Patents by Inventor David Campbell Brower

David Campbell Brower has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20080093536
    Abstract: An apparatus is provided for an infrared touch system that decreases solar interference. The infrared touch system includes a mounting board, which has a number of sides that encompass an area. The infrared touch system includes a number of optical detectors and optical sources mounted along the edges on the mounting board. The optical detectors and optical sources are aligned such that a central portion of a beam pattern of each optical source is directed transversely across the opening toward one of the optical detectors so that solar interference will be decreased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2006
    Publication date: April 24, 2008
    Inventors: David Campbell Brower, Timothy Wayne Crockett, William Lewis Talley
  • Patent number: 6654068
    Abstract: A computer display includes a pivotally mounted upper housing having a display screen, a brake used to retard pivoting motion of this upper housing, and a release mechanism for releasing the brake so that the upper housing can be freely moved. The display screen is preferably a touchscreen, which is touched to indicate a selection made by the user, with the brake resisting a tilting movement of the screen as it is touched. In a first version, two brakes are used to retard motion in both directions, with a single release wheel being turned in one direction to allow rearward motion of the upper housing and in another direction to allow forward motion of the upper housing. In a second version, a single brake is released by stopping motion of a release mandrel to unwrap a clutch spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: James Gabriel Brewington, David Campbell Brower, Richard Hunter Harris, Herbert Gene Leonard, Fred David Parnell, Jeff David Thomas
  • Patent number: 6438858
    Abstract: An electronic feeler gauge and a method of using the same which provides an objective means of determining the width of a gap between two surfaces. The gauge comprises a measuring element which is insertable into the gap and an indicator coupled to the measuring element for automatically indicating when the gap has been set to a predetermined distance. The measuring element comprises two plates which act as an electrical switch in an electrical circuit. When the gap gauge is inserted into a gap of predetermined width, the plates press against each other and current from a power source lights up a light emitting diode. Conversely, when the plates are inserted into a gap that is too wide, the plates do not press against each. The circuit, therefore, is not complete, and the light emitting diode does not light up. Thus, this invention provides an objective, reliable means for confirming the width of a gap. The invention can be used for gaps of different widths by varying the thicknesses of the plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph Nelson Arnold, Jr., David Campbell Brower, Robert Joseph Heider, Herbert Gene Leonard
  • Patent number: 5795087
    Abstract: A pressure roller drive assembly for a document printer having a pressure roller carried by a pressure roller axle for advancing and retracting a document along a paper path, with the pressure roller pivoting in a first direction towards a side wall to prevent skew or misalignment during advancement of the document and the pressure roller pivoting in a second, opposite direction towards a side wall to prevent skew or misalignment during retraction of the document is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 18, 1998
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Campbell Brower, Robert Andrew Myers, Jeff David Thomas
  • Patent number: 5779496
    Abstract: A sliding connector block system for inserting an electronic device, such as a wireless modem transceiver, housed in a sliding metal tray into an electrical equipment enclosure containing other electronic components and blindly interconnecting the electronic device with another component via a flexible cable secured within a sliding connector block. The metal tray and connector block have flanges that align with a pair of guide rails mounted in the equipment enclosure and allow travel of the tray and connector block along the rails between stops. A bezel bonded to the front of the tray provides a handle for inserting and removing the electronic device. A grounding clip is also provided to ground the flexible cable to the sliding metal tray and rails.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1998
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Nancy J. Bolinger, Gary Bethurum, David Campbell Brower, Kenneth Wayne Maynor, Charles Lee Smith