Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080212491 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR IMPROVING THE INTEGRITY AND PERFORMANCE OF AN AD-HOC WIRELESS NETWORK - Several transceivers can be combined together to form a relay which can be used to form an ad-hoc network. A computation unit within the ad-hoc network determines the best placement of a new relay to improve the link integrity of the network. Furthermore, a database of power outlets, their locations and whether they contain a relay or not can be utilized to determine a method to improve the links within the ad-hoc network by placing additional relays into unused power outlets. A control unit can be used to configure the transceivers of each relay to enhance data transfer within a given information flow path of the ad-hoc network. The stream of bits can be exchanged with a second stream of bits. The housing unit can also contain the power plugs molded into the unit to allow the unit to be easily inserted into an AC power wall outlet. | 09-04-2008 |
20090145229 | DECELEROMETER FORMED BY LEVITATING A SUBSTRATE INTO EQUILIBRIUM - Coulomb islands are charged to create Coulomb forces which are applied between a first and second substrate. The Coulomb islands are used to levitate the first substrate over the second substrate into an equilibrium position. A processing unit monitors the values of capacitors formed between the substrates to provide feedback information to maintain the first substrate in this equilibrium position. The first substrate can be an accelerometer that can be used to calculate the direction and magnitude of a deceleration. The processing unit sends the digital information to a bus coupled to a plurality of air bags. The digital information identifies the appropriate air bags that need to be enabled to minimize the impact of a crash. Vertical changes in acceleration can also be detected making this invention applicable for flight vehicles. | 06-11-2009 |
20090145631 | RECONFIGURABLE SYSTEM THAT EXCHANGES SUBSTRATES USING COULOMB FORCES TO OPTIMIZE A PARAMETER - A reconfigurable system is described that can optimize the performance of the system. Substrates can be detached, levitated, moved, dropped and reattached as desired by the use of Coulomb forces generate between Coulomb islands. Thus, a system using a first set of substrates for a given frequency range can be exchanged with a second set of substrates operable at a different frequency range by the use of Coulomb forces. Making this exchange in an RF system can improve the selectivity and decrease the power dissipation of the system. One of the exchanges can involve inductor to shift the frequency of oscillation, for example. A control unit can be used to control the movement and replacement of all substrates. The formation of minimal energy potentials of Coulomb forces are determined to move a substrate over an underlying substrate. | 06-11-2009 |
20090146890 | USING COULOMB FORCES TO FORM 3-D RECONFIGURABLE STRUCTURES - Coulomb forces are used to create various metallic shapes within substrates. These shapes are formed by coupling a plurality of substrates together where each substrate contains a metallic pattern. The substrates are assembled together on a mother substrate and the substrates can be positioned either parallel to a planar surface or perpendicular to an edge of the mother substrate. Thus, metallic shapes can be formed that are orthogonal to each other. Such a capability is a desirable feature for antenna construction. The various metal shapes can be used to construct: dipole, patch, Yagi, monopole, bow-tie, meanderline and MIMO antennas. Furthermore, the antenna can be reassembled to adjust the physical dimensions of the antenna while in the consumer product to better match the antenna to a different frequency band. | 06-11-2009 |
20090147431 | ASSEMBLING STACKED SUBSTRATES THAT CAN FORM CYLINDRICAL INDUCTORS AND ADJUSTABLE TRANSFORMERS - A system is described that can assemble substrates over one another to form a stacked substrate. The various layers of the stacked substrate can be separated from each other by using Coulomb forces. In addition, a beam substrate can be used to increase the separation. The instructions for assembly and a FSM (Finite State Machine) can be included in the stacked substrate to pave the way for a self-constructing 3-D automaton. The beam substrate can be used to carry heat, fluids, electrical power or signals between the various layers of the stacked cells besides providing a mechanical support. A stacked substrate can be assembled into a cylindrical coil, a transformer or a coupled transformer depending on the construction of the beam structure. The magnetic coupling of the transformer can be altered by changing the distance between the separated substrates. | 06-11-2009 |
20090147432 | FORMING LARGE PLANAR STRUCTURES FROM SUBSTRATES USING EDGE COULOMB FORCES - A movable substrate is placed over a bottom substrate where both substrates contain Coulomb islands. The Coulomb islands can be adjusted in charge and are used to develop a force between two opposing Coulomb islands. Information from sensors is applied to a control unit to control the movement of the movable substrate. Coulomb islands are formed in the juxtaposed edges of a first substrate and second substrate, respectively. The islands generate edge Coulomb forces. These edge Coulomb forces can be used to detach, repel, move, attract and reattach the edges of substrates into new configurations. One possibility is to combine a plurality of individual substrates into one large planar substrate. | 06-11-2009 |
