Patents by Inventor Michael Hall

Michael Hall 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: 20210285525
    Abstract: A device for moving an object is disclosed. The device has a drive cylinder with drive grooves and a set of idler pulleys. The idler pulleys are on a shaft that is parallel to the drive cylinder. Each of the idler pulleys rotate at an angle around the drive shaft that aligns the grooves of the idler pulleys to neighboring drive grooves. This allows the line to pass onto the drive groove, around an idler pulley, and onto a next adjacent drive groove. The line therefore winds back and forth between the drive grooves, the idler pulleys, and back to the next drive groove. One end of the line is placed under tension and the other is attached to an object or to a fixed member. The drive cylinder is driven and the line is moved through the device, or the device is moved along the line, respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Publication date: September 16, 2021
    Applicant: Hall Labs LLC
    Inventors: David R. Hall, Michael Hall, Cody Rees
  • Publication number: 20210268399
    Abstract: Methods and systems for conducting batch multi-effect distillation are disclosed. A multi-effect distillation system and one or more isolation devices are provided. A feed stream, consisting of water and a solute, is passed from a feed source into a brine side of the plurality of heat exchangers. The feed source is isolated from the plurality of heat exchangers by closing the one or more isolation devices. A first of the plurality of heat exchangers is heated by the heat source. A steam stream and a brine concentrate stream are produced in all but a last of the plurality of heat exchangers. A condensate stream from the steam stream is produced in all but the first of the plurality of heat exchangers. A warmed feed stream is produced in the last of the plurality of heat exchangers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 29, 2020
    Publication date: September 2, 2021
    Applicant: Hall Labs LLC
    Inventors: David R. Hall, Michael Hall, Miguel Lazaro, Jacob Dean, Chandler Flinders, Keylan Jensen
  • Publication number: 20210270067
    Abstract: A counterbalance system for an overhead door is disclosed. The system includes a torsion adjustment comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first and second portions being rotatable relative to one another in a first direction and not in a second direction opposite the first direction. The system also includes an anchor fixed to the first portion, a collar fixed to the second portion, the collar being selectively fixable to a shaft of the overhead door, and a spring coupled between the collar and the anchor. The spring supports at least a portion of the weight of the overhead door as the overhead door is raised and lowered. Rotating the first portion of the torsion calibration collar relative to the second portion of the torsion calibration collar increases torsion in the spring and therefore calibrates the spring to support a desired amount of the weight of the overhead door.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 29, 2020
    Publication date: September 2, 2021
    Applicant: Hall Labs LLC
    Inventors: David R Hall, Michael Hall, Jerome Miles, David Groesbeck
  • Publication number: 20210241049
    Abstract: Embodiments relate to tracking and determining a location of an object in an environment surrounding a user. A system includes one or more imaging devices and an object tracking unit. The system identifies an object in a search region, determines a tracking region that is smaller than the search region corresponding to the object, and scans the tracking region to determine a location associated with the object. The system may generate a ranking of objects, determine locations associated with the objects, and generate a model of the search region based on the locations associated with the objects.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2021
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Inventors: Michael Hall, Byron Taylor
  • Patent number: 11077705
    Abstract: A clip capable of magnetic attachment to a paintbrush or to a steel paint roller mesh tray. It has a hook arm extending from the body of the clip that enables a hanging attachment to a plethora of different sized paint cans and at different vertical angles. The clip may be used with continued attachment to the paintbrush where the paintbrush is hung on the paint can when necessary by the hook arm. It may also be used with continued attachment to a steel paint roller mesh tray and the paintbrush is magnetically affixed on the tray when necessary. A ferromagnetic backing cup may be used to direct the bulk of the magnetic flux to either side of the clip body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Inventor: Christopher Michael Hall
  • Patent number: 11070789
    Abstract: A switchable fringe pattern illuminator includes an optical path switch configured to receive light and dynamically control an amount of light that is provided to a first waveguide and an amount of light that is provided to a second waveguide. A first projector configured to generate a first fringe pattern using light from the first waveguide. The first fringe pattern illuminates a first portion of a target area. A second projector configured to generate a second fringe pattern using light from the second waveguide. The second fringe pattern illuminates a second portion of a target area. The illuminator may be part of a depth camera assembly (DCA). The DCA is configured to capture images of a portion of the target area. The DCA is further configured to determine depth information for an object in the target area based in part on the captured images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Zihe Gao, Michael Hall, Qing Chao, Zhaoming Zhu, Tin Komljenovic
  • Publication number: 20210203910
