Bizarre Patents
Pillow with retractable umbrella
A pillow assembly having a supporting assembly and a retractable umbrella assembly that is easily transportable and allows a user to support his/her head while covering their face from sunlight.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8163972 | Zero-valent metallic treatment system and its application for removal and remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) PCBs are removed from contaminated media using a treatment system including zero-valent metal particles and an organic hydrogen donating solvent. The treatment system may include a weak acid in order to eliminate the need for a coating of catalytic noble metal on th... | 04/24/2012 |
| 8119238 | Self-healing wire insulation A self-healing system for an insulation material initiates a self-repair process by rupturing a plurality of microcapsules disposed on the insulation material. When the plurality of microcapsules are ruptured, reactants within the plurality of microcapsules react to... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8031449 | Fast-responding short circuit protection system with self-reset for use in circuit supplied by DC power A short circuit protection system includes an inductor, a switch, a voltage sensing circuit, and a controller. The switch and inductor are electrically coupled to be in series with one another. A voltage sensing circuit is coupled across the switch and the inductor.... | 10/04/2011 |
| 8029736 | High temperature decomposition of hydrogen peroxide Nitric oxide (NO) is oxidized into nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by the high temperature decomposition of a hydrogen peroxide solution to produce the oxidative free radicals, hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl. The hydrogen peroxide solution is impinged upon a heated sur... | 10/04/2011 |
| 7977411 | Foam/aerogel composite materials for thermal and acoustic insulation and cryogen storage The invention involves composite materials containing a polymer foam and an aerogel. The composite materials have improved thermal insulation ability, good acoustic insulation, and excellent physical mechanical properties. The composite materials can be used, for in... | 07/12/2011 |
| 7968648 | Approach for achieving flame retardancy while retaining physical properties in a compatible polymer matrix The invention provides polymer blends containing polyhydroxyamide and one or more flammable polymers. The polymer blends are flame retardant and have improved durability and heat stability compared to the flammable polymer portion of the blends. Articles containing ... | 06/28/2011 |
| 7842639 | Mechanical alloying of a hydrogenation catalyst used for the remediation of contaminated compounds A hydrogenation catalyst including a base material coated with a catalytic metal is made using mechanical milling techniques. The hydrogenation catalysts are used as an excellent catalyst for the dehalogenation of contaminated compounds and the remediation of other ... | 11/30/2010 |
| 7841771 | Self-validating thermocouple Self-Validating Thermocouple (SVT) Systems capable of detecting sensor probe open circuits, short circuits, and unnoticeable faults such as a probe debonding and probe degradation are useful in the measurement of temperatures. SVT Systems provide such capabilities b... | 11/30/2010 |
| 7790787 | Aerogel/polymer composite materials The invention provides new composite materials containing aerogels blended with thermoplastic polymer materials at a weight ratio of aerogel to thermoplastic polymer of less than 20:100. The composite materials have improved thermal insulation ability. The composite... | 09/07/2010 |
| 7790225 | Coatings and methods for corrosion detection and/or reduction Coatings and methods are provided. An embodiment of the coating includes microcapsules that contain at least one of a corrosion inhibitor, a film-forming compound, and an indicator. The microcapsules are dispersed in a coating vehicle. A shell of each microcapsule b... | 09/07/2010 |
| 7790128 | Hydrogen peroxide catalytic decomposition Nitric oxide in a gaseous stream is converted to nitrogen dioxide using oxidizing species generated through the use of concentrated hydrogen peroxide fed as a monopropellant into a catalyzed thruster assembly. The hydrogen peroxide is preferably stored at stable con... | 09/07/2010 |
| 7781492 | Foam/aerogel composite materials for thermal and acoustic insulation and cryogen storage The invention involves composite materials containing a polymer foam and an aerogel. The composite materials have improved thermal insulation ability, good acoustic insulation, and excellent physical mechanical properties. The composite materials can be used, for in... | 08/24/2010 |
| 7582682 | Removal of PCB and other halogenated organic contaminants found in ex situ structures Emulsified systems of a surfactant-stabilized, biodegradable water-in-solvent emulsion with bimetallic particles contained with the emulsion droplets are useful at removing PCBs from ex situ structures. The hydrophobic emulsion system draws PCBs through the solvent/... | 09/01/2009 |
