Did You Know...
...that Robert Adler has the dubious distinction of being the Father of the Couch Potato? Back in 1955 Adler was employed by what was then Zenith Radio Corp., where he was charged to invent something that would allow viewers to turn down the TV volume without leaving their chairs. After a series of flops (such as a wired contraption that people tripped over), Adler hit on the idea of using sound waves. Thus the Remote Control was born...
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 |
| 7328100 | Coil failure detection system for general-purpose engine In a failure detection system of coils that produce outputs in response to rotation of a crankshaft of a general-purpose engine (including a power coil that produces an output indicative of the engine speed), the outputs produced by the coils are inputted to determi... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7230418 | Flutter reduction apparatus and method A tachometer circuit includes a flutter reduction circuit and a tachometer. The tachometer circuit cancels pointer flutter in the tachometer without adversely affecting pointer response. ... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7175490 | Boat indicator A boat indicator enables a user to easily read engine speeds for boats which can switch between a low-speed trolling mode and a normal running mode at speeds higher than the trolling mode speed. The boat indicator includes an engine speed indicating section for indi... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7145324 | System and method for driving a tachometer An electronic driver and method for producing an output waveform for use by a tachometer comprises an input line that is connected in series with at least one ignition coil. The at least one ignition coil is driven during at least one current dwell period per an ign... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7116096 | Vehicle direction detection using tone ring A tone ring preferably for use in a braking system of a vehicle has a first pattern of excitation indicative of speed of rotation of the tone ring, and a second pattern of excitation including frequency variations that is indicative of direction of rotation of the t... | 10/03/2006 |
| 7113077 | System and method for providing a display utilizing a fast photon indicator A measuring gauge includes a rotatable LED pointer having a light output. As the pointer is rotated about a lens at a constant rate, the output of the LED pointer appears as an arc of light to a user. The arc of light represents a quantity of a desired display unit.... | 09/26/2006 |
| 7012514 | System for facilitating the launch of a drag racing vehicle A performance enhancement system incorporating a controller, an engine tachometer and a visual indicator light which illuminates within a predetermined range of engine RPMs and which may be separately mounted as required in the driver's visual focal plane to reduce ... | 03/14/2006 |
| 6940245 | Downhole compressor system with a feedback sensor A downhole compressor system is disclosed for assisting in extracting gas from the well. The system comprises a compressor 14, an electric motor 10 for driving the compressor 14 which motor has a stator winding and a rotor 12 and, in use,... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6137399 | High performance tachometer having a shift indicator system with "short-shift" protection A high performance tachometer is provided for use in high performance racing vehicles, such as dragsters. The tachometer has an input signal indicative of the vehicular engine speed and an output display for displaying the instantaneous engine speed as in... | 10/24/2000 |
| 5936396 | Tachometer interface circuit with activated switching A tachometer interface circuit is provided for use with a multi-functional measuring device. The tachometer interface circuit includes a conditioning circuit which receives a series of ignition pulses from an internal combustion engine. The conditioning c... | 08/10/1999 |
| 5742198 | Waveform shaping apparatus An input voltage Va and a threshold voltage Vc are compared in a comparator 21 to shaping the waveform of a sensor signal. The period of the output signal of comparator 21 is measured by a period measuring circuit 4. A stepped waveform voltage generating ... | 04/21/1998 |
| 5644491 | Self contained multi-function engine monitor and timer for providing engine running time, job time, service time and tachometer functions An engine monitor includes, in a self-contained preferably sealed unit, a spark sensor, inductively and capacitively coupled through the case to a spark pick up wire, a timer, and a running time detector, responsive to inputs from the spark pick up to pro... | 07/01/1997 |
