Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Duft, Graziano & Forest
  • Patent number: 6152423
    Abstract: A system for sealing a head end of a cylinder to prevent a material flow through the cylinder. An o-ring inside the cylinder surrounds a piston when the piston is in a closed position inside the cylinder to prevent material from leaking into the cylinder around the piston. The o-ring is held in position by a groove inside the cylinder wall proximate a head end of the cylinder. A retainer ring has a first end held in place by a step protruding from the cylinder wall and a second end extending into a second end of the o-ring. The retainer ring applies a force to the retainer-ring which holds the o-ring inside the groove. The o-ring also applies a force to the retainer ring holding the o-ring in place.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Assignee: Micro Motion, Inc.
    Inventor: Jimmy Brooks Nichols
  • Patent number: 6153947
    Abstract: The dual feed hot swap battery plant controller for power supplies provides true isolation between buses, both power and return, and enables the use of a single power converter, which may be powered from two totally isolated independent battery plant feeds. The dual feed hot swap battery plant controller is connected to the power and return buses of both a primary and a secondary battery plant. The dual feed hot swap battery plant controller uses a pair of hot swap devices to monitor the power and return buses of both the primary and the secondary battery plants to determine the state of each of these battery plants. The pair of hot swap devices are interconnected to control the operation of a power switching relay device which switches and provides true isolation between buses, both power and return in response to the present state of the battery plants. The switched power and return buses are used to power a single power converter, thereby sharing the power converter between two battery plants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce C. Rockow, Thuc Khanh Vu
  • Patent number: 6154802
    Abstract: A redundant bus bridge system includes first and second bus bridges operative to transfer data between a first bus and a second bus, the first and second bus bridges being configured to receive power from respective separate power supplies. In one embodiment, the first bus bridge and the second bus bridge share a common ground reference. The first bus bridge may be included in a first circuit assembly configured to receive power at a power supply voltage. The second bus bridge may be included in a second circuit assembly including a input circuit having a maximum input voltage associated therewith. The first circuit assembly may be operative to apply an output signal to the input circuit of the second circuit assembly, the output signal having a voltage which varies with the power supply voltage but does not exceed the maximum input voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2000
    Assignee: Adaptec, Inc.
    Inventor: Farzad Khosrowpour
  • Patent number: 6151241
    Abstract: A ferroelectric field effect transistor memory cell includes a thin film varistor located between the gate electrode and the ferroelectric layer. The varistor protects the ferroelectric layer from disturb voltage pulses arising from memory read, write and sense operations. A second electrode is located between the thin film varistor and the ferroelectric layer. The thin film ferroelectric is positioned over the channel of a transistor to operate as a ferroelectric gate. For voltages at which disturb voltages are likely to occur, the thin film varistor has a resistance obeying a formula R.sub.d >10.times.1/(2.pi.fC.sub.F), where R.sub.d is resistivity of the thin film varistor, f is an operating frequency of said memory, and C.sub.F is the capacitance of the ferroelectric layer. For voltages at or near the read and write voltage of the memory, the thin film varistor has a resistance obeying a formula R.sub.d <0.1.times.1/(2.pi.fC.sub.F).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2000
    Assignees: Symetrix Corporation, Matsushita Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Shinichiro Hayashi, Tatsuo Otsuki, Carlos A. Paz de Araujo
  • Patent number: 6151503
    Abstract: The subscriber activated wireless telephone call rerouting system enables the subscriber to reroute incoming calls to an alternate destination which is off network. This service can be activated from either the subscriber's wireless telephone or from any other telephone that is part of the wireless telephone network or the non-wireless public switched telephone network and can be deactivated by the subscriber simply initiating a call from their wireless telephone. The alternate destination selected by the subscriber can be any telephone that is part of the wireless telephone network or the non-wireless public switched telephone network, either a local calling area number or a long distance number.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2000
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventor: David L. Chavez
  • Patent number: 6146618
    Abstract: Sunscreens are colored with oil-soluble dyes approved for use in skin care products (such as sunscreens, lotions, etc.). The color imparted by the dyes substantially disappears shortly after the sunscreen emulsion is applied to skin. This colored sunscreen emulsion includes a oil-soluble phase, at least one sunscreen active agent, water, and an emulsifier. The oil-soluble phase comprises from about 0.0005 to about 0.5 percent by weight of the complete emulsion of at least one oil-soluble dye. The dye imparts a color other than white to the sunscreen emulsion.The sunscreen active ingredient is provided in an amount effective to protect against the actinic radiation of the sun. Sufficient water is provided to form the colored emulsion. The emulsion additionally contains at least one emulsifier in an amount effective to provide an at least substantially stable emulsion. Other optional ingredients may also be compounded into the sunscreen formulations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2000
    Assignee: IPA, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Bell, Denman Gray
  • Patent number: 6147895
