Patents by Inventor Nathan Lentz
Nathan Lentz 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).
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Patent number: 11664679Abstract: A circuit for stealing power from an external system without interfering with a communication protocol may include wiring connectors configured to receive wires from the external system; a first voltage regulator to regulate a voltage on the plurality of wiring connectors at a plurality of voltage levels to encode a first multi-bit binary message according to the communication protocol to be sent to the external system; a current monitor to measure a plurality of current levels received through the plurality of wiring connectors and decode the plurality of current levels to determine a second multi-bit binary message sent from the external system according to the communication protocol; and a power converter that adjusts an amount of power stolen from the plurality of wiring connectors based at least in part on the voltage on the plurality of wiring connectors.Type: GrantFiled: April 26, 2021Date of Patent: May 30, 2023Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Daniel Adam Warren, Eric Marschalkowski, Nathan Lentz, Timothy Lai
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Publication number: 20230081230Abstract: A method of powering a controller using an intermediate device with power from an environmental system may include receiving current from a power wire from the environmental system; passing the current from the power wire to a second command wire from the controller; monitoring the current flowing between the power wire and the second command wire while the current is below a threshold indicative of an amount of current used to power the controller from the environmental system; detecting when the current flowing between the power wire and the second command wire exceeds the threshold indicating that the controller is sending a command to the environmental system to perform the function; and sending a command to environmental system using a first command wire from the environmental system after detecting that the current exceeds the threshold.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 8, 2022Publication date: March 16, 2023Applicant: Google LLCInventors: Daniel Adam Warren, Michael Mitchell, Nathan Lentz
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Patent number: 11539397Abstract: A method of powering a controller using an intermediate device with power from an environmental system may include receiving current from a power wire from the environmental system; passing the current from the power wire to a second command wire from the controller; monitoring the current flowing between the power wire and the second command wire while the current is below a threshold indicative of an amount of current used to power the controller from the environmental system; detecting when the current flowing between the power wire and the second command wire exceeds the threshold indicating that the controller is sending a command to the environmental system to perform the function; and sending a command to environmental system using a first command wire from the environmental system after detecting that the current exceeds the threshold.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 2020Date of Patent: December 27, 2022Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Daniel Adam Warren, Michael Mitchell, Nathan Lentz
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Publication number: 20220200658Abstract: A method of powering a controller using an intermediate device with power from an environmental system may include receiving current from a power wire from the environmental system; passing the current from the power wire to a second command wire from the controller; monitoring the current flowing between the power wire and the second command wire while the current is below a threshold indicative of an amount of current used to power the controller from the environmental system; detecting when the current flowing between the power wire and the second command wire exceeds the threshold indicating that the controller is sending a command to the environmental system to perform the function; and sending a command to environmental system using a first command wire from the environmental system after detecting that the current exceeds the threshold.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 22, 2020Publication date: June 23, 2022Applicant: Google LLCInventors: Daniel Adam Warren, Michael Mitchell, Nathan Lentz
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Publication number: 20210249900Abstract: A circuit for stealing power from an external system without interfering with a communication protocol may include wiring connectors configured to receive wires from the external system; a first voltage regulator to regulate a voltage on the plurality of wiring connectors at a plurality of voltage levels to encode a first multi-bit binary message according to the communication protocol to be sent to the external system; a current monitor to measure a plurality of current levels received through the plurality of wiring connectors and decode the plurality of current levels to determine a second multi-bit binary message sent from the external system according to the communication protocol; and a power converter that adjusts an amount of power stolen from the plurality of wiring connectors based at least in part on the voltage on the plurality of wiring connectors.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 26, 2021Publication date: August 12, 2021Applicant: Google LLCInventors: Daniel Adam Warren, Eric Marschalkowski, Nathan Lentz, Timothy Lai
