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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8432171 | Method and apparatus for measuring the concentration of an analyte in a sample fluid An analyte concentration, in a sample fluid, is determined by differential measurement. Two or more capacitive field effect sensors have an identical basic structure and are arranged in a shared measuring cell. One of the sensors forms a measuring sensor with an act... | 04/30/2013 |
| 8421482 | Anti-pinching device An anti-pinching device (18) for a pivotable actuating element (6) of a motor vehicle (2) is specified. Said device comprises a capacitive sensor (8) which is intended to contactlessly detect an obstacle in the path of the actuating eleme... | 04/16/2013 |
| 8400168 | Pavement material microwave density measurement methods and apparatuses A method of obtaining a material property of a pavement material from a microwave field generally includes generating a microwave frequency electromagnetic field of a first mode about the pavement material. The frequency response of the pavement material in the elec... | 03/19/2013 |
| 8384398 | Structural health monitoring system and method using soft capacitive sensing materials A structural health monitoring system is provided to diagnose and localize crack damage on structural elements. The system uses one or more capacitive sensor assemblies that employ a soft dielectric material. The system can be applied over a large area as a sensing ... | 02/26/2013 |
| 8378694 | Organic chemical sensor comprising plasma-deposited microporous layer, and method of making and using Applicant discloses a sensing element for sensing an organic chemical analyte, comprising a first electrode and a second electrode, and a microporous, hydrophobic, analyte-responsive dielectric material disposed at least in proximity to the first and second electrod... | 02/19/2013 |
| 8339147 | Arrangement for producing an electric field and sensor device including same A circuit arrangement has a field producing electrode device which is connected in an LC network and exposed to a spatial area of the field such that the capacity of the capacitor system with the electrode device alters according to dielectric properties of material... | 12/25/2012 |
| 8324912 | Measurement tool and method of use This invention relates to a measurement tool and method of use, and in particular to a measurement tool for use in determining a parameter of a stationary or moving fluid. The measurement tool has been designed primarily for use in borehole formation testing. The me... | 12/04/2012 |
| 8305090 | Capacitance touch sensing device and door locking device A capacitance touch sensing device that detects the touch of a user against a surface of a door handle on the outside of a vehicle includes an upper sensor electrode provided in an upper portion of the door handle, a lower sensor electrode provided in a lower portio... | 11/06/2012 |
| 8299808 | Apparatuses and systems for density gauge calibration and reference emulation Apparatuses and systems for emulating electrical characteristics of a material having a known dielectric response are disclosed for standardizing and calibrating of electromagnetic devices. The emulator apparatus can include an electrically non-conductive layer havi... | 10/30/2012 |
| 8299807 | Foreign object detection sensor and method for manufacturing the same A foreign objection detection sensor has a lengthy sensor part having a sensor electrode having a first sensor electrode which detects a proximity of a foreign object and a second sensor electrode which detects a contact of the foreign object, a sensor terminal part... | 10/30/2012 |
| 8283936 | Nano-scale biosensors Devices, systems, and methods for detecting nucleic acid hybridization, including single nucleic base mutations at low concentrations, are disclosed, using surface-tethered hairpin loop oligonucleotide probes and metal-nanoparticles conjugated to a hybridization det... | 10/09/2012 |
| 8264243 | Liquid concentration sensing device A capacitance sensing section senses a capacitance between first and second electrodes. A temperature sensing section senses fuel temperature. A microcomputer functions as a concentration sensing section and senses a concentration of ethanol contained in fuel based ... | 09/11/2012 |
| 8248086 | Capacitive proximity detection system for an appliance A proximity detection system for an appliance is disclosed. The system includes an electrically conductive sensor for a capacitive proximity detection system, the sensor forming a part of an accessory device for the appliance; and an electrically conductive member d... | 08/21/2012 |
| 8237454 | Measuring device and method for local measurement of at least one electrical property of the content of a container Measuring device for local measurement of an electrical property of the content of a container, wherein at least three electrodes are disposed adjacently of each other in height direction and electrically insulated from each other, wherein each of the electrodes can... | 08/07/2012 |
| 8198905 | Envelope moistening detector A mailing system includes a mailing machine having an envelope feed path, a sealing system configured to apply a liquid to an envelope in the envelope feed path, a capacitive sensor located in the envelope feed path downstream from the sealing system, and a controll... | 06/12/2012 |
| 8193820 | Occupant detection system An occupant detection system is a part of a vehicle occupant protection system. The vehicle occupant protection system is enabled to be activated when the occupant detection system determines an ON state indicative of existence of an occupant on a seat. The vehicle ... | 06/05/2012 |
| 8159232 | Fuel property sensor In a fuel property sensor, a pair of first and second electrodes is arranged in a fuel chamber to measure an electric capacitance, thereby detecting a mixing ratio of alcohol to gasoline in a fuel of the fuel chamber. An outer wall surface of the first electrode is ... | 04/17/2012 |
| 8159231 | Method for manufacturing a sensor supporting member An opening and closing apparatus is disclosed. The opening and closing apparatus includes an opening and closing body, a capacitance sensor, and a sensor support member. The dynamic capacitance sensor has a conductive sensor electrode, and outputs a detection signal... | 04/17/2012 |
| 8076949 | Enhanced proximity sensing An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method for rejecting sensor information when a switch is being pressed in a system having sensors over switches. A switch in the process of being pressed may be determined based on an increase in pressure which... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8072229 | Fuel property sensor and fuel tank assembly A fuel property sensor, which is installed to a fuel tank of a fuel tank assembly, senses a property of fuel at the fuel tank. First and second electrodes of the fuel property sensor are made of an electrically conductive material and are exposed in a fuel flow pass... | 12/06/2011 |