    Abstract: A ferroelectric integrated circuit memory includes a memory cell having a first ferroelectric capacitor, one electrode of which is connected to a first bit line through a first transistor and the other electrode of which is connected to a plate line; and a second ferroelectric capacitor, one electrode of which is connected to a second bit line through a second transistor and the other electrode of which is connected to the plate line. The plate line is parallel to the bit lines. The plate line is at 1/2 Vdd. The cell is written to by driving both bit lines either to Vdd or zero volts. The cell is read by driving one bit line to Vdd and the other to zero volts, and sensing the voltage change on the plate line. A shunt system holds the isolated node to the same voltage as the plate line when the row is not selected, thus providing a ferroelectric memory architecture that is unaffected by changes, such as aging, in the ferroelectric material, and has no disturb voltages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2000
    Assignee: Celis Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventor: David A. Kamp
  • Patent number: 6142794
    Abstract: The present low cost pin retention socket comprises a set of holes that are machined into a printed wiring board and selective surfaces thereof plated to thereby form an inexpensive socket that is integral to the printed wiring board yet absent the need for springs, sockets and the associated manufacturing and assembly costs of existing socket apparatus. The present low cost pin retention socket comprises a center hole into which the printed wiring board connector pin is inserted. Surrounding the center hole and intersecting the center hole are a plurality of other holes formed in the printed wiring board to thereby enable a certain amount of plastic deformation of the center hole in response to the insertion therein of a printed wiring board connector pin. The electrical connection between the printed wiring board connector pin and the wiring on the printed wiring board is effected be plating the sides of the center hole to thereby contact the printed wiring board connector pin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark F. Amberg
  • Patent number: 6144921
    Abstract: A portable distance tracking system for use by a player on a playing field wherein the playing field includes at least a first landmark and wherein the system comprises at least one mobile interface unit. The mobile interface unit includes a memory element, position interface electronics, a data processor, and a player interface. The memory element stores digitized map representations of playing fields. The position interface electronics receive position indicative signals from and external source, wherein the position indicative signals are representative of a geographical location of the mobile interface unit. The data processor couples to the memory element and to the position interface electronics and correlates the geographical location to a field location of said mobile interface unit on said playing field. The processor also determines the distance from the mobile interface unit to the first landmark.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Inventors: Joseph A. Bianco, Curtis A. Vock, John V. Bianco
  • Patent number: 6145017
    Abstract: A hardware accelerated data alignment system in a hardware accelerated I/O data processing engine that gathers and maintains pointers to a set of widely distributed source and/or destination data locations. Non-aligned input data and output data from source and/or destination data locations are transparently input and output as contiguous streams of data in a zero wait-state manner according to data byte and/or data block boundaries dictated by the data processing engine regardless of the number of source data blocks and/or destination data blocks and the absence of any previously existing data byte and/or data block alignment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: Adaptec, Inc.
    Inventor: Bahareh Ghaffari
  • Patent number: 6143063
    Abstract: A substrate is located within a deposition chamber, the substrate defining a substrate plane. A liquid precursor is misted by ultrasonic or venturi apparatus, to produce a colloidal mist. The mist is generated, allowed to settle in a buffer chamber, filtered through a system up to 0.01 micron, and flowed into the deposition chamber between the substrate and barrier plate to deposit a liquid layer on the substrate. The liquid is dried to form a thin film of solid material on the substrate, which is then incorporated into an electrical component of an integrated circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignees: Symetrix Corporation, Matsushita Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Shinichiro Hayashi, Larry D. McMillan, Carlos A. Paz de Araujo
  • Patent number: 6144899
    Abstract: The recoverable airborne instrument platform accurately determines its present position and uses this data to execute a predetermined flight plan and ultimately guide its descent to a predetermined landing site. This is accomplished by installing the instrument package payload in the aerodynamic exterior housing of the recoverable airborne instrument platform, which has a plurality of moveable control surfaces thereon to autonomously control the altitude, attitude and flight path of the recoverable airborne instrument platform. A navigation circuit contained within the aerodynamic housing determines the geographic location of the recoverable airborne instrument platform as well as the location of at least one predetermined recovery site. The determined position data is used to dynamically calculate a flight path which allows the guidance control circuit to both execute a predetermined flight plan and controllably descend the recoverable instrument platform to a selected predetermined recovery site.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2000
    Assignee: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
    Inventors: Michael L. Babb, Michael William Douglas, Davis M. Egle, Kenneth Wayne Howard
  • Patent number: 6140672
    Abstract: A ferroelectric non-volatile memory in which each memory cell consists of a metal-ferroelectric-metal ("MFM") capacitor and a FET on a semiconductor substrate. The MFM and the FET are separated by an interlayer dielectric layer. A local interconnect connects the gate electrode of the FET to the bottom electrode of the MFM capacitor. Preferably, the MFM is located directly above the gate electrode, and the local interconnect is a conductive plug in a filled via. Preferably, the ferroelectric thin film of the MFM comprises a layered superlattice material. Preferably, a dielectric metal oxide insulator layer is located between the gate electrode and the semiconductor substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignees: Symetrix Corporation, Matsushita Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Koji Arita, Carlos A. Paz de Araujo
  • Patent number: 6139821
