Celebrity Inventors
Glam girl Heddy Lamar may have used her good looks to good effect on the silver screen, but she put her smarts to better use as an inventor. During World War II, she co-patented a frequency-switching system for torpedo guidance that was considered years ahead of its time.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6133740 | Chlorine specific gas chromatographic detector A method and apparatus are set forth which enables a gas chromatographic column output to be connected with a pulse discharge chamber in which chemically bound chlorine in volatile organic or inorganic samples is measured. A spark discharge is formed in t... | 10/17/2000 |
| 6008660 | Method for developing circuit capacitance measurements corrected for stray capacitance Accuracy of capacitance measurements taken with flying probes--probes that are movable relative to each other and surfaces of an object containing circuits being tested (e.g. a printed circuit board)--is improved by dynamically applying corrections for st... | 12/28/1999 |
| 5990686 | Method and apparatus for locating resistive faults in communication and power cables A resistive fault location method and apparatus are used on communication and power cables. Two instruments are connected to opposite ends of the faulted conductor. Each takes a series of voltage and current measurements that are then processed to determi... | 11/23/1999 |
| 5877631 | Evaluation of the quality of wiring formed in a test semiconductor device An evaluation method for a test semiconductor device having at least two wiring patterns disposed in parallel, wherein: at least one wiring pattern is grounded; a pulse voltage is applied between the grounded wiring pattern and an adjacent wiring pattern;... | 03/02/1999 |
| 5869972 | Testing device using a thermochromic display and method of using same A testing device for qualitatively or quantitatively sensing an electrochemical or analogous reaction at the surface of a test strip (46), the current flowing or charge accumulated at the test strip being processed by electronics (50) to generate a curren... | 02/09/1999 |
| 5867031 | Method of improving pressure sensor measurement by passive current compensation A simplified method and apparatus for electronic pressure control with compensation for current operating temperature and pressures in which computer memory is employed for storing a plurality of firmware models which characterize the effects of temperatu... | 02/02/1999 |
| 5844412 | Board test apparatus and method for fast capacitance measurement A printed circuit board tester incorporating hardware for fast capacitive measurements. The circuit board tester includes a digital signal processor that can both source and measure test signals. It also includes an amplifier having an input and an output... | 12/01/1998 |
| 5831423 | Phase meter and method of providing a voltage indicative of a phase difference A phase meter and method of providing a voltage indicative of a phase difference between a reference signal and an input signal in which the amplitudes of the two signals are made approximately the same to cancel potential phase errors caused by different... | 11/03/1998 |
| 5821755 | Apparatus and method for obtaining power from a battery charger An apparatus and method for testing a battery charger includes a converter having input terminals connectable to a battery charger for receiving a current, output terminals and a switching device for electrically connecting at least one of the input termi... | 10/13/1998 |
| 5818242 | Microwave recess distance and air-path clearance sensor A machine having protruding elements 26 and an adjacent abradable seal 18, which move relative to each other, an air-path clearance G between the seal 18 and the elements 26 and an element distance D2 between the sensor 10 and the elements 26, is provided... | 10/06/1998 |
| 5801534 | Circuit for ion current measurement in combustion space of an internal combustion engine An alternating current ignition system which can be used in one of two ways for ion current measurement. On the one hand, an oscillating circuit at the primary end of the ignition coil can be driven such that, after ignition has taken place, an alternatin... | 09/01/1998 |
| 5793212 | Method of measuring the breakdown charge of a dielectric film A method for testing the reliability of a dielectric film on semiconductor substrate comprises of the steps of: establishing a current value corresponding to a first order, an order being defined as the selected current applied within a preselected set ti... | 08/11/1998 |
| 5793217 | Differential capacitance sensor diode circuit A capacitance sensor assembly for use with a label detection and registration system for detecting a lateral edge of a label on a web bearing a plurality of such labels and moving in a longitudinal direction through a capacitance gap in the sensor assembl... | 08/11/1998 |
