Patents by Inventor Kevin Conrad

Kevin Conrad 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: 20210370496
    Abstract: A method of operating a modular exoskeleton system, the method comprising: monitoring for one or more actuator units being operably coupled to or removed from the modular exoskeleton system, the modular exoskeleton system comprising at least a first actuator unit configured to be operably coupled and removed from the modular exoskeleton system; determining that the first actuator unit has been operably coupled to the modular exoskeleton system; determining the first actuator unit has been associated with a first body portion of the user; determining a first new operating configuration based at least in part on the determination that the first actuator unit has been operably coupled to the modular exoskeleton system and the determination that the first actuator unit has been associated with the first body portion of the user; and setting the first new operating configuration for the modular exoskeleton system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2021
    Publication date: December 2, 2021
    Inventors: Robert Stuart, Linus Park, Ashley Swartz, Giancarlo Nucci, Kyle Lamson, Kevin Conrad Kemper, Timothy Alan Swift
  • Publication number: 20210369539
    Abstract: An exoskeleton system comprising: a power system that powers the exoskeleton system, the power system including one or more battery slots, and a modular battery set that includes one or more battery units that are modular such that any of the one or more battery units can be readily and quickly removed and coupled within any of the one or more battery slots to provide power to the exoskeleton system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2021
    Publication date: December 2, 2021
    Inventors: Austin Campbell, Ashley Swartz, Jose Ochoa, Kevin Conrad Kemper, Timothy Alan Swift
  • Publication number: 20210177686
    Abstract: An exoskeleton system having an actuator unit configured to be coupled to a leg of a user. The actuator unit includes an upper arm and a lower arm that are rotatably coupled via a joint, the joint positioned at a knee of the user with the upper arm coupled about an upper leg portion of the user above the knee and with the lower arm coupled about a lower leg portion of the user below the knee; a fluidic actuator that extends between the upper arm and lower arm; and one or more fluid lines coupled to the fluidic actuator to introduce fluid to the fluidic actuator that causes force to be applied to the upper arm and lower arm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Inventors: Kyle Allen Lamson, Austin Campbell, Ashley Swartz, Robert Stuart, Kevin Conrad Kemper, Phil Long, Jared Jones, Garrett Hurley, Timothy Alan Swift
  • Publication number: 20210177687
    Abstract: A method of operating an exoskeleton system that includes obtaining a first set of sensor data from one or more sensors associated with one or more leg actuator units of an exoskeleton system during a user activity, the first set of sensor data indicating a first configuration state of the one or more actuator units; determining, based at least in part on the first set of obtained sensor data, to change configuration of the one or more leg actuator units to a second configuration state to support a user during the user activity; and introducing fluid to one or more fluidic actuators of the one or more leg actuator units to generate the second configuration state by causing the one or more fluidic actuators to apply force at the one or more actuator units.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Inventors: Kyle Allen Lamson, Austin Campbell, Ashley Swartz, Robert Stuart, Kevin Conrad Kemper, Phil Long, Jared Jones, Garrett Hurley, Timothy Alan Swift
  • Publication number: 20200253808
    Abstract: The disclosure includes an exoskeleton network. The exoskeleton network includes an exoskeleton system that has one or more sensors and a memory; a user device that is local to the exoskeleton system and that operably communicates with the exoskeleton system; and a classification server that operably communicates with at least one of the exoskeleton system and the user device. The exoskeleton network performs feature extraction on sensor data obtained from the one or more sensors to generate feature-extracted sensor data and performs label derivation on the feature-extracted sensor data to generate labeled sensor data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2020
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Inventors: Timothy Alan Swift, Nicolas Cox, Kevin Conrad Kemper
  • Publication number: 20180221237
    Abstract: The disclosure includes a method of operating an exoskeleton system. The method includes determining a first state estimate for a current classification program being implemented by the exoskeleton system; determining a second state estimate for a reference classification program; determining that a difference between the first and second state estimate is greater than a classification program replacement threshold; generating an updated classification program; and replacing the current classification program with the updated classification program based at least in part on the determining that the difference between the first and second state estimates is greater than the classification program replacement threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2018
    Publication date: August 9, 2018
    Inventors: Timothy Alan Swift, Nicolas Cox, Kevin Conrad Kemper
  • Patent number: 9796479
    Abstract: An aircraft monitoring system includes multiple wireless aircraft sensors and multiple meta sensors mounted on-board an aircraft. Each wireless aircraft sensor is configured to sense an aircraft parameter. Each meta sensor is associated with an aircraft sensor and is configured to determine a location or orientation on the aircraft of the aircraft sensor. A data acquisition system mounted on-board the aircraft and connected to the multiple aircraft sensors and the multiple meta sensors can perform aircraft monitoring operations based on the sensed aircraft parameters and on a location or orientation of the aircraft sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON INC.
