Bizarre Patents
A gun that fires a missile, powered by gas "discharged by the operator of the toy."
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6400545 | Fuseless dc-dc converter A fuseless DC-DC converter is provided to protect a circuit from overcurrent without involvement of a protective fuse. This is accomplished by providing a load circuit in the converter that includes a first overheat self-interruption-type semiconductor sw... | 06/04/2002 |
| 6400546 | I/O pad voltage protection circuit and method An I/O pad voltage protection circuit and method tracks a bias voltage of cascaded stages in order to avoid overvoltage stress in I/O transistors. An overshoot protection circuit controls overshoot current sinking to provide a clamp voltage equal to an I/... | 06/04/2002 |
| 6400543 | Electronic trip unit with user-adjustable sensitivity to current spikes A method of protection in an electronic trip unit is described herein. The method includes selecting a limit value. The method further includes sensing an electrical signal to provide corresponding first and second sensed signals, each indicative of an el... | 06/04/2002 |
| 6400542 | ESD protection circuit for different power supplies A voltage clamping circuit that protects integrated circuits having multiple separate power supply voltage terminals from damage when an ESD event causes excessive differential voltages between the multiple separate power supply voltage terminals. The vol... | 06/04/2002 |
| 6392854 | Method and system for testing continuity of a motor and associated drive circuitry A method and system for checking continuity of a motor 104, motor drive, motor relay 110, dc relay 108 and interconnections 122a-c thereof for a power steering system 204. The method and system of the invention produce minimal torque on a motor shaft 426 ... | 05/21/2002 |
| 6392862 | Overvoltage protection element system An overvoltage protection element for diverting transient overvoltages, with two electrodes (3, 4), each of which has a current terminal (1, 2), an air-breakdown spark gap (5) between the electrodes (3, 4) and a housing (6) which holds the electrodes (3, ... | 05/21/2002 |
| 6388853 | Method and apparatus providing final test and trimming for a power supply controller A power supply controller having final test and trim circuitry. In one embodiment, a power supply controller for switched mode power supply includes a selector circuit, a trim circuit, a shutdown circuit and a disable circuit. The trim circuit includes a ... | 05/14/2002 |
| 6388852 | Flicker protection circuit A power line flicker protection circuit, used to protect electronic equipment, features the following: A transformer (T1), provides power to the DC power supply (FIG. 2), and signaling to the auto reset watchdog circuit (FIG. 3) and the timer circuit (FIG... | 05/14/2002 |
| 6388857 | Semiconductor circuit device with improved surge resistance Inter power supply surge voltage transmitting diode element is formed by a buried layer formed in a semiconductor substrate, a well region formed on the buried layer with its bottom portion being in contact with the buried layer, and impurity regions of m... | 05/14/2002 |
| 6385021 | Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit An ESD protection circuit (39) coupled to each of a plurality of I/O circuits (30, 32, 36) of an integrated circuit (31) is disclosed. The ESD protection circuit includes a MOSFET transistor (40) to provide primary ESD protection on occurrence of an ESD e... | 05/07/2002 |
| 6381113 | Leakage current protection device adapted to a wide variety of domestic and international applications A leakage current protection device, such as a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), is provided that can be used in single phase or polyphase systems, with a range of input voltages from 70 to 264 volts AC, frequencies of 50 or 60 hertz, and ground fa... | 04/30/2002 |
| 6377429 | Protective circuit for battery The invention concerns a protective circuit (10) for protecting a rechargeable battery (1) against currents of too high intensity. The protective circuit (10) includes detection and comparison means (30, 31, 32) for generating a control signal (OVRC) in r... | 04/23/2002 |
| 6377426 | Gas furnace with variable speed draft inducer A method of controlling a variable speed draft inducer motor and fan in a gas furnace. The method comprises the steps of: detecting a first fault driving the motor to a maximum operating range; detecting a second fault forcing the motor to operate towards... | 04/23/2002 |
| 6377435 | Circuit design for data/telephone tip/ring pair surge protection A circuit for protection of communication lines, including tip and ring lines, each having a protected side and an unprotected side; first and second overcurrent devices connected in series with the unprotected side of the tip and ring lines line; a groun... | 04/23/2002 |
| 6377433 | Electrical fuse/support assembly A fuse/support assembly for attachment to an electrical bus includes a base plate having a substrate made of an insulator, a fastener bore extending through the substrate, and an electrically conductive path on the substrate. There is additionally an exte... | 04/23/2002 |
| 6373672 | Static and monolithic current limiter and circuit-breaker component The present invention relates to a static and monolithic current limiter and circuit-breaker component including, between two terminals, a one-way conduction current limiter, a sensor of the voltage between the terminals, and a mechanism for inhibiting th... | 04/16/2002 |
| 6369997 | Current limiter for a network A current limiter is provided to protect a fieldbus network from electrical shorts in the wiring of the spur cables and network devices attached to the spur cables. In the event of an electrical short, the impedance of the current limiter and the spur con... | 04/09/2002 |
| 6366434 | Apparatus for safely disconnecting an electrical load from an electrical DC voltage supply An apparatus for disconnecting an electrical load from an input DC voltage includes first and second lines which carry the input DC voltage to the electrical load. A fuse is connected in series in the first line. The switching contact of a first relay is ... | 04/02/2002 |
| 6366437 | Current limiter for a network A current limiter is provided to protect a fieldbus network from electrical shorts in the wiring of the spur cables and network devices attached to the spur cables. In the event of an electrical short, the impedance of the current limiter and the spur con... | 04/02/2002 |
| 6366436 | Electronic device for use in regions subject to explosion hazards A description is given of an electronic device for use in regions subject to explosion hazards, which is small and light, can be produced cost-effectively and offers a high degree of flexibility, having a housing (1) with a connecting chamber (3), which i... | 04/02/2002 |
