Celebrity Inventors
Glam girl Heddy Lamar may have used her good looks to good effect on the silver screen, but she put her smarts to better use as an inventor. During World War II, she co-patented a frequency-switching system for torpedo guidance that was considered years ahead of its time.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7868554 | Light weight automotive HID igniter A light weight, bobbinless high voltage transformer and igniter module is provided that meets low-cost and high-reliability requirements for automotive HID products. A printed circuit board (112) serves as a carrier for low voltage electronic components. A hi... | 01/11/2011 |
| 7492104 | High pressure discharge lamp A high pressure discharge lamp includes an outer tubular bulb whose inner space is exhausted to a vacuum; an arc tube contained in the outer tubular bulb; and a voltage reducing switching element for reducing a voltage applied to the arc tube. The voltage reducing s... | 02/17/2009 |
| 7453214 | Lamp-operating unit and low-pressure mercury discharge lamp The present invention aims to provide an inrush current limiting resistor for suppressing inrush current, and to avoid an excessive current flowing through the inrush current limiting resistor even if the lamp is operated at a dimmed level by mistake. A compact self... | 11/18/2008 |
| 7427839 | Inductively powered apparatus An inductive power supply system for providing power to one or more inductively powered devices. The system includes a mechanism for varying the physical distance or the respective orientation between the primary coil and secondary coil to control the amount of powe... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7365951 | Discharge lamp lighting device, lighting system and method A method and apparatus for protecting a discharge lamp lighting device from damage due to mis-wiring of a source of electrical power to the discharge lamp lighting device. The protection apparatus includes a detector, a comparer and an inhibitor. The detector sample... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7357534 | Flashlight providing thermal protection for electronic elements thereof A portable light including thermal protection comprises a thermally-conductive heat sink having a heat dissipating part and a heat collecting part; a light source having a surface thermally coupled to the heat collecting part of the heat sink; an electronic circuit ... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7358676 | Fluorescent light source A fluorescent light source includes at least one tube surrounding an interior region. The tube has a plurality of tubular portions, each one of which is disposed adjacent to at least one other tubular portion. The fluorescent light source has a support member, and e... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7358706 | Power factor correction control methods and apparatus Power factor correction control methods and apparatus based on knowing in advance some information relating to anticipated load conditions (e.g., a desired power to be provided to a load). Based on “feeding-forward” known information about anticipated load condi... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7357528 | CCFL illuminated device and method of use Cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs), associated devices and methods of use, and more specifically, exit signs, traffic signals, informational and other signage and lighting devices utilizing CCFL-type devices are provided with novel connectors, mounting brackets,... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7355351 | Circuit arrangement having a converter without a transformer but with an inductor for the pulsed operation of dielectric barrier discharge lamps Circuit arrangement having a converter without a transformer but with an inductor for the pulsed operation of dielectric barrier discharge lamps The circuit arrangement according to the invention comprises an inductor-type converter for the pulsed operation o... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7352339 | Diffuse illumination systems and methods The systems and methods disclosed herein relate to sources of diffuse illumination for providing substantially uniform illumination to a surface. The diffuse illumination arises from varying the diffusion angle of light generated by an LED system. To vary the diffus... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7345423 | Assembly of a fluorescent lamp and an extension means An energy-saving assembly of an elongate low-pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp (1) and at least one elongate extension (2). The low-pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp includes a light-transmitting discharge vessel (10) enclosing, in a gas... | 03/18/2008 |
| 7341469 | Adapter for a recessed lamp An adapter for providing a recessed lamp in a screw-type lampholder. This adapter has an electrical contact-making device, via which an electrical connection is produced between a screw base, which can be introduced into the screw-type lampholder, of the adapter and... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7339790 | Halogen lamps with mains-to-low voltage drivers A halogen lamp includes a mains base and a converter operably connected to the mains base. The converter has a lamp socket, a toroid transformer, and a heat sink disposed within a center opening of the toroid transformer. A lamp is removably disposed in the lamp soc... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7332861 | Light-emitting structures Light-emitting structures of reduced size are realized with combinations of light-emitting diodes, resistive and conductive films, and interconnect members. Other embodiments are provided which simplify fabrication and assembly. ... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7332981 | Impedance matching apparatus for a plasma chamber comprising two separate storage units and three separate calculators An impedance matching apparatus 3 calculates a forward wave voltage Vfo and a reflected wave voltage Vro at an output terminal 3b, based on a forward wave voltage Vfi and a reflected wave voltage Vri at an input terminal 3a, on inf... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7319599 | Module incorporating a capacitor, method for manufacturing the same, and capacitor used therefor A module incorporating a capacitor, the module including a circuit board and a layer incorporating a capacitor, wherein the circuit board includes a wiring layer and a via contact for providing electrical conductivity to a cathode and an anode of the capacitor. The ... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7318661 | Universal light emitting illumination device and method Disclosed is a method and apparatus for providing a light emitting diode and driving circuitry integrated into a component module that will retrofit common incandescent lightbulb applications. The disclosed embodiments will perform with high efficiency at a wide ope... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7315115 | Light-emitting and electron-emitting devices having getter regions A light-emitting device contains getter material (58) typically distributed in a relatively uniform manner across the device's active light-emitting portion. An electron-emitting device similarly contains getter material (112, 110/112, 128, 132, and | 01/01/2008 |
