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 |
| 8445850 | Optical remote sensing of fugitive releases Disclosed is an open-path optical sensor. Typically, the optical sensor directs UV radiation from a source assembly to a detector assembly along a monitoring path. The source assembly emits UV radiation corresponding to a signal channel and to a reference channel. T... | 05/21/2013 |
| 8405032 | Method and system for evaluating the distribution of an absorbent material in an absorbent article A system for imaging a distribution of an absorbent material within an absorbent article. The system includes a radiation source and a detector positioned such that the absorbent article is situated between the radiation source and the detector. The absorbent articl... | 03/26/2013 |
| 8395122 | Detection apparatus and method Apparatus for detection of infrared radiation emitted from a taggant following excitation of the taggant sample measures the decay time of the radiation used. If the decay characteristic is accurately measured, the particular taggant can be accurately identified. Th... | 03/12/2013 |
| 8338786 | Tomography arrangement and method for monitoring persons The invention relates to a tomography arrangement with a tubular measuring chamber and a monitoring facility. This monitoring facility includes at least one first video camera focusing on the measuring chamber and at least partially optically recording the same, sai... | 12/25/2012 |
| 8324578 | Hidden sensors in an electronic device An electronic device having one or more sensors is provided. The sensors may include any suitable type of sensor, including for example a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, or any other suitable type of sensor that emits or receives radiation (e.g., light wa... | 12/04/2012 |
| 8217354 | Remote sensing system and electronic apparatus having same A remote sensing system includes a first light source, a second light source, two image capturing devices and a processing unit. The first light source is configured for emitting infrared light of a first central wavelength. The second light source is configured for... | 07/10/2012 |
| 8188434 | Systems and methods for thermal spectral generation, projection and correlation Systems and methods for generating, projecting or correlating thermal spectra use digital micro-mirror devices (DMDs) to controllably modulate input radiation such as long wave infrared light. An optical system for creating an output spectrum based upon an input lig... | 05/29/2012 |
| 8134127 | Compact handheld non-laser detector for greenhouse gasses Techniques are disclosed relating to gas leak detection. The techniques can be deployed, for example, in compact, handheld portable devices usable for detecting leaks in space-confined applications. The devices generally include a non-laser light source and thermal ... | 03/13/2012 |
| 8115170 | Method and apparatus for creating time-resolved emission images of integrated circuits using a single-point single-photon detector and a scanning system A Scanning Time-Resolved Emission (S-TRE) microscope or system includes an optical system configured to collect light from emissions of light generated by a device under test (DUT). A scanning system is configured to permit the emissions of light to be collected fro... | 02/14/2012 |
| 8076643 | Detection apparatus and method A technique and apparatus for detection of infrared radiation emitted from a taggant material sample following the excitation of the sample are described. The decay time of the radiation is a function of the particular taggant being used and so, if the decay charact... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8003944 | Saturation filtering NDIR gas sensing methodology NDIR gas sensing methodology is advanced which renders the output of an NDIR gas sensor, when implemented with this new methodology, to remain stable or drift-free over time. Furthermore, the output of such a sensor will also be independent of the temperature of an ... | 08/23/2011 |
| 7919752 | Inspection apparatus and inspection method by using terahertz wave An inspection apparatus includes a terahertz wave detection portion, a waveform shaping portion configured to shape a first answer signal with respect to a terahertz wave by using a signal acquired in the above-described terahertz wave detection portion, a measureme... | 04/05/2011 |
| 7863569 | Apparatus for analyzing cells in real-time The present invention relates to an apparatus for analyzing cells in real-time which incorporates a wavelength-tunable light source/infrared ray (IR) sensor and can be used to observe and analyze the IR-related characteristics of adherent cells or non-adherent cells... | 01/04/2011 |
| 7767968 | Correlated ghost imager A method and system for detecting concealed weapons and explosives by imaging THz scenes using conventional optics and detectors is provided. Photon fields with two different wavelengths can be sent through a chopper and towards a wavelength-selective mirror. A ligh... | 08/03/2010 |
| 7696479 | Method and apparatus for frequency-converting infrared light The invention relates to methods and apparatus for modifying the frequency characteristics of a spatially-dispersed mid-IR spectra for spectroscopy. In a preferred embodiment, sum frequency generation between a frequency-dispersed IR beam and an ultrafast optical pu... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7683325 | Image forming apparatus An image forming apparatus includes an electromagnetic wave radiating portion, an electromagnetic wave detecting portion, a driving portion, a periodical signal generating portion for generating plural periodical signals, a memory portion, a processing portion, and ... | 03/23/2010 |
| 7582872 | Volumetric spectral imaging A spectral acquisition method includes actively processing a sample, such as a an opaque, friable pharmaceutical dosage unit, to expose characteristics of interior portions of the sample, and acquiring spectral information from the interior portions. ... | 09/01/2009 |
| 7569821 | Biological information measuring apparatus A light emission section spread-spectrum modulates a base band signal at a chip frequency f to thereby generate a primary modulated signal, modulates the primary modulated signal at a frequency 2f to thereby generate a secondary modulated signal, and emits a near-in... | 08/04/2009 |
| 7479636 | Device and method for analyzing a materials library A device for analyzing a materials library includes at least one radiation source for electromagnetic radiation, which is positioned in front of the materials library, and at least two flat detectors operating in parallel, which are operable using high-sensitivity r... | 01/20/2009 |
