Patents by Inventor Robert Watkins

Robert Watkins 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: 20020015336
    Abstract: A plurality of computers in a network (503-505) each have a processor and a non-volatile data storage device (500-502) such as a hard disk, a raid array, or the like. Each data storage device is divided into a first data storage area (203-205) and a second data storage area (509-511). The first data storage area is reserved for use by at least one processor to which it is assigned, whereas the second data storage area is hidden from use by the file system of the computer, and is used to store replicated data of other ones of the plurality of computer entities. In the event of failure of any one of the data storage devices, data can be recovered from the second data storage areas of the other data storage devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2001
    Publication date: February 7, 2002
    Inventors: Mark Robert Watkins, Graeme Hogg, Alastair Michael Slater, Ian Stuart Duncan
  • Patent number: 6318429
    Abstract: A pneumatic radial tire having in axial cross-section a highly curved tread is reinforced by a breaker assembly with improved resistance to breaker edge looseness. The breaker assembly includes one breaker ply which extends between two bead regions and has its edges disposed between a carcass main portion and a carcass turn-up portion. An improved single-stage method may be employed for building the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
    Inventors: Michael Raymond Corner, David Robert Watkins
  • Patent number: 6229659
    Abstract: Data are stored on magnetic tape along successive tracks extending obliquely across the tape, in each of several areas including a lead-in area, a data area and an end-of-data (EOD) area. Each track comprises successive blocks or fragments of data, and each fragment has a compact header containing a synchronization byte, six information bytes and two parity bytes. The information bytes include a fragment ID, an area ID sub code identifying the area in which the fragment is located, and various other sub codes relating to logical structure of the data. The inclusion of an area ID sub code and logical structure sub codes in the (compact) header of every fragment facilitates reliable searching of the data stored on the tape at high tape advance speeds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2001
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Mark Robert Watkins, Nigel Rushton, Shinya Ozaki
  • Patent number: 6200401
    Abstract: A tire for a two-wheeled vehicle comprising a ground contacting tread having at least one tread groove formed therein and extending axially from the tread center to the tread edge, wherein in a first region of the tire tread, which is the central tread region and is the region of contact between the tire and the ground when the motorcycle is in the condition of moving in a straight line, the alignment of the tread groove is substantially circumferential, and in a second region of the tire tread, which is at the axial edge of the tread and is the region of contact when the motorcycle is in the condition of turning under maximum cornering, the alignment of the tread grooves is substantially transverse, and in a third region, which is the tread region between the first central region and the second axial region and which is the ground contacting region when the motorcycle is turning at less than the maximum cornering condition, the groove alignment changes progressively axially outwardly from substantially circu
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2001
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Limited
    Inventors: David Robert Watkins, Michael Jackson
  • Patent number: 6190478
    Abstract: A tire for a vehicle having at least one wheel at each corner, the tire comprising a ground contacting tread extending axially between first and second edge regions and having tread grooves formed therein, wherein in the first axial edge region of the tread the tread grooves are aligned substantially in the tire circumferential direction and in the second axial edge region of the tread the grooves are aligned substantially in the tire axial direction and in a third axial region of the tread axially between the first and second edge regions the alignment of the grooves changes progressively from circumferential to axial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2001
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Limited
    Inventors: David Robert Watkins, Michael Jackson, Paul Stephens
  • Patent number: 6125898
    Abstract: A radial motorcycle tire having improved lateral grip under camber with good stability, wherein the tread is reinforced by two main breaker plies comprising parallel reinforcing cords oppositely inclined with respect to the tire circumferential direction and a supplementary breaker ply is disposed radially outward of the main breaker plies and comprises a cord reinforced central ply portion and lateral outer side ply portions disposed on opposite sides of the central ply portion, said lateral side portions comprising rubber having no cord reinforcement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2000
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
    Inventors: David Robert Watkins, Michael Jackson
  • Patent number: 6110424
    Abstract: A hand-held water purification system includes a pen-light sized ultraviolet lamp that is enclosed in a quartz cover and is powered by a battery and associated ballast circuitry. The battery and ballast circuitry are connected to the lamp by switches that are under the control of a liquid-level sensor. The sensor connects the battery, the ballast circuitry and the lamp once the sensor determines that the ultraviolet lamp is fully immersed in the water. If the container that holds the water is relatively large, the lamp and quartz cover end of the system are used to stir the water, to ensure that all of the water comes sufficiently close to the ultraviolet lamp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Assignee: Hydro-Photon, Inc.
