Patents by Inventor Robert C. Walker

Robert C. Walker 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: 10669166
    Abstract: A storage container includes an input portion for receiving and filtering a source liquid to form an output liquid, a storage portion for storing the filtered liquid, and a base portion disposed below the storage portion including a UV light source for providing transmitted UV light to the filtered liquid, a UV light detector disposed an optical path length away from the UV light source for detecting received UV light through the filtered liquid in response to the transmitted UV light, a processor for determining an absorption or a transmission percentage in response to the transmitted UV light and the received UV light, for determining a safe condition, in response to the absorption or the transmission percentage respectively not exceeding or exceeding predetermined criteria, and one or more indicators for indicating that the liquid is safe for consumption to a user, in response to the safe condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: LARQ INC.
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Robert C. Walker, Doug Collins, Wei Zhang
  • Patent number: 10570028
    Abstract: A treatment device includes a base having a battery, a UV-LED for providing UV-C light during a UV sterilization process, LEDs for providing visible light during the UV sterilization process, and a controller for initiating the UV sterilization process, a translucent ring on the base for receiving the visible light from the LEDs and outputting it to the user, a first coupling structure on the base, a UV transmissive material above the UV-LED module, and a water storage removably coupled to the base having a sidewall structure for confining water, a second coupling structure below the sidewall structure for coupling with the first coupling structure to thereby create a water-tight seal between the water storage and the base, and a translucent material disposed upon the top opening of the water storage for receiving the visible light from the LEDs and outputting it to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: LARQ, INC.
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Robert C. Walker, Doug Collins
  • Patent number: 10363327
    Abstract: A variety of applications for UV LEDs that are integrated into a system are described, where the UV light is used for disinfection of air or surfaces, or used to detect the scattering light by particles, or used for skin treatment. In one embodiment, a ceiling luminaire includes a sensor for detecting the presence of people in the room. The luminaire contains a first set of LEDs for generating white light, for illumination, and a second set of LEDs for generating UV light for disinfecting the room. When the sensor detects that no people are in the room, the system automatically controls the UV LEDs to turn on to disinfect the room. The white light LEDs may be independently controlled with a dimmer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: RayVio Corporation
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Douglas A. Collins, Theodore J. de Jony, Robert C. Walker, Elaine Taylor
  • Publication number: 20190202715
    Abstract: A storage container includes an input portion for receiving and filtering a source liquid to form an output liquid, a storage portion for storing the filtered liquid, and a base portion disposed below the storage portion including a UV light source for providing transmitted UV light to the filtered liquid, a UV light detector disposed an optical path length away from the UV light source for detecting received UV light through the filtered liquid in response to the transmitted UV light, a processor for determining an absorption or a transmission percentage in response to the transmitted UV light and the received UV light, for determining a safe condition, in response to the absorption or the transmission percentage respectively not exceeding or exceeding predetermined criteria, and one or more indicators for indicating that the liquid is safe for consumption to a user, in response to the safe condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2019
    Publication date: July 4, 2019
    Inventors: Yitao LIAO, Robert C. WALKER, Doug COLLINS, Wei ZHANG
  • Patent number: 10265430
    Abstract: A method for a hand-held device comprising illuminating, with a first UV LED associated with the hand-held device, a surface of an object with UV light, acquiring with a visible-light image sensor on the hand-held device, a first image of the surface of the object while the surface of the object is illuminated by the first UV LED, performing with the processor in the hand-held device, a function upon the first image to determine a type of contaminant disposed upon the surface of the object, determining with the processor in the hand-held device, sanitation techniques to perform in response to the type of contaminant that is determined, and displaying with a touch-screen display on the hand-held device, the sanitation techniques to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Rayvio Corporation
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Robert C. Walker, Doug Collins, Sheung Li
  • Publication number: 20190091358
    Abstract: A variety of applications for UV LEDs that are integrated into a system are described, where the UV light is used for disinfection of air or surfaces, or used to detect the scattering light by particles, or used for skin treatment. In one embodiment, a ceiling luminaire includes a sensor for detecting the presence of people in the room. The luminaire contains a first set of LEDs for generating white light, for illumination, and a second set of LEDs for generating UV light for disinfecting the room. When the sensor detects that no people are in the room, the system automatically controls the UV LEDs to turn on to disinfect the room. The white light LEDs may be independently controlled with a dimmer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2018
    Publication date: March 28, 2019
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Douglas A. Collins, Theodore J. de Jony, Robert C. Walker, Elaine Taylor
  • Patent number: 10227241
