Quotables
"We are probably nearing the limit of all we can know about astronomy."
Simon Newcomb, astronomer ; 1888
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 |
| 8154306 | Method for selecting protective resistor value for a capacitor charging circuit which enables maximum energy transfer with minimal heat Electronic devices operate in an analog world and their circuitry is subject to non-linear environmental effects that can cause operational problems. Selecting components for a design for a capacitor-charging circuit that incorporates a current-limiting resistor and... | 04/10/2012 |
| 7902833 | Malfunction detecting circuit and malfunction detecting method for detecting malfunction of current-sensing resistor, and power converting system applying the malfunction detecting circuit A malfunction detecting circuit for detecting malfunction of a current sensing resistor includes a reference-voltage generating circuit and a comparing circuit, wherein the reference-voltage generating circuit is utilized to generate a reference voltage signal varyi... | 03/08/2011 |
| 7532013 | Semiconductor integrated circuit and measuring method of terminator resistor in the semiconductor integrated circuit A semiconductor integrated circuit for receiving a signal having been propagated through a transmission line, has a control circuit that controls on/off of a first to fourth switching circuits, wherein the control circuit turns off the first switching circuit and th... | 05/12/2009 |
| 7365546 | Apparatus and method for non-destructive testing of primers, in particular for airbags in motor vehicles A measuring device and a measuring method for non-destructive testing of an ignitor installed in a subassembly, particularly of a motor vehicle. The device and measuring method generate a measuring current with a predefined value, check-test the predefined value of ... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7336193 | Device for monitoring the leakage current of a surge arrester A device for monitoring a leakage current of a surge arrester has a measuring element for detecting a leakage current in a leakage current circuit. A filter assembly filters the leakage current in order to extract a third harmonic oscillation which is evaluated by a... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7333313 | Multiplexed temperature sensing circuit for HID lamp ballast A temperature sensing circuit for a ballast for a HID lamp multiplexes the temperature measurement function with another function to reduce the number of pins required for the temperature measurement function performed by the microcontroller of the ballast. The circ... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7320478 | Smart airbag for vehicular applications A smart airbag (14) is monitored by a vehicle restraint control module (24) and includes a state sensor (42) that generates an airbag state signal. A smart airbag fault circuit (40) is coupled to the state sensor (42) and includes ... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7288947 | Method for simulating resistor characteristics at high electric fields A method for characterizing the current as a function of applied electric field for a resistor exposed to a high electric fields is described. The method uses current versus voltage measurements at low electric fields, where the resistor is not damaged and the curre... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7280333 | Method and device for short circuit or open load detection A method or apparatus is provided for detecting an error condition associated with a load (RL) or a connection (P) to the load (RL). The load (RL) may comprise an energy storing element (Cext). During a first diagnosis phase, it is d... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7242917 | Apparatus and method for antenna attachment An apparatus and method of for attaching an antenna to a mobile communication device. The apparatus can include radio frequency generation circuitry, a radio frequency feed point coupled to the radio frequency generation circuitry, a direct current voltage source co... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7216051 | Power short circuit testing of an electronics assembly employing pre-characterized power off resistance of an electronic component thereof from a power boundary A technique for testing an electronics assembly for a power short circuit is provided. The technique includes pre-characterizing power off resistance of an electronic component(s) of a first packaging level from at least one power boundary of the electronic componen... | 05/08/2007 |
| 7171238 | Self-identifying antenna system An antenna system is disclosed, to be used with a radio component particularly a wireless access point or bridge. The present system includes an antenna element for transmitting and receiving signals at radio frequencies. An antenna connector is provided for establi... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7167007 | Apparatus and method for field testing MOV arresters Embodiments test MOV arresters. One embodiment comprises applying a plurality of voltages to a high voltage lead of the MOV arrester, the plurality of voltages being changed between an initial test voltage and final test voltage (corresponding to a point of conducti... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7121376 | Device for the control of an active element of an occupant retention system in a vehicle In order to produce a safing concept, an extra-safing-sensor in the control unit (ECU) is foregone and the safing function from one of the available acceleration or turn-rate sensors (S1 to S5) is replaced. Furthermore a pre-stage is connected to the f... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7080549 | Throttle position sensor A throttle position sensor for a throttle having a movable throttle element. The sensor includes an elongated electrically resistive strip having a first and second end. The first end of the strip is connected to a first voltage potential while the second end is ele... | 07/25/2006 |
| 7005863 | Monitoring system The invention relates to a device for monitoring a surge arrester connected to a power network, comprising a registering unit (1) and means (63, 66) for attachment of the registering unit to the surge arrester. The registering unit comprises a groundin... | 02/28/2006 |
| 6977510 | Very precise resistance measurement A circuit and a related method to measure very precisely the resistance Rm of a small resistor independent from process and temperature variations. This resistor may be the RON resistance of an external sensor or e.g. the resistance of a safety device as ... | 12/20/2005 |
| 6978226 | Deterioration diagnostic method and equipment thereof A deterioration diagnosis method, wherein the amount of weight loss of a metallic material due to corrosion in atmospheric air for the exposure days is formulated as a function for environmental assessment points which represents a level of a harmfulness of the atmo... | 12/20/2005 |