    Abstract: A switchable fringe pattern illuminator includes an optical path switch configured to receive light and dynamically control an amount of light that is provided to a first waveguide and an amount of light that is provided to a second waveguide. A first projector configured to generate a first fringe pattern using light from the first waveguide. The first fringe pattern illuminates a first portion of a target area. A second projector configured to generate a second fringe pattern using light from the second waveguide. The second fringe pattern illuminates a second portion of a target area. The illuminator may be part of a depth camera assembly (DCA). The DCA is configured to capture images of a portion of the target area. The DCA is further configured to determine depth information for an object in the target area based in part on the captured images.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2019
    Publication date: July 1, 2021
    Inventors: Zihe Gao, Michael Hall, Qing Chao, Zhaoming Zhu, Tin Komljenovic
  • Patent number: 11048394
    Abstract: Systems and methods for navigation control for mobile devices are provided. In example embodiments, a navigation system causes presentation of a navigation icon at a user interface. Navigation between a plurality of pages at the user interface is initiated with a single tap and hold action. In response to a drag motion, following the single tap and hold action without releasing the hold action, information display at the user interface is adjusted, thereby enabling navigating between multiple information content with a single tap, hold, and drag action of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: eBay Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Michael Hall, Matthew Bret MacLaurin
  • Publication number: 20210178806
    Abstract: A rim assembly for a bicycle wheel includes a rim, a first protruding tire retaining feature attached to a first surface of the rim, and a second protruding tire retaining feature attached to a second surface of the rim. The first surface is a surface of a first tire retaining wall of a radially outer tire engaging portion of the rim, and the second surface is a surface of a second tire retaining wall of the radially outer tire engaging portion. The second surface faces the first surface. The first protruding tire retaining feature and the second protruding tire retaining feature are made of a first material, and the first tire retaining wall and the second tire retaining wall are made of a second material. The second material is different than the first material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Applicant: SRAM, LLC
    Inventors: PATRICK BRADY, MICHAEL HALL, DAVID MORSE, MIGUEL NAVARRO BAEZA
  • Publication number: 20210165233
    Abstract: A depth measurement assembly (DMA) includes a pulsed illuminator assembly, a depth camera assembly, and a controller. The pulsed illuminator assembly has a structured light projector that projects pulses of structured light at a pulse rate into a local area. The depth camera assembly captures images data of an object in the local area illuminated with the pulses of structured light. An exposure interval of the depth camera assembly is pulsed and synchronized to the pulses projected by the pulsed illuminator assembly. The controller controls the pulsed illuminator assembly and the depth camera assembly so that they are synchronized. The controller also determine depth and/or tracking information of the object based on the captured image data. In some embodiments, the pulsed illuminator assembly have a plurality of structured light projectors that projects pulses of structured light at different times.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Publication date: June 3, 2021
    Inventor: Michael Hall
  • Patent number: 11010911
    Abstract: A depth estimation system is described capable of determining depth information using two images from two cameras. A first camera captures a first image and a second camera captures a second image, both images including a plurality of light channels. In a first light channel of the plurality of light channels, the system calculates a census transform for each pixel of the first image and a census transform for each pixel of the second image. In a second light channel of the plurality of light channels, the system calculates a census transform for each pixel of the first image and a census transform for each pixel of the second image. The system generates a depth map based in part on the census transforms for each pixel of the first image and the second image in the first light channel and in the second light channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Michael Hall, Xinqiao Liu, Zhaoming Zhu, Rajesh Lachhmandas Chhabria, Huixuan Tang, Shuochen Su
  • Patent number: 11010646
    Abstract: Embodiments relate to tracking and determining a location of an object in an environment surrounding a user. A system includes one or more imaging devices and an object tracking unit. The system identifies an object in a search region, determines a tracking region that is smaller than the search region corresponding to the object, and scans the tracking region to determine a location associated with the object. The system may generate a ranking of objects, determine locations associated with the objects, and generate a model of the search region based on the locations associated with the objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Michael Hall, Byron Taylor
  • Patent number: 10994715
    Abstract: In various example embodiments, a system and method for determining a trailer brake gain signal for trailer brakes on a trailer being towed by a vehicle, and applying brakes to the trailer is disclosed. A method includes: providing predetermined calibration settings relating motor drive force to motor speed for a vehicle travelling at various speeds and providing accelerometer data. The method then determines that one or more vehicle performance parameters fall within threshold ranges and then determines both the vehicle weight and the trailer weight. The brake gain signal is determined based on the ratio of the current trailer weight and the original trailer weight. The brake gain signal is then transmitted to a trailer brake controller that applies trailer brakes according to the brake gain signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Hall Labs LLC
