Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7448271 | Inspection system and associated method A system and method for inspecting a structure are provided. The system includes at least one non-destructive inspection (“NDI”) sensor capable of acquiring data indicative of at least a portion of the structure, and at least one positional sensor for acquiring ... | 11/11/2008 |
| 7448272 | System and method for inspecting spot weld A system and method for inspecting a spot weld on a workpiece. The system may include an actuator, an inspection assembly coupled to the actuator, and a controller electronically coupled to the inspection assembly. The inspection assembly may include an ultrasound d... | 11/11/2008 |
| 7444874 | Method of determining damping of an article of manufacture and system for determining damping performance A method of determining damping performance of an article of manufacture includes moving an article of manufacture along a production line, directing a laser beam at a surface of the moving article and then measuring the velocity of a reflection of the beam simultan... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7444875 | Real time visualization of shear wave propagation in soft materials with sonoelastography An ultrasound system visualizes shear wave propagation in real time by slowing down the propagation of the shear wave as seen by the ultrasound probe. The shear wave source propagates shear waves into the medium at a frequency ω. The ultrasound probe is vibrated by... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7444877 | Optical waveguide vibration sensor for use in hearing aid A directionally-sensitive device for detecting and processing vibration waves includes an array of polymeric optical waveguide resonators positioned between a light source, such as an LED array, and a light detector, such as a photodiode array. The resonators which ... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7437907 | Sensor for detecting substance in liquid and apparatus for detecting substance in liquid using the same In a sensor for detecting a substance in liquid, recesses are provided in the upper surface of a base substrate. The recesses respectively accommodate SAW elements. A resin layer having openings is arranged such that the sensing portions at the upper surfaces of the... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7430912 | Random incident absorber approximation A method for measuring a first angular specific sound absorption spectrum of a first sound absorbing sample. The first sound absorbing sample has a predetermined random incidence sound absorption spectrum. The angular specific sound absorption spectrum is determined... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7430915 | Vibration sensor A vibration sensor capable of preventing a diaphragm electrode from being damaged without lowering sensitivity as well as realizing a satisfactory assembling process. The vibration sensor includes a fixed electrode 1, and a diaphragm electrode 3 having... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7428842 | Phased array ultrasonic testing system and methods of examination and modeling employing the same A phased array ultrasonic testing system is for examining turbine disc bores and blade attachments for discontinuities, such as stress corrosion cracking. The system is particularly suited to perform an accurate and efficient inspection of components despite their h... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7421901 | Method of using ultrasound to inspect a part in immersion A method of inspecting a part in immersion using a focused beam of ultrasound waves oriented perpendicularly to the surface of the part, the method including, when the axis of the focused beam is close to an edge of the part, tilting the axis towards the edge relati... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7409851 | Detection of small bound mass Prefabricated catalyzing adsorption sites are incorporated into small oscillators. In one embodiment, the sites are formed of precisely positioned gold anchors on surface micromachined oscillators. The micromachined oscillators may be formed of silicon, such as poly... | 08/12/2008 |
| 7406873 | Electromagnetic acoustic transducer An electromagnetic acoustic transducer (12, 24) has one or a plurality of magnets for applying a DEC magnetic field to a material (4, 25) under test, and an electrical coil (2, 23) supplied by an alternating current source for, providing an AC m... | 08/05/2008 |
| 7401519 | System for monitoring exposure to impulse noise In one embodiment, a system for monitoring exposure to impulse noise includes a sound-sensing device, such as a microphone or other type of pressure transducer, operable to sense impulse noise, and a storage module operable to store the waveform of the impulse noise... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7392687 | Method of calibrating zero offset of a pressure sensor A piezoresistive pressure sensor test sample is first provided, and a zero offset of the piezoresistive pressure sensor test sample is measured. Subsequently, a stress deviation corresponding to the zero offset is calculated. Thereafter, at least a piezoresistive pr... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7389692 | Digital log amplifier for ultrasonic testing The apparatus and method of the present invention provides a plurality of linear amplifiers simultaneously processing an ultrasonic signal. Each amplifier of the plurality of linear amplifiers has a predetermined gain level suitable for achieving the desired output ... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7389673 | Sensor for detecting analyte in liquid and device for detecting analyte in liquid using the same A sensor for detecting an analyte in liquid includes a base substrate provided with openings and electrode lands on one surface thereof and SAW elements each provided with a sensing portion having at least one IDT electrode on one side. The SAW elements are mounted ... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7383731 | Deep-fry oil quality sensor A cooking oil quality sensing apparatus and system includes an acoustic wave sensor composed of one or more acoustic wave transducers configured upon a piezoelectric substrate such that when the acoustic wave sensor is in contact with cooking oil, the sensor generat... | 06/10/2008 |
| 7383730 | Methods for determining velocity of a stress wave within a material and homogeneity of properties within the material Methods for evaluating properties of a material are provided. In a first method, the velocity of a stress or sound wave is calculated by measuring the time of flight of the stress/sound wave induced into the material. The resonance of the material is also measured a... | 06/10/2008 |
