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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 7663378 | Passenger seat having occupant detector and seat heater covered with waterproof sheet A passenger seat device includes a detector electrode for detecting occupancy of the seat, a seat heater powered by an on-board electric power source, and a waterproof sheet for preventing water permeated into the seat from reaching the seat heater. Whether the seat... | 02/16/2010 |
| 7619420 | Capacitance measurement device An apparatus includes a measurement device for measuring two capacitances. The apparatus also includes a display module that simultaneously displays at least two numerical values based on the measured capacitances. ... | 11/17/2009 |
| 7612569 | Oscillating device, electric potential measuring device, light deflecting device, and image forming apparatus Oscillating device including a movable member that is vibratable, a fixed section that is provided opposite to the movable member, a driving unit configured to drive the movable member, and at least two electrodes configured to generate a first signal corresponding ... | 11/03/2009 |
| 7567088 | Foreign object detection apparatus A foreign object detection apparatus has at least one pair of first and second members which are members configuring a space, in which bills to be processed are deposited, and disposed to face each other to push and sandwich the bills therebetween, the first member ... | 07/28/2009 |
| 7545154 | Sensor using the capacitive measuring principle The invention relates to a sensor which uses the capacitive measuring principle which is used to detect the proximity of a dielectric medium, preferably for detecting a human body part, which is used in an anti-pinching system. The sensor includes a capacitor and an... | 06/09/2009 |
| 7545153 | Capacitance detecting proximity sensor A capacitance detecting proximity sensor forms a proximity detection range in a spatially open region, avoids the effects resulting from peripheral objects outside the detection target, and enables proximity detection with few malfunctions. The proximity sensor incl... | 06/09/2009 |
| 7518380 | 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... | 04/14/2009 |
| 7514938 | Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy apparatus and methods of use Methods and apparatus for measuring the dielectric relaxation properties of a sample are disclosed. Methods are disclosed for amplifying or controlling the dielectric relaxation properties of a sample by adding particles, such as functionally coated particles. In ce... | 04/07/2009 |
| 7511514 | Passenger screening system and method A method of operating a passenger screening kiosk system to perform at least one verify a passenger's identity, detect the presence of an explosive material, and detect the presence of a metallic material includes initiating a prompt to be issued by the passenger sc... | 03/31/2009 |
| 7508221 | Wall detector A wall detector (1) for detecting an object (3) embedded in a substrate (2) includes a detection antenna (5) for introducing broadband, high-frequency alternating electric fields (9) of a measurement frequency (fM) in th... | 03/24/2009 |
| 7492167 | Method and device for monitoring and controlling fluid locomotion A device for monitoring dripping of a fluid from a fluid channel, the device comprises a capacitor, being formed on or integrated with the fluid channel, and electrical contacts, connecting the capacitor to a capacitance measuring device, the capacitor is designed a... | 02/17/2009 |
| 7479790 | Capacitive plate dielectrometer method and system for measuring dielectric properties A capacitive plate dielectrometer method and system is provided that is used to measure dielectric properties, such as permittivity, of a small sample test material at a low frequency. The capacitive plate dielectrometer method and system calibrates the capacitive p... | 01/20/2009 |
| 7479789 | Method and device for measuring the degree of fiber concentration A method for measuring the degree of fiber concentration in a pulp in a machine, in particular a refiner for the manufacture of paper pulp, which machine includes a stator and an opposing rotor, which form a grinding gap for the pulp. The stator is provided with at ... | 01/20/2009 |
| 7466146 | Frozen material detection using electric field sensor An electric field sensor may be used to detect accumulation of frozen material. In one embodiment, an e-field system includes a first electrode, a second electrode located at a distance from the first electrode, the second electrode forming a capacitive element with... | 12/16/2008 |
| 7466147 | Fluid quality sensor A fluid quality sensor includes a first electrode (24) that has a fluid passageway (22) that is adapted to be placed in line with at least one fluid conduit (30). A second electrode (40) is supported within the fluid passageway (22... | 12/16/2008 |
| 7443175 | 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... | 10/28/2008 |
