Patents by Inventor John A. Ramthun

John A. Ramthun 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: 9841383
    Abstract: A method for characterizing the uniformity of a material includes selecting a set of size scales at which to measure uniformity within an area of interest in an image of the material; suppressing features in the image smaller than a selected size scale of interest within the set of size scales; dividing the image into patches equal to the size scale of interest; and calculating a uniformity value within each patch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY
    Inventors: Evan J. Ribnick, John A. Ramthun, David D. Miller
  • Publication number: 20160282279
    Abstract: A method for characterizing the uniformity of a material includes selecting a set of size scales at which to measure uniformity within an area of interest in an image of the material; suppressing features in the image smaller than a selected size scale of interest within the set of size scales; dividing the image into patches equal to the size scale of interest; and calculating a uniformity value within each patch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2014
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Inventors: Evan J. Ribnick, John A. Ramthun, David D. Miller
  • Patent number: 9031312
    Abstract: A computerized inspection system is described for detecting the presence of non-uniformity defects and providing output indicative of a severity of each type of non-uniformity defect. Techniques are described that increase the throughput of the inspection system. Algorithmic and hardware approaches are described to significantly decrease the average amount of time required to inspect a given quantity of material that is expected to be mostly uniform. The techniques described herein involve dynamic selection of which image features to compute by starting with a base feature set and only triggering additional feature computations as needed until the features are sufficient to compute a severity for each type of non-uniformity defect. The number of features extracted and the order in which the features are extracted is dynamically determined in real-time to reduce a cost associated with the feature extraction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2015
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Evan J. Ribnick, Kenneth G. Brittain, John A. Ramthun, Derek H. Justice, Guillermo Sapiro
  • Patent number: 9002072
    Abstract: A system is described for detecting the presence of non-uniformity patterns and providing output indicative of a severity of each type of non-uniformity pattern. The system includes a computerized rating tool that assists a user in efficiently and consistently assigning expert ratings (i.e., labels) to a large collection of training images representing samples of a given product. In addition, the rating software develops a model that allows a computerized inspection system to detect the presence of non-uniformity patterns in a manufactured web material in real time and provide output indicative of a severity level of each pattern on a continuous scale. The system also includes algorithmic and hardware approaches to significantly that increase the throughput of the inspection system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Catherine P. Tarnowski, Kenneth G. Brittain, David L. Hofeldt, Andrzej P. Jaworski, Gregory D. Kostuch, John A. Ramthun, Evan J. Ribnick, Esa H. Vilkama, Derek H. Justice, Guillermo Sapiro
  • Publication number: 20130322733
    Abstract: A system is described for detecting the presence of non-uniformity patterns and providing output indicative of a severity of each type of non-uniformity pattern. The system includes a computerized rating tool that assists a user in efficiently and consistently assigning expert ratings (i.e., labels) to a large collection of training images representing samples of a given product. In addition, the rating software develops a model that allows a computerized inspection system to detect the presence of non-uniformity patterns in a manufactured web material in real time and provide output indicative of a severity level of each pattern on a continuous scale. The system also includes algorithmic and hardware approaches to significantly that increase the throughput of the inspection system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2012
    Publication date: December 5, 2013
    Applicant: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Catherine P. Tarnowski, Kenneth G. Brittain, David L. Hofeldt, Andrzej P. Jaworski, Gregory D. Kostuch, John A. Ramthun, Evan J. Ribnick, Esa H. Vilkama, Derek H. Justice, Guillermo Sapiro
  • Publication number: 20130236082
    Abstract: A computerized inspection system is described for detecting the presence of non-uniformity defects and providing output indicative of a severity of each type of non-uniformity defect. Techniques are described that increase the throughput of the inspection system. Algorithmic and hardware approaches are described to significantly decrease the average amount of time required to inspect a given quantity of material that is expected to be mostly uniform. The techniques described herein involve dynamic selection of which image features to compute by starting with a base feature set and only triggering additional feature computations as needed until the features are sufficient to compute a severity for each type of non-uniformity defect. The number of features extracted and the order in which the features are extracted is dynamically determined in real-time to reduce a cost associated with the feature extraction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 28, 2011
    Publication date: September 12, 2013
    Inventors: Evan J. Ribnick, Kenneth G. Brittain, John A. Ramthun, Derek H. Justice, Guillermo Sapiro
  • Patent number: 7957000
    Abstract: Systems and methods for calibrating a web inspection system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: David L. Hofeldt, Derek H. Justice, John A. Ramthun, Catherine P. Tarnowski, Wenyuan Xu
  • Publication number: 20100231897
    Abstract: Systems and methods for calibrating a web inspection system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2010
    Publication date: September 16, 2010
    Inventors: David L. HOFELDT, Derek H. Justice, John A. Ramthun, Catherine P. Tarnowski, Wenyuan Xu
  • Patent number: 7773226
    Abstract: Systems and methods for calibrating a web inspection system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2010
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: David L. Hofeldt, Derek H. Justice, John A. Ramthun, Catherine P. Tarnowski, Wenyuan Xu
  • Publication number: 20090303484
    Abstract: Systems and methods for calibrating a web inspection system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2008
    Publication date: December 10, 2009
    Inventors: David L. HOFELDT, Derek H. Justice, John A. Ramthun, Catherine P. Tarnowski, Wenyuan Xu
  • Patent number: 6252237
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for measuring the thickness of a coating on a coated surface. The method uses a solid state array of light-sensitive elements to measure light emitted from a fluorescing coating composition. The intensity of the emitted light corresponds to the thickness of the coating composition, and provides a fast and accurate measure of coating thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2001
    Assignee: 3M Innovation Properties Company
    Inventors: John A. Ramthun, Steven P. Floeder, Arthur T. Manning, Lanny L. Harklau, Gregory D. Kostuch, Jack W. Lai, Wenyuan Xu