Patents Assigned to Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
  • Medico-surgical sensor assemblies
    Patent number: 5406958
    Abstract: An intercranial pressure sensor assembly has a sensor at one end of an electrical cable. At its other end, the cable has a low profile coupling with annular contact members spaced axially along its length. A guide of a plastics material has an attachment with a tapering surface at one end from which extends a flexible lead. The guide is screwed to the coupling by means of an internal thread on the attachment and is used to pull the cable beneath tissue on the scalp. After the sensor is correctly positioned, the guide is removed and the coupling can be connected to a monitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 18, 1995
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Peter Von Berg
  • Patient support tables and monitors
    Patent number: 5390382
    Abstract: An operating table used with electrosurgery equipment has a high impedance static discharge resistor connected between the table and ground. A monitor is connected across the resistor and is responsive to a change in resistance between the table and ground which is indicative of bypassing or failure of the resistor and which is independent of operation of the electrosurgery equipment. The monitor provides an output to an alarm and also disables the electrosurgery equipment in response to such a change in resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 21, 1995
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventors: Keith Hannant, John A. Gardner
  • Tracheal tube assemblies
    Patent number: 5386826
    Abstract: A tracheal tube assembly comprises an outer tube and an inner cannula that is insertable within and removable from the outer tube. The inner cannula has an inner surface of a flexible plastic material such as PVC to which respiratory secretions cling. The outer surface of the cannula is of a material having a lower friction than the inner surface and may be a helical filament or a continuous layer. The machine end of the inner cannula projects beyond the outer tube to form a flexible portion which is terminated with a coupling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 7, 1995
    Assignees: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company, University of Leeds Industrial Services Limited
    Inventors: Timothy J. J. Inglis, Michael R. Millar
  • Resistance monitors
    Patent number: 5382912
    Abstract: An aircraft fire extinguisher system includes a fire extinguisher bottle and an attached explosive squib which has one side connected to ground and its other side connected alternately to two constant current sources in opposite senses. A differential amplifier subtracts the voltages in two sample-and-hold circuits caused by the opposite currents to eliminate the effect of the voltage at the point where the squib is grounded. A utilization circuit, coupled to the output of the differential amplifier, is used to indicate the presence of a fault in the squib or in associated circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1995
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: David I. Blain
  • Current measurement circuits
    Patent number: 5378998
    Abstract: A circuit for measuring current flowing along a line including a resistance has two transistors with their emitters connected to the line on opposite sides of the resistance and with their collectors connected to a zero voltage rail via respective resistors. The bases of the transistors are connected together so that one transistor controls current flow through the second. The voltage across the resistor connected to the second transistor is representative of current flow in the line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 3, 1995
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Andrew C. Davies
  • Spark plug printing machine
    Patent number: 5373783
    Abstract: A spark plug printing machine has two silk screens with different color inks mounted side-by-side and facing down. Spark plug insulators are rotatably mounted in a vertical orientation on a turntable. A print transfer pad located beneath the screens is rotatable from a first position, where it is horizontal and contacts the screens, to a second vertical position. In the second position the pad contacts one of the insulators and is displaced along its length to roll the insulator along the pad through more than 360.degree. so that ink from both screens is transferred to the insulator one after the other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 20, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventors: John R. Perry, Brian K. Allen
  • Radiation-emitting devices having an array of active components in contact with a fluorescent layer
    Patent number: 5371434
    Abstract: A display or other radiation-emitting device has an array of vertical ballistic transistors which produce electrons that flow into overlying phosphor regions. Light produced by the phosphors is focussed by an array of convex lenses above the phosphor regions to provide a high intensity display with limited viewing angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 6, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Keith C. Rawlings
  • Hydrostatic pressure sensors
    Patent number: 5365873
