Did You Know...
...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8110789 | Electronic device and method for recording disassembly times thereof An electronic includes a memory, a photosensitive element, and a processing element. The photosensitive element receives light beams and generating trigger signals when intensity of the received light beams reach a predetermined value. The processing element electri... | 02/07/2012 |
| 8106349 | Vision alignment with multiple cameras and common coordinate at contactor for IC device testing handlers A method and apparatus for aligning a device with a contactor is provided. The apparatus includes a pick and place device, for transporting the device. A first camera acquires an image of the device relative to device holder fiducials of the pick and place device. A... | 01/31/2012 |
| 8013287 | Optical pointing device, optical pointing system, and method of operating the same An optical pointing device includes: an image obtaining part for continuously obtaining an image on a work surface as a sample image; a movement value calculator for comparing the sample image with the previously obtained image to calculate and output a movement val... | 09/06/2011 |
| 8003931 | Optical vend-sensing system for control of vending machine A transparent-front vending machine includes an optical vend-sensing system with an article sensing subsystem arranged athwart a vend space. The article sensing subsystem has two emitter/detector arrays, each having at least one emitter and a plurality of detectors.... | 08/23/2011 |
| 7842912 | Camera based vision alignment with device group guiding for semiconductor device testing handlers A vision alignment system and method is provided. The vision alignment system includes one or more grouped alignment plates with guiding inserts configured to receive multiple devices, and groups of three actuators, configured to actuate the alignment plates to corr... | 11/30/2010 |
| 7791013 | Biological microarray line scanning method and system A line scanning arrangement for imaging microarrays includes a line illuminator that converts output from one or more lasers to a radiation line. The laser output passes through a single mode fiber and a module that converts the laser light to the radiation line. Th... | 09/07/2010 |
| 7772540 | RF controlled sequential lighting system An RF controlled lighting system that activates lights in adjacent spaces when a person walks into a first space and then traverses the spaces in sequence. A detection device senses the entry of a person into a first space controlled by the system. A micro-controlle... | 08/10/2010 |
| 7663091 | Laser controller A laser controller has a sensor input for each of a plurality of lasers which the controller may control using outputs. Each laser and sensor may form a laser beam. The controller may have timing start and stop inputs to control a timer, and the controller may calcu... | 02/16/2010 |
| 7579580 | Optical sensor and method for suppressing faults by diffused light An optical sensor (1) with a light beam (7) created by a pulsed primary light source (5), which light beam is reflected at a surface (13) of an object and is recognized by a detector. In order to mask interfering effects, which might deve... | 08/25/2009 |
| 7446302 | Optical vend-sensing system for control of vending machine A transparent-front vending machine includes an optical vend-sensing system with an article sensing subsystem arranged athwart a vend space. The article sensing subsystem has two emitter/detector arrays, each having at least one emitter and a plurality of detectors.... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7442914 | System and method of determining a position of a radiation emitting element A method and a system for determining the position of a radiation emitter, which radiation emitter may be an actively radiation emitting stylus, pen, pointer, or the like or may be a passive, radiation scattering/reflecting/diffusing element, such as a pen, pointer,... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7442917 | Method for using a single optical emitter/receiver pair for creating a light curtain using LCD+MEMS technology for beam deflection Systems and methods are disclosed that facilitate increasing a coverage area for an emitter-receiver pair in a light curtain by generating multiple light beams from a single emitter and aggregating the light beams at a corresponding receiver. A plurality of light be... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7414235 | Handheld locating device with a sensor for detecting motion parameters A handheld device. In particular a locating device, includes a housing (10), which is movable with a handle unit (12) over a surface of an item being examined and which has a sensor unit (16) for picking up a first motion parameter. At least one... | 08/19/2008 |
| 7402743 | Free-space human interface for interactive music, full-body musical instrument, and immersive media controller “Method and apparatus entraining interactive media players into a sustained experience of “Kinesthetic Spatial Sync,” defined as a perceived simultaneity and spatial superposition between a non-tactile, full body (“free-space”) input control process and im... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7394058 | Touch screen with light-enhancing layer A touch indication device comprises a light guide structure for passing light of a light source via total internal reflection. A touch surface disturbs the total internal reflection when touched, causing light to leave the light guide structure. A light enhancement ... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7391007 | Optoelectronic apparatus and method of operating the optoelectronic apparatus in order to detect an object A method for the detection of an object includes transmitting light in the direction of a reflector by a transmitter. The transmitted light is reflected by the reflector and is imaged as a reflector image and is detected by the receiver. The reflector image is evalu... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7378643 | Optical projection encoder with patterned mask An Optical Projecting Encoder (“OPE”) having an emitter module for transmitting emitted optical radiation through a mask to a moving object, and a detector module for receiving reflected optical radiation from the moving object. The reflected optical radiation f... | 05/27/2008 |
| 7370589 | Systems and methods for fluid dispensing Systems and methods are disclosed for dispensing fluids. The systems can include a sensor operable to detect when an object passes a first location as the object moves to a second location. The systems can also include a fluid dispenser operable to dispense fluid at... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7368704 | Self-contained fork sensor having a wide effective beam A system and method for providing a fork sensor including an emitter, a receiver, and at least one lens assembly wherein the width of the effective beam does not depend upon the size of the emitter or the receiver. One aspect of the present invention is a method for... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7368702 | Multi-optical-path photoelectric safety apparatus A multi-optical-path photoelectric safety apparatus or a light curtain is placed in front of a pressing machine or a folding machine. Optical paths are set as a floating blanking area B (some paths out of a large number of optical paths) in the light curtain. The op... