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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7938012 | Smart coat for damage detection information, detecting device and damage detecting method using said coating A smart coat with damage following feature for damage detection information, a detecting device and a damage detecting method using said smart coat, the smart coat could be set on a subject body and comprises a sensing layer, said sensing layer is composed of electr... | 05/10/2011 |
| 7523670 | Sensor element for detecting a physical measuring variable between bodies exposed to high tribological strain The invention proposes sensor elements (5) for detecting a physical measurement variable such as a pressure, a temperature, a gap width, or a capacitance between two bodies (10, 20) that move in relation to each other during operation and experience hi... | 04/28/2009 |
| 7434480 | Methods and systems for using active surface coverings for structural assessment and monitoring A system for structural assessment is described that comprises a plurality of sensors and a surface covering for at least a portion of a structure. The sensors are arranged in a pattern and attached to the surface covering. The surface covering is attached to a surf... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7368827 | Electrical assembly for monitoring conditions in a combustion turbine operating environment An electrical assembly for use in various operating environments such as a casing of a combustion turbine 10 is provided. The assembly may include an electrical energy-harvesting device 51 disposed in a component within the casing of the turbine to con... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7357036 | Force measuring apparatus and strain measuring element A force measuring apparatus comprises has a force-transmitting component, that holds a strain measuring element with a carrier element and a displacement transducer. The carrier element has two fixing sections at a predefined distance from each other in a direction ... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7347109 | Load cell with foil strain gauge A foil strain gage is attached to a strained section for outputting a resistance change proportional to a strain generated at the strained section. The foil strain gage includes two grid-shaped resistors disposed in parallel on an insulating base material as detecti... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7319322 | Deformation sensor and method for detecting a deformation A sensor has a substrate having a mechanically deformable region, a magnetostrictive spin-valve sensor element being arranged to detect a mechanical deformation of the mechanically deformable region. On the substrate, there is a device for generating a controllable ... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7276283 | Plasma-enhanced functionalization of carbon-containing substrates Methods for producing plasma-treated, functionalized carbon-containing surfaces are provided. The methods include the steps of subjecting a carbon-containing substrate to a plasma to create surface active sites on the surface of the substrate and reacting the surfac... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7218802 | Low drift planar waveguide grating sensor and method for manufacturing same A planar waveguide grating (PWG) sensor is described herein which exhibits a low signal drift and an enhanced sensitivity due to the use of a fully dense silicon-rich nitride surface layer. In the preferred embodiment, the silicon rich silicon nitride surface layer ... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7181831 | Method of manufacturing strain sensor A strain sensor comprising a metal substrate, a first electrode provided on the metal substrate, a glass layer formed on the first electrode, and a second electrode and a strain detecting resistor provided on the glass layer. In the strain sensor, the insulation res... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7180302 | Method and system for determining cracks and broken components in armor A ceramic armor system with built-in conductive circuit attached to a ceramic component. The conductive circuit can be accessed by a user at contacts provided in the system. The circuit is arranged so that damage such as cracks that occurs within the ceramic compone... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7171314 | Methods and systems for analyzing structural test data Systems and methods for analyzing structural test data are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes applying a sequence of loads to a test article, receiving raw test data indicative of the applied loads from at least one sensor operatively associated with th... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7162373 | Method and system for assessing life of cracked dovetail in turbine A method has been developed for predicting a remaining operational life of a turbine component including: obtaining crack flaw data regarding current crack flaws in the turbine component; using the crack flaw data with data regarding the structure and operating cond... | 01/09/2007 |
| 7148079 | Diamond like carbon silicon on insulator substrates and methods of fabrication thereof Diamond like carbon silicon on insulator substrates and methods of fabrication thereof are disclosed. In one form, a process for creating a composite structure for fabricating an electronic device is disclosed. The process includes forming a first diamond-like carbo... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7141990 | Device for detecting degradation of a component An apparatus for monitoring the structural integrity of a component. A monitoring structure is applied to a component that is subject to structural degradation. The monitoring structure includes an electrical conductor that becomes cracked if the component becomes s... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7110216 | Magnetic thin film sensor based on the extraordinary hall effect A magnetic field sensor, including an insulating substrate and a conductive thin film deposited on the substrate. The thin film consists of a material having an extraordinary Hall coefficient, the thin film also has a resistivity and a film thickness no greater than... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7106215 | Device for monitoring the integrity of spacecraft thermal protection tiles An electrical circuit, attached to the tiles of the space shuttle, provides an indication of tile integrity in real time. Each tile has a resistor attached thereto between parallel conductors, and a series of tiles forms a protected grid series tile section. A compu... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7010986 | Strain sensor and method of producing the same A strain sensor comprising a metal substrate, a first electrode provided on the metal substrate, a glass layer formed on the first electrode, and a second electrode and a strain detecting resistor provided on the glass layer. In the strain sensor, the insulation res... | 03/14/2006 |
| 6986287 | Method and apparatus for strain-stress sensors and smart skin for aircraft and space vehicles A new family of multifunctional smart coatings based on of stabilized diamond-like metal-carbon atomic scale composites and diamond-like atomic-scale composite (DL ASC) materials. Based on a unique combination of the coating fine structure, properties of the coating... | 01/17/2006 |