| 7582271 | Emission control system Methods and apparatus utilizing hydrogen peroxide are useful to reduce SOx and mercury (or other heavy metal) emissions from combustion flue gas streams. The methods and apparatus may further be modified to reduce NOx emissions. Continuous concentration of hydrogen ... | 09/01/2009 |
| 7582147 | Composite powder particles A liquid coating composition including a coating vehicle and composite powder particles disposed within the coating vehicle. Each composite powder particle may include a magnesium component, a zinc component, and an indium component. ... | 09/01/2009 |
| 7496237 | Image processing for binarization enhancement via fuzzy reasoning A technique for enhancing a gray-scale image to improve conversions of the image to binary employs fuzzy reasoning. In the technique, pixels in the image are analyzed by comparing the pixel's gray scale value, which is indicative of its relative brightness, to the v... | 02/24/2009 |
| 7404938 | Emission control system Methods and apparatus utilizing hydrogen peroxide are useful to reduce NOx, SOx and mercury (or other heavy metal) emissions from combustion flue gas streams. Continuous concentration of hydrogen peroxide to levels approaching or exceeding propellant-grade hydrogen ... | 07/29/2008 |
| 7400766 | Image edge extraction via fuzzy reasoning A computer-based technique for detecting edges in gray level digital images employs fuzzy reasoning to analyze whether each pixel in an image is likely on an edge. The image is analyzed on a pixel-by-pixel basis by analyzing gradient levels of pixels in a square win... | 07/15/2008 |
| 7309738 | Approach for achieving flame retardancy while retaining physical properties in a compatible polymer matrix The invention provides polymer blends containing polyhydroxyamide and one or more flammable polymers. The polymer blends are flame retardant and have improved durability and heat stability compared to the flammable polymer portion of the blends. Articles containing ... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7298897 | Optimal binarization of gray-scaled digital images via fuzzy reasoning A technique for finding an optimal threshold for binarization of a gray scale image employs fuzzy reasoning. A triangular membership function is employed which is dependent on the degree to which the pixels in the image belong to either the foreground class or the b... | 11/20/2007 |
| 7285306 | Process for self-repair of insulation material A self-healing system for an insulation material initiates a self-repair process by rupturing a plurality of microcapsules disposed on the insulation material. When the plurality of microcapsules are ruptured reactants within the plurality of microcapsules react to ... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7274907 | Wireless instrumentation system and power management scheme therefore A wireless instrumentation system enables a plurality of low power wireless transceivers to transmit measurement data from a plurality of remote station sensors to a central data station accurately and reliably. The system employs a relay based communications scheme... | 09/25/2007 |
| 7271199 | Removal of PCB and other halogenated organic contaminants found in ex situ structures Emulsified systems of a surfactant-stabilized, biodegradable water-in-solvent emulsion with bimetallic particles contained with the emulsion droplets are useful at removing PCBs from ex situ structures. The hydrophobic emulsion system draws PCBs through the solvent/... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7239751 | Hypothesis support mechanism for mid-level visual pattern recognition A method of mid-level pattern recognition provides for a pose invariant Hough Transform by parametrizing pairs of points in a pattern with respect to at least two reference points, thereby providing a parameter table that is scale- or rotation-invariant. A correspon... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7179404 | Corrosion prevention of cold rolled steel using water dispersible lignosulfonic acid doped polyaniline The invention provides coatings useful for preventing corrosion of metals. The coatings comprise a film-forming resin and conductive polymers comprising linearly conjugated π-systems and residues of sulfonated lignin or a sulfonated polyflavonoid or derivatives of ... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7156957 | UV induced oxidation of nitric oxide Nitric oxide in a gaseous stream is converted to nitrogen dioxide using oxidizing species generated at least in part using in situ UV radiation sources. The sources of the oxidizing species include oxygen and/or hydrogen peroxide. The oxygen may be a component of th... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7122166 | Concentration of hydrogen peroxide Methods for concentrating hydrogen peroxide solutions have been described. The methods utilize a polymeric membrane separating a hydrogen peroxide solution from a sweep gas or permeate. The membrane is selective to the permeability of water over the permeability of ... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7043960 | Self-calibrating pressure transducer A self-calibrating pressure transducer is disclosed. The device uses an embedded zirconia membrane which pumps a determined quantity of oxygen into the device. The associated pressure can be determined, and thus, the transducer pressure readings can be calibrated. T... | 05/16/2006 |
