Celebrity Inventors
Glam girl Heddy Lamar may have used her good looks to good effect on the silver screen, but she put her smarts to better use as an inventor. During World War II, she co-patented a frequency-switching system for torpedo guidance that was considered years ahead of its time.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8152135 | Automatic flush actuation apparatus An automatic flush actuation apparatus, which is incorporated with a flushing system having a water inlet, a water outlet, and a water chamber communicating therebetween, that includes a valve member being moved by a flush lever for releasing the water pressure with... | 04/10/2012 |
| 8132778 | Remote control water valving system for shower or sink A remote controlled valve for cessation of water flow from an outflow component such as a showerhead or faucet during periods where water flow is not required by the user to provide for water conservation. The device features a remote control having a large contact ... | 03/13/2012 |
| 8118276 | Valve actuators A valve actuator having an electric drive motor with a motor shaft and having an output shaft linked to the motor shaft to drive movement of a valve, the actuator further having a control system arranged to provide a first closed loop control of the actuator output ... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8113483 | Lavatory system A lavatory system having at least one wash station and at least one electrically operated fixture is disclosed. The lavatory system includes a control system for operating the at least one electrically operated fixture. The control system comprises a power supply sy... | 02/14/2012 |
| 8104741 | Water box toilet sensing flushing system A water-box toilet sensing flushing system including an inlet loop, loop washer, linking pipe, solenoid valve outer bracket, switch diaphragm, solenoid valve, connector, water bowl assembly, outlet washer wire, and sensor. This is an added device to the original man... | 01/31/2012 |
| 8096523 | Non-contact torque sensing for valve actuators Non-contact torque, thrust, strain, and other data sensing of a valve actuator or valve is disclosed. A sensor may include a surface acoustic wave device. ... | 01/17/2012 |
| 8091860 | Valve with sensor A valve is provided according to one embodiment of the invention. The valve comprises a piston (104), a housing (106) surrounding the piston (104), an inlet (108) capable of allowing fluid into the valve, an exhaust (110) capable o... | 01/10/2012 |
| 8047504 | Valve actuator with omnidirectional, mobile and wireless remote communication A valve actuator has a set of sensors (2) for detection of the internal parameters of the actuator, a controller (3) for recording and storing the parameters and the operations performed by the actuator, a wireless module (5) to temporarily and ... | 11/01/2011 |
| 8038122 | Device and method for controlling a valve with consumable energy monitoring The invention relates to a device for controlling a valve (1) between an opened position and a closed position, that includes a valve actuation organ (8), an elastic system (17, 20) for oscillating the actuation organ between two end positions, ... | 10/18/2011 |
| 7950622 | System, apparatus and method for controlling valves Systems, apparatuses and methods for controlling valves through controlled power escalation towards the actuation threshold of the valve. A power signal is applied to a control input of a valve at a level less than a valve switch threshold at which the valve will be... | 05/31/2011 |
| 7950623 | Valve opening and closing control apparatus When a control unit variably controls an electric power supplied to an electric motor to repeat a valve opening and closing movement of a valve between a first intermediate position and a second intermediate position through a neutral position, the control unit init... | 05/31/2011 |
| 7871057 | Sensor actuated faucet A faucet includes a main body and a water discharger having a water discharge port. The main body includes a first water supply channel placed therein and being communicative with a water supply piping; and a first electric component placed therein. The water discha... | 01/18/2011 |
| 7862003 | Position controller Both improved protection against explosions and the possibility of performing diagnoses even when the I/P converter has been disconnected are to be provided by a position controller (5) for a pressure medium-operated actuating system, the controller being des... | 01/04/2011 |
| 7857281 | Electrohydraulic valve control circuit with magnetic hysteresis compensation A method for operating an electrohydraulic valve initially derives a characterization value that denotes how magnetic hysteresis affects valve operation. Upon receiving a command that designates a desired magnitude of electric current to be applied to the electrohyd... | 12/28/2010 |
| 7823860 | Drive of an electromagnetic valve with a coil by supplying high voltage from a discharging capacitor to the coil An electromagnetic valve driving apparatus is provided for reducing emission noise generated when a discharge switching element is turned off. In the apparatus, a discharging capacitor stores electrical energy for performing discharge to a coil in an electromagnetic... | 11/02/2010 |
| 7815166 | Electrodynamic drive for a dispensing valve An electrodynamic drive of a compact design is provided, particularly for a respiration system dispensing valve. The electrodynamic drive has a velocity measuring system that is uncoupled from the electrodynamic drive. The velocity measuring system is provided direc... | 10/19/2010 |
| 7775504 | Fluid flow control device A fluid flow control device (1) comprising at least one valve, the or each valve being controlled by an electrically-operate e actuator (32), a control means (27) for controlling the actuators and a communication means (28) to provide sig... | 08/17/2010 |
| 7758015 | Solenoid-operated valve controller A solenoid-operated valve controller includes a first signal line and a second signal line, which are connected respectively to ends of a first solenoid coil and a second solenoid coil. The first solenoid coil and the second solenoid coil have other ends, which are ... | 07/20/2010 |
| 7731154 | Passive sensors for automatic faucets and bathroom flushers The present invention is directed to novel optical sensors and novel methods for sensing optical radiation. The novel optical sensors and the novel optical sensing methods are used, for example, for controlling the operation of automatic faucets and flushers. The no... | 06/08/2010 |
| 7703741 | Drive mechanism for a down draft vent system The invention relates to a drive mechanism for a down draft vent system (8) comprising a retractable down draft vent screen (10) which can be moved between an extended and a retracted position by means of a drive motor (3). The drive mechanism (... | 04/27/2010 |
