Intellectual Property

AVIATION INTEGRATED OPTICS AND LIGHTING UNIT

An aviation integrated optics and lighting unit for securing to a light receptacle of an aircraft. The aviation integrated optics and lighting unit comprises a housing, a light-emitting device, and an optical sensor. The light-emitting device is secured to the housing. The optical sensor is positioned in the housing and is configured to capture optical data.
US PATENT 11,472,571 

RF COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM AND METHOD

An RF communications (COMM) system includes a COMM antenna connected to a signal processing unit including a multi-channel analog navigation/communications (NAV/COMM) transceiver and an analog COMM transmitter. The system is configured for switching between the transceiver and the transmitter, based on preprogrammed parameters including prioritizing signals based on keywords, system location and other parameters. An aircraft application is disclosed. A global navigation satellite subsystem (GNSS) subsystem can be connected to the signal processing unit for locating the telecommunications system. A method includes the steps of providing an RF communications system for aircraft and other applications.
US PATENT 11,018,754

SYNCHRONIZED VIDEO AND SYNTHETIC VISUALIZATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

The present invention presents a flight training and synthetic visualization system, which comprises a fully mobile, self-contained data recording unit including a desktop graphics software engine for creating a virtual model of the flight capable of playing back the recorded trip, synchronized with a real-time video or imagery recording of the actual flight with a view from the cockpit of the aircraft as a pilot would actually view the flight, along with ambient audio of the cockpit. This allows for the user of the simulation to view both modeled data of the flight, as well as actual time-sequenced still images or video of the flight. The two sources of data are synched in time so that real video images of the aircraft as it is flying at a specific point in time is displayed in the simulation at the same moment as the rendered visualization of the flight.
US PATENT 8,944,822

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CREATING AGRICULTURAL TRAMLINES

A system for creating an agricultural tramline, comprising an agricultural planter, an application executing on a computer terminal, one or more seeding units mounted on the planter, a location sensor, and a planter control system, whereby an operator can use the application to create a file specifying the location of a desired agricultural tramline on a plot of land, which is downloaded from the computer terminal to the planter control system, and where the planter control system uses the location of the desired agricultural tramline and location information from the location sensor to enable and disable the plurality of seeding units, such that the area of land corresponding to the desired agricultural tramline is not planted with seed.
US PATENT 9,043,951

FLEET OPERATIONS QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND AUTOMATIC MULTI-GENERATIONAL DATA CACHING AND RECOVERY

A fleet operations quality management system for use with one or more vehicles which includes a data recording unit and separate memory subsystem mounted on each vehicle, a remotely located data collection station to collect, store and pre-process data from multiple vehicles, a centralized data storage and retrieval system designed to accept and assimilate recorded trip data, a web application designed to provide access to and analysis of the recorded trip data, and a graphical software application that can be used to view the recreated trip in a realistic simulated environment. An electronic system comprising a receiver module and a mobile device, whereby the receiver module is capable of receiving data transmissions from a network of ground stations and buffering the data for future use.
US PATENT 9,047,717

AUTOMATIC MULTI-GENERATIONAL DATA CACHING AND RECOVERY

An electronic system comprising a receiver module and a mobile device, whereby the receiver module is capable of receiving data transmissions from a network of ground stations and buffering the data for future use, and whereby the receiver module provides a means for making requests for access to this buffered data, and the mobile device is capable of generating requests to the receiver module in order to access the buffered data and of displaying the data or playing the data to an operator.
US PATENT 9,172,481

GROUND FLEET OPERATIONS QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A ground fleet operations quality management system for use with one or more vehicles which includes a gateway module mounted on each vehicle, a centralized data server to collect, store and pre-process data from multiple vehicles, and a web application designed to provide access to and analysis of the conditions of the entire fleet of vehicles.
US PATENT 9,202,318

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING MATERIAL YIELD AND/OR LOSS FROM A HARVESTING MACHINE USING ACOUSTIC SENSORS

A system and method for determining material yield and/or loss from a harvesting machine using acoustic sensors and advanced signal processing capabilities is presented. The system consists of a sensor housing with an opening on one side of the sensor housing, a strike plate designed to fit into the opening, and an electronics module comprising a microphone and a signal processor designed to capture the sound waves created when material impacts on the strike plate, and convert them into an audio signal indicating the amount of material impacting the sensor at a given time.
US PATENT 9,474,208

RADIO FREQUENCY FEEDTHROUGH TO PORTABLE DEVICE

An aviation transponder system comprising a permanently-mounted antenna, a permanently-mounted receiver module comprising a receiver, a signal splitter, and an external connector, and a portable receiver module, wherein a signal received on the permanently-mounted antenna is passed to the signal splitter of the permanently-mounted receiver module, wherein the signal splitter splits the signal such that the signal is sent to both the receiver and to the external connector, and wherein the portable receiver module is connected to the external connector, whereby the permanently-mounted antenna is used by the receiver of the permanently-mounted receiver module and fed through the permanently-mounted receiver module and made available to the portable receiver module through the external connector.
US PATENT 9,564,936