| 7037946 | Zero-valent metal emulsion for reductive dehalogenation of DNAPLs A zero-valent metal emulsion is used to dehalogenate solvents, such as pooled dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs), including trichloroethylene (TCE). The zero-valent metal emulsion contains zero-valent metal particles, a surfactant, oil and water. The preferred... | 05/02/2006 |
| 7008964 | Contaminant removal from natural resources A zero-valent metal emulsion containing zero-valent metal particles is used to remediate contaminated natural resources, such as groundwater and soil. In a preferred embodiment, the zero-valent metal emulsion removes heavy metals, such as lead (Pb), from contaminate... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6972098 | Corrosion prevention of cold rolled steel using water dispersible lignosulfonic acid doped polyaniline The invention provides coatings useful for preventing corrosion of metals. The coatings comprise a film-forming resin and conductive polymers comprising linearly conjugated π-systems and residues of sulfonated lignin or a sulfonated polyflavonoid or derivatives of ... | 12/06/2005 |
| 6969486 | Apparatus and method for treating pollutants in a gas using hydrogen peroxide and UV light An apparatus for treating pollutants in a gas may include a source of hydrogen peroxide, and a treatment injector for creating and injecting dissociated hydrogen peroxide into the flow of gas. The treatment injector may further include an injector housing having an ... | 11/29/2005 |
| 6967051 | Thermal insulation systems Thermal insulation systems and with methods of their production. The thermal insulation systems incorporate at least one reflection layer and at least one spacer layer in an alternating pattern. Each spacer layer includes a fill layer and a carrier layer. The fill l... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6958085 | High performance immobilized liquid membrane for carbon dioxide separations An immobilized liquid membrane has a substrate. A plurality of capsules is disposed on the substrate. Each of the capsules is permeable to a first gas of a mixture of gasses comprising the first gas and a second gas. Each of the capsules is substantially impermeable... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6955799 | High temperature decomposition of hydrogen peroxide Nitric oxide (NO) is oxidized into nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by the high temperature decomposition of a hydrogen peroxide solution to produce the oxidative free radicals, hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl. The hydrogen peroxide solution is impinged upon a heated sur... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6917203 | Current signature sensor A solenoid health monitoring system uses a signal conditioner and controller assembly in one embodiment that includes analog circuitry and a DSP controller. The analog circuitry provides signal conditioning to the low-level raw signal coming from a signal acquisitio... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6891148 | Scaling device for photographic images A scaling device projects a known optical pattern into the field of view of a camera, which can be employed as a reference scale in a resulting photograph of a remote object, for example. The device comprises an optical beam projector that projects two or more space... | 05/10/2005 |
| 6824306 | Thermal insulation testing method and apparatus A test apparatus and method of its use for evaluating various performance aspects of a test specimen is disclosed. A chamber within a housing contains a cold mass tank with a contact surface in contact with a first surface of a test specimen. The first surface of th... | 11/30/2004 |
| 6801868 | Real time calibration method for signal conditioning amplifiers A signal conditioning amplifier receives an input signal from an input such as a transducer. The signal is amplified and processed through an analog to digital converter and sent to a processor. The processor estimates the input signal provided by the transducer to ... | 10/05/2004 |
| 6793903 | High temperature decomposition of hydrogen peroxide Nitric oxide (NO) is oxidized into nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by the high temperature decomposition of a hydrogen peroxide solution to produce the oxidative free radicals, hydroxyl and hydroperoxyl. The hydrogen peroxide solution is impinged upon a heated sur... | 09/21/2004 |
