Patents by Inventor Robert A. Shaffer

Robert A. Shaffer 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).

  • VEHICLE INSPECTION SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20220366736
    Abstract: An inspection system includes sensors that are selectively coupled to a vehicle during an inspection and/or maintenance event for the vehicle and a controller that is operable to cause a control system of the vehicle to initiate a first operation and a different, second operation. The controller determines whether first sensor information indicative of a state of the vehicle during the first operation exists. The controller sends a command signal to the control system to direct the control system to change vehicle operations from the first operation to the second operation responsive to determining that the first sensor information is lacking. The controller obtains second sensor information from the sensors based on the second operation and determines a condition of the vehicle based on the first and/or second sensor information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 26, 2022
    Publication date: November 17, 2022
    Inventors: Paul Gerard Nistler, Michael Altonji, Glenn Robert Shaffer, David Joseph Schroeck
  • Vehicle control system and method
    Patent number: 11447034
    Abstract: A vehicle control system and method include one or more processors that determine that a vehicle has or will have insufficient energy to power a propulsion system of the vehicle under a first set of operational settings to move the vehicle from a first location to a designated second location that is outside of an unpowered segment of a route along which the vehicle moves. Responsive to determining that the vehicle has or will have insufficient energy, the one or more processors change one or more of a throttle setting or a brake setting of the vehicle to operate the vehicle under a second set of operational settings while the vehicle moves within a powered segment of the route.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: TRANSPORTATION IP HOLDINGS, LLC
    Inventors: Andrew Ryan Staats, Karen Ann Shaw, James Allen Oswald, Ajith Kuttannair Kumar, Glenn Robert Shaffer
  • VEHICLE SENSOR SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20220289207
    Abstract: A vehicle sensor unit includes a communication device configured to communicate with one or more other sensor units, a controller of a vehicle system on which the vehicle sensor unit is disposed, and one or more sensors; a sensor configured to sense one or more characteristics of a vehicle on which the vehicle sensor unit is disposed; and a controller configured to determine one or more operating conditions of the vehicle based on the one or more characteristics that are sensed by the sensor. The controller is configured to control the communication device to communicate the one or more characteristics, the one or more operating conditions, or both the one or more characteristics and the one or more operating conditions. The communication device and the sensor are configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle that does not have an internal source of electric power.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2021
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventors: Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Bret Worden
  • System and method for determining vehicle orientation in a vehicle consist
    Patent number: 11358615
    Abstract: A system and method includes determining, with a sensor assembly disposed onboard a first aerial vehicle, a direction in which a fluid flows within or through the first aerial vehicle, and determining an orientation of the first aerial vehicle relative to a second aerial vehicle based at least in part on the direction in which the fluid flows within or through the first aerial vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC
    Inventors: Eugene Smith, Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Michael Scott Miner, Shannon Joseph Clouse, Anwarul Azam, Matthew Lawrence Blair, Nidhi Naithani, Dattaraj Jagdish Rao, Anju Bind, Sreyashi Dey Chaki, Scott Daniel Nelson, Nikhil Uday Naphade, Wing Yeung Chung, Daniel Malachi Ballesty, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Jeffrey James Kisak, Dale Martin DiDomenico, Shawn Arthur McClintic, David Peltz
  • VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD
    Publication number: 20220063689
