Patents by Inventor Ralph Bruce Ferguson, II

Ralph Bruce Ferguson, II 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: 6934931
    Abstract: A system and method for performing modeling, prediction, optimization, and control, including an enterprise wide framework for constructing modeling, optimization, and control solutions. The framework includes a plurality of base classes that may be used to create primitive software objects. These objects may then be combined to create optimization and/or control solutions. The distributed event-driven component architecture allows much greater flexibility and power in creating, deploying, and modifying modeling, optimization and control solutions. The system also includes various techniques for performing improved modeling, optimization, and control, as well as improved scheduling and control. For example, the system may include a combination of batch and continuous processing frameworks, and a unified hybrid modeling framework which allows encapsulation and composition of different model types, such as first principles models and empirical models.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Pavilion Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Edward Stanley Plumer, Bijan Sayyar-Rodsari, Carl Anthony Schweiger, Ralph Bruce Ferguson, II, William Douglas Johnson, Celso Axelrud
  • Patent number: 5682317
    Abstract: An internal combustion engine (360) is provided with a plurality of sensors to monitor the operation thereof with respect to various temperature measurements, pressure measurements, etc. A predictive model processor (322) is provided that utilizes model parameters stored in the memory (324) to predict from the sensor inputs a predicted emissions output. The model is trained with inputs provided by the sensor and an actual emissions sensor output. During operation, this predicted output on line (326) can be utilized to provide an alarm or to be stored in a history database in a memory (328). Additionally, the internal combustion engine (260) can have the predicted emissions output thereof periodically checked to determine the accuracy of the model. This is effected by connecting the output of the engine to an external emissions sensor (310) and taking the difference between the actual output and the predicted output to provide an error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 28, 1997
    Assignee: Pavilion Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: James David Keeler, John Paul Havener, Devendra Godbole, Ralph Bruce Ferguson, II