    Inventors: Miles Maiden, Robert Watkins
  • Patent number: 6097554
    Abstract: The present invention is a derotation assembly comprised of a plurality of dove prisms with multiple reflecting surfaces, each with a normal axis intersecting a common rotation axis aligned orthogonally to an optical device. The reflecting surfaces are parallel to each other and orthogonal to the common rotation axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2000
    Assignee: Raytheon Company
    Inventor: Robert A. Watkins
  • Patent number: 6082392
    Abstract: A hose assembly is provided for transmitting liquid fuel between the fuel tank of a highway truck and the fuel tank of an airport refueler. The assembly comprises inner and outer hoses. The inner hose transmits liquid fuel. A sealed passage is formed between the inner and outer hoses. Each end of the hose assembly is connected to a respective port for transferring the fuel between the highway truck fuel tank and airport refueler tank. The assembly includes at least one sensor port for connecting the passage to sensing means to detect leakage from the inner hose to the passage. A leakage sensing system is coupled to the sensor port for detecting leakage of fuel from the inner hose to the passage and for generating sensor signals. The leakage sensing system includes: (1) a pressure sensor for detecting a change in pressure within the passage, and (2) a liquid sensor for detecting the presence of liquid within the passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2000
    Assignee: General Transervice, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Watkins, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5900212
    Abstract: A hand-held water purification system includes a pen-light sized ultraviolet lamp that is enclosed in a quartz cover and is powered by a battery and associated ballast circuitry. The battery and ballast circuitry are connected to the lamp by switches that are under the control of a liquid-level sensor. The sensor connects the battery, the ballast circuitry and the lamp once the sensor determines that the ultraviolet lamp is fully immersed in the water. If the container that holds the water is relatively large, the lamp and quartz cover end of the system are used to stir the water, to ensure that all of the water comes sufficiently close to the ultraviolet lamp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 4, 1999
    Assignee: Hydro-Photon, Inc.
    Inventors: Miles Maiden, Robert Watkins
  • Patent number: 5884010
    Abstract: A speech coding system robust to frame erasure (or packet loss) is described. Illustrative embodiments are directed to a modified version of CCITT standard G.728. In the event of frame erasure, vectors of an excitation signal are synthesized based on previously stored excitation signal vectors generated during non-erased frames. Specifically, the decoder generates and stores samples of a first excitation signal in a memory, and then, in response to a signal indicating a frame erasure, the decoder synthesizes a second excitation signal based on the previously stored samples. In particular, the second excitation is synthesized by correlating a first subset of the stored samples with a second subset thereof, identifying a set of stored excitation signal samples based on the correlation, and synthesizing the second excitation signal based on the identified samples. Finally, the decoder then filters the second excitation signal to synthesize a signal reflecting human speech.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 16, 1999
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Juin-Hwey Chen, Craig Robert Watkins
  • Patent number: 5829503
    Abstract: A motorcycle tire having in its normally inflated condition a camber value C/L of between 0.5 and 0.7 and having a maximum axial width between edges of a ground contacting tread wherein in axial cross-section the tread comprises two tread rubber components of different rubber compounds joined by a scarf joint, the scarf joint having a width less than the width of the tread and having an intertread ply comprising reinforcing cords interposed between the two tread rubber components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
    Inventors: David Robert Watkins, Nigel Gerard Nock, Michael Jackson
  • Patent number: 5746852
    Abstract: A motorcycle tire comprises a tread reinforced between its edges by a breaker assembly and having in its normally inflated fitted condition a camber value C/L of between 0.5 to 0.7, a reinforcing carcass ply of rubber covered cords radially inside the breaker assembly and extending between two bead regions and wrapped in each bead region around an annular bead core to form carcass ply turn-ups, and tire sidewalls between the tread edges and bead regions, wherein under the tread is disposed radially inward of the breaker assembly a secondary carcass ply of rubber covered cords and between the carcass ply and the secondary carcass ply is disposed a rubber member extending from tread edge to tread edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1998