    Abstract: System includes a controller configured to obtain one or more of a route parameter or a vehicle parameter from discrete examinations of one or more of a route or a vehicle system. The route parameter is indicative of a health of the route over which the vehicle system travels. The vehicle parameter is indicative of a health of the vehicle system. The discrete examinations of the one or more of the route or the vehicle system separated from each other by one or more of location or time. The controller is configured to examine the one or more of the route parameter or the vehicle parameter to determine whether the one or more of the route or the vehicle system is damaged. The system also includes examination equipment configured to continually monitor the one or more of the route or the vehicle system responsive to determining that the one or more of the route or the vehicle is damaged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Inventors: Ajith Kuttannair Kumar, Wolfgang Daum, Martin Paget, Daniel Rush, Brad Thomas Costa, Seneca Snyder, Jerry Duncan, Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Michael Scott Miner, Shannon Joseph Clouse, Anwarul Azam, Matthew Lawrence Blair, Nidhi Naithani, Dattaraj Jagdish Rao, Anju Bind, Sreyashi Dey Chaki, Scott Daniel Nelson, Nikhil Uday Naphade, Wing Yeung Chung, Daniel Malachi Ballesty, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Jeffrey James Kisak, Dale Martin DiDomenico, Suresh Govindappa, Manibabu Pippalla, Sethu Madhavan, Arunachala Karthik Sridharan, Prabhu Marimuthu, Jared Klineman Cooper, Joseph Forrest Noffsinger, Paul Kenneth Houpt, David Lowell McKay
  • Vehicle control system and method
    Patent number: 11208129
    Abstract: System includes a controller configured to obtain one or more of a route parameter or a vehicle parameter from discrete examinations of one or more of a route or a vehicle system. The route parameter is indicative of a health of the route over which the vehicle system travels. The vehicle parameter is indicative of a health of the vehicle system. The discrete examinations of the one or more of the route or the vehicle system separated from each other by one or more of location or time. The controller is configured to examine the one or more of the route parameter or the vehicle parameter to determine whether the one or more of the route or the vehicle system is damaged. The system also includes examination equipment configured to continually monitor the one or more of the route or the vehicle system responsive to determining that the one or more of the route or the vehicle is damaged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Transportation IP Holdings, LLC
    Inventors: Ajith Kuttannair Kumar, Wolfgang Daum, Martin Paget, Daniel Rush, Brad Thomas Costa, Seneca Snyder, Jerry Duncan, Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Michael Scott Miner, Shannon Joseph Clouse, Anwarul Azam, Matthew Lawrence Blair, Nidhi Naithani, Dattaraj Jagdish Rao, Anju Bind, Sreyashi Dey Chaki, Scott Daniel Nelson, Nikhil Uday Naphade, Wing Yeung Chung, Daniel Malachi Bellesty, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Jeffrey James Kisak, Dale Martin DiDomenico, Suresh Govindappa, Manibabu Pippalla, Sethu Madhavan, Arunachala Karthik Sridharan, Prabhu Marimuthu, Jared Klineman Cooper, Joseph Forrest Noffsinger, Paul Kenneth Houpt, David Lowell McKay
  • Vehicle control system and method
    Patent number: 11142088
    Abstract: A vehicle control system controls operation of motors of a vehicle and determines whether there is sufficient stored electric energy to power the vehicle through an unpowered segment of a route. The controller changes operation of the vehicle to ensure that the vehicle can travel completely through the unpowered segment by switching which energy storage device provides energy, changing vehicle speed, changing motor torque, changing which route is traveled on, selecting fewer motors to power the vehicle, requesting rendezvous with a recharging vehicle, running the energy storage devices in a degraded mode, initiating a motor to generate power to aid in propulsion and/or recharge the energy storage devices, selecting a different route, controlling the vehicle to draft or mechanically couple to another vehicle, and/or controlling the vehicle to gain momentum or to generate an overcharge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: TRANSPORTATION IP HOLDINGS, LLC
    Inventors: Sharath Srinivas Deshpande, Vishram Vinayak Nandedkar, Ajith Kuttannair Kumar, Wolfgang Daum, Glenn Robert Shaffer
  • Video system and method for data communication
    Patent number: 11039055
    Abstract: A camera system and method capture image data with a camera, a data storage device electrically connected to the camera and configured to store the video data and/or a communication device electrically connected to the camera and configured to communicate the image data to a system receiver located remote from the camera. The system receiver may be located onboard a vehicle such that an operator can carry the camera off board the vehicle and communicate the image data back to the vehicle, when performing, for example, work on the vehicle or inspecting the vehicle or the environs of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: TRANSPORTATION IP HOLDINGS, LLC