| 7380455 | System and method for resolving phase ambiguity of a transducer array to determine direction of arrival of received signals System and method for resolving phase ambiguities of various transducer arrays, including non-coplanar interferometer antennas on an aircraft skin, in order to determine the direction of arrival of a signal received by the array and emitted by a source remote from t... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7373808 | Method and ultrasonic meter system for determining pipe roughness A method and ultrasonic meter system for determining pipe roughness. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are ultrasonic meters comprising a spool piece that couples within a flow of fluids, and a first transducer pair mechanically mounted to the spool piec... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7370534 | Multiangle ultrasound imager Systems and methods to obtain an ultrasonic image of a large detection area are disclosed. A system includes a source of ultrasound generating ultrasonic energy and projecting the ultrasonic energy from a projecting end and an adapter interfaced to the projecting en... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7362033 | Surface-acoustic-wave device A surface-acoustic-wave device includes a piezoelectric substrate and first and second comb-shaped electrodes each having a bus-bar portion parallel to a propagation direction of a surface acoustic wave in the substrate. Respective electrode fingers are periodically... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7353709 | Method and system for determining material properties using ultrasonic attenuation A method and system is disclosed for determining a property of an object by measuring ultrasonic attenuation. With the proposed method, a measured ultrasonic interaction signal of the object is compared with a reference signal produced using the same generation and ... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7340957 | Ultrasonic analyte concentration and application in flow cytometry The present invention includes an apparatus and corresponding method for concentrating analytes within a fluid flowing through a tube using acoustic radiation pressure. The apparatus includes a function generator that outputs a radio frequency electrical signal to a... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7339521 | Analytical instruments using a pseudorandom array of sources, such as a micro-machined mass spectrometer or monochromator Novel methods and structures are disclosed herein which employ pseudorandom sequences to spatially arrange multiple sources in a pseudorandom source array. The pseudorandom source array can replace the single source in analytical instruments relying on spatial separ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7337663 | Sonic energy process chamber A system for processing a workpiece includes a base having a bowl or recess for holding a processing fluid. A sonic energy source, such as a megasonic transducer, provides sonic energy into a processing fluid in the bowl. A process head holds a workpiece. A process ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7337673 | Ultrasonic array probe apparatus, system, and method for traveling over holes and off edges of a structure Improved apparatus, systems, and methods for inspecting a structure are provided that use a probe with sled appendages and an axial braking system. The probe uses pulse echo ultrasonic signals to inspect the structure. The sled appendages permit the probe to contact... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7334477 | Apparatus and methods for the detection of an arc in a plasma processing system In a plasma processing system, a method for detecting an arc event on a substrate in a plasma chamber having a chuck is disclosed. The method includes positioning a substrate on the chuck. The method also includes providing a vibration-sensing arrangement in the pla... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7334452 | Method for characterizing materials by using a mechanical resonator Methods for monitoring a fluid composition include placing a mechanical resonator in the fluid composition and oscillating the resonator. The resonator can be a tuning fork resonator having tines oscillated in opposite directions and in opposite phases. A variable f... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7331235 | Device for indicating a beat level A device for indicating a beat level L, the device including an analyzer which responds to a reference frequency Ω and a harmonic coefficient B to extract from an evaluation signal E a first acceleration signal γB at a frequency equal to the product of ... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7331231 | Apparatus and method for measuring micro mass using oscillation circuit A micro mass measuring apparatus includes a cantilever on which a subject is attached, a piezoelectric element formed on the cantilever, an oscillation circuit for actively vibrating the cantilever and providing a varied resonance frequency by the subject, and a fre... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7328620 | Methods and system for ultrasound inspection An ultrasound inspection system is provided. The ultrasound inspection system includes a pulse echo transducer and a processor that is operationally coupled to the transducer. The system facilitates reducing noise in an echo received from a near surface inspection a... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7328621 | Method of processing oscillatory data A method of processing oscillatory response data from a resonant system includes: obtaining data measuring an oscillatory response of the system at a plurality of evenly spaced time intervals; obtaining a plurality of reference frequencies from the data at a plurali... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7325456 | Interrogation network patches for active monitoring of structural health conditions Apparatus for monitoring structural health conditions of structures. The apparatus includes a piezoelectric device that has a bottom cover plate, piezoelectric rings concentrically disposed with respect to an axis and positioned on the bottom cover plate, and concen... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7322244 | Interrogation system for active monitoring of structural conditions Systems for monitoring structural health conditions of objects. Each system includes patch sensors attached to an object, wherein each patch sensor is capable of generating a wave upon receipt of an actuator signal and developing a sensor signal in response to the w... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7318350 | Valve monitoring system and method A valve monitoring system includes an alert generation system and a memory. The memory encodes baseline acoustic emission data on the valve for a predetermined period of operation. The alert generation system is arranged to receive acoustic emission data for the val... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7313961 | Method and apparatus for inspecting a component A method for inspecting a gas turbine engine component includes positioning an ultrasonic probe assembly proximate to a surface of the component, wherein the ultrasonic probe assembly includes a body portion and an inspection bar, coupling the inspection bar to the ... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7311004 | Flow control and operation monitoring system for individual spray nozzles An apparatus and process for monitoring fluid flow through a nozzle is disclosed. A vibration sensor, such as an accelerometer, is mounted to a nozzle. The vibration output received from the sensor is then analyzed to determine whether or not the nozzle is operating... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7308828 | Ultrasonic probe An ultrasonic probe has a probe proper, a connector and a cable for electrically connecting between the probe proper and the connector. The probe proper includes a transducer that converts between ultrasonic wave and electricity, and a phase change member having a p... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7305885 | Method and apparatus for phased array based ultrasonic evaluation of rail In accordance with one embodiment, the present technique provides a testing apparatus for testing material integrity of an object. The exemplary testing apparatus includes a phased array transducer, which is disposed external to the object. The phased array transduc... | 12/11/2007 |
