Lawrence Welk, the bandleader who entertained millions of Americans over a generation of broadcasting his TV show, once received a patent: for a music-themed design of an ashtray.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7421924 | Apparatus for raising or tilting a micromechanical structure An active hinge apparatus is disclosed which can be used to raise a micromechanical structure (e.g. a plate or micromirror) on a substrate. The active hinge apparatus utilizes one or more of teeth protruding outward from an axle which also supports the micromechanic... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7401542 | Adjustable hydraulic metering system A vehicle is disclosed having a hydraulic control system with a user input to select a range of metering rates. ... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7398706 | Gearbox actuator comprising a bearing for the gearshift rails A gearbox actuator comprising a selector shaft 2 which is arranged in a housing and is driven by a drive. A shift finger 3 and disengaging shaped elements 4 used to actuate gearshift rails are arranged on the selector shaft, and jibs for 12 | 07/15/2008 |
| 7358498 | System and a method for a smart surveillance system A radiation surveillance sensor system includes a radiation responsive sensor, a lightweight, radiation reflective member for selectively adjusting the incident radiation path to the sensor, and power means for controlling the position of the reflective member to ac... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7348709 | Heavy-load nanopositioner with dual-parallel flexure design A positioning device for heavy loads is provided. The positioning device includes a frame and a stage disposed or integrally defined within the frame. The stage is dimensioned and configured to be translatable within the frame in at least one axis of motion. At leas... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7308756 | Apparatus used for manufacturing semiconductor device, method of manufacturing the semiconductor devices, and semiconductor device manufactured by the apparatus and method An apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor devices having a roughly rectangular parallelepiped box-shape includes an internal insertion space for semiconductor packages, first guide grooves and arranged along the longitudinal direction in both side surfaces facing... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7271879 | Decoupled planar positioning system A planar positioning system having a rigid base, and first and second linear actuator means mounted to the rigid base, the first and second linear actuator means being arranged orthogonal to one another. A rigid reference surface (2A, 2B) is mounted to... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7240580 | Single degree of freedom axis positioner A single degree of freedom positioner resistant to axial and rotational motion on two axes, and to rotation around a third axis, but permitting axial movement along the third axis. The axes are orthogonally related. The positioner is characterized by support of a st... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7237449 | Drive mechanism and movable table unit provided with the same A drive mechanism is interposed between two members to make the members move relatively with respect to each other. At least one of the two members is guided to move linearly. The drive mechanism comprises: cam followers that are rotatably supported on one of the tw... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7226266 | Rear loading roof top transporter A roof rack assembly is provided for storing items above a roof of a motor vehicle. The roof rack assembly includes a pair of rails fixedly secured to the roof, parallel to each other. Each of the rails has a channel therealong. A tray includes a first end slidingly... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7209228 | Scanning apparatus A scanning apparatus includes a support frame and a laser scanner mounted to the frame. A five bar closed loop spherical linkage supports a clamping device for retaining an object. The linkage moves the object through a scanning beam about a spherical surface to fac... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7168748 | Intelligent, self-contained robotic hand A robotic device has a base and at least one finger having at least two links that are connected in series on rotary joints with at least two degrees of freedom. A brushless motor and an associated controller are located at each joint to produce a rotational movemen... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7127962 | Four-degree-of-freedom parallel manipulator for producing Schönflies motions The present invention relates to a manipulating device (A) for producing Schönflies motions comprising a parallel array of at least two legs (B), each leg (B) including an actuator unit (C) having first and second ends and producing a pan-tilt motion, each leg (B) ... | 10/31/2006 |
| 7124755 | Respiratory circuit support arm A support arm for use in a respiratory circuit is provided. The support arm includes a plurality of arm segments that are movably connected with one another such that the arm segments are adjustable with respect to another. At least one inflatable bladder is provide... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7124657 | Electric actuator and method of assembling the same An electric actuator comprises an actuator body which is a rectangular tube have having two pairs of opposing surfaces disposed in parallel and which has a slit formed to extend by a predetermined length along an edge of the rectangular tube; a slider which reciproc... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7118601 | Parallel linkage and artificial joint device using the same There are provided an artificial joint device that can realize an artificial limb enabling twisting motion without a drive source, and when with the drive source, reduce the size and costs of the device, and a parallel linkage that can realize the device. The linkag... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7108688 | Remote center positioner The invention is directed to a remote center positioner used to support an instrument and provide a center of spherical rotation, remote from any bearings or mechanical supports, at a desired location of the instrument. The remote center positioner is particularly u... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7100751 | Hydraulic pump for vehicles controllable by handlebars A master cylinder which has an unusual ability to limit space requirements, to be fitted in vehicles controllable by handlebars, comprises a cylinder body provided with a seat for housing a portion of the handlebar. A chamber for slidably housing a piston extends al... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7093823 | Lifting unit A lifting unit, comprising a frame for supporting a motorized winch, at least one first tackle and one second tackle, the first tackle being interposed between the second tackle and the winch, each tackle being provided with two blocks, a fixed one and a movable one... | 08/22/2006 |