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
    Inventors: David Robert Watkins, Nigel Gerard Nock, Michael Jackson
  • Patent number: 5651845
    Abstract: A motorcycle radial tire comprises a tread reinforced between its edges by a breaker assembly and having in its normally inflated fitted condition a camber value C/L of between 0.5 and 0.7, a reinforcing carcass of radially disposed cords extending radially inside the breaker assembly and between two bead regions and wrapped in each bead region around an annular bead core from the axial inside to the outside to form carcass ply turn-ups, and tire sidewalls between the tread edges and bead regions, the tire characterized in that the breaker assembly comprises two breaker plies each reinforced with aromatic polyamide cords oppositely inclined with respect to the circumferential direction of the tire and a supplementary ply disposed radially adjacent to the breaker plies and reinforced with nylon reinforcements laid parallel to each other and disposed at an angle in the range of 75.degree.-90.degree. to the circumferential direction of the tire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 29, 1997
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries
    Inventors: David Robert Watkins, Nigel Gerard Nock, Michael Jackson
  • Patent number: 5148405
    Abstract: A non-intrusive method for the determination of characteristics of slug flow in a multiphase flow pipeline comprising the steps of: detecting the acoustic emissions from the pipeline in the ultrasonic frequency range by means of at least one sound transducer, the output from which is an analogue electrical signal, converting the analogue signal to a digital signal, and analyzing the digital signal to determine the characteristics of the slug flow.The characteristics of slug flow which may be determined include distinguishing slug flow from wave flow, the frequency of slugging and the velocity and length of slugs. The method is particularly suitable for studying multiphase flow comprising oil, gas and water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1992
    Assignee: The British Petroleum Company p.l.c.
    Inventors: Ronald M. Belchamber, Derek Brister, Michael P. Collins, John Hill, Robert Watkins, Douglas G. Wood
  • Patent number: 4840772
    Abstract: The present invention relates to ophthalmological pharmaceutical compositions comprising (benzothiadiazine, benzamide and benzenesulfonyl)phenyl-substituted carboxyalkyl dipeptide compounds and to methods for using said composition in reducing intraocular pressure, e.g., in the treatment of glaucoma.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 20, 1989
    Assignee: Schering Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Watkins, Ronald J. Doll, Bernard R. Neustadt, Elizabeth M. Smith, Charles V. Magatti, Elijah H. Gold
  • Patent number: 4783444
    Abstract: The present invention relates to ophthalmological pharmaceutical compositions comprising (benzothiadiazine, benzamide and benzenesulfonyl)phenyl-substituted carboxyalkyl dipeptide compounds and to methods for using said composition in reducing intraocular pressure, e.g., in the treatment of glaucoma.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 1986
    Date of Patent: November 8, 1988
    Assignee: Schering Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Watkins, Ronald J. Doll, Bernard R. Neustadt, Elizabeth M. Smith, Charles V. Magatti, Elijah H. Gold
  • Patent number: 4193688
    Abstract: An optical scanning system wherein infrared energy radiating from an object is directed to a Porro prism, such Porro prism being rotatable about the boresight axis of the optical scanning system so that the image of the object rotates, in the image plane of such system about its boresight axis, at an angular rate twice that of the Porro prism. A linear array of infrared detector elements is disposed in the image plane radially from the boresight axis of the scanning system. The angular deviation of the object from the boresight axis of the scanning system is measured by determining: (1) the angular position of the Porro prism when one, or more, of the infrared detector elements in the linear array is energized; and (2) which one, or ones, of such elements is energized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1970
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1980
    Assignee: Raytheon Company
    Inventor: Robert A. Watkins
  • Patent number: D324878
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1992
    Inventor: Robert Watkins
  • Patent number: D434353
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Assignee: Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited
    Inventors: Michael Jackson, David Robert Watkins