Patents by Inventor Lester F. Ludwig

Lester F. Ludwig 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: 10365890
    Abstract: A data sonification system for representing a plurality of channels of numerical information is described wherein the rate of the periodic modulation is itself used as a vehicle for carrying information of at least one component of the multidimensional numerical data. The data sonification system includes a plurality of audio waveform generator elements. Each of the audio waveform generator elements generates an associated audio frequency waveform. Each audio frequency waveform has an audio frequency parameter and at least one timbre modulation parameter having a settable value. The timbre modulation parameter affects the timbre of the audio waveform. The data sonification system includes a mapping element for associating aspects of multidimensional numerical data with the timbre modulation parameter of each audio frequency waveform. The mapping element sets the value of the timbre modulation parameter in response to multidimensional numerical data and/or periodic modulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: NRI R&D PATENT LICENSING, LLC
    Inventor: Lester F. Ludwig
  • Publication number: 20190198699
    Abstract: Light-sensor array systems for capturing multiple-color images and light-fields using array of wavelength-selective optoelectronic elements (rather than wider-range photosensors prefaced with visible-band wavelength-selective optical elements such as color selective filters) as light-field or image sensors are presented. The light-sensor array can be one or more of transparent, bendable, and implemented on a curved surface. In some embodiments, the wavelength-selective light-sensing opto-electronic elements are arranged in a stacked array. In some embodiments, more than three wavelength-selective ranges can be employed in each light-sensing pixel. The invention can be used to implement one or more of a lensless imaging light-field camera, tactile gesture user interface, and/or proximate gesture user interface. In some embodiments, the light-sensor array system can be configured to emit light of one or more colors, and thus can additionally serve as an image display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2019
    Publication date: June 27, 2019
    Inventor: Lester F. LUDWIG
  • Publication number: 20190187888
    Abstract: Methods for piecewise-linear and piecewise-affine transformations for finger-angle and spatial measurement decoupling in user touch and gesture interfaces including those with multitouch capabilities are described. A calculation chain provides a first-order calculation of up to six touch parameters (left-right, front-back, downward pressure, roll angle, pitch angle, yaw angle) responsive in real-time to user touch on a touch-responsive sensor array. A piecewise-affine transformation is applied to these first-order calculations to produce parameter decoupling. The piecewise-affine transformation can be structured to depend only on current numerical values from the first-order calculation. Alternatively, the piecewise-affine transformation can be structured to additionally depend on the positive or negative direction of change over time of at least one numerical value from the first-order calculation, thereby providing a correction for hysteresis effects.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Inventor: Lester F. LUDWIG
  • Publication number: 20190188875
    Abstract: Continuing a sequence of lensless light-field imaging camera patents beginning 1999, the present invention adds light-use efficiency, predictive-model design, distance-parameterized interpolation, computational efficiency, arbitrary shaped surface-of-focus, angular diversity/redundancy, distributed image sensing, plasmon surface propagation, and other fundamentally enabling features. Embodiments can be fabricated entirely by printing, transparent/semi-transparent, layered, of arbitrary size/curvature, flexible/bendable, emit light, focus and self-illuminate at zero-separation distance between (planar or curved) sensing and observed surfaces, robust against damage/occultation, implement color sensing without use of filters or diffraction, overlay on provided surfaces, provided color and enhanced multi-wavelength color sensing, wavelength-selective imaging of near-infrared/near-ultraviolet, and comprise many other fundamentally enabling features.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Inventor: Lester F. LUDWIG
  • Patent number: 10276138
    Abstract: A customizable electronic musical instrument includes a mounting frame for securing a plurality of user-installable electronic musical modules of various types including a type for generating at least one control signal responsive to user operation, a type for generating audio signals, responsive to a control signal. The instrument can transmit outgoing audio electrical signals to an external system and can include internal sound amplification. The instrument includes one or more types of controller elements such as a keyboard, touchpad, strumpad, impact sensor, slider control, expression wheel, joystick, ribbon controller, button, switch, pressure sensor, multiple-position selector, knob potentiometer, and further comprises at least one music synthesizer element. Control and audio signals may be routed among modules by a switch or bus. Audio signals can be mixed by a multichannel audio mixer and/or processed responsive to at least one control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: NRI R&D PATENT LICENSING, LLC