    Inventors: Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Michael Scott Miner, Shannon Joseph Clouse, Anwarul Azam, Matthew Lawrence Blair, Nidhi Naithani, Dattaraj Jagdish Rao, Anju Bind, Sreyashi Dey Chaki, Scott Daniel Nelson, Nikhil Uday Naphade, Wing Yeung Chung, Daniel Malachi Ballesty, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Jeffrey James Kisak
  • Mining detection system and method
    Patent number: 10798282
    Abstract: A device for detecting proximity to an active alternating current (AC) voltage source is provided. The device includes a housing, at least one antenna configured to generate a signal in response to exposure to electromagnetic radiation, signal processing circuitry configured to process the signal generated by the at least one antenna, a microprocessor configured to determine, from the processed signal, whether the alert device is proximate to the active AC voltage source, a communication device configured to generate a signal in response to a determination that the alert device is proximate the active AC voltage source, and an interference reduction device configured to discharge an accumulated charge on the alert device to reduce electromagnetic interference from sources other than the active AC voltage source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: GE GLOBAL SOURCING LLC
    Inventors: Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Emad Andarawis Andarawis, Glen William Brooksby, Christopher Gushee, Jeffrey Mayton, Cheng-Po Chen, Nancy Cecelia Stoffel, Wyatt Smith, Jose Luis R. Virgen, Daniel L. Olson
  • PIVOTING DENTAL CABINET ASSEMBLY
    Publication number: 20200129358
    Abstract: A dental cabinet assembly includes a stationary support defining a rotational axis. At least one cabinet is coupled with the stationary support and is configured to pivot about the rotational axis relative to the stationary support.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Inventor: Robert A. Shaffer
  • Vehicle control system and method
    Patent number: 10569792
    Abstract: A system and method for examining a route and/or vehicle system obtain a route parameter and/or a vehicle parameter from discrete examinations of the route and/or the vehicle system. The route parameter is indicative of a health of the route over which the vehicle system travels. The vehicle parameter is indicative of a health of the vehicle system. The discrete examinations of the route and/or the vehicle system are separated from each other by location and/or time. The route parameter and/or the vehicle parameter are examined to determine whether the route and/or the vehicle system is damaged and, responsive to determining that the route and/or the vehicle is damaged, the route and/or the vehicle system are continually monitored, such as by examination equipment onboard the vehicle system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sameh Fahmy, Jared Klineman Cooper, Ajith Kuttannair Kumar, Joseph Forrest Noffsinger, Wolfgang Daum, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Paul Kenneth Houpt, David Lowell McKay
  • SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING VEHICLE ORIENTATION IN A VEHICLE CONSIST
    Publication number: 20190263430
    Abstract: A system and method includes determining, with a sensor assembly disposed onboard a first aerial vehicle, a direction in which a fluid flows within or through the first aerial vehicle, and determining an orientation of the first aerial vehicle relative to a second aerial vehicle based at least in part on the direction in which the fluid flows within or through the first aerial vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2019
    Publication date: August 29, 2019
    Inventors: Eugene Smith, Ajith Kuttannair Kumar, Wolfgang Daum, Martin Paget, Daniel Rush, Sameh Fahmy, Brad Thomas Costa, Seneca Snyder, Jerry Duncan, Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Michael Scott Miner, Shannon Joseph Clouse, Anwarul Azam, Matthew Lawrence Blair, Nidhi Naithani, Dattaraj Jagdish Rao, Anju Bind, Sreyashi Dey Chaki, Scott Daniel Nelson, Nikhil Uday Naphade, Wing Yeung Chung, Daniel Malachi Ballesty, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Jeffret James Kisak, Dale Martin DiDomenico, Suresh Govindappa, Manibabu Pippalla, Sethu Madhavan, Jared Klineman Cooper, Huan Tan, John Michael Lizzi, Charles Burton Theurer, Balajee Kannan, Romano Patrick, Brad Thomas Costa, James D. Brooks, Micahel Scott Miner, Harry Kirk Matthews, JR., Bradford Wayne Miller, Neeraja Subrahmaniyan, Brian Joseph McManus, Frank Wawrzyniak, Ralph C. Haddock, III, Robert James Foy, James Glen Corry, Steven Andrew Kellner, Joseph Mario Nazareth, Brian William Schroeck, Shawn Arthur McClintic
  • VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD
    Publication number: 20190193711