| 7380982 | Accurate temperature measurement for semiconductor applications A temperature sensing component enables accurate in situ temperature measurement. The temperature sensing component is disposed within the process chamber. The temperature sensing component has a cavity, in which a transparent cover is disposed over an opening of th... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7365842 | Light scanning type confocal microscope A light scanning type confocal microscope includes a light source unit that projects an excitation light beam, a scanning optical system that scans the excitation light beam, an objective lens that applies the excitation light beam to a sample, a separation optical ... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7342228 | Method and apparatus for measurement of aerosols and imaging A lightweight, low-cost, and highly sensitive aerosol sensor measures aerosol concentrations remotely. A fiber laser sends pulses outward toward the target area from a carbon-fiber telescope using ultra-lightweight optical elements. Light is received back in the sam... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7335885 | Ultra low power NDIR gas sensor fire detector A fire detector and method for generating an alarm signal in response to a fire uses an NDIR sensor to generate a detector signal based upon one or more absorption bands selected from the 15.1μ absorption band of CO2, the 6.27μ absorption band of H2O and the 4.67Î... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7312453 | Methods for determining corrosion products on substrates using infrared imaging Methods for determining corrosion products on a substrate are disclosed. In one embodiment, a non-destructive method for determining an amount of corrosion product on a metallic substrate includes non-destructively determining a value Ia of infrared energy absorbed ... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7304305 | Difference-frequency surface spectroscopy A fixed visible input and tunable visible input are directed to a location on a surface to be interrogated. The fixed visible input and the tunable visible inputs are aligned so that their surface locations of optical illumination overlap on the interrogated locatio... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7291838 | Apparatus and method for detecting scattered material by terahertz wave There is disclosed an apparatus comprising: a terahertz wave generation device which generates a terahertz wave; a terahertz wave irradiation device which irradiates an object to be inspected with the terahertz wave; and a scattering intensity detection device which... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7279683 | Distance measurement apparatus of gamma ray source using multilayered ray detector Rays incident upon a plurality of detection plates arranged along a normal direction are detected. A distance between the ray and the ray source is estimated based on the number of counted rays detected by each detection plate, and each interval distance of the dete... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7265364 | Level sensor for lithographic apparatus A level sensor for a lithographic projection apparatus includes a light source configured to direct light onto a substrate to be measured, a detector configured to detect light reflected from the substrate, and a processor configured to calculate a difference betwee... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7255835 | Single pass attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared microscopy apparatus and method for identifying protein secondary structure, surface charge and binding affinity Apparatus and method for acquiring an infrared spectrum of a sample having or suspected to have an amide I band, an amide II band, an amide III band, an amide A band, an OH stretching region or a combination thereof. A representative method includes providing a samp... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7253892 | Method and apparatus for measuring a characteristic of a plastic container A method for measuring the wall thickness of plastic containers during a container manufacturing process includes providing a plastic container, the plastic container having a longitudinal axis and at least two side walls spaced radially from the longitudinal axis. ... | 08/07/2007 |
| 7161150 | Handheld isotope identification system A portable radiation detector using a high-purity germanium crystal as the sensing device. The crystal is fabricated such that it exhibits a length to width ratio greater than 1:1 and is oriented within the detector to receive radiation along the width of said cryst... | 01/09/2007 |
| 7157713 | Device and method for identifying plastic A plastic identifying apparatus of the present invention is provided with a sampling unit (2) that samples a test piece (1) from an item to be identified that contains plastic; an identifying unit (3) provided with a detection unit (4) th... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7151260 | Analyzer for measuring multiple gases Stand-alone multiple gas analysis apparatus, of relatively small physical size, integrates one or more supplemental sensors, such as a self-heating, amperometric, limiting current-type oxygen sensor and/or a titania nanotube-type hydrogen sensor, into the sampling c... | 12/19/2006 |
| 7112794 | Method and system for creating an image of a radiation source A method of creating an image of a radiation source includes detecting radiation associated with a first location of the radiation source. Data substantially corresponding to the radiation associated with the first location is processed to provide a first value. The... | 09/26/2006 |
| 7077930 | Method for controlling screening by measuring flow amount consistency of the pulp The invention relates to a method of controlling quality of pulp. Pulp formed in mechanical defibering of wood is screened into at least two fractions, the accept that has passed the screening phase being forwarded for further use and the reject that did not pass th... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7057182 | Method and system for determining distortion in a circuit image Embodiments of the invention may reduce timing and spatial distortion in Picosecond Imaging and Circuit Analysis (PICA). In one embodiment, a method of determining distortion in a circuit image comprises: defining potential photon emission areas in the circuit image... | 06/06/2006 |
| 7050695 | Optical communication system A transmission loss of each dried and water-saturated plastic optical fiber (POF) is measured. In range from 500 nm to 720 nm and from 785 nm to 810 nm, the transmission loss P1 of the dried POF and a difference of the transmission loss from the water-saturat... | 05/23/2006 |
| 7034302 | Optical steam quality measurement system and method An optical measurement system is presented that offers precision on-line monitoring of the quality of steam. Multiple wavelengths of radiant energy are passed through the steam from an emitter to a detector. By comparing the amount of radiant energy absorbed by the ... | 04/25/2006 |
| 7030380 | Apparatus for on-line monitoring quality/condition of fluids An apparatus for on-line optical monitoring of the quality and/or chemical condition of a fluid; in particular, a hydrocarbon-based fluid used in transportation and industrial applications. The apparatus includes an IR-transparent internal-reflectance-element (IRE) ... | 04/18/2006 |
| 7022992 | Method and apparatus for real-time monitoring of furnace flue gases A method and apparatus for monitoring the flue gases of a furnace combustion process is disclosed. A by-pass circuit that communicates a sample of flue gases to be monitored from a furnace, through a measurement chamber and back to the furnace or furnace exhaust duc... | 04/04/2006 |