    Inventor: Lester F. Ludwig
  • Patent number: 10274487
    Abstract: The invention provides a platform technology with rich ability to flexibly perform, create, deploy, maintain, and update a wide range of panels, assay, array, and/or sequence of tests for a wide range of substances and pathogens. The invention provides a unifying framework for widely-ranging miniature sensor implementation, fluidic/gas interfacing, electrical interfaces and optical interfaces, and further by collocating, allowing the integration a large number highly-selective sensors and chemical sensors—together as needed with appropriately selected supplemental sensors (for example temperature, pH, selective ions, etc.), into a common readily-manufacturable framework. The diverse sensor arrays give rise to statistical enhancing through novel statistical processing approaches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: NRI R&D PATENT LICENSING, LLC
    Inventor: Lester F. Ludwig
  • Publication number: 20190087010
    Abstract: A system for a spatial-gesture user interface employing grammatical rules at gesture levels. Real-time spatial-gesture information measured by a spatial-gesture user interface is processed to at least a recognized sequence of specific gestures and that the sequence of gestures that the user's execution of a gesture sequence has been completed. Many additional features are then provided from this foundation, including gesture grammars, structured-meaning gesture-lexicon, imposed interpretations, context, and gesture-rendering prosody. The invention can be used to provide very general spatial-gesture grammar user interface for touchscreens, high dimensional touch pad (HDTP), free-space camera, and other user interfaces. In an implementation, each individual gesture rendered by the user can be recognized according to the sequence of recognized gestemes derived from information measured by a spatial-gesture user interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2018
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Inventor: Lester F. Ludwig
  • Patent number: 10230016
    Abstract: Light-sensor array systems for capturing multiple-color images and light-fields using array of wavelength-selective optoelectronic elements (rather than wider-range photosensors prefaced with visible-band wavelength-selective optical elements such as color selective filters) as light-field or image sensors are presented. The light-sensor array can be one or more of transparent, bendable, and implemented on a curved surface. In some embodiments, the wavelength-selective light-sensing opto-electronic elements are arranged in a stacked array. In some embodiments, more than three wavelength-selective ranges can be employed in each light-sensing pixel. The invention can be used to implement one or more of a lensless imaging light-field camera, tactile gesture user interface, and/or proximate gesture user interface. In some embodiments, the light-sensor array system can be configured to emit light of one or more colors, and thus can additionally serve as an image display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: NRI R&D PATENT LICENSING, LLC
    Inventor: Lester F. Ludwig
  • Publication number: 20190072987
    Abstract: A software-controlled triangle-topology valve-cluster for use at taps or conduit junction points that facilitate fluid-based clearing, gas-based clearing, solvent-based cleaning, gas drying, small-volume burst formation, abandoned-material return, and other valuable operations is disclosed. The invention provides better contamination performance than simple passive or valve-chaperoned “T”-topology junctions. The valve-cluster arrangement can be implemented or approximated in various ways. For faster performance, simplified programming, or other reasons “macro” controllability can be provided for operating groups of valves in one or more of simultaneous operation, time-defined sequenced operation, or conditional operation, and such macros can further provide for conditional inputs or parameters. Such “macro,” “conditional-macro,” and “parameterized-macro” control could be implemented in software, firmware, and/or hard-wired logic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2018
    Publication date: March 7, 2019
    Inventors: Lester F. LUDWIG, Catherine LUK, Sulu LALCHANDANI, Ying CHEN
  • Publication number: 20190073238
    Abstract: Although most contemporary and envisioned microfluidic systems are entirely passive or have limited control capabilities, future microfluidic systems require detailed sequenced control of valves and other elements. For this software-control of transport and processes for microfluidic systems under the control of temporal and/or event-driven scripts, script authoring and editing, functional libraries, and other development tools for process and configuration control are proposed with intent towards future standardization. Scripts can respond to external inputs and can comprise conditional-logic, temporal-logic, calculations, hierarchical structure, subroutines, macros, multi-thread and parallel execution operations, procedural calls, interrupts, real-time regulatory control calculations, and element resource allocation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2018