| 5537322 | System and method for determining a gradient speed of a shaft driven by an internal combustion engine In a system and a method for determining the speed gradient dn/dt of a shaft of an internal combustion engine, the speed gradient dn/dt is determined as a function of the third power of the speed and the difference between two segment times in the control... | 07/16/1996 |
| 5151654 | Tachometer system for measuring the RPM of an internal combustion engine with no physical or visual connection A tachometer system for an internal combustion engine. The tachometer system uses one of two electromagnetic pulse sensing means to detect an electromagnetic signal produced by a firing of the engine. The sensing device may be an antenna or an inductive p... | 09/29/1992 |
| 5109192 | Low voltage powered electrical tachometer for engine A tachometer circuit for an outboard motor wherein battery voltage is switched from a signal generated in the capacitor discharge ignition system for providing a pulsating signal to drive the tachometer of a low voltage so as to reduce the sensitivity to ... | 04/28/1992 |
| 5085191 | Tachometer signal generating device A tachometer signal generating device comprises signal coils which generate pulse signals corresponding to predetermined crank angle positions in synchronism with revolution of an engine, and a microcomputer which generates ignition control signals or fue... | 02/04/1992 |
| 4972332 | Apparatus for determining the speed, angular position and direction of rotation of a rotatable shaft An apparatus (10) for use on electronically controlled fuel injection systems senses speed, angular position, and direction of rotation using only a single Hall effect type sensor (24). A disk element (14) is fixedly connected to and rotatable with the ca... | 11/20/1990 |
| 4950983 | Tachometer signal conditioning circuit A tachometer signal conditioning circuit (20) includes a timer circuit (48) responsive to ignition pulses from the primary lead (28) of an internal combustion engine ignition coil (26), and outputting a timing pulse terminating after a given time delay in... | 08/21/1990 |
| 4799380 | Engine rotation speed detecting apparatus An engine rotation speed detecting apparatus comprises circuitry for sensing the state of operation of an engine, circuitry for setting a plurality of respectively different masking periods of time, circuitry for detecting an ignition signal lasting for a... | 01/24/1989 |
| 4687991 | Two and four cycle digital tachometer A digital tachometer (2) is provided for two and four cycle internal combustion engines. A transformer (14) senses ignition pulses on the primary lead (6) of the ignition coil (4) of the two cycle engine, and an electrical connector (64) senses ignition p... | 08/18/1987 |
| 4676218 | Electronic system for the production of a signal synchronous with an internal combustion engine ignition signal This system includes hysteresis comparison means (6, 9) whose output goes from a first state to a second state when the voltage of the ignition signal (SA) passes a predetermined high threshold and returns from the second state to the first sta... | 06/30/1987 |
| 4608954 | Input circuit for an electronic vehicle speed control unit An improved input circuit for an electronic vehicle speed control unit is disclosed. An ignition current sensor coil is adapted to have a voltage differential signal induced therein each time an ignition pulse is generated by the vehicle engine. Electrica... | 09/02/1986 |
| 4587935 | Outboard motor with engine tachometer Two embodiments of improved electric tachometers for outboard motors wherein the tachometer and its driving sensor are mounted on the protective cowling of the power head of the motor and the sensor derives an electrical signal through an air gap so that ... | 05/13/1986 |
| 4553093 | Tachometer A detection signal of a frequency corresponding to a rotational frequency is applied to a frequency-voltage converter and its converted voltage signal is provided to a sine-cosine current generator, from which sine-wave and cosine-wave currents having sin... | 11/12/1985 |
| 4481469 | Rotary speed sensor with Hall generator responding to tangential component of magnetic field To determine the rotary speed of a toothed element (1), for example the starter gear of an internal combustion (IC) engine, or a toothed wheel coupled to a wheel of a vehicle for evaluation of the speed, and change in speed thereof, for use in a brake ant... | 11/06/1984 |
| 4440508 | Detector-transducer for sensing temperatures in an engine A detector-transducer 26 for sensing temperatures in an engine is disclosed. A temperature signal generated by a temperature sensing device 28 is biased by a supplementary thermocouple 30. A resistor 52 is in series with the temperature sensing device. Th... | 04/03/1984 |
