Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame has patented a "Hydro-Therapeutic Stimulator", which uses a hot tub for stimulation.
Make the Most of PatentStorm
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest patents by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Got questions? Ask a Patent Expert!
Registered users: Manage your profile, comments and alerts.
AbstractAn analog sensor depressible by a single human finger/thumb. Depressive force is applied to a dome-cap and to analog materials for varying an analog output of the sensor responsive to varying force applied by a single finger or thumb. Depressive force causes the dome-cap to bow downward passing through a user discernable threshold, causing a snap-through tactile sensation. In some embodiments the dome-cap is metallic.Other References
| InventorApplicationNo. 955838 filed on 09/18/2001US Classes:338/47, Force-actuated338/5, Dynamometer type338/99, Surfaces pressed together (e.g., compressible type)338/112, Contact surface area of piles variable338/114DeformableField of Search338/43, Gravity stabilized or inertia actuator338/46, Pendulum338/2, STRAIN GAUGE TYPE338/5, Dynamometer type338/4, Fluid- or gas pressure-actuated338/47, Force-actuated338/92, Resistance element adjustably short-circuited338/99, Surfaces pressed together (e.g., compressible type)338/112, Contact surface area of piles variable338/114DeformableExaminersPrimary: Easthom, Karl D.US Patent References3611068, 3771037, 3806471, 3952173, Switching apparatusIssued on: 04/20/1976 Inventor: Tsuji , et al.3988556, Switching apparatus Issued on: 10/26/1976 Inventor: Hyodo4224602, Signalling device Issued on: 09/23/1980 Inventor: Anderson , et al.4268815, Multi-function touch switch apparatus Issued on: 05/19/1981 Inventor: Eventoff , et al.4276538, Touch switch keyboard apparatus Issued on: 06/30/1981 Inventor: Eventoff , et al.4301337, Dual lateral switch device Issued on: 11/17/1981 Inventor: Eventoff4313113, Cursor control Issued on: 01/26/1982 Inventor: Thornburg4314228, Pressure transducer Issued on: 02/02/1982 Inventor: Eventoff4315238, Bounceless switch apparatus Issued on: 02/09/1982 Inventor: Eventoff4552360, Video game with control of movement and rate of movement of a plurality of game objects Issued on: 11/12/1985 Inventor: Bromley , et al.4615252, Touch control apparatus for electronic keyboard instrument Issued on: 10/07/1986 Inventor: Yamauchi , et al.4673919, Manual control device Issued on: 06/16/1987 Inventor: Kataoka4694231, Robotic skin Issued on: 09/15/1987 Inventor: Alvite'4733214, Multi-directional controller having resiliently biased cam and cam follower for tactile feedback Issued on: 03/22/1988 Inventor: Andresen4786895, Control panel Issued on: 11/22/1988 Inventor: Castaneda4866542, Remote-controlling commander with multi-function rotary dial Issued on: 09/12/1989 Inventor: Shimada , et al.4975676, Glass membrane touch-controlled circuit apparatus for voltage selection Issued on: 12/04/1990 Inventor: Greenhalgh5103404, Feedback for a manipulator Issued on: 04/07/1992 Inventor: McIntosh5132658, Micromachined silicon potentiometer responsive to pressure Issued on: 07/21/1992 Inventor: Dauenhauer, et al.5164697, Input keyboard for an electronic appliance in entertainment electronics Issued on: 11/17/1992 Inventor: Kramer5189355, Interactive rotary controller system with tactile feedback Issued on: 02/23/1993 Inventor: Larkins, et al.5196782, Touch-operated power control Issued on: 03/23/1993 Inventor: D'Aleo, et al.5200597, Digitally controlled system for scanning and reading bar codes Issued on: 04/06/1993 Inventor: Eastman, et al.5207426, Controller for a game machine Issued on: 05/04/1993 Inventor: Inoue, et al. D342740, 5287089, Hand manipulatable computer input device Issued on: 02/15/1994 Inventor: Parsons5311779, Pressure-sensitive sensor Issued on: 05/17/1994 Inventor: Teruo5315204, Piezoelectric snap action switch Issued on: 05/24/1994 Inventor: Park5364108, Game apparatus Issued on: 11/15/1994 Inventor: Esnouf5365494, Radio alarm clock with reminder capability Issued on: 11/15/1994 Inventor: Lynch5376913, Variable resistor utilizing an elastomeric actuator Issued on: 12/27/1994 Inventor: Pine, et al.5396235, Numeral setting apparatus Issued on: 03/07/1995 Inventor: Maeshima, et al.5440237, Electronic force sensing with sensor normalization Issued on: 08/08/1995 Inventor: Brown, et al.5457478, Control device Issued on: 10/10/1995 Inventor: Frank5550339, Variable speed tactile switch Issued on: 08/27/1996 Inventor: Haugh5565891, Six degrees of freedom graphics controller Issued on: 10/15/1996 Inventor: Armstrong5589828, 6 Degrees of freedom controller with capability of tactile feedback Issued on: 12/31/1996 Inventor: Armstrong5640566, Method of forming an editor Issued on: 06/17/1997 Inventor: Victor, et al.5670955, Method and apparatus for generating directional and force vector in an input device Issued on: 09/23/1997 Inventor: Thorne, III, et al.5673237, Steering wheel alarm clock Issued on: 09/30/1997 Inventor: Blank5675329, Method of obtaining a second function from keys on a keyboard using pressure differentiation Issued on: 10/07/1997 Inventor: Barker, et al.5689285, Joystick with membrane sensor Issued on: 11/18/1997 Inventor: Asher5764219, Controller for improved computer pointing devices Issued on: 06/09/1998 Inventor: Rutledge, et al.5778404, String inserter for pen-based computer systems and method for providing same Issued on: 07/07/1998 Inventor: Capps, et al.5790102, Pressure sensitive computer mouse Issued on: 08/04/1998 Inventor: Nassimi5847305, Remote control devices for electronic devices Issued on: 12/08/1998 Inventor: Yoshikawa, et al.5847639, Layered pressure transducer land method for making same Issued on: 12/08/1998 Inventor: Yaniger5854624, Pocket-sized user interface for internet browser terminals and the like Issued on: 12/29/1998 Inventor: Grant5867808, Force transducer with screen printed strain gauges Issued on: 02/02/1999 Inventor: Selker, et al.5883619, Computer mouse for scrolling a view of an image Issued on: 03/16/1999 Inventor: Ho, et al.5889236, Pressure sensitive scrollbar feature Issued on: 03/30/1999 Inventor: Gillespie, et al.5895471, Providing a directory of frequently used hyperlinks on a remote server Issued on: 04/20/1999 Inventor: King, et al.5898359, Diffusion-barrier materials for thick-film piezoresistors and sensors formed therewith Issued on: 04/27/1999 Inventor: Ellis5910798, Apparatus for moving a cursor on a screen Issued on: 06/08/1999 Inventor: Kim5943044, Force sensing semiconductive touchpad Issued on: 08/24/1999 Inventor: Martinelli, et al.5948066, System and method for delivery of information over narrow-band communications links Issued on: 09/07/1999 Inventor: Whalen, et al.5974238, Automatic data synchronization between a handheld and a host computer using pseudo cache including tags and logical data elements Issued on: 10/26/1999 Inventor: Chase, Jr.5995026, Programmable multiple output force-sensing keyboard Issued on: 11/30/1999 Inventor: Sellers5999084, Variable-conductance sensor Issued on: 12/07/1999 Inventor: Armstrong6020884, System integrating an on-line service community with a foreign service Issued on: 02/01/2000 Inventor: MacNaughton, et al.6049812, Browser and plural active URL manager for network computers Issued on: 04/11/2000 Inventor: Bertram, et al.6102802, Game controller with analog pressure sensor(s) Issued on: 08/15/2000 Inventor: Armstrong6118979, Method for signaling an incoming telephone call without an audible signal Issued on: 09/12/2000 Inventor: Powell6135886, Variable-conductance sensor with elastomeric dome-cap Issued on: 10/24/2000 Inventor: Armstrong6157935, Remote data access and management system Issued on: 12/05/2000 Inventor: Tran, et al.6185158, Small electronic apparatus having function display Issued on: 02/06/2001 Inventor: Ito, et al. 6198473, 6208271, Remote controller with analog button(s) Issued on: 03/27/2001 Inventor: Armstrong6222525, Image controllers with sheet connected sensors Issued on: 04/24/2001 Inventor: Armstrong6351205Variable-conductance sensor Issued on: 02/26/2002 Inventor: Armstrong Foreign Patent References
International ClassH01C 010/10 |