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Patent number: 10992175Abstract: A circuit for stealing power from an external system without interfering with a communication protocol includes a plurality of wiring connectors configured to receive a plurality of wires, where the plurality of wiring connectors receive a plurality of current levels set by the external system according to the communication protocol; a first voltage regulator to regulate a voltage on the plurality of wiring connectors at a plurality of voltage levels according to the communication protocol; a current monitor to measure the plurality of current levels received through the plurality of wiring connectors; a second voltage regulator that provides a current-limiting output; and a power converter that optimizes an amount of power stolen from the plurality of wiring connectors based on the current-limiting output.Type: GrantFiled: June 15, 2018Date of Patent: April 27, 2021Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Daniel Adam Warren, Eric Marschalkowski, Nathan Lentz, Timothy Lai
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Publication number: 20190384334Abstract: A circuit for stealing power from an external system without interfering with a communication protocol includes a plurality of wiring connectors configured to receive a plurality of wires, where the plurality of wiring connectors receive a plurality of current levels set by the external system according to the communication protocol; a first voltage regulator to regulate a voltage on the plurality of wiring connectors at a plurality of voltage levels according to the communication protocol; a current monitor to measure the plurality of current levels received through the plurality of wiring connectors; a second voltage regulator that provides a current-limiting output; and a power converter that optimizes an amount of power stolen from the plurality of wiring connectors based on the current-limiting output.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 15, 2018Publication date: December 19, 2019Applicant: Google LLCInventors: Daniel Adam Warren, Eric Marschalkowski, Nathan Lentz, Timothy Lai
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Patent number: 8731981Abstract: A method, system and program product are disclosed for filling job orders, the method comprising: creating electronically a respective commitment reservation for each of a plurality of workers, with each respective commitment reservation comprising a commitment for the respective worker to work on a prospective job not yet created, with the prospective job having one or more job parameters; receiving electronically a job order subsequent to the creation of one of the commitment reservations, the job order specifying a job with one or more job parameters; matching the job parameters of the job in the job order to the job parameters in one or more of the commitment reservations to obtain a reservation-job match; and, securing automatically based on the results of the matching step the job in the job order to one of the workers with a commitment reservation.Type: GrantFiled: March 16, 2012Date of Patent: May 20, 2014Assignee: Frontline Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Greg Adams, Nathan Lentz, Ralph Julius, Tom Vilbert, Roland Thompson
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Publication number: 20120179617Abstract: A method, system and program product are disclosed for filling job orders, the method comprising: creating electronically a respective commitment reservation for each of a plurality of workers, with each respective commitment reservation comprising a commitment for the respective worker to work on a prospective job not yet created, with the prospective job having one or more job parameters; receiving electronically a job order subsequent to the creation of one of the commitment reservations, the job order specifying a job with one or more job parameters; matching the job parameters of the job in the job order to the job parameters in one or more of the commitment reservations to obtain a reservation-job match; and, securing automatically based on the results of the matching step the job in the job order to one of the workers with a commitment reservation.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 16, 2012Publication date: July 12, 2012Inventors: Greg ADAMS, Nathan Lentz, Ralph Julius, Tom Vilbert, Roland Thompson
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Patent number: 8140366Abstract: A method, system and program product are disclosed for filling job orders, the method comprising: creating electronically a respective commitment reservation for each of a plurality of workers, with each respective commitment reservation comprising a commitment for the respective worker to work on a prospective job not yet created, with the prospective job having one or more job parameters; receiving electronically a job order subsequent to the creation of one of the commitment reservations, the job order specifying a job with one or more job parameters; matching the job parameters of the job in the job order to the job parameters in one or more of the commitment reservations to obtain a reservation-job match; and, securing automatically based on the results of the matching step the job in the job order to one of the workers with a commitment reservation.Type: GrantFiled: October 2, 2008Date of Patent: March 20, 2012Assignee: Frontline Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Greg Adams, Nathan Lentz, Ralph Julius, Tom Vilbert, Roland Thompson
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Publication number: 20090177518Abstract: A method, system and program product are disclosed for filling job orders, the method comprising: creating electronically a respective commitment reservation for each of a plurality of workers, with each respective commitment reservation comprising a commitment for the respective worker to work on a prospective job not yet created, with the prospective job having one or more job parameters; receiving electronically a job order subsequent to the creation of one of the commitment reservations, the job order specifying a job with one or more job parameters; matching the job parameters of the job in the job order to the job parameters in one or more of the commitment reservations to obtain a reservation-job match; and, securing automatically based on the results of the matching step the job in the job order to one of the workers with a commitment reservation.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 2, 2008Publication date: July 9, 2009Inventors: Greg Adams, Nathan Lentz, Ralph Julius, Tom Vilbert, Roland Thompson