SYNTHETIC UNDERWATER VISUALIZATION SYSTEM

A synthetic underwater visualization system (SUVS) comprising a real-time graphics software engine, a sophisticated underwater environmental sensor, a fixed-base database, and a retrieval system designed to accept and assimilate into a common database bathymetric and environmental information acquired from around the world by components of other deployed SUVS sensing systems. SUVS is capable of sensing, modeling, and realistically displaying underwater environments in real-time, and will foster widespread utilization in the areas of homeland security, commercial and recreational maritime navigation, bathymetric data collection, and environmental analysis. The technology will also be readily adaptable and highly desirable in non-marine applications.
US PATENT 9,702,966

CROP QUALITY SENSOR BASED ON SPECULAR REFLECTANCE

A crop quality sensor, comprising an illumination source, an imaging device, and a processor executing application software. The illumination source is shone onto a crop sample, and an image is taken with the imaging device of the illuminated crop sample. The software executing on the processor is used to analyze the image to identify the outlines of individual kernels and to identify which of those outlines contain a specular highlight, indicative that the kernel is whole and unbroken, while the absence of such a specular highlight is indicative of a broken kernel.
US PATENT 9,723,784

GRAIN QUALITY SENSOR

A grain quality sensor comprising a lens, a filter, a photosite array, an illumination source, and an electronics module, wherein the illumination source directs light containing a known set of wavelengths onto a crop sample, wherein the lens picks up light reflected by the crop sample and directs it into the filter, which allows light to pass into different parts of the photosite array such that certain locations on the photosite array only get certain frequencies of the reflected light, wherein the electronics module is electrically connected to the photosite array and capable of determining which parts of the photosite array received light and what frequency the light received was, wherein the electronics module can analyze the optical data received by the photosite array, and wherein the analysis of the optical data is used to determine the composition of different parts of the crop sample.
US PATENT 9,756,785

FREQUENCY-ADAPTABLE STRUCTURAL HEALTH AND USAGE MONITORING SYSTEM

A structural health monitoring system comprising intelligent sensors, wherein the intelligent sensors are individually programmable and can be tuned to listen to specific frequencies based on a scaling factor based on the sensor’s location in the system being monitored, a set of pre-known frequencies based on the sensor’s location in the system being monitored, and the output of a central frequency-based system sensor.
US PATENT 9,797,801

RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) FEEDTHROUGH SYSTEM AND METHOD

An aviation transponder system comprising a permanently-mounted antenna, a permanently-mounted receiver module comprising a receiver, a signal splitter, and an external connector, and a portable receiver module, wherein a signal received on the permanently-mounted antenna is passed to the signal splitter of the permanently-mounted receiver module, wherein the signal splitter splits the signal such that the signal is sent to both the receiver and to the external connector, and wherein the portable receiver module is connected to the external connector, whereby the permanently-mounted antenna is used by the receiver of the permanently-mounted receiver module and fed through the permanently-mounted receiver module and made available to the portable receiver module through the external connector.
US PATENT 9,882,270

INTEGRATED, EXTERNALLY-MOUNTED ADS-B DEVICE

An integrated, externally-mounted Automated Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) device comprising in one embodiment a 1030 MHz transmitter, a 1030 MHz antenna, a 1090 MHz receiver, a 1090 MHz antenna, a GNSS receiver, at least one GNSS antenna, a 978 MHz transmitter, and a 978 MHz antenna, wherein these components are integrated into a single enclosure, and wherein the GNSS antenna is placed at least partially into a projection extending out from the main enclosure body, such that the GNSS antenna has improved visibility to GNSS signals originating from altitudes above the current altitude of aircraft when the ADS-B device is mounted on the bottom of an aircraft.
US PATENT 9,893,413

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPTIMIZING PLANTING OPERATIONS

An agricultural planting system and method comprising a soil sampling and analysis means, wherein soil samples are taken and analyzed in real-time during a planting operation (or, optionally, via a separate, prior operation) to determine the conditions and nutrient content of the soil, and a planting system, wherein the planting system is capable of planting seeds in any arbitrary position on an X-Y plane directly beneath the planting system, whereby the data gathered from the analyzed soil samples are used to determine the optimal placement of seeds or plants in a field in order to take advantage of the soil conditions present and to optimize crop yield.
US PATENT 9,924,629

GRAIN QUALITY SENSOR

A grain quality sensor comprising a photosite array, an illumination source, a filter, and an electronics module, wherein the illumination source directs light onto a crop sample, wherein the filter limits passage of light into different parts of the photosite array such that certain locations on the photosite array only receive certain wavelengths of light reflected or fluoresced by the crop sample, wherein an electronics module is electrically connected to the photosite array and capable of determining which parts of the photosite array received light and the wavelengths of the light received, wherein the electronics module can analyze the optical data received by the photosite array, and wherein the analysis of the optical data is used to determine the composition of the crop sample.
US Patent 10,085,379

CRASH-HARDENED MEMORY DEVICE AND METHOD OF CREATING THE SAME.

