Did You Know...
...that the Eveready Battery began as an invention called the "electric flowerpot," which was a tube with a battery and light bulb inside? The idea was to fasten this gizmo to the side of a flowerpot so it would illuminate the flowers from the bottom. The idea died on the vine and the businessman who licensed the flower pot, Conrad Huber, was left with a pile of useless tubes -- until he found a way to market them as batteries to light the world!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5904816 | Process for the chemical modification of liquids containing alkyl groups The invention relates to a process for the chemical modification of liquids containing alkyl groups. It is provided that the liquids containing alkyl groups are subjected to a plasma treatment in a frequency range from 10 kHz to 10 GHz.... | 05/18/1999 |
| 5897831 | Process for dry sterilization of medical devices and materials Articles which it is intended to sterilize are placed into a confined volume and are subjected to neutral species of an electrical discharge while maintaining the volume glowless and substantially field free by interposing a barrier between the articles a... | 04/27/1999 |
| 5895558 | Discharge methods and electrodes for generating plasmas at one atmosphere of pressure, and materials treated therewith Two methods and corresponding electrode designs are provided for the generation of a plasma at or about one atmosphere. Using these methods, various webs, films and three-dimensional objects are beneficially treated in a reduced amount of time. A first me... | 04/20/1999 |
| 5895744 | Method and apparatus for making polyester web having high adhesion to coated layers Method and apparatus for making thermoplastic web from polyester or polyester blends for subsequent aqueous coating without requirement of an undercoat or primer coat for adhesion of subsequent coatings. Feedstock pellets of polymer, such as polyethylene ... | 04/20/1999 |
| 5888713 | Atmospheric pressure glow discharge treatment of paper base material for imaging applications The present invention is a method of producing a photographic support. The method includes providing a photographic paper and transporting the photographic paper through an atmospheric glow discharge zone, wherein the atmospheric glow discharge zone conta... | 03/30/1999 |
| 5888371 | Method of fabricating an aperture for a near field scanning optical microscope An extremely small aperture is formed using a sharp conductive tip. The aperture may be in the form of a transparent window or an open aperture. In a first embodiment, the conductive tip is positioned adjacent a layer of titanium and a voltage is applied ... | 03/30/1999 |
| 5879518 | Method and apparatus for producing small particles of consistent size shape and structure Small particles are produced by supporting a pair of elongated consumable electrodes coaxially in a housing so that corresponding ends of the electrodes are spaced apart across a gap. A potential difference is applied to the electrodes so that an arc igni... | 03/09/1999 |
| 5876663 | Sterilization of liquids using plasma glow discharge A method and apparatus are disclosed for sterilization of liquids using a steady-stage glow discharge apparatus, at one atmosphere.... | 03/02/1999 |
| 5875053 | Periodic electric field poled crystal waveguides Several embodiments are described for induced electric field or E-field poling of QPM nonlinear crystal materials, such as LiNbO3, LiTaO3 and KTP, utilizing approaches which, for the most part, avoid the necessity of depositing or ot... | 02/23/1999 |
| 5869188 | Electrostatographic member and system for electrostatographic reproduction and method for preparing same An electrostatographic member for use in electrostatographic processes is prepared by directly applying an elastomeric layer to a metal support (or core) that has been treated with corona discharge without primers or intermediate treatments. Adhesion of t... | 02/09/1999 |
| 5870664 | Method and apparatus for removing impurity by an improved electrode A method and apparatus for removing an impurity by use of an electrode having a surface coated with a catalyst which is capable of decomposing an impurity into decomposition products. An impurity is ionized with photoelectron for attracting an ionized imp... | 02/09/1999 |
| 5861047 | Method for manufacturing an article comprising a refractory dielectric body A refractory dielectric body is heated with a plasma torch at conditions which do not result in substantial removal of a surface portion of the body, yet which are sufficient to reduce both surface and bulk impurities. Typically, the body is solid, e.g., ... | 01/19/1999 |
