Patents by Inventor James A. Higgins

James A. Higgins 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).

  • Publication number: 20200139568
    Abstract: A chopping tool includes a blade comprising a blade edge at a distal end, and a spine at a proximal end, the spine comprising two lateral edges with a receptor positioned near each lateral edge. The chopping tool also includes two handles engaging the blade, each handle including a scabbard section for grabbing with fingers, a horizontal section extending from the scabbard section towards and engaging the receptor on the spine, and a vertical section protruding from the scabbard section towards the distal end of the blade. Each handle is configured to pivot about a point of contact between a bottom end of the vertical section and a cutting surface to move the blade edge downward towards the cutting surface and upward away from the cutting surface in an alternating fashion for chopping an article placed on the cutting surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2019
    Publication date: May 7, 2020
    Inventor: Daniel James Higgins
  • Patent number: 10612239
    Abstract: A passive ventilation panel and system, in particular for use in doors, ceilings, walls and partitions enables an exchange of supply and return air for at least one room or a room, without the need for additional ventilation equipment, such as ducts, and without the needs to install wall openings or grills for the supply and exhaust air in the space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: VanAir Design Inc.
    Inventors: Vicking Wai King Yau, James Higgins
  • Publication number: 20200102722
    Abstract: An article handler for attachment to a front end loader, the article handler comprising a support body and a jaw assembly, the support body comprising a proximal end adapted for attachment to the front end loader, and a distal end adapted for attachment of the jaw assembly. The article handler may be adapted to handle, install, and dismount ground engaging tools (GET), such as teeth for excavating buckets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Publication date: April 2, 2020
    Applicant: Austin Engineering Ltd
    Inventors: Bradley Darren Saunders, Bradley James Higgins
  • Patent number: 10440900
    Abstract: A grow light system is disclosed that can produce an adjustable combined emission spectrum, as is useful to growing plants of different types, or as is useful to adjusting the spectrum provided to a given plant as it grows. The grow light can include a sensor system to detect the height of plants it is illuminating, and can via a cable hoist adjust the height of the grow light to maintain an optimal distance between the plants and the grow light. The grow light system preferably includes a computer device with a graphical user interface useable to set a plant-to-grow light distance, and/or to select a combined emission spectrum for the grow light, which may occur by selecting a particular plant type, variety, or group. The system may include a library of optimal settings to configure the system to optimally grow each selected plant type, variety, or group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: Calyx Cultivation Tech. Corp.
    Inventors: John Higgins, James Higgins
  • Publication number: 20190190588
    Abstract: System and method incorporating devices wirelessly connected to remote gateway locations or other devices. Remote gateway locations can be located on towers, buildings, silos, trees, utility poles, light poles or any other support structure capable of supporting the equipment used. A wired or wireless backhaul connects each remote gateway to a centralized headend gateway location via Ethernet, fiber, laser, or licensed or unlicensed microwave signals. Devices wirelessly connected to a remote gateway location device then act like a new remote gateway, redistributing signals to the surrounding area for additional CPEs to connect to that CPE. This continues over and over in a self-propagating manner, creating one or more network legs off the original remote gateway device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2018
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Inventors: James Higgins, Brock Eastman
  • Patent number: 10248742
    Abstract: Various embodiments for analyzing flight data using predictive models are described herein. In various embodiments, a quadratic least squares model is applied to a matrix of time-series flight parameter data for a flight, thereby deriving a mathematical signature for each flight parameter of each flight in a set of data including a plurality of sensor readings corresponding to time-series flight parameters of a plurality of flights. The derived mathematical signatures are aggregated into a dataset. A similarity between each pair of flights within the plurality of flights is measured by calculating a distance metric between the mathematical signatures of each pair of flights within the dataset, and the measured similarities are combined with the dataset. A machine-learning algorithm is applied to the dataset, thereby identifying, without predefined thresholds, clusters of outliers within the dataset by using a unified distance matrix.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: University of North Dakota
    Inventors: Travis Desell, James Higgins, Sophine Clachar
  • Publication number: 20180296865
