The ice cream cone was invented at the St. Louis Worlds Fair by Ernest Hamwi in 1904. His waffle booth was next to an ice cream vendor who ran short of dishes. Hamwi rolled a waffle to hold ice cream and the cone was born.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7924175 | Optical keypad for electronic device Disclosed in a wearable electronic device including an optical keypad supported by a keypad housing. The optical keypad may include a plurality of keys disposed along the keypad housing, and a plurality of illumination sources and optical receivers with a correspond... | 04/12/2011 |
| 7446677 | Method and apparatus for optically detecting selections made on an input device Optics are utilized in an input device such as a mouse or keyboard, for example, to detect a condition of one or more selection indicators, such as whether a key or button has been depressed or a scroll wheel has been rotated. Depressing a key, clicking a button and... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7432911 | Keyboard for mobile devices A keyboard comprising a plurality of transparent keys. In use, the keyboard is attached to a device such as a mobile device, to overlie a display screen of the device. One or more images displayed on the display screen are made visible to a user through the keys, wh... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7414238 | Optical encoder device for small-sized motor and method of producing the same An optical encoder device for a small-sized motor has a code wheel attached to a motor shaft which extends to the exterior of the motor through a bearing accommodated in a bearing-retaining section provided on an end bell of the motor, and a board on which a photose... | 08/19/2008 |
| 7391012 | Apparatus for detecting rotational angle of rotational element and detecting method thereof An apparatus (100) for detecting rotational angle of a rotational element (110), includes a light emitting element (1) and an image detecting element (3). The light emitting element is disposed on the rotational element to emit light. The... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7378990 | Laser locus ball apparatus for a wireless keyboard A laser locus ball apparatus for a wireless keyboard includes a base, a laser source generator, a locus ball, a light sensing element and a key cover. The base provides a lateral plate with a locating hole to locate the laser source generator and has another two opp... | 05/27/2008 |
| 7369881 | Portable telephone and method of manufacturing the same A portable telephone includes a lower case and elastic sheet, an operation button portion component, and an operation button illuminating light source. Predetermined openings are formed in each of the lower case and elastic sheet to arrange a plurality of front surf... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7362320 | Electronic device having a light emitting/detecting display screen Exemplary methods, apparatuses, media, and arrangements enable the implementation of one or more features in electronic devices that have (e.g., display) screens that are capable of light emission and detection. These features include, for example, scanning, (simula... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7335843 | Computer keyboard backlighting Embodiments of a peripheral backlighting system for keyboards are shown and described, which include one or more light-emitting panels exterior to the keyswitches of the keyboard. The panels are preferably electroluminescent material or light-emitting chemical cells... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7336206 | Input key and input apparatus An object of the present invention is to provide an input apparatus and input key capable of reducing the number of operations on the input key for input of symbols and permitting a user to designate a symbol to be inputted, by a simpler operation. An input key 1... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7292441 | Thermal solution for portable electronic devices A thermal solution for a portable electronic device, which is positioned between a heat source and another component of the electronic device, where the thermal solution facilitates heat dissipation from the heat source while shielding the second component from the ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7271797 | Optical window for generating a waveforms An optical window is disclosed through which light can be shone to generate a waveform. Windows are hourglass-shaped, to better conform the shape of the windows to the distribution of light intensity. The optical window can be incorporated into a variety of optical ... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7271743 | Switch arrangement and a switch matrix structure for a keypad A switch arrangement comprises a photoconductor to be illuminated. The switch arrangement also comprises a conductor which is intended to further transmit light escaping from the photoconductor and directed to the conductor by a local contact, wherein the conductor ... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7268705 | Input detection based on speckle-modulated laser self-mixing A keyboard detects press or release of keys based on laser output which is changed by speckle-modulated self-mixing. Unique targets are attached to keys. As a target is moved into and/or out of the path of a laser, speckling causes light to shine back into the laser... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7265338 | Photoelectric encoder using an incoherent semiconductor light source A photoelectric encoder is provided, which emits light from a light source to a main scale and an index scale that can relatively move with respect to each other and obtains a light-receiving signal by interaction between the main scale and the index scale. The phot... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7239249 | Menu sign system A method for controlling a menu sign linked to a light and a menu sign system are disclosed. The method may include highlighting an item entry on a menu sign and/or illuminating a light associated with an item. The item entry is associated with the item. The system ... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7193535 | Illuminated keyboard A keyboard is provided having illuminating keys. The keyboard includes a light channeling membrane and key members constructed at least partially of translucent material so that light produced from a light source is channeled upwardly to the upper surfaces of the ke... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7193536 | Illuminated keyboard A keyboard is provided having illuminating keys. The keyboard includes a light channeling membrane and key members constructed at least partially of translucent material so that light produced from a light source is channeled upwardly to the upper surfaces of the ke... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7193170 | Push button A push button includes a button main body portion which is provided between a packaging substrate placed under it and a casing portion located above it, a light source placed on the packaging substrate, and a light-guide portion which guides light from the light sou... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7176905 | Electronic device having an image-based data input system Electronic devices having image-based data input systems are described. In one aspect, an electronic device includes a window, multiple indicia, an image sensor, and a data input processor. The window has a contact surface with an input region. The multiple indicia ... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7170497 | Electronic device and control element An electronic device (1) comprises a control element (6) for receiving user input, and the control element (6) comprises at least a first input means (6b), a second input means (6c) and a protective cover (2) w... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7161137 | Optical transducer system having light emitting elements and light detecting elements both regulable in output characteristics Keys, which are incorporated in an automatic player piano, are monitored with an optical transducer system. The optical transducer system includes sensor heads provided on both sides of the key trajectories, LEDs connected to predetermined sensor heads through optic... | 01/09/2007 |
