Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6990321 | Interactive phone system utilizing wireless channels A telephone system for providing a telephony feature includes a phone system controller and a first telephone system interface. The first telephone system interface is coupled between a first telephone handset and a telephone line. Moreover, the first telephone syst... | 01/24/2006 |
| 6794310 | Method and apparatus for determining temperature of a semiconductor wafer during fabrication thereof A method of determining temperature of a semiconductor wafer during wafer fabrication includes the step of providing a response circuit on the semiconductor wafer. The method also includes the step of transmitting an interrogation signal with a signal transceiver so... | 09/21/2004 |
| 6794304 | Method and apparatus for reducing microtrenching for borderless vias created in a dual damascene process A method of making a semiconductor device includes providing a first element formed of a first substantially electrically conductive material and having an upper surface. A second element adjacent to the first element is provided. The second element is formed of a f... | 09/21/2004 |
| 6707114 | Semiconductor wafer arrangement of a semiconductor wafer A method of processing a semiconductor wafer and an associated semiconductor wafer arrangement which inhibits “punch through” and increases the yield of functional semiconductor wafers during the fabrication thereof is disclosed. ... | 03/16/2004 |
| 6699766 | Method of fabricating an integral capacitor and gate transistor having nitride and oxide polish stop layers using chemical mechanical polishing elimination A system, apparatus and/or method is provided for fabricating an integrated capacitor during the fabrication of a transistor employing chemical mechanical polishing of a gate electrode of the transistor. Components of the integrated capacitor, particularl... | 03/02/2004 |
| 6676016 | Retail terminal configured as consumer gateway to electronic billing application A retail terminal is utilized as a gateway to an electronic billing application that allows a user to gain access to the electronic billing application and thereafter tender payment for the bill. A paper bill that is sent to a user is encoded with user lo... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6669100 | Serviceable tamper resistant PIN entry apparatus A PIN device utilizes a preferably removable IC card to store and process data to provide a tamper resistant PIN entry system. The IC card is a tamper resistant module that provides four functions for the PIN device. The IC card: stores secure data for th... | 12/30/2003 |
| 6661979 | System and method for detecting low paper in a printer using continuously variable measurements A system determines the level of paper available in paper supply for printing. The system comprises a signal emitter and a variably activated receiver. The receiver alters an electrical parameter such as a resistance in accordance with the portion of the ... | 12/09/2003 |
| 6637668 | Thermostatic control valve with fluid mixing A thermostatic control valve assembly for use in continuously mixing a hot first fluid with a cold second fluid to continuously produce a mixed fluid at a constant temperature. The valve assembly includes an improved mixing dome defining a mixing chamber ... | 10/28/2003 |
| 6630896 | System and method for preventing detection of touch screen input data A system and method obfuscates a reference voltage being applied to a touch screen to reduce the likelihood that location coordinates may be obtained from electrically coupling to the touch screen. The method is performed by applying a varying reference v... | 10/07/2003 |
| 6601119 | Method and apparatus for varying target behavior in a SCSI environment A communications layer is provided between a host-based SCSI initiator and a SCSI target device to fully automate the validation process. The communications layer allows the host to direct variation and modification of the target parameters and behavior u... | 07/29/2003 |
| 6565274 | Sheet printing and discharging apparatus A diverter is integrated into a printer apparatus having a feed mechanism for feeding the sheet from a supply location through a printer mechanism to a collection location, and a presenter mechanism for drawing the sheet from the collection location to a ... | 05/20/2003 |
| 6564996 | System and method of correlating a check tendered as payment for a purchase to the particular purchase transaction A system and method of generating a tender code for a purchase transaction and associating the generated tender code with both a payment and a produced digital receipt for the purchase transaction is described. The tender code may be assigned at several p... | 05/20/2003 |
| 6555475 | Arrangement and method for polishing a surface of a semiconductor wafer An arrangement for polishing a semiconductor wafer is disclosed. The arrangement includes a plurality of preassembled polishing pad assemblies which can be selectively coupled to, and decoupled from, an actuating mechanism for rotating the polishing pad a... | 04/29/2003 |
| 6553401 | System for implementing a high volume availability server cluster including both sharing volume of a mass storage on a local site and mirroring a shared volume on a remote site A method of providing high availability of a service includes the step of allocating the service and a shared volume of a first mass storage device associated with the service to a first server of a first subcluster that is located at a first site and tha... | 04/22/2003 |
| 6550582 | Method and apparatus for processing a large number of items with a self-service checkout terminal A self-service checkout terminal includes a terminal base having (i) a user side on which a user is positioned during operation of the self-service checkout terminal, (ii) a rear side which is opposite the user side, (iii) an upstream end portion, and (iv... | 04/22/2003 |