    Inventors: Michael Hall, Seth Myer
  • Patent number: 10999397
    Abstract: Described herein is a system and method for performing a clustered coherent cloud read cache without coherency messaging. At a cloud reader agent having a read cache, a request for a particular portion of data is received from a client. The request includes an identifier of the node making the request, a current time on the node making the request, a last stubbed time of the particular portion of data, and/or an identifier of the particular portion of data. When the particular portion of data is stored in the read cache of the cloud reader agent, the cloud reader agent can determine whether the cached particular portion of data is valid based, at least in part, upon the received identifier of the node making the request, the received last stubbed time of the particular portion of data, and/or, a stored time associated with the cached particular portion of data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Richard Paul Testardi, Cameron Michael Hall, Suhas Prakash, Ernie Pistor
  • Publication number: 20210125495
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure include a navigation system and computer-implemented methods for detecting traffic disruption events based on an analysis of input component data obtained from navigation-enabled devices of vehicles near a particular location. Traffic disruption events are events such as accidents, construction road closures, police and speed traps, or road hazards that cause a decrease in the flow of traffic along a particular route and thus, added time delays for occupants of vehicles traveling along those routes. The navigation system scores the input component data associated with each vehicle and aggregates the scored input component data to obtain a frustration score associated with the vehicle. The navigation system may detect traffic disruption events based on a number of vehicles near a particular area having associated frustration scores above a certain threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2020
    Publication date: April 29, 2021
    Applicant: eBay Inc.
    Inventors: Dane Glasgow, Matthew Bret MacLaurin, Neville Rhys Newey, Justin VanWinkle, Christopher Michael Hall, Trista Mcneill, David Ramadge
  • Publication number: 20210117418
    Abstract: Various systems and methods for implementing time-aware general-purpose input output (TGPIO) for industrial control systems are described herein. A system includes edge detector circuitry to: detect rising or falling edges in an input signal; and store the rising or falling edges in a buffer along with a corresponding timestamp of the respective edge; and pattern match circuitry to: analyze the rising or falling edges in the buffer to identify a pattern of edges that matches a search pattern; and store timestamps corresponding to the pattern of edges in an event queue, the event queue used to notify a user application of the existence of the pattern of edges in the input signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2020
    Publication date: April 22, 2021
    Inventors: Vikram Dadwal, Christopher Shawn Michael Hall
  • Patent number: 10984544
    Abstract: A depth camera assembly (DCA) for depth sensing of a local area. The DCA includes a polarized light generator, an imaging device, and a controller. The polarized light generator modulates one or more optical beams emitted from an illumination source to generate modulated light, and projects the modulated light into the local area as polarized light having a first polarization. The imaging device receives light from the local area, the received light including ambient light and a portion of the polarized light reflected from the local area. The imaging device reduces an intensity of the received light having polarization different from a second polarization to generate filtered light substantially composed of light of the second polarization, and detects the portion of the polarized light having the second polarization using the filtered light. The controller determines depth information for the local area based on the detected portion of the polarized light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Qing Chao, Michael Hall
  • Patent number: 10977815
    Abstract: A method includes generating, by an illumination source, an optical beam and coupling the optical beam into an acousto-optic device. The acousto-optic device generates structured light from the coupled optical beam by diffracting the optical beam into at least two interfering optical beams. The interfering optical beams are then used to illuminate a surface of an eye of a user of a display for use in eye-tracking.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Qing Chao, Michael Hall
  • Patent number: 10972715
    Abstract: A depth camera assembly (DCA) determines depth information within a local area. The DCA may selectively process a subset of data captured by an imaging sensor and obtained from the imaging sensor, such as pixels corresponding to a region of interest, for depth information. Alternatively, the DCA may limit retrieval of data from the imaging sensor to pixels corresponding to the region of interest from the imaging sensor for processing for depth information. The depth processing may include a semi-global match (SGM) algorithm, and the DCA adjusts a number of neighboring pixels used for determining depth information for a specific pixel based on one or more criteria. In some embodiments, the DCA performs the depth processing by analyzing images from different image sensors using left to right and right to left correspondence checks that are performed in parallel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Michael Hall, Xinqiao Liu, Zhaoming Zhu, Rajesh Lachhmandas Chhabria, Huixuan Tang, Shuochen Su
  • Patent number: D929922
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: SRAM, LLC
    Inventors: David Morse, Michael Hall, Ruan Trouw