    Publication date: March 7, 2019
    Inventors: Lester F. LUDWIG, Catherine LUK, Sulu LALCHANDANI, Ying CHEN
  • Patent number: 10217235
    Abstract: Continuing a sequence of lensless light-field imaging camera patents beginning 1999, the present invention adds light-use efficiency, predictive-model design, distance-parameterized interpolation, computational efficiency, arbitrary shaped surface-of-focus, angular diversity/redundancy, distributed image sensing, plasmon surface propagation, and other fundamentally enabling features. Embodiments can be fabricated entirely by printing, transparent/semi-transparent, layered, of arbitrary size/curvature, flexible/bendable, emit light, focus and self-illuminate at zero-separation distance between (planar or curved) sensing and observed surfaces, robust against damage/occulation, implement color sensing without use of filters or diffraction, overlay on provided surfaces, provided color and enhanced multi-wavelength color sensing, wavelength-selective imaging of near-infrared/near-ultraviolet, and comprise many other fundamentally enabling features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: NRI R&D PATENT LICENSING, LLC
    Inventor: Lester F. Ludwig
  • Patent number: 10216399
    Abstract: Methods for piecewise-linear and piecewise-affine transformations parameter decoupling in High Dimensional Touchpad (HDTP) user touch interfaces including those with multitouch capabilities are described. A calculation chain provides a first-order calculation of a subset of a collection of touch parameters (including for example left-right, front-back, downward pressure, roll angle, pitch angle, yaw angle) responsive in real-time to user touch on a touch-responsive sensor array. A piecewise-affine transformation is applied to these first-order calculations to produce parameter decoupling. The piecewise-affine transformation can be structured to depend only on current numerical values from the first-order calculation. Alternatively, the piecewise-affine transformation can be structured to additionally depend on the positive or negative direction of change over time of at least one numerical value from the first-order calculation, thereby providing a correction for hysteresis effects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: NRI R&D PATENT LICENSING, LLC
    Inventor: Lester F. Ludwig
  • Publication number: 20190025297
    Abstract: A “breadboard” approach by which a biochemical pathway under study is separated or segmented into smaller portions, at least one of which can to a degree of approximation be accurately emulated with a replica microscale and/or nanoscale fluidic implementation whose constituent species, inhibitor(s), catalyst(s) and other reaction agent(s) can be closely controlled and at least one aspect of whose behavior can be measured. Control and measurement information interfaces with a computer that executes algorithms comprising one or more of a control process, control event-script, experiment, data recording, and mathematical model. A model can be used to simulate the actions, behavior, or other aspects of another portion of the biochemical signaling process, pathway, or network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2014
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Inventors: Lester F. Ludwig, Pooncharas Tipgunlakant, Hong Ye Wu, Catherine Luk
  • Publication number: 20190022656
    Abstract: A hand-rotatable motorized-aperture plug arrangement for use as a stopcock in articles of traditional and legacy laboratory glassware of arbitrary complexity. The hand-rotatable plug additionally comprises a longitudinally-movable gate whose gate position is changed by a stepper or D.C. electrical motor. As the gate position is changed, the amount of flow can be varied. Hand-rotation operation of the plug itself can be used to force flow turn-off. The gate position can be monitored by a sensor and can be computer-controlled for use with an article of laboratory glassware for controlling and/or directing the flow of chemical materials.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Inventor: Lester F. LUDWIG
  • Patent number: 10166545
    Abstract: An article of laboratory glassware for directing the flow of chemical materials is described. The article includes a manifold having a plurality of input ports and at least one output port, and a plurality of stopcocks. Each stopcock has an inlet port and an outlet port connected by a passageway through the plug. Each of the stopcock output ports is connected to one of the manifold input ports, and each of the stopcock input ports is connected with one end of a hollow glass tube, and the other end of the hollow glass tube is connected to a ground glass joint. The output ports of the manifold are terminated to a ground glass joint. Each stopcock is fitted with a plug comprising a longitudinally-movable gate whose position is driven by a stepper or D.C. electrical motor where the gate position can be monitored by a sensor and can be computer-controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: NRI R&D PATENT LICENSING, LLC