| 6362943 | Active current limiter An active current limiter controls the flow of current between a power source and a load. The active current limiter includes a power switch coupled between the power source an the load, a current sensor coupled between the power source and the load to se... | 03/26/2002 |
| 6362942 | Input stage protection circuit for a receiver An extraneous voltage protection circuit and method transforms an overvoltage input signal or undervoltage input signal to a suitable voltage level for a protected circuit. An input voltage dependent variable reference voltage is used to protect overvolta... | 03/26/2002 |
| 6356423 | Soild state protection circuit for electrical apparatus Electrical equipment is safeguarded from damage due to faults by a circuit that provides several levels of protection. A semiconductor switch and a current sensor are placed in series with the electrical equipment. When the current to the equipment exceed... | 03/12/2002 |
| 6356425 | Timer-thermal-overload shutoff apparatus A timer-thermal shutoff apparatus can control and protect an electrical appliance. The timer-thermal shutoff apparatus comprises a housing; male connector extending from the housing; female receptacle to receive a male connector from one or more electrica... | 03/12/2002 |
| 6353522 | Switching state detecting device for switch, and electronic apparatus A control circuit of a switching state detecting device for a switch controls the value of a resistive element connected between one end of the switch (SW), of which the switching state is to be detected, and the power source or ground line, so the range ... | 03/05/2002 |
| 6351366 | Battery powered remote switch controller An inexpensive battery-powered switch or irrigation valve controller designed to conserve the life of both the low voltage battery source which operates the processing circuitry of the controller, as well as the high voltage battery source which operates ... | 02/26/2002 |
| 6351362 | Protection circuit for an LCD controller IC A protection circuit for an LCD controller IC comprises normally-off transistors through which a large current may escape, a resistor for disturbing the movement of charge in gate electrodes of transistors of an input circuit, and normally-off transistors... | 02/26/2002 |
| 6351367 | Electrostatic holding apparatus having insulating layer with enables easy attachment and detachment of semiconductor object There is disclosed an electrostatic holding apparatus in which a voltage is applied to an conductive electrode covered with an insulating dielectric layer in order to cause the insulating dielectric layer to electrostatically attract an object. The main c... | 02/26/2002 |
| 6351361 | Overcurrent protection device An electrical current protection device capable of highly safe and rapid shutoff or suppression of electric current is disclosed. In addition to internal electrical current protection capabilities, external environmental triggers are also provided. The cu... | 02/26/2002 |
| 6347028 | Load control system having an overload protection circuit A load control circuit having an overload circuit capable of protecting a switching element from overload conditions over a wide range of operating conditions. The overload circuit limits the maximum average power dissipation of the switching element in a... | 02/12/2002 |
| 6347029 | Over-current protection circuit for linear voltage regulators Current protection circuit has a comparator having a first terminal coupled to a reference voltage, a second terminal coupled to an output node, and an output for providing a control signal based on the inputs. Current protection circuit also has a transi... | 02/12/2002 |
| 6347026 | Input and power protection circuit implemented in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor process using salicides Fabricated using a complementary metal oxide semiconductor process including the use of salicides, an input and power protection circuit for use in an integrated circuit protects voltage and signal terminals from both overvoltage and ESD pulses. A diode c... | 02/12/2002 |
| 6347024 | Hybrid power relay Hybrid power relay used for opening or closing electrical circuits, including an electrical contact having a mechanical movement, a semiconductor component in parallel with the electrical contact, and a control unit which in response to a logic input leve... | 02/12/2002 |
| 6342998 | Data surge protection module A data surge protection module can be added to data and control networks not having such surge protection. The use of quick connect/disconnect connectors allows for the rapid installation and/or replacement of such modules. A built-in ground plate and a b... | 01/29/2002 |
| 6342997 | High sensitivity diode temperature sensor with adjustable current source A temperature control circuit provides for optical isolation, dry start protection, dedicated load control, manual reset, and relay control in hot water heaters and related applications. The control circuit removes power from a load at a first temperature... | 01/29/2002 |
| 6339526 | Low voltage cutoff circuit with short circuit detection capability and method of operation thereof A low voltage cutoff circuit, a method of operating the same and a battery backup system incorporating the low voltage cutoff circuit or the method. In one embodiment, the low voltage cutoff circuit includes: (1) a low voltage monitor coupled between an i... | 01/15/2002 |
| 6337788 | Fault condition protection A circuit protects a power conversion system with a feedback control loop from a fault condition. The circuit has an oscillator having an input for generating a signal with a frequency and a timer connected to the oscillator input and to the feedback cont... | 01/08/2002 |
| 6337787 | Gate-voltage controlled electrostatic discharge protection circuit A gate-voltage controlled ESD protection circuit is provided, which is designed to couple between an input port and an IC device having an inverter coupled to the internal circuit of the IC device for the purpose of protecting the IC device against ESD st... | 01/08/2002 |
| 6335853 | Protective device for non-contact feeder system A thermosensitive wire (15), including a pair of phosphor bronze round wires which cause a short-circuit when the ambient temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature, is laid along an induction line (14), and a protective device (25) including a DC po... | 01/01/2002 |
| 6335855 | Battery powered programmable remote switch controller A battery powered radio programmable remote switch controller and a separate hand held programming unit (programmer) designed to conserve the life of the life of the controller batteries using a combination of low voltage circuitry in the controller and a... | 01/01/2002 |
