Patents by Inventor James A. McKnight

James A. McKnight 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: 11518349
    Abstract: An electronic control unit (ECU) is disclosed. The ECU may detect an emergency stopping event associated with a vehicle. The ECU may determine, based on detecting the emergency stopping event, that electro-hydraulic brakes of the vehicle are in a disabled mode. The ECU may determine, based on determining that the electro-hydraulic brakes are in the disabled mode, a position of a brake pedal of the vehicle. The ECU may override, based on the position of the brake pedal, the disabled mode to engage the electro-hydraulic brakes during the emergency stopping event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: James McKnight, James L. Williamson
  • Publication number: 20220069464
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus provide a system having a lens antenna system configured to simultaneously form beams centered at different angles in space within a field of view (FOV) to provide angle of arrival information for each of the beams. The beam data is encoded and combined and digitized. The data is then split into channels for each of the beams and decoded processed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2020
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Applicant: Raytheon Company
    Inventors: Thomas Comberiate, James McKnight
  • Publication number: 20200384961
    Abstract: An electronic control unit (ECU) is disclosed. The ECU may detect an emergency stopping event associated with a vehicle. The ECU may determine, based on detecting the emergency stopping event, that electro-hydraulic brakes of the vehicle are in a disabled mode. The ECU may determine, based on determining that the electro-hydraulic brakes are in the disabled mode, a position of a brake pedal of the vehicle. The ECU may override, based on the position of the brake pedal, the disabled mode to engage the electro-hydraulic brakes during the emergency stopping event.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2019
    Publication date: December 10, 2020
    Applicant: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: James McKNIGHT, James L. WILLIAMSON
  • Patent number: 10766411
    Abstract: An electronic control unit (ECU) is disclosed. The ECU may receive a command associated with a vehicle. The ECU may actuate one or more lights on the vehicle in a first mode based on receiving the command. The ECU may transmit, while actuating the one or more lights in the first mode, the command to a vehicle controller associated with the vehicle. The ECU may actuate the one or more lights in a second mode based on receiving an acknowledgement of the command from the vehicle controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: James McKnight, David Bumpus
  • Patent number: 10597585
    Abstract: A method of producing normally solid, normally liquid and optionally normally gaseous hydrocarbons involves contacting a gas mixture comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide with a catalyst under elevated temperature and pressure, to convert at least part of the hydrogen and carbon monoxide into hydrocarbons. An effluent is withdrawn from the reactor and subjected to a separation step to form at least a heavy fraction and a light fraction. The heavy fraction comprises normally solid hydrocarbons, while the light fraction comprises unconverted syngas and normally liquid and optionally normally gaseous hydrocarbons. The light fraction is sent to a light ends stripper operating at a temperature of maximally 200° C. to obtain a hydrocarbons fraction comprising normally liquid hydrocarbons. The heavy fraction is subjected to flash evaporation or steam stripping to obtain a hydrocarbon stream of normally solid hydrocarbons (comprising mainly C10+ hydrocarbons).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: SHELL OIL COMPANY
    Inventors: Gerrit Leendert Bezemer, Hans Michiel Huisman, Tyrone James McKnight, Wilhelmus Johannes Franciscus Scholten, Wenping Yang
  • Publication number: 20190276747
    Abstract: A method of producing normally solid, normally liquid and optionally normally gaseous hydrocarbons involves contacting a gas mixture comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide with a catalyst under elevated temperature and pressure, to convert at least part of the hydrogen and carbon monoxide into hydrocarbons. An effluent is withdrawn from the reactor and subjected to a separation step to form at least a heavy fraction and a light fraction. The heavy fraction comprises normally solid hydrocarbons, while the light fraction comprises unconverted syngas and normally liquid and optionally normally gaseous hydrocarbons. The light fraction is sent to a light ends stripper operating at a temperature of maximally 200° C. to obtain a hydrocarbons fraction comprising normally liquid hydrocarbons. The heavy fraction is subjected to flash evaporation or steam stripping to obtain a hydrocarbon stream of normally solid hydrocarbons (comprising mainly C10+ hydrocarbons).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2017
    Publication date: September 12, 2019
    Inventors: Gerrit Leendert BEZEMER, Hans Michiel HUISMAN, Tyrone James MCKNIGHT, Wilhelmus Johannes Franciscus SCHOLTEN, Wenping YANG
  • Publication number: 20050055106
    Abstract: A modular expandable irrigation controller has controls for manual entry or selection of a watering program and a memory for storing the watering program. A processor executes the stored watering program and controls one or more station modules each including a station module circuit for energizing at least one solenoid actuated valve in accordance with the watering program. The irrigation controller has a plurality of receptacles for each removably receiving a station module and for providing an operative connection to the processor. A manually movable locking member is grasped and moved between UNLOCKED and LOCKED positions to positively secure each station module in a corresponding receptacle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2004
    Publication date: March 10, 2005
    Inventors: Matthew Beutler, Ronald Anuskiewicz, James McKnight, Santo Uccello
  • Patent number: 4831604
    Abstract: Range finding equipment is employed in a nuclear reactor to monitor the spacing between structural components (22, 24) of the reactor which are under stress. A manipulator (32) carries a pair of send-receive ultrasonic transducers (30) arranged back to back so as to direct ultrasound signals towards reflectors (26, 28) associated with the structural components to be monitored. The transducers are pulsed with signals derived by gating a few cycles of a sustained reference signal of sine wave form and the resulting echo signals can be used to provide transit time and phase displacement information from which the spacing between the relectors (26, 28) can be derived with a high degree of precision.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1986
    Date of Patent: May 16, 1989
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventors: James A. McKnight, Leslie M. Barrett
  • Patent number: 4655992
    Abstract: Temperature, or temperature noise, is measured by employing an ultrasonic beam which strikes at least one pair of points (10A, 10B) which are a known distance apart and the time interval between the two points is resolved and related to the distance to give a measure of temperature of the medium between the two points. The point pairs may be naturally occurring, such as the diametrically opposed edges of a fuel element channel in a sodium-cooled nuclear reactor, or specifically provided. The beam may be at glancing incidence on a number of point pairs in line and, in this situation, the beam is wider in the direction transverse to its path than it is along its path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 1985
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1987
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventors: James A. McKnight, Iain D. Macleod, Eric J. Burton