Patents by Inventor Thomas Brenner

Thomas Brenner 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: 11865714
    Abstract: An apparatus for a robotic limb includes one or more limb segments connected via one or more joints. The robotic limb may feature one or more dual-reduction quasi-quasi-direct-drive joint actuators that permit the robotic limb to move throughout a scene. The robotic limb may further include an end-effector connected to a free end of the robotic limb with one or more opposable fingers comprising a four bar linkage. The end-effector may include a main actuator that actuates the one or more fingers via the four-bar linkages to complete various tasks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jose Marcel Santos, Brian Harms, Thomas Brenner, Curtis Aumiller, Jiawei Zhang, Sajid Sadi, Pranav Mistry, Forrest G. Tran, Tara Sriram, Kathleen Sofia Hajash
  • Patent number: 11782391
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for a wall clock AI voice assistant, such as a computing device, is provided herein. The wall-mountable electronic clock includes an optical sensor, a microphone, a digital display and a speaker. The optical sensor captures image data representing at least a portion of a user. The microphone receives an audio input from the user when certain criteria is met, such as when the image data representing at least a portion of the user is captured. The digital display provides visual information to the user provided in response to the captured image data or the audio input. The speaker provides audio information provides from a digital voice assistant in response to the captured image data or the audio input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Brian Harms, Cathy Kim, Curtis Aumiller, Jack Thrun, Jiawei Zhang, Michael Noh, Pranav Mistry, Praveen Jayakumar, Robert Wang, Ruokan He, Sajid Sadi, Thomas Brenner, Anthony Liot, Marc Estruch Tena, Ik Seon Kang, Cheoljun Lee, Younseong Kim, Bola Esther Yoo
  • Publication number: 20230274549
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes, by an electronic device, accessing activity data containing one or more non-image-based sensor signals from a first wearable device, where the activity data corresponds to an activity a user performs during a first timeframe, accessing from a first camera device, one or more cameras of the first camera device, where the video data corresponds to the first activity of the first user during the first timeframe, segmenting the activity data based on one or more features of the one or more non-image-based sensor signals to identify one or more segments of activity data corresponding to a second timeframe, classifying the one or more segments of the video data based on the one or more identified events associated with the first activity during the second timeframe, classifying the segments of the video data based on the one or more events during the second timeframe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2022
    Publication date: August 31, 2023
    Inventors: Kathleen Sofia Hajash, Thomas Brenner, Brian Harms, Catherine S. Kim, Imran Mohammed
  • Publication number: 20230235893
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method for controlling air quality in an unenclosed kitchen environment by a ventilation system includes determining an environmental state of the kitchen environment based on sensor data from sensors associated with the ventilation system, determining a current air quality of the kitchen environment based on the sensor data, determining adjustments for system-boundaries or air-manipulating devices associated with the ventilation system based on the current air quality and the environmental state, wherein the adjustments are configured to facilitate a target air quality of the kitchen environment; and adjusting the system-boundaries or air-manipulating devices associated with the ventilation system based on the determined adjustments.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Publication date: July 27, 2023
    Inventors: Jose Marcel C. Santos, Tiberiu A. Andronescu, Thomas Brenner, Jun Yeon Cho, Paul Hsiao, Musa Maharramov, Brian R. Patton
  • Patent number: 11667404
    Abstract: A system with a self-test function has at least one system component which has at least one technical function, a fault simulation unit integrated in the system, a self-test unit integrated in the system, and a verification control unit integrated in the system, wherein the at least one system component is coupled to the fault simulation unit, wherein the fault simulation unit is designed to influence the operation of the system component to the effect that the at least one technical function is selectively impaired, wherein the self-test unit is designed to monitor operating parameters of the system component and to respectively generate a warning signal which indicates impairment of the respective at least one technical function, and wherein the verification control unit is designed to compare the warning signals generated by the self-test unit with expected warning signals on the basis of the impaired technical functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Inventor: Thomas Brenner
  • Patent number: 11554480
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a gear system includes two cycloidal gears coupled to an eccentric drive shaft via a cartridge bearing. Each of the two cycloidal gears includes a number N of pockets on a surface of the gears to receive a ball bearing in the respective pocket. The N pockets on the surface of a first cycloidal gear of the two cycloidal gears are substantially aligned with the N pockets on the surface of a second cycloidal gear of the two cycloidal gears. Each of the two cycloidal gears further includes a lip coupled to the cartridge bearing. The gear system includes a number N of ball bearings disposed in the N pockets of the two cycloidal gears, where the ball bearings maintain a distance between the two cycloidal gears. The ball bearings cause the respective cycloidal gear to be flush with the cartridge bearing coupled to the eccentric shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Thomas Brenner
  • Publication number: 20220314431
