Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7110646 | Tunable microfluidic optical fiber devices and systems A tunable optical fiber device comprises a length of fiber having a core having a certain refractive index; a cladding peripherally surrounding the core with a refractive index less than the refractive index of the core; and at least one hollow region disposed withi... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7106519 | Tunable micro-lens arrays An apparatus includes a planar substrate and an array of substantially transparent spherical micro-lenses forming a pattern. The pattern has an internal two-dimensional lattice symmetry on the planar substrate. Each micro-lens includes a convex bulge or a concave de... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7006299 | Method and apparatus for calibrating a tunable microlens A tunable microlens uses at least two layers of electrodes and a droplet of conducting liquid. Such a droplet, which forms the optics of the microlens, moves toward an electrode with a higher voltage relative to other electrodes in the microlens. When calibration of... | 02/28/2006 |
| 6965480 | Method and apparatus for calibrating a tunable microlens A tunable microlens uses at least two layers of electrodes and a droplet of conducting liquid. Such a droplet, which forms the optics of the microlens, moves toward an electrode with a higher voltage relative to other electrodes in the microlens. When calibration of... | 11/15/2005 |
| 6936196 | Solidifiable tunable liquid microlens A microlens of the present invention may include a liquid droplet whose position and/or surface curvature may be changed (tuned), e.g., by selectively biasing one or more electrodes configured to said droplet. The droplet may then be solidified to fix a desired conf... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6891116 | Substrate with liquid electrode A substrate, a method for producing a substrate, and a switch incorporating a substrate are disclosed. In one embodiment, the substrate has a first layer, a first electrode deposited on the first layer, and a second layer mated to the first layer. The second layer d... | 05/10/2005 |
| 6523562 | Plumbing flood control system A control system for stopping a plumbing-related flooding situation in a building includes at least one sensor for accumulating water and producing a low voltage electrical control signal when sufficient water is accumulated. An actuating system receives ... | 02/25/2003 |
| 4478555 | Back pressure compensator for apparatus for controlling liquid level _in a reservoir A compensating device which includes a weighted lever adapted to be selectively disposed in restraining relation to a trip arm of an electrical switch controlling member responsive to head pressure in a reservoir main for cutting in or cutting out reservo... | 10/23/1984 |
| 4207030 | Apparatus for controlling liquid level in a reservoir A balance beam adjustable for a desired liquid level in a reservoir is under the control of a device responsive to pressure head in a main leading from, and reflecting the liquid level in, the reservoir, the beam being in charge of a pump control for one ... | 06/10/1980 |
