Patents by Inventor Robert Little

Robert Little 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).

  • Publication number: 20260145042
    Abstract: An improved sliding training device for baseball and softball players to practice and perfect the feet-first slide. The invention comprises a single, durable, waterproof, and UV-resistant member made of TPO or similar material, with a smooth top surface for sliding and a high-friction bottom surface for stability. The device is lightweight, rollable, easy to clean, and designed for safe, effective training across various surfaces and environments. Suitable for athletes of all ages and skill levels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 24, 2025
    Publication date: May 28, 2026
    Inventor: Robert LITTLE
  • Patent number: 12152587
    Abstract: A mud motor includes a rotor and a stator. Drilling fluid received by cavities of the mud motor drives the rotor to rotate within the stator. The rotor includes one or more rotor lobes extending helically and defining a rotor pitch. The stator includes two or more stator lobes extending helically and defining a stator pitch. The rotor and the stator together define a tapered profile of the mud motor that varies proceeding from a top end of the mud motor to a bottom end of the mud motor. At least one of the rotor pitch or the stator pitch vary as proceeding from the top end of the mud motor to the bottom end of the mud motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Anton Kolyshkin, Maxim Pushkarev, Samba Ba, Li Guo, Robert Little, Geoffrey Charles Downton
  • Publication number: 20220364559
    Abstract: A mud motor includes a rotor and a stator. Drilling fluid received by cavities of the mud motor drives the rotor to rotate within the stator. The rotor includes one or more rotor lobes extending helically and defining a rotor pitch. The stator includes two or more stator lobes extending helically and defining a stator pitch. The rotor and the stator together define a tapered profile of the mud motor that varies proceeding from a top end of the mud motor to a bottom end of the mud motor. At least one of the rotor pitch or the stator pitch vary as proceeding from the top end of the mud motor to the bottom end of the mud motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2020
    Publication date: November 17, 2022
    Inventors: Anton Kolyshkin, Maxim Pushkarev, Samba Ba, Li Guo, Robert Little, Geoffrey Charles Downton
  • Patent number: 11231177
    Abstract: A fireplace system can comprise a firebox and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger may be in fluid communication with ambient air and may comprise an inlet configured to draw air into the front of the heat exchanger. Operation of a fireplace system comprising a heat exchanger may produce airflow through the heat exchanger by natural convection. The airflow through the heat exchanger may reduce heat transmission from the firebox and the fireplace system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: FPI FIREPLACE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL LTD.
    Inventors: Robert Little, Julian Mills
  • Publication number: 20200124287
    Abstract: A fireplace system can comprise a first safety barrier and a second safety barrier disposed across a firebox opening and defining an interbarrier space. A fireplace system can also comprise a heat exchanger in fluid communication with the interbarrier space. The interbarrier space and heat exchanger may further be in fluid communication with ambient air. Operation of the fireplace system may produce natural convection through the interbarrier space, resulting in cooling of the safety barrier and the fireplace system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Publication date: April 23, 2020
    Inventors: Robert Little, Julian Mills
  • Patent number: 10495314
    Abstract: A fireplace system can comprise a first safety barrier and a second safety barrier disposed across a firebox opening and defining an interbarrier space. A fireplace system can also comprise a heat exchanger in fluid communication with the interbarrier space. The interbarrier space and heat exchanger may further be in fluid communication with ambient air. Operation of the fireplace system may produce natural convection through the interbarrier space, resulting in cooling of the safety barrier and the fireplace system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: FPI Fireplace Products International Ltd.