    Abstract: A storage container includes an input portion for receiving and filtering a source liquid to form an output liquid, a storage portion for storing the filtered liquid, and a base portion disposed below the storage portion including a UV light source for providing transmitted UV light to the filtered liquid, a UV light detector disposed an optical path length away from the UV light source for detecting received UV light through the filtered liquid in response to the transmitted UV light, a processor for determining an absorption or a transmission percentage in response to the transmitted UV light and the received UV light, for determining a safe condition, in response to the absorption or the transmission percentage respectively not exceeding or exceeding predetermined criteria, and one or more indicators for indicating that the liquid is safe for consumption to a user, in response to the safe condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: Rayvio Corporation
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Robert C. Walker, Doug Collins, Wei Zhang
  • Patent number: 10224443
    Abstract: An LED device capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation ranging from about 200 nm to 365 nm, the device. The device includes a substrate member, the substrate member being selected from sapphire, silicon, quartz, gallium nitride, gallium aluminum nitride, or others. The device has an active region overlying the substrate region, the active region comprising a light emitting spatial region comprising a p-n junction and characterized by a current crowding feature of electrical current provided in the active region. The light emitting spatial region is characterized by about 1 to 10 microns. The device includes an optical structure spatially disposed separate and apart the light emitting spatial region and is configured to facilitate light extraction from the active region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: RayVio Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas A. Collins, Faisal Sudradjat, Robert C. Walker, Yitao Liao
  • Patent number: 10166309
    Abstract: A variety of applications for UV LEDs that are integrated into a system are described, where the UV light is used for disinfection of air or surfaces, or used to detect the scattering light by particles, or used for skin treatment. In one embodiment, a ceiling luminaire includes a sensor for detecting the presence of people in the room. The luminaire contains a first set of LEDs for generating white light, for illumination, and a second set of LEDs for generating UV light for disinfecting the room. When the sensor detects that no people are in the room, the system automatically controls the UV LEDs to turn on to disinfect the room. The white light LEDs may be independently controlled with a dimmer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: RayVio Corporation
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Douglas A. Collins, Theodore J. de Jony, Robert C. Walker, Elaine Taylor
  • Publication number: 20180193505
    Abstract: A method for a hand-held device comprising illuminating, with a first UV LED associated with the hand-held device, a surface of an object with UV light, acquiring with a visible-light image sensor on the hand-held device, a first image of the surface of the object while the surface of the object is illuminated by the first UV LED, performing with the processor in the hand-held device, a function upon the first image to determine a type of contaminant disposed upon the surface of the object, determining with the processor in the hand-held device, sanitation techniques to perform in response to the type of contaminant that is determined, and displaying with a touch-screen display on the hand-held device, the sanitation techniques to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2018
    Publication date: July 12, 2018
    Inventors: Yitao LIAO, Robert C. WALKER, Doug COLLINS, Sheung LI
  • Publication number: 20170222075
    Abstract: An LED device capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation ranging from about 200 nm to 365 nm, the device. The device includes a substrate member, the substrate member being selected from sapphire, silicon, quartz, gallium nitride, gallium aluminum nitride, or others. The device has an active region overlying the substrate region, the active region comprising a light emitting spatial region comprising a p-n junction and characterized by a current crowding feature of electrical current provided in the active region. The light emitting spatial region is characterized by about 1 to 10 microns. The device includes an optical structure spatially disposed separate and apart the light emitting spatial region and is configured to facilitate light extraction from the active region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Inventors: Douglas A. Collins, Faisal Sudradjat, Robert C. Walker, Yitao Liao
  • Publication number: 20170190598
    Abstract: A treatment device includes a base having a battery, a UV-LED for providing UV-C light during a UV sterilization process, LEDs for providing visible light during the UV sterilization process, and a controller for initiating the UV sterilization process, a translucent ring on the base for receiving the visible light from the LEDs and outputting it to the user, a first coupling structure on the base, a UV transmissive material above the UV-LED module, and a water storage removably coupled to the base having a sidewall structure for confining water, a second coupling structure below the sidewall structure for coupling with the first coupling structure to thereby create a water-tight seal between the water storage and the base, and a translucent material disposed upon the top opening of the water storage for receiving the visible light from the LEDs and outputting it to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2017
    Publication date: July 6, 2017
    Inventors: Yitao LIAO, Robert C. WALKER, Doug COLLINS
  • Patent number: 9627579
    Abstract: An LED device capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation ranging from about 200 nm to 365 nm, the device. The device includes a substrate member, the substrate member being selected from sapphire, silicon, quartz, gallium nitride, gallium aluminum nitride, or others. The device has an active region overlying the substrate region, the active region comprising a light emitting spatial region comprising a p-n junction and characterized by a current crowding feature of electrical current provided in the active region. The light emitting spatial region is characterized by about 1 to 10 microns. The device includes an optical structure spatially disposed separate and apart the light emitting spatial region and is configured to facilitate light extraction from the active region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: RayVio Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas A. Collins, Faisal Sudradjat, Robert C. Walker, Yitao Liao
  • Patent number: 9566357