20090147433 | LEVITATING SUBSTRATE BEING CHARGED BY A NON-VOLATILE DEVICE AND POWERED BY A CHARGED CAPACITOR OR BONDING WIRE - At least one non-volatile device is coupled to a first Coulomb island. The floating gates of these non-volatile devices are connected to the island and can charge the Coulomb islands. One device can charge the island positively while a second device can be used to charge the island negatively. The Coulomb island can have a small probe opening where a charge can be introduced by using mechanical means such as an external probe or a MEMS switch. A fully charged capacitor formed in a first substrate can provide additional energy to a levitated substrate if the first substrate is connected to the levitated substrate. Bonding wires can be attached to a substrate that is attached to a mother substrate. Then, Coulomb forces can levitate the substrate from the mother substrate and the bonding wires can provide a source of power to the levitated substrate. | 06-11-2009 |
20090147434 | USING MULTIPLE COULOMB ISLANDS TO REDUCE VOLTAGE STRESS - A substrate is levitated a first distance over a mother substrate when a first group of Coulomb islands are charged. A second group of Coulomb islands are charged and increase a separation to a second distance. When the magnitude of the potential of all Coulomb islands is decreased, the separation decreases from the second distance to the first distance. All potentials associated with the Coulomb islands have decreased yet the distance of separation equals to the first distance. Increasing the number of Coulomb islands in a substrate can reduce the magnitude of potentials applied to the Coulomb islands thereby reducing the concern of voltage stress. | 06-11-2009 |
20090147437 | COULOMB ISLAND AND FARADAY SHIELD USED TO CREATE ADJUSTABLE COULOMB FORCES - A first insulated planar metallic surface is formed under a surface of a substrate which is orientated a first way to an edge of the substrate. A Faraday shield is formed when a second insulated planar metallic surface is juxtaposed to and segregates the first insulated planar metallic surface from the remained of the substrate. The first way can be parallel or perpendicular forming either an edge or surface Coulomb island, respectively. Both planar surfaces can be charged either by mechanical contact or induced charging, Fowler-Nordheim and ion implantation. A Coulomb force is generated between two charged Coulomb islands each located on a different substrate. In addition, these Coulomb islands can also be used as capacitors to transfer signals between the substrates. The Faraday shield can be used to increase the Coulomb force while the potential applied to the shield can alter the Coulomb force. | 06-11-2009 |
20090148932 | USING COULOMB FORCES TO STUDY CHARATERISTICS OF FLUIDS AND BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES - A LoC (Lab on a Chip) is described to analyze surface properties of fluid drops. Substrates with cavities near the edge are filled with fluids that have a contact angle greater than 90°. The surfaces of two different drops can be brought in contact with one another by using Coulomb forces. Several experiments can be carried out while the drops are in contact: the concentration of the fluid in each drop can be altered, tangential and normal forces can be applied to the contact surface, voltage differences across and current flow through the contact surface can be monitored. MEMS pumps can be used to mix reagents or buffers with the fluid to determine the protein concentration or to extract DNA from whole cells, respectively. Substrates holding optical components can be used to align fibers with either lasers or receivers. The alignment is automatic and controlled by a control unit. | 06-11-2009 |
20100097776 | Assembling Stacked Substrates That Can Form 3-D Structures - A system is described that can assemble substrates over one another to form a stacked substrate. The various layers of the stacked substrate can be separated from each other by using Coulomb forces. In addition, a beam substrate can be used to increase the separation. In addition, a first substrate can be flipped around and connected to the edge of a second substrate. The instructions for assembly and a FSM (Finite State Machine) can be included in the stacked substrate to pave the way for a self-constructing 3-D automaton. The beam substrate can be used to carry heat, fluids, electrical power or signals between the various layers of the stacked cells besides providing a mechanical support. A stacked substrate can be assembled into 3-D structures. These structures can have applications in antennas and RF circuits, for example. | 04-22-2010 |