    Abstract: An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be configured for fire suppression and ignition. In some examples, the UAV includes an aerial propulsion system, an ignition system, and a control system. The ignition system includes a container of delayed-ignition balls and a dropper configured, by virtue of one or more motors, to actuate and drop the delayed-ignition balls. The control system is configured to cause the UAV to fly to a site of a prescribed burn and, while flying over the site of the prescribed burn, actuate one or more of the delayed-ignition balls. After actuating the one or more delayed-ignition balls, the UAV drops the actuated one or more delayed-ignition balls from the UAV onto the site of the prescribed burn.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2016
    Publication date: October 18, 2018
    Inventors: Carrick Detweiler, Sebastian Elbaum, James Higgins, Christian Laney, Craig Allen, Dirac Twidwell, Evan Michael Beachly
  • Publication number: 20180066429
    Abstract: A passive ventilation panel and system, in particular for use in doors, ceilings, walls and partitions enables an exchange of supply and return air for at least one room or a room, without the need for additional ventilation equipment, such as ducts, and without the needs to install wall openings or grills for the supply and exhaust air in the space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2015
    Publication date: March 8, 2018
    Applicant: Vanair Design Inc.
    Inventors: Vicking Wai King Yau, James Higgins
  • Patent number: 9838065
    Abstract: System enhancement(s) are disclosed that can add capabilities, such as, using Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) and/or Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and/or Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) capabilities along with Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) antennas and/or Global Positioning System (GPS) synchronization. The use of two radios in both the base-station and the subscriber-station, i.e., customer premises equipment (CPE), e.g., can allow frequency division to be utilized, exploiting higher receive gains at the CPE while not affecting transmissions occurring on the other radio's frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: East West Bank
    Inventors: James A. Higgins, Brock Eastman
  • Publication number: 20170037892
    Abstract: An anti-splitting device including a base portion, a plurality of protrusions and first, second, third and fourth extensions. The base portion has a first surface and a second surface oppositely disposed relative to the first surface, a first edge and a second edge oppositely disposed relative to the first edge, and a third edge and a fourth edge oppositely disposed relative to the third edge. The plurality of protrusions are positioned about and extending from the first surface. The first extension is positioned at an intersection of the first and third edges, the second extension is positioned at an intersection of the third and second edges, the third extension is positioned at an intersection of the second and fourth edges and the fourth extension is positioned at an intersection of the fourth and first edges. Each of the first, second, third and fourth extensions extend from the second surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Publication date: February 9, 2017
    Inventor: James A. Higgins
  • Patent number: 9520197
    Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable adaptive erasure in a storage device. The method includes performing a plurality of memory operations including read operations and respective erase operations on portions of one or more non-volatile memory devices specified by the read operations and respective erase operations, where the respective erase operations are performed using a first set of erase parameters that has been established as a current set of erase parameters prior to performing the respective erase operations. The method includes, in accordance with each erase operation of at least a subset of the respective erase operations, updating one or more erase statistics that correspond to performance of multiple erase operations. The method includes, in accordance with a comparison of the erase statistics with an erasure performance threshold, establishing a second set of erase parameters as the current set of erase parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: SANDISK TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, James Higgins, Li Li, Mervyn Wongso
  • Patent number: 9493949
    Abstract: A passive ventilation panel and system, in particular for use in doors, ceilings, walls and partitions enables an exchange of supply and return air for at least one room or a room, without the need for additional ventilation equipment, such as ducts, and without the needs to install wall openings or grills for the supply and exhaust air in the space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: Vanair Design
    Inventors: Vicking Wai King Yau, James Higgins
  • Patent number: 9298608
    Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable biasing for wear leveling in storage systems. In one aspect, the method includes (1) determining, for each erase unit of a plurality of erase units in the storage medium, an age metric, (2) determining a representative age metric of the plurality of erase units, (3) for each respective erase unit of the plurality of erase units, biasing a respective garbage collection control metric for the respective erase unit in accordance with the age metric of the respective erase unit in relation to the representative age metric of the plurality of erase units to generate an adjusted garbage collection control metric for the respective erase unit, and (4) performing garbage collection for the storage medium in accordance with the adjusted garbage collection control metrics of the plurality of erase units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: SANDISK ENTERPRISE IP LLC
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, James Higgins
  • Patent number: 9226535
    Abstract: A garment is provided with a tube that may be used to facilitate placement of needle electrodes into a patient to facilitate intraoperative monitoring during surgical procedures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: SPECIALTYCARE IOM SERVICES, LLC
    Inventors: Jeff Thramann, James Higgins
  • Publication number: 20150324501
    Abstract: Various embodiments for analyzing flight data using predictive models are described herein. In various embodiments, a quadratic least squares model is applied to a matrix of time-series flight parameter data for a flight, thereby deriving a mathematical signature for each flight parameter of each flight in a set of data including a plurality of sensor readings corresponding to time-series flight parameters of a plurality of flights. The derived mathematical signatures are aggregated into a dataset. A similarity between each pair of flights within the plurality of flights is measured by calculating a distance metric between the mathematical signatures of each pair of flights within the dataset, and the measured similarities are combined with the dataset. A machine-learning algorithm is applied to the dataset, thereby identifying, without predefined thresholds, clusters of outliers within the dataset by using a unified distance matrix.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2013
    Publication date: November 12, 2015
    Inventors: Travis DESELL, Jame HIGGINS, Sophine CLACHAR
  • Publication number: 20150273204
    Abstract: A garment is provided with an electrode and indicia to facilitate placement of the garment. The indicia is used to orient the garment such that the electrode is placed in precise orientation with respect to a stimulation site. to facilitate intraoperative monitoring during surgical procedures.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2015
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Inventors: Jeff Thramann, James Higgins
  • Publication number: 20150267404
    Abstract: A passive ventilation panel and system, in particular for use in doors, ceilings, walls and partitions enables an exchange of supply and return air for at least one room or a room, without the need for additional ventilation equipment, such as ducts, and without the needs to install wall openings or grills for the supply and exhaust air in the space.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2014
    Publication date: September 24, 2015
    Applicant: VANAIR DESIGN INC.
    Inventors: Vicking Wai King Yau, James Higgins
  • Patent number: 9098399
    Abstract: A method of operation of an electronic system includes: forming a superblock by organizing an erase block according to a wear attribute; detecting a trigger count of the wear attribute of the superblock; updating a metadata table with the trigger count; and triggering a recycling event of the superblock based on the metadata table.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: SMART STORAGE SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Robert W. Ellis, James Fitzpatrick, James Higgins
  • Patent number: 9063844
    Abstract: A method of operation of a non-volatile memory management system includes: selecting a specific time period by a unit controller; establishing a first time pool having super blocks written during the specific time period; and promoting to a second time pool, the super blocks from the first time pool, at the lapse of the specific time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: SMART STORAGE SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: James Higgins, James Fitzpatrick, Mark Dancho
  • Publication number: 20150149699
    Abstract: The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable adaptive erasure in a storage device. The method includes performing a plurality of memory operations including read operations and respective erase operations on portions of one or more non-volatile memory devices specified by the read operations and respective erase operations, where the respective erase operations are performed using a first set of erase parameters that has been established as a current set of erase parameters prior to performing the respective erase operations. The method includes, in accordance with each erase operation of at least a subset of the respective erase operations, updating one or more erase statistics that correspond to performance of multiple erase operations. The method includes, in accordance with a comparison of the erase statistics with an erasure performance threshold, establishing a second set of erase parameters as the current set of erase parameters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Publication date: May 28, 2015
    Applicant: SanDisk Enterprise IP LLC
    Inventors: James Fitzpatrick, James Higgins, Li Li, Mervyn Wongso