Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7977938 | Device and method of detecting ferrite and non-ferrite objects A metal detector for detecting the presence of a ferrite object in the proximity of inductively coupled sensor having overlapping D shaped transmitter and receiver coils. The metal detector has a phase shift circuit to phase shifting a sensor output signal by a know... | 07/12/2011 |
| 7893690 | Balancing circuit for a metal detector A balancing circuit for a metal detector. The metal detector includes an oscillating power source, a transmit coil connected to the oscillating power source, first and second receive coils inductively coupled to the transmit coil, a first amplitude balancing circuit... | 02/22/2011 |
| 7348771 | Method for verifying sensor condition Sensor condition verification may be performed on electromagnetic sensors and sensor arrays mounted to a material surface. The sensors typically have a periodic winding or electrode structure that creates a periodic sensing field when driven by an electrical signal.... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7345474 | Detector for magnetizable material using amplitude and phase discrimination A detector for magnetizable materials operates remotely to determine a amplitude and phase modification of an exciting magnetic field caused by the magnetizable materials. These amplitude and phase measurements are used to create a phase-amplitude trajectory in phas... | 03/18/2008 |
| 7317319 | Measuring method for electromagnetic field intensity and apparatus therefor, measuring method for electromagnetic field intensity distribution and apparatus therefor, measuring method for current and voltage distributions and apparatus therefor Intensities of electric and magnetic fields are measured by locating a conductor and reference conductor in the electromagnetic field so the conductor and reference conductor simultaneously output plural currents that are respectively simultaneously measured in diff... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7310586 | Metal detector with data transfer A metal detector adapted to generate a transmit search signal and to receive a receive search signal, and to analyse such received search signal, wherein the detector is adapted to allow a selection of operating parameters for each of these functions, said selection... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7301335 | Apparatus and method for eddy-current magnetic scanning a surface to detect sub-surface cracks around a boundary An RFEC excitation unit and sensor apparatus and method that facilitate detection of cracks or other anomalies within or under a surface and immediately next to an expected structure (such as a rivet) that would otherwise cause a signal change preventing detection o... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7295003 | Non-destructive testing system and method utilizing a magnetic field to identify defects in a layer of a laminated material Techniques for detecting defects in the proximity of a hole of a laminate structure include inserting a generally cylindrical body portion into a hole such that a first coil of wire will reside in a plane substantially parallel to a first electrically conductive lay... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7285953 | Device for detecting interfering pieces in material to be conveyed A device for producing a detection signal when interfering, preferably metallic conductive pieces occur in an at least largely non-conductive conveyor stream. An alternating electromagnetic field is built up by an alternating current generator through a transmission... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7282909 | Methods and apparatus for determining the thickness of a conductive layer on a substrate A method of determining the thickness of a conductive film is disclosed. The method employs measured voltage and current responses that have been temperature-compensated to determine the thickness of the conductive film. The temperature compensation uses a temperatu... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7272520 | Method and apparatus for determining a current in a conductor The present invention provides a method of determining a current in a conductor. The method comprises the steps of determining the nth spatial derivative of at least one vector component of the magnetic field associated with the current at at least one po... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7256577 | High frequency rotary eddy current probe device An eddy current detection system configured in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention employs a high frequency rotary eddy current probe that is capable of detecting very shallow surface imperfections, including imperfections originating at scribe li... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7250785 | Method and apparatus for inspecting printed circuit boards A detection unit 1 for detecting an electric field or a magnetic field is placed above a circuit board 4 to be detected. A control device 3 allows the detection unit 4 to carry out detection processes while moving the detection unit 1 | 07/31/2007 |
| 7241630 | Paramagnetic particle detection A method of determining the number of magnetic particles within a sample using a tuned circuit having a capacitor and a coil. The method comprises: a. determining the difference in the resonant frequency of the tuned circuit when t... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7239157 | Optical trigger for PICA technique Optical triggering system and method for synchronizing a test of an integrated circuit chip with its operation. An optical triggering system includes a testing mechanism, such as a PICA testing mechanism, for testing an integrated circuit chip. An optical trigger me... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7236761 | Balanced circuit arrangement and method for linearizing such an arrangement The present invention relates to a balanced circuit arrangement and methods for linearizing and calibrating such a circuit arrangement, wherein linearization is obtained by introducing a load imbalance between the output branches of the balanced circuit arrangement.... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7224910 | Direct attach optical receiver module and method of testing Optical receiver modules are used for receiving high-speed optical data signals. Unfortunately, these optical receiver modules are often tested for the first time after they are packaged in a housing. Thus significant costs are associated with those packaged devices... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7224174 | Optical alignment loops for the wafer-level testing of optical and optoelectronic chips This application describes, among others, wafer designs, testing systems and techniques for wafer-level optical testing by coupling probe light to/from the top of the wafer. A wafer level test system uses an optical probe to search for and align with an optical alig... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7215117 | Measurement with a magnetic field Material properties such as stress in a ferromagnetic material may be measured using an electromagnetic probe. While generating an alternating magnetic field in the object, and sensing the resulting magnetic field with a sensor, the signals from the magnetic sensor ... | 05/08/2007 |