    Inventor: Lester F. Ludwig
  • Publication number: 20180340889
    Abstract: Optical tomography arrangements are disclosed for performing optical tomography on the transparent or translucent contents of individual microplate wells comprising a light emitting array having a plurality of light emitting elements, a sample module, and a light sensing array including a plurality of light sensing elements, wherein the light sensing array is configured to sense light emitted from the light emitting array which has passed through the sample module. The light emitting elements can comprise light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic light emitting transistors (OLETs), and/or other optoelectronic devices. The light sensing array can comprise organic light sensing devices, photodiodes, phototransistors, CMOS photodetectors, or charge-coupled devices (CCDs). The light emitting array can be flat or curved, and the light sensing array can be flat or curved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2018
    Publication date: November 29, 2018
    Inventor: Lester F. LUDWIG
  • Publication number: 20180336012
    Abstract: A data sonification system for representing a plurality of channels of numerical information is described wherein the rate of the periodic modulation is itself used as a vehicle for carrying information of at least one component of the multidimensional numerical data. The data sonification system includes a plurality of audio waveform generator elements. Each of the audio waveform generator elements generates an associated audio frequency waveform. Each audio frequency waveform has an audio frequency parameter and at least one timbre modulation parameter having a settable value. The timbre modulation parameter affects the timbre of the audio waveform. The data sonification system includes a mapping element for associating aspects of multidimensional numerical data with the timbre modulation parameter of each audio frequency waveform. The mapping element sets the value of the timbre modulation parameter in response to multidimensional numerical data and/or periodic modulation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2018
    Publication date: November 22, 2018
    Inventor: Lester F. LUDWIG
  • Publication number: 20180335893
    Abstract: Sensor arrangements and signal processing for touch-based user interfaces comprising multiple sensor types and other arrangements so as to create user interface output signals responsive to touch. Various types of sensors and other measurement arrangements can include capacitive tactile sensor arrays, optical tactile sensor arrays, proximity sensor arrays, pressure sensor arrays, and video cameras. In one approach, spatial information processing acts on initial image processing data acting separately on the data or measurements provided by each sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2018
    Publication date: November 22, 2018
    Inventors: Lester F. LUDWIG, Vadim ZALIVA
  • Publication number: 20180291416
    Abstract: Arrangements for per-well illumination and optical stimulation arrangements for microplate, microtiter, and microarray technologies are presented. In example implementations, each individual well within in a conventional or specialized microplate can be fully or partially isolated with capping or other arrangements which can include conduits for controlled introduction, removal, and/or exchange of fluids and/or gases. Conduit networks can include small controllable valves that operate under software control, and micro-scale pumps can also be included. Conduit interconnections can include one or more of controllable-valve distribution buses, next-neighbor interconnections, and other active or passive interconnection topologies. Cap arrangements can include or provide one or more sensors of various types, including but not limited to selective gas sensors, chemical sensors, temperature sensors, pH sensors, biosensors, immunosensors, molecular-imprint sensors, optical sensors, fluorescence sensors, bioFETS, etc.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2018
    Publication date: October 11, 2018
    Inventors: Pooncharas TIPGUNLAKANT, Lester F. LUDWIG
  • Publication number: 20180291414
    Abstract: Arrangements for per-well electronic sensors for microplate, microtiter, and microarray technologies are presented. In example implementations, each individual well within in a conventional or specialized microplate can be fully or partially isolated with capping or other arrangement. Cap arrangements can include or provide one or more sensors of various types, including but not limited to selective gas sensors, chemical sensors, temperature sensors, pH sensors, biosensors, immunosensors, molecular-imprint sensors, optical sensors, fluorescence sensors, bioFET sensor, etc. Incubator interfacing and imaging are also described. The caps can also include conduits for controlled introduction, removal, and/or exchange of fluids and/or gases. Conduit networks can include small controllable valves that operate under software control, and micro-scale pumps can also be included.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2018
    Publication date: October 11, 2018
    Inventors: Pooncharas TIPGUNLAKANT, Lester F. LUDWIG