Patents Represented by Law Firm Lee & Smith
  • Patent number: 4935661
    Abstract: An apparatus for pulsed plasma treatment of a substrate surface includes means for removing spent gas from a region adjacent the substrate for each pulse. The apparatus may also include means for sweeping an intense plasma region across a substrate surface. Rapid gas exchange is provided by pressure pulsing the gas admission. This facility also provides means for rapidly alternating different gases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 19, 1990
    Assignee: STC plc
    Inventors: Rudolf A. Heinecke, Sureshchandra M. Ojha, Ian P. Llewellyn
  • Patent number: 4914048
    Abstract: A bipolar transistor structure (1) which can be used in an integrated circuit where bipolar (1) and CMOS transistors (2,3) are formed simultaneously on one substrate. In integrated circuit form the material, for example polycrystalline silicon, used for the gates (11,21) of the CMOS transistors is also used for the emitters (29) of the bipolar transistors, the collectors of the bipolar devices are comprised by doped wells (5) in the substrate (4) and the base contacts of the bipolar devices are comprised by regions (27,27a) equivalent to source and drain regions (17,18) of the n-well MOS transistors and bridged by base implants (28). The conventional CMOS processing is modified by the addition of two masking steps and one implant (base implant).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 1987
    Date of Patent: April 3, 1990
    Assignee: STC plc
    Inventors: Peter D. Scovell, Peter F. Blomley, Roger L. Baker
  • Patent number: 4909607
    Abstract: A method of addressing a matrix addressed ferroelectric liquid crystal cell is described that uses parallel entry of balanced bipolar data pulses on one set of electrodes to co-operate with serial entry of unipolar strobe pulses on the other set of electrodes. The polarity of the strobe pulses is periodically reversed to maintain charge balance in the long term.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 20, 1990
    Assignee: STC PLC
    Inventor: Peter W. Ross
  • Patent number: 4902097
    Abstract: A method of making very long length e.g. 50 km of optical fibre submarine cable in which acrylate-coated fibres (5) are guided by a fixed lay plate (10) and embedded by a fixed trumpet shaped die (7) in a relatively soft thermoplastic polymer coating (3) (e.g. Hytrel-RTM) with a zero lay angle. The coating (3) is heat softened and carried on a kingwire (2). The partially-embedded fibres are encased in a second coating (12) of the polymer by conventional extrusion. The element is coated with a water blocking material as the element is encased in a tubular strength member comprising a conductive tube of copper or aluminium surrounded by two layers (24,25) of high tensile strength wires. A dielectric sheath of e.g. natural polyethelene is extruded over the wires. The structure of the cable limits the bending of the fibres to e.g. 0.6 m, so that very low losses can be achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 1987
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1990
    Assignee: STC PLC
    Inventors: Peter Worthington, John N. Russell
  • Patent number: 4886359
    Abstract: For nebulizing sample liquid for spectroscopical purposes a liquid to be nebulized is pressurized to a minimum pressure of 30 bar through a high-pressure pump formed as a separate unit, and is nebulized through a nozzle having a smallest flow aperture of less than 5.multidot.10.sup.-9 m.sup.2. The high-pressure pump and the nozzle are interconnected through conduits. In one embodiment the pump takes in pure solvent. The sample is taken in on the high-pressure side through a loop, which is arranged to be connected between pump and nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 12, 1989
    Inventor: Harald Berndt
  • Patent number: 4882870
    Abstract: A trawler door with relative dimensions such that the height of the door is at most seventy five percent of its length. Two longitudinally arcuate platelike body parts are joined along a longitudinal edge at an obtuse angle, the joint between the body parts being stiffened by a platelike reinforcing member extending along the length of the joint. At least one of the body parts is stiffened by at least one tubelike member of circular or elliptical cross-section which is affixed at one end to the reinforcing member and at the other end to a suitable location on one of the body parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1988
    Date of Patent: November 28, 1989
    Inventor: Peter S. Andreasen
  • Patent number: 4882543
    Abstract: A manual apparatus for testing the vacuum of an evacuated vial. A cylindrical test enclosure having an access opening in the wall thereof is provided for the vial. A rotatable sleeve surrounds the enclosure and has a like access opening in registration with and rotatable to be in alignment with the access opening of the test enclosure. When the two access openings are rotated out of alignment, high voltage radio frequency power is applied to the exterior of the vial, and an intense flash of light occurs next to the vial to cause ionization of gas within the vial. The ionization current which results is indicative of the value of the vacuum within the vial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 1988
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1989
    Assignee: Electro-Technic Products, Inc.
