Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Weingarten, Schurgin, Gagnebin & Hayes LLP
  • Patent number: 6645534
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for the solvent extraction of active compounds from chicory. Characteristically, according to the invention, chicory is macerated in said solvent at a low temperature, preferably of between 0° C. and 6° C., for a period of at least twelve hours; and the maceration liquor is filtered with a cut-off threshold of at least 0.22 &mgr;m. The present invention further relates to the use of the extract obtained by the process of the invention for the preparation of an oral hygiene composition and for the preparation of cosmetic products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Finaler
    Inventor: Olivier Hermand
  • Patent number: 6517342
    Abstract: A device for igniting fuel, comprising at least one burner, the device comprising ignition means comprising an ignition element, the ignition means further comprising a movable element which is connected to a fluid line, such that a fluid contained in the fluid line, when it flows, creates a pressure difference across the movable element, as a result of which the movable element is set in motion, the movable element being connected with the ignition element, such that the movement of the movable element generates via the ignition element and ignition temperature by means of which the fuel is caused to combust.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: Gastec N.V.
    Inventor: Geuko van der Veen
  • Patent number: 6419945
    Abstract: An internal fixation device and a bioerodible implantable material useful therefor comprise a bioerodible polymer that produces acidic products or low molecular weight resorbable fragments upon hydrolytic degradation, and a buffering or neutralizing agent in sufficiently high concentration to moderate the rate of change of pH of said bioerodible material during bioerosion. The buffering or neutralizing agent acts to reduce the inflammatory foreign body response generated by the acidic products and reduces the sterile abscess condition that occurs at the site of the bioerodible implant materials of the prior art. Internal fixation devices (IFDs) according to the invention are useful, for example, for the repair, replacement or reconstruction of damaged bone in any area of the body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: Cambridge Scientific, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph D. Gresser, Debra J. Trantolo, Robert Langer, Alexander M. Klibanov, Donald L. Wise
  • Patent number: 6410716
    Abstract: SU1, a starch debranching enzyme active in maize endosperm (Zea mays), and the cDNA and genomic sequences encoding SU1 are disclosed. The amino acid sequence is significantly similar to that of bacterial isoamylases, enzymes that hydrolyze &agr;-(1→6) glycosidic bonds. Amino acid sequence similarity establishes SU1 as a member of the &agr;-amylase superfamily of starch hydrolytic enzymes. Also disclosed are antibodies reactive with the SU1 protein, methods of producing antibodies to the SU1 protein, methods of producing fusion proteins including SU1 as well as recombinant SU1 and methods of producing transgenic plants with a modified su1 gene. The native or expressed SU1 protein can serve as a replacement for the bacterial and fungal enzymes currently used in the starch processing industry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2002
    Assignee: Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan M. Myers, Martha Graham James
  • Patent number: 6371054
    Abstract: An electrical shock system is provided for deterring birds from entering defined regions. The electrical shock system includes a wiring configuration that maximizes that amount of the defined regions that will be covered by the system while minimizing the amount of wires so that the system may be installed easily with efficient use of the necessary wires. As a result, the bird control system of the present invention will provide better coverage over the desired regions and will therefore provide more effective in permanently keeping the birds from returning to the desired regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Inventors: Jack Celata, Michael J. Kudla
  • Patent number: 6359211
    Abstract: This invention relates to dye sensitized polycrystalline photoelectrochemical solar cells for use in energy transduction from light to electricity. It concerns the utility of highly absorbing organic chromophores as sensitizers in such cells and the degree to which they may be utilized alone and in combination to produce an efficient photoelectrochemical cell, e.g., a regenerative solar cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2002
    Assignee: Chemmotif, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark T. Spitler, Anne Ehret, Louis S. Stuhl
  • Patent number: 6356392
    Abstract: A head-mountable image display system provides an image to a user's eye separate from ambient light. The system includes an optical relay having an optical pathway to receive light from a display element. The optical relay also permits passage of ambient light toward the user's eye. An eyepiece assembly is disposed to redirect light on the optical pathway to the user's eye. The system is highly compact, allowing the integration of the display system with eyeglasses, a face mask, such as a diver's mask, a head set, or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2002
    Assignee: The Microoptical Corporation
    Inventor: Mark B. Spitzer
  • Patent number: 6344959
