Did You Know...
...that several people are credited with the invention of the flush toilet? Most people have heard of Thomas Crapper (1837-1910), the sanitary engineer who invented the valve-and-siphon arrangement that made the modern toilet possible. Another claimant to "the throne" was British inventor Alexander Cumming who patented a toilet in 1775. Then there's a nameless Minoan (a native of ancient Crete) who lived 4,000 years ago who supposedly was ahead of his time and created the first flush toilet!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8129463 | Carbon nanotube-reinforced nanocomposites A combination of MWNTs (herein, MWNTs have more than 2 walls) and DWNTs significantly improves the mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites. A small amount of DWNTs reinforcement ( | 03/06/2012 |
| 8129190 | Tagged petroleum products and methods of detecting same Tagged products (including tagged petroleum products) and methods of detecting the same are disclosed. The tagged petroleum products are tagged with a violanthrone, e.g., a substituted violanthrone and/or an isoviolanthrone, e.g., a substituted isoviolanthrone. ... | 03/06/2012 |
| 8117897 | Elliptical photo-acoustic sensor An elliptical photo-acoustic spectrometer chamber design will result in a larger intensity signal at the pick-up microphone and allow high frequency light modulation. This makes the spectrometer have a lower limit of detection threshold, and will increase the signal... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8117894 | Gas sensor A sensor system issues measurement commands at a predetermined regular rate. If a measurement indicates that a gas of interest is present, then the sensor system is signaled to wake-up thereby pulsing a heater for the sensor element that improves the accuracy of mea... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8101130 | Gas ionization source A gas ionizer includes a photocatalyst activated with an electric field to emit electrons. The photocatalyst is also illuminated with an ultraviolet light source. The ionized gas is passed through a chamber between the photocatalyst and the ultraviolet light source.... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8062697 | Ink jet application for carbon nanotubes Carbon nanotubes, which in several embodiments are mixed with particles, organic materials, non-organic materials, or solvents, are deposited on a substrate to form a cold cathode. The deposition of the carbon nanotube mixture is performed using an ink jet printing ... | 11/22/2011 |
| 8003165 | Catalyst for carbon nanotube growth Nanoparticles are coated using thick-film techniques with a catalyst to promote the growth of carbon nanotubes thereon. In one example, alumina nanoparticles are coated with a copper catalyst. Such nanoparticles can be selectively deposited onto a substrate to creat... | 08/23/2011 |
| 7960718 | Printable thin-film transistor for flexible electronics Fabrication of thin-film transistor devices on polymer substrate films that is low-temperature and fully compatible with polymer substrate materials. The process produces micron-sized gate length structures that can be fabricated using inkjet and other standard prin... | 06/14/2011 |
| 7950271 | Gated beta-molybdenum oxide sensor An apparatus for sensing an analyte gas is provided. The apparatus may include a signal amplifier that may include a thin film transistor that may include a semiconducting film that may include a metal oxide capable of chemical interaction with the analyte gas, such... | 05/31/2011 |
| 7879131 | Metal encapsulation A process for encapsulating metal microparticles in a pH sensitive polymer matrix using a suspension containing the polymer. The process first disperses the metal particles in a polymeric solution consisting of a pH sensitive polymer. The particles are then encapsul... | 02/01/2011 |
| 7854861 | Well formation Composition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are produced into inks that are dispensable via ink jet deposition processes or others. The CNT ink is dispensed into wells formed in a cathode structure. The inks include carbon nanotubes, binding materials, and possibly other... | 12/21/2010 |
| 7842522 | Well formation Composition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are produced into inks that are dispensable via ink jet or other deposition processes. The CNT ink is dispensed into wells and allowed to dry so as to formed a cathode structure. It is important to note that after the CNT ink i... | 11/30/2010 |
| 7824626 | Air handler and purifier A system that captures and eliminates indoor pollutants and chemical and biological agents within a HVAC system by breaking down the pollutants and chemical and biological threats into non-hazardous molecules. The surface area created by crystalline titanium dioxide... | 11/02/2010 |
| 7821412 | Smoke detector A smoke detector replaces the americium source of alpha particles with a field emission device using carbon nanotubes as the field emitters, or some other field emitter, in order to provide an ionization of the air potentially caring smoke particles through the smok... | 10/26/2010 |
| 7791258 | Activation effect on carbon nanotubes Particles, which may include nanoparticles, are mixed with carbon nanotubes and deposited on a substrate to form a cold cathode. The particles enhance the field emission characteristics of the carbon nanotubes. An additional activation step may be performed on the d... | 09/07/2010 |
| 7786402 | Nanospot welder and method A method and apparatus for assembly of small structures is disclosed. The present invention discloses electron beams created from one or more nanotips in an array operated in a field emission mode that can be controlled to apply heat to very well defined spots. The ... | 08/31/2010 |
| 7782462 | Sono-photonic gas sensor Sensing a gas includes introducing a gas into a chamber, forming a standing acoustic wave in the chamber, and irradiating the chamber with electromagnetic radiation. Some of the electromagnetic radiation passes into the chamber, through the standing acoustic wave in... | 08/24/2010 |
