Patents by Inventor William To

William To 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: 7231817
    Abstract: An inspection system formed at least from a viewing tube for inspecting aspects of a turbine engine during operation of the turbine engine. An outer housing of the viewing tube may be positioned within a turbine engine using at least one bearing configured to fit into an indentation of a support housing to form a ball and socket joint enabling the viewing tube to move during operation as a result of vibrations and other movements. The viewing tube may also include one or more lenses positioned within the viewing tube for viewing the turbine components. The lenses may be kept free of contamination by maintaining a higher pressure in the viewing tube than a pressure outside of the viewing tube and enabling gases to pass through an aperture in a cap at a viewing end of the viewing tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Power Generation, Inc.
    Inventors: Jan P. Smed, Dennis H. Lemieux, James P. Williams
  • Patent number: 7231894
    Abstract: A rotary displacement machine includes a casing having a circular cylindrical internal surface and a rotor disposed in the chamber mounted to orbit about a chamber axis, with the rotor having a circular cylindrical external surface. A vane member is mounted on the casing and pivotable about a pivot axis parallel to the chamber axis. The vane member has a passage way communicating between the exterior of the casing and the operating chamber. A linkage connects the vane member to the rotor so as to keep a tip face of the vane member in sealing contact with an external surface of the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: E.A. Technical Services Limited
    Inventor: Ronald William Driver
  • Patent number: 7233340
    Abstract: Computerized techniques are provided for linking digitized images of serial sections of a biological tissue sample. Linked, digitized images of the serial section are displayed on a display and manipulation of one digitized image causes other digitized images to be similarly manipulated. To link digitized images, a copy of a digitized image of one serial section is positioned over a digitized image of another serial section. The digitized image of the other serial section is visible through the copy. The copy is registered to the digitized image of the other serial section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Applied Imaging Corp.
    Inventors: William Hughes, Duncan William Borthwick
  • Patent number: 7233474
    Abstract: An electrical protection device is provided. The device can be removably attached to or mounted inside of a power source, such as a vehicle, e.g., automobile, battery and can employ a replaceable fuse element. The device includes an overcurrent protection element, such as a fuse element, and provides any one or more of the following types of electrical protection: (i) overcurrent protection; (ii) accident or catastrophic event power cutout protection; and (iii) load dump protection. The system is configurable to protect certain vehicle electrical components from an overcurrent and allow others to operate independent of the overcurrent protection. Systems and methods employing the protection device are also illustrated and discussed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Littelfuse, Inc.
    Inventors: William P. Brown, Edwin James Harris, Jeffrey John Ribordy
  • Patent number: 7232095
    Abstract: A crew rest berth support system includes a crew berth assembly having first and second berths. Hook assemblies suspend the first berth from mobile platform structure. Pin assemblies suspend the second berth from the structure. Cam assemblies connect the first and second berths. The hook assemblies permit first berth rotation in a first path and the pin assemblies permit second berth rotation in a second path substantially perpendicular to the first path. When the first and second berths are connected using the cam assemblies the crew berth assembly is restrained from motion in either the first or the second paths. An entrance cap rotatably mounted to the platform structure prior to the first and second berths is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: James R Park, Karen L Hills, Jeffrey D Farnsworth, William E McCammon, Jerry A Grayson, Susan L Robinson, Kevin M Barrick
  • Patent number: 7232754
    Abstract: Microelectronic devices, methods for packaging microelectronic devices, and methods for forming interconnects in microelectronic devices are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method comprises providing a microelectronic substrate having a front side and a backside. The substrate has a microelectronic die including an integrated circuit and a terminal operatively coupled to the integrated circuit. The method also includes forming a passage at least partially through the substrate and having an opening at the front side and/or backside of the substrate. The method further includes sealing the opening with a conductive cap that closes one end of the passage while another end of the passage remains open. The method then includes filling the passage with a conductive material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Kyle K. Kirby, Salman Akram, David R. Hembree, Sidney B. Rigg, Warren M. Farnworth, William M. Hiatt
  • Patent number: 7232910
    Abstract: The present invention relates to methods for preparing indazole compounds of formula I, which are useful as modulators and/or inhibitors of protein kinases. The present invention also relates to intermediate compounds useful in the preparation of compounds of formula I.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
    Inventors: Brigitte Leigh Ewanicki, Erik Jon Flahive, Annie Judith Kasparian, Mark Bryan Mitchell, Michael David Perry, Stacy Ann O'Neill-Slawecki, Neal William Sach, James Edward Saenz, Bing Shi, Nebojsa Slobodan Stankovic, Jayaram Kasturi Srirangam, Qingping Tian, Shu Yu
  • Patent number: 7232290
    Abstract: A turbine engine component, such as a blade or a vane, is provided by the present invention. The turbine engine component has a pressure side and a suction side. Each of the pressure and suction sides has an external wall and an internal wall. A first set of fluid passageways is located on the pressure side between the external wall and the internal wall. A second set of fluid passageways is located on the suction side between the external wall and the internal wall. Each of the fluid passageways in the first set and in the second set has a wavy configuration. The turbine engine component may also have one or more wavy trailing edge cooling passageways for cooling a trailing edge portion of the component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Samuel D. Draper, William S. Kvasnak
  • Patent number: 7232070
    Abstract: Apparatus and method for detecting and identifying hazardous material in a mail stream in which hazardous particulates or material in or on mail pieces in a mail stream are detected and the mail piece bearing the hazardous material is identified. A bar code applicator applies a unique bar code to the wrapper of each mail piece identified as potentially containing hazardous material. The bar code applicator is an ink jet which applies the bar code on-the-fly. The bar code applied is encoded with specific information about the detection parameters at the time of the event in addition to specific information about the date, time of day, machine identification, temperature and humidity conditions, etc. present at the time of the event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventor: William C. Craig