| 7212895 | Magnetic sensor A magnetic flux is sensed within a gap at a first location between two portions of a vehicle body/structure and a signal generated responsive thereto controls an element of the vehicle, wherein the magnetic flux is responsive to a disturbance of the vehicle body/str... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7206706 | Inspection method and system using multifrequency phase analysis A method for inspecting a part is provided. The method includes applying a number of multifrequency excitation signals to a probe to generate a number of multifrequency response signals for the part being inspected. The method further includes performing a multifreq... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7193405 | Electronic multi-depth object locator with self-illuminating optical element warning and detection An embodiment of the invention provides a sensing device that includes a sensing circuit and a mode selection input device. The sensing circuit senses the presence of an object beneath a surface. The mode selection input device allows a user to select, using a singl... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7173418 | Methods and apparatus for optimizing an electrical response to a set of conductive layers on a substrate A method of determining a first thickness of a first conductive layer formed of a first conductive material on a target substrate, the target substrate further having a second conductive layer formed of a second conductive material different from the first conductiv... | 02/06/2007 |
| 7156314 | Chip card A chip card having a contact-type interface having first loads associated therewith and capable of transmitting power and data, and a contactless interface having second loads associated therewith and capable of transmitting power and data. In a dual mode of operati... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7154287 | Method and apparatus for light-controlled circuit characterization Light-controlled circuit characterization techniques are disclosed. For example, a technique for testing an integrated circuit includes the following steps/operations. At least a portion of the integrated circuit is stimulated with a light source so as to affect one... | 12/26/2006 |
| 7150798 | Non-destructive testing method of determining the service metal temperature of a component It is disclosed a method of determining the exposure temperature of Al and Cr of a γ/γ′ MCrAlY-coating after the use in a high temperature environment, the γ/γ′ MCrAlY-coating exhibiting a non-equilibrium γ/γ′-microstructure at a temperature lower than t... | 12/19/2006 |
| 7145328 | Metal detector and its test procedure A test procedure and a metal detector having transmitting coils, receiving coils and an electronic processing circuit adapted to detect variations in the signals received by the receiving coils against a reference value. The metal detector, also includes a test modu... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7133804 | Maintenance request systems and methods A method for requesting one or more machines to be maintained includes monitoring the machine or machines and detecting when a failure of at least one machine occurs. The method further includes executing a computer program on an electronic terminal associated with ... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7132943 | Moving belt sensor A detection system is provided which is configured to have a transmitter capable of interacting with an object by generating a field, and a multiplicity of receivers operative to measure changes in the environment caused by the object's response to the generated fie... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7126344 | Diagnostic device for an antenna A diagnostic device for an antenna includes a coil (20) or the like connected on the one hand to a reference potential and on the other hand to the output of an amplifier (12), including two condensers (C2, C3) mounted in series, a first ... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7123005 | Magnetometer with structure asymmetry correction A differential magnetometer consisting of at least one active coil (4, 5) and a receiver coil (10) for which the windings are installed differentially, is provided with a measurement circuit (14) with a slaving device that corrects dissymmetry a... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7113874 | Magnetic crash sensing method A signal generated responsive to a magnetic field in a magnetic circuit is decomposed into first and second filtered signals, wherein, at at least one first frequency, a magnitude of a component of the first filtered signal is greater than that of the second filtere... | 09/26/2006 |
| 7102347 | Metallic contaminant detecting method and apparatus therefor A metallic contaminant detecting method and apparatus according to the present invention detect metallic contaminants mixed in objects under inspection, such as food products, pharmaceuticals, and materials for industrial use, which are wrapped in electrically condu... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7099784 | Method and apparatus for preventing overloads of power distribution networks Systems and methods for monitoring power in power distribution systems are provided. In one aspect, a system for monitoring power includes a power monitoring device that measures a value of at least one characteristic of power provided to a branch of a power distrib... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7078894 | Polishing device using eddy current sensor An eddy current sensor and a method for detecting the thickness of a film formed on a substrate. The eddy current sensor, which is capable of stable operation, is operable to accurately detect a polishing endpoint. The eddy current sensor detects the thickness of a ... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7079971 | Fail analysis device A fail analysis device enabling a simplified operation and a reduced operation time. A reduced data acquiring section (40) reads a reduced logical data, obtained by reducing detailed logical data as a test result, from a CFM (120) in a semiconductor te... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7070476 | In-situ metalization monitoring using eddy current measurements during the process for removing the film A method for measuring conductance of a sample using an eddy current probe with a sensing coil. The method includes N repetitions of measuring first and second voltage pairs including in-phase and quadrature components of an induced AC voltage in the sensing coil, c... | 07/04/2006 |
| 7068041 | Method and system for multi-frequency inductive ratio measurement A method of testing a cable is provided. The method includes measuring at least one inductive ratio for the cable, determining an inductive gap from the at least one inductive ratio, measuring a parallel impedance of the cable, and determining a resistance of the ca... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7068028 | Method and apparatus for metal target proximity detection at long distances A method and system for detecting a position of a metallic object are disclosed. The method includes (a) exciting a coil with an electrical signal to produce an electromagnetic field enveloping the object, (b) allowing a frequency of the electrical signal to be at t... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7069162 | Magnetic field analysis method and programs for rotating machines Constant components and rotation fundamental mode components on the slide plane between a rotor and a stator are derived from a magnetic field distribution at a predetermined time. The analysis space is divided into a rotor space and a stator space. A fundamental mo... | 06/27/2006 |