20100258951 | ASSEMBLING SUBSTRATES THAT CAN FORM 3-D STRUCTURES - A system is described that connects the surface of a first substrate to the edge of a second substrate. The surfaces of additional substrates can be placed on the remaining edges of the second substrate to form a 3-D structure. Rigid support substrates can be connected to the first substrate to provide support for the first and additional substrates. The second substrate can be used to carry heat, fluids, electrical power or signals between first and additional substrates besides providing a mechanical support. | 10-14-2010 |
20110006394 | CONNECT AND CAPACITOR SUBSTRATES IN A MULTILAYERED SUBSTRATE STRUCTURE COUPLED BY SURFACE COULOMB FORCES - A multi layered substrate structure can be formed where the substrates are coupled together using surface Coulomb forces. Connect substrates electrically connects signals and DC voltages between the substrates. The connect substrates bypass output/input buffers between two communicating substrates. The capacitor substrates provide a fully charged capacitor that provides additional energy to a levitated substrate if the capacitor substrate is connected to the levitated substrate. VLSI systems can also be build on each of the substrates. | 01-13-2011 |
20110163893 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING AND CONTROLLING HIGHWAY CONGESTION TO SAVE ON FUEL COSTS - One estimate indicates that rubbernecking and congestion consumes about 4% of this country's fuel. Two approaches are presented to help solve this problem. The first uses shields to block the view of a car accident. Rubbernecking is reduced since the visibility of the car accident is reduced. A second approach uses mobile flat units that can be remotely controlled to enter a roadway that is carrying active traffic. The traffic runs over these units that are being moved until the master processor indicates that the mobile flat units are in position. A post is extended from the flat unit that issues commands to the motorists so the master processor can begin to control and reduce congestion. Both approaches can be used to help decrease fuel waste in the US. | 07-07-2011 |
20110181415 | Method and apparatus for maintaining and locating lost, misplaced or stolen articles - Theft increases the average product cost to consumers. A mentoring system is presented that can help to reduce or prevent the inventory from lost or theft. Theft is a serious concern in the consumer market place. Industry loses billions per year on theft of merchandise. According to a Reuters report, last year, thefts by employees of U.S. retail merchandise accounted for $15.9 billion, or 44 percent of theft losses at stores, more than shoplifting and vendor fraud combined. Thus, the total thief by the customers and store employees during the year 2008 amounted to $36 billion. Several embodiments of ways to control or reduce the thefts in the market place are presented. | 07-28-2011 |
20110200093 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING VIDEO AND VIDEO LINKS - One of the standards addressed in this specification is the MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) Standard. MPEG is a group that sets standards for the compression and the transmission of audio and video information. This standard has found many applications; streaming video, interactive graphics, interactive multimedia, video applications for the web, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), digital videophone and television broadcasting. YouTube uses MPEG to display video results. Several techniques are described which allow for searching, viewing, and hearing of scaled videos thereby providing an increased video content that offers several advantages over existing systems. | 08-18-2011 |
20120295239 | Apparatus and Method to Improve Toddler's Steps and Mobility - An apparatus is described that allows a table to be turned upside down so that a toddler can use the upright legs as grips and the horizontal cross support beams as obstacles to master the art of stepping over this obstacle height of the cross support beams. Once the art of stepping is mastered, the table is flipped upright to function as a table again. Several adjustments are added to a table so that the height of the cross support beams and length of the legs can be adjusted to provide a range of mastering possibilities when in the upside down position. When flipped upright, the surface of the table can have adjustable to have uniform height or a top that slants. | 11-22-2012 |
20130033363 | Apparatus and Method to Automatically Set a Master-Slave Monitoring System - An apparatus is described that can monitor the sounds and voices of infants and children in a house by judicially placing nodes in key locations of the home. The network has intelligence and uses voice recognition to enable, disable, reroute, or alter the network. The network uses voice recognition to follow a child from node to node, monitors the children according to activity and uses memory to delay the voices so the adult can hear the individual conversations. An adult that has been assigned privilege can disable all nodes from any node in the network. Another apparatus can locate an individual by voice recognition or sounds they emit including walking, breathing and even a heartbeat. The sound is detected at several microphones that have a specific positional relationship to a room or an enclosement. Triangulations of the time differences of the audio signal detected by the microphones are used to determine the location or position of the audio source in the room. This information can be used to provide an improved audio delivery system to the individual. | 02-07-2013 |