    Inventors: Brian Tucker, Kevin Conrad, Chris Thompson, Brandon Johnson
  • Patent number: 9617010
    Abstract: According to one example embodiment, a method of assessing use of an aircraft component installed on an aircraft includes receiving, from one or more sensors installed on the aircraft, one or more measurements representative of at least one load applied against the aircraft component; selecting at least one usage model from a plurality of usage models, each usage model of the plurality of usage models relating aircraft loads with received sensor data; determining at least one load value based on the selected at least one usage model and the received one or more measurements; and calculating, based on the determined at least one load value, an amount of change in probability of failure caused by application of the at least one load against the aircraft component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
    Inventor: Kevin Conrad
  • Patent number: 9561864
    Abstract: According to one example embodiment, a method of assessing use of an aircraft component installed on an aircraft includes assessing whether received one or more measurements are sufficient to support calculation of a usage-based change in remaining useful life and, if the one or more measurements are sufficient to support calculation of the usage-based change in remaining useful life, calculating the usage-based change in remaining useful life based on the received one or more measurements and changing the second remaining useful life of the aircraft component by the difference between the default change in remaining useful life and the usage-based change in remaining useful life.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
    Inventor: Kevin Conrad
  • Patent number: 9561863
    Abstract: According to one example embodiment, a method of assessing reliability of an aircraft component includes identifying, aboard an aircraft, a first probability of failure of the aircraft component installed on the aircraft. One or more measurements representative of at least one load applied against the aircraft component are received. Determined, aboard the aircraft, is a second probability of failure of the aircraft component based on the first probability of failure and the received one or more measurements representative of the at least one load applied against the aircraft component, the second probability of failure representing a probability of failure of the aircraft component after application of the at least one load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
    Inventor: Kevin Conrad
  • Publication number: 20160236794
    Abstract: An aircraft monitoring system includes multiple wireless aircraft sensors and multiple meta sensors mounted on-board an aircraft. Each wireless aircraft sensor is configured to sense an aircraft parameter. Each meta sensor is associated with an aircraft sensor and is configured to determine a location or orientation on the aircraft of the aircraft sensor. A data acquisition system mounted on-board the aircraft and connected to the multiple aircraft sensors and the multiple meta sensors can perform aircraft monitoring operations based on the sensed aircraft parameters and on a location or orientation of the aircraft sensors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2015
    Publication date: August 18, 2016
    Inventors: Brian Tucker, Kevin Conrad, Chris Thompson, Brandon Johnson
  • Publication number: 20150274313
    Abstract: According to one example embodiment, a method of assessing use of an aircraft component installed on an aircraft includes receiving, from one or more sensors installed on the aircraft, one or more measurements representative of at least one load applied against the aircraft component; selecting at least one usage model from a plurality of usage models, each usage model of the plurality of usage models relating aircraft loads with received sensor data; determining at least one load value based on the selected at least one usage model and the received one or more measurements; and calculating, based on the determined at least one load value, an amount of change in probability of failure caused by application of the at least one load against the aircraft component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2014
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Applicant: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
    Inventor: Kevin Conrad
  • Publication number: 20150274315
    Abstract: According to one example embodiment, a method of assessing use of an aircraft component installed on an aircraft includes assessing whether received one or more measurements are sufficient to support calculation of a usage-based change in remaining useful life and, if the one or more measurements are sufficient to support calculation of the usage-based change in remaining useful life, calculating the usage-based change in remaining useful life based on the received one or more measurements and changing the second remaining useful life of the aircraft component by the difference between the default change in remaining useful life and the usage-based change in remaining useful life.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2014
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Applicant: BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON INC.