    Abstract: A method for a smart-device comprising receiving a user selection of an icon on a display, initiating acquisition of a first image of a target surface using a camera in response to receiving the selection, directing power to an UV-LED disposed proximate to the camera, wherein the power is provided to the UV-LEDs for less than about 0.5 seconds, while power is provided to the UV-LED, initiating acquisition of a second image of a target surface using the camera, determining an image visually highlighting a contaminant on the target surface in response to the first and second images, determining an object type associated with the target surface, in response to the first image, determining geographic data, and storing the image, the object type, and the geographic data in a memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: RAYVIO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Robert C. Walker, Doug Collins
  • Patent number: 9468695
    Abstract: A UV device includes a housing having a portion configured to be removably attached to a smart device, a UV light source disposed within the housing, wherein the UV light source is configured to provide output of UV light in response to an operating powered, a communication mechanism disposed within the housing, wherein the communication mechanism is configured to receive instructions from the smart device, a control mechanism disposed within the housing, wherein the control mechanism is coupled to the UV light source, and to the communication mechanism, wherein the control mechanism is configured to provide the operating power to the UV light source, in response to the instructions received from the smart device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: RAYVIO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Robert C. Walker
  • Publication number: 20160296650
    Abstract: A variety of applications for UV LEDs that are integrated into a system are described, where the UV light is used for disinfection of air or surfaces, or used to detect the scattering light by particles, or used for skin treatment. In one embodiment, a ceiling luminaire includes a sensor for detecting the presence of people in the room. The luminaire contains a first set of LEDs for generating white light, for illumination, and a second set of LEDs for generating UV light for disinfecting the room. When the sensor detects that no people are in the room, the system automatically controls the UV LEDs to turn on to disinfect the room. The white light LEDs may be independently controlled with a dimmer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2016
    Publication date: October 13, 2016
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Douglas A. Collins, Theodore J. de Jony, Robert C. Walker, Elaine Taylor
  • Publication number: 20160289090
    Abstract: A storage container includes an input portion for receiving and filtering a source liquid to form an output liquid, a storage portion for storing the filtered liquid, and a base portion disposed below the storage portion including a UV light source for providing transmitted UV light to the filtered liquid, a UV light detector disposed an optical path length away from the UV light source for detecting received UV light through the filtered liquid in response to the transmitted UV light, a processor for determining an absorption or a transmission percentage in response to the transmitted UV light and the received UV light, for determining a safe condition, in response to the absorption or the transmission percentage respectively not exceeding or exceeding predetermined criteria, and one or more indicators for indicating that the liquid is safe for consumption to a user, in response to the safe condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2016
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Inventors: Yitao LIAO, Robert C. WALKER, Doug COLLINS, Wei ZHANG
  • Publication number: 20160271280
    Abstract: A variety of applications for UV LEDs that are integrated into a system are described, where the UV light is used for disinfection of air or surfaces, or used to detect the scattering light by particles, or used for skin treatment. In one embodiment, the UV light from the UV LEDs is generated internal to a housing and is optically coupled to a transparent or translucent surface touched by the human finger, such as a touch screen, a fingerprint scanner, backlit buttons or keys, a toggle of a light switch, a door knob, etc. The UV light is emitted through the touched surface to periodically disinfect the surface. A visual indication of the UV LEDs being energized is provided for safety, such as energizing visible light LEDs or a phosphor on a portion of the touched surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Publication date: September 22, 2016
    Inventors: Yitao Liao, Douglas A. Collins, Theodore J. de Jony, Robert C. Walker, Elaine Taylor
  • Publication number: 20160089457
    Abstract: A UV device includes a housing having a portion configured to be removably attached to a smart device, a UV light source disposed within the housing, wherein the UV light source is configured to provide output of UV light in response to an operating powered, a communication mechanism disposed within the housing, wherein the communication mechanism is configured to receive instructions from the smart device, a control mechanism disposed within the housing, wherein the control mechanism is coupled to the UV light source, and to the communication mechanism, wherein the control mechanism is configured to provide the operating power to the UV light source, in response to the instructions received from the smart device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2015
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Inventors: Yitao LIAO, Robert C. WALKER
  • Publication number: 20160089458
    Abstract: A method for a smart-device comprising receiving a user selection of an icon on a display, initiating acquisition of a first image of a target surface using a camera in response to receiving the selection, directing power to an UV-LED disposed proximate to the camera, wherein the power is provided to the UV-LEDs for less than about 0.5 seconds, while power is provided to the UV-LED, initiating acquisition of a second image of a target surface using the camera, determining an image visually highlighting a contaminant on the target surface in response to the first and second images, determining an object type associated with the target surface, in response to the first image, determining geographic data, and storing the image, the object type, and the geographic data in a memory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2015
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Inventors: Yitao LIAO, Robert C. WALKER, Doug COLLINS