    Abstract: This invention relates to novel compositions containing temporary visual indicators and methods for using these compositions. Specifically, this invention relates to a sunscreen composition containing an indicator that is visible when the substance is applied to the skin, but becomes invisible shortly after application. The continued presence of the indicator allows the indicator to be reactivated temporarily to the visible form so that a user can verify the presence of the sunscreen. The visible indicator ensures that the sunscreen is applied evenly and completely to the area to be protected, but becomes invisible so as not to interfere with the action of the sunscreen or discolor the skin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: IPA, LLC
    Inventors: Ronnie S. Fuerst, Christopher D. Batich, Richard J. Melker
  • Patent number: 6133050
    Abstract: A precursor solution formed of a liquid polyoxyalkylated metal complex in as solvent is applied to a substrate in the formation of a metal oxide thin film. The liquid thin film is baked in air to a temperature up to 500.degree. C. while UV radiation having a wavelength ranging from 180 nm to 300 nm is applied. The thin film can be twice-baked at increasing temperatures while UV radiation is applied at one or both bakings. The film is then annealed at temperature ranging from about 700.degree. C. to 850.degree. C. to produce a thin-film solid metal oxide product. Alternatively, the UV radiation may be applied to the liquid precursor, the thin film may be annealed with UV radiation, or combinations of such applications of UV radiation to the precursor, to the thin film before or after baking, and/or UV annealing may be used. The use of UV radiation significantly reduces the leakage current and carbon impurity content of the final metal oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2000
    Assignees: Symetrix Corporation, Matsushita Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Masamichi Azuma, Larry D. McMillan, Carlos A. Paz de Araujo, Michael C. Scott
  • Patent number: 6133092
    Abstract: A liquid precursor containing thallium is applied to a first electrode, RTP baked at a temperature lower than 725.degree. C., and annealed at the same temperature for a time period from one to five hours to yield a ferroelectric layered superlattice material. A second electrode is formed to form a capacitor, and a second anneal is performed at a temperature lower than 725.degree. C. If the material is strontium bismuth thallium tantalate, the precursor contains (m-1) mole-equivalents of strontium for each of (2.2-x) mole-equivalents of bismuth, x mole-equivalents of thallium, and m mole-equivalents of tantalum, where m=2 and 0.0<x.ltoreq.2.2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2000
    Assignees: Symetrix Corporation, Matsushita Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Shinichiro Hayashi, Carlos A. Paz de Araujo
  • Patent number: 6130103
    Abstract: An integrated circuit is formed that contains a ferroelectric element comprising metal oxide material containing at least two metals. Various methods and structures are applied to minimize the degradation of ferroelectric properties caused by hydrogen during fabrication of the circuit. Oxygen is added to the some elements of the integrated circuit to serve as a getter of hydrogen during fabrication steps. To minimize hydrogen degradation, the ferroelectric compound can be fabricated from a liquid precursor containing one or more of the constituent metals in excess of the amount corresponding to a stoichiometrically balanced concentration. A hydrogen barrier layer, preferably comprising titanium nitride, is formed to cover the top of the ferroelectric element. A hydrogen heat treatment in hydrogen gas is performed on the integrated circuit at a temperature from 200.degree. to 350.degree. C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Assignees: Symetrix Corporation, NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph D. Cuchiaro, Akira Furuya, Carlos A. Paz de Araujo, Yoichi Miyasaka
  • Patent number: 6125340
    Abstract: A system for determining whether items of evidence prove a conclusion based upon user input data. The software of the present invention interrogates a user to receive characteristic information about the user and for information about the items of evidence in a trial. In accordance with the present invention, a user inputs a probability for each item of evidence that the item of evidence is true and a probability that the item of evidence proves a conclusion. The software of the present invention then calculates the probability that each item of evidence individually proves the conclusion and the probability that all of the items of evidence combined prove the conclusion. The software of the present invention than performs statistical analysis of the data receive from several users to determine trends about the evidence and to model a jury or to select a jury from a pool of potential jurors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: Convex Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Martin John Miles
  • Patent number: 6124974
    Abstract: A stacked array magnifier (SAM) forms a magnified, demagnified or unit image of an object. The SAM includes one or more non-refractive lenslet arrays and one or more refractive lenslet arrays to form a plurality of lenslet channels. Each lenslet channel has at least one refractive lenslet and at least one non-refractive lenslet. SAMs are combined and tiled to form a scaleable display of flat panel displays. Multiple SAMs are used to increase magnification selectively. Hybrid lenslet arrays of the invention are also useable for optical processing and non-imaging applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: Proxemics
    Inventor: Robert J. Burger
  • Patent number: 6122490
    Abstract: An interrogation system for enabling transmission and/or reception of RF signals by a communication system. In accordance with the present invention, an interrogation is performed between a transceiver and an antenna prior to the transceiver transmitting or receiving RF signals via the antenna. The interrogation is used to determine whether the antenna transmits and/or receives RF signals having the power and/or frequency band required by the transceiver. The interrogation is performed by an interrogating device transmitting an interrogation signal to the other, responding device. The responding device transmits a response signal to the interrogating device in response to receiving the interrogation signal. The interrogating device determines if the response signal has a predetermined characteristic. If the response signal has the predetermined characteristic, transmission and/or reception of RF signals is enabled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Assignee: Crosslink, Inc.
    Inventor: Gordon Edward Hardman