British merchant Peter Durand invented the tin can in 1810.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8072223 | Monitoring circuit for determining if an electric element has failed before the electric element is powered A circuit for monitoring the functionality of an electrical element. A primary power supply provides direct current to the electrical element at a current sufficient for the electrical element to operate. A Schottky diode is disposed between the primary power supply... | 12/06/2011 |
| 8026724 | Projection lamp test device A projector lamp electronic test circuit is provided. The test circuit includes an electrical connector configured to be operatively coupled to a lamp of a projection unit under test, a converter configured to receive a test charge to be sent to the lamp from an alt... | 09/27/2011 |
| 8008922 | Ballast and wiring lamp fixture tester Apparatus and methods for testing a light fixture power circuit are therefore provided. The light fixture power circuit may energize a fluorescent lamp by providing power at first and second power terminals. The lamp holder may include a lamp pin guide for guiding t... | 08/30/2011 |
| 7915896 | Identification of a defective filament in a fluorescent lamp Control of delivery of current through one or more discharge lamps. Methods include alternately switching on and off switching elements that control a fluorescent lamp, in response to receiving input, until the brightness of the lamp decreases to a threshold. Furthe... | 03/29/2011 |
| 7911210 | Diagnosis device, diagnosis method, and lamp ballast circuit using the same The present invention relates a diagnosis device for detecting an end of lamp life of a lamp, a diagnosis method, and a lamp ballast circuit using the same. The diagnosis device generates a reference lamp voltage by adding a predetermined reference voltage to a dist... | 03/22/2011 |
| 7898261 | Lamp with metering device A lamp includes a generator that generates electricity. A battery stores the generated electricity. A light source produces light from the stored electricity. A metering device tallies an operating parameter indicative of the amount of electrical energy consumed by ... | 03/01/2011 |
| 7888942 | Devices and methods for LED life test A life test device comprises an oven, a current source, a voltage meter, a control module, and a process module. A light-emitting diode (LED) is disposed in the oven. The temperature of the oven is gradually changed in a first period and remains at a set temperature... | 02/15/2011 |
| 7876103 | LED chain failure detection The system consists of an LED failure detection circuit to provide protection against individual LED catastrophic failure. When LED clusters are arranged in a series-parallel configuration, it is important to detect individual LED failure in order to avoid uncontrol... | 01/25/2011 |
| 7859267 | Testing device for lighting means A testing device (1) for a lamp (3) operated at a nominal voltage (Vn) and at a nominal frequency (fn), having a capacitive coupling of a test voltage (Vp) at a testing frequency of (fp) to the lamp (3), wherein a coupled test voltage (Vpa) corr... | 12/28/2010 |
| 7812612 | Method and apparatus for monitoring the operation of a gas discharge lamp For monitoring the operation of a gas discharge lamp operated with an AC voltage, a lamp voltage signal is generated which is dependent on the voltage dropped across the gas discharge lamp during operation. The lamp voltage signal is filtered with an attenuation tha... | 10/12/2010 |
| 7777495 | Method and a device for detecting signal lamps in a vehicle Provided are a device and a method of detecting signal lamps in a vehicle, in particular in a large vehicle, being provided with a plurality of signal lamps each being capable of switching between an OFF-phase and an ON-phase. The method includes the steps of during... | 08/17/2010 |
| 7723992 | Detector for an ultraviolet lamp system and a corresponding method for monitoring microwave energy A detector for an ultraviolet lamp system of the type having a microwave generator includes a first circuit that is configured to detect the microwave energy generated from the microwave generator. The first circuit includes at least one radiation sensitive componen... | 05/25/2010 |
| 7432717 | Repair device for decorative light shunt A repair device for fixing a malfunctioning shunt across a failed filament in a light bulb in a group of series-connected miniature decorative bulbs includes a high-voltage pulse generator producing one or more pulses of a magnitude greater than the standard AC powe... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7433164 | Ceiling fan motor control module A ceiling fan motor control module includes a digital core controller coupled to a brushless motor for computing, processing, transmitting and controlling signals and providing a soft start and stop function, a back stage output device for receiving signals from the... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7432722 | Flexible continuity and circuit tester A flexible circuit and continuity testing device may include a flexible printed circuit substrate. A battery having a positive and negative terminal may be attached to the substrate. An illumination source, e.g., an LED, may be attached to the substrate. The testing... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7408356 | Method of determining a zero point of a current sensor A method of determining a zero point of a current sensor in a circuit arrangement for operating a gas discharge lamp includes switching off the current through the sensor for a short period during a first half wave and determining a first test value. Then the curren... | 08/05/2008 |
| 7372214 | Apparatus and method for driving lamp of liquid crystal display device A lamp driving apparatus of a liquid crystal display includes a plurality of lamps arranged with a predetermined distance between adjacent lamps; a comparator to compare output voltages of lamps that are separated by more than the lamp distance; and a power intercep... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7362103 | System for driving a plurality of lamps and fault detecting circuit thereof A system for driving a plurality of lamps includes an inverter circuit (20) and a fault detecting circuit (30). The inverter circuit includes a plurality of outputs divided into a first output part and a second output part. The fault detecting circuit ... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7339322 | Apparatus and methods for making spectroscopic measurements of cathode fall in fluorescent lamps Apparatus and methods are disclosed for measuring cathode fall within a fluorescent lamp that contains an electrode and a gas. A level of cathode fall associated with the electrode may be identified based on an intensity and wavelength of radiation emitted by the ga... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7329995 | Serial lamp set having security warning functions A serial lamp set having security warning functions comprising at least one serial lamp set unit composed of a plurality of light emitting elements, insulated electric wires, and power source connector; at least one IC set being connected in the serial lamp set for ... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7323877 | Apparatus and methods for making spectroscopic measurements of cathode fall in fluorescent lamps Apparatus and methods are disclosed for measuring cathode fall within a fluorescent lamp that contains an electrode and a gas. A level of cathode fall associated with the electrode may be identified based on an intensity and wavelength of radiation emitted by the ga... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7301346 | Hand lamp, especially for magnetic crack detection The invention relates to a manual lamp, especially for optical crack testing according to the magnetic powder testing and dye penetration method. Said manual lamp comprises at least one LED having an emission wavelength located in the UVA range as an illuminating me... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7279851 | Systems and methods for fault protection in a balancing transformer An apparatus and methods for balancing current in multiple negative impedance gas discharge lamp loads. Embodiments advantageously include balancing transformer configurations that are relatively cost-effective, reliable, efficient, and good performing. Embodiments ... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7276911 | Detection of malfunctioning bulbs in decorative light strings A system for locating a malfunctioning bulb in a decorative light string uses an antenna that produces an output signal corresponding to the strength of the electric field produced by a portion of the light string near the antenna. An amplifier is coupled to the ant... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7259519 | 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... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7250769 | Methods and apparatus for detecting leaks in fluorescent lamps Methods and apparatus are provided for identifying the presence of leaks in a fluorescent bulb or other lamp suitable for use as a backlight in an avionics or other liquid crystal display (LCD). The lamp is first placed in a bath of helium or another vaporous substa... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7245224 | Methods and systems for diagnosing projection device failure Projection device failure may be diagnosed by sensing improper operation of projection lamp ignitor circuitry. An ignitor failure indicator may be activated based on a sensed failure in the operation of the lamp ignitor circuitry to prevent incorrect projection lamp... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7232101 | Hard drive test fixture The present invention is a method and apparatus for testing electrical or optical devices. The invention includes a test fixture having a base component, a first rail and a second rail coupled to the base component, a top component coupled to the first and second ra... | 06/19/2007 |
| 7196476 | 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... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7187244 | Digital light ballast oscillator An oscillator for a power converter control outputs a pulse train based on a charging time of a capacitor linked to a variable current source. A digital to analog converter (DAC) controls the variable current source in conjunction with a switch to determine the char... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7173379 | Incremental distributed driver An incremental distributed driver divides power delivered to multiple lamps into two power delivery stages. The first power delivery stage operates in voltage-mode to provide a partial operating voltage to the lamps. The second power delivery stage operates in curre... | 02/06/2007 |
| 7156525 | System and method for managing projector bulb life Projector bulb life is managed to achieve desired performance parameters, such as a maximum life mode or maximum brightness mode, by sensing bulb luminance and applied the sensed luminance with a luminance feedback controller to drive the bulb to achieve the desired... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7145342 | System and method for automated filament testing of gas discharge lamps A system for automated testing of the lamp filaments has an ohm meter. The ohm meter is used to determine the resistance of the lamp filament prior to energizing the lamp. A multiplexer switches the ohm meter from one lamp filament to the next so that the lamp filam... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7145343 | Repair device for decorative light shunt A repair device for fixing a malfunctioning shunt across a failed filament in a light bulb in a group of series-connected miniature decorative bulbs includes a high-voltage pulse generator producing one or more pulses of a magnitude greater than the standard AC powe... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7141933 | Systems and methods for a transformer configuration for driving multiple gas discharge tubes in parallel An apparatus and methods for balancing current in multiple negative impedance gas discharge lamp loads. Embodiments advantageously include balancing transformer configurations that are relatively cost-effective, reliable, efficient, and good performing. Embodiments ... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7132935 | Single person vehicle light test Methods and apparatus are provided whereby a single person can test exterior lights of a vehicle. The apparatus comprises a controller coupled to the lights for turning light groups ON and OFF in a predetermined sequence in response to a START TEST signal and vehicl... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7120560 | Lamp monitoring and control system and method A system and method for remotely monitoring and/or controlling an apparatus and specifically for remotely monitoring and/or controlling street lamps. The lamp monitoring and control system comprises lamp monitoring and control units, each coupled to a respective lam... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7119495 | Controlling a light assembly A method and apparatus for operating a light assembly with fewer peripheral devices than is currently required is presented. The apparatus of the invention includes a lamp unit, a current restricting unit coupled to the lamp unit, and a current sensing unit that is ... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7116055 | Apparatus and methods for making spectroscopic measurements of cathode fall in fluorescent lamps Apparatus and methods are disclosed for measuring cathode fall within a fluorescent lamp that contains an electrode and a gas. A level of cathode fall associated with the electrode may be identified based on an intensity and wavelength of radiation emitted by the ga... | 10/03/2006 |
| 7113893 | Lamp monitoring and control unit and method A unit and method for remotely monitoring and/or controlling an apparatus and specifically for remotely monitoring and/or controlling street lamps. The lamp monitoring and control unit comprises a processing and sensing unit for sensing at least one lamp parameter o... | 09/26/2006 |