Bizarre Patents
A haircutting appliance comprises an enclosed housing having a hollow handle connecting the housing to a vacuum source to carry away cut hairs from a subject's head.
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 |
| 8024980 | Independently calibrated wireless structural load sensor A device includes a removable load element. The removable load element includes a pin portion and a housing portion. The pin portion extends from the housing portion. The pin portion includes a sensor. The housing portion includes an electronic circuit connected to ... | 09/27/2011 |
| 7980138 | Integrated circuit with stress sensing element An integrated circuit includes a semiconductor die, and a stress sensing element. The stress sensing element comprises a first lateral resistor and a first vertical resistor. The stress sensing element is formed in the semiconductor die and is configured to indicate... | 07/19/2011 |
| 7673520 | Device and method for testing electronic components The invention relates to a device for testing electronic components (3) with at least two mechanical transfer elements (5a, 5b), of which each can be loaded in each case at a dedicated loading position with an electronic component ... | 03/09/2010 |
| 7594442 | Resistance varying sensor using electrically conductive coated materials In accordance with one embodiment, a sensor includes a fibrous region contacting at least two electrodes. The fibrous region has an electrically conductive coating. The fibrous region has a resistance and when the fibrous region is compressed, the resistance changes... | 09/29/2009 |
| 7536918 | Method and apparatus to measure force-travel profile of a shifter in a vehicle environment Generally provided is a system and method that determines a force-travel profile of a shifter in a vehicle having a shifter having an associated shifter shaft for a transmission. The feel of the shifter to a user of the shifter may be improved by using present syste... | 05/26/2009 |
| 7533574 | Method of error compensation A method of error compensation for measurements taken using a co-ordinate positioning apparatus comprising an articulating probe head having a surface detecting device. The surface detecting device is rotated about at least one axis of the articulating probe head du... | 05/19/2009 |
| 7454977 | Force measuring systems for digital pens and other products Force measuring systems for electronic pens, styli, or other products may include structure for changing a direction or location of application of a force (e.g., a force transmitted via pen or stylus contact with a writing surface) from a first direction or location... | 11/25/2008 |
| 7441465 | Measurement of properties of thin specimens based on experimentally acquired force-displacement data A method and system are provided for obtaining force-displacement responses for a specimen or sample of material. The sample is supported with a spanning portion spanning in an environment between at least three points not in a line, wherein the points are fixed rel... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7421369 | Activity recognition apparatus, method and program There is provided an activity recognition apparatus for detecting an activity of a subject. The apparatus includes: a sensor unit including a plurality of linear motion sensors configured to detect linear motions and a plurality of rotational motion sensors, the lin... | 09/02/2008 |
| 7412899 | MEMS-based monitoring A solution for monitoring a property of an object and/or an area using a Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS)-based monitoring device is provided. In an embodiment of the invention, the MEMS-based monitoring device includes a MEMS-based sensing device for obtainin... | 08/19/2008 |
| 7373260 | Sensor infrastructure A device for use in detecting an event in a structure includes a sensor encapsulation, the encapsulation containing a sensor, an actuator positioned substantially in-plane to the sensor within the housing and a printed circuit board in communication with at least on... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7360437 | Devices for evaluating material properties, and related processes A device for measuring at least one property of a material sample is disclosed. The device includes at least one sensor element which is formed by a direct-write technique. The device can be an instrument for measuring strain in the sample, or for measuring other pr... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7353720 | Bridge patch for electromechanical transducer elements in tire assemblies A bridge patch for use with a tire is provided. The bridge patch modifies the magnitude, orientation, or both of the mechanical forces, and particularly the stress-strain relationship, imparted by the inner liner of a tire in order to obtain the desired stress-strai... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7337678 | MEMS flow sensor A micro-electro-mechanical, micro-fluidic flow sensor (14) includes a flow separating element (15) for separating a first portion (24) of a fluid flow (25) from a second portion (26) of the fluid flow. The flow sensor also includes... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7325327 | Method and apparatus for measuring angular or linear displacement An apparatus and method are disclosed for measuring the angular or linear displacement of an object. That displacement is transmitted to a movable conductive member, which, in response thereto, is moved to a position at which it electrically contacts one of a plural... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7328131 | Implantable pedometer An implantable pedometer for measuring the amount of joint use is disclosed. The implantable pedometer includes a sensor adapted for detecting indicators of joint usage. A counter is configured for storing count data corresponding to the number of indicators detecte... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7319322 | Deformation sensor and method for detecting a deformation A sensor has a substrate having a mechanically deformable region, a magnetostrictive spin-valve sensor element being arranged to detect a mechanical deformation of the mechanically deformable region. On the substrate, there is a device for generating a controllable ... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7316167 | Method and apparatus for protection of contour sensing devices A sheet film protective covering for different types of contour sensing devices is described. In a preferred embodiment, this covering is a mylar sheet film that is coated with a layer of a conductive material. The bottom surface of the mylar film is also preferably... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7311009 | Microelectromechanical systems contact stress sensor A microelectromechanical systems stress sensor comprising a microelectromechanical systems silicon body. A recess is formed in the silicon body. A silicon element extends into the recess. The silicon element has limited freedom of movement within the recess. An elec... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7296475 | Displacement instrument for determining the modulus of a material A novel displacement instrument that can be used to measure the density or modulus of an aggregate pier upon which a multistory building or parking garage can be built. The aggregate piers are often 35 feet or deeper. These aggravate piers are constructed by adding ... | 11/20/2007 |
