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 |
| 7472579 | Liquid flow proximity sensor for use in immersion lithography An apparatus and method for precisely detecting very small distances between a measurement probe and a surface, and more particularly to a proximity sensor using a constant liquid flow and sensing a liquid mass flow rate within a bridge to detect very small distance... | 01/06/2009 |
| 7461540 | Metal-oxide gas sensor A gas sensor has a dielectric base having a face, a heater element on the face, electrodes connected to the heater element, and a gas sensor element on the heater element that when heated changes impedance when in contact with a predetermined gas. The element is in ... | 12/09/2008 |
| 7461542 | Funnel viscosimeter A Marsh funnel is equipped with a valve at the funnel outlet. The valve may be of the quick opening type selected from stem valves (internal of the funnel), ball valves, plug valves, flapper valves, butterfly valves, slide valves and the like. ... | 12/09/2008 |
| 7458264 | Generalized inertial measurement error reduction through multiple axis rotation during flight An inertial measurement unit is provided. The inertial measurement unit comprises two rotational axes, wherein a first of the two rotational axes is aligned nominally along a thrust axis and a second of the two rotational axes is aligned substantially perpendicular ... | 12/02/2008 |
| 7451634 | Chromatographic methods for measuring impurities in a gas sample An improved chromatographic method for measuring impurities in a gas sample that allows extraction of a peak of impurity masked by the sample background. An impurity peak is extracted from the sample background and put in a second sample loop and the second sample l... | 11/18/2008 |
| 7448255 | Very high-temperature fluorescent tracer and automation for boiler water applications A method of fluorometrically monitoring dose control and leak detection, as well as boiler water system programs that occur in industrial systems containing boilers that operate between about 1500 psig and 2600 psig, and at pH from about 7.6 to 11.5. ... | 11/11/2008 |
| 7444891 | In-water hull cleaning sampling method A method includes providing a sampling device having a sampling chamber therein, a pump operatively coupled to the sampling chamber, and a drive means coupled to the sampling chamber; situating the sampling device against an underwater boat hull having contaminants ... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7437959 | In-water hull cleaning sampling device An In-Water Hull Cleaning Sampling Device includes a sampling chamber, a drive shaft housing, a drive shaft sealing membrane, a drive shaft, a spring retainer, a pressure spring, a cleaning pad, a mechanical drive device and a chamber sealing means. The sampling cha... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7437914 | Microfluidic test systems with gas bubble reduction A reservoir for use in testing a liquid as part of a microfluidic testing system, includes a testing chamber configured to receive the liquid to be tested. A liquid inlet is fluidly coupled to the testing chamber to allow ingress of the liquid into the testing chamb... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7434448 | Sensor A sensor for determining a physical property such as the concentration of a gas component or the temperature of a measuring gas, e.g., the exhaust gas of internal combustion engines, has a sensor element which is secured in a housing and is surrounded at an end sect... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7434446 | System for the transfer and sensing of gas dissolved in liquid under pressure A gas separation system for extraction of gas from pressurized fluid has a gas sampling interface and gas circulation tubing to pass sampled gas to a gas sensor to determine the character or a property of the gas. The gas sampling interface includes a semi-permeable... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7434483 | Sample pipette Sample pipettes used in particular for injecting samples into high pressure liquid chromatography apparatuses, which are provided with a hollow needle for drawing a sample and expelling same into a container or into a sample receiving device of the apparatus. An int... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7430898 | Methods and systems for analyzing a specimen using atomic force microscopy profiling in combination with an optical technique A system that includes an optical subsystem and an atomic force microscope probe is provided. The optical subsystem is configured to generate positional information about a location on a surface of the specimen. The system is configured to position the probe proxima... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7430897 | Method and apparatus for detecting and locating gas leaks The invention provides an apparatus and method for detecting the location of a gas leak within a test region. The invention comprises an array of calibrated sensors for measuring a plurality of gas concentrations, a control system coupled to the sensor array for cal... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7430932 | Device for telemonitoring the state of aerial power lines(variants) The invention refers to remote monitoring of power objects and is designed for collecting data on OHTL conductor status and passing such to data collection point (dispatch point for example). The invention's objective is to exclude necessity to produce and ma... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7430893 | Systems and methods for detecting contaminants The present invention relates to a system and method for sampling a gas flow to measure one or more contaminants within a semiconductor processing tool. The system includes a portable unit containing one or more dry traps, Tenax traps and, if desired, wet impingers.... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7430896 | Liquid leak sensing structure According to one embodiment, a liquid leak sensing structure is provided with a casing including a lower wall, a circulation unit received in the casing and providing circulation of a liquid, a liquid leak sensor interposed between the lower wall of the casing and t... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7426851 | Gas sensor unit and method of forming the same A gas sensor unit includes a conductive polymer and an absorbent for absorbing gas molecules. The conductive polymer is polyaniline (PAN) and the absorbent is polyurethane (PU). The content of the conductive polymer is 25-55 wt % and the content of the absorbent is ... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7426853 | Apparatus for measuring concentration A concentration measuring apparatus includes a vibration member; a shielding unit that limits a flowable area of a solution to be measured close to the vibration member; a vibration control unit that vibrates the vibration member at a frequency; a variation measurin... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7421882 | Breath-based sensors for non-invasive molecular detection A method of diagnosing the health of an individual by collecting a breath sample from the individual and measuring the amount of each of a plurality of analytes in the sample. The amount of each analytes is measured by fitting a time response curve of a sample-evalu... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7412876 | System and method for utility metering and leak detection The system and method for detecting water and/or gas leaks by monitoring usage patterns is described. In one embodiment, the existence of a leak is detected by looking for usage patterns wherein water or gas is always being used, at least at a low rate. A leak is in... | 08/19/2008 |