| 7762121 | Method and apparatus for sensing hydrogen gas A hydrogen sensor and/or switch fabricated from an array of nanowires or a nanoparticle thick film composed of metal or metal alloys. The sensor and/or switch demonstrates a wide operating temperature range and shortened response time due to fabrication materials an... | 07/27/2010 |
| 7736209 | Enhanced electron field emission from carbon nanotubes without activation A method for forming cathodes for use in field emission devices using nanoparticles, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), is disclosed. The CNT layer comprises the electron emitting material on the surface of the cathode. Using the methods of the present invention, the ... | 06/15/2010 |
| 7728520 | Optical modulator of electron beam An optoelectronic modulator is based on the concentration of an electron beam from an electron gun by a tapered cavity, which sides are photosensitive and change the electrical conductivity under the illumination of light (electromagnetic radiation). The light modul... | 06/01/2010 |
| 7696272 | Rubber toughing of thermalplastic clay nanocomposites Very low loading of impact modifier less than 4% can significantly improve elongation and impact strength of N6/clay nanocomposites and keep the high tensile strength and modulus. This rubber modified nylon nanocomposites have potential applications in fabricating h... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7695609 | Nanobiosensor and carbon nanotube thin film transistors The present invention is directed to systems and methods for detecting biological and chemical species in liquid and gaseous phase. The systems and methods utilize carbon nanotubes to enhance sensitivity and selectivity towards the reacting species by decreasing int... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7674628 | Remote identification of explosives and other harmful materials Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to the remote detection of explosives and other harmful materials. In some such embodiments, such remote detection involves the use of semiconducting nanoparticles. In some or other such embodiments, such r... | 03/09/2010 |
| 7647813 | Hydrogen sensor A hydrogen sensor (100) with instant response that uses one or more quartz tuning forks (101, 102) while no chemical reactions or other material modifications are involved. Sensor (100) can be used in any application to measure percent range of ... | 01/19/2010 |
| 7632548 | Remote identification of explosives and other harmful materials The present invention is for a process of sensing chemicals with nanoparticles, particularly nanoparticles whose bandgap has been altered from that of their corresponding bulk material by reducing their particle size below their quantum confinement threshold. The ph... | 12/15/2009 |
| 7611906 | Functionalized carbon nanotubes Carbon nanotubes are grown on a first substrate. The CNTs grown on the first substrate are immersed in a biological solution at a predetermined depth to functionalize ends of the CNTs with a biological molecule. The functionalized CNTs are harvested from the first s... | 11/03/2009 |
| 7597788 | Oxygen-chemical agent sensor A gas sensing mechanism and a gas sensor based on a semiconducting carbon nanotube diode structure are disclosed. The gas sensor operates by detecting the change in conductivity characteristic of the current vs. voltage behavior of an I—N, or I—P junction, in th... | 10/06/2009 |
| 7575720 | Capacitance based biosensor A method for electronically detecting an electrostatic based biological binding event. This same binding event can be detected optically via complicated experimental setups. A balanced coil system is incorporated into a hand held unit with a plug-in chip. The chip m... | 08/18/2009 |
| 7563722 | Method of making a textured surface A method of micro- and nanotexturing of various solid surfaces in plasma where carbon nanotubes are used as an etch mask. The method allows obtaining textures with feature sizes that can be controlled with the nanotube dimensions and the density of coating the treat... | 07/21/2009 |
| 7560134 | Nanoparticle implantation A method for forming a coating of nano-sized material on the surface of another material using a micromachining bead-blasting machine for implantation of nanoparticles is disclosed. The method can be practiced with a wide range of target materials, nanoparticles (su... | 07/14/2009 |
| 7531155 | Method of producing silicon nanoparticles from stain-etched silicon powder The present invention is for a porous silicon powder comprising silicon particles wherein the outermost layers of said particles are porous. The present invention is also directed to a method of making this porous silicon powder using a stain etch method. The presen... | 05/12/2009 |
| 7514369 | Method of producing porous silicon particles by stain-etching and silicon nanoparticles from stain-etched silicon powder The present invention is for a porous silicon powder comprising silicon particles wherein the outermost layers of said particles are porous. The present invention is also directed to a method of making this porous silicon powder using a stain etch method. The presen... | 04/07/2009 |
| 7462498 | Activation of carbon nanotubes for field emission applications Substantially enhanced field emission properties are achieved by using a process of covering a non-adhesive material (for example, paper, foam sheet, or roller) over the surface of the CNTs, pressing the material using a certain force, and removing the material.... | 12/09/2008 |
| 7452735 | Carbon nanotube deposition with a stencil Composition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are produced into inks that are dispensable via printing or stencil printing processes. The CNT ink is dispensed into wells formed in a cathode structure through a stencil. ... | 11/18/2008 |