| 8049520 | System for capacitive detection of a seat occupancy A system for capacitive detection of seat occupancy in a vehicle comprises a sensing electrode and a shielding electrode arranged in substantially parallel layers. A spacer is arranged between the sensing electrode and the shielding electrode to keep the sensing ele... | 11/01/2011 |
| 8022716 | Dielectric breakdown lifetime enhancement using alternating current (AC) capacitance A time-to-breakdown for a dielectric layer in a semiconductor device is determined based upon a sudden change in capacitance. An alternating voltage, greater in magnitude than an operating voltage of the device, is applied to the semiconductor device, capacitance is... | 09/20/2011 |
| 7969166 | Method and circuit for detecting the presence, position and/or approach of an object relative to an electrode A circuit for detecting the presence, position or the approach of an object in an observation area, the circuit has a sensor electrode assembly with an electrode that forms part of a capacitor system whose capacitance relative to a reference potential (e.g. ground) ... | 06/28/2011 |
| 7965089 | Chemical impedance detectors for fluid analyzers A chemical impedance detector having several electrodes situated on or across a dielectric layer of a substrate. The electrodes may be across or covered with a thin film polymer. Each electrode may have a set of finger-like electrodes. Each set of finger-like electr... | 06/21/2011 |
| 7956623 | Container filling machine The present invention provides a container filling machine comprising a sensing device for detecting the integrity of discrete articles for personal treatment to be packaged in a container. The sensing device comprises a pair of capacitor plates positioned in a subs... | 06/07/2011 |
| 7952366 | Proximity sensor A capacitive touch sensor providing an automatic switch-off function for an apparatus in which the sensor is incorporated is provided. The sensor includes a sensing element coupled to a capacitance measurement circuit for measuring the capacitance of the sensing ele... | 05/31/2011 |
| 7902840 | Apparatus for object information detection and methods of using same A method for detecting an object on a sensor sensitive to capacitive coupling comprises simultaneously transmitting signals on at least two electrodes of the sensor, wherein at least one of the signals transmitted on each of the at least two electrodes has a frequen... | 03/08/2011 |
| 7902839 | Power-control device, electronic apparatus including the same, and method for activating electronic apparatus A sensor unit is configured to have an insulating case covering a mobile phone, a conductive substrate provided on the inner surface of the case, and a sensor electrode fixed on the surface of the conductive substrate. When a part of the human body of a user, such a... | 03/08/2011 |
| 7884623 | Detector Provided is a detector having a transistor or resistor structure. When an electrode is exposed to a detected solution, such as blood, a variation in current flowing through the detected solution may be greater than a variation in the electrical characteristics of th... | 02/08/2011 |
| 7855565 | Substrate characterization device and method for characterizing a substrate A substrate characterization device is provided which includes a sensor module and a processor. The sensor module has at least one contact surface configured to contact the substrate, the sensor module configured to measure a variance of capacitance in at least two ... | 12/21/2010 |
| 7834644 | Method for the capacitive detection of flaws in polymer tubes, and device A method for detecting flaws in polymer tubes, especially tubes made of crosslinked polyethylene. The tube that is to be tested is exposed to the electric field of a capacitive triple electrode in a housing including a central housing part and housing flanges. The r... | 11/16/2010 |
| 7821275 | Anti-pinch sensor An anti-pinch sensor, particularly for detecting an obstacle in the path of an actuating element of a motor vehicle is provided, having a sensor body, a measuring electrode, which is disposed in the sensor body and to which a measuring potential can be applied, a ca... | 10/26/2010 |
| 7804307 | Capacitance measurement systems and methods A first capacitor and a second capacitor are charged until voltage at the second capacitor settles to a settling voltage. While charging, the first capacitor is alternately switched between a current source and ground. When the settling voltage is reached, charging ... | 09/28/2010 |
| 7804308 | Surgical testing instrument and system The present disclosure describes an instrument for measuring the dielectric properties of biological tissue. The instrument includes a top electrode assembly and a bottom electrode assembly, the top electrode assembly including a top electrode and at least one shaft... | 09/28/2010 |
| 7800379 | Fuel sensor A sensing apparatus for determining a property of a fuel such as a gasoline and ethanol blend known as flex fuel includes an acetal plastic tube with an inlet, an outlet and a fuel passage in between. One property of the fuel is a dielectric constant. A pair of sens... | 09/21/2010 |
| 7777500 | Methods for characterizing dielectric properties of parts Characterizing dielectric properties of a part includes placing a full-sized part within a dielectric property measurement apparatus. In one embodiment, the full-sized part is a dielectric part of a plasma processing system. The dielectric property measurement appar... | 08/17/2010 |
| 7714595 | Foreign object detection sensor A foreign object detection sensor applied to an electric sliding door apparatus is provided. The sensor includes a contact detecting section, a change detecting section, and a determination section. The contact detection section has a pressure sensitive portion whic... | 05/11/2010 |
| 7710127 | Test strip reader system and method A system and method is provided for reading a test strip by measuring the light intensity incident on a photodiode. The method may include reverse biasing the photodiode, measuring a time required to charge a capacitor using current generated by the photodiode, and ... | 05/04/2010 |
| 7705614 | Apparatuses and systems for density gauge reference emulation Apparatuses and systems for emulating electrical characteristics of a material having a known dielectric constant are disclosed for standardizing and calibrating of electromagnetic devices. The emulator apparatus can include an electrically non-conductive layer havi... | 04/27/2010 |
| 7692432 | Liquid property sensor A liquid property sensor for detecting property of liquid includes a semiconductor board, a first electrode and a second electrode, and a protection film. The first and second electrodes are disposed on the semiconductor board to be spaced from each other at a prede... | 04/06/2010 |