An innovative device and method designed to protect only the memory portion of a data recording subsystem in the event of a crash, instead of the entire device, eliminating cost and complexity while preserving crucial data. This is the first of two patents in the family.
US Patent 7,616,449

FLIGHT TRAINING AND SYNTHETIC FLIGHT SIMULATION SYSTEM AND METHOD (SYSTEM PATENT).

A low-cost and fully self-contained training and synthetic visualization system and method directed to improving an individual’s airborne performance in general aviation, skydiving, and other applications. This is the first of three issued patents in the family.
US Patent 7,848,698

CRASH-HARDENED MEMORY DEVICE AND METHOD OF CREATING THE SAME.

An innovative device and method designed to protect only the memory portion of a data recording subsystem in the event of a crash, instead of the entire device, eliminating cost and complexity while preserving crucial data. This is the second of two patents in the family.
US Patent 7,957,152

FLIGHT TRAINING AND SYNTHETIC VISUALIZATION SYSTEM AND METHOD (FLIGHT WALL).

A low-cost and fully self-contained training and synthetic visualization system and method directed to improving an individual’s airborne performance in general aviation, skydiving, and other applications. This is the second of three issued patents in the family, focusing on the use of a graphical “flight wall” to provide visual information on the recorded performance.
US Patent 8,081,921

METHOD FOR RESOLVING GROUND LEVEL ERRORS IN SIMULATIONS.

A method and system for reconciling ground-level discrepancies between the displayed path of a moving body and a terrain model in a graphical simulation due to inherent inaccuracies in the location information source. This patent predates many of the personal recording systems prevalent today.
US Patent 8,116,922

GNSS ULTRA-SHORT BASELINE HEADING DETERMINATION SYSTEM AND METHOD (VARIABLE BASELINE).

A head-mounted device coupling inertial sensors with two or more location receivers (such as GPS) and advanced sensor fusion algorithms to calculate a precise location and orientation for the wearer’s head. The patent also covers alternate embodiments (not head-mounted). This is the first of two patents in the family, and it covers versions of the invention which have a variable baseline (the separation between location receivers can change in real time.)
US Patent 8,130,142

FLIGHT TRAINING AND SYNTHETIC VISUALIZATION SYSTEM AND METHOD (MOBILE SYSTEMS).

A low-cost and fully self-contained training and synthetic visualization system and method directed at improving an individual’s airborne performance in general aviation, skydiving, and other applications. This is the third of three issued patents in the family, focusing on mobile applications and providing broader coverage for the system.
US Patent 8,265,542

ADAPTIVE INSTRUMENT AND OPERATOR CONTROL RECOGNITION.

A method of optically analysing the control system of a vehicle to determine the status of the components of that control system, including gauge readings, indicator statuses, and user control positions. This is the first of three issued patents in the family, focusing on capturing information from the vehicle’s control system (flight deck).
US Patent 8,319,665

OPTICAL IMAGE MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VEHICLES (EXPANDED COVERAGE).

A method of optically analysing the control system of a vehicle to determine the status of the components of that control system, including gauge readings, indicator statuses, and user control positions. This is the second of three issued patents in the family, expanding the patent coverage to include capturing information from external flight surfaces, such as flaps, landing gear, vehicle doors, vehicle lighting, and ailerons.
US Patent 8,319,666

GNSS ULTRA-SHORT BASELINE HEADING DETERMINATION SYSTEM AND METHOD (FIXED BASELINE).

A head-mounted device coupling inertial sensors with two or more location receivers (such as GPS) and advanced sensor fusion algorithms to calculate a precise location and orientation for the wearer’s head. The patent also covers alternate embodiments (not head-mounted). This is the second of two patents in the family, and it expands coverage of the invention to systems in which the separation between location receivers is fixed (does not change during operation).
US Patent 8,471,762

FLEET OPERATIONS QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

A low-cost fleet operations quality management system for use with one or more vehicles which includes a vehicle mounted data recording system, a centralized data storage and retrieval system, and an advanced software suite and graphical playback system.
US Patent 8,565,943

OPTICAL IMAGE MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VEHICLES (EXTERNAL SURFACES).

A method of optically analysing the control system of a vehicle to determine the status of the components of that control system, including gauge readings, indicator statuses, and user control positions. This is the third of three issued patents in the family, expanding and broadening the patent coverage to include capturing information from external control surfaces.
US Patent Application 13/686,658 (Allowed)

TRADEMARKS HELD BY APPAREO

Word Mark: NAVICUBE
Goods and Services: GPS receiver and navigation system utilizing inertial force and acceleration measurements and adapted for determining position, attitude, and heading for mobile applications.
Serial Number: 77866589
Registration Number: 4191026

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Appareo Systems, LLC
[email protected]
701-356-2200

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