15th week of 2012 patent applcation highlights part 44 |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20120089207 | LIGHT TRANSMISSION SYSTEM FOR PHOTOREACTIVE THERAPY - A light transmission system to provide photodynamic treatment to a patient includes a single use integrated control module and catheter assembly having a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) to transmit light toward target cells within a patient. The integrated light catheter and control module are used in combination with a light activated drug. Selected operating parameters may be programmed into the control module, or it may be wirelessly programmable in situ prior to use to allow user flexibility to tailor treatment for a particular patient or condition. Among the features that prevent reuse are that the control module lacks access to recharge the power source, and it may include a deactivation module that destroys circuitry or software when triggered. To prevent patient interference when in use, the control module may also be configured to selectively deactivate. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089208 | System for Therapeutic Application of Heat - A low profile, mobile system for therapeutic application of heat such as far infrared (“FIR”) heat to an affected area of an individual's body including straps and a pad, the pad including a plurality of FIR emitting discs and heaters. The FIR emitting discs are ceramic discs of cordierite made of a mixture of magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide and/or trace elements. The heat application system is designed for simple operation via a single button. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089209 | Method and System for Treating a Biological Target Region Using Pulsed Electromagnetic Radiation - A method of treating a patient is described herein. The method can include the steps of identifying a target that contains biological tissue and directing one or more pulses of electromagnetic radiation at the target. The pulses of electromagnetic radiation can cause a temperature increase per unit of time in the biological tissue. Additionally, the temperature increase per unit of time can cause the change in the cell function in the biological tissue and can be within a range of approximately one degree Celsius per second to approximately one degree Celsius per microsecond. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089210 | MULTI-FUNCTION BESIDE CARE AND THERAPY SYSTEM - A wheeled cart has liquid cooling and liquid heating devices separated by thermal insulation. Pumps circulate cooled liquid and heated liquid through hoses to cooled packs and heated packs of patient treatment. Thermostats control the temperature and continual re-circulation of the cooled and heated liquids through the packs to maintain the proper temperature at all times without changing the packs. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089211 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR CRYOGENICALLY TREATING MULTIPLE TISSUE SITES WITH A SINGLE PUNCTURE - A method for cryogenically treating tissue comprises piercing the skin, inserting a sheath into tissue, and passing a cryoprobe through the sheath into the tissue. The cryoprobe cools a first region of the tissue, is repositioned in the sheath, and then cools a second region of the tissue. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089212 | Thermal Pad - Some embodiments provide a thermal pad having a sealed outer pouch and a sealed inner pouch within the outer pouch. A thermally transmitting material is encased by the inner pouch for transmitting heat or cold to a user of the thermal pad. In some cases the thermal pad also includes a baffling mechanism that divides the interior of the inner pouch into at least two areas and is configured to permit manual manipulation of the thermally transmitting material between the at least two areas and to at least partially retain the material within one or more of the at least two areas subsequent to manual manipulation. In some cases the thermal pad includes first and second layers of thermal insulation positioned between the inner pouch and outer pouch. Methods for administering thermal therapy to a woman's vaginal area are also provided. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089213 | MEDICAL LEAD WITH FILLER LAYER - A medical lead includes a first wire coil having an outer diameter and a marker coil having an inner diameter. The marker coil is assembled over the first wire coil. The outer diameter first wire coil is smaller than the inner diameter of the marker coil thereby defining a gap. A second wire coil substantially fills the gap between the first wire coil and the marker coil. A ball weld is formed at an end of the medical lead adjacent each of the first and second wire coils and adjacent the marker coil. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089214 | LEFT HEART IMPLANTABLE CARDIAC STIMULATION SYSTEM WITH CLOT PREVENTION ELECTRODE BODY COATING AND METHOD - An implantable cardiac stimulation device provides stimulation therapy from within the left ventricle of a heart. The device includes a pulse generator adapted to be coupled to an implantable cardiac stimulation electrode and a power supply that provides the stimulation electrode with a positive voltage. The positive voltage promotes coating of the electrode through a body coating process. The coating serves to repel formation of clots on the electrode. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089215 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR LEAD PLACEMENT ON A SURFACE OF THE HEART - The methods and apparatus for lead placement on a surface of the heart are employed using an elongated body having proximal and distal end portions. The body defines a lead receiving passageway extending between a proximal inlet and a distal outlet for receiving a lead therethrough for contact with the heart surface. The elongated body is adapted for insertion between a pericardium and an epicardial surface. At least a portion of the body may have a non-circular cross-sectional shape adapted to retain the body orientation between the pericardium and the epicardial surface. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089216 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ALLOWING BLOOD FLOW THROUGH AN OCCLUDED VESSEL - A device arranged to sustain and/or provide at least partial patency of a small blood vessel exhibiting an occlusion, the device constituted of a tubular body expandable from a first small diameter state for manipulation to, and through, the occlusion of the small blood vessel and a second large diameter state, the inner dimensions of the second large diameter state being no more than 50% of the diameter of the small blood vessel at the occlusion location, the device presenting a conduit for blood flow through the occlusion when in the large diameter state. In one embodiment the small blood vessel is an intracranial blood vessel. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089217 | MEDICAL IMPLANT, IN PARTICULAR A STENT, FOR IMPLANTATION IN AN ANIMAL BODY AND/OR HUMAN BODY - A medical implant ( | 2012-04-12 |
20120089218 | HYDROGEL JACKETED STENTS - Hydrogel jacketed stents provide the ability to fill in the stent frame in vivo to at least partially cover the interior of the surface of the stent following deployment while having the convenience of attaching the jacket to the exterior of the stent. The hydrogel can be pleated and/or folder over the exterior of the stent to provide for extension of the stent without damaging the hydrogel. The hydrogel sheet can be secured at one or more points along the circumference to associate the sheet of hydrogel with the exterior surface of the stent frame. The stent can be conveniently delivered using similar technology as conventional stents if desired. The hydrogel can provide for drug delivery if desired. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089219 | STENT HAVING INCREASED VISIBILITY IN THE X-RAY IMAGE - A stent comprising a tubular base body having a lumen along a longitudinal axis. The base body has a plurality of circumferential support structures and one or more connectors. Two successive circumferential support structures are connected to one another via at least one connector. The stent is characterized in that one, multiple, or all support structures and/or connectors have a slotted passage, and the slotted passage is filled with a radiopaque material and has a curvature which increases at least toward one end of the slotted passage. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089220 | MICROCATHETER - An endolumenal for delivering and positioning an endolumenal expandable prosthesis for a bifurcation is provided. The endolumenal device includes a guidewire tracking device and an elongated body that has a central longitudinal axis and an expansion device configured to expand symmetrically relative to the central longitudinal axis. The guidewire tracking device comprises a single guidewire lumen disposed within a wall structure of the expansion device. The guidewire tracking device has at least three distal ports extending through the wall structure of the expansion device. The guidewire lumen includes a distal apical port in an approximately central position relative to the expansion device, considered in cross section at right angles to the central longitudinal axis. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089221 | BIOABSORBABLE STENT WITH LAYERS HAVING DIFFERENT DEGRADATION RATES - A bioabsorbable stent and method of forming the same including a stent scaffolding formed from polymer layers with different degradation rates is disclosed. The polymer layers include an abluminal layer, a luminal layer, and optionally one or more middle layers. A degradation rate of the layers increases from the luminal layer to the abluminal layer. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089222 | Photo-Activated Attachment Of Cholesterol To Polyurethane Surfaces For Adhesion Of Endothelial Cells - A polymer is provided according to structure (I) wherein Y is a thiol-reactive group selected from one or more of the following moieties and Z is an ionogenic group selected from one or more of the following moieties. The surface of a polymeric substrate is modified by contacting the surface with a polymer according to structure II or structure III and exposing the surface to ultraviolet light. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089223 | BAR-LESS COMMISSURE ATTACHMENT FOR PROSTHETIC VALVE - An implantable prosthetic valve, according to one embodiment, comprises a radially collapsible and expandable frame and a leaflet structure supported within the frame. The leaflet structure can comprise a plurality of leaflets paired together at commissures. In one embodiment, the commissures can comprise leaflet tabs rolled into spirals around non-rigid reinforcing inserts. In another embodiment, the commissures can comprise a reinforcing sheet folded around leaflet tabs. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089224 | Methods and Apparatus for Endovascularly Replacing a Patient's Heart Valve - The present invention provides methods and apparatus for endovascularly replacing a patient's heart valve. The apparatus includes a replacement valve and an anchor having an expandable braid. In some embodiments, the expandable braid is fabricated from a single strand of wire. In some embodiments, the expandable braid comprises at least one turn feature. The anchor and the valve preferably are configured for endovascular delivery and deployment. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089225 | HIGH EFFICIENCY BLOOD PUMP - A high efficiency blood pump includes a pump housing, wherein the pump housing provides an inlet and outlet. The pump includes a motor housing, wherein the motor housing contains a motor. An impeller is housed in the pump housing, wherein the impeller is radially supported by a hydrodynamic bearing providing at least one row of pattern grooves. A diaphragm provided by the pump housing separates the impeller chamber from the motor chamber. A magnetic coupling is provided between the motor and the impeller, wherein the magnetic coupling causes the impeller to rotate when the motor rotates and provides axial restraint of the impeller. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089226 | IMPLANTABLE ONE-PIECE HEART PROSTHESIS - Implantable one-piece heart prosthesis. According to the invention, the prosthesis comprises a main hydraulic actuator ( | 2012-04-12 |
20120089227 | HOLLOW HIGHLY-EXPANDABLE PROSTHETIC VERTEBRAL BODY - An expandable vertebral prosthesis for replacement of a vertebral body includes opposed end plates that are respectively adapted to abut two other vertebral bodies for fastening engagement therewith and a hollow expandable body interconnecting the end plates. The end plates each define a central opening which extends therethrough for receiving bone growth. The hollow expandable body includes one or more annular body sections having concentric inner and outer side walls, the inner side wall of which defines therewithin a central channel axially extending between the central opening defined in each of the first and second end plates. The central openings have a bone graft or bone growth stimulating material therein and the central channel permitting bone growth therethrough. The hollow expandable body is axially expandable such as to extend from a collapsed position to an expanded position whereby a space left by the excised vertebral body. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089228 | LORDOTIC EXPANDABLE INTERBODY IMPLANT AND METHOD - The present disclosure relates to an intervertebral implant that can be surgically introduced between adjacent vertebral bodies and adjusted or expanded in situ to occupy an optimal or desired space between the vertebral bodies. The implant is preferably inserted into the evacuated disc space obliquely and then oriented so as to extend laterally across the anterior adjacent vertebrae bodies occupying the disc space with the outer ends of the implant being supported by the cortical rims on the opposite sides of the vertebrae bodies. The implant has two body members with a space therebetween so the implant may be then distracted and a spacer of a, predetermined thickness may be inserted within the space between the body members so as to maintain a desired amount of distraction. The upper and lower surfaces of the implant may have a desired lordotic angle. A method of using an implant is also disclosed. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089229 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INTERVERTEBRAL DISC SUPPORT AND REPAIR - An intervertebral disc device is provided to support or repair one or both of the disc annulus and the disc nucleus. The intervertebral disc device includes an annulus support and an elongated member to support the disc nucleus. The disc annulus support has an elongated wire and an annulus closure. The disc nucleus has an elongated member that is expandable. Any of the devices can be loaded with biologics. Moreover, any of the devices may include a scarring factor to promote fibrous growth. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089230 | INTERVERTEBRAL DISC PROSTHESIS WITH TRANSVERSALLY ARCHED, CURVED CYLINDRICAL ARTICULATION SURFACES FOR THE LUMBAR AND CERVICAL SPINE - An intervertebral disc prosthesis for the total replacement of a intervertebral disc within the lumbar and cervical spine is disclosed. The intervertebral disc prosthesis comprises articulating sliding partners and at least one sliding surface that is between two sliding partners. Two part designs are described in which only a dorsoventral- and rotational movement is possible as a result of laterolaterally aimed, transversally arched, ventrally curved cylindrical convexity(ies) and corresponding concavity(ies), without an inclination of the sliding partners in a lateral direction. In a further design, the cylindrical articulation surfaces have no curvature, enabling a motion of the sliding partners in only a ventrodorsal direction. According to the invention, the intervertebral disk prostheses are suited for implantation from lateral and ventrolateral, particularly in revision surgeries. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089231 | INTERVERTEBRAL IMPLANT AND TOOL FOR PLACING SAME - The invention relates to an intervertebral implant ( | 2012-04-12 |
20120089232 | MEDICAL DEVICES WITH GALVANIC PARTICULATES - Implantable medical devices having galvanic particulates are disclosed. The particulates may be coated onto at least part of a surface of the medical device. In addition, the galvanic particulates may be contained in the material used to manufacture the antimicrobial medical devices, or may be embedded into the surface of the medical devices. The present invention also provides novel coating methods and processing methods. The present invention further provides a combination of galvanic particulates with an aqueous gel, a method of making this combination, and a method of treatment using this combination. The devices and compositions may have advantageous characteristics and effects including anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, tissue regeneration promoting, and pain reduction or elimination. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089233 | GLENOID IMPLANT - A cup intended to interact with a prosthetic humeral head has a generally circular shape and positioning and anchoring devices for embedding the cup in an anatomical glenoid cavity in such a way that a load-bearing and sliding surface of the cup is integrated into the continuity of the anatomical cavity so as to be perfectly congruent with the humeral head. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089234 | KNEE JOINT PROSTHESIS - A knee joint endoprosthesis is provided with a simplified construction. The knee joint endoprosthesis consists of a femur component and a tibia component which comprise cooperating joint surfaces that are in contact with one another. A rotation guide arrangement is provided for forcing the femur component and the tibia component to rotate relative to each other about a medial centre of rotation upon a flexure of the knee joint endoprosthesis. The rotation guide arrangement comprises a first guide element having a first guidance surface and a second guide element having a second guidance surface which cooperates with the first guidance surface. The tibia component comprises the first guide element and the femur component comprises the second guide element. The first guidance surface defines a first radius of curvature and the second guidance surface defines a second radius of curvature. The first and second radii of curvature are identical. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089235 | IMPLANT COMPONENTS AND METHODS - Systems, devices, and methods are provided for orthopedic implants. The implants may include a base member, such as an acetabular shell or an augment, that is configured to couple with an augment, flange cup, mounting member, or any other suitable orthopedic attachment. Mounting members include, for example, flanges, blades, hooks, and plates. In some embodiments, the orthopedic attachments may be adjustably positionable about the base member or other attachments, thereby providing modularity for assembling and implanting the device, and various securing and/or locking mechanisms may be used between the components of the implant. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089236 | Anti-Reflux Devices and Methods for Treating Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) - Devices, systems, and methods for treating gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) include anti-reflux valves and retainers for securing them within the lumen of the esophagus, stomach, or a hiatal hernia. The retainers contain inflatable balloons, some of which may be enveloped by a flexible shell that is used to secure the balloon to tissue. Devices with more than one balloon, a low-profile leaf valve, and a sleeve valve are used to treat reflux in patients with a hiatal hernia. The leaf valve may also be configured for its control by constriction by gastrointestinal lumen muscle, through radial compression of the valve's flange. Bi-directional combination valves are used to treat or diagnose patients with reflux due to transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxations (TLESR). Those valves pass reflux through a channel in which gas and liquid reflux are separated. Methods are described for treating GERD patients who (1) have no hiatal hernia, (2) have a hiatal hernia that is fixed in place, or (3) have a hiatal hernia that slides above and below the diaphragm. Methods are also described for delivering GERD-treatment devices to their target locations within the patient's gastrointestinal tract. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089237 | COMPOSITE AND ITS USE - The present invention relates to a composite comprising a structural part, a porous part, and at least two interconnecting parts arranged at a distance from each other and extending from the structural part to the porous part, thus connecting them to each other. The implant is characterised in that each interconnecting part is in the form of a band having a length, a width and a height, the width and the height both being independently at most 20% of the length of the band, and in that at least one of the interconnecting parts is at least partially embedded into the structural and porous parts. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089238 | INTEGRATED ORGAN AND TISSUE PRINTING METHODS, SYSTEM AND APPARATUS - A method of making an organ or tissue comprises: (a) providing a first dispenser containing a structural support polymer and a second dispenser containing a live cell-containing composition; (b) depositing a layer on said support from said first and second dispenser, said layer comprising a structural support polymer and said cell-containing composition; and then (c) iteratively repeating said depositing step a plurality of times to form a plurality of layers one on another, with separate and discrete regions in each of said layers comprising one or the other of said support polymer or said cell-containing composition, to thereby produce provide a composite three dimensional structure containing both structural support regions and cell-containing regions. Apparatus for carrying out the method and composite products produced by the method are also described. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089239 | INTELLIGENT INTERFACE FOR A DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEM - An intelligent interface system is provided for connecting an external application to a distributed control system (DCS). The interface system is operable to automatically scan the DCS to determine its configuration and build a topology model of the DCS. The topology model is used to determine whether data requested from a module in the DCS can be provided by the module. The topology model is constructed to be thread-safe. A throttling mechanism in the interface system protects the DCS from being subjected to excessive data requests. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089240 | SCALABLE AND FLEXIBLE INFORMATION SECURITY FOR INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION - A security system that relates to industrial automation security comprises a component that receives a request to modify security relating to a zone of a factory floor, the zone being less than an entirety of the factory floor. A zonal security component generates security procedures for the zone, the security procedures differ from security procedures implemented on the factory floor outside the zone. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089241 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SIMULATING PROBE OF WORKPIECE MEASURING DEVICE - A method simulates a probe of a workpiece measuring device using an electronic device. The electronic device correlates component names of the probe to a corresponding CAD modeling file, reads the CAD modeling files from a first file according to a drawing order of the probe, and draws a three-dimensional (3D) model of the probe according to the drawing order and the relative positions between each two components. The first file includes specifications of components of the probe, the component names, file names of computer aided design (CAD) modeling files of the components, and relative positions between each two components. After controlling the 3D model to simulate the probe measuring the measurement points, and a measurement path is displayed on a display screen. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089242 | AUTOMATIC PROGRAMMING APPARATUS AND AUTOMATIC PROGRAMMING METHOD - Automatic programming apparatus includes: a material shape data input unit that receives input of data of material shape; a processing program storage unit that stores therein data of material shape and processed unit data; a processed unit data input part that receives an input of other-processed-unit-reference-type processed unit data referencing processed region shape data contained in the processed unit data; a processed region shape generating unit that generates processed region shape data in the processed unit data for partial processing, based on data of material shape and processed region shape data referenced by other-processed-unit-reference-type processed unit data; and a control command generating unit that generates control command data, based on processed unit data for partial processing containing processed region shape data. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089243 | IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION SETTING DEVICE AND IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION SETTING METHOD - The present invention provides an identification information setting device and an identification information setting method that can easily set identification information for a transfer chamber. In an embodiment of the present invention, a storage portion ( | 2012-04-12 |
20120089244 | METHOD FOR SLICING FOODSTUFFS - The disclosure describes a method for cutting a food product into slices for producing portions by taking into account the target weight thereof. Information about a remainder of the food product to be sliced is used to control corresponding actuators for a successive food product to be sliced. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089245 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ROUTING DISPATCHING AND ROUTING RETICLES - A method includes generating a reticle transport job using a computing device. The reticle job identifies a selected reticle. A reticle pod available for transporting the reticle is autonomously identified using the computing device. The reticle transport job is updated suing the computing device with an identifier of the reticle pod. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089246 | AUTOMATIC PROGRAMMING APPARATUS AND AUTOMATIC PROGRAMMING METHOD - To obtain an automatic programming apparatus, capable of generating a tool path for the chamfering process with a simple operation and capable of shortening the operation period and improving machining efficiency, the automatic programming apparatus includes a chamfering tool path generating unit and machining condition data. The chamfering tool path generating unit includes: a chamfered plane defining unit that generates shape data defining a chamfered plane obtained after the chamfering process is performed with respect to a shape of the chamfering target part; a reference point sequence generating unit that generates a reference point sequence used as a reference for generating the tool path data used for performing the chamfering process; and a tool reference position generating unit that, generates a reference position of a machining tool used when the machining tool passes while performing the chamfering process. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089247 | WORKPIECE MEASURING DEVICE, COLLISION PREVENTING DEVICE, AND MACHINE TOOL - A workpiece measuring device, a collision preventing device, and a machine tool acquires 3D data of the shape of a workpiece used to prevent a collision between the workpiece and part of the machine tool. A measuring section measures the distance to the workpiece through scanning in a non-contact manner; and a shape recognition section generates a 3D mesh structure. The coordinates of a measurement point on the workpiece based on distance information about the measured distance to the workpiece, and that generates a measurement geometry map such that, when the ratio of the number of times the calculated measurement point is included in one unit of the 3D mesh structure to the number of times a position of the workpiece corresponding to the one unit is scanned is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold, the one unit is regarded as part of the workpiece are included. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089248 | MEDICATION CABINETRY - An exemplary embodiment includes a cabinet having at least one drawer with selectable access for storing items, such as medications. A slidable cover with a first opening allows for closure and/or access to items in an interior of the drawer. The cabinet further includes an actuator coupled to the cover and a controller coupled to the actuator to control movement of the first opening relative to the drawer interior in response to signals generated from a user interface. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089249 | AUTOMATIC PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISPENSER - An automatic prescription drug dispenser including a remote dispenser, a prescription entry system, and a communications network. The remote dispenser transmits and receives information from the communications network and dispenses prescription drugs to the patient. The prescription entry system transmits and receives information from the communications network and provides an input system for the prescriber to electronically enter individual prescriptions for each patient. The communications network coordinates communications between the doctor, insurance carrier, and the remote dispenser. The remote dispenser stores, retrieves, and labels prescription drug and over-the-counter products directly to patients through a remote automated dispenser, a prescription entry system, and a communications network. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089250 | DOCUMENT DISCARDING APPARATUS, DOCUMENT MANAGING SYSTEM, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM - A document discarding apparatus includes: a metal detector that detects presence or absence of a metal embedded in a document; a code reader that reads a code; an instruction accept portion that accepts an instruction to discard the document; a document discarding portion that discards the document; a first determining unit that, according to the presence or absence of the metal, determines whether the document may be discarded in the document discarding portion; a second determining unit that, according to the code, determines whether the document may be discarded in the document discarding portion; and a document discarding control unit that, when the instruction accept portion accepts an instruction to discard the document, on condition that the first determining unit and the second determining unit both determine that the document can be discarded in the document discarding portion, controls the document discarding portion to discard the document. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089251 | SUBSTRATE HANDLING SYSTEM FOR ALIGNING AND ORIENTING SUBSTRATES DURING A TRANSFER OPERATION - A system for sensing, orienting, and transporting wafers in an automated wafer handling process that reduces the generation of particles and contamination so that the wafer yield is increased. The system includes a robotic arm for moving a wafer from one station to a destination station, and an end-effector connected to an end of the robotic arm for receiving the wafer. The end-effector includes a mechanism for gripping the wafer, a direct drive motor for rotating the wafer gripping mechanism, and at least one sensor for sensing the location and orientation of the wafer. A control processor calculates the location of the center and the notch of the wafer based on measurements by the sensor(s) and generates an alignment signal for rotating the wafer gripping mechanism so that the wafer is oriented at a predetermined position on the end-effector while the robotic arm is moving to another station. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089252 | Apparatus and Method of Detecting a Rotational Setting of Plastics Material Pre-Forms - An apparatus for the detection of a geometrical position of plastics material containers, for example, plastics material pre-forms, having a base member and a thread region may include an image-recording device, which records a locally resolved image of the plastics material container. The image-recording device is arranged in such a way that it observes the plastics material container substantially along its longitudinal direction. The apparatus includes an illumination device, which illuminates at least one region of the plastics material container observed by the image-recording device, and an evaluation device, which on the basis of an image recorded by the image-recording device determines a rotary setting of the plastics material container with respect to its longitudinal direction. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089253 | GUIDING DEVICE FOR GUIDING MOBILE ROBOTIC VACUUM CLEANER TO CHARGING BASE - A guiding device for guiding a mobile robotic vacuum cleaner to a charging base is composed of a central sensor, a left sensor, and a right sensor. The mobile robotic vacuum cleaner is composed of a main processor and a driving system. The charging base includes an optical emitter for emitting optical signals toward a predetermined direction. The central sensor, the right sensor, and the left sensor are electrically connected with the main processor and mounted to a charging sensor set zone. In this way, the main processor can judge whether the mobile robotic device correctly moves toward the charging base according to the signals detected by the sensors and then adjustably control the moving direction of the mobile robotic vacuum cleaner via the driving system to guide the mobile robotic vacuum cleaner to accurately move toward the charging base. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089254 | Electric Manipulator Joint - A manipulator joint includes an encoder having a body and shaft. The encoder body may be fixed to a first housing and the encoder shaft may be fixed to a second housing. The second housing is separate from, distal to, and rotatable with respect to the first housing. Rotation of the second housing may be about a common axis shared with the first housing. A hollow driveshaft, rotatably coupled to the second housing, extends across the joint from the second to the first housing. A torque limiter may be fixedly coupled to the second housing and releasably coupled to the driveshaft. The encoder may be configured to output an absolute angular position of the first housing with respect to the second housing. A method of detecting an over-torque condition of the manipulator joint includes transmitting commands from a processor to the drive motor and receiving data from the encoder. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089255 | Method for Predefining an Operating Point of a Drive Machine of a Drive System - A method for predefining an operating point of a drive machine of a drive system, including the drive machine and at least two loads which are driven by the drive machine is disclosed. The method includes the following steps: (i) identification of in each case one instantaneous load power demand of the at least two loads, (ii) determination of at least one partial request point of the drive machine for each identified load power demand in order to meet the respective load power demand, (iii) determination of at least one overall request point of the drive machine on the basis of the specific partial request points, (iv) determination of a cost variable of the drive machine for the at least one overall request point, and (v) selection of the operating point taking into account the cost variable and predefining of the operating point. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089256 | PORTABLE COGENERATION SYSTEM INCORPORATING RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURES - A cogeneration system comprising a power generation unit, a thermal generation unit thermally coupled to the power generation unit, a plurality of renewable energy conversion units, and a power distribution unit configured to receive and distribute power from the power generation unit, thermal generation unit and the renewable energy conversion unit where the power distribution unit reduces the amount of power produced by the power generator based on the amount of power provided by the renewable energy conversion units. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089257 | Method And Device For Controlling The Temperature Of A Building - A method is disclosed for controlling the temperature of a building having at least one cooling/heating system, which is integrated in a ceiling of the building and through which a liquid flows, in which method an ambient air temperature of the building is measured and a target value for a feed temperature of the liquid is generated according to the measured ambient air temperature. In at least one example embodiment of the method, a fictitious ambient air temperature predicted for a future point in time is used to generate the target value of the feed temperature, a base value of the predicted ambient air temperature being determined as a function value of a function that maps points in time within a day to predetermined temperature values, a radiation temperature of the sky above the building being measured and a degree of cloudiness being determined according to the measured radiation temperature, a correction value being generated according to the determined degree of cloudiness, the base value being combined with the correction value, and the fictitious ambient air temperature predicted for the future point in time being generated as a function of the combination. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089258 | LAUNDRY MACHINE - A laundry machine includes a drum supported at least two spaced apart support locations for rotation about a rotation axis. A balance correction system is able to apply a variable amount of a balance correction mass at a selectable angular location of the drum at least two spaced apart locations along the drum rotation axis. A controller receives outputs of a set of sensors, and is programmed to continuously calculate balance corrections to apply. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089259 | Irrigation Controller With Removable Station Modules - An irrigation controller includes a housing for enclosing a microprocessor that stores and executes at least one watering program. The microprocessor has a parallel output bus with a plurality of pin sets for controlling a plurality of irrigation stations. The connection between the controller and the irrigation stations is through a plurality of station modules that are removably coupled, in any desired number, to the various pin sets on the output bus. The number of stations controlled is adjusted by the number of modules connected to the output bus. The controller housing has a pocket for holding a user's manual, which is positioned between the controller housing and a mounting bracket when the controller housing is installed on the mounting bracket. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089260 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATION WITH AN ARRAY OF INVERTERS - A system and method for establishing communication between a controller and a plurality of inverters comprises determining a response time window length and broadcasting a response request to the array of inverters that includes the response time window length. Each inverter, in response to receiving the response requests, transmits a response to the controller at a randomly determined response time within the response time window. In response to receiving an acknowledgement from the controller, the responding inverter may ignore subsequent response requests. The controller may adjust the response time window and broadcasts the new response time window until no inverter response is received for a pre-determined number of response time windows. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089261 | GRID CONNECTED POWER STORAGE SYSTEM AND INTEGRATION CONTROLLER THEREOF - A grid connected power storage system is disclosed. According to some aspects, an integration controller controlling a grid-connected power storage system may include a controller configured to change parallel data to be transmitted to a plurality of external devices to serial bit streams, change serial bit streams received from the plurality of external devices to parallel data, and output a path control signal that instructs a communication path of the serial bit streams. According to some aspects, a communication unit configured to change a communication path and a ground path of the serial bit streams according to the path control signal, and transmit and/or receive the serial bit streams through the changed communication path is provided. A number of isolators and interfaces for data communication with a plurality of external devices is reduced such that the structure of an integration controller may be simplified, and the size and production cost of the integration controller can be reduced. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089262 | INTELLIGENT PROCESS INTERFACE AND SUBSTATION AUTOMATION SYSTEM - This specification discloses an intelligent and digitalized process level interface which is referred to herein as an Intelligent Process Interface (IPI). The input of the IPI includes both analog and digital channels and therefore the IPI can be used for substations in transition or retrofit stages with both conventional and non-conventional primary devices. The IPI acts not only as a digitalized interface, but also as an intelligent supervisory and control unit for switching functions. The architecture of the IPI is flexible and allows for the functionality to be distributed to several devices. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089263 | Power management apparatus, power management system including the power management apparatus, and method for controlling the power management system - A power management system includes a smart socket to meter power consumption of an electric device by connecting to the electric device, and be assigned a code, a power management apparatus to display a code image when a registration mode of the smart socket is performed, and a terminal to acquire a code image of the power management apparatus and a code image of the smart socket, receive information of an electric device to be coupled to the smart socket, read the acquired code images of the power management apparatus and the smart socket, pair the read power management apparatus and the smart socket code with the electric device information, and transmit the paired information to the power management apparatus. Users of all ages and dexterity can easily register, change, and release the smart socket and the electric device, such that user efficiency and accessibility are increased. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089264 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF LOADFLOW CALCULATION FOR ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEM - A method of performing loadflow calculations for controlling voltages and power flow in a power network by reading on-line data of given/specified/scheduled/set network variables/parameters and using control means, so that no component of the power network is overloaded as well as there is no over/under voltage at any nodes in the network following a small or large disturbances. A loadflow calculation method could be any method including invented Patel Decoupled Loadflow (PDL) method, and Decoupled Gauss-Seidel-Patel Loadflow (DGSPL) method. The invented Patel Decoupled Loadflow (PDL) calculation method is characterized in 1) the use of the same coefficient matrix [GB] for both the p-f and q-e sub-problems of the loadflow calculation; 2) almost no effort in the modified mismatch calculations in the iteration process; and 3) all the nodes in both the sub-problems being active, no refactorization of [GB] required for implementation of Q-limit violations. These features make the invented PDL method computationally almost two times more efficient than the current state-of-the-art Super Super Decoupled Loadflow (SSDL) method. It is also possible to organize the RP-f, and RQ-e sub-problems for solution by Gauss-Seidel iterations. The invented DGSPL calculation method is characterized in decoupling the calculation of real and imaginary components of complex node voltage leading to increased stability and efficiency of the DGSPL calculation method. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089265 | METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND APPARATUS FOR SHEDDING LOADS FROM AN ELECTRICAL GRID - A load shedding system for operating at least one circuit breaker positioned within an enclosure is described. The load shedding system includes a processor configured to receive a demand signal and to provide a predetermined load shedding signal. The load shedding system also includes at least one load shedding apparatus configured to receive the load shedding signal from the processor. The load shedding apparatus is configured to be coupled to a door of the enclosure. The load shedding apparatus is further configured to be operatively coupled to the at least one circuit breaker and further configured to actuate the at least one circuit breaker in response to the load shedding signal. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089266 | SYSTEM AND INTEGRATED METHOD FOR A PARALLEL AND SERIES ARC FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER - To prevent property fires, electrical circuits need to be protected from arc faults due to line-to-line, line-to-neutral and line-to-ground conductivity, known as high current parallel arcing, and protected from arc faults occurring along line-to-line, line-to-load, load-to-load, load-to-neutral and neutral-to-neutral conductor configurations, known as low current series arcing. Devices that protect electrical circuits from these arc faults is known as a combination-type arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI). Unlike prior art AFCI designs that meet the UL 1699 standard requirement for series arc fault detection down to 5 amps, the present AFCI invention employs a bi-directional Hall-effect current sensor (HECS) integrated circuit, a HECS measurement phase shift correction circuit, and a microprocessor with an integrated method to detect high current parallel arcing and low current series arcing, while also mitigating false arcing circuit detections and interruptions due to normal arcing electric motor-driven appliances like ceiling fans. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089267 | ELECTRICTY SUPPLY AND CONTROL APPARATUS - Electricity supply and control apparatus ( | 2012-04-12 |
