Patents by Inventor S. MacDonald

S. MacDonald 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: 20240135756
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for vehicular computation management. The system includes, onboard a vehicle, electric control units (ECUs), a battery, a communication system, and a controller. The controller is configured to monitor energy consumption, operate the vehicle as a computational hub when the energy consumption is less than a threshold, including providing computational resources to an external node, determine whether the vehicle has excess energy and computational capacity when the energy consumption is equal to or greater than the threshold, including determining a usage of each of the ECUs and determining an energy consumption of tasks executing thereon, and operate the vehicle as a hybrid computational hub when the vehicle has excess energy and computational capacity, including providing excess computational capacity of the ECUs to the external node.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2022
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Applicant: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Venkata Naga Siva Vikas Vemuri, Chandra S Namuduri, Andrew J. MacDonald, Omer Tsimhoni, Ashhad Mohammed
  • Patent number: 11949366
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are related to solar module mounting systems. A system may include an adhesion sheet configured to be secured to a roof of a structure via an adhesive. The system may further include at least one clamp configured for securing at least one solar module to the adhesion sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Vivint Solar, Inc.
    Inventors: Willard S. MacDonald, Gregory N. Nielson, Roger L. Jungerman
  • Publication number: 20240087227
    Abstract: Methods of determining solar radiation exposure are provided. A method may include tracing one or more rays from a first 3D coordinate to one or more additional 3D coordinates within a digital model representing one or more simulated locations of the sun within the digital model. The method may also include determining whether any of the rays of the one or more rays intersect an obstruction. Further, the method may include determining solar access associated with the first 3D coordinate based on the determination of whether any of the rays of the one or more rays intersect the obstruction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2023
    Publication date: March 14, 2024
    Inventors: Willard S. MacDonald, Robert MacDonald
  • Patent number: 11694357
    Abstract: A method of determining one or more shading conditions associated with a structure is provided. A method may include determining an azimuth of a reference roof edge relative to an orientation of a first image of a structure. The method may further include determining a relative azimuth of the reference roof edge from a lower hemisphere of a second, different image captured proximate the structure. In addition, the method may include determining one or more shading conditions associated with the structure based on the azimuth of the reference roof edge and the relative azimuth of the reference roof edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Vivint Solar, Inc.
    Inventors: Roger L. Jungerman, Mark Galli, Judd Reed, Willard S. MacDonald
  • Patent number: 11510803
    Abstract: Devices for nasal insertion may include an open-ended tubular element which extends along a central tube axis between a first end and a second end, the first end being larger than the second end, and in which the tubular element includes at least one spiral strut extending from the first end to the second end, and/or a nodule having an internal face, a rounded external face, and a stalk extending from the internal face and terminating in an anchor sufficiently larger than a receptacle in the tubular element and sufficiently deformable as to be pressed through the receptacle to affix the nodule to the tubular element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: Sanostec Corp.
    Inventor: Louise S. MacDonald
  • Publication number: 20220358585
    Abstract: Systems and techniques for profiling asset acquisition agent are described herein. A target profile may be obtained. A set of profile attributes may be determined for the target profile. An acquisition target pool may be identified using the set of profile attributes. An acquisition matrix data structure may be generated for the acquisition target pool. An asset pool may be generated by acquiring equity of the acquisition target pool based on the acquisition matrix data structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2017
    Publication date: November 10, 2022
    Inventors: Melinda L. Li, Aldo Anthony Ceccarelli, A Erdem Cimen, Rebecca S. MacDonald, Jerry Wayne Johnson, Chris Theodore Kalaboukis, Brian J. Jacobsen
  • Publication number: 20220157051
    Abstract: A method of determining one or more shading conditions associated with a structure is provided. A method may include determining an azimuth of a reference roof edge relative to an orientation of a first image of a structure. The method may further include determining a relative azimuth of the reference roof edge from a lower hemisphere of a second, different image captured proximate the structure. In addition, the method may include determining one or more shading conditions associated with the structure based on the azimuth of the reference roof edge and the relative azimuth of the reference roof edge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2022
    Publication date: May 19, 2022
    Inventors: Roger L. Jungerman, Mark Galli, Judd Reed, Willard S. MacDonald
  • Patent number: 11275938
    Abstract: A method of determining one or more shading conditions associated with a structure is provided. A method may include determining an azimuth of a reference roof edge relative to an orientation of an aerial image of a structure. The method may include capturing at least one spherical image at at least one measurement location proximate the structure. Further, the method may include determining a relative azimuth of the reference roof edge from a lower hemisphere of the at least one image. In addition, the method may include determining an orientation of an upper hemisphere of the at least one image based on the azimuth of the reference roof edge and the relative azimuth of the reference roof edge. Furthermore, the method may include calculating shading conditions based on the orientation of the upper hemisphere of the at least one spherical image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: Vivint Solar, Inc.
