Patents by Inventor Kent Erickson

Kent Erickson 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: 6882765
    Abstract: The present invention provides methods, apparatus and systems for protecting connections between optical cross-connect switches and client equipment. A connection failure is detected, signaled, and a switch made by the client equipment and the optical cross-connect switch to a protection connection between them so as to minimize service interruption. An out-of-band channel or an in-band channel can be used to signal the connection failure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2005
    Assignee: XROS, Inc.
    Inventors: Kent Erickson, Subhashini Kaligotia, Rajiv Ramaswami
  • Patent number: 6739444
    Abstract: A coin sensor utilizes time-multiplexing of LC oscillators having natural frequencies F1A, F1B, F2, and F3 to produce magnetic fields in three sets of windings. As a coin passes through the coin sensor, the LC oscillators are separately enabled in a sequence to produce a frequency profile for each set of windings. A first winding produces a frequency profile for the facial area of a coin, a second winding produces a frequency profile for a cross-sectional area of a the coin, and a third winding produces a frequency profile for further distinguishing the relative size of a coin. A microcontroller identifies signature points from the frequency profiles and compares the signature points with stored signatures for a multitude of coins and/or tokens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Inventors: Kevin R. Baker, Kent Erickson
  • Publication number: 20020144877
    Abstract: An coin sensor utilizes time-multiplexing of LC oscillators having natural frequencies F1A, F1B, F2, and F3 to produce magnetic fields in three sets of windings. As a coin passes through the coin sensor, the LC oscillators are separately enabled in a sequence to produce a frequency profile for each set of windings. A first winding produces a frequency profile for the facial area of a coin, a second winding produces a frequency profile for a cross-sectional area of a the coin, and a third winding produces a frequency profile for further distinguishing the relative size of a coin. A microcontroller identifies signatures points from the frequency profiles and compares the signature points with stored signatures for a multitude of coins and/or tokens.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2002
    Publication date: October 10, 2002
    Inventors: Kevin R. Baker, Kent Erickson