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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8004152 | Electronic tongue sensor The disclosure may relate to example embodiments of an electronic tongue sensor that may include an array of piezoelectric quartz crystal sensors with at least one coating specific for sensing a specific taste-producing molecule. In an example embodiment, a coating ... | 08/23/2011 |
| 7482732 | Layered surface acoustic wave sensor A surface acoustic wave sensor which incorporates: a) a first layered SAW device consisting of a piezoelectric crystal such as lithium niobate or lithium tantalate with interdigital electrodes on its surface, and second piezoelectric layer such as zinc oxide over sa... | 01/27/2009 |
| 7397167 | Ultrasonic wave generating device An ultrasonic wave generating device includes a substrate, a heat insulation layer on the substrate, a membrane heating portion on the heat insulation layer, and a membrane oscillator on the heating portion. The heating portion is electrically driven with a predeter... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7368855 | Piezoelectric vibration sensor A sensor unit for picking up mechanical vibrations, sound and ultrasound has at least one piezoelectric foil strip (piezo strip) as a sensor element. The piezo strip has signal wires attached thereto for transporting out electrical signals representing vibration, so... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7336266 | Haptic pads for use with user-interface devices Embodiments of the invention relate to haptic devices for use with a variety of computer/video interface devices. Such haptic devices can work in conjunction with and thereby provide “haptic augmentations” to otherwise conventional user-interface devices, includ... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7332850 | Microfabricated ultrasonic transducers with curvature and method for making the same The present invention provides a microfabricated ultrasonic transducers with curvature. The curvature is made possible by thinning the substrate such that it is flexible enough to be mounted on an assembly with the desired curvature. In one aspect of the invention, ... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7319188 | Stringed instrument electronic pickup A piezo-electric sound pickup device for a stringed instrument having a wood or other shapeable material for a casing that is slightly larger than the standard gap between the wing and leg of the instrument bridge. The sound pickup device can be sanded to the proper... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7312945 | Techniques for adjusting for actuator non-linearities in a data storage system The invention provides techniques for adjusting for actuator non-linearities in a data storage system. The invention is particularly useful for piezoelectric actuators, such as actuators that implement a bimorph piezoelectric crystal structure or a laminate piezoele... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7309942 | Piezoelectric transducer systems A transducer assembly has a generally planar resonator (12) (such as a disc) bonded on one face to a sheet of piezoelectric material (12B) and having a mounting flange (12C) (which may extend all around the periphery of the resonator) to mount t... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7250705 | Resonant oscillating device actuator structure A torsional hinged resonant device having an improved anchor support for providing inertia drive. The area by the anchors connecting the torsional hinges to the support member are thinned to have a reduced cross section. The reduced or thinned area increases flexibi... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7245062 | Device for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy An apparatus for conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy having a piezo transducer (1), which is formed from two or more layers, and having a mass/spring system (2, 3, 4), which can oscillate, in a holder (5), which is caused (6 | 07/17/2007 |
| 7236616 | Biometric piezo scanner A piezoelectric thin film sensor array is used to scan and capture biometric data, for example, a fingerprint image. In one embodiment, a multi-layer structure includes a PVDF layer in between two conductor grids arranged orthogonally to one another. Urethane can be... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7190102 | Apparatus and method for charging and discharging a capacitor to a predetermined setpoint An apparatus using electrically-stimulated smart material requires a power source to stimulate the material. This power source has three main functions, (1) to apply a known voltage potential across the smart material, (2) to convert from the control voltage to a le... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7161280 | Ultrasonic transducer and method of joining an ultrasonic transducer The invention concerns an ultrasonic transducer, which is assembled from several parts. These parts are a protecting plate, a piezoelectric disc and a housing. Joining of the parts for transducers are normally done by means of TIG welding or laser welding, but these... | 01/09/2007 |
| 7156201 | Ultrasonic rod waveguide-radiator The present invention comprises an ultrasonic resonant rod waveguide-radiator with at least three cylindrical sections, one of which is an entrance section having a planar entrance surface and another of which is an exit section having a planar exit surface, and at ... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7141918 | Method for obtaining biometric data for an individual in a secure transaction Provided are a method and system for a biometric sensing apparatus. An apparatus includes an input signal generator configured to produce an activation signal. Also includes is a piezoelectric ceramic sensor having a plurality of piezoelectric ceramic elements array... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7142388 | Servo writer and servo writing process A servo writer according to the present invention is a servo writer which writes a servo signal on a servo band of a magnetic tape. It comprises a magnetic tape driving system in which a magnetic tape supplied from a supply reel is taken up by a take-up reel to driv... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7141911 | Driving method of piezoelectric actuator, piezoelectric actuator, and disk recording and reproducing apparatus using the same In a disclosed method, a piezoelectric element 1 has an asymmetrical hysteresis characteristic of polarization-electric field different in absolute values between a coercive field of positive electric side and a coercive field of negative electric field side,... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7132780 | Method for obtaining biometric data for an individual in a secure transaction Provided are a method and system for a biometric sensing apparatus. An apparatus includes an input signal generator configured to produce an activation signal. Also includes is a piezoelectric ceramic sensor having a plurality of piezoelectric ceramic elements array... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7087876 | High-frequency melting of interfacial ice An alternating electric field is applied at an ice interface to generate a resistive AC current having a frequency greater than 1000 Hz in interfacial ice. Typically, a first electrode and a second electrode proximate to the interface are separated by an interelectr... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7008231 | Catching training apparatus A glove for assisting the user to catch a thrown object with fingers rather than palms, including pressure sensors installed in the palm area of typical receiver gloves (providing a voltage trigger signal used to latch an indicator LED informing the athlete of palm ... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6992700 | Apparatus for correction based upon detecting a camera shaking An apparatus for detecting a deviation of a camera as a result of the camera shaking, for example resulting from a hand of the camera operator shaking. The apparatus includes a shaking detector which detects a deviation of the camera from shaking based upon an outpu... | 01/31/2006 |