    Inventors: Robert Little, Julian Mills
  • Publication number: 20190316777
    Abstract: A fireplace system can comprise a firebox and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger may be in fluid communication with ambient air and may comprise an inlet configured to draw air into the front of the heat exchanger. Operation of a fireplace system comprising a heat exchanger may produce airflow through the heat exchanger by natural convection. The airflow through the heat exchanger may reduce heat transmission from the firebox and the fireplace system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2019
    Publication date: October 17, 2019
    Inventors: Robert Little, Julian Mills
  • Patent number: 10309656
    Abstract: A fireplace system can comprise a firebox and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger may be in fluid communication with ambient air and may comprise an inlet configured to draw air into the front of the heat exchanger. Operation of a fireplace system comprising a heat exchanger may produce airflow through the heat exchanger by natural convection. The airflow through the heat exchanger may reduce heat transmission from the firebox and the fireplace system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: FPI FIREPLACE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL LTD.
    Inventors: Robert Little, Julian Mills
  • Publication number: 20170205072
    Abstract: A fireplace system can comprise a firebox and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger may be in fluid communication with ambient air and may comprise an inlet configured to draw air into the front of the heat exchanger. Operation of a fireplace system comprising a heat exchanger may produce airflow through the heat exchanger by natural convection. The airflow through the heat exchanger may reduce heat transmission from the firebox and the fireplace system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Publication date: July 20, 2017
    Inventors: Robert Little, Julian Mills
  • Publication number: 20170159940
    Abstract: A fireplace system can comprise a first safety barrier and a second safety barrier disposed across a firebox opening and defining an interbarrier space. A fireplace system can also comprise a heat exchanger in fluid communication with the interbarrier space. The interbarrier space and heat exchanger may further be in fluid communication with ambient air. Operation of the fireplace system may produce natural convection through the interbarrier space, resulting in cooling of the safety barrier and the fireplace system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2016
    Publication date: June 8, 2017
    Inventors: Robert Little, Julian Mills
  • Patent number: 8975574
    Abstract: A well-logging tool may be positioned within a borehole of a subterranean formation. The well-logging tool may include a housing having an interior defining a dual-detector receiving chamber extending longitudinally, and having first and second portions, and a first azimuthal radiation detector carried by the first portion of the dual-detector receiving chamber. The first azimuthal radiation detector may include a first gamma-ray detector and a first photodetector associated with the first gamma-ray detector. The well-logging tool may include a second spectral radiation detector carried by the second portion of the dual-detector receiving chamber. The second spectral radiation detector may include a second gamma-ray detector and a second photodetector associated with the second gamma-ray detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Cornelis Huiszoon, Libai Xu, Christian Stoller, Robert Little, Peter Wraight
  • Publication number: 20130218930
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed that provide a flexible file capable of storing rich content. A flexible file may include a section object, one or more tile objects stored within the section object, and one or more clip objects associated with each tile object. A clip objects may store a content item. Alternatively a clip object may store one or more references to a content item, the content item being stored externally to the flexible file. The disclosed flexible file allows an application to adjust the atomicity based upon the needs of a user or application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2012
    Publication date: August 22, 2013
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Matthew Wood, Jonathan Bailor, Robert Little, Brian Marshall, Andrew Smith
  • Patent number: 7827546
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for dynamically configuring document solutions and for obtaining desired or required components of such document solutions for use with computer-generated documents. If a document is associated with a document solution, a request for components of the solution is sent to a manifest of document solutions. Identification of a user of the document is also passed to the manifest. At the manifest, identification information for the user is used to query a user database to determine a profile of the user such as the user's job description, location, security clearance, and the like. Based on the user's profile, the document solution is configured dynamically to include solution components most helpful to the particular user. A manifest collection is provided for serving as a repository of document solution location information for many different namespaces (schemas) that may be associated with one or more user documents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Jones, Robert Little, Jeff Reynar, Paul Broman
  • Patent number: 7770180