    Inventors: Roger L. Jungerman, Mark Galli, Judd Reed, Willard S. MacDonald
  • Publication number: 20210242821
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are related to solar module mounting systems. A system may include an adhesion sheet configured to be secured to a roof of a structure via an adhesive. The system may further include at least one clamp configured for securing at least one solar module to the adhesion sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2021
    Publication date: August 5, 2021
    Inventors: Willard S. MacDonald, Gregory N. Nielson, Roger L. Jungerman
  • Publication number: 20210174447
    Abstract: Systems and techniques for automated securities resource allocation are described herein. Data representing a resource allocation may be obtained. A data structure representing a resource allocation hierarchy may be generated for the resource allocation. A resource allocation access message may be transmitted to a plurality of entities. A set of resource allocation hierarchy requests may be received. Each resource allocation hierarchy request of the set of resource allocation hierarchy requests may correspond to an entity of the plurality of entities. An entity corresponding to a received resource allocation hierarchy request may be assigned to a node of the data structure. Resources may be transmitted to the entity based on the assignment of the entity to the node.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2017
    Publication date: June 10, 2021
    Inventors: Melinda L. Li, Aldo Anthony Ceccarelli, A Erdem Cimen, Rebecca S. MacDonald, Jerry Wayne Johnson
  • Patent number: 11005414
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are related to solar module mounting systems. A system may include an adhesion sheet configured to be secured to a roof of a structure via an adhesive. The system may further include at least one clamp configured for securing at least one solar module to the adhesion sheet. Other embodiments are related to methods of attaching one or more solar modules to a structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: Vivint Solar, Inc.
    Inventors: Willard S. MacDonald, Gregory N. Nielson, Roger L. Jungerman
  • Publication number: 20210085508
    Abstract: A nasal insert may include a wall in the shape of a tube, the wall including a first end defining a first orifice and a second end defining a second orifice. The first end may have a diameter, diagonal measurement, or cross-sectional area larger than that of the second end. The first end may define at least one break in the wall, so that the first end incompletely encircles the first office. The second end may completely encircle the second orifice.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2020
    Publication date: March 25, 2021
    Inventors: Ernest Santin, Louise S. Macdonald, Scott D. Macdonald
  • Patent number: 10692278
    Abstract: A method of determining solar radiation exposure at a predetermined location is provided. The method may include generating a first two-dimensional (2D) matrix including a plurality of elements, wherein each element of the plurality of elements of the first 2D matrix includes an elevation/azimuth pair representing a light ray extending from the predetermined location to one or more positions in the sky. The method may further include generating a second 2D matrix including a plurality of elements, wherein each index of the second 2D matrix includes an associated elevation/azimuth pair of the first 2D matrix. Each element of the plurality of elements of the second 2D matrix represents an amount of solar radiation to impinge on the predetermined location from a direction of a respective elevation/azimuth pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: Solmetric Corporation
    Inventors: Willard S. MacDonald, Robert MacDonald
  • Patent number: 10639186
    Abstract: A nasal insert may include a wall in the shape of a tube, the wall including a first end defining a first orifice and a second end defining a second orifice. The first end may have a diameter, diagonal measurement, or cross-sectional area larger than that of the second end. The first end may define at least one break in the wall, so that the first end incompletely encircles the first orifice. The second end may completely encircle the second orifice.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: SANOSTEC CORP.