    Inventor: Burton L. Siegal
  • Patent number: 4882207
    Abstract: A ferroelectric liquid crystal cell is provided with one alignment layer (14) constituted by rubbed nylon which promotes planar alignment in a specific azimuthal direction and the other alignment layer (15) constituted by a polymer with flexible side chains which promotes planar alignment without any preferred azimuthal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1989
    Assignee: STC Plc
    Inventors: David Coates, Matthew F. Bone
  • Patent number: 4878232
    Abstract: In a data transmission system data is sent, after suitable conversion, as a ternary analogue type signal. Using two-wire twisted pairs and hybrids, echo cancellation and feedback equalization are needed. Synchronization between the two ends, e.g. of a 144 Kb/sec. subscriber's loop, is maintained by a low amplitude pilot tone sent with the data, which is detected at the same time as the data is detected. Detection and elimination of this pilot tone use coefficient generation circuitry similar to those used in the equalizer and echo canceller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 1986
    Date of Patent: October 31, 1989
    Assignee: STC PLC
    Inventor: David A. Fisher
  • Patent number: 4875605
    Abstract: A pressurized metering dispenser comprises a main reservoir, a liquid metering chamber and a gas chamber. A valve arrangement enters the reservoir and the gas chamber from an outlet nozzle at the end of a central passage, the inboard end of which is above the level of liquid in the reservoir when the dispenser is held nozzle-down. A gas holding chamber communicates with the gas chamber and the liquid metering chamber with the reservoir in a normal state, and actuation is achieved by upward displacement of the nozzle to start off the liquid and gas holding chambers and from their supplies and finally cause the chamber to communicate with the chamber to cause the liquid to be expelled through the nozzle under the gas pressure in the chamber. A holder for such a dispenser includes an actuating lever and counter to indicate the number of actuations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 24, 1989
    Assignee: Microvol Limited
    Inventor: Terence E. Weston
  • Patent number: 4876489
    Abstract: A method of and an arrangement for the combined correction of I/Q phase and amplitude imbalances within channels and interchannel phase and amplitude mismatches in arrays of signal channels. The I and Q channels of a reference channel are orthogonalized while simultaneously commencing the correction of an auxiliary channel. Optimum correction is obtained with reduction in hardware in comparison with a cascaded correction method, the auxiliary channel I and Q components being transformed only once.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 24, 1989
    Assignee: STC PLC
    Inventor: Christopher D. Cawthorne
  • Patent number: 4874318
    Abstract: An arrangement for mounting a chip (14) to a printed circuit board (10), wherein a lock nut (18) is cemented to the chip carrier to extend through an aperture (28) in a socket moulding (26) and into an aperture (30) in the pcb, the latter also receiving from the opposite direction a mounting screw (36) which screws into the lock nut to clamp the assembly together, with interface contacts (16) on the chip carrier connected to contact pads (12) on the pcb by interconnecting elements principally accommodated in slots (38) in the socket moulding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 17, 1989
    Assignee: Flexicon Systems Limited
    Inventor: Arthur T. Spencer
  • Patent number: 4874492
    Abstract: Light from the pattern of spots of bands resulting from electrophoresis is detected by a two-dimensional charge coupled device, visualization of the spots or band being achieved by irradiating the gel with a U/V source to stimulate fluorescent markers preferably applied before running of the gel. The charge coupled device is cooled to suppress thermal dark current and, more particularly, to improve sensitivity and dynamic range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 17, 1989
    Assignee: Astromed Limited
    Inventor: Craig D. Mackay
  • Patent number: 4870407
    Abstract: Video display apparatus is described in which video data is held in a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM). In each cycle, one processor access and four video accesses are made to be DRAM. The video data is de-skewed, by feeding it through two registers in series, so as to ensure that the four video data words can be sampled at equally spaced intervals, equal to one-fourth of the cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 26, 1989
