Patents by Inventor Len Merrill

Len Merrill 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: 11988540
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a probe configured to provide at least a portion of capacitance of an inductance-capacitance (LC) circuit of a detection circuit, the capacitance of the LC circuit being dependent on a distance between the probe and a surface of a liquid in a biochemical analysis system. The apparatus includes a movement mechanism configured to move the probe. The apparatus includes circuitry configured to perform operations that include causing the movement mechanism to move the probe with respect to the liquid; measuring one or more characteristics of an output signal of the detection circuit, the one or more characteristics being dependent on the capacitance of the LC circuit; and detecting, based on the one or more characteristics of the output signal, a contact between the probe and the surface of the liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: Instrumentation Laboratory Co.
    Inventors: Reed Hebert, Benjamin Newton, Len Merrill
  • Publication number: 20240053184
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a probe configured to provide at least a portion of capacitance of an inductance-capacitance (LC) circuit of a detection circuit, the capacitance of the LC circuit being dependent on a distance between the probe and a surface of a liquid in a biochemical analysis system. The apparatus includes a movement mechanism configured to move the probe. The apparatus includes circuitry configured to perform operations that include causing the movement mechanism to move the probe with respect to the liquid; measuring one or more characteristics of an output signal of the detection circuit, the one or more characteristics being dependent on the capacitance of the LC circuit; and detecting, based on the one or more characteristics of the output signal, a contact between the probe and the surface of the liquid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Inventors: Reed Hebert, Benjamin Newton, Len Merrill