Did You Know...
...that the Eveready Battery began as an invention called the "electric flowerpot," which was a tube with a battery and light bulb inside? The idea was to fasten this gizmo to the side of a flowerpot so it would illuminate the flowers from the bottom. The idea died on the vine and the businessman who licensed the flower pot, Conrad Huber, was left with a pile of useless tubes -- until he found a way to market them as batteries to light the world!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7436294 | Method and apparatus for disaster prevention An apparatus, which is for disaster prevention installed in a facility, includes a radio-frequency identification tag that stores at least one of a first data and a second data. The first data is related to the disaster prevention, and is transmitted by wireless com... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7427916 | Method for inspecting and monitoring building, structure, or facilities accompanying them A method for performing maintenance inspection and monitoring of various structures and facilities by arranging a sensor on a moving portion of the facility of a building or a portion where wiring is difficult. The method includes a step of constructing a sensor net... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7423545 | Failed filter arrest indicator and method for use in multiple arrester location The present invention is a technique for locating and identifying a failed filter/arrester in an underground conveyance such as a fiber optic cable. A sensor is installed in the filter/arrester housing to sense grounding of a cable locating frequency. The sensor wil... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7411509 | System and method for observing patients in geographically dispersed health care locations A system and method for observing patients in geographically dispersed health care locations. A portable monitoring station is associated with a patient assigned to a health care location. The portable monitoring station comprises monitoring equipment that monitors ... | 08/12/2008 |
| 7385496 | Monitoring system A monitoring system for preventing crime in a home, includes a plurality of terminals for monitoring whether predetermined monitoring points are in a stationary or nonstationary state. Further, the monitoring system includes a central processing device for controlli... | 06/10/2008 |
| 7380375 | Alarm system for a loading dock A safety system for a truck doorway such as a loading dock with an elevated platform provides an alarm that warns of a falling hazard that may exist due to the dock door being open while a truck is not present at the dock. In cases where a dock's open doorway is pro... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7362220 | System and method for providing controlled illumination during detected hazardous conditions An integrated lighting control and threat detection system is provided. Once one of the threat detectors determines that a hazardous condition exists, it transmits a threat message to the lighting control system. The lighting control system then operates to turn on ... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7356438 | Method and device for temperature monitoring along a measuring line The present invention relates to a registering device for registering a location along a measuring line, at which location a temperature change takes place. In an advantageous way, according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, by means of the FMCW ... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7342489 | Surveillance system control unit A control unit for use in a surveillance system is provided. The control unit is configured to access or retrieve surveillance data. The control is further configured to issue commands for control of a sensor device. ... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7336187 | Patient activity monitor A patient activity monitoring system that allows caregivers of multiple patients to work more efficiently and with reduced cost, while increasing the quality and level of patient care. The system includes a plurality of remote monitoring subsystems, a plurality of u... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7330125 | Directional sound system with messaging An exit path indicating device incorporates at least a first port for receiving an alarm indicating signal. In normal operation upon receipt of the alarm indicating signal, the device outputs verbal and non-verbal indicators of the presence of an alarm condition for... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7327219 | Enhanced alarm system for monitoring of patients A monitoring system for use in a building, such as a hospital provides an audible and/or visual alarm. The monitoring system includes a control unit, with a plurality of medical condition monitoring units, such as ventilators, connected thereto. A plurality of speak... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7323978 | False alarm reduction method and system A digital verification control, which is incorporated with an alarm system, includes a first timer device for presetting a single zone verification time in the control panel and second timer device for presetting a multiple zone verification time in the control pane... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7323798 | Microwave displacement measurement system for an electrodynamic direct drive An electrodynamic direct drive includes an armature that travels within a housing and a drive system for moving armature in relation to housing. The drive system has two drive means, that are moved in relation to each other in the form of a coil system with at least... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7323985 | Electronic warning system and method The invention provides an electronic warning system, including an electrical line of a fence extending along a protected area; a pulser; a transmitter for transmitting pulses through the line; a receiver for receiving the pulses after being transmitted along at leas... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7319402 | Combined doorbell and smoke detection device A combined doorbell and smoke detection device includes a housing that has monolithically formed sides. One side includes openings formed adjacent to the housing top corners for receiving fasteners therethrough. Nested within the housing are a door bell chime, a fir... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7319386 | Configurable system for alerting caregivers A system that monitors various conditions of a plurality of hospital beds located in different rooms of a healthcare facility is provided. Alternatively or additionally, other types of equipment may be monitored by the system. Various configurations of network inter... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7317391 | Safety alert device A danger warning system includes a central station and modules connected via at least one series connection. A mechanism in the central stations determines the distance between the central station and the modules. The modules are triggered by the central station, su... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7315241 | Enhanced perception lighting The present invention relates to an enhanced perception lighting (EPL) system for providing enhanced perception of a user's physical environment. The EPL system comprises a sensor module for detecting and sampling a physical aspect from at least one point in a physi... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7313461 | Data connectivity with a robotic device A method for data connectivity in a room with a robotic device. In the method, at least one condition is detected with a plurality of sensors and the detected at least one condition is communicated from the sensors to associated access points. One or more of the acc... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7308118 | Building security, occupant safety, and emergency response An improved system and method for building security and occupant safety wherein a digital image of plan view of a selected floor of a building is prepared from a physical drawing. The digital image shows the substantial architectural features of the building, includ... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7292019 | Method for accurately setting parameters inside integrated circuits using inaccurate external components The control precision of one or more parameters of an integrated circuit (IC), for example the output voltage of a voltage regulator comprised in the IC, may be improved even when using inaccurate components external to the IC. Control of the output voltage, or any ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7289030 | Highly portable system for acoustic event detection A man wearable acoustic sensor for use with a gunshot detection system. In a preferred embodiment the inventive sensor includes: a housing configured to be man wearable, a microphone; a processor housed within the housing and in communication with the microphone to ... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7286050 | Fire location detection and estimation of fire spread through image processing based analysis of detector activation A system and a method of establishing direction and velocity of fire development in a region. A fire profile based on a time sequence of alarming detectors provides both direction and velocity information. Future directions of development can be estimated by analogi... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7271715 | Personal articles tracking A personal articles tracking system, method and apparatus. In the system of the invention, a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader can be coupled to a tracking processor. A data store further can be configured to store tag data from corresponding RFID tags. F... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7269745 | Methods and apparatus for composing an identification number Methods and apparatus for producing an electronic ID number include modifying at least one physical bit element from among each of at least first and second groups of physical bit elements, each physical bit element of each group having a first physical state in whi... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7263379 | Communications network for emergency services personnel A personal multimedia communication system and network for emergency services personnel includes a plurality of personal communication systems linked together and to a base station in a network. Each personal communication system includes a PDA device mounted on a P... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7257414 | Estimating the Location of a Wireless Terminal Based on Non-Uniform Probabilities of Movement A technique for estimating the location of a wireless terminal at an unknown location in a geographic region is disclosed. The technique is based on the recognition that there are traits of electromagnetic signals that are dependent on topography, the receiver, the ... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7250847 | Portable surface member for conducting exercises of individuals The concept herein is focused on a portable structure, generally in the form of a portable mat or other similar member, that can be moved or transported from place to place to be used in a temporary manner and placed on the ground for use in the process of facilitat... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7250855 | False alarm mitigation using a sensor network Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for processing, at a sensor node within a sensor network, a set of sensor readings to determine whether an event has occurred, the set of sensor readings including one or more sensor readings for correspond... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7248155 | Security device with built-in intercommunicated false alarm reduction control A security device includes a plurality of security detectors intercommunicating with each other. Each of the security detectors includes a first device for verifying a single zone verification time of the respective security detector and a second device for verifyin... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7242295 | Security data management system A sensor unit for use in a surveillance system is provided. The sensor unit interfaces with a sensor device to receive sensor data from the sensor device. The sensor unit is configured to generate an event record based upon received sensor data. The event record is ... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7242288 | Method for initiating a remote hazardous condition detector self test and for testing the interconnection of remote hazardous condition detectors A method of testing the operational status of remotely distributed hazardous condition detectors is provided. The method utilizes the detector's self-test button to initiate a detector self-test. Once the self-test is complete, the detector's alarm is silenced and a... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7233244 | Alarm and control system for a switch cabinet The invention relates to an alarm and control system for at least one switch cabinet that can be opened and closed by an operator. Said switch cabinet comprises an electroactuated locking unit (17) for locking and releasing its door lock and a plurality of mo... | 06/19/2007 |
| 7209034 | Providing services with respect to a building according to the condition of the building Providing services with respect to a building, including depicting a building in a data model, the data model including a three-dimensional representation of the building and a current condition of the building, receiving in a gateway computer, from sensors within t... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7197429 | Diagnosis system for household electric appliances A diagnosis system for household electric appliances, such as refrigerators, freezers, and others, presenting multiple loads, energized by switches commanded by electronic c ontrols coupled to a command module, which energizes the loads and an interface. The system ... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7193513 | Alarm system A transmitter comprises a signaling history information transmission unit. After the transmitter generates a detection signal, the signaling history information transmission unit sends corresponding signaling history information to a regular signal transmission unit... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7193510 | Safety interlock circuit with diagnostics requiring no extra signal wires A safety interlock circuit wherein the safety interlock switches can report their status. Signal generators associated with the safety interlock switches produce status signals that are transmitted on the wiring of the safety interlock circuit. The present invention... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7191097 | Method, apparatus, and system for assessing conditions Real-time condition data indicative of conditions is collected from at least one sensor at a particular location or from a plurality of sensors at different locations over time. The data collected from different locations is time-synchronized to produce data indicat... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7182174 | Method and system for emergency evacuation of building occupants and a method for modernization of an existing building with said system A method and a system for emergency evacuation of building occupants and to a method for modernization of an existing building with the evacuation system. The system is used in a multi-story building having a plurality of floors and with at least one elevator positi... | 02/27/2007 |