Method and apparatus for an electric meter
Granted: September 1, 2009
Patent Number:
7583202
An improved meter and its operation is described. The meter can be a part of a larger automated meter reading process that allows for remote reading of the meter though power line communication. Using a microcomputer core, the meter processes incoming analog data and can calculate several relevant data values need by utility providers. The meter can also be used to monitor and detect tampering dry connect/voltage free devices, such as gas and water meters, connected to the meter.
Compounds and methods of use thereof for assaying lysophospholipase D activity
Granted: December 2, 2008
Patent Number:
7459285
Fluorogenic lysophosphatidic acid derivatives which can be used as substrates in a continuous, fluorogenic assay that can be performed in microtiter plates. The assays permit measuring LysoPLD activity levels in normal events such as pregnancy or disease states such as cancer. In addition, the present invention can be adopted to high throughout screening(HTS) for identification of potential inhibitors of lysoPLD activity.
System and method for selecting repeaters
Granted: October 2, 2007
Patent Number:
7277672
A method is described for selecting repeaters comprising: transmitting a first signal from a first node to a second node; measuring signal strength of the first signal at the second node; transmitting a second signal from the second node to the first node; measuring signal strength of the second signal at the first node; and selecting the second node as a repeater based on the signal strength of the first signal and/or the signal strength of the second signal. Another embodiment of the…
Circuit for use with switched leg power supply
Granted: June 5, 2007
Patent Number:
7227341
A circuit for use with a power supply coupled in a switched leg of, for example, a lighting circuit, is described. The circuit provides a low impedance near the zero crossing of the AC signal and a high impedance thereafter, thereby allowing the power supply to draw current that bypasses, for instance, a light bulb.
Power line phase coupler system
Granted: April 3, 2007
Patent Number:
7198521
A power line phase coupler system for repeating data signals between power line phases that can be easily installed by a user. The power line phase coupler system includes a housing, a female connector positioned within the housing, a male connector electrically connected to the female connector by a length of cord, and a repeater coupler electrically connected to the male connector. The repeater coupler is electrically connected between Phase A and Phase B of the male connector for…
Internet based home communications system
Granted: March 6, 2007
Patent Number:
7187986
An Internet based home communications system for allowing a homeowner to monitor and control various features of their home. The system comprises a plurality of control devices positioned within a home, a control unit in communication with the plurality of control devices wherein the control unit is connected to a global computer network, and a data center connected to the global computer network and in communication with the control unit. The homeowner is capable of monitoring and…
System and method for providing transaction control on a data network
Granted: September 5, 2006
Patent Number:
7103016
A system is described having: a source node configured to transmit a data packet to a target node across a data network, the source node having a first retry timer set to a first retry time period after which the source node will retransmit a data packet if it has not received an appropriate response to the data packet; and a first intermediate node electrically positioned between the source node and the target node, the first intermediate node having a second retry timer set to a second…
Assaying apparatus, kit, and method for lipids and associated enzymes
Granted: June 27, 2006
Patent Number:
7067269
A lipid assay method, kit, and apparatus involving exposure of a protein, having a lipid recognition motif that interacts with a target lipid and a competing lipid, to a solution containing the competing lipid, and determining whether the target lipid is present in the solution. The target lipid has a stronger affinity to the lipid recognition motif than does the competing lipid. The lipid recognition motif is preferably a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain, with the target lipid being a…
Efficient use of user-defined shaders to implement graphics operations
Granted: March 21, 2006
Patent Number:
7015909
User-defined shaders are constructed from fragments. The shaders are identified by tags. At run-time, the tag is used to determine whether the user-defined shader has been previously compiled. If it has, the compiled version is executed. If it has not, the fragments are assembled to form the shader and the shader is run-time compiled. The compiled shader can be stored for subsequent reuse, with the tag serving as an index to the compiled version.