    Abstract: The presently disclosed method and apparatus provides the sensing of an output voltage of a charge pump without applying a load to the output stage. In the charge pump the voltage change which occurs across a capacitor of a stage of the charge pump when the charge pump transfers charge to the next stage is proportional to the difference between the voltage at the output of the charge pump under load, and the voltage which will be developed at the output of the charge pump with no load. There is an interval in the timing of the charge pump cycle after the first stage capacitor has transferred its charge to a second stage capacitor where the high side of the first capacitor has not yet been connected to the line voltage. During this interval the charge pump undervoltage detection circuit measures the voltage at the high side of the capacitor and compares this measured voltage to a reference voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2002
    Assignee: Unitrode Corporation
    Inventor: Ciro W. Milazzo
  • Patent number: 6336708
    Abstract: A nozzle for an ink-jet printer is provided. The nozzle is manufactured from a heat-softenable tube and has a gradually converging inner diameter leading to an orifice less than 30 microns in diameter and an outer nozzle diameter proximate the orifice at least as great as the outer diameter at other points along the tube. The nozzle is produced by heating a short segment of a heat-softenable tube while rotating it, until said segment is sufficiently softened to cause the inner diameter to converge at an angle between 5 and 25 degrees with respect to the axis of symmetry of the tube, and until the inner diameter is equal to or less than a selected orifice diameter. The gradual taper is achieved solely as a result of heat-activated surface forces inherent in the tube material and without external drawing or pulling of the tube. Further the gradual taper facilitates achieving a desired orifice dimension during removal of a portion of the tube having an inner diameter less than the selected orifice diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2002
    Assignee: Iris Graphics, Inc.
    Inventors: David B. West, Scott Barraclough
  • Patent number: 6333019
    Abstract: The invention relates to injection of fluids (gas, liquid, suspension or other mixtures) in a controlled typically uniform way within a vessel containing another fluid or fluidized medium. Said injection device consists of pipes or channels that are connected in a hierarchical fashion so that the fluid entering a first channel is divided into channels of the same or different diameter and length, each or some of which are further divided into channels of the same or different diameter and length, and so on. The injection system can also consist of combinations of such tree-like or fractal-like elements, embedded in the plane or in space. The embodiment depends upon the nature of the fluids and the application. The invention can be used for gas/solid fluidized bed and a gas/liquid and other processes. A typical application is the reduction and uniformization or otherwise control of bubble sizes to optimize the operation of fluidized bed, slurry and gas/liquid reactors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2001
    Inventor: Marc-Olivier Coppens
  • Patent number: 6321688
    Abstract: A device for cleaning a teat (3) has a movable rotatable cleaning means (29) which is movable from a lower teat receiving position (LO) to an upper teat cleaning position (UP).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2001
    Assignee: Alfa Laval Agri AB
    Inventor: Jan Eriksson
  • Patent number: 6324625
    Abstract: In accordance with the present invention a method and apparatus are disclosed in which each data stream of a plurality of data streams is assigned to a queue and each queue is allocated a predetermined maximum numbers of buffers. Once the queue has exhausted its supply of buffers, the data from the corresponding data stream is discarded until buffers are refreshed thereby allowing the remaining data streams to operate in a normal fashion. Accordingly, excessive buffer usage by an individual data stream is prevented, as well as excessive demand of other related system resources such as CPU time. The data stream which has had its data discarded will begin having its incoming data processed upon the next refresh operation providing the queue associated with that data stream has had additional buffers allocated. The discarded data is lost and is not recovered. The refresh operation is performed in a manner that provides prioritization of the queues and a high degree of fairness within each priority level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2001
    Assignee: Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Neil Singer, Kang-Sen Lu
  • Patent number: 6318571
    Abstract: The loader device is made of a thermostructural composite material and comprises a base (20), a loading pole (30) secured to the base and extending at least over the full height of the loader device, and a plurality of loading trays (40) each provided with a central passage through which the loading pole can pass. Each loading tray carries a plurality of spacers (50) enabling the trays to be mounted in succession at predetermined intervals, each tray carrying the same number of spacers which are in alignment so that after the trays have been assembled the spacers make up load-carrying columns extending over the height of the loader device, and at least one of the spacers carried by each tray has a disposition and/or a size that differs from the other spacers carried by the same tray so as to enable the trays to be indexed during assembly. Each tray (40) has means (45) for positioning parts at predetermined locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Societe Nationale D'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs D'Aviation - S.N.E.C.M.A.