  • Patent number: 7233472
    Abstract: A highly efficient line transient protection circuit is provided for high power loads that are designed to operate through a high line transient. The transient protection circuit for high power loads is provided with a primary leg circuit, a load circuit and a secondary circuit. The load circuit may be a switching regulator circuit, a load circuit containing an oscillator, a push-pull circuit, a boost converter circuit, a buck converter circuit or the like. The transient protection circuit is provided with a simple driver circuit to turn on a bypass n-channel MOSFET. It operates at a higher efficiency; I.E., conduction losses are minimized during normal input voltage conditions. Furthermore, the transient protection circuit provides a programmable voltage clamp which is implemented through selecting zener diode VR1. The transient protection may be used to protect medium to large current circuits from line transients.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
    Inventors: Maurice L. Strong, III, William H. Tang
  • Patent number: 7232549
    Abstract: Devices useful in liquid transfer applications and in particular, devices for controlling the free surface of a source liquid in acoustic liquid ejection systems are disclosed. The devices advantageously maintain a source liquid to be transferred at a constant height and reduce disturbances formed in the liquid due to droplet ejection. In one variation, a well plate includes a plurality of wells each having a capillary. Source liquid in a well moves up the capillary due to capillary action and arrives at a certain height. The height arrived at remains constant despite the source liquid depleting from the well during the ejection process. The capillary can be separately joined or integral with the well plate. An acoustic wave emitter positioned adjacent to the well plate emits a focused acoustic beam that causes at least some of the liquid in the capillary to be ejected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: EDC Biosystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Roger O. Williams, Humphrey W. Chow, Charles A. Reichel
  • Patent number: 7233249
    Abstract: A glass-coated amorphous metallic microwire is encoded with multi-bit digital information. Encoding is achieved magnetically, optically or through a combination of magnetic and optical encoding processes. Magnetic encoding is carried out by modifying the constituent magnetic domain structure through selective relief of interfacial stress between the glass coating and the amorphous metallic alloy core. It is also achieved by selective surface crystallization of the amorphous metallic core in order to produce a controlled magnetic bias field. Optical encoding is associated with the glass coating. It is readily achieved by fluorescent element deposition, patterned removal of fluorescent element coating, Bragg grating, and thermally activated pattern deposition. The magnetic and optical multi-bit encoding approaches for glass-coated amorphous metallic microwire can be used individually or collectively in either a redundant or a complementary manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Demodulation, Inc.
    Inventors: Howard H. Liebermann, William C. LaCourse, Alexis G. Clare, Wesley A. King, James E. O'Keefe, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7233351
    Abstract: A method and apparatus to capture a high resolution photograph of a target. A focal zone of a linear image sensing array is displaced across an area containing a target to be photographed. The displacement may be angular or linear with appropriate scaling to yield the end photograph. By changing the focal depth, relief of the target may be fully focused in one or more passes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: NextEngine, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark S. Knighton, David S. Agabra, William D. McKinley
  • Patent number: 7232368
    Abstract: A mine air crossing includes opposite side walls and a deck extending from side wall to side wall. Each side wall includes a plurality of sections assembled side-by-side and interconnected by quick-connections. Similarly, each deck may include deck sections assembled side-by-side and interconnected by quick-connections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Jack Kennedy Metal Products & Buildings, Inc.
    Inventors: William R. Kennedy, John M. Kennedy
  • Patent number: 7231852
    Abstract: A kit of four faucet nut wrenches, two of 1? inch internal diameter, two of 1 inch internal diameter, longer wrenches 14–16 inches long, shorter wrenches 4 inches long. Drive sockets are provided for removable insertion into the drive end of each wrench. The smaller diameter wrenches are optionally held within the larger wrenches. Orifices in of the wrenches provide for the smaller diameter wrenches optional insertion into the larger diameter wrenches. Removable lock pins secure the wrenches together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Inventors: Albert J. Henin, Valerie J. Williams
  • Patent number: 7232360
    Abstract: A substantially uninterrupted flow of a pressurised abrasive slurry is maintained by successively charging each of a plurality of vessels V1, V2 with an abrasive material while discharging an abrasive slurry from another of the vessels at a common outlet 2. The vessels connect to the common outlet via respective outlet valves OV1, OV2 which are closed to isolate vessels not discharging slurry. The outlet valves are not opened or closed unless there is substantially no pressure differential across the valve and substantially no flow through the valve. In a preferred arrangement, a high pressure pump 1 feeds a carrier fluid such as water to the vessels via respective inlet valves IV1, IV2. Before an outlet valve is opened or closed, any flow through the outlet valve is stopped and the pressure differential across the valve is equalised so that the outlet valve can be opened or closed without any abrasive flow through the valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Jetsis International PTE Ltd.
    Inventor: Michael William Gadd
  • Patent number: D544742
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: D3 Design, LLC
    Inventor: Donald William Weir, III
  • Patent number: D544816
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Harley-Davidson Motor Company Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Willie G. Davidson, Frank Savage, Louis Netz, Alan P. Flanders, Steven F. Clements, Richard J. Christoph, Mark Daniels, John F. Wolanski, Joshua J. Hedtke, Dominic Keogh, William E. Crowe, Jeffrey A. Kohler, Douglas D. Reichardt, Richard P. Brault, Charles J. Lamb, Gregory R. Schmidt, Everett H. Paddock, Nicholas J. LeRoy, Daniel M. Sepic
  • Patent number: D544870
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Duan Martin Evans, Tiina Björk, Russell E. Glaser, Kevin Lee Furr, Steven R. Gunn, Stephen William Clements
  • Patent number: D544996
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: Hubbell Incorporated
    Inventors: Michael Graves, Donald Strum, William J. Harrington