    Inventor: Kevin Conrad
  • Publication number: 20150274314
    Abstract: According to one example embodiment, a method of reassessing use of an aircraft component installed on an aircraft includes receiving, from one or more sensors installed on the aircraft, one or more measurements representative of at least one load applied against the aircraft component; determining, based on the received one or more measurements and based on at least one other received input, an amount of change in probability of failure caused by application of the at least one load against the aircraft component; receiving a change to one of the received one or more measurements or the at least one other received input; and redetermining the change in probability of failure based on the received change.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2014
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Applicant: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
    Inventor: Kevin Conrad
  • Publication number: 20150274312
    Abstract: According to one example embodiment, a method of assessing reliability of an aircraft component includes identifying, aboard an aircraft, a first probability of failure of the aircraft component installed on the aircraft. One or more measurements representative of at least one load applied against the aircraft component are received. Determined, aboard the aircraft, is a second probability of failure of the aircraft component based on the first probability of failure and the received one or more measurements representative of the at least one load applied against the aircraft component, the second probability of failure representing a probability of failure of the aircraft component after application of the at least one load.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2014
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Applicant: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
    Inventor: Kevin Conrad
  • Publication number: 20140354481
    Abstract: A method for locating a Cospas-Sarsat emergency beacon comprises transmitting a Cospas-Sarsat compliant transmission from an emergency beacon and receiving the transmission at a plurality of receivers wherein the plurality of receivers comprises at least one terrestrial receiver operable to receive the transmission directly from the emergency beacon. The method further comprises measuring, utilizing a processing circuit, at the at least one terrestrial receiver a frequency of arrival and time of arrival of the transmission and transmitting the frequency of arrival and the time of arrival of the transmission to a central processing terminal operable to determine the location of the emergency beacon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2014
    Publication date: December 4, 2014
    Applicant: WS TECHNOLOGIES INC.
    Inventors: Kevin Conrad Holmes, William Austin Street
  • Publication number: 20070080001
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a chassis and a plurality of wheel assemblies articulated with the chassis, each of the plurality of wheel assemblies comprising a rotatable wheel spaced away from the chassis. A vehicle includes a chassis and an articulated suspension system mounted to the chassis. A method includes comprising articulating at least one of a plurality of wheel assemblies with a chassis, each of the wheel assemblies including a rotatable wheel spaced apart from the chassis. A vehicle includes a chassis and articulatable means for rolling the chassis along a path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2006
    Publication date: April 12, 2007
    Inventors: Michael Beck, Jon Stinchcomb, Wendell Chun, Donald Nimblett, James Tomlin, Kevin Conrad
  • Publication number: 20050023052
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a chassis and a plurality of wheel assemblies articulated with the chassis, each of the plurality of wheel assemblies comprising a rotatable wheel spaced away from the chassis. A vehicle includes a chassis and an articulated suspension system mounted to the chassis. A method includes comprising articulating at least one of a plurality of wheel assemblies with a chassis, each of the wheel assemblies including a rotatable wheel spaced apart from the chassis. A vehicle includes a chassis and articulatable means for rolling the chassis along a path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2003
    Publication date: February 3, 2005
    Inventors: Michael Beck, Jon Stinchcomb, Wendell Chun, Donald Nimblett, James Tomlin, Kevin Conrad