| 7086307 | Parallel control arm with two branches The robot arm is composed of two parallel branches (2, 3) formed from a reduced number of segments (5, 6, 7) and connected to each other by a wrist (5) through a wrist holder (8), the directions of which are kept approximately constant by... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7063300 | Device for fixing and adjusting a member to be supported The invention concerns a device for fixing and adjusting a member to be supported, characterised by the fact that it comprises: a support base (1); two triangular levers (6), each of the said levers comprising two arms (7, 8) disposed in a trian... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7063479 | Link mechanism of surgical robot A link mechanism to establish the position of a spherical bearing and the direction of an arm extending from the bearing is provided, which mechanism has a high precision of position and direction determination, does not require strong actuators, and is mechanically... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7021173 | Remote center of motion robotic system and method A remote center of motion robotic system including a base unit and a plurality of linking units. The base unit is rotatable about a first axis. The plurality of linking units are coupled with one another. At least two of the linking units are kept parallel to each a... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7009785 | Microscope and locking device for a lens mounting A microscope includes a lens holder for receiving a lens. A locking device is provided that affixes the received lens so that the lens cannot be removed without authorization. ... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6997669 | Parallel manipulators with four degrees of freedom A manipulator for receiving and displacing an object, comprising a moving portion, adapted to receive the object. Four support legs each extend between the moving portion and a ground for supporting the moving portion. Each support leg is connected to the ground by ... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6975930 | Rate limiting control system A method of controlling an operation of a mechanism is provided. A first rate limit is assigned to a first input device that is operable to generate a first signal to control the operation of the mechanism. A second rate limit is assigned to a second input device th... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6966428 | Method and apparatus for transferring articles from a first position to a second position A takeout arm assembly (10) for an I.S. glass container forming machine, the arm assembly having a housing (14) that is oscillatable about a fixed shaft (12). The housing has a split first pulley (16a/16b) that is coa... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6917177 | Robot arm mechanism Provided is a robot arm mechanism that conveys and supports a work, which requires neither a traveling axis that demand a high installation accuracy nor a jig for fixedly supporting a work. A robot 1 includes: a parallel link mechanism 6 having a lower... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6836093 | Exposure method and apparatus There are provided an exposure method and an exposure apparatus in which the influence of vibration is not mutually transmitted so much when two movable stages are used. X axis sliders (19A, 20A) are arranged movably in the X direction on both sides in... | 12/28/2004 |
| 6761518 | Machine tool A machine tool for at least triaxial machining of work pieces comprises a column of the type of a casing with side walls. In an interior space, provision is made for a work spindle which projects into a working area and which is connected via couplers and hinges to ... | 07/13/2004 |
| 6753668 | Reduced profile drive assembly for garage door operator and method of assembly A garage door drive assembly for moving a linkage arm connected to a garage door, the assembly being adapted for shipping in a partially assembled condition in at least a box for on-site installation, the assembly has a longitudinally-extending rail with laterally e... | 06/22/2004 |
| 6682157 | Panel driving device A panel driving device turns an openable panel inside out by rotating the openable panel by 180° about a rotation center shaft and moving the rotation center shaft upward or downward during a specific period while the openable panel is rotated. The panel... | 01/27/2004 |
| 6677691 | Stage apparatus and method of using the same A stage apparatus includes a table disposed above a base table so as to oppose to the base table, an X-axis-direction table support mechanism portion disposed between the base and the table for supporting the table in a state that the table is capable of ... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6668674 | Pivot-less watt linkage, pivot-less watt linkage-based suspension and micromachined device incorporating same The pivot-less Watt linkage supports a first rigid element relative to a second rigid element and permits relative motion between the rigid elements. The pivot-less Watt linkage comprises an elongate, rigid, floating beam, an elongate first flexible beam,... | 12/30/2003 |
| 6575676 | Parallel structure of a spatial 3-axis machine tool with three degrees-of-freedom This invention relates to the parallel structure of a spatial 3-axis machine tool with three degrees of freedom (3 DOF), which have two translational DOF and one rotational DOF. The machine tool includes a base, a mobile platform to which a tool may be at... | 06/10/2003 |
| 6571902 | Backhoe auxiliary hydraulics control system A method of automatically setting an auxiliary hydraulic valve's flow rate and returning to that flow rate automatically is disclosed. The work vehicle such as a backhoe has two hand controls, one of which has a button, and the other has a thumb wheel. To... | 06/03/2003 |
| 6571154 | Method and apparatus for accessing vehicle systems A method for engaging a plurality of control systems in a vehicle, enabling a main menu of a main control program; providing a means for scrolling through a plurality of selections of the main menu; providing an audible text messages for each of the plura... | 05/27/2003 |
| 6503033 | Parallel mechanism structure for controlling three-dimensional position and orientation Disclosed is a parallel mechanism structure for controlling three-dimensional position and orientation. In the parallel mechanism structure according to the present invention, three links are connected to the main spindle of the mechanism and driven in ve... | 01/07/2003 |
| 6486574 | Small footprint vertical lift and rotation stage A small footprint vertical lift and rotary positioning stage comprises a bottom wedge and a top wedge, a linear bearing between the bottom wedge and the top wedge, cam grooves and cam surfaces for constraining the motion of the top wedge in a vertical dir... | 11/26/2002 |
| 6477912 | Six-degrees-of-freedom parallel mechanism for micro-positioning work A six-degrees-of-freedom parallel mechanism for micro-positioning work is disclosed. This mechanism freely performs a desired motion of translation and rotation of a moving platform using internal and external links actuated by linear actuators capable of... | 11/12/2002 |