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7362090 | Automated tray transfer device for prevention of mixing post and pre-test dies, and method of using same A method of sorting automated tray transfer trays includes detecting if a die remains in the tray. The method includes the ability to interrupt the automated tray transfer process to prevent mixing processed and unprocessed dice. An apparatus includes a sensor for d... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7355588 | Light control module and method thereof A light control module appropriate for an optical pointing device. The light control module comprises a processing unit outputting a first signal and a second signal, a photo sensor unit executing a capture operation according to an impulse of the first signal, and ... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7353850 | Dispensing device for drinks A dispensing device dispenses drinks or similar dosable liquid foodstuffs, especially coffee, milk, soft drinks or soups. The dispensing device includes an identification device for identifying a vertical height of a container for receiving the foodstuff and for emi... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7347369 | Counting process and device for planar substrates A process includes the steps of loosening a pack of piled substrates, taking a first image of the piled planar substrates, the image being made of a two-dimensional array of single image detectors arranged in lines and columns, counting the number of edges of substr... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7348536 | Light grid with housing A light grid which has a housing made from an extruded profile. An electronic component plate is movably insertable into the interior of the housing and carries the optical components of an emitter unit or a receiver unit, respectively. The housing has a support pla... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7340930 | Method for securing a machine tool and opto-electronic sensor for carrying out such a method The invention relates to a method for securing a machine tool comprising a first tool part that carries out work movements in the direction of a second tool part in order thereby to carry out a machining process on a workpiece, wherein an optoelectronic sensor monit... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7339675 | Apparatus for stacking sheet members, apparatus for measuring dimensions of sheet members, and apparatus for and method of marking sheet members An apparatus for stacking a predetermined number of X-ray films has a sheet member holding device disposed above a stacking position for temporarily holding at least a first X-ray film, and an actuating device for displacing the sheet member holding device from the ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7332704 | Photosensitive button structure A photosensitive button structure includes a button body and a photosensitive layer. The photosensitive layer is disposed on a bottom side of the button body, and has a plurality of words and pictures formed thereon. Whereby, the photosensitive layer produces a firs... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7330668 | Low noise light receiver The low noise light receiver comprises a light sensor for generating a sensor signal, the sensor signal comprising a wanted signal resulting from a light source and an interfering signal resulting from interfering light; an optical filter apparatus for reducing the ... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7326910 | Multiple-optical-axis photoelectric sensor The present invention provides a multiple-optical-axis photoelectric sensor in which an error in detection of an object caused by disturbance light is prevented easily and efficiently by adjusting a light projection/reception cycle in accordance with a state where m... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7310957 | Ice machine with remote monitoring A commercial ice making machine having an electronic monitoring device which captures the operating status and production history of the ice machine. The ice production history of the machine is communicated via telephony and/or the Internet on a regular recurring b... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7306239 | Height control system and sensor therefor A sensor for a height control system uses a transducer to detect changes in position of an arm relative to a vehicle and sends a proportional signal to a microprocessor that, in turn, actuates a pneumatic valve operably connected to an air spring between the arm and... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7297930 | Device for measuring width by light attenuation difference A device for measuring the width L of a mail item on the fly in a mail handling machine in which mail items are caused to move parallel to a reference wall, the device comprising: a detector device rendered active when the presence of a mail item passing over a plur... | 11/20/2007 |
| 7295186 | Apparatus for controlling a screen pointer that distinguishes between ambient light and light from its light source An apparatus for controlling the position of a screen pointer for an electronic device having a display screen, includes a light source for illuminating an imaging surface with a plurality of light pulses, thereby generating reflected light pulses. A detection circu... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7293852 | Deposition of soluble materials using an inkjet print head and CCD microscope A method and apparatus for depositing a soluble material, such as an organic polymer, onto a substrate uses an inkjet print head. The substrate is viewed from the underside by a CCD microscope during the deposition of an organic polymer droplet onto a well provided ... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7292718 | Color space transformations for use in identifying objects of interest in biological specimens Two color transformations, as described herein, facilitate identification of the objects of interest in the biological specimen. One of the color transformations, a Minus Clear Plus One (MC+1) transformation, can be conceptualized as either translating and rotating ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7291828 | Measuring system for determining the electromechanical coupling characteristics of a PZT vibrator A measuring system for determining the electromechanical coupling characteristics of a piezoceramic (PZT) vibrator, which apply photo-interrupters matrix, glass tube, and metal ball to measure the bouncing motion, wherein the system includes an elastic-bouncing test... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7286077 | Method and device for aiding the landing of an aircraft on a runway A system for aiding the landing of an aircraft on a runway uses an angular vertical position of the aircraft and includes at least one landing aid radio. In a stand-alone manner, the position of the aircraft in latitude and longitude is determined, and the position ... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7283212 | Vehicular radar device A vehicular radar device detects an object within a detection area on the basis of detection data having a reception intensity exceeding a predefined threshold. The detection data is contained in reflected-wave data on waves irradiated into the detection area outwar... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7279630 | Automatic player musical instrument, automatic player used therein and method for exactly controlling keys An automatic playing system creates a feedback control loop for the keys incorporated in an acoustic piano; key sensors, which are provided under the front portions of the keys, informs a motion controller of current positions, and the motion controller periodically... | 10/09/2007 |