20120089268 | SMART TRANSFORMER - The present invention provides a system and computer program product for implementing a smart transformer, comprising a processor, and a balancing algorithm residing on the processor, wherein the balancing algorithm is stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium having computer executable program code embodied thereon, the computer executable program code configured to cause the system to monitor and control an electric customer load and generation in order to optimize the performance of a distribution transformer, wherein the processor receives a plurality of system inputs and uses the balancing algorithm to determine a rating of the transformer and an amount of customer load. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089269 | MANAGING ENERGY USAGE - Accessing an energy management policy for a plurality of devices is described, wherein the devices are coupled with a first structure. The energy usage of the devices is monitored. An energy usage rule and energy usage is then compared. The energy management policy and energy usage is also compared. Based on the comparing, an instruction is generated to modify an energy usage profile of said device to correlate with the energy usage rule associated with the devices and the energy management policy, thereby enabling efficient energy management. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089270 | GENERATOR SET CONTROL SYSTEM - A control system is provided for use with a plurality of generator sets. The control system may have a bus, an arbitration relay, a switching device, a control module, and first, second, and third discrete signal cables. The control module may be configured to receive a group start signal and initiate startup of a first of the plurality of generator sets, and to generate a signal on the first discrete signal cable based on an operational status of the first of the plurality of generator sets. The control module may also be configured to determine if the second discrete signal cable is active, to activate the second discrete signal cable and the arbitration relay based on the determination, and to activate the switching device to connect the first of the plurality of generator sets to the bus based on a status of the third discrete signal cable. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089271 | VEHICLE MANAGEMENT - A system for golf course vehicle management can include a tag device having a transceiver and a vehicle management process. The vehicle management process includes an application service for receiving the location of the tag device from the transceiver, at least one geographical zone, and a tracking module for comparing the location to the zone and generating an alert when the location is within the zone. Also included in the process is a control module for recognizing the alert. The control module can initiate an action, such as performance of a vehicle control action by a vehicle controller device. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089272 | Vehicle Monitoring Device Based on Use of Dashboard Indicators - A vehicle monitoring device may include a set of sensors that may be mounted over indicators and analog gauges displayed on a vehicle's dashboard. The vehicle monitoring device may use these sensors to deduce the current state of the dashboard indicators and in turn generate an output signal that resembles the signal which would have been generated by the vehicle's electrical system to which the dashboard indicators are connected. Use of this vehicle monitoring device allows for easy connection of after-market vehicular safety devices such as, lane warning departure systems, to the vehicle monitoring device instead of the vehicle's electrical system. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089273 | EXTERNAL PRESENTATION OF INFORMATION ON FULL GLASS DISPLAY - A method to display a graphic describing a desired communication upon a substantially transparent screen of a vehicle includes monitoring the desired communication, monitoring an external presentation mode to present the desired communication, determining the graphic describing the desired communication, registering a location of the graphic upon the substantially transparent screen to be communicated outside of the vehicle, and displaying the graphic upon a substantially transparent screen comprises one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined region of the screen permitting luminescent display while permitting transmission therethrough. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089274 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE - An electronic device for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) displays a portion of a 3D virtual scene of a monitored area of the UAV on a screen, and displays a representation icon of the UAV on a preset position of the screen. The electronic device further converts an operation signal to a control signal, and sends the control signal to control movements of the UAV. After receiving flight data from the UAV, the electronic device recognizes movements of the UAV according to the flight data, and determines adjustments to the portion of the 3D virtual scene, to control displaying of the 3D virtual scene based on the recognized movements while maintaining the representation icon of the UAV on the preset position and maintaining a direction the user presumed to be viewing the 3D virtual scene the same as a flight orientation of the UAV. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089275 | SIMULATION TRANSMITTER FOR REMOTE OPERATED VEHICLES - A simulation transmitter for remote operated vehicles (STROV) is disclosed for allowing users in the toy and hobby industry to realistically simulate, everyday driving experiences and implement them into any remote-controlled vehicle. The STROV system remotely operates land, air and sea remote controlled hobby vehicles, boats and planes. It includes a steering wheel, a separate hand-operated throttle and brake control and a separate foot-operated throttle and brake control. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089276 | DYNAMIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL FOR A WIRELESS NETWORK - In one possible embodiment, a wireless network with dynamic transmission control is provided that includes a multiple of nodes. The nodes include an arbiter and multiple client nodes. The arbiter is configured to control an operation of the client nodes by defining communications operation cycles and allocating a bandwidth to each of the client nodes on a cycle by cycle basis in response to requests for bandwidth from the client nodes. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089277 | VARIABLE GAIN CONTROL NOSE WHEEL STEERING SYSTEM - A method for determining a target steering angle for nose landing gear of an aircraft includes receiving rudder pedal input data into a steering control unit, receiving aircraft speed data into the steering control unit, calculating a normal gain, calculating a parking gain, and adding the normal gain and the parking gain to determine the target steering angle. The normal gain is a positive quantity in all aircraft speed and pedal stroke ranges. The parking gain is a positive quantity in parking and taxiing speed ranges. A nose wheel steering system is also disclosed. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089278 | METHOD AND KIT FOR ENGINE EMISSION CONTROL - Methods and systems are provided for operating an engine including a first and a second bank of cylinders. One example method comprises, adjusting engine injection timing based on a first temperature of a first intake of the first bank and a second temperature of a second intake of the second bank. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089279 | ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND STORAGE SYSTEM - Heavy equipment is designed for operation in a substantially-repetitive work cycle that includes lifting, rotating, and lowering steps. The heavy equipment includes a generator, an electrical bus, an energy storage component, and working components. The generator provides a substantially constant electrical output to the electrical bus, which is communicated to the working components. As such, the working components of the heavy equipment are driven directly or indirectly by the electrical output of the generator. The controller selectively couples the energy storage component to the electrical bus, and the energy storage component is configured to store electricity provided by the generator, and to provide electricity to the working components by way of the electrical bus. The electrical output of the generator is less than the power used by the heavy equipment during a portion of the work cycle, and the controller couples the energy storage component to the electrical bus to supplement the electrical output of the generator during the portion of the work cycle in which the electrical output of the generator is less than the power used by the working components of the heavy equipment. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089280 | ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR HEAVY EQUIPMENT - Heavy equipment includes a body, an electrical bus, and working components coupled to the body and powered by electricity conveyed via the electrical bus. The heavy equipment further includes a generator set providing an electrical output to the electrical bus, an energy storage element configured to be coupled to the electrical bus, and a computerized controller coupled to the energy storage element. The computerized controller includes a logic module for coupling the energy storage element to the electrical bus in advance of a predicted increase in demand upon the electrical bus, where the increase in demand is anticipated by the computerized controller as forthcoming based upon extrapolation, at least in part, from data related to a previous operation of the heavy equipment. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089281 | METHOD AND DRIVELINE STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE - A method for controlling driveline stability in a vehicle includes generating an activation signal indicative of a predetermined vehicle maneuver, which may include a hard braking maneuver on a low coefficient of friction surface. A quick automatic shift to a neutral gear state is executed with a rapid dumping or bleeding off of clutch pressure in a designated output clutch of the vehicle. An activated state of an antilock braking system (ABS) may be used as part of the activation signal. The shift to the neutral gear state may occur only when a current transmission operating state is associated with the high level of driveline inertia. A vehicle includes a transmission and a control system configured to execute the above method. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089282 | METHOD AND ENGINE STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE - A method for controlling a hybrid electric vehicle having a control system, a traction motor, and an engine includes generating an activation signal during a predetermined vehicle maneuver. The predetermined vehicle maneuver is a threshold hard braking maneuver on a surface having a low coefficient of friction. The method also includes processing the activation signal using the control system, and using the traction motor to command an injection or a passing of a feed-forward torque to the driveline of the vehicle. The feed-forward torque is in the same direction as the engine torque, and prevents a drive shaft of the engine from spinning in reverse during the maneuver. The method may include generating the activation signal in response to detecting an active state of the ABS controller. A hybrid electric vehicle includes an engine, a traction motor, and a control system configured to execute the above method. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089283 | OPERATING METHOD FOR A HYBRID VEHICLE - An operating method for a hybrid vehicle having an electric motor and an internal combustion engine, in which driving, in particular a start of a journey, occurs in a purely electric-motor mode if a velocity (v | 2012-04-12 |
20120089284 | CLUTCH CONTROL DEVICE OF HYBRID VEHICLE - A clutch control device of a hybrid vehicle includes a battery, a generator, a motor, a motor shaft connected with a driving shaft of the vehicle by using electricity from the generator or the battery, an engine which drives the generator and the vehicle, a clutch, and a control unit. The control unit changes an engaged state of the clutch between the motor shaft and an engine shaft of the engine to a released state and changes an engine driving state of the hybrid vehicle, in which the hybrid vehicle is driven by the engine, to a motor driving state of the hybrid vehicle in which the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor, when a vehicle velocity of the hybrid vehicle is the change vehicle velocity. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089285 | CLUTCH CONTROL DEVICE OF HYBRID VEHICLE - A clutch control device of a hybrid vehicle includes a clutch driven by a motor and connected with a drive shaft. A hydraulic unit controls the clutch by oil pressure. An oil temperature detecting unit detects temperature of the oil and a unit which detects vehicle velocity. A control unit which operates through the hydraulic unit switches between an engine driving mode in which the motor shaft and the engine shaft are engaged with each other and a motor driving mode in which the motor shaft and the engine shaft are released and the hybrid vehicle is driven by the motor. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089286 | VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM AND AUTOMOBILE - A vehicle control system includes: a chemical storage unit | 2012-04-12 |
20120089287 | HYBRID ELECTRIC POWER DEVICE FOR CRANE AND CONTROL METHOD OF HYBRID ELECTRIC POWER DEVICE FOR CRANE - A disclosed hybrid electric power source device for a crane includes an engine generator, an electric power accumulating unit, and a control unit for controlling the engine generator and the electric power accumulating unit, wherein the control unit includes an electric power load calculating part which acquires electric power loaded on the engine based on required electric power supplied to an outside and charging electric power of an electric power accumulating unit and a command signal sending part which calculates output torque and a revolution speed based on the electric power loaded on the engine calculated by the electric power load calculating part and generates a torque command signal and a revolution speed command signal. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089288 | HYBRID-TYPE CONSTRUCTION MACHINE AND CONTROL METHOD FOR HYBRID-TYPE CONSTRUCTION MACHINE - A hybrid-type construction machine includes a controller configured to control a revolution speed of an engine; a hydraulic pump configured to be driven by the engine; a motor generator configured to assist the engine; and a hydraulic circuit configured to supply an operating oil discharged from the hydraulic pump to a hydraulic load, wherein when the controller determines that the hydraulic circuit is in an excessive output state, the controller controls the revolution speed of the engine so as to be lower than an ordinary revolution speed of the engine while controlling the motor generator to generate electricity. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089289 | INTUITIVE FORCE CONTROLLED SYSTEM - The invention relates to a transportation unit ( | 2012-04-12 |
20120089290 | POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR ELECTRICALLY POWERED VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME - A power supply system includes a main power storage device and a plurality of sub power storage devices. A converter is connected to a selected one of the sub power storage devices to convert voltage between the selected sub power storage device and an electric power feeding line bidirectionally. Connection of the sub power storage device is switched and, when the last sub power storage is used, a request to disconnect the sub power storage device is generated based on the SOC of the sub power storage device and the vehicle state. Specifically, where the SOC is included in a disconnection forced region in which the SOC is smaller than a reference lower limit, the sub power storage device is forced to be disconnected regardless of the vehicle state. Where the SOC is included in a disconnection permitted region in which the SOC is higher than that in the disconnection forced region, the disconnection request is generated on condition that the vehicle is in such a state that will not affect vehicle's drivability. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089291 | AUTONOMOUS MACHINE CONTROL SYSTEM - An offboard operator interface station configured to display a graphics user interface for an autonomous machine control system is disclosed. The graphics user interface may have an overall machine response field configured to display an arbitrated machine action currently being implemented on an autonomous machine. The graphics user interface may also have a responsible subsystem field configured to display which of a plurality of machine subsystems is contributing to the arbitrated machine action. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089292 | Architecture and Interface for a Device-Extensible Distributed Navigation System - A method for navigating a moving object (vehicle) utilizing a Navigation manager module and comprising the steps of: communicating with all sensors, processing units, mission manager and other vehicles navigation managers; configuring and reconfiguring sensors based on mission scenario objectives, in-vehicle and global constraints; sensor grouping according to relationship to the vehicle and environment, where an entire sensor group is seen by navigation manager as a single sensor; processing unit containing Update Filter; and a dynamically updated API database. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089293 | AUTONOMOUS MACHINE CONTROL SYSTEM - An autonomous control system for a mobile machine is disclosed. The autonomous control system may have a plurality of system modules each configured to monitor a status of at least one machine component and generate a corresponding recommended machine action based on the status, and a control module configured to control operations of the mobile machine. The autonomous control system may also have a health supervisor module in communication with the plurality of system modules and the control module. The health supervisor module may be configured to arbitrate each of the recommended machine actions from the plurality of system modules to determine an overall machine response, and to command the control module to implement the overall machine response. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089294 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SUPPORTING A DRIVER OF A MOTOR VEHICLE DURING A DRIVING MANEUVER - A method and device for supporting a driver of a motor vehicle during a driving maneuver during which longitudinal guidance and/or lateral guidance is/are performed in an automated manner. A trajectory for performing the driving maneuver being determined and the vehicle being guided with automatic control along the trajectory, while the surroundings of the vehicle is being monitored during the driving maneuver. If the driver intervenes in the steering while lateral guidance is being performed or if the driver operates the accelerator while longitudinal guidance is being performed or if the driver intervenes in the steering or operates the accelerator while longitudinal guidance and lateral guidance are being performed, the control of the vehicle is returned to the driver. In the case of an imminent endangerment to the surroundings, control is not transferred to the driver. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089295 | MOVING ROBOT AND METHOD TO BUILD MAP FOR THE SAME - A moving robot and a method to build a map for the same, wherein a 3D map for an ambient environment of the moving robot may be built using a Time of Flight (TOF) camera that may acquire 3D distance information in real time. The method acquires 3D distance information of an object present in a path along which the moving robot moves, accumulates the acquired 3D distance information to construct a map of a specific level and stores the map in a database, and then hierarchically matches maps stored in the database to build a 3D map for a set space. This method may quickly and accurately build a 3D map for an ambient environment of the moving robot. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089296 | Method for diagnosing and/or adapting at least one system of a device - A method for diagnosing and/or adapting at least one system ( | 2012-04-12 |
20120089297 | SENSOR OFFSET AMOUNT ESTIMATE DEVICE - Provided is a sensor offset amount estimate device capable of accurately estimating the offset amount of a sensor. In a sensor offset amount estimate device, a sensor correction calculation unit estimates the offset amounts of a left and right acceleration sensor, a steering angle sensor, and a yaw rate sensor on the basis of a motion equation considering road camber when a vehicle is turned and traveling information detected by a sensor. Therefore, even when the vehicle travels on the road with road camber, it is possible to accurately estimate the offset amounts of the sensors. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089298 | AFTERMARKET TELEMATICS UNIT AND METHOD FOR INSTALLATION VERIFICATION - An aftermarket telematics unit (“ATU”) for use with a telematics service system having a call center is disclosed herein. The ATU is adapted for mounting to a vehicle and is configured for operation in an on-mode, a standby-mode, and an off-mode. The aftermarket telematics unit includes, but is not limited to, a memory unit and a processor that is operatively connected to the memory unit. The processor is configured to send a first notification to the call center when a number of transitions from the off-mode to the on-mode experienced by the ATU exceeds a predetermined number during a first predetermined length of time. The processor is further configured to send a second notification to the call center when the ATU has been continuously operating in the on-mode for greater than a second predetermined length of time. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089299 | WIRELESS TRANSMISSION SYSTEM FOR VEHICULAR COMPONENT CONTROL AND MONITORING - Vehicle with wireless sensors includes a frame, at least one sensor assembly fixed to the frame and each including a sensor arranged to obtain data about a condition or property of the vehicle or part thereof or an environment in or around the vehicle, and a wireless transmission component coupled to the sensor for wirelessly transmitting a signal derived from the data obtained by the sensor, a receiver fixed to the frame arranged to receive signals from the wireless transmission component, and a reactive component for performing an action based on the data obtained by the sensor and transmitted from the wireless transmission component to the receiver. The data can be displayed as an indication to the driver or other occupant of the vehicle, relayed the data to a remote location for analysis or response and/or used to determine adjustment or control a component in the vehicle. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089300 | NAVIGATION SYSTEM ACTIVATION OF A VEHICULAR DIRECTIONAL SIGNAL - Devices, methods and systems describe a turn signal activation system. As the navigation system determines that the vehicle is approaching a turn or other operation, the turn signal may be automatically activated in the appropriate direction (e.g., right-turn signal for a right turn, and a left-turn signal for a left turn). Once the navigation system determines that it is appropriate to deactivate the turn signal, the turn signal may be automatically deactivated. In this fashion, other drivers on the road may be able to anticipate the actions of the vehicle based on the activation and deactivation of the turn signals, and thereby prevent accidents from occurring. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089301 | STEERING CONTROL SYSTEM - A tire angle change motor steers a host vehicle according to a tire angle corresponding to the rotation angle of a steering wheel detected by a steering wheel angle sensor. A gear ratio calculating unit of a tire angle control unit changes the amount of steering corresponding to the rotation angle of the steering wheel required for the tire angle change motor to steer the host vehicle, depending on the amount of pushing of the steering wheel detected by the pushing amount sensor. Therefore, it is possible to improve the convenience of a driving operation for steering. A pushing direction reaction force motor changes a reaction force generated against the amount of pushing of the steering wheel by the driver, depending on the speed of the host vehicle detected by a vehicle speed sensor. Therefore, the reaction force makes it possible to prevent the host vehicle from being steered by an unintended operation of the driver in various traveling states of the vehicle. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089302 | ILLUMINATED SEAT BELT RECEPTACLE - A seat belt system for a vehicle may include a plurality of seat belt assemblies each including a seat belt receptacle, a light source for selectively illuminating the receptacle, and a latch mechanism for releasably latching a seat belt buckle to the receptacle. A controller may be operatively associated with the light source, the latch mechanism sensor, a transmission gear position sensor, and at least one of a door position sensor, engine sensor and air bag sensor. The controller may operably process signals received from the sensors and direct the light source to selectively illuminate the seat belt receptacle in various operational conditions of the vehicle. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089303 | Holding device and method for holding a vehicle occupant in a vehicle seat - A holding device ( | 2012-04-12 |
20120089304 | Tracking Carbon Output in Agricultural Applications - Novel tools and techniques to enhance and/or facilitate the collection, tracking, and/or verification of greenhouse gas emissions and/or savings, particularly (but not exclusively) in agricultural applications. Some tools, for example, can assist in the verification of carbon credits that may result from conservation tilling activities. Other embodiments can track greenhouse gas emissions that result from agricultural activities, including without limitation the application of pesticides, fertilizers, and/or other agricultural chemicals. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089305 | Industrial truck with height-adjustable load bearing means - An industrial truck having height-adjustable load bearing means, lifting height controls in which a plurality of predetermined lifting heights are saved, a lifting height detection system for the load bearing means that detects an actual value of the lifting height and provides it to the lifting height controls, and a control unit that allows the lifting height of the load bearing means to be manually adjusted at different speeds, wherein the lifting height controls move the load bearing means to one of the predetermined lifting heights when the speed for adjusting the load bearing means specified by the control unit falls below a predetermined threshold, wherein the lifting height assumed by the lifting height controls corresponds to the lifting height of the predetermined lifting heights that most closely approximates the actual value of the lifting height in the direction in which the load bearing means is moving. | 2012-04-12 |
20120089306 | PRESSURE REGULATION METHOD FOR AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - A transmission control system for a vehicle includes a transmission control module (TCM), a solenoid valve, a pressure regulator valve, and a transmission element. The TCM includes a control algorithm providing output signals to valve drive electronics, where the valve drive electronics supply current to the solenoid valve. The solenoid valve controls an output pressure located in a passage between the pressure regulator valve and the transmission element. During an engine start-up condition of the vehicle, the control algorithm of the TCM includes control logic for activating a solenoid adjustment algorithm. The solenoid adjustment algorithm decreases the sensitivity of the valve drive electronics when supplying current to the solenoid valve. The solenoid adjustment algorithm is activated for a predetermined amount of time after engine start-up, and is then terminated. Alternatively, the solenoid adjustment algorithm is activated until a vehicle operating condition reaches a particular value, and is then terminated. | 2012-04-12 |