Patents by Inventor Rainer Schafer

Rainer Schafer 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: 8856998
    Abstract: A mobile floor cleaning machine is provided, having a chassis on which running wheels are rotatably mounted, and having at least one cleaning unit which has at least one cleaning tool and is coupled to the chassis via a guide member. To improve the floor cleaning machine in such a way that the risk of damage to the floor cleaning machine or to an obstacle in the event of a frontal collision with the obstacle may be minimized, it is proposed that the guide member is elastically deformable in the longitudinal direction of the floor cleaning machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Alfred Kärcher GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Rainer Schäfer, Frank Nonnenmann
  • Publication number: 20140253699
    Abstract: Recent production methods for 3D video as a general rule generate stereo images in a same phase of movement. The left and right images of a stereo pair thus image the recorded (or rendered) scene at a same point of time. Correct reproduction consequently requires the two images to be shown concurrently. This is, however, not true for all apparatuses such as, for example, 3D television sets including the so-called shutter technology, which show the left and right images in temporal succession. This temporally offset reproduction of the two stereo images results in clearly perceivable image errors. The invention describes a method for compensating such image errors. This is achieved by interpolating the images of one of the channels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2012
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: INSTITUT FUR RUNDFUNKTECHNIK GMBH
    Inventors: Rainer Schafer, Peter Tho Pesch
  • Publication number: 20140218489
    Abstract: Some 3D video display apparatuses reproduce the two stereo channels in a temporally offset manner, which may bring about the occurrence of interfering image errors. Appropriate dispositions allow to compensate such image errors entirely or in part. In the reproduction of 3D video it is not definitely possible to recognize whether, and in what form, such dispositions are being employed in a display apparatus. The invention discloses a test signal generator and a test signal which allow to examine the error compensation dispositions being employed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2012
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Applicant: INSTITUT FUR RUNDFUNKTECHNIK GMBH
    Inventors: Rainer Schäfer, Peter Tho Pesch
  • Publication number: 20130247313
    Abstract: A mobile floor cleaning machine is provided, having a chassis on which running wheels are rotatably mounted, and having at least one cleaning unit which has at least one cleaning tool and is coupled to the chassis via a guide member. To improve the floor cleaning machine in such a way that the risk of damage to the floor cleaning machine or to an obstacle in the event of a frontal collision with the obstacle may be minimized, it is proposed that the guide member is elastically deformable in the longitudinal direction of the floor cleaning machine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2013
    Publication date: September 26, 2013
    Applicant: Alfred Karcher GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Rainer Schäfer, Frank Nonnenmann
  • Patent number: 8276355
    Abstract: An agricultural harvesting machine is provided having a frame, a crop processing unit that is movable with respect to the frame between an operating position, in which it is inserted into a channel through which crop can flow, and a non-operating position outside the channel. A transport unit is provided with a first arm articulated to the frame of the harvesting machine pivotably about a first vertical axis, a winch and a traction device connected to the winch for lifting the crop processing unit out of its non-operating position and for moving the crop processing unit into a position outside the harvesting machine. The transport unit further is provided with a second arm holding the traction device and articulated to the outer end of the first arm pivotably about a second vertical axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Rainer Schäfer, Manfred Engel, Christoph Spallek
  • Publication number: 20120167536
    Abstract: An agricultural harvesting machine is provided having a frame, a crop processing unit that is movable with respect to the frame between an operating position, in which it is inserted into a channel through which crop can flow, and a non-operating position outside the channel. A transport unit is provided with a first arm articulated to the frame of the harvesting machine pivotably about a first vertical axis, a winch and a traction device connected to the winch for lifting the crop processing unit out of its non-operating position and for moving the crop processing unit into a position outside the harvesting machine. The transport unit further is provided with a second arm holding the traction device and articulated to the outer end of the first arm pivotably about a second vertical axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2011
    Publication date: July 5, 2012
    Inventors: Rainer Schäfer, Manfred Engel, Christoph Spallek
  • Patent number: 7555882
    Abstract: The agricultural harvesting machine having a crop picking head includes a pickup conveyer which can be driven so as to pick up the harvested crop at a first adjustable speed, a discharge conveyer which can be driven so as to receive the harvested crop picked up by the pickup conveyer, transport the harvested crop, and discharge the harvested crop at a second adjustable speed, and a feed-in conveyer disposed in a feed-in channel of the harvesting machine that can be driven so as to receive the harvested crop from the discharge conveyer, transport the harvested crop, and discharge the harvested crop to a harvested crop processing unit at a third adjustable speed. The third speed and the first speed are independent of one another, and the second speed is defined by the first and third speeds and falls in a range between the first and third speeds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2009
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Steffen Clauss, Stefan Bohrer, Rainer Schäfer, Jürgen Hofer, Peter Pirro