| 5789926 | Method of detecting arcing in cathode ray tubes A method and apparatus for detecting and indicating the number of times a CRT unit arcs. The apparatus is constructed of a ferrite split toroid core wound with wire which is coupled around the focus lead and/or ground lead of a CRT through which a current... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5789928 | Circuit and method for discriminating the source of waveform distortion in an electric power generation and distribution system A circuit to discriminate the source of harmonic distortion of the output voltage comprises voltage sensors coupled to the output terminals of a source of electric power and to a point of regulation remote from the source for sensing the output voltage wa... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5790037 | Polarity indicator for a battery A polarity indicator (10) for identifying the polarity of the terminals (104 and 106) of a vehicle battery (102). The indicator includes a housing (12) which is mounted by a fastener (14) on to the vehicle battery. The top wall (12A) of the housing has po... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5760589 | Sheet thickness measuring system for measuring a thickness of various sheets fed into an image forming apparatus The present invention provides a sheet thickness measuring apparatus comprising electrostatic capacity measure means for measuring the electrostatic capacity of a sheet, resistance measure means for measuring a resistance value of the sheet, and calculati... | 06/02/1998 |
| 5757196 | Capacitive switch actuated by changes in a sensor capacitance A capacitive proximity or limit switch comprises a capacitive probe having a sensor electrode and a guard electrode. The sensor electrode is connected to an oscillator formed by a feedback system of two operational amplifiers, of which one operational amp... | 05/26/1998 |
| 5751147 | Preignition detecting method A preignition detecting method which prevents preignition (PI) from being misjudged as having occurred when an ignition plug is fouling. It is determined whether or not the ignition plug fouls in accordance with a voltage, developed across a detecting res... | 05/12/1998 |
| 5744965 | System for continuously monitoring the integrity of an electrical contact connection A system for monitoring the integrity of electrical connections includes a transformer with its primary coupled across a dual split contact arrangement and the secondary coupled to both an energy source and a monitoring circuit. When the contact condition... | 04/28/1998 |
| 5744972 | Device and method to measure the complex permeability of thin films at ultra-high frequencies The device has a single strip having a first end, a second end, a length and a width. The first end of the strip is curved toward the second end of the strip to form a loop having a height. The length is approximately 10 mm, the width is approximately 5-8... | 04/28/1998 |
| 5744961 | Lamp disconnection detecting device for identifying a specific lamp which has become disconnected A lamp disconnection detecting device includes a magnetic core with a gap; a plurality of detecting coils the number of turns of which are different from one another and are proportional to 2n (where n=0, or positive integers), and a magnetic r... | 04/28/1998 |
| 5744964 | Method and apparatus for electrical test of wiring patterns formed on a printed circuit board For a print-circuit board 10 of a good product, probes 31 and 32 are made to be electrically continuous with a ground plate 13 and a wiring pattern i respectively to measure a capacitance Cgi, which is then stored in a storage device 44. A capacitance Ci ... | 04/28/1998 |
| 5744963 | Battery residual capacity measuring apparatus and method for measuring open-circuit voltages as the battery starts and stops supplying power While a power source is being supplied from a sub-battery by a voltage-current change trend calculating section, the voltage-current change trend calculating section collects currents from a battery and terminal voltages. A voltage-current approximate str... | 04/28/1998 |
| 5739699 | Method and apparatus for ion discrimination in an electron capture detector Electron capture detector for use with an effluent stream from a gas chromatograph includes an electron source means and an adjacent ionization chamber in which electron capture takes place. The active region of the ionization chamber is disposed to recei... | 04/14/1998 |
| 5739692 | Device for monitoring voltage and amperage on an article being passed through an electrocoating bath A device for monitoring voltage and amperage on an article being electrocoated with a primer composition in an aqueous electrocoating bath which contains the following components: a sealed container for holding electrical components; a recording device po... | 04/14/1998 |