| 7148078 | Integrated circuit package provided with cooperatively arranged illumination and sensing capabilities An integrated circuit package includes an angled one-piece substrate having a light source fixed to one area and a sensor die fixed to a second area, such that the light source is directed to illuminate the field of view of the sensor die when a surface of interest ... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7126589 | Touch control panel A touch control panel comprises a transparent substrate, a contact layer, a first transparent electrode formed over the transparent substrate and a second transparent electrode formed over the contact layer facing the first transparent electrode. The space between t... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7106299 | Input control system with the ability of setting arbitrary switch functions of the switch input section An input control system is operative to set functions of four switches of a switch input section, thereby resolving the problem of intricate operation, particularly the screen scroll operation, which has been encountered by the conventional input scheme based on an ... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7102093 | Key with binding structure A key with binding structure includes an elastic key body and a membrane board bound to each other by an adhesive. The elastic key body has an operation portion extending upward there-from for being accessible and a supporting portion protruding downward there-from.... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7099553 | Apparatus and method for generating a lamina of light An apparatus and method for generating a lamina of light. The apparatus includes an optically transparent member having an input configured to receive light and one or more facets formed in the optically transparent member. As light enters and travels through the me... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7079112 | Pointing device with absolute and relative positioning capability A pointing device of a computer having absolute and relative positioning capability is disclosed. In a mouse pointing device embodiment, the mouse is movable over a mouse pad having a surface having a plurality of uniquely coded positions. The mouse includes a mecha... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7072880 | Information retrieval and encoding via substring-number mapping A finite-state network that supports substring-number mapping is compiled from a grammar that includes a plurality of classes of substrings. Each of the plurality of classes of substrings has a finite number of substrings. In applying the network to an input string,... | 07/04/2006 |
| 7064744 | Optical induction/trackball dual-mode mouse An optical induction/trackball dual-mode mouse is disclosed to include a mouse body, a trackball module installed in the top of the mouse body, a cursor control optical induction module installed in the bottom of the mouse body, and an induction switch mounted insid... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7060968 | Method and apparatus for optical encoding with compressible imaging The present invention presents an optical encoder with increased conversion rates. Improvement in the conversion rate is a result of combining changes in the pattern recognition encoder's scale pattern with an image sensor readout technique which takes full advantag... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7053799 | Keypad with illumination structure An illuminated keypad (400) includes a substantially transparent keypad (420) having a plurality of actuator buttons (412), a plurality of switches (404) residing substantially and correspondingly below the plurality of actuator buttons, ... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7042444 | OLED display and touch screen An OLED display and touch screen system including a substrate; an OLED display including an array of individually addressable OLEDs formed on the substrate; and a touch screen including an OLED light emitter formed on the substrate and a light sensor formed on the s... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7042371 | Optical keyboard with geodesic optical elements An optical keyboard having a plurality of keys formed on a sheet of transparent material used as light guide. Each key is a dome-shaped element such that the light beam launched into one end of the dome-shaped element spreads over at least part of the dome-shaped el... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7026959 | Optical joystick module A joystick module in which a toggle arm controls movement of a plurality of shutters, with each shutter arranged between a light receiver and a light emitter. Control of the light from the light receiver to the light emitter of each pair provides signal information ... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7025510 | Modular fiber-optic transceiver The present invention relates to an optoelectrical unit for converting information signals between an electrical signal format and an optical signal format. The proposed unit includes a circuit board, which contains at least one optoelectrical capsule. Each capsule ... | 04/11/2006 |
| 6967834 | Electronic apparatus There is provided an electronic apparatus which allows an operating panel surface thereof to be precisely finished and coated in a bright color and hence be attractive in appearance. A main case covers a plurality of operators so as to allow the operators to be oper... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6965327 | Device and method for evaluating a useful signal originating from a proximity sensor The invention relates to a device and method for evaluating a useful signal U(t) originating from a proximity sensor. The device comprises a first recognition means (17) which changes the switching state thereof when the value (U1(t)) of a first si... | 11/15/2005 |
| 6965511 | System and method for personalizing an electrical device The present disclosure relates to a system and method for personalizing an electrical device. In one arrangement, the system comprises an electrical device having a plurality of button openings that are adapted to receive buttons that control operation of the electr... | 11/15/2005 |
| 6961051 | Cross-point matrix for infrared touchscreen A circuit assembly detects a touch point within a display area. A plurality of light emitters are disposed around a periphery of the display area. A plurality of detectors are disposed around the periphery, each detector being opposed to a respective light emitter. ... | 11/01/2005 |