| 7293466 | Bolt with function of measuring strain A bolt with a function of measuring strain, comprising a Wheatstone bridge circuit comprising a strain sensor and a dummy resistor, a translate circuit that amplifies a signal from the Wheatstone bridge circuit to convert the same into a digital signal, a transmitti... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7286944 | Method and device for securely storing data A system for providing reliable, unalterable mechanical data associated with the mechanical properties of a concrete mass. The system includes a logger, a second memory device and an outbound data transfer device. The logger is provided with one or more sensors, a m... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7286210 | Passive optical sensor using carbon nanotubes A passive optical sensor operates independently of light amplitude by using a semiconducting carbon nanotube material. The material has an optical property dependent on wavelength, e.g., wavelength of absorption, ratio of absorptions at two wavelengths, or fluoresce... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7278327 | Film based position and pressure sensor Simultaneous pressure and position information is accurately measured in a sensor realized by utilizing first and second sensor elements that each exhibit a decreasing width over the length of the sensor element and that are arranged overlapping each other and in a ... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7278324 | Carbon nanotube-based sensor and method for detection of crack growth in a structure A sensor has a plurality of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based conductors operatively positioned on a substrate. The conductors are arranged side-by-side, such as in a substantially parallel relationship to one another. At least one pair of spaced-apart electrodes is coupl... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7255007 | Configurations and methods for ultrasound time of flight diffraction analysis An ultrasound test apparatus for polymeric materials (e.g., plastic pipes) includes a low-absorption housing that at least partially encloses an ultrasound transducer, wherein the transducer emits a low frequency wide angle ultrasound beam with a narrow bandwidth. I... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7234360 | TMR sensor A sensor for measuring mechanical changes in length, in particular a compressive and/or tensile stress sensor, includes a sandwich system with two flat and superposed electrodes separated from each other by a tunnel element (tunnel barrier), in particular an oxide b... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7236252 | System and apparatus for measuring displacements in electro-active materials A device designed to apply uniaxial pressure to the surface of an electro-active material while simultaneously applying a current to the material under controlled temperature conditions and then measuring the displacement of the material by means of a laser interfer... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7233000 | Low power silicon thermal sensors and microfluidic devices based on the use of porous sealed air cavity technology or microchannel technology This invention provides a miniaturized silicon thermal flow sensor with improved characteristics, based on the use of two series of integrated thermocouples (6, 7) on each side of a heater (4), all integrated on a porous silicon membrane (2) on ... | 06/19/2007 |
| 7211873 | Sensor device having thin membrane and method of manufacturing the same A sensor device for use in an automobile as an airflow sensor is composed of a silicon substrate in which a cavity is formed and a base plate bonded to the silicon substrate. An upper end of the cavity is closed with a thin membrane including a sensor element such a... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7209240 | System and apparatus for measuring displacements in electro-active materials A specialized containment cell with optically transparent apertures, in conjunction with a laser interferometer system provides the means for non-contact displacement measurements of electro-active (piezoelectric and electrostrictive) materials to be performed under... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7196450 | Electromechanical assemblies using molecular-scale electrically conductive and mechanically flexible beams and methods for application of same Electromechanical systems utilizing suspended conducting nanometer-scale beams are provided and may be used in applications, such as, motors, generators, pumps, fans, compressors, propulsion systems, transmitters, receivers, heat engines, heat pumps, magnetic field ... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7194912 | Carbon nanotube-based sensor and method for continually sensing changes in a structure A sensor has a plurality of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based conductors operatively positioned on a substrate. The conductors are arranged side-by-side, such as in a substantially parallel relationship to one another. At least one pair of spaced-apart electrodes is coupl... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7167009 | Method and apparatus for determining electrical properties of structures A method and apparatus for determining an electrical property of a structure. The method involves creating a model of an electrical property of a structure and measuring the electrical property of the structure between at least two of a plurality of locations. The m... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7158004 | Integrated circuit inductors The invention relates to an inductor comprising a plurality of interconnected conductive segments interwoven with a substrate. The inductance of the inductor is increased through the use of coatings and films of ferromagnetic materials such as magnetic metals, alloy... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7146866 | Magnetostrictive strain sensor and method A magnetostrictive strain sensor (10) includes a magnetostrictive core (12) comprising a magnetostrictive material, such as a nickel-iron alloy, able to conduct a magnetic flux and whose permeability is alterable by application of a strain. A conductiv... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7093497 | Legged mobile robot and floor reaction force detection system thereof In a legged mobile robot (1), an elastic member (382) is installed at a position between a second joint (18, 20) connecting a distal end of a leg (2) and a foot (22) and a floor contact end of the foot, and a displacement sensor ( | 08/22/2006 |
| 7077016 | Load sensor A load sensor includes a resilient member including a stationary segment, a load-receiving segment extending outward from the stationary segment, and an arm segment between the load-receiving segment and the stationary segment. Moreover, first and second strain-sens... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7077010 | Magnetoresistive semiconductor pressure sensors and fingerprint identification/verification sensors using same The present invention is directed to a method of sensing pressure in which applied pressure causes a change in the magnetization vector of a magnetoresistive layer within the device and a corresponding change in resistance. The method includes providing a sensing de... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7036387 | Integrated strain gages for board strain characterization A printed circuit board (PCB) having an integrated strain gage. In one embodiment, a PCB includes a component footprint suitable for mounting an electronic component. A strain gage is integrated into the PCB in a location under the component footprint. The strain ga... | 05/02/2006 |