| 7409850 | Systems and methods for maximizing heat transfer efficiency to and minimizing thermal gradients in an analytic column An improved gas chromatograph system includes a radiant source, an insert located to receive an output of the radiant source, and an analytic column wound on a concave surface of the insert so that successive coils of the wound analytic column are in direct contact ... | 08/12/2008 |
| 7404313 | Scanning probe microscope A scanning probe microscope has a self-detection type probe structure including a cantilever having an electrically conductive probe at a distal end thereof, a supporting part, and a piezoresistance element whose resistance value changes depending on the deflection ... | 07/29/2008 |
| 7404314 | Atomic force microscope using a torsional harmonic cantilever An atomic force microscope based apparatus for examining a sample includes a cantilever having a cantilever arm and a probe tip where the probe tip is offset laterally from a longitudinal axis of torsion of the cantilever arm, an oscillator that drives the cantileve... | 07/29/2008 |
| 7401497 | Microdischarge detector method and apparatus A differential microdischarge detector system. The system comprises two microdischarge detectors (MDDs). One of the MDDs is connected to receive sample analytes to be measured, while the other MDD is connected to receive a reference sample that contains interfering ... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7401498 | Multiple trace portal detection systems A detector system that can analyze multiple samples with a single detector. The detector may contain a portal with a first opening and a second opening. A first sample is obtained from the first opening and a second sample is obtained from the second opening. The op... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7398676 | Leak sensor and leak sensing system A leak sensor and a leak sensing system are provided. The leak sensor preferably includes a fluid sensing member that is capable of sensing and indicating the presence of a fluid leaked from a fluid storage or transport member. The leak sensor further preferably inc... | 07/15/2008 |
| 7395692 | Portable gas meter A portable, preferably explosion-proof gas meter is improved in respect to shock loads and has a cylindrical measuring cell (5) and an evaluating circuit on a printed circuit board (6). The measuring cell (5) is connected to the printed circuit ... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7395695 | Apparatus for testing lengths of pipe A pipe testing apparatus includes a mandrel adapted for insertion within the pipe and two sealing devices connected to the mandrel and adapted to seal opposite ends of the pipe to create an annular space between the mandrel, the pipe, and the sealing devices. The ap... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7395691 | Method and apparatus for determining gas content of subsurface fluids for oil and gas exploration A process to analyze fluid entrained in well boreholes. The process includes gathering trap gas samples from return of drilling mud at multiple depths. The process also includes the steps of subjecting the samples to mass spectrometry in order to determine mass to c... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7392691 | Method and apparatus for detecting the level of a liquid A system for determining the position of a gas/liquid interface of a fluid in a tank having a probe and a controller. The probe has silicon diodes arranged linearly on a substrate. The controller applies power to each of the silicon diodes to make a determination of... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7392692 | Surface scan measuring device, surface scan measuring method, surface scan measuring program and recording medium A surface scan measuring device, a surface scan measuring method, a surface scan measuring program and a recording medium storing such a program which can appropriately adjust the scanning speed, the sampling pitch and other measurement parameters according to the s... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7392690 | Systems and methods for monitoring the integrity of a tank A conduit is connected to the interstice between an outer and inner wall of a storage tank or the liner thereof and may be used to monitor the integrity of the interstice. The conduit comprises a coupling in fluid communication with the interstice, a tube connected ... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7389674 | Sensor An energy-autonomous sensor for detection of physical environmental parameters, having at least one sensor element, one storage element and one control circuit, with a timer circuit which is activated on reaching a predetermined electrical voltage on the storage ele... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7389688 | Indirect liquid level measurement A tank level detection apparatus for indirect measurement of a liquid level in a tank is disclosed. The apparatus includes a second liquid at least partially stored in a reservoir and a one-way valve, which communicates between the reservoir and the tank. A sensor i... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7387032 | Methods and apparatus for measuring the viscoelastic response of vocal fold tissues and scaffolds across a frequency range In one aspect the present invention concerns methods and apparatus for measuring the mechanical properties of soft materials across a frequency regime. In particular, the present invention concerns methods and apparatus using torsional waves to measure the mechanica... | 06/17/2008 |
| 7387024 | Capacitive type humidity sensor A capacitive type humidity sensor includes: a semiconductor substrate; a plurality of humidity devices having a capacitance variable in accordance with a humidity; a standard capacitance device having a standard capacitance, a capacitance change of which in accordan... | 06/17/2008 |
| 7387013 | Method and system for controlling quality and tracking parts for repair and replacement of a piping system The invention comprises a method for controlling quality in a piping system, including a valve and a piping structure coupled to the valve. The method comprises the following: pressurize the piping structure with a gas at greater than sea-level pressure; seal the ga... | 06/17/2008 |
| 7387017 | Digital Q control for enhanced measurement capability in cantilever-based instruments A digital system for controlling the quality factor in a resonant device. The resonant device can be any mechanically driven resonant device, but more particularly can be a device that includes a cantilever within its system, such as an atomic force microscope. The ... | 06/17/2008 |
| 7383718 | Single stage flow modulator for performing comprehensive chromatography A single stage flow modulator for performing comprehensive chromatography comprises a first chromatographic column, a valve fluidically coupled to at least two fluid conduits, wherein when in a first position, the valve directs a control flow to direct an output of ... | 06/10/2008 |