| 5843288 | Methods and apparatus for controlling toxic compounds using catalysis-assisted non-thermal plasma The present invention provides methods and apparatus for decomposing toxic compounds so that reaction by-products produced thereby are selectively reduced. A method generally comprises: introducing a carrier gas, having a toxic compound entrained therein,... | 12/01/1998 |
| 5830328 | Contamination control of emission discharge The burning of material, including fuel and/or waste products, is performed ithin an incineration chamber heated above room-temperature while being supplied with high-power microwave radiation under conditions generating a plasma through which oxidation is... | 11/03/1998 |
| 5830329 | Plasma process for reducing friction within the lumen of polymeric tubing This invention relates to the preferential glow discharge at the inside diameter (ID) of plastic tubing, particularly very small tubing.... | 11/03/1998 |
| 5827432 | Method for dewatering sludges Water is recovered from sludge, such as from sewage treatment plants, or wood processing or food processing industries, by either electrically ionizing the sludge or treating the sludge with ultrasound, and then adding coagulant to the sludge to effect co... | 10/27/1998 |
| 5827407 | Indoor air pollutant destruction apparatus and method using corona discharge An indoor air pollutant destruction apparatus destroys pollutants by a corona discharge that is generated by a rapidly oscillating electric field. Free electrons generated by the corona discharge produces ozone (O3), which effectively destroys ... | 10/27/1998 |
| 5817218 | Gas reactor using a plasma for cracking or synthesizing gases The gas reactor 10 has a first gas inlet 32, a second gas inlet 34, a gas outlet 36, a rotatable plate 22 and stationary plate 20 opposed to this rotatable plate, wherein a gap 24 is formed between these plates. Catalysts 26, 28 are carried by these rotat... | 10/06/1998 |
| 5814570 | Nonwoven barrier and method of making the same A ethylene oxide sterilizable nonwoven material which is subjected to charging, and more particularly electrostatic charging is provided. The nonwoven materials may include laminate nonwovens wherein one or more layers are subjected to charging. The nonwo... | 09/29/1998 |
| 5792325 | Electric arc material processing system Electric arc material-processing system wherein an underwater spark gap is defined in a reactor by spaced graphite electrodes and a conductive carbon rod provided endwise to the gap. The electrodes are rotated by mechanical means, intermittently or contin... | 08/11/1998 |
| 5785838 | Method for producing an oxide film The present invention provides a method for producing an oxide film wherein a sharp-pointed processing electrode is positioned close to the material to be processed in an oxygen-containing gas, and a voltage in the single digit range is impressed across t... | 07/28/1998 |
| 5776346 | Method and apparatus for making water having purified and activated functions Method and apparatus for treating water used in daily life such as city or well water to obtain purified and activated water having various functions such as detergency, bactericidal and antifungal actions, surface activity, cooling action, and in vivo ac... | 07/07/1998 |
| 5772855 | Preparation of bioactive compounds by plasma synthesis Large numbers of bioactive compounds of great chemical diversity may be rapidly prepared by subjecting organic compound mixtures to a plasma discharge, followed by screening for specific bioactivity.... | 06/30/1998 |
| 5769997 | Method for bonding an insulator and conductor Anodic bonding of an insulator containing no movable ion and a conductor through the medium of a conductive film and an insulator layer containing a movable ion affords a bonded member of the insulator containing no movable ion and the conductor without u... | 06/23/1998 |
| 5770022 | Method of making silica nanoparticles A method of making silicon oxide nanoparticles possessing photoluminescence in the blue and green part of the visible spectrum when irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light. The silicon oxide nanoparticles are formed in a chamber containing a direct current... | 06/23/1998 |
| 5766447 | Method and device for treating an aqueous solution The invention relates to a method and a device for treating an aqueous solution, in which a pulsed electric field is generated in the aqueous solution between two electrodes. In accordance with the invention, at least one of the electrodes is covered with... | 06/16/1998 |