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a gear system includes two cycloidal gears coupled to an eccentric drive shaft via a cartridge bearing. Each of the two cycloidal gears includes a number N of pockets on a surface of the gears to receive a ball bearing in the respective pocket. The N pockets on the surface of a first cycloidal gear of the two cycloidal gears are substantially aligned with the N pockets on the surface of a second cycloidal gear of the two cycloidal gears. Each of the two cycloidal gears further includes a lip coupled to the cartridge bearing. The gear system includes a number N of ball bearings disposed in the N pockets of the two cycloidal gears, where the ball bearings maintain a distance between the two cycloidal gears. The ball bearings cause the respective cycloidal gear to be flush with the cartridge bearing coupled to the eccentric shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2021
    Publication date: October 6, 2022
    Inventor: Thomas Brenner
  • Publication number: 20220283573
    Abstract: A method for allocating resources to machines of a production facility comprises: receiving forecast data indicating planned demands for the resources and a demand deviation for each resource; generating a new demand for each resource from the planned demand and the demand deviation of the resource in several iterations; assigning capacities to the new demands in each iteration by determining resource-machine combinations, wherein a priority is determined for each resource and each machine based on a set of priority rules, wherein the resource-machine combinations are determined by combining the resources and the machines according to the priorities; and generating a roll-out plan assigning resource-machine combinations to be rolled out to future time periods, wherein the roll-out plan is generated from the resource-machine combinations of different iterations and an estimated roll-out time for each resource-machine combination such that a total number of the resource-machine combinations to be rolled-out is
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2022
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: Yuan Fang Zhou, Hao Li, Thomas Brenner
  • Publication number: 20210188463
    Abstract: A system with a self-test function has at least one system component which has at least one technical function, a fault simulation unit integrated in the system, a self-test unit integrated in the system, and a verification control unit integrated in the system, wherein the at least one system component is coupled to the fault simulation unit, wherein the fault simulation unit is designed to influence the operation of the system component to the effect that the at least one technical function is selectively impaired, wherein the self-test unit is designed to monitor operating parameters of the system component and to respectively generate a warning signal which indicates impairment of the respective at least one technical function, and wherein the verification control unit is designed to compare the warning signals generated by the self-test unit with expected warning signals on the basis of the impaired technical functions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Applicant: Airbus Defence and Space GmbH
    Inventor: Thomas Brenner
  • Patent number: 10798836
    Abstract: A device can include a hinge mechanism rotatably coupling a first portion of the device to a second portion of the device. The hinge mechanism is configured to automatically open the device. The device can also include a damper configured to control a rate at which the hinge mechanism automatically opens the device. The hinge mechanism can include a spine hinge, a rolling contact hinge, a film hinge, or a geared link hinge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Steven Manuel, Sajid Sadi, Curtis Aumiller, Thomas Brenner
  • Publication number: 20200262058
    Abstract: An apparatus for a robotic limb includes one or more limb segments connected via one or more joints. The robotic limb may feature one or more dual-reduction quasi-quasi-direct-drive joint actuators that permit the robotic limb to move throughout a scene. The robotic limb may further include an end-effector connected to a free end of the robotic limb with one or more opposable fingers comprising a four bar linkage. The end-effector may include a main actuator that actuates the one or more fingers via the four-bar linkages to complete various tasks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2020
    Publication date: August 20, 2020
    Inventors: Jose Marcel Santos, Brian Harms, Thomas Brenner, Curtis Aumiller, Jiawei Zhang, Sajid Sadi, Pranav Mistry, Forrest G. Tran, Tara Sriram, Kathleen Sofia Hajash
  • Publication number: 20200096945
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for a wall clock AI voice assistant, such as a computing device, is provided herein. The wall-mountable electronic clock includes an optical sensor, a microphone, a digital display and a speaker. The optical sensor captures image data representing at least a portion of a user. The microphone receives an audio input from the user when certain criteria is met, such as when the image data representing at least a portion of the user is captured. The digital display provides visual information to the user provided in response to the captured image data or the audio input. The speaker provides audio information provides from a digital voice assistant in response to the captured image data or the audio input.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Publication date: March 26, 2020
    Inventors: Brian Harms, Cathy Kim, Curtis Aumiller, Jack Thrun, Jiawei Zhang, Michael Noh, Pranav Mistry, Praveen Jayakumar, Robert Wang, Ruokan He, Sajid Sadi, Thomas Brenner, Anthony Liot, Marc Estruch Tena, Ik Seon Kang, Cheoljun Lee, Younseong Kim, Bola Esther Yoo
  • Patent number: 10260782
    Abstract: A hermetically sealed package effectively dissipates heat generated inside the package. The hermetically sealed package includes a hermetically sealed enclosure formed from a base portion and a lid. Within the enclosure two or more heat generating elements, such as integrated circuit chips, are supported by the base portion and rise to different heights from the base portion. At least one resilient heat exchange component, such as a leaf spring, extends from the lid of the hermetically sealed enclosure to the different heights. The heat exchange component is configured to conduct heat from the plurality of heat generating elements to the lid of the enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Jovica Savic, Mudasir Ahmad, Thomas Brenner