  • Patent number: 7540136
    Abstract: The invention relates to a field chopper having at least one rotatable lower rough-press roll and at least one rotatable upper rough-press roll. Between the rough-press rolls crop is pressed and fed to a chopping drum where blades chop the crop. A space is defined down stream of the moveable rough-pressing roll between the chopping drum, the stream of pressed crop and the movable rough-press roll. Located in this space is a pressing element that acts on the pressed crop and which exerts a rough-pressing effect on the pressed crop downstream of the movable rough-press roll and upstream of the chopping drum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2009
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventor: Rainer Schäfer
  • Publication number: 20080078153
    Abstract: A foreign body detector for an agricultural harvester is provided having a sensing element which is fitted such that it is movable transversely to a direction of conveyance of the crop and which, during the harvesting operation, bears against the received crop. The foreign body detector has a position sensor set up to register the position of the sensing element, and an evaluation circuit, which can be operated to calculate, on the basis of the signals of the position sensor, information relating to the velocity and/or acceleration of the sensing element and, for the purpose of generating a signal value indicating the take-up of a foreign body, to make a comparison with a threshold value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2007
    Publication date: April 3, 2008
    Inventor: Rainer Schafer
  • Patent number: 7311448
    Abstract: A bearing arrangement for a harvesting machine, including a bearing configured to couple a rotatable shaft with a chassis of the harvesting machine, a first element coupled with the shaft so as to be rotatable therewith, and a second element coupled with the chassis of the harvesting machine. Additionally, at least a portion of the second element is substantially concentrically enclosed by the first element and the first and second elements cooperate to define a contactless seal configured to substantially prevent contamination of the bearing. The shaft is coupled with a product treating element, such as a crop feeding and/or processing element that is driven or idle rotating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2007
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Manfred Engel, Joseph A. Teijido, Claus-Josef Vogelgesang, Fritz K. Lauer, Wolfram Elsner, Rainer Schäfer, Joshua D. Bacon
  • Patent number: 7261632
    Abstract: A self-propelled harvesting machine having an internal combustion engine, a propulsion system that can be operated to cause the harvesting machine to move across a field with a propulsion speed, a crop material pick-up device for picking up the crop material from a field, a crop material processing device for processing the crop material that has been picked up, a control unit for specifying the speed of the internal combustion engine, and a through-put measurement device for determining the through-put of the harvesting machine. The control unit can be operated to vary the speed of the internal combustion engine depending on the signal from the through-put measurement device. In this manner the RPM of the internal combustion engine that is most favorable in terms of fuel consumption and that corresponds to the power to be applied at a given through-put can be specified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2007
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Peter Pirro, Jürgen Hofer, Stefan Bohrer, Rainer Schäfer, Steffen Clauss
  • Publication number: 20070137160
    Abstract: The invention relates to a field chopper having at least one rotatable lower rough-press roll and at least one rotatable upper rough-press roll. Between the rough-press rolls crop is pressed and fed to a chopping drum where blades chop the crop. A space is defined down stream of the moveable rough-pressing roll between the chopping drum, the stream of pressed crop and the movable rough-press roll. Located in this space is a pressing element that acts on the pressed crop and which exerts a rough-pressing effect on the pressed crop downstream of the movable rough-press roll and upstream of the chopping drum.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2006
    Publication date: June 21, 2007
    Inventor: Rainer Schafer
  • Publication number: 20070113533
    Abstract: The invention relates to a feeding device (32) for a field chopper (10), comprising: at least one rotatable lower feedroll (34, 35), at least one rotatable upper feedroll (36, 37), between which a windrow can be fed and led to a chopping device (22), and an external force-activated adjustment drive (68), with which the position of at least one of the feedrolls (36, 37) can be changed relative to the other feedroll (34, 35). It is proposed that a spring (58) be arranged between the adjustment drive (68) and the feedroll (36, 37) that can be moved by this drive. The spring (58) enables the movable feedroll (36, 37) to react more quickly or immediately to sudden changes in windrow height independent of the inertia of the adjustment drive (68).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2006
    Publication date: May 24, 2007
    Inventors: Rainer Schafer, Matthew Dold
  • Publication number: 20060185337
    Abstract: A bearing arrangement for a harvesting machine, including a bearing configured to couple a rotatable shaft with a chassis of the harvesting machine, a first element coupled with the shaft so as to be rotatable therewith, and a second element coupled with the chassis of the harvesting machine. Additionally, at least a portion of the second element is substantially concentrically enclosed by the first element and the first and second elements cooperate to define a contactless seal configured to substantially prevent contamination of the bearing. The shaft is coupled with a product treating element, such as a crop feeding and/or processing element that is driven or idle rotating.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2005
    Publication date: August 24, 2006
    Inventors: Manfred Engel, Joseph Teijido, Claus-Josef Vogelgesang, Fritz Lauer, Wolfram Elsner, Rainer Schafer, Joshua Bacon
  • Publication number: 20050279073
