mounting the wheel; a lower arm assembly comprising: a lower control arm; and a storage arm; a mounting structure connecting the lower arm assembly to the upright assembly; an upper control arm; and an adjustable suspension assembly pivotally connected to the upright assembly or lower control arm assembly and pivotally connected to the body; wherein one end of the lower control arm is pivotally connected to the body, and the other end of the lower control arm is connected to the mounting structure to be pivotable about a first axis; the mounting structure is connected to the upright assembly to be pivotable about a second axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis; the storage arm is pivotally connected to the lower control arm at one end, and is moveably connected to the body under control of an actuator at the other end; and the upper control arm having a piv
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2018
    Publication date: February 20, 2020
    Applicant: AEROMOBIL R&D, S.R.O.
    Inventors: Kenneth Douglas Alexander MACANDREW, Steve RANDLE, Jan SNARE
  • Patent number: 10563866
    Abstract: An annular combustion chamber wall arrangement includes an annular wall and a plurality of tiles and each tile is secured to and is spaced from a further annular wall. The first surface of each tile faces the annular wall and the second surface of each tile faces away from the annular wall. Each tile has a plurality of pedestals extending away from the first surface towards the annular wall and/or a plurality of effusion cooling apertures extending through the tile from the first surface to the second surface. At least one of the tiles has the pedestals and/or the effusion cooling apertures arranged in a predetermined pattern which provides the tile with a more uniform stiffness in all directions to reduce the possibility of cracking of the tile. In one predetermined pattern the pedestals are arranged in a Fermat's (parabolic) spiral with the pedestals arranged with Fibonacci number ordering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE PLC
    Inventors: Quentin Luc Balandier, Douglas Alexander Chalmers
  • Patent number: D880400
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Inventors: Kenneth Douglas Alexander MacAndrew, Tomas Urik, Adam Danko, Frantisek Valent