| 5734269 | Bridge circuit fault monitoring apparatus using an output signal level from a bridge circuit and a power source current level to determine faults A bridge circuit monitoring apparatus which can accurately detect a fault in a bridge circuit of a sensor circuit even when multiple faults occur. Changes in the imbalance output signal of a bridge circuit (11) are monitored with a first window comparator... | 03/31/1998 |
| 5723981 | Method for measuring the electrical potential in a semiconductor element Measuring an electrical potential in a semiconductor element by applying one or more voltages over the semiconductor element, placing one or more conductors in contact with the semi-conductor element using a scanning proximity microscope, calibrating the ... | 03/03/1998 |
| 5717338 | Method and apparatus for testing television yokes and flyback transformers A method and apparatus for testing flyback transformers counts the number of cycles of a decaying ringing signal generated in a resonant circuit including the secondary winding of the flyback transformer beginning with the second cycle and ending with the... | 02/10/1998 |
| 5712570 | Method for checking a wire bond of a semiconductor package A method for checking wire bonding result of a ball grid array (BGA) package is disclosed. An electroconductive metal layer of gold or copper is grounded on a chip bonding portion of a printed circuit board (PCB) of the BGA package as well as on a passage... | 01/27/1998 |
| 5712574 | Apparatus for position detection and verification thereof using pulse patterns having sequentially unique properties An apparatus for position detection using signal patterns created by use of a fixed disk having three conductive patterns disposed thereon. The first and second patterns are annular conductive paths which are concentric with respect to one another and the... | 01/27/1998 |
| 5701083 | Apparatus for measuring consistency and flow rate of a slurry A monitor for measuring physical parameters of a slurry, utilizing microwave propagation within a waveguide, either in conduit or a storage facility. Switching circuitry and specially constructed waveguides are provided, which operate in combination to pr... | 12/23/1997 |
| 5701077 | Misfire detecting device for gasoline internal combustion engine A method of detecting a misfire of a gasoline internal combustion engine is provided. By this method, a high voltage pulse which is not so high as to cause spark discharge, is applied to a secondary winding side of an ignition coil by way of a diode durin... | 12/23/1997 |
| 5698983 | Method and apparatus for measuring and displaying remaining battery capacity as a two dimensional dot curve The apparatus and method of the present invention measure the remaining capacity of a battery connected to a fluctuating load. The apparatus senses dispersive terminal voltages and dispersive discharge currents from the battery, and samples the sensed ter... | 12/16/1997 |
| 5698989 | Film sheet resistance measurement Apparatus and methods for measuring the sheet resistance of an electrically conductive film on a semiconductor substrate while maintaining the substrate within the vacuum environment of the semiconductor process apparatus. In one aspect of the invention, ... | 12/16/1997 |
| 5696450 | Automatic safety test equipment for printed circuit board When one performs an interpart short-circuit test where short-circuit is made between the terminals of the parts mounted on the printed circuit board 1 to find out the existence of fuming, firing and red heating, a spacing test that verifies if the distan... | 12/09/1997 |
| 5694044 | Simultaneous surge test of two coils of an assembly of series connected coils A circuit detects insulation defects in a coil assembly including a plurality of series connected coils. A first voltage pulse is applied to a first coil of the coil assembly, a second voltage pulse is applied to a second coil of the coil assembly, the fi... | 12/02/1997 |
| 5694046 | Method and apparatus for monitoring thermal processing of a workpiece in accordance with a measured capacitance frequency distribution A method and apparatus for monitoring thermal processing of a workpiece using a sensor electrode which can be positioned relative to the workpiece and to which an alternating electric signal is applied in order to determine a measured capacitance (Cm... | 12/02/1997 |
| 5691646 | Capacitance-type displacement measuring device with electrodes having spiral patterns A rotary encoder 10 is composed of a halfway cylindrical stator 11 and a cylindrical rotor 12. The rotor 12 is disposed coaxial with the stator 11 with a predetermined gap. Plural transmitting electrodes 13 with spiral patterns and receiving electrode 14 ... | 11/25/1997 |
| 5691644 | Neutral corrosion condition survey-mitigating induced voltage effects A method of use and system for determining the longitudinal active resistance of a neutral conductor of an underground electrical cable, while the electrical cable remains in service. The method is conducted by applying a selective frequency test current ... | 11/25/1997 |