| 5753087 | Multi-electrode corona discharge pollutant destruction apparatus and method A corona discharge pollutant destruction reactor employs two or more electrodes to enhance the effective corona discharge treatment volume by distributing a varying electric field pattern over the reactor's interior chamber. Appropriate delay circuitry al... | 05/19/1998 |
| 5750011 | Apparatus and method for producing gaseous ions by use of x-rays, and various apparatuses and structures using them An apparatus and method for producing positive and negative ions and/or electrons in a gas of any atmosphere without producing dust, a method and structure for neutralizing a charged body in a short period of time and for completely preventing static elec... | 05/12/1998 |
| 5746051 | Device for detoxifying exhaust fumes from mobile equipment In automobiles, for example, the exhaust fumes must pass through a plasma reactor operating by the principle of dielectrically inhibited ("silent") discharge, consisting of an arrangement of flat plates with alternating metallic and dielectric layers, whe... | 05/05/1998 |
| 5746984 | Exhaust system with emissions storage device and plasma reactor An exhaust system for a combustion system, comprising a storage device for collecting NOx, hydrocarbon, or particulate emissions, or mixture of these emissions, and a plasma reactor for destroying the collected emissions is described. After the... | 05/05/1998 |
| 5741460 | Process for dry sterilization of medical devices and materials Articles which it is intended to sterilize are placed into a confined volume and are subjected to neutral species of an electrical discharge while maintaining the volume glowless and substantially field free by interposing a barrier between the articles a... | 04/21/1998 |
| 5723027 | Method for preparing a powder in a plasma arc and device for carrying out said method A method for the continuous preparation of a powder by reacting at least two reagents in a plasma arc, in which a first and a second reagent are fed to the plasma arc, which is maintained by a voltage applied between a first and a second electrode. At lea... | 03/03/1998 |
| 5700359 | Method of polarizing at least one large area sheet of ferroelectric material A method of polarizing at least one large area sheet of ferroelectric material (1). The method comprises the following successive steps: placing films of ferroelectric material (2, 3) of thickness e1 against two opposite faces (1a, 1b) of the s... | 12/23/1997 |
| 5693196 | Plasma process for reducing friction within the lumen of polymeric tubing This invention relates to the preferential glow discharge at the inside diameter (ID) of plastic tubing, particularly very small tubing.... | 12/02/1997 |
| 5686050 | Method and apparatus for the electrostatic charging of a web or film A web or film is electrostatically charged by sequentially subjecting the web or film to a series of electric fields such that adjacent electric fields have substantially opposite polarities. Both a method and apparatus are disclosed for charging the web ... | 11/11/1997 |
| 5683556 | Discharging and dust removing method and discharging and dust removing apparatus The invention provides a discharging method by which charges can be removed readily, uniformly and efficiently from a surface of a working object even where the surface has a complicated charge pattern of a large number of small positive and negative char... | 11/04/1997 |
| 5668578 | Method for fabricating ferrolelectric domain reversals, and optical wavelength converter element A ferroelectric substance such as LiNbO3 that possesses a unipolarized non-linear optical effect is etched on its surface. An earth electrode is formed on one surface (the +z plane) of a ferroelectric substance. Domain reversals are created on ... | 09/16/1997 |
| 5654043 | Pulsed plate plasma implantation system and method Method and apparatus for treating a workpiece implantation surface by causing ions to impact the workpiece implantation surface. An implantation chamber defines a chamber interior into which one or more workpieces can be inserted. A support positions one ... | 08/05/1997 |
| 5651864 | Method for particle synthesis and recovery A method for synthesizing a particulate product including electrostatically charging a fuel and/or oxidizer and/or ionizable inert gas present during the synthesis is provided. The method can include a step of collecting the particulate product which expl... | 07/29/1997 |
| 5645919 | Self-supporting sheet-like structure having at least one structured surface A self-supporting sheet-like structure is described, which contains a substrate layer and a structured coating on at least one surface of the substrate layer. The structured coating is produced by treating at least one surface of the substrate layer by me... | 07/08/1997 |