20130033965 | Apparatus and Method to Locate and Track a Person in a Room with Audio Information - An apparatus is described that can monitor the sounds and voices of infants and children in a house by judicially placing nodes in key locations of the home. The network has intelligence and uses voice recognition to enable, disable, reroute, or alter the network. The network uses voice recognition to follow a child from node to node, monitors the children according to activity and uses memory to delay the voices so the adult can hear the individual conversations. An adult that has been assigned privilege can disable all nodes from any node in the network. Another apparatus can locate an individual by voice recognition or sounds they emit including walking, breathing and even a heartbeat. The sound is detected at several microphones that have a specific positional relationship to a room or an enclosement. Triangulations of the time differences of the audio signal detected by the microphones are used to determine the location or position of the audio source in the room. This information can be used to provide an improved audio delivery system to the individual. | 02-07-2013 |
20130205235 | Apparatus and Method for Comparing and Statistically Adjusting Search Engine Results - An internet user can perform a search on the web that can provide the user with an additional level of control for searching the web. Statistical results between the selected pages that can be used as a basis to further conduct a new search study. The statistical results can be formed from a cross-statistical analysis between two webpages or a self-statistical analysis of a single webpage. The statistical results can be used to analyze each selected page so the user knows the content and statistics of the content of pages being viewed. This information can be used to select new links by either viewing the statistical results, the link or both the statistical page and link. The selected links that are “liked” by the user can be checked to include the page for further analysis by the user or system or serve as a seed to create more search terms. | 08-08-2013 |
20140375539 | Method and Apparatus for a Virtual Keyboard Plane - Two cameras forming a 3-D camera system are used to project the key pattern of the plane from the displayed keyboard of a small display of a smartphone to that of a larger initialization plane of a virtual keyboard which is displaced in a parallel plane and increased in size from the displayed keyboard plane. The displayed keyboard is located on a screen of the display screen of the smartphone. The angular variation of the finger's position from the displayed keyboard plane based on the camera image indicates the keyboard character being depressed. Plenoptic cameras can also be used. The displacement distance or baseline of the plenoptic cameras is advantageous to increase. Highlighting the keys on the displayed keyboard when the fingers are in the initialization plane or activation plane of a virtual keyboard either by color, shading, or any other visual means provides positive feedback to the user. | 12-25-2014 |
20140375771 | Method and Apparatus for an Attachable Unit for a Portable Wireless System - Separable units comprising plenoptic cameras and eye ports can be attached to either the smart phone or to the eyeglasses by a mating surface. These separable units can be wireless coupled to a remote device, to a remote display, to other separable plenoptic cameras, or to other eyeglasses. The separable units can be mated to an eyeglass and positioned over the eye or eyes of the user. In addition, these separable cameras can be electrically wired through the mating device. The cameras can be placed at various distances apart from another offers greater flexibility in analyzing the depth of images. These images from these cameras are shared within the system. The smart phone can be in wireless contact with a remote system comprising another server, the Internet, another smart phone, another camera system, or the camera mounted on the eyeglass. | 12-25-2014 |
20140375772 | Method and Apparatus for an SR and LR 3-D Visual Images and Sharing - Long and short distance 3-D images can be shared between users. The first user takes an image or video of an object using a plenoptic camera. The user can focus the original image using the crystalline lens measuring unit to any POD automatically or manually adjust the focus using a far/near button. In addition, the user can send the original image to a second user or guest. The first and second users can perform a process to align their accommodation information versus the function of the POD. The first user can view the original image and their crystalline lens measuring unit can determine the POD being viewed setting the accommodation value or do so manually using the far/near button The accommodation value is sent to the second user who translates the first user's accommodation value into their accommodation value and observes the final image being perceived by the first user. | 12-25-2014 |