Patents Assigned to Design Technology & Innovation
  • Patent number: 6885294
    Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for indicating the state of motion of a subject vehicle to a driver of a following vehicle, by means of an array of lamps (2, 10-21) on the subject vehicle. The apparatus is adapted to indicate the presence of the array of lamps on the subject vehicle when the lamps are not actively indicating the state of motion of the subject vehicle, with the presence of the array realized by, preferably, secondary warning lamps adjacently located with the array and arranged to differentiate the array in terms of its functionality and operational capabilities from existing arrays, as exemplified in FIG. 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: Design Technology & Innovation (Safety) 1994 Limited
    Inventor: Mark Christopher Tonkin
  • Patent number: 6511052
    Abstract: Water vapor is introduced into an inlet air stream (16) of an engine (12), for example, by a pervaporation process through a non-porous hydrophilic membrane (18). A water reservoir (20), which can contain contaminated water, provides a vapor pressure gradient across the hydrophilic membrane (18) into the inlet air stream (16), while the rate of delivery of the water vapor to a cylinder (38-40) is self-regulated by the rate of flow of air across the membrane. The hydrophilic membrane (18) therefore also filters the water from the water reservoir (20) to an extent that pure water vapor is provided to the air inlet stream (16). Delivery of water vapor can nevertheless be controlled using a hood (26) that slides over the hydrophilic membrane to limit its exposed surface area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2003
    Assignees: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Design Technology & Innovation
    Inventors: Mark Christopher Tonkin, Mark Andrew Young, Mark Elden Schuchardt
  • Patent number: 6484439
    Abstract: An irrigation device is provided, the device comprising a container for water consisting of a plurality of surfaces, each surface substantially being either a hydrophilic membrane or impervious to water in all forms, and wherein at least one of the surfaces is substantially a hydrophilic membrane and at least one of the surfaces is substantially impervious to water in all forms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2002
    Assignees: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Design Technology & Innovations LTD
    Inventors: Mark Christopher Tonkin, Mark Andrew Young, Olaf Norbert Kirchner, Charles William Cahill
  • Patent number: 6453610
    Abstract: A method of modifying the growth of plant roots is provided in which the roots are grown in proximity to a membrane from which water is released during the growth of the roots, wherein the membrane is a hydrophobic porous membrane or a hydrophilic non-porous membrane. The method may also be used to collect materials exuded from plant roots by growing the plant roots in a growing medium that is surrounded by a membrane so that moisture is released into the growing medium from the membrane while materials exuded from the plant roots are retained within the growing medium by the membrane, wherein the membrane is a hydrophobic porous membrane or a hydrophilic non-porous membrane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignees: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Design Technology & Innovation
    Inventors: Mark Christopher Tonkin, Mark Andrew Young, Olaf Norbert Kirchner, Charles William Cahill
  • Patent number: 5838259
    Abstract: A display system for motor vehicles provides an array of lamps at the rear of a subject vehicle to provide an indication of the state of motion of the subject vehicle to the driver of a following vehicle. In a first mode of operation, the display indicates a level of warning dependent upon the rate of deceleration of the subject vehicle, the level of warning being determined by deceleration thresholds which are variable in dependence upon the measured speed of the subject vehicle. In a second mode of operation, the lamps provide an indication of the subject vehicle being stationary or near stationary as determined by comparing the measured speed with a threshold speed. An animate display is created by illuminating the lamps and sequentially deactuating selected pairs of lamps to create a pattern cyclically moving semetrically outwardly from the center of the row. The display is discontinued when the speed of the subject vehicle exceeds a second threshold defined independently of the first threshold speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Design Technology & Innovation Ltd.
    Inventor: Mark Christopher Tonkin
  • Patent number: 5828319
    Abstract: A vehicle display system has a stationary detector and an indicator, which form a stationary vehicle detection apparatus being operative to produce an indicator signal which is indicative of the vehicle being stationary. The vehicle display system also has a vehicle deceleration detector and an indicator. The vehicle deceleration detector measures the magnitude of deceleration of a vehicle and generates a signal to drive the indicator and thereby generate a display indicative of the magnitude of vehicle deceleration. The vehicle deceleration detector is independent of the vehicle braking system. In one embodiment, the indicator is an array of lamps and the stationary vehicle indicator signal is an inanimate display. One embodiment has an additional ranging device that detects a trailing vehicle within a predetermined distance of the vehicle employing the ranging device. The ranging device may be used to initiate a change of the display generated by the vehicle display system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1998
    Assignee: Design Technology & Innovation Limited
    Inventors: Mark Christopher Tonkin, Simon Lewis Marshall Hall, Gareth Anthony Strong, Marco Cucinotta