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3M employee and church chorister Art Fry needed something to temporarily mark pages in his hymnal. He was in luck because his colleague, Spencer Silver, accidentally developed a glue that was too weak for other purposes. After initially discouraging consumer response, Post-it Notes became a hit in 1979.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7975555 | Apparatus for simultaneously measuring longitudinal and shear wave speeds in materials under compression load via an ultrasonic transducer An apparatus for simultaneously measuring longitudinal and shear wave speeds in materials under load via echo or transmission is described. The apparatus comprises a housing with an open end, a closed end opposite the open end with a hole in the closed end, and a ho... | 07/12/2011 |
| 7669481 | System for monitoring level variations in a soil subjected to erosive and sedimentary agents, and monitoring method and element A system for monitoring level variations of at least one bottom region (20) of a soil subjected to erosive and sedimentary agents, which comprises at least one monitoring element (15) fastened to the bottom, the at least one monitoring element (15 | 03/02/2010 |
| 7591187 | Wireless vibrating strain gauge for smart civil structures A gauge includes a wire, a housing, a coil, a processor, and a power supply. The wire is mounted in the housing to vibrate at a natural frequency. The coil is magnetically coupled to the wire. The processor is connected to provide a digital signal to the coil and th... | 09/22/2009 |
| 7475598 | Electromechanical force transducer An electromechanical force transducer comprises at least two adjacent resonant elements and a damping layer coupled between their adjacent faces. The damping layer is selected so that the output is increased in the region of internal cancellation in the transducer. ... | 01/13/2009 |
| 7409868 | Load detecting device A load detecting device includes a sensor element including a function for generating and detecting a vibration within a single element, the sensor element converting a load or an acceleration into a detection signal, a driving portion for outputting a driving signa... | 08/12/2008 |
| 7401526 | Force measuring transducer The invention relates to a force measuring transducer with an oscillator (1) with an inductor (2) formed by a primary winding and a gauge (11) with a secondary winding (30) which is connected electroconductively to the gauge (11) a... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7360439 | Sample resistance measurement device In a circuit, as the bridge resistance of one side of a Wheatstone bridge circuit, a distortion gauge (fixed reference resistance) of which variation caused by environmental conditions is suppressed and a sample having a resistance component ΔR varied by the enviro... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7355321 | Mechanical quantity sensor A mechanical quantity sensor includes a current-to-voltage converter/signal adder circuit that converts electric current signals flowing through two piezoelectric vibrators into voltage signals. The piezoelectric vibrators receive stresses generated by a mechanical ... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7347102 | Contact-type electric capacitive displacement sensor A contact-type electric capacitive displacement sensor includes a stationary element having a stationary plate, a stationary conductive pattern formed on the stationary plate and an insulation film coated on the stationary plate and a displaceable element having a d... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7331212 | Sensor module A sensor module is provided having a compact housing containing a sensor. A low temperature co-fired ceramic substrate is located on the housing. The sensor and signal processing circuitry are located on the low temperature co-fired ceramic substrate. The sensor mod... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7320599 | Blood pressure simulation apparatus with tactile interface The blood pressure level in humans is a vital health parameter, yet the vast majority of people do not have a physical feeling for what normal and abnormal blood pressure levels mean in relation to the forces exerted on the heart and blood vessels. A blood pressure ... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7270008 | Inertial testing method and apparatus for wafer-scale micromachined devices A method and apparatus for simultaneous fracture and fatigue testing of a semiconductor wafer which includes installing an array of cantilever beams on the wafer, wherein each of the cantilever beams includes a proof mass; mounting the wafer on a base; actuating the... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7243551 | Micromechanical component having a sealed cavity and at least two dielectric layers and corresponding method for its manufacture A micromechanical component having a substrate, a cavity formed in the substrate, a membrane provided on the surface of the substrate, which seals the cavity, the membrane having at least two layers between which one or several piezoelectric or piezoresistive circui... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7165455 | Surface acoustic wave sensor methods and systems Sensor systems and methods are disclosed herein, including a sensor chip, upon which at least two surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensing elements are centrally located on a first side (e.g., front side) of the sensor chip. The SAW sensing elements occupy a common area ... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7167762 | System and method for implementing safety instrumented systems in a fieldbus architecture An apparatus, system and process is provided for communicating safety-related data, over an open system, from a sender to a receiver. Safety-related components, including function blocks, flexible function blocks, resource blocks and transducer blocks, as well as, s... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7161476 | Electronic tire management system An electronic tire maintenance system is provided for measuring a parameter of a device at a first location. The system includes a sensor for measuring the device parameter and generating a data signal representing the measured parameter. The system also includes a ... | 01/09/2007 |
| 7140255 | Devices and method of measuring a mass A device 1 for measuring a mass comprises a vibrator 2, driving means 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D for exciting a basic vibration in the vibrator 2, detecting means 4A, 4B for detecting a displacement of vibration in ... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7121148 | Force measuring transducer The invention relates to a force measuring transducer with an oscillator (1) with an inductor (2) formed by a primary winding and a gauge (11) with a secondary winding (30) which is connected electroconductively to the gauge (11) a... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7109636 | Dynamic-quantity sensor A dynamic-quantity sensor includes two piezoelectric vibrators which are arranged such that stresses generated by a dynamic quantity, such as acceleration, are applied in opposite phases to the piezoelectric vibrators. A current-voltage converting and signal adding ... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7093498 | Microelectromechanical strain gauge with frequency detector A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) strain gauge includes at least one flexible arm that can be caused to oscillate. Transverse strain on the arm changes the resonant frequency of the arm. A detector communicating with the flexible arm may detect the frequency of... | 08/22/2006 |