    Abstract: A vehicle control system controls operation of motors of a vehicle and determines whether there is sufficient stored electric energy to power the vehicle through an unpowered segment of a route. The controller changes operation of the vehicle to ensure that the vehicle can travel completely through the unpowered segment by switching which energy storage device provides energy, changing vehicle speed, changing motor torque, changing which route is traveled on, selecting fewer motors to power the vehicle, requesting rendezvous with a recharging vehicle, running the energy storage devices in a degraded mode, initiating a motor to generate power to aid in propulsion and/or recharge the energy storage devices, selecting a different route, controlling the vehicle to draft or mechanically couple to another vehicle, and/or controlling the vehicle to gain momentum or to generate an overcharge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Publication date: June 27, 2019
    Inventors: Sharath Srinivas Deshpande, Vishram Vinayak Nandedkar, Ajith Kuttannair Kumar, Wolfgang Daum, Glenn Robert Shaffer
  • LOCOMOTIVE CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD
    Publication number: 20190176862
    Abstract: System includes a controller configured to obtain one or more of a route parameter or a vehicle parameter from discrete examinations of one or more of a route or a vehicle system. The route parameter is indicative of a health of the route over which the vehicle system travels. The vehicle parameter is indicative of a health of the vehicle system. The discrete examinations of the one or more of the route or the vehicle system separated from each other by one or more of location or time. The controller is configured to examine the one or more of the route parameter or the vehicle parameter to determine whether the one or more of the route or the vehicle system is damaged. The system also includes examination equipment configured to continually monitor the one or more of the route or the vehicle system responsive to determining that the one or more of the route or the vehicle is damaged.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Publication date: June 13, 2019
    Inventors: Ajith Kuttannair Kumar, Wolfgang Daum, Martin Paget, Daniel Rush, Brad Thomas Costa, Seneca Snyder, Jerry Duncan, Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Michael Scott Miner, Shannon Joseph Clouse, Anwarul Azam, Matthew Lawrence Blair, Nidhi Naithani, Dattaraj Jagdish Rao, Anju Bind, Sreyashi Dey Chaki, Scott Daniel Nelson, Nikhil Uday Naphade, Wing Yeung Chung, Daniel Malachi Ballesty, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Jeffrey James Kisak, Dale Martin DiDomenico, Suresh Govindappa, Manibabu Pippalla, Sethu Madhavan, Arunachala Karthik Sridharan, Prabhu Marimuthu, Jared Klineman Cooper, Joseph Forrest Noffsinger, Paul Kenneth Houpt, David Lowell McKay
  • INSPECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD
    Publication number: 20190168787
    Abstract: An inspection management system is provided. The inspection management system includes an inspection data provider that receives inspection data relating to an inspector, one or more devices used to complete an inspection, one or more assets associated with an inspection, an inspection plan, etc. A display of the inspection management system presents one or more graphical user interfaces based upon the inspection data. The graphical user interfaces may facilitate inspection planning, execution, preparation, and/or real-time inspection monitoring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Publication date: June 6, 2019
    Inventors: Jason Howard Messinger, Robert Carroll Ward, Michael Christopher Domke, Sekhar Soorianarayanan, Scott Leo Sbihli, Thomas Eldred Lambdin, Steven Clifton, Dattaraj Jagdish Rao, Anju Bind, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Peter Henry Tu, Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Anwarul Azam, Matthew Lawrence Blair, Shannon Joseph Clouse
  • Corrosion and crack detection for fastener nuts
    Patent number: 10302598
    Abstract: Methods and devices are provided for detecting, corrosion and cracks in fastener nuts. In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus can be configured to couple to a fastener nut to facilitate inspection of the fastener nut for detection of flaws in the fastener nut, such as corrosion and cracks. The apparatus can be configured to couple to the fastener nut when the fastener nut is mounted on a fastener and in use in a larger system such as a subsea drilling apparatus or other system in which fasteners with fastener nuts attached thereto are used. The apparatus can include an ultrasonic probe configured to facilitate inspection of the fastener nut using ultrasonic waves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Manuel K. Bueno, Robert Shaffer, Gary Lamberton
  • MINING DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD
    Publication number: 20190149715