    Abstract: A mechanism is provided for embedding an object in a receiving or client document such that a client application may operate on the embedded object to include interrogation and modification of data contained in the embedded object. When a given document object is embedded into a receiving document, data representing the embedded object is saved to a data stream storage for the receiving document. When the embedded object in the receiving document is subsequently requested in response to an operation executed on the embedded object, the receiving application obtains the data representation of the embedded object from the data stream storage. Once the receiving application obtains the data representation of the embedded object, the receiving application may perform operations on the embedded object by accessing the embedded object via its data representation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Shawn Villaron, Brian Jones, Chad Rothschiller, Robert Little, Sharad Garg, Su-Piao Bill Wu, Josh Pollock, Andrew Bishop, Dan Jump
  • Patent number: 7650566
    Abstract: An application has its own namespace or namespaces and a schema, or a set of schemas, which can be used by applications to generate and/or validate documents in a unique format. The application can uniquely define the format (and properties) of content in a document such that the document is represented in a native format. The document can be stored externally as a markup language file in accordance with the schema of the application. When the format is stored in a markup language, other applications can validate the document stored in accordance with the native format. The other applications can represent the lists in accordance to the degree to which they are aware of the unique properties of the application used to generate the document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Jones, Marcin Sawicki, Robert Little
  • Patent number: 7620889
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for separating the data of a structured document from markup structure applied to the document and for linking the separately maintained data with associated markup structure applied to the document. The data stream in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) represented document is moved outside of the document structure into a data file that is linked to the document structure. The data file and the XML-represented document structure are maintained in association with a single file (e.g., document), but in separate object models. Links are established between XML elements applied to the document and data ranges of the data file. Each of the XML structure file and the data file may be accessed and edited separately without affecting the structure or data of the other file until the two files are merged for presenting the associated document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2009
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Jones, Robert Little, Shawn Alan Villaron
  • Patent number: 7617451
    Abstract: An open file format is used to structure the features and data within a document associated with a word processing application. The file format simplifies the way a word processing application organizes document features and data, and presents a logical model that is easily accessible. The file format is made up of a collection of modular parts that are stored within a container. The content included in the modular parts are XML that is based on ASCII. The XML schema provides a definitional framework for how the modular parts relate. This content allows tools to interrogate a word processing document to examine and utilize content and ensure that the file is written correctly. Each of the modular parts is capable of being interrogated separately regardless of whether the application that created the document is running. Information may also be changed, added, and deleted from each of the modular parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2009
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Jones, Robert Little, Andrew Bishop
  • Patent number: 7617229
    Abstract: Methods and systems provide for breaking a computer-generated document into a number of components where the components have explicit relationships with each other. A relationship representation is generated for the components of the document. A user may then navigate the relationships between the components to quickly understand the nature of the document and its components and to locate particular portions of the document that are important to the user. In addition, the user may open, edit and reuse particular components of the document apart from the rest of the document and without having to open or edit the document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2009
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew Bishop, Ashley Morgan, Brian Jones, Chad Rothschiller, Charles S. Walker, Eoin Burke, Josh Pollock, Robert Little, Sharad K. Garg, Shawn Alan Villaron, Su-Piao Bill Wu
  • Patent number: 7617447
    Abstract: Portions of an Extensible Markup Language document, such as individual paragraphs or groups of paragraphs or fragments of text, are provided self-describing properties such as styles, fonts, list types, and the like. If such a portion of a document is subsequently copied or moved to a second document or to a different location in the first document, the self-describing properties provided for the portion travel with the portion to the second document or to the different location in the first document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2009
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Jones, Robert Little, Marcin Sawicki
  • Patent number: 7607081
    Abstract: The present invention represents header and footer structures in a markup language (ML) document. The ML document may be parsed by applications that understand ML other than the application that generated the ML document. The ML document may be manipulated on a server or anywhere even when the application creating the ML document is not present. The header or footer originally used in the ML document may be manipulated when the ML document is parsed by other applications. Header and footer information (i.e., properties) are saved in a markup language (ML) document without data loss, while allowing the header and footer structures to be parsed by ML-aware applications and to be read by ML programmers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2009
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Brian Jones, Robert Little, Marcin Sawicki, Daniel Robert Snyder, Andrew Bishop