| 7075216 | Lateral field excited acoustic wave sensor An acoustic wave sensor having a piezoelectric substrate shaped to generate lateral electric fields. The sensor has a pair of electrodes deposited upon a reference surface of the substrate. A sensing surface that is opposite from the reference surface is adapted to ... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7069790 | Systems and methods for measuring relative thermal expansion coefficient of low thermal coefficient of expansion materials Systems and methods for accurately comparing the thermal expansion coefficient of components (materials substrate, etc.) to be attached in some manner. This invention utilizes the frequency output of a double-ended quartz resonator bonded to first and second referen... | 07/04/2006 |
| 7032454 | Piezoelectric cantilever pressure sensor array A piezoelectric cantilever pressure sensor array is disclosed. The piezoelectric cantilever pressure sensor array contains a substrate, a readout circuit, and piezoelectric cantilever pressure sensors electrically connected to the readout circuit. Each piezoelectric... | 04/25/2006 |
| 7024949 | Load transducers employing a sensing device Force sensing transducers which employ inline sensing and an integral crossarm support for a sensing component. These transducers have a metal frame with at least one ring; a beamlike crossarm which lies within, spans, and is integral with a ring of the transducer f... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7017418 | System and method for sensing pressure A differential pressure sensor for use in an industrial application is described. The differential pressure sensor includes a membrane layer having a covered portion and an exposed portion where a first side of the exposed portion of the membrane layer is in fluid c... | 03/28/2006 |
| 6999824 | System and method for implementing safety instrumented systems in a fieldbus architecture An apparatus, system and process is provided for communicating safety-related data, over an open system, from a sender to a receiver. Safety-related components, including function blocks, flexible function blocks, resource blocks and transducer blocks, as well as, s... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6918304 | Material testing method The present invention aims to achieve accurate measurement and evaluation of mechanical properties of an object to be measured 1 without use of a force sensor. A weight 3 is attached to the object to be measured 1 to form a mass-spring system in which the obj... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6880407 | Load sensor with use of crystal resonator Excitation electrodes are respectively affixed to central portions of both surfaces of a long plate-shaped AT-cut crystal resonator, the central portion starts a thickness shear oscillation in the length direction of the crystal resonator when an electric signal is ... | 04/19/2005 |
| 6819103 | Lorentz force driven mechanical filter/mixer designs for RF applications A Lorentz force-driven mechanical resonator apparatus that utilizes a high-Q resonant structure as both a mixing device and a high-Q bandpass filter. Specifically, an external time varying, but quasistatic, magnetic field is applied to the resonating device while si... | 11/16/2004 |
| 6763726 | Mechanical force sensor A mechanical-force sensor includes two piezoelectric vibrators which are arranged such that stresses in mutually opposite directions are applied thereto by a mechanical force such as an acceleration. A current-voltage converter and signal-summing circuit converts cu... | 07/20/2004 |
| 6532822 | Resonant torsion pendulum pressure sensor A pressure responsive mechanically resonant sensor device is provided that comprises a torsion pendulum driven at resonance. The pressure sensor includes a rigid frame to which is affixed a torsion pendulum comprising a hollow tube and a resonant mass as ... | 03/18/2003 |
| 6526835 | Apparatus and method for characterizing physical properties of a test piece An apparatus and method for non-destructively determining non-musical physical characteristics such as the Young's modulus, stiffness coefficient, and damping coefficient of a test piece of arbitrary shape. The apparatus consists of a frame having a natur... | 03/04/2003 |
| 6385564 | Measuring system repeatable bandwidth for simulation testing A system and method for identifying characteristics of a physical system applies substantially identical drive ensembles to the physical system and obtains corresponding responses from the physical system. A repeatable bandwidth of the physical system is ... | 05/07/2002 |
| 6327913 | Force measuring cell with an oscillating string transducer The inventive force measuring cell consists of a plate (2) which is provided with a circular hole (2), the axis of which is perpendicular to the surface of said plate (2) and to the direction of the force that is to be measured. Said axis also lies within... | 12/11/2001 |
| 6209400 | Portable press vibration severity monitoring system and method The invention is directed to a hand held device attachable to a mechanical press to measure press conditions. The device includes signal processing circuitry for processing a corresponding signal developed from an accelerometer. The signal processing circ... | 04/03/2001 |
| 6167748 | Capacitively readout multi-element sensor array with common-mode cancellation An improved multi-element apparatus for detecting the presence of at least one chemical, biological or physical component in a monitored area comprising an array or single set of the following elements: a capacitive transducer having at least one cantilev... | 01/02/2001 |
| 5955659 | Electrostatically-actuated structures for fluid property measurements and related methods A fluid property sensor includes a substrate having a first electrode thereon, and a flexible member adjacent the substrate and the first electrode wherein the flexible member includes a second electrode. A signal generator generates a predetermined elect... | 09/21/1999 |
| 5764068 | Method for measuring mechanical properties of thin films using a resonator in an anti-resonance regime A method using quartz resonators probes dynamically the mechanical characteristics of thin films. This method probes the film properties at the anti-resonance frequency where the vibrational amplitude is smallest, minimizing nonlinear contributions in the... | 06/09/1998 |
| 5737239 | Shaking test method and system for a structure A shaking test system for testing a structure including a shaking device for shaking the structure, measuring devices mounted on the shaking device for shaking the structure, external signal input device for inputting data indicative of external force for... | 04/07/1998 |
| 5659139 | Method of and apparatus for stress detection A stress is detected by the utilization of a semiconductor equipped with a beam oscillator which is driven to generate a compound oscillation comprising a plurality of component oscillations with different component frequencies through the steps of detect... | 08/19/1997 |