| 7694936 | Method and device for function-monitoring an actuator In a method or device for function-monitoring an actuator in a process engineering plant, said actuator comprising a valve and an actuating drive for actuating said valve. A positioner is provided for setting a position of the valve, the positioner comprising a cont... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7690623 | Electronic faucets for long-term operation An electronic faucet (10) mounted on a countertop (12) includes a housing, at least one fluid inlet line (24a, 24b) extending into the housing, a fluid outlet (46) from the housing, a solenoid (142, 143) for op... | 04/06/2010 |
| 7651068 | Dual detection sensor system for a washroom device A detection system for a washroom device evaluates outputs from an active sensor and a passive sensor to determine whether to activate the device (e.g., operate a valve in a sink or a lavatory). The active sensor has a transmitter that directs a light beam to a sele... | 01/26/2010 |
| 7641172 | Actuator installation bracket, and valve actuator assembly and fluid shutoff system employing the same An actuator installation bracket is provided for a water shutoff system including a water line, a shutoff valve having a stem, and an actuator. The actuator includes a housing having first and second ends, sides, and a pivotable actuating member. The actuator instal... | 01/05/2010 |
| 7641173 | Faucet with automatic temperature control and method Embodiments of the present invention provide a faucet having a first sensing arrangement adapted to detect a presence of one or more objects, in a first predetermined region, and adapted to turn a fluid flow on when the one or more objects is present, and further ad... | 01/05/2010 |
| 7637476 | Control system for a gas cooking device “Control system for a gas cooking device or any other gas device comprising at least one gas burner (1) and, for each gas burner (1), an electromagnetic valve (2) to open or cut off the gas flow to the gas burner (1), said electromagnet... | 12/29/2009 |
| 7628378 | Proportional solenoid with armature motion sensing A shielded solenoid for a solenoid operated valve having a solenoid body and an annular coil of electrical wire in the solenoid body. An armature of magnetic material is rectilinearly movable with respect to the body. A magnet holder is fastened to the armature and ... | 12/08/2009 |
| 7559529 | Valve actuator with omnidirectional, mobile and wireless remote communication A valve actuator has a set of sensors (2) for detection of the internal parameters of the actuator, a controller (3) for recording and storing the parameters and the operations performed by the actuator, a wireless module (5) to temporarily and ... | 07/14/2009 |
| 7537195 | Control arrangement for an automatic residential faucet A hands-free faucet comprises a spout, a valve, a position sensitive device, and a logical control. The position sensitive device is positioned on the user's side of the spout, and has a trigger zone and an extended zone, each defined in part by a distance range fro... | 05/26/2009 |
| 7537196 | Valve assembly with overstroke device and associated method A valve assembly comprises a rotatable valve, an electrically operated actuator, and an overstroke device. The actuator comprises a component configured to move in a direction to an actuator position so as to cause corresponding rotation of the valve to a valve posi... | 05/26/2009 |
| 7516939 | Dual detection sensor system for washroom device A detection system for a washroom device evaluates outputs from an active sensor and a passive sensor to determine whether to activate the device (e.g., operate a valve in a sink or a lavatory). The active sensor has a transmitter that directs a light beam to a sele... | 04/14/2009 |
| 7437778 | Automatic bathroom flushers An automatic bathroom flusher includes a body having an inlet in communication with a supply line and an outlet in communication with a flush conduit, a valve assembly in the body positioned to close water flow between the inlet and the outlet upon sealing action of... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7407147 | Automatic flush actuation apparatus An automatic flush actuation apparatus, which is incorporated with a flushing system having a water inlet, a water outlet, and a water chamber communicating therebetween, that includes a valve member being moved by a flush lever for releasing the water pressure with... | 08/05/2008 |
| 7401624 | Method for monitoring a pipeline and position regulator for a control valve The invention relates to a method for monitoring a pipeline in order to detect the slow reduction of the free inner cross-section by means of the position of a control valve in the pipeline. When the flow rate is essentially constant, a first position is determined ... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7400489 | System and a method of driving a parallel-plate variable micro-electromechanical capacitor A method of driving a parallel-plate variable micro-electromechanical capacitor includes establishing a first charge differential across first and second conductive plates of a variable capacitor in which the first and second conductive plates are separated by a var... | 07/15/2008 |
| 7396000 | Passive sensors for automatic faucets and bathroom flushers The present invention is directed to novel optical sensors and novel methods for sensing optical radiation. The novel optical sensors and the novel optical sensing methods are used, for example, for controlling the operation of automatic faucets and flushers. The no... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7389968 | Proportional solenoid valve control device In a proportional solenoid valve control device, a mode selecting switch has an auto-mode position for sending a control signal from a level converting section to a driving signal amplifying section, a valve fully-closing manual position for supplying a valve fully-... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7377480 | Electrohydraulic valve servomechanism with adaptive resistance estimator A servomechanism includes a controller which dynamically estimates the resistance of the solenoid coil in an electrohydraulic valve as part of determining a level of electric voltage to apply to open the valve. The servomechanism receives a current setpoint designat... | 05/27/2008 |
| 7374147 | Valve assembly with overstroke device and associated method A valve assembly comprises a rotatable valve, an electrically operated actuator, and an overstroke device. The actuator comprises a component configured to move in a direction to an actuator position so as to cause corresponding rotation of the valve to a valve posi... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7374148 | Control system for flow adjusting valve A control system for a flow adjusting valve, it uses rotation of a motor as the power force to move a terminal output axle and then to change the openness of the latter; and further includes a magnet and a magnetic inductive element in opposition to the magnet to co... | 05/20/2008 |