    Inventors: Ernest Santin, Louise S. MacDonald, Scott D. MacDonald
  • Publication number: 20200022833
    Abstract: Devices for nasal insertion may include an open-ended tubular element which extends along a central tube axis between a first end and a second end, the first end being larger than the second end, and in which the tubular element includes at least one spiral strut extending from the first end to the second end, and/or a nodule having an internal face, a rounded external face, and a stalk extending from the internal face and terminating in an anchor sufficiently larger than a receptacle in the tubular element and sufficiently deformable as to be pressed through the receptacle to affix the nodule to the tubular element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Publication date: January 23, 2020
    Inventor: Louise S. MacDonald
  • Publication number: 20190334472
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are related to solar module mounting systems. A system may include an adhesion sheet configured to be secured to a roof of a structure via an adhesive. The system may further include at least one clamp configured for securing at least one solar module to the adhesion sheet. Other embodiments are related to methods of attaching one or more solar modules to a structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2019
    Publication date: October 31, 2019
    Inventors: Willard S. MacDonald, Gregory N. Nielson, Roger L. Jungerman
  • Patent number: 10426651
    Abstract: Devices for nasal insertion may include an open-ended tubular element which extends along a central tube axis between a first end and a second end, the first end being larger than the second end, and in which the tubular element includes at least one spiral strut extending from the first end to the second end, and/or a nodule having an internal face, a rounded external face, and a stalk extending from the internal face and terminating in an anchor sufficiently larger than a receptacle in the tubular element and sufficiently deformable as to be pressed through the receptacle to affix the nodule to the tubular element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: Sanostec Corporation
    Inventor: Louise S. MacDonald
  • Patent number: 10361652
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure are related to solar module mounting systems. A system may include an adhesion sheet configured to be secured to a roof of a structure via an adhesive. The system may further include at least one clamp configured for securing at least one solar module to the adhesion sheet. Other embodiments are related to methods of attaching one or more solar modules to a structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: Vivint Solar, Inc.
    Inventors: Willard S. MacDonald, Gregory N. Nielson, Roger L. Jungerman
  • Publication number: 20190156101
    Abstract: A method of determining one or more shading conditions associated with a structure is provided. A method may include determining an azimuth of a reference roof edge relative to an orientation of an aerial image of a structure. The method may include capturing at least one spherical image at at least one measurement location proximate the structure. Further, the method may include determining a relative azimuth of the reference roof edge from a lower hemisphere of the at least one image. In addition, the method may include determining an orientation of an upper hemisphere of the at least one image based on the azimuth of the reference roof edge and the relative azimuth of the reference roof edge. Furthermore, the method may include calculating shading conditions based on the orientation of the upper hemisphere of the at least one spherical image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2019
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: Roger L. Jungerman, Mark Galli, Judd Reed, Willard S. MacDonald
  • Patent number: 10198633
    Abstract: A solar power measurement method is provided. A method may include determining an azimuth of a reference roof edge relative to an orientation of an aerial image of a structure. The method may include capturing at least one spherical image at at least one determined measurement location proximate the structure. Further, the method may include determining a relative azimuth of the reference roof edge from a downward view of a lower hemisphere of the at least one image. In addition, the method may include determining an orientation of an upper hemisphere of the at least one image based on the azimuth of the reference roof edge, the relative azimuth of the reference roof edge, and a known tilt of a roof edge of the structure. Furthermore, the method may include calculating shading conditions for a time period for known sun positions during the time period based on the orientation of the upper hemisphere of the at least one spherical image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: Vivint Solar, Inc.
    Inventors: Roger L. Jungerman, Mark Galli, Judd Reed, Willard S. MacDonald