Did You Know...
...that several people are credited with the invention of the flush toilet? Most people have heard of Thomas Crapper (1837-1910), the sanitary engineer who invented the valve-and-siphon arrangement that made the modern toilet possible. Another claimant to "the throne" was British inventor Alexander Cumming who patented a toilet in 1775. Then there's a nameless Minoan (a native of ancient Crete) who lived 4,000 years ago who supposedly was ahead of his time and created the first flush toilet!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8009283 | Dichroic beamsplitter for high energy laser diagnostics Wavefront control techniques are provided for the alignment and performance optimization of optical devices. A Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor can be used to measure the wavefront distortion and a control system generates feedback error signal to optics inside the d... | 08/30/2011 |
| 7978322 | Calibrating aircraft surfaces Systems and methods to calibrate aircraft surfaces are provided. A particular method includes installing a set of laser targets. The set of laser targets includes at least first laser target and a second laser target. The first laser target is installed on a first s... | 07/12/2011 |
| 7961306 | Optimizing sensitivity of optical metrology measurements Provided is a method of optimizing sensitivity of measurements of an optical metrology tool using two or more illumination beams directed to a structure on a workpiece comprising selecting target structures for measurement, obtaining diffraction signals off the sele... | 06/14/2011 |
| 7933008 | Positioning a first surface in a pre-determined position relative to a second surface A method and an apparatus for positioning a first device in relation to a second device. An optical signal from a first device is sent to a second device. A reflection of the optical signal from the second device is received. A position of one of the devices relativ... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7405726 | 3D cursor or joystick device A 3D cursor or joystick device and control method employs a complementary pair of emitter/detector units, one worn on a part of a user's body (e.g., the head) and the other mounted in a stationary position on a display monitor facing the user. Each unit has an array... | 07/29/2008 |
| 7339659 | Method and system for identifying hostile missile launch locations A method for identifying hostile missile launch locations is disclosed. In response to a receipt of a message containing information regarding a hostile missile had been launched at an aircraft, a determination is made as to whether or not a tail number contained wi... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7332729 | System and method for multiple electron, ion, and photon beam alignment A beam column array included alignment marks within to enable alignment of beams with respect to each other. Specifically, the array includes an array of beam columns, each column having at least once lens. A plurality of alignment marks are located beneath the lens... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7319782 | Real-time imaging and analysis system A sub-surface imaging system includes a broadband set of coherent beams with low divergence angle. It further includes an optical processing system which provides a probe and a reference beam, applies the probe beam to the target to be analyzed, recombines the beams... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7315667 | Propagating light to be sensed Light to be sensed is spreaded across an entry surface of a transmission structure with a laterally varying energy transmission function. For example, the light could be output from a stimulus-wavelength converter, provided through an optical fiber, or it could come... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7312871 | Method and apparatus for alignment of components A method and apparatus for measuring the relative positions of first and second components, comprising: mounting first and second measurement units on respective housings forming part of each component and which are rotatably arranged and infinitely adjustable there... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7312861 | Method and apparatus for measuring the angular orientation between two surfaces A device and method are disclosed that measure the relative angular orientation between two surfaces. Two frames are mounted on the two surfaces to be measured. One frame has a collimated light source and a measuring scale. The other frame has a mirror. The collimat... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7299557 | Tilt sensor A tilt sensor has a source for optical radiation, a pattern support having an optically effective pattern for the passage of the optical radiation generated by the source, a tilt-sensitive unit downstream of the pattern support in the direction of propagation of the... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7275295 | True vehicle running center shaft assembly system A system for assembling a vehicle drive shaft is provided with the steps of installing yokes on respective ends of a drive shaft tube, each yoke having first and second bores therethrough for receiving respective distal ends of respective spider arrangements, and ro... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7265350 | Integrated multi-spectral imaging systems and methods of tissue analyses using same A system is provided utilizing sensors tuned to multiple wavelength spectra for evaluating and imaging an object being monitored. The system includes, among other things, an assembly for splitting a photon beam emitted from an object being monitored into multiple in... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7248374 | Spherically mounted light source with angle measuring device, tracking system, and method for determining coordinates A device for use in conjunction with a coordinate measuring device, a three-dimensional coordinate measuring system and a method of measuring three-dimensional coordinates are described. The device includes a light source mounted substantially within the center of a... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7227627 | Optical biaxial angle sensor A fast and accurate non-contacting angle sensor. According to one aspect of the described sensor and method of operation thereof, the angular orientation of an inner payload relative to an outer structure is monitored with a 2 axis optical angle sensor for azimuth a... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7215383 | Coherent light despeckling A display device or a receiver device for use with coherent light. A controller applies phase shift values to a multi-region phase array at a frequency sufficiently higher than the flicker fusion rate of the human eye or other intended receiver in order to remove th... | 05/08/2007 |
| 7205520 | Portable air defense ground based launch detection system A ground based launch detection system consisting of a sensor grid of electro-optical sensors for detecting the launch of a threat missile which targets commercial aircraft in proximity to a commercial airport or airfield. The electro-optical sensors are configured ... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7184136 | Optical alignment method and system An optical feedback technique is utilized for accurately determining the angular orientation of a collimator relative to an electro-optical (EO) system, and for aligning the two. A mirror assembly mounted on the EO system comprises a plurality of mirror elements pos... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7164118 | Method and system for obstacle detection A method and system for detecting the presence of an object or the distance between the system and an object supports the provision of rapid and reliable obstacle detection. A transmitter emits generally linear beams of electromagnetic radiation with a transmitted r... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7152007 | Imaging apparatus and method A system for investigating a sample, the system including a detector having non-linear current voltage characteristics and being configured to mix two radiation signals having frequencies in the range from 25 GHz to 100 THz, one of the signals being a local oscillat... | 12/19/2006 |