| 4356447 | System and apparatus to determine the angular position, and speed of a rotating shaft, particularly crank shaft of an internal combustion engine To positively allocate output signals from a transducer scanning marker elements arranged at a uniform distance from the center of a rotating disk, the markers are located around the circumference of the disk in accordance with a predetermined pattern, fo... | 10/26/1982 |
| 4352062 | Digital display type tachometer for an automobile A digital display type tachometer for an automobile for numerically displaying a rotation speed of the engine comprises a numeric character display device having display sections for 1000's, 100's, 10's and 1's digits, the 1's digit display section being ... | 09/28/1982 |
| 4274142 | Apparatus for detecting revolutions of an internal combustion engine In a detecting apparatus for indicating engine revolutions or vehicle speed, a counter is provided to count up, for a predetermined period of time, the number of pulses produced by an angle sensor. To improve the accuracy of the measurement, the time widt... | 06/16/1981 |
| 4263578 | Belt drive connection malfunction sensor An A.C. voltage picked up from the alternator driven by an internal combustion engine is converted into a pulse train signal so that the number of the pulses is counted for a period of time defined by a reference timing signal produced in synchronization ... | 04/21/1981 |
| 4262641 | Combined RPM limiter, and electronic tachometer with shift point indicator A multi-function device using two ICs, with the precision ignition pulse frequency-to-voltage converted signal produced in the RPM portion being used as input to both ICs. Chatter pulses produced by an operational amplifier in the RPM limiter are utilized... | 04/21/1981 |
| 4251774 | Internal combustion engine ignition system test apparatus To permit tests of: ignition timing; dwell angle; engine speed; and voltage levels, a pulse train is provided derived from the ignition system of the engine; the pulse train is applied to a frequency multiplier, preferably a phase locked loop (PLL) which ... | 02/17/1981 |
| 4250450 | Detection of engine speed in response to ignition operation A system for detecting rotational frequency of engine which comprises a switching device including a switching transistor for switching on and off the flow of current to the ignition coil of an internal combustion engine and a current limiting circuit for... | 02/10/1981 |
| 4243938 | Digital bar graph tachometer In order to provide a tachometer which is accurate and easy to read, a number of light-emitting diodes is arranged in a row, each diode representing a predetermined increment of speed, rotational speed is measured and used to generate pulses, at a proport... | 01/06/1981 |
| 4221126 | Electronic device for indicating engine speed An electronic indicator device for providing an audible or visible indication when an internal combustion engine to which the device is fitted reaches a predetermined rotational speed so that the driver can, if he wishes, change gear or reduce speed in or... | 09/09/1980 |
| 4194481 | Breaker signal pick-up and shaping circuit An electronic circuit for picking-up and shaping signals emitted from the breaker of a conventional or electronic ignition system is provided which consists of an infrared optical coupler in which the emitter is connected to the terminal common to both sa... | 03/25/1980 |
| 4190798 | Tachometer driven from a capacitor discharge ignition system and including a transistorized shunt voltage regulator A tachometer circuit for an engine having an alternator driven capacitive discharge ignition system functions as a frequency-to-current converter converting each ignition capacitor discharge into a precisely controlled amount of electric charge, which is ... | 02/26/1980 |
| 4174766 | Speed shift indicator A speed shift indicating device is mounted in the driver compartment of a motor vehicle and is connected to the ignition system by a single wire which extends from the driver compartment through the firewall and into the engine compartment. The single wir... | 11/20/1979 |
| 4166248 | Sample and hold frequency to voltage converter circuit A sample and hold frequency to voltage converter circuit particularly suitable for use in automotive applications as a tachometer or other speed indicating device. The converter uses circuit means, responsive to a periodically varying input signal, to gen... | 08/28/1979 |
| 4150653 | System employing a magnetosensitive element for producing an electric signal in synchronism with the periodic movement of a part and application thereof in internal combustion engines A phase-controlled pulse signal generator, comprising a magnetic field source born by a rotating shaft, and a Hall effect sensor submitted to the field, the sinusoidal signal delivered being processed by a phase correcting circuit controlled by the speed ... | 04/24/1979 |
