Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7111981 | Instrument for non-contact infrared temperature measurement combined with tachometer functions A handheld instrument that accomplishes non-contact infrared (IR) temperature measurement, and the measurement of movement of an object. The instrument has a case, and a movement-sensing device coupled to the case and operable to be directed toward or placed against... | 09/26/2006 |
| 5467944 | Detector for indicating ice formation on the wing of an aircraft A detector indicating ice formation on the wing of an aircraft or any planear surface, based on a thread-like or a tape-like transducer, through which an ultrasonic signal is transmitted at one end. The attenuation of the signal having passed through the ... | 11/21/1995 |
| 5396427 | Method and apparatus for determining relative contributions of individual cylinders of internal combustion engine A linearly moving external part of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine is contacted with a hand-held contact tachometer for producing a waveform signal which, along with a signal responsive to the ignition of each cylinder, are applied to an engin... | 03/07/1995 |
| 5250896 | Hand-held magnetic contact tachometer with toothed rotatable wheel A hand-held contact tachometer includes an elongated hollow handle comprising two interconnected members defining a clevis at one end thereof and carrying therewithin a magnetic sensor disposed adjacent to the clevis and conditioning circuitry coupled to ... | 10/05/1993 |
| 5182512 | Method and apparatus for determining relative contributions of individual cylinders of internal combustion engine using contact tachometer A linearly moving external part on a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine is contacted with a hand-held rotary encoder, contact tachometer having a hollow handle in which processing circuitry is disposed for converting the rotary encoder output to a ... | 01/26/1993 |
| 4823080 | Touchless (photo type) and contact digital dual purpose tachometer This invention is directed to a combination touchless (photo type) and contact type tachometer having a digital display for measuring high, medium and low rotating and surface speeds. Mechanical rotation may be detected by a photo emitting-receiving senso... | 04/18/1989 |
| 4568414 | Methods and apparatus for tensioning sheet material An electret sheet is clamped on an apertured support around the aperture so that a sheet portion stretches all across the aperture. A tension-producing ring is advanced against the sheet portion normal to its stretch direction to produce progressively inc... | 02/04/1986 |
| 4440024 | Tachogenerator A friction driven tachogenerator having a friction drive wheel in contact with a movable member. The tachogenerator is compliantly and frictionlessly mounted, and at least one pressure roller is disposed in tangential, rolling contact with the friction dr... | 04/03/1984 |
| 4259918 | Self-cleaning traction wheel motion sensor A traction wheel motion sensor for endless conveyors which is self-cleaning of foreign matter that may enter the traction wheel housing and is spring biased toward the associated conveyor. A traction wheel housing located adjacent a moving conveyor engage... | 04/07/1981 |
| 4119055 | Traction wheel motion sensor The invention pertains to apparatus for sensing the motion of endless conveyors. A housing, on which a traction wheel having a high friction periphery is rotatably mounted, is located adjacent the moving conveyor member to be sensed, and the housing inclu... | 10/10/1978 |
| 4111059 | Device for transmitting movement to a speed indicator instrument and/or a distance counter Device for transmitting movement to a speed indicator instrument and/or distance counter, particularly for bicyles, comprising a driving wheel driven by a tire of the bicycle and a transmission casing. The transmission casing has an input shaft on which t... | 09/05/1978 |
