...that in 1800 ether was first used by partyers as a fun diversion? Sniffing the gas led to hilarious and raucous laughter as people watched each other become more and more intoxicated and silly. Several doctors independently realized the value ether would have to anesthetize surgery patients. Of those who claimed rights to the "discovery," none had a happy ending. One had a seizure and died defending his rights. Another spent his life in an asylum because he had been denied acclaim. A third became addicted to chloroform and, in a New York City jail, he soaked a cloth in the drug, severed an artery and bled to death.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| D533046 | Pocket door handle | 12/05/2006 |
| 7122019 | Intra-aortic renal drug delivery catheter A catheter for delivering a therapeutic or diagnostic agent to a branch blood vessel of a major blood vessel, generally comprising an elongated shaft having at least one lumen in fluid communication with an agent delivery port in a distal section of the shaft, an ex... | 10/17/2006 |
| 6996147 | Methods of fabricating nanostructures and nanowires and devices fabricated therefrom One-dimensional nanostructures having uniform diameters of less than approximately 200 nm. These inventive nanostructures, which we refer to as “nanowires”, include single-crystalline homostructures as well as heterostructures of at least two single-crystalline ... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6985079 | System and method for enhanced alertness and efficient distributed management for video surveillance A system is provided for testing and enhancing the alertness of operators who monitor video surveillance imagery. Alertness is tested by displaying any of a variety of visual elements on top of or near the video imagery, and receiving input from human operators in r... | 01/10/2006 |
| 6963395 | Method and apparatus for inspecting an EUV mask blank An apparatus and method for at-wavelength EUV mask-blank characterization for inspection of moderate and low spatial frequency coating uniformity using a synchrotron or other source of EUV light. The apparatus provides for rapid, non-destruction, non-contact, at-wav... | 11/08/2005 |
| 6963281 | Tamper resistant magnetic contact apparatus for security systems A tamper resistant magnetic contact switch apparatus for alarm systems that has a plurality of magnetic reed switches configured in a logic circuit and a magnetic pack for actuation. A magnetic shield disposed around the switches defines an actuation zone. In combin... | 11/08/2005 |
| 6958132 | Systems and methods for optical actuation of microfluidics based on opto-electrowetting The invention is related to methods and apparatus that manipulate droplets in a microfluidic environment. Advantageously, embodiments of the invention manipulate droplets by controlling the electro-wetting characteristics of a surface with light, thereby inducing a ... | 10/25/2005 |
| D510850 | Polishing pad | 10/25/2005 |
| 6955173 | Device and method for forming a circumferential conduction block in a pulmonary vein This invention is a method for treating a patient diagnosed with atrial arrhythmia by forming a circumferential conduction block along a circumferential path of tissue in a pulmonary vein wall that circumscribes the pulmonary vein lumen and transects the electrical ... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6956833 | Method, system and devices for wireless data storage on a server and data retrieval A method and system for remotely storing data on a server through a wireless connection instead of storing data locally in a consumer device, as well as devices for use with the method and system. More particularly, a video camera, still camera, laptop computer, or ... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6956193 | Highly sensitive imaging camera for space applications including detection of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays An imaging camera includes a housing that defines a proximal end and a distal end. A Fresnel lens is installed in the proximal end of the housing. Moreover, a reflection mode photocathode is installed in the distal end of the housing opposite the Fresnel lens. An el... | 10/18/2005 |
| D510616 | Child toilet seat | 10/11/2005 |
| 6949238 | Microporous crystals and synthesis schemes Novel zeolites are produced by combining a polar solute, a silicon or phosphorous source, and a structure directing agent. Surfactants and a hydrophobic solvent are added to the previously mixed three species and shaken to disperse the surfactants. The reverse micro... | 09/27/2005 |
| 6950853 | Multisite coordination in shared multicast trees A protocol to coordinate multipoint groupwork in the IP-multicast framework. Called Aggregated Coordination Protocol (ACP), the protocol operates on a shared multicast tree, benefiting from the underlying tree structure to store and forward coordination primitives b... | 09/27/2005 |
| 6947409 | Bandwidth management of virtual networks on a shared network An apparatus and method for equitably allocating bandwidth to virtual networks operating on a common physical network, such as a power-line network for homeowners sharing a single power-line distribution transformer. An ad-hoc master is selected from the virtual pow... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6947048 | Method for sharing a graphics display as a resource in an embedded system A system and method for managing graphics display associated with an embedded system where multiple application programs reside and the graphics display is accessible by the multiple application programs. The system includes a graphics resource manager which prevent... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6941225 | Method and apparatus for ultra precise GPS-based mapping of seeds or vegetation during planting An ultra precise seed planter apparatus and method for generating a centimeter accuracy map of the location of seeds or vegetation as they are planted from an agricultural planting machine. The apparatus is fitted with a GPS receiver feeding a data logger, and optic... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6937503 | 1T1C SRAM Memory circuits and methods are described providing an interface with high density dynamic memory (DRAM), such 1T1C (1 transistor and 1 capacitor) memory cells, providing full compatibility with static memory (SRAM). The circuitry overcomes the shortcomings with DRA... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6934472 | Optical layer multicasting using a single sub-carrier header and a multicast switch with active header insertion An optical signaling header technique applicable to optical networks wherein packet routing information is embedded in the same channel or wavelength as the data payload so that both the header and data payload propagate through network elements with the same path a... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6932804 | System and method for forming a non-ablative cardiac conduction block A system forms a cardiac conduction block at a location in a heart of a patient without substantially ablating cardiac tissue. The system includes a delivery system coupled to a source of material that is substantially non-ablative with respect to cardiac tissue. Th... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6931850 | Exhaust gas driven generation of electric power and altitude compensation in vehicles including hybrid electric vehicles A hybrid electric vehicle includes an internal combustion engine, an electric motor and a transmission. A turbocharger is in fluid communication with the internal combustion engine. Moreover, a generator is mechanically coupled to the turbocharger and thereby driven... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6931061 | Method of real time MPEG-4 texture decoding for a multiprocessor environment An apparatus and method is described for performing texture-decoding within a video decoder processing a series of macroblocks within a video bit-stream. The inventive texture decoding is particularly well suited for implementation within decoders incorporating mult... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6928577 | Consistent message ordering for semi-active and passive replication Mechanisms for achieving consistent message ordering within a fault-tolerant distributed computer system based on semi-active or passive replication are described. The mechanisms communicate message ordering information from the primary replica to its backup replica... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6925257 | Ultra-low latency multi-protocol optical routers for the next generation internet An ultra-low latency optical router with a peta-bit-per-second total aggregate switching bandwidth, that will scale to a total connectivity of 1000 by 1000, and beyond by modular upgrades, that utilizes advanced optical technologies to achieve such high capacity wit... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6923630 | Apparatus and method for impressing patterns in a slip-formed concrete wall An apparatus and a method for impressing three-dimensional patterns in a slip-formed concrete wall. At least one impression roller is provided at the discharge end of a slip form. The impression roller includes an outer periphery, provided with a layer or coating of... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6922792 | Fault tolerance for computer programs that operate over a communication network Mechanisms for a Networked Enterprise Server that provide fault tolerance for computer programs that interact with computer programs within and between enterprises over a communication network, such as the Internet or a virtual private network. Fault tolerance is pr... | 07/26/2005 |
| 6920895 | Combination surge supression and safety shut-off valve A surge suppressor and safety shut-off valve is described which automatically shuts off fluid flow in response to a sufficient pressure differential across the valve. The shut-off valve comprises a valve body adapted for use within a fluid distribution system throug... | 07/26/2005 |
| 6922239 | Multi-wavelength cross-connect optical switch A cross-connect switch for fiber-optic communication networks employing a wavelength dispersive element, such as a grating, and a stack of regular (non-wavelength selective) cross bar switches using two-dimensional arrays of micromachined, electrically actuated, ind... | 07/26/2005 |
| 6917985 | Core assisted mesh protocol for multicast routing in ad-hoc Networks A method of providing multicast routing for use in ad hoc broadcast networks, such as wireless and mobile networks. The method is described within a protocol referred to as core-assisted mesh protocol, or CAMP. The method departs from traditional tree-structured mul... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6917714 | Scalable predictive coding method and apparatus A scalable predictive coder in which the current frame of data is predicted at the enhancement-layer by processing and combining the reconstructed signal at: (i) the current base-layer (or lower layers) frame; and (ii) the previous enhancement-layer frame. The combi... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6917472 | Achromatic fresnel optics for ultraviolet and x-ray radiation An achromatic Fresnel optic that combines a Fresnel zone plate and a refractive Fresnel lens. The zone plate provides high resolution for imaging and focusing, while the refractive lens takes advantage of the refraction index change properties of appropriate element... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6914723 | Reflective lithography mask inspection tool based on achromatic Fresnel optics A mask blank inspection tool includes an AFO having a diffractive lens and a refractive lens formed on a common substrate. The diffractive lens is a Fresnel zone plate and the refractive lens is a refractive Fresnel lens. The AFO is used to image light from a defect... | 07/05/2005 |
| 6906280 | Fast pulse nonthermal plasma reactor A fast pulsed nonthermal plasma reactor includes a discharge cell and a charging assembly electrically connected thereto. The charging assembly provides plural high voltage pulses to the discharge cell. Each pulse has a rise time between one and ten nanoseconds and ... | 06/14/2005 |
| 6900920 | Variable semiconductor all-optical buffer using slow light based on electromagnetically induced transparency A variable semiconductor all-optical buffer and method of fabrication is provided where buffering is achieved by slowing down the optical signal using a control light source to vary the dispersion characteristic of the medium based on electromagnetically induced tra... | 05/31/2005 |
| 6900734 | Capillary-discharge based detector for chemical vapor monitoring A handheld/portable detector for chemical vapor monitoring includes a housing and a discharge chamber that is established therein. The plasma discharge has a relatively small volume, e.g., in the micro-liter range. A first electrode and a second electrode are dispos... | 05/31/2005 |
| 6886727 | Detachable back pack waist belt A detachable waist belt for use with book bags and day packs significantly reduces the problems associated with carrying too much weight on the back. The waist belt and clamping system provide a retrofit system usable with any backpack or book bag. The system is esp... | 05/03/2005 |
| 6885503 | Achromatic fresnel optics based lithography for short wavelength electromagnetic radiations A lithography apparatus having achromatic Fresnel objective (AFO) that combines a Fresnel zone plate and a refractive Fresnel lens. The zone plate provides high resolution for imaging and focusing, while the refractive lens takes advantage of the refraction index ch... | 04/26/2005 |
| 6882051 | Nanowires, nanostructures and devices fabricated therefrom One-dimensional nanostructures having uniform diameters of less than approximately 200 nm. These inventive nanostructures, which we refer to as “nanowires”, include single-crystalline homostructures as well as heterostructures of at least two single-crystalline ... | 04/19/2005 |
| 6872205 | Circumferential ablation device assembly This invention is a circumferential ablation device assembly which is adapted to forming a circumferential conduction block in a pulmonary vein. The assembly includes a circumferential ablation element which is adapted to ablate a circumferential region of tissue al... | 03/29/2005 |
| 6873797 | Optical layer multicasting An optical signaling header technique applicable to optical networks wherein packet routing information is embedded in the same channel or wavelength as the data payload so that both the header and data payload propagate through network elements with the same path a... | 03/29/2005 |