    Assignee: International Computers Limited
    Inventor: Bernard W. Gill
  • Patent number: 4866438
    Abstract: With a traffic monitoring device for photographic recording of vehicles exceeding a predetermined speed, the speed of the approaching traffic is measured substantially against the travelling direction. The vehicles (12) are photographed frontally when they exceed the predetermined speed. Two speed measurements are effected: A first measuring value is obtained in a relatively short part of the available measuring section (22) on the entrance side and serves to release a camera (18). A second measuring value evaluates all speed measuring values occuring in the measuring section (22), in which the vehicle (12) is detected by the radar beam (20). This second measuring value is recorded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 12, 1989
    Assignee: Robot Foto und Electronic GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Konrad Knisch
  • Patent number: 4866251
    Abstract: Encapsulated optical fibres (FIG. 1A), for e.g. a submarine cable have their encapsulation removed by high velocity hot air blowers (6,7), leave free the acrylate coated fibres for splicing/jointing. An automated equipment moves the blowers progressively along the fibres to free between 0.75 and two meters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 12, 1989
    Assignee: STC PLC
    Inventor: Stephen R. Jones
  • Patent number: 4865298
    Abstract: A tuyere stock for a blast furnace comprises three pipes arranged end-to-end. Between the first and second pipes and between the second and third pipes there are flexible bellows units and a pair of links on opposite sides of the second pipe are connected at their ends through spherical bearings to the first and third pipes so as to permit relative movement between the first and third pipes in two mutually normal directions which are also normal to the longitudinal axes of the links.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 12, 1989
    Assignee: Davy McKee (Stockton) Limited
    Inventor: Peter Jordan
  • Patent number: 4865178
    Abstract: A vending machine for dispensing single copies of newspapers or the like by the operation of a pull and push handle that is linked to a plate carrying needles that draw one copy of a newspaper outwardly from a tray through a dispensing door. The newspapers are carried on a spring biased tray that advances newspapers upwardly. The tray is controlled by a brake lock mechanism that allows the tray to be moved upward to a sufficient distance relative to the dispensing door so that only a single copy is drawn outwardly and wherein the brake lock locks the tray at the same respective vertical location for the next paper to be dispensed. A safety ratchet mechanism is arranged with a cable pulley system that is driven by a tension spring arrangement whereby the delivery person may load incremental amounts of newspapers on the tray and safely advance the tray downwardly against the spring loading.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 12, 1989
    Assignee: Lew Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventor: Frank S. Lewandowski
  • Patent number: 4865811
    Abstract: A sample duct in a carrier line is isolated by three-way valves blocking the flow of carrier or flushing liquid from reservoirs. The sample duct may be connected to a loading syringe and to a sample reservoir respectively by the valves. When the sample duct is connected into the carrier line, pressurized carrier fluid may convey the sample for analysis through a manifold comprising valves through which reagents may be introduced from reservoirs. The sample then passes through a thermostatically controlled reaction tube to a valve which switches it between waste and an outlet leading to a detector for analysis. The carrier and flushing fluids and the reagents are pressurized by gas from an inlet which is conveyed via an overpressure vent to the reservoir by lines. Rigid inert tubing is used throughout the carrier line, sample duct, manifold and reaction tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 12, 1989
    Assignee: Biotec Instruments Limited
    Inventors: Raymond Newton, David Malcolm-Lawes
  • Patent number: D304080
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 17, 1989
    Assignee: Sage Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Lee & Smith, Paul H. Hanifl, John J. Newton, Jr.