    Inventors: Jean-Pierre Maumus, Guy Martin, Jean-Roch Vivier
  • Patent number: 6319348
    Abstract: To make an annular fiber structure, a strip-shaped fabric (50), is used which is made up of two superposed unidirectional sheets, with the directions of the sheets forming opposite angles relative to the longitudinal direction of the strip, the two sheets being bonded together so as to form deformable elementary meshes, the fabric being wound while being deformed so as to transform it into a flat helix, the elementary meshes deforming in such a manner that variation in mass per unit area between the inside and outside diameters of the turns remains small, and the flat turns are pressed against one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Societe Nationale d'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation-SNECMA
    Inventors: Pierre Olry, Dominique Coupe, Bernard Lecerf, Jean-Michel Guirman
  • Patent number: 6320864
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for performing logical multicasting within a network switch are disclosed so as to permit a downstream network device to perform cell forwarding in a manner which resembles spatial multicasting. A logical multicast cell has a connection identifier associated with the cell within the switch. The connection identifier is employed to initiate a series of lookup operations to generate unique VPI/VCI addresses which are transmitted out of an output port of the switch as copies or leaves of the multicast cell. Successive look-ups of outgoing VPI/VCI addresses for a logical multicast cell are performed using a chain bit to indicate when all leaves of the cell have been transmitted. Leaves of a logical multicast cell are transmitted to the downstream network device from one output cell buffer of a plurality of output cell buffers associated with the output port of the switch so as to minimize the likelihood of blocking and so as to minimize cell delay variation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Ascend Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew T. Hebb, Gregory S. Goss
  • Patent number: 6318511
    Abstract: The friction device comprises a non-rotary casing (50) in the form of a cage in which there are received a thrust structure (30), a set of friction disks (21, 22, 23, 24, 25) on a common axis, and a backing structure (40), the casing having a peripheral wall provided with ventilation openings (54). The friction device is actuated by a pneumatic actuator (60) mechanically connected to the central portion of the thrust structure through a central opening in an end wall (51) of the casing. Thermal insulation is arranged between the set of disks (21, 22, 23, 24, 25) and the outside of the casing adjacent to the end wall provided with the bearing unit (11) for the rotary shaft (10), and comprises at least one heat barrier (76-77, 78-79) situated at the bearing unit (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Messier-Bugatti
    Inventors: Didier Clement, Jean-Michel Garcia, Olivier Borgeaud
  • Patent number: 6314815
    Abstract: In order to compensate non-linearity in the zero drift of the bridge at very low temperatures, a strain gauge in at least one of the arms of the bridge is in series with a resistor, e.g., a connection lead, of resistance that is much less than that of the strain gauge, and a compensation circuit is connected in parallel with the resistor. The compensation circuit includes a resistive element, e.g., a platinum probe, whose resistance varies as a function of temperature in such a manner as to influence, in the very low temperature range, the resistance of the parallel circuit of which it forms a part, and to do so in a manner that is sensitive to temperature and that increases with decreasing temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2001
    Assignee: Societe Nationale d'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation - S.N.E.C.M.A.
    Inventor: Jean-Bernard Avisse
  • Patent number: 6315412
    Abstract: A Non-Maxwellian, free viewing system capable of psychophysical measurement of visual sensitivity for the determination of ocular components is disclosed. The apparatus features electronically controlled light emitting elements whose outputs are variable with respect to intensity and temporal pattern, and can be combined by a small number of optical components. The light emitting elements can have outputs of different wavelengths, can be positioned at different retinal locations, and can be viewed through masks or apertures having different geometries. These features permit miniaturization of the device, and eliminate a major or experimental difficulty of light path alignment associated with larger systems, thus simplifying the measurement of macular pigment density compared to procedures used with a full sized optical bench.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2001
    Assignee: The Schepens Eye Research Institute, Inc.
    Inventors: D. Max Snodderly, Richard I. Land, Billy R. Wooten
  • Patent number: D451491
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
    Inventor: Daisuke Saito
  • Patent number: D452485
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2001
    Assignee: Russound/FMP, Inc.
    Inventors: Oscar A. Ciornei, Joshua M. Cooper, John M. Cronk, G. William Ramsdell, Jeffrey D. Myatt