  • Publication number: 20180049336
    Abstract: A device can include a hinge mechanism rotatably coupling a first portion of the device to a second portion of the device. The hinge mechanism is configured to automatically open the device. The device can also include a damper configured to control a rate at which the hinge mechanism automatically opens the device. The hinge mechanism can include a spine hinge, a rolling contact hinge, a film hinge, or a geared link hinge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2017
    Publication date: February 15, 2018
    Inventors: Steven Manuel, Sajid Sadi, Curtis Aumiller, Thomas Brenner
  • Publication number: 20170234584
    Abstract: A hermetically sealed package effectively dissipates heat generated inside the package. The hermetically sealed package includes a hermetically sealed enclosure formed from a base portion and a lid. Within the enclosure two or more heat generating elements, such as integrated circuit chips, are supported by the base portion and rise to different heights from the base portion. At least one resilient heat exchange component, such as a leaf spring, extends from the lid of the hermetically sealed enclosure to the different heights. The heat exchange component is configured to conduct heat from the plurality of heat generating elements to the lid of the enclosure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2017
    Publication date: August 17, 2017
    Inventors: Jovica Savic, Mudasir Ahmad, Thomas Brenner
  • Patent number: 9688453
    Abstract: A hermetically sealed package effectively dissipates heat generated inside the package. The hermetically sealed package includes a hermetically sealed enclosure formed from a base portion and a lid. Within the enclosure two or more heat generating elements, such as integrated circuit chips, are supported by the base portion and rise to different heights from the base portion. At least one resilient heat exchange component, such as a leaf spring, extends from the lid of the hermetically sealed enclosure to the different heights. The heat exchange component is configured to conduct heat from the plurality of heat generating elements to the lid of the enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Jovica Savic, Mudasir Ahmad, Thomas Brenner
  • Publication number: 20160229618
    Abstract: A hermetically sealed package effectively dissipates heat generated inside the package. The hermetically sealed package includes a hermetically sealed enclosure formed from a base portion and a lid. Within the enclosure two or more heat generating elements, such as integrated circuit chips, are supported by the base portion and rise to different heights from the base portion. At least one resilient heat exchange component, such as a leaf spring, extends from the lid of the hermetically sealed enclosure to the different heights. The heat exchange component is configured to conduct heat from the plurality of heat generating elements to the lid of the enclosure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2015
    Publication date: August 11, 2016
    Inventors: Jovica Savic, Mudasir Ahmad, Thomas Brenner
  • Publication number: 20100289922
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for processing records of imaging sensors, a corresponding computer program, and a corresponding computer-readable storage medium which can be used particularly for creating panoramic photographs with the aid of mobile terminals, e.g. a digital camera, a mobile telephone, or similar. In said method for processing records of imaging sensors, several successive records of an imaging sensor are read at least in part, records read during reading of additional records are analyzed in order to determine matching areas within the read records, and data of several successive records is combined to a panoramic image during output via data output means.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2007
    Publication date: November 18, 2010
    Applicant: BIT-SIDE GMBH
    Inventors: Thomas Brenner, Henrik Battke, Frank Gaebler
  • Publication number: 20060232233
    Abstract: A drive assembly for a motorized roller tube system includes a motor and a gear assembly having multiple gear stages. The motor of the drive assembly is operated inefficiently at a motor speed that is less than 50 percent of a peak efficiency motor speed producing sound pressure levels between approximately 40 dBA and 44 dBA in an ambient of about 38 dBA. Preferably, the efficiency is less than one-half of peak efficiency. The gear assembly includes spur gears and preferably has a gear ratio of 20:1. Preferably, the motor is a DC motor operated at approximately 850 rpm and having an associated torque capability that is at least 4 times the torque capability at the peak efficiency motor speed. The motor may be an AC motor having four or less poles preferably operated at approximately 850 rpm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2005
    Publication date: October 19, 2006
    Inventors: Jason Adams, Thomas Brenner, Brandon Detmer, Robert Newman, Joel Spira
  • Publication number: 20060021714
    Abstract: A motorized shade control system includes electronic drive units (EDUs) having programmable control units directing a motor to move an associated shade in response to command signals directed to the control units from wall-mounted keypad controllers or from alternate devices or control systems connected to a contact closure interface (CCI). Each of the EDUs, keypad controllers and CCIs of the system is connected to a common communication bus. The system provides for initiation of soft addressing of the system components from any keypad controller, CCI or EDU. The system also provides for setting of EDU limit positions and assignment of EDUs to keypad controllers from the keypad controllers or CCIs. The system may also include infrared receivers for receiving infrared command signals from an infrared transmitter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2005
    Publication date: February 2, 2006
    Applicant: Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Lawrence Carmen, Michael Lockley, Justin Mierta, David Dolan, Stephen Ludwig, Thomas Brenner