Did You Know...
...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7630646 | Low power portable communication system with wireless receiver and methods regarding same A portable communication system provides a universal transmitter that couples to a communication device having an audio port, e.g., a cellular phone audio port, and which transforms the sound output into signals, e.g., infrared pulses, for transmission to a wireless... | 12/08/2009 |
| 7391976 | Optical acoustoelectric transducer An optical acoustoelectric transducer having a directivity pattern like a better 8 by receiving by a light-receiving element a reflected fraction of the light from a light-emitting device disposed at the center of a bottom plate that is parallel to a diaphrag... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7321288 | Mobile terminal and security remote-control system and method using mobile terminal A security remote-control system includes a mobile terminal, a central server, and a key unit controlling the state of a lock. The mobile terminal has a positional-information detecting unit capable of detecting its own position, and automatically transmits a first ... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7282694 | Optical navigation system having a ring pixel array An optical navigation system having an optical navigation integrated circuit (“navigation IC”) is described. The optical navigation system may include an emitter module and a pixel array surrounding the emitter module. The optical navigation system may further i... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7277642 | Fine displacement detection device by sound or the like A fine displacement detection device by sound or the like: which can easily align individual optical components; which disposes a light emitting element (13) and a light receiving element (14) on a substrate, emits light from the light emitting element... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7190897 | Optical channel operating parameters monitoring In a communication system, channel operating parameter carrier frequencies are located in the vicinity of data nulls in a data spectrum. The operating parameter carriers are summed with the data signal. At the receiver, the operating parameter carrier frequencies ar... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7078726 | Sealing of electronic device using absorbing layer for glue line In one embodiment of the invention, a first absorbing layer is on a substrate and/or a second absorbing layer is on a heat-activated adhesive. If the IR source that supplies IR radiation is present on the substrate-side, then the absorption percentage of the substra... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7045768 | Displacement/quantity of light converter A displacement/quantity of light converter in which sensitivity to a micro displacement due to sound of a diaphragm, or the like, can be enhanced easily. In the displacement/quantity of light converter where a light emitting part (2) and a light receiving par... | 05/16/2006 |
| 6952530 | Integrated glass ceramic systems Integrated glass ceramic spacecraft include a plurality of glass ceramic components including molded, tempered, annealed, and patterned glass ceramic components coupled together for forming a support structure or frame or housing through which is communicated optica... | 10/04/2005 |
| 6952198 | System and method for communication with enhanced optical pointer A system and method for communicating information to a remotely located computer include encoding the information using a plurality of features of an optical pointer, transmitting the encoded information to a remote location using the optical pointer, detecting the ... | 10/04/2005 |
| 6927906 | Binocular telescope with photographing function A binocular telescope with a photographing function includes a pair of telescopic optical systems, a casing for receiving the telescopic optical systems, and the casing has outer-side end portions. A camera system includes a photographing optical system, and a solid... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6630687 | Active matrix display device having wiring layers which are connected over multiple contact parts A wiring line to which a high-frequency signal is applied is electrically connected in parallel to an auxiliary wiring line via a plurality of contact holes. The contact holes are formed through an interlayer insulating film and arranged in vertical direc... | 10/07/2003 |
| 6570689 | Portable telephone and automobile system A portable telephone includes an infrared communication processing section, infrared receiving/emitting section, and control section. The control section switches speech communication modes in accordance with a signal received from a distant system throug... | 05/27/2003 |
| 6525857 | Method and apparatus for interleaved optical single sideband modulation A method and device for bandwidth efficient multi-channel optical single sideband modulation with suppressed carrier and a corresponding method and apparatus for demodulation are disclosed. The modulator includes a bandwidth efficient coder/modulator, a M... | 02/25/2003 |
| 6483619 | Optical-interference microphone An optical-interference microphone having a high sensitivity and bandwidth, and that is suitable to be manufactured by micromachining techniques. The microphone includes a back member, a diaphragm and an air gap formed between the back member and diaphrag... | 11/19/2002 |
| 6459798 | Sound-collecting device A device for collecting sounds from objects comprises a plurality of microphones whose directivity can be varied depending on the environment in which each object is located. An optical microphone includes a vibration board (2) which vibrates by sound pre... | 10/01/2002 |
| 6445369 | Light emitting diode dot matrix display system with audio output A dot matrix display system made up of light emitting diodes (LED's), n which one or more LEDs are modulated and encoded with audio information or messages is disclosed. The system has a LED dot matrix display panel with an interface circuit to a computer... | 09/03/2002 |
| 6427014 | Microphone This is a design for a microphone which directly outputs a one-bit digital audio signal. No electronic analogue-to-digital converter is required.... | 07/30/2002 |
| 5995260 | Sound transducer and method having light detector for detecting displacement of transducer diaphragm Transducer circuitry, and an associated method, converts acoustic signals into electrical signals. The transducer circuitry includes a diaphragm which is positioned to receive acoustic signals, such as voice signals. Displacement of the diaphragm responsi... | 11/30/1999 |
| 5621806 | Apparatus and methods for determining the relative displacement of an object A microphone is disclosed which converts an audio signal directly into a digital representation by analyzing and digitizing the distortion imposed upon a signal, such as a string of regularly spaced pulses as a result of the displacement of a diaphragm, r... | 04/15/1997 |
| 4689827 | Photofluidic audio receiver A photofliudic audio receiver for producing sound directly from light modulated at audio frequencies and amplifying the sound to deliver uniform frequency response over a wide audio frequency range, utilizing only fluidic and thermal devices. It includes ... | 08/25/1987 |
| 4566135 | Pressure transducer A pressure transducer as a microphone comprises a base body with a flat polished surface and a diaphragm contacting the flat surface at a plurality of spaced points. The base body consists of a material transparent for optical radiation, and is provided w... | 01/21/1986 |
| 4503564 | Opto-acoustic transducer for a telephone receiver A sound producing diaphragm of low density, low heat capacity, a large coefficient of thermal expansion and a large Young's modulus is located adjacent the end of an optical fiber transmission line element which is adapted to propagate modulated light and... | 03/05/1985 |
| 4422182 | Digital microphone A digital microphone for directly supplying a digital signal which designates the displacement of a diaphragm is disclosed. A cylindrical reflecting mirror is provided integrally with the diaphragm and reflects a band-shaped light beam to an array of phot... | 12/20/1983 |
| 4412105 | Laser microphone A microphone utilizing a laser light for conversion of acoustical sound waves to corresponding electrical signals which may, in turn, be amplified and processed for sound reproduction or recording. The microphone has a cylindrical outer housing with a plu... | 10/25/1983 |
| 4224482 | Mobile microphone-transmitter assembly A mobile microphone-transmitter assembly is disclosed which comprises a microphone, a plurality of infrared light emitting devices, electrical apparatus connected between the microphone and the devices to energize the devices in response to inputs to the ... | 09/23/1980 |
| 4105915 | Deflection-type modulator of laser beam for communications A deflection-type modulator, for insertion in the path of a laser beam directed to a remote receiver, includes a mirror mounted on a voice coil device and positioned in the focal plane of a lens. A prism reflects the laser beam at right angles through one... | 08/08/1978 |
| 4028977 | Optoelectronic sound amplifier system for musical instruments An optoelectronic sound amplifier system for musical instruments such as guitars, drums and the like, which includes light reflecting means positioned on the surface of the musical instrument adapted to vibrate responsive to the musical vibrations of the ... | 06/14/1977 |