    Abstract: The agricultural harvesting machine having a crop picking head includes a pickup conveyer which can be driven so as to pick up the harvested crop at a first adjustable speed, a discharge conveyer which can be driven so as to receive the harvested crop picked up by the pickup conveyer, transport the harvested crop, and discharge the harvested crop at a second adjustable speed, and a feed-in conveyer disposed in a feed-in channel of the harvesting machine that can be driven so as to receive the harvested crop from the discharge conveyer, transport the harvested crop, and discharge the harvested crop to a harvested crop processing unit at a third adjustable speed. The third speed and the first speed are independent of one another, and the second speed is defined by the first and third speeds and falls in a range between the first and third speeds.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2005
    Publication date: December 22, 2005
    Inventors: Steffen Clauss, Stefan Bohrer, Rainer Schafer, Jurgen Hofer, Peter Pirro
  • Publication number: 20050279070
    Abstract: A self-propelled harvesting machine having an internal combustion engine, a propulsion system that can be operated to cause the harvesting machine to move across a field with a propulsion speed, a crop material pick-up device for picking up the crop material from a field, a crop material processing device for processing the crop material that has been picked up, a control unit for specifying the speed of the internal combustion engine, and a through-put measurement device for determining the through-put of the harvesting machine. The control unit can be operated to vary the speed of the internal combustion engine depending on the signal from the through-put measurement device. In this manner the RPM of the internal combustion engine that is most favorable in terms of fuel consumption and that corresponds to the power to be applied at a given through-put can be specified.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2005
    Publication date: December 22, 2005
    Inventors: Peter Pirro, Jurgen Hofer, Stefan Bohrer, Rainer Schafer, Steffen Clauss
  • Publication number: 20050238271
    Abstract: A bearing assembly of a crop conveying and/or crop processing element for a harvesting machine includes a rolling contact bearing, a stationary disk spaced axially away from the rolling contact bearing and an impeller disk rotating with the crop conveying and/or crop processing element. The stationary disk is positioned between the rolling contact bearing and the impeller disk such that interaction of the stationary disk with the impeller disk prevents intrusion of undesirable material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2005
    Publication date: October 27, 2005
    Inventors: Rainer Schafer, Claus-Josef Vogelgesang, Manfred Engel
  • Patent number: 6282875
    Abstract: A self-propelled forage harvester includes a main frame supported on front and rear pairs of wheels. A crop intake arrangement extends forwardly between the front wheels and releasably mounted thereto is the central component of a rowless header having right- and left-hand components pivotally attached to the central component for movement between a raised non-operative transport position for transport within a legal width and a lowered operative position wherein they extend outwardly beyond the front wheels. One of several transport wheel arrangements are selectively coupled to one or the other or both of the crop intake arrangement and the central component of the rowless header for supporting at least some of the weight of the header so that this weight is not borne by the axle of the front wheels of the forage harvester vehicle, thereby making the forage harvester legal to travel on roads where there is an axle load limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2001
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Eberhard Holtkotte, Rainer Schafer, Claus-Joseph Vogelgesang, Richard Wubbels
  • Patent number: 6246785
    Abstract: Method for the automated, microscope-aided examination of tissue samples or samples of body fluids with the aid of neural networks. In a first method of examination the sample is firstly classified according to its type and subsequently a digitalized image is divided into connected segments which are examined by one or several neural networks. The sample is classified as pathological if cell types are present which do not belong to the type of sample or if structural cell or tissue changes are present. In a second method of examination the digitalized image is again segmented and the segments are examined for the presence of a cell object. This is followed by an examination whether the cell object is an individual cell or a cell complex. In a third step of the analysis it is determined whether the found cell object is located on one of the image borders. If this is the case then a further image is recorded in which the found cell objects are completely included.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2001
    Assignee: Roche Diagnostics GmbH
    Inventors: Bela Molnar, Rainer Schäfer, Winfried Albert
  • Patent number: 5420042
    Abstract: Method for the analytical determination of the concentration of a component of a medical sample, in which a reaction of the sample with reagents leads to a time-dependent change S(t) in a measured quantity S and the concentration C correlates according to an evaluation curve C(X) with an input variable X derived from S(t), in which the calibration curve is ambiguous for at least a portion of the possible X values. In order to assign an input variable X to one of the sub-sections and thereby to obtain an unambiguous correlation to a particular concentration C, a training run and an analysis run are performed. In the training run, a discrimination algorithm is performed at least once, in which a discriminator set is generated from measurements of S(t), a score is generated in each case from the latter with a multivariate statistical technique and it is checked whether the scores can be divided into separate subsets, in which the concentrations are correctly assigned to the sub-sections of the calibration curve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1995
    Assignee: Boehringer Mannheim GmbH
    Inventors: Rainer Schafer, Christoph Berding, Fridl Lang, Wilheim Kleider, Peter Wolf