| 7311419 | Illumination apparatus for a fluorescent task lamp An illumination assembly for a handheld fluorescent task lamp, comprising first and second elongated compact fluorescent bulbs positioned in an upright orientation side by side; a self starting electronic driver circuit operable to start and run the at least first a... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7300173 | Replacement illumination device for a miniature flashlight bulb Disclosed is a method and apparatus for providing a solid state light emitter and driving circuitry integrated into a component module that will retrofit common incandescent light bulb applications. The disclosed embodiment is directed to the retrofitting of small f... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7300186 | Blister lights used for signalling and/or marking purposes Blister lights are used for signaling and/or marking purposes. The blister lights include a housing which is embedded in a traffic area, e.g. a street, an airport runway for taking off and for landing, or the like. It further includes a housing cover by which means ... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7300172 | Illuminable attachment for vacuum wand An illuminable attachment for a tube having a clamp movable from an open position to a closed position engaging the walls of said tube. The illuminable element is comprised of a housing having a lamp, power supply, switch and circuit means within said housing mounta... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7288014 | Design, fabrication, testing, and conditioning of micro-components for use in a light-emitting panel A method of forming micro-components is disclosed. The method includes pretesting and conditioning of the micro-components. The micro-components that fail testing or conditioning are discarded, and those remaining are assembled into a panel. ... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7285247 | Apparatus and method for operating a fuel reformer so as to purge soot therefrom A method of operating a fuel reformer includes advancing a first air/fuel mixture having a first air-to-fuel ratio into the fuel reformer. The method further includes determining if a soot purge is to be performed and generating a purge-soot signal in response there... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7279843 | Inductively powered apparatus An inductive power supply system for providing power to one or more inductively powered devices. The system includes a mechanism for varying the physical distance or the respective orientation between the primary coil and secondary coil to control the amount of powe... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7279853 | Fluorescent lamp dimmer control A dimmer fixture has a ballast board 10, a main board 40 and switch 70. The ballast board and main board have no inductors so the fixture may be used for fluorescent and incandescent lamps. The ballast board 10 has two bridge circuits ... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7261437 | Wedge-based lamp with LED light engine and method of making the lamp An LED wedge-based lamp and method of making the lamp, where the lamp has a generally planar circuit board having one end that has electrical connections exposed thereon and a connecting part that is adapted to mechanically couple the lamp to a wedge-based lamp sock... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7258464 | Integral ballast lamp thermal management method and apparatus A lamp having a lighting source, integral electronics, and a thermal distribution mechanism disposed in a housing. The thermal distribution mechanism may include a For example, the lamp may include a thermal shield between the lighting source and the integral electr... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7256539 | Eccentric planar fluorescent tube An eccentric planar fluorescent tube includes an outer planar fluorescent tubular member that extends substantially but not completely about a center point and which is extended by two inner portions that extend from a first peripheral portion of the outer tubular m... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7256548 | Electric circuit for igniting a discharge lamp, and electric component module and discharge lamp incorporating such an electric circuit An electric circuit for igniting a discharge lamp includes a voltage source, and at least one condenser electrically connected to the voltage source. Further, a series chain is provided, electrically connected in parallel with the condenser, of at least one ignition... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7256554 | LED power control methods and apparatus Methods and apparatus for providing and controlling power to loads including one or more LEDs. In one example, a controlled predetermined power is provided to a load without requiring any feedback information from the load (i.e., without monitoring a load voltage an... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7244281 | Method and apparatus for trapping and purging soot from a fuel reformer A plasma fuel reformer assembly for producing reformate gas includes a fuel reformer having an air/fuel input assembly, an electrode assembly, and a soot trap positioned downstream of the electrode assembly. The electrode assembly includes a first electrode and a se... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7245083 | Incandescent lamp with integral controlling means An incandescent lamp has incorporated a circuit board within a recess in the bulb, wherein the circuit board contains connections and circuitry to control power to the lamp filament while maintaining the attachment of the bulb to the metal base, wherein the complete... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7233115 | LED-based lighting network power control methods and apparatus Multiple lighting apparatus coupled together to form a lighting network, in which operating power is efficiently provided throughout the network based on a distributed DC voltage or a distributed AC voltage. Based on various power driver configurations, each lightin... | 06/19/2007 |
| 7231060 | Systems and methods of generating control signals Separating a source in a stereo signal having a left channel and a right channel includes transforming the signal into a short-time transform domain; computing a short-time similarity measure between the left channel and the right channel; classifying portions of th... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7224124 | Apparatus and methods for making capacitive measurements of cathode fall in fluorescent lamps Apparatus and methods for measuring cathode fall in fluorescent lamps are disclosed. Together with measurements of cathode temperature, such measurements of cathode fall may inform a determination of cathode heater voltage as a function of discharge current (i.e., a... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7224125 | Dimmable fluorescent lamp package A lamp package includes a base for insertion into an electrical socket, a complete dimmable ballast circuit contained within and electrically connected to the base, and a fluorescent lamp, including a CFLP, connected to and dimmed through the ballast circuit. The ba... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7210814 | Dental curing light with specially arranged LEDs A dental curing light including an elongate wand having a proximal end and a distal end, a plurality of LEDs disposed at or near a distal end of the elongate wand and a printed circuit board for mounting the plurality of LEDs. The LEDs include a main through mount L... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7204615 | LED light with active cooling An LED light assembly includes a housing, an LED disposed in the housing, a heat dissipating structure and a fluid current generator. The LED is in thermal communication with the heat dissipating structure and includes a flow path surface. The fluid current generato... | 04/17/2007 |