| 6910384 | Stress or magnetic field sensor with spatially varying bias A stress or magnetic field sensor comprising a generally elongate magnetically soft amorphous or nanocrystalline electrically resistive element and biasing means for applying to the element a bias magnetic field of which the component directed along the length of th... | 06/28/2005 |
| 6679100 | Spark plug mounted thick film strain gauge A thick film resistor strain gauge is applied to a stainless steel shell portion of a spark plug. There are two preferable ways of applying a thick film resistor to the metal shell. In a first embodiment, the thick film resistor may be directly printed on... | 01/20/2004 |
| 6579612 | Magnetostrictive sensor structure A sensor for measuring magnetostriction of and/or magnetic thin film is constructed by depositing a thin film nonferromagnetic electrically insulating layer followed by a thin film layer of a sensor material which is piezoresistive and nonferromagnetic. T... | 06/17/2003 |
| 6336368 | Method and apparatus for energy efficient tacking of resonant devices A method and apparatus for interrogating a resonator to monitor its resonance characteristics (e.g. resonant frequency) in an especially energy efficient manner, particularly changes to the characteristics over time. The resonator is pulsed and the respon... | 01/08/2002 |
| 6332363 | Biosensor, method of forming and use A sensor device (1-5) has a sensing surface on which, in use, first molecules (5) are immobilized. The first molecules (5) are capable of interaction with second molecules which may be present in a sample of fluid applied to the sensing surface, such inte... | 12/25/2001 |
| 6301775 | Alumina encapsulated strain gage, not mechanically attached to the substrate, used to temperature compensate an active high temperature gage in a half-bridge configuration A temperature compensation element for a high-temperature strain gage and the method of fabricating the same. Preferably, the element is a "dummy" strain gage not mechanically attached to the substrate. The element is encapsulated in an insulative materia... | 10/16/2001 |
| 6079277 | Methods and sensors for detecting strain and stress The present invention relates to strain or stress sensors which include a first planar conductive element, a second planar conductive element, and a flexible graphite sheet sandwiched between the first and second planar conductive elements. The flexible g... | 06/27/2000 |
| 5985183 | Piezoresistance paste and mechanical sensor using the same The present invention provides a mechanical sensor high in sensitivity (GF) and reliability. The mechanical sensor comprises an insulating substrate, a pair of electrodes formed on the insulating substrate, and a piezoresistance element formed by connecti... | 11/16/1999 |
| 5952836 | Device and method for detecting workpiece fractures A device for detecting fractures or corrosion in a workpiece having a non-conductive outer surface. A thin film layer of metallic material comprising a plurality of separate crack detection wires is bonded to the non-conductive surface of the workpiece. A... | 09/14/1999 |
| 5816530 | Structural life monitoring system A method for measuring growth and magnitude of structural damage in a structure such as an airframe, as reflected by growth of a crack therein, by securing to a structural portion thereof at least one ligament assembly whose properties replicate such dama... | 10/06/1998 |
| 5747698 | Capacitive z-axis strain gauge A strain gauge device for detecting force applied to a planar structure, the device including a capacitor having two spaced conductive surfaces, and a dielectric material between the conductive surfaces with a dielectric constant that varies in relation t... | 05/05/1998 |
| 5589770 | Mechanical sensor for detecting stress or distortion with high sensitivity A mechanical sensor, comprising a ferromagnetic layer having magnetostriction, a ferromagnetic layer having magneto-resistance effect, a magnetic field generating means which excites these ferromagnetic layers, and a substrate which supports all these ele... | 12/31/1996 |
| 5201229 | Sensor for controlling water quality of reactor and method of controlling said water chemistry An element (e.g., a sensor) has a fine-line thin film of a conductor formed on a non-conductive substrate, and a change of physical properties (e.g., deformation) of the substrate or the ambient environment is detected through a change in physical propert... | 04/13/1993 |
| 5192938 | Strain gage, transducer employing the strain gage, and method for producing the strain gage A strain gage or a measuring transducer equipped with such a strain gage has, for supporting the measuring grid structure, a backing made of a polyphenylenesulfide film. Such a backing assures a plurality of desirable characteristics simultaneously and eq... | 03/09/1993 |
| 5028394 | Chemical sensors Sensors responsive to small changes in the concentration of chemical species are disclosed, comprising (a) a mechanochemically responsive polymeric film capable of expansion or contraction in response to a change in its chemical environment, operatively c... | 07/02/1991 |
| 4945770 | State transducers in combination with mechanical components A method of manufacturing state transducers for mechanical components intended to be subjected to wear, mechanical and/or thermal loads, especially state transducers for tools. The invention is characterized in that electric conductors and, where appropri... | 08/07/1990 |
| 4884453 | Strain gauge A strain gauge comprised of a premagnetized ferromagnetic film wherein any change in length of the film can be measured by employing the properties of magnetostriction and magnetoresistance. The strain gauge is deposited on a substrate by thin-film techni... | 12/05/1989 |
| 4782705 | Strain gauge A strain gauge comprised of a premagnetized ferromagnetic film wherein any change in length of the film is converted into a planar Hall voltage by employing the property of magnetostriction and the planar Hall effect. Alternately, a change in the length o... | 11/08/1988 |
| 4633721 | Load cell having a thin film strain-inducible element A load cell wherein strain gauges are produced by a thin film process on a pattern forming surface of a strain-inducible element in such a manner that the resistances of the strain gauges are varied in accordance with deformations caused in thin portions ... | 01/06/1987 |
| 4630491 | Load cell and method of compensating the same A load cell has strain gage resistors, lead portions for connecting them in a bridge and compensating portions for the compensation of the bridge balance, span or the like, which are laminated as metal thin films by means of the thin film technique. A pro... | 12/23/1986 |
| 4546652 | In-situ on-line structural failure detection system, its preparation and operation Structural failures, as in metal aircraft structures, are rapidly detected and measured by use of a new detection system comprising a thin film adhesively bonded to the metal structural surface to be monitored, said film containing a plurality of thin con... | 10/15/1985 |