| 6956348 | Debris sensor for cleaning apparatus A piezoelectric debris sensor and associated signal processor responsive to debris strikes enable an autonomous or non-autonomous cleaning device to detect the presence of debris and in response, to select a behavioral mode, operational condition or pattern of movem... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6848299 | Quartz crystal microbalance with feedback loop for automatic gain control An analytical apparatus, such as a quartz crystal microbalance, comprises a piezoelectric sensor and an oscillator circuit, coupled to the sensor, to oscillate at a frequency substantially determined by a resonant frequency of the sensor, and to provide an output si... | 02/01/2005 |
| 6763285 | Adaptive compensation of sensor run-out and mass unbalance in magnetic bearing systems without changing rotor speed The present invention provides a method and system for stabilizing a rotor about its geometric center in a magnetic bearing system at a constant rotor speed. In the method, the controller for controlling the magnetic bearing uses an adaptive control algorithm which ... | 07/13/2004 |
| 6424077 | Manipulator A plurality of linear actuators (10, 20, 30) connected in sequence orthogonally to one another constitute rectilinear movement means having a plurality of degrees of freedom in rectilinear movement. Further, a rotary actuator (40) has one end connected to... | 07/23/2002 |
| 6392827 | Drive and guide mechanism and apparatus using the mechanism A lens driving device which does not make larger an apparatus in which the device is installed, which ensures a longer span for preventing a tilt of a lens therein, and which allows an easy access to the lens after assemblage is disclosed. The lens drivin... | 05/21/2002 |
| 6194811 | Drive apparatus A drive apparatus having a drive pulse generation device that generates drive pulses. An electromechanical transducer has a first end and a second end. The electromechanical transducer expands and contracts in response to pulses supplied from the drive pu... | 02/27/2001 |
| 6147434 | Drive device using electromechanical transducer and apparatus equipped with the device A drive device using a piezoelectric transducer for correcting a shift of a position of a drive system based on a change in an environmental state such as environmental temperature, in which a drive member coupled to the piezoelectric transducer is driven... | 11/14/2000 |
| 5890643 | Low mass ultrasonic bonding tool A novel low mass transducer for bonding machines comprises a transducer generator which mounts on or is coupled to a bonding tool of the type used for ball bonding, wedge bonding and TAB bonding. The preferred embodiment transducer comprises a magnetostri... | 04/06/1999 |
| 5815079 | Device for establishing and/or monitoring a predetermined filling level in a container A description is given of a sturdy device for establishing and/or monitoring a predetermined filling level in a container, which device exhibits a housing (1), two oscillating rods (3, 4) projecting into the container, a first diaphragm (2) which is fixed... | 09/29/1998 |
| 5631633 | Device for determining and/or monitoring a predetermined material level in a container The determination and/or monitoring of a predetermined material level in a container is effected with the help of a material level sensor which contains a mechanical oscillatory structure, an electromechanical excitation transducer and two electromechanic... | 05/20/1997 |
| 5596145 | Monolithic resonator for vibrating beam force sensors A monolithic resonator for a vibrating beam device, either an accelerometer or a pressure transducer, includes an outer structure and an inner structure. The outer structure includes a mounting structure, a proof mass or pressure transfer structure and a ... | 01/21/1997 |
| 5568004 | Electromechanical positioning device An electromechanical positioning device to be used for positioning, for example, a probe-tip (12) in a scanning tunneling microscope, an electron emitter in a field electron gun, a mirror in an interferometer etc. comprises a low-mass support (10) as a mo... | 10/22/1996 |
| 5520050 | Driving and detecting circuit of a vibrator First switching elements 28, 30 and resistors 36, 38 are connected to piezoelectric elements 16a, 16b of a vibrating gyroscope 12. An oscillation circuit 32 and a phase correction circuit 34 are connected between a piezoelectric element 16c and the first ... | 05/28/1996 |
| 5430341 | Miniaturized power supply for an electroactive actuator A circuit for providing from a low voltage input, a high voltage output to a segmented electroactive actuator, wherein each of the segments function as a filter capacitor and a load, comprising a transformer, an input switching means, input coupling means... | 07/04/1995 |
| 5408168 | Device for determining and/or monitoring a predetermined filling level in a container The device comprises at least two oscillation rods that are mounted at a distance from each other on a membrane, the edge of which are connected with a screw insert. A clamping screw is connected with the membrane on the side opposing the oscillation rods... | 04/18/1995 |
| 5389849 | Tactility providing apparatus and manipulating device using the same A detecting portion outputs a contact state signal in accordance with a contact state with respect to an object to be manipulated. The contact state signal represents at least one of information of a sense of sliding of the detection portion with respect ... | 02/14/1995 |
| 5375336 | Gyro-compass A support base of an angular velocity sensor is supported rotatably at one end, and the support base is vibrated by a piezoelectric element. By this vibration, a known rotational angular velocity is applied to the angular velocity sensor. For example, a d... | 12/27/1994 |
| 5302878 | High-frequency acoustic rheometer and device to measure the viscosity of a fluid using this rheometer An acoustic rheometer working in the high frequency range comprises a torsional-mode transducer which is a crystal of the sillenites class, having a height that determines the resonance frequencies of the mode of torsion, and being provided with an electr... | 04/12/1994 |