    Abstract: A device for detecting proximity to an active alternating current (AC) voltage source is provided. The device includes a housing, at least one antenna configured to generate a signal in response to exposure to electromagnetic radiation, signal processing circuitry configured to process the signal generated by the at least one antenna, a microprocessor configured to determine, from the processed signal, whether the alert device is proximate to the active AC voltage source, a communication device configured to generate a signal in response to a determination that the alert device is proximate the active AC voltage source, and an interference reduction device configured to discharge an accumulated charge on the alert device to reduce electromagnetic interference from sources other than the active AC voltage source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Publication date: May 16, 2019
    Inventors: Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Emad Andarawis Andarawis, Glen William Brooksby, Christopher Gushee, Jeffrey Mayton, Cheng-Po Chen, Nancy Cecelia Stoffel, Wyatt Smith, Jose Luis R. Virgen, Daniel L. Olson
  • Vehicle control system and method
    Patent number: 10259444
    Abstract: A vehicle control system controls operation of motors of a vehicle and determines whether there is sufficient stored electric energy to power the vehicle through an unpowered segment of a route. The controller changes operation of the vehicle to ensure that the vehicle can travel completely through the unpowered segment by switching which energy storage device provides energy, changing vehicle speed, changing motor torque, changing which route is traveled on, selecting fewer motors to power the vehicle, requesting rendezvous with a recharging vehicle, running the energy storage devices in a degraded mode, initiating a motor to generate power to aid in propulsion and/or recharge the energy storage devices, selecting a different route, controlling the vehicle to draft or mechanically couple to another vehicle, and/or controlling the vehicle to gain momentum or to generate an overcharge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: GE GLOBAL SOURCING LLC
    Inventors: Sharath Srinivas Deshpande, Vishram Vinayak Nandedkar, Ajith Kuttannair Kumar, Wolfgang Daum, Glenn Robert Shaffer
  • LOCOMOTIVE CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD
    Publication number: 20190106135
    Abstract: A locomotive control system includes a mobile platform that moves under remote and/or autonomous control, a sensor package supported by the mobile platform that obtains information relating to a component of a railroad, and one or more processors that receive the sensor information and analyze the information in combination with other information that is not obtained from the sensor package. The processors also generate an output that displays information relating to one or more of a status, a condition, and/or a state of health of the component of the railroad; initiates an action to change an operational state of the component; identifies a hazard to one or more locomotives traveling within the railroad; and/or collects the information relating to the component. Optionally, the component is not communicatively coupled to an information network and the mobile platform provides the information obtained by the sensor package to the information network.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2018
    Publication date: April 11, 2019
    Inventors: Ajith Kuttannair Kumar, Wolfgang Daum, Martin Paget, Daniel Rush, Sameh Fahmy, Brad Thomas Costa, Seneca Snyder, Jerry Duncan, Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Michael Scott Miner, Shannon Joseph Clouse, Anwarul Azam, Matthew Lawrence Blair, Nidhi Naithani, Dattaraj Jagdish Rao, Anju Bind, Sreyashi Dey Chaki, Scott Daniel Nelson, Nikhil Uday Naphade, Wing Yeung Chung, Daniel Malachi Ballesty, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Jeffrey James Kisak, Dale Martin DiDomenico
  • VIDEO SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DATA COMMUNICATION
    Publication number: 20190020807
    Abstract: A camera system and method capture image data with a camera, a data storage device electrically connected to the camera and configured to store the video data and/or a communication device electrically connected to the camera and configured to communicate the image data to a system receiver located remote from the camera. The system receiver may be located onboard a vehicle such that an operator can carry the camera off board the vehicle and communicate the image data back to the vehicle, when performing, for example, work on the vehicle or inspecting the vehicle or the environs of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2018
    Publication date: January 17, 2019
    Inventors: Mark Bradshaw Kraeling, Michael Scott Miner, Shannon Joseph Clouse, Anwarul Azam, Matthew Lawrence Blair, Nidhi Naithani, Dattaraj Jagdish Rao, Anju Bind, Sreyashi Dey Chaki, Scott Daniel Nelson, Nikhil Uday Naphade, Wing Yeung Chung, Daniel Malachi Ballesty, Glenn Robert Shaffer, Jeffrey James Kisak