| 7131732 | Projector apparatus, inclination angle obtaining method, and projection image correction method In a projector to which the present invention is applied, a distance sensor measures distances between the projector and a plurality of points on a screen. An angle calculation unit obtains a formula representing a screen surface, based on plural pieces of distance ... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7124676 | Muzzle reference system In systems embodying the invention, a battery powered collimated light source is located at the muzzle end of a cannon and is beamed back over the length “L” of the cannon gun tube to the collecting aperture of an optical transceiver located near the breech end ... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7123354 | Optical position measuring device An optical position measuring arrangement that includes an incremental measuring graduation and a scanning unit, which can be moved in relation to the incremental measuring graduation along a measuring direction and by which position-dependent incremental signals ar... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7113271 | Method to accurately measure the angular orientation of a rotating axis to a reference line A method is described that measures the angular orientation of a rotational axis to a reference line. The reference line is defined by the position of a string. The alignment device includes a collimated light source that is projected approximately perpendicular to ... | 09/26/2006 |
| 7110103 | Apparatus for and method of aligning a structure An apparatus for determining the orientation and/or position of a structure comprises a light source (28) for generating a light beam. A structure (31) is mounted in the optical path of the light beam such that the position and/or orientation of the st... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7086163 | Method and remote-controlled reflector device for layout axis lines during construction of a building in the absence of direct line of sight A method and remote-controlled reflector device for layout reference and axis lines is provided for use preferably in high building construction industry. The reflector device includes a mirror capable of rotating about its horizontal and vertical axes as controlled... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7087884 | Light barrier or light grid with alignment mechanism A light barrier or light grid which has at least one light emitter arranged in a first housing and at least one associated light receiver arranged in a second housing. At least one emitter of visible alignment light installed in the first or the second housing gener... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7064817 | Method to determine and adjust the alignment of the transmitter and receiver fields of view of a LIDAR system A method to determine the alignment of the transmitter and receiver fields of view of a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system. This method can be employed to determine the far-field intensity distribution of the transmitter beam, as well as the variations in tr... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7059781 | Optical detection device and optical device An optical detection device is provided with an optical path dividing section which is disposed on an optical path toward a light receiving surface which receives an optical beam. The optical path dividing section is provided with an aperture section through which a... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7047614 | Aircraft assembly process A method of producing an aircraft assembly tool for supporting an aircraft component comprising the steps of: determining the predetermined positions and orientations in space at which the component should be supported; designing a fixture frame to provide support a... | 05/23/2006 |
| 7047801 | Portable guidance assembly test station A portable system (20) for testing an electro-optical guidance assembly (22) includes an electro-optical test unit (40) with at least two sources of electromagnetic energy at different wavelengths for selectively illuminating the guidance assemb... | 05/23/2006 |
| 7042560 | Angle detecting apparatus and projector having the same A control circuit computes relative horizontal and vertical inclination angles between a screen and a projector by a line-type passive range-finding device. A display driving section adjusts a projection optical system including a condensing lens on the basis of the... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7003072 | Method for localizing a target in an object A method for localizing a target (e.g., a tumor) in an object (e.g. human tissue) by scanning the object with an X-ray beam. The X-ray beam is translated and simultaneously rotated during the scan, the translatory and rotational movements being connected in such a w... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6995810 | Method and system for automated convergence and focus verification of projected images A method and system that objectively measures the convergence and focus of a 2 or 3 spatial light modulator (SLM) projection display. The system uses five (5) CCD cameras and a frame grabber to store red, green, and blue (R-G-B) data from selected pixels located in ... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6993255 | Method and apparatus for providing adaptive illumination An illumination system (20, 72, 110, 142) for illuminating a scene comprising: an illuminator (24, 74, 116) having a plurality of substantially contiguous independently controllable light (26, 76) providing regions each of which provides light t... | 01/31/2006 |
| 6922903 | Method and apparatus for measuring bent workpieces A method and device for determining the length (b) of at least one of two legs (13, 14), of a workpiece (12) bent toward each other at a bending angle (β) requires location of the workpiece (12) in a defined position. The position of the bendin... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6915582 | Alignment structure The alignment of two pieces of machinery is achieved so that centerlines of rotating shafts of each piece are in-line. The methods and systems include a) rotating a shaft on a first unit, the first unit including a laser holder assembly for projecting a light source... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6914676 | System and method for optical multiplexing and/or demultiplexing Improved methods and systems for routing and aligning beams and optical elements in an optical device include a multiplexing device and/or a demultiplexing device, which includes an optical alignment element (OAE). The OAE can be configured to substantially compensa... | 07/05/2005 |
| 6907058 | Energy monitor for molecular fluorine laser A beam parameter monitoring unit for coupling with a molecular fluorine (F2) or ArF laser resonator that produces an output beam having a wavelength below 200 nm includes a detector and a beam path enclosure. The unit may also include a beam splitter with... | 06/14/2005 |