| 6975312 | Computer system having network connector and method of checking connection state of network cable therefor A computer system having a network connector to which a network cable is connected, including a displaying part displaying a connection state of the network cable; a signal processing part processing a signal inputted through the network connector; and a control par... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6967493 | Probe card and contactor of the same A probe card used for measuring electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device such as an LSI chip and comprising a contactor mounting substrate on which a plurality of contactors are arranged, in which the contactor comprises an insertion part for mounting th... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6961074 | Image recording body and image forming apparatus by use of the same A light-heat conversion in a light-stimulated writing method and associated apparatus include an image recording body having an element, which absorbs an (electromagnetic wave) provided in a surface of a recording body, or in a recording layer formed on an uppermost... | 11/01/2005 |
| 6853197 | Method and apparatus for insuring integrity of a connectorized antenna An antenna is provided with an electronic component or circuit that has a value corresponding to properties of the antenna. A read mechanism reads the value and sets an operational status of a transceiver based on the value. In one embodiment, electronic component i... | 02/08/2005 |
| 6798214 | Self-adjusting resistance standard One aspect of the present invention relates to a digitally controlled resistance standard, comprising a control system, a resistor element, hermetically sealed within an element assembly, a temperature/frequency measuring circuit for measuring the temperature of the... | 09/28/2004 |
| 6737873 | Electronic part inspection device An electronic-part inspection device 20 comprises a plurality of terminals 30, a left terminal-retaining member 51 and a left swinging member 71, and each terminal 30 comprises a terminal base portion 31, a swinging arm port... | 05/18/2004 |
| 6737875 | Method and apparatus for in-circuit impedance measurement A device and method for measuring an impedance between first and second nodes in an electrical circuit without removing components includes at least one current source to provide first and second currents or current signals of known values. First and second probes c... | 05/18/2004 |
| 6538453 | Detecting erratic resistance in temperature sensors In a reproduction apparatus having a logic and control unit, and a fuser assembly including a heated fuser roller and a sensor for sensing the temperature of such fuser roller by utilizing heat to change sensor resistance to provide an electrical signal c... | 03/25/2003 |
| 6344747 | Device and method for monitoring the condition of a thermocouple A device and method for monitoring the condition of a thermocouple. In a preferred embodiment the device comprises a pair of thermocouples, each thermocouple comprising first and second thermoelement wires, and a diagnostic element selectively electricall... | 02/05/2002 |
| 6246243 | Semi-fusible link system A programmable "semi-fusible" link system is used to trim one or more circuit parameters. Each semi-fusible link, typically a thin film resistor, has "intact" and "blown" states, with the link having a first, non-zero resistance when intact, and a second,... | 06/12/2001 |
| 6246242 | Method of screening varistors A method of screening varistors. In a first step, a pulse generator is caused to apply to a varistor a large-current pulse having a peak value of at least 1 A and 90% or less of an average breakdown current of the varistor and has a pulse width of 100 mse... | 06/12/2001 |
| 6199969 | Method and system for detecting nonfunctional elements in an ink jet printer A method and system for detecting a nonfunctional element in an ink jet printhead is disclosed. The ink jet printer system includes: a switching power supply, coupled to the inkjet printhead, for supplying power to the printhead; an output capacitor, coup... | 03/13/2001 |
| 6038914 | Leak detection system for liquid processing device A leak sensor system for use in liquid processing equipment is disclosed. Liquid is detected by a sensing resistor whose impedance decreases dramatically in the presence of liquid. The effect of this impedance drop on the output voltage of he sensor indic... | 03/21/2000 |
| 5834943 | Apparatus and method for sensing failed temperature responsive sensors A microprocessor control (10, 24) has one or more temperature responsive thermistor sensors (20, 26, 28) used to provide temperature inputs to control operation of a temperature control system. The microprocessor control subjects the thermistor sensors to... | 11/10/1998 |
| 5670885 | Semiconductor device A semiconductor device has a first-conduction-type semiconductor substrate (19), an internal circuit including a vertical bipolar transistor (18) formed in a second-conduction-type semiconductor layer (20), and a protective element (14). The protective el... | 09/23/1997 |
| 5627475 | Metal detector coil resistance testing A metal detector comprises a detection coil disposed in a magnetic field, the ends of the coil being connected through a balanced resistor network to the inputs of a differential amplifier. A test signal is injected into the metal detector at a point such... | 05/06/1997 |
| 5612623 | Failure diagnostic apparatus and method for a resistor element A monitor current to a squib as an air bag actuating element conducts in one and the opposite directions alternately. Each produced voltage value is differentially amplified with a positive reference voltage and a difference between the amplified voltages... | 03/18/1997 |
| 5598101 | Circuit arrangement having a wear indicator to indicate end of service life A circuit arrangement includes a wear detector which is proportioned or which operates so that it wears (i.e., fails) faster than the other parts of the circuit arrangement. The wear detector may be made to wear faster than other parts of the circuit by b... | 01/28/1997 |
| 5589802 | Circuit for detecting the absence of an external component A component detector circuit operates to detect the presence or absence of a circuit component, such as an external component. A resistor detecting circuit includes a biasing circuit connected to the resistor. The biasing circuit generating a bias current... | 12/31/1996 |
| 5585731 | Test circuit of current-voltage conversion amplifier A test circuit for testing a current-voltage conversion amplifier having photodiode (PD) without actually exposing light to PD, including a current mirror circuit having a first NPN transistor and a second NPN transistor, an input terminal for applying a ... | 12/17/1996 |
| 5552712 | Method for in-place circuit integrity testing A system for testing the integrity of critical circuitry, lines and wires employs a differential amplifier having an input resistance Rin and a feedback loop with a resistance Rfb. The critical wires being tested must be a signal wir... | 09/03/1996 |
| 5508621 | Four-terminal ohmmeter apparatus A test lead set for a four-terminal ohmmeter comprises separate conductor pairs with one conductor of each pair connected to a source while the other conductor of the same pair is connected to a meter. The conductor pairs, which are received within separa... | 04/16/1996 |