| 6543684 | Transaction terminal with privacy shield for touch-screen pin entry A transaction terminal includes a touch-screen display and various peripherals in electronic communication with and under the control of a processing unit. A PIN entry area is generated by the processing unit that includes a video keypad. The video keypad... | 04/08/2003 |
| 6543683 | System and method for providing consumer access to a stored digital receipt generated as a result of a purchase transaction and to business/consumer applications related to the stored digital receipt A system, method and apparatus provides a consumer means to access a digital receipt generated as a result of a purchase transaction and stored in a storage device. Additionally, the consumer is provided the means to access various applications, features,... | 04/08/2003 |
| 6540137 | Apparatus and method for operating a checkout system which has a number of payment devices for tendering payment during an assisted checkout transaction A method of operating an assisted checkout terminal includes the step of operating a scanner associated with the checkout terminal so as to allow retail personnel to enter a number of items for purchase into the checkout terminal. The method also includes... | 04/01/2003 |
| 6536658 | Method and apparatus for operating a retail terminal having a proximity detector that is operable to ascertain movement and distance of a consumer relative to the retail terminal A method and apparatus for operating a retail terminal, such as a kiosk, includes a proximity detector that is operable to ascertain movement of a consumer relative to the retail terminal and the distance therefrom. The retail terminal may use the movemen... | 03/25/2003 |
| 6530520 | Apparatus and method for operating a checkout system having an RF transmitter for communicating to a receiver associated with an intercom system A method of operating a retail terminal having a signal transmitter associated therewith includes the step of detecting an intervention-needed activity and generating an intervention-needed control signal in response thereto. The method also includes the ... | 03/11/2003 |
| 6522772 | Self-service checkout terminal having a biometric sensing device for verifying identity of a user and associated method A self-service checkout terminal includes an input device for receiving a user reported identity code associated with a user of the checkout terminal and a biometric sensing device for detecting a biometric characteristic of the user. The self-service che... | 02/18/2003 |
| 6507352 | Apparatus and method for displaying a menu with an interactive retail terminal A method of performing a retail transaction with a retail terminal having (i) a display monitor which includes a touch screen, (ii) a scanner, and (iii) a card reader. The method includes the step of displaying a home display screen with the display monit... | 01/14/2003 |
| 6502749 | Apparatus and method for operating a checkout system having an RF transmitter for communicating to a number of wireless personal pagers A retail terminal assembly includes a portable communication device for use by retail personnel. The assembly also includes a signal transmitter for transmitting a personnel-request signal to the portable communication device. The assembly further include... | 01/07/2003 |
| 6466328 | System and method for remote printing in a distributed network environment A method of the present invention includes receiving a print request from a computer application running at a first computer. After which, all pertinent print information needed to complete the print request is obtained from the computer application by en... | 10/15/2002 |
| 6456981 | Method and apparatus for displaying a customized advertising message with a retail terminal A method of advertising with a retail system having a display monitor associated therewith is disclosed. The method includes the step of operating a kiosk of the retail system in order to obtain product information associated with a first item without tra... | 09/24/2002 |
| 6456952 | System and method for touch screen environmental calibration A system and method compensates for drift in electronic touch screens. A plurality of touch areas and drift areas are defined for a touch screen. From location coordinates generated by the screen, a ratio between detected touch hits in each defined touch ... | 09/24/2002 |
| 6427915 | Method of operating checkout system having modular construction A checkout terminal includes a first bagging station and a second bagging station which is spaced apart from the first bagging station. The terminal also includes an item transport mechanism. The item transport mechanism is positionable between a first tr... | 08/06/2002 |
| 6427914 | Apparatus and method for operating a checkout system having a number of port expander devices associated therewith A retail terminal includes a first terminal cabinet and a second terminal cabinet. The retail terminal includes a controller secured to the first terminal cabinet, the controller having a controller data port associated therewith. The retail terminal also... | 08/06/2002 |
| 6397944 | Heat dissipating apparatus and method for electronic components A method and apparatus dissipates heat generated by an electronic device. The apparatus includes a channel structure that is in thermal communication with heat generated by the electronic device. The apparatus further includes a pump array operative to ad... | 06/04/2002 |
| 6390363 | Apparatus and method for operating convertible checkout system which has a customer side and a personnel side A checkout terminal includes a terminal base having (i) a customer side, and (ii) a personnel side which is opposite the customer side. The checkout terminal also includes a code entry device secured to the terminal base. The code entry device is operable... | 05/21/2002 |