Data aware clustered architecture for an image generator
Granted: September 6, 2005
Patent Number:
6940513
A data aware clustered system architecture is described for an image generation system. The architecture leverages commodity personal computers to provide the processing capability of the image generator such as may be used in a flight simulator. The architecture supports a data pipeline for processing stages of a progressive data structure for the transformation of data from abstract data to a more concrete form for the generation of an image. The architecture provides a multi-staged…
System and method for antialiasing objects
Granted: June 14, 2005
Patent Number:
6906729
Object in a scene are antialiased individually in an object-specific manner, according to the type of object in question. One type of object is antialiased using a multipass screen-space jitter technique, where multiple instances of each antialiased object are render and blended together, with a small displacement in screen space coordinates for each copys. Another type of object is antialiased using a single-pass growth antialasiang technique, where the actual rendered geometry is…
Power line phase coupler system
Granted: May 24, 2005
Patent Number:
6896551
A power line phase coupler system for repeating data signals between power line phases that can be easily installed by a user. The power line phase coupler system includes a housing, a female connector positioned within the housing, a male connector electrically connected to the female connector by a length of cord, and a repeater coupler electrically connected to the male connector. The repeater coupler is electrically connected between Phase A and Phase B of the male connector for…
System and method for selecting repeaters
Granted: March 1, 2005
Patent Number:
6862430
A method is described for selecting repeaters comprising: transmitting a first signal from a first node to a second node; measuring signal strength of the first signal at the second node; transmitting a second signal from the second node to the first node; measuring signal strength of the second signal at the first node; and selecting the second node as a repeater based on the signal strength of the first signal and/or the signal strength of the second signal. Another embodiment of the…
Method and apparatus for using unintended radio frequency propagation in a network
Granted: December 28, 2004
Patent Number:
6836508
An improvement in a network is described where messages are communicated over different somewhat unconnected branches of a network. The invention is used where the messages cause radio frequency radiation from lines in the network which typically is unintended. The radiation from one branch is sensed and the signal representing the radiation is coupled into the other branch by a direct electrical connection to the other branch. A mechanism is provided to prevent undesirable…
Terrain rendering in a three-dimensional environment
Granted: June 8, 2004
Patent Number:
6747649
Terrain is rendered in a three-dimensional computing environment by attaching a number of fixed terrain layers to the viewer, in a configuration such that each layer resembles a “magic carpet” on which the viewer flies. Each concentric layer covers a successively larger area of the visual database, and the vertex density and texture resolution of each layer is independent of other layers. Each layer may feature a fading band around its circumference, which can facilitate…
Method and apparatus for using unintended radio frequency propagation in a network
Granted: May 25, 2004
Patent Number:
6741571
An improvement in a network is described where messages are communicated over different somewhat unconnected branches of a network. The invention is used where the messages cause radio frequency radiation from lines in the network which typically is unintended. The radiation from one branch is sensed and the signal representing the radiation is coupled into the other branch by a direct electrical connection to the other branch. A mechanism is provided to prevent undesirable…
LUT-based system for simulating sensor-assisted perception of terrain
Granted: May 11, 2004
Patent Number:
6735557
A set of specially-configured LUT's are used in a rasterizing portion of a graphics system for simulating Sensor-assisted Perception of Terrain (SaPOT) so that simulation of the image produced by a given sensor can proceed rapidly and with good accuracy at a per-texel level of resolution. More specifically, terrain texels-defining memory is provided with a plurality of addressable texel records where each record contains: (a) one or more material identification fields (MID's);…
Data aware clustered architecture for an image generator
Granted: March 30, 2004
Patent Number:
6714203
A data aware clustered system architecture is described for an image generation system. The architecture leverages commodity personal computers to provide the processing capability of the image generator such as may be used in a flight simulator. The architecture supports a data pipeline for processing stages of a progressive data structure for the transformation of data from abstract data to a more concrete form for the generation of an image. The architecture provides a multi-staged…
Cell fabricated as an IC with a redesigned transceiver package which can be multiplexed to different states without user input
Granted: February 17, 2004
Patent Number:
6694209
A circuit improvement which permits a cell fabricated as an integrated circuit and a transceiver package having a transceiver and transformer to be redesigned into a single integrated circuit without redesigning a printed circuit board is disclosed. A multiplexer within the cell controlled by a programming circuit provide either the original cell outputs or selected transceiver signals. The second package includes only the transformer. The cell thus appears to the user to look like the…
Input/output buffer incorporating filter for powerline communications line
Granted: October 21, 2003
Patent Number:
6636117
An improvement in a buffer for driving a signal onto a power line is described. The buffer includes a second order filter. With the improvement, the collector-to-emitter potential of an emitter follower is maintained constant to substantially reduce the distortion associated with base-collector capacitance.