    Abstract: A hydrostatic pressure release for releasing a life raft or the like when a ship sinks has a flexible diaphragm sealing a chamber on one side and exposed externally on its opposite side. A ceramic vent plug is mounted on the diaphragm so that it is protected within the casing of the device. The diaphragm has a resilient plate with an integral sleeve that projects through a collar in a rigid disc mounted on the plate. The plug is retained within the sleeve, in the collar. A rod projecting from the diaphragm extends into one end of an aperture in a slider and locks it in position. When the device is submerged, the diaphragm is deflected and pulls the rod out of the aperture allowing the slider to be released. A button on the slider extends into the other end of the aperture so that when is is depressed it pushes the rod out of the aperture and releases the slider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 22, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Richard I. Wigram
  • Connector assemblies
    Patent number: 5366383
    Abstract: A connector assembly has two rotatable parts both of which have external splines. An internally-splined locking ring is slidable along the assembly into a locking position where the splines on the ring engage the splines on both the rotatable parts so that relative rotation of the parts is prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 22, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Kenneth W. J. Dearman
  • Displays
    Patent number: 5359260
    Abstract: A solid-state display comprises a glass plate on which is deposited an upper layer of parallel conductive tracks interrupted by recesses containing regions of conductive or semiconductive phosphor. An array of ballistic transistors within a semiconductor layer is in alignment on one side with the phosphor regions and on the other side with lower conductive tracks which extend at right angles to the tracks in the upper layer. When a voltage is applied to one of the tracks in the upper layer which is positive with respect to the voltage applied to one of the lower tracks it causes one of the transistors to emit electrons upwardly into the adjacent phosphor region. This causes fluorescence of the region and the emission of light through the glass plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 25, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventors: Keith C. Rawlings, Neil A. Fox
  • Liquid-level gauging
    Patent number: 5357801
    Abstract: An ultrasonic liquid level gauging sensor has a transducer at the lower end of a tube that is filled with liquid to the same height as liquid outside the tube. The sensor has an axial rod extending along the tube and supporting several calibration reflectors. The rod enables the sensor to be used at high tilt angles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 25, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: David Sinclair
  • Coupling with rotating retaining ring having cam surfaces
    Patent number: 5356183
    Abstract: A coupling for a corrugated conduit has a body with a rotatable retaining ring. The ring has inwardly-projecting locking bars with two finger grips which project outwardly through slots in the body. When the finger grips are held and the ring is rotated, the locking bars are displaced inwardly to lie between adjacent corrugations of the conduit and retain it in the coupling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 18, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: John Cole
  • Mounts for buoys
    Patent number: 5348502
    Abstract: A mounting bracket for retaining an EPIRB or similar buoy on a ship comprises a housing with a support frame pivotally mounted in the housing. The lower part of the frame has a peg engaging a recess in the underside of an enlarged central part of the buoy to prevent forward or downward movement. An upper part of the housing overhangs the upper end of the buoy to prevent upward displacement. The frame is pivoted at its lower end and is retained in the housing against the action of a spring by a hydrostatic pressure release. When the mount is submerged, the hydrostatic pressure release allows the spring to displace the frame out of the housing so that the buoy can float free. The frame is in two parts held together by a locking pin so that, when the pin is released, the buoy can be removed without releasing the hydrostatic release mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 20, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Richard I. Wigram
  • Displays and display systems
    Patent number: 5329277
    Abstract: An aircraft display system has a display unit comprising a matrix array of LED's mounted in the glareshield. Air traffic command signals received by a datalink processor produce a visual indication on the display unit which is visible to the pilot when looking through the window. A button on the display unit is pressed by the pilot to acknowledge receipt of instructions. Other important messages are displayed by the display unit at different times. Radar altimeter height is displayed in a color which changes when the aircraft descends below its flare height. When on the ground, the display unit displays alphanumerically the distance-to-go to the end of the runway, and simultaneously displays stripes that move horizontally to indicate deviation of the aircraft from the runway center line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1993
    Date of Patent: July 12, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventors: Keith G. Dougan, Peter F. O'Sullivan
  • Gas discharge electrodes and lamps
    Patent number: 5327045
    Abstract: The electrodes of a flat panel cold cathode discharge lamp are each formed from a block of metal with holes arranged side-by-side along the electrode which open into the gas-discharge volume of the lamp. The holes extend at an angle of about 25-35 degrees away from the normal to the surface of the electrode and are formed by laser machining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1992
    Date of Patent: July 5, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Neil A. Fox
  • Liquid-level gauging
    Patent number: 5309763
    Abstract: An ultrasonic liquid-level sensing system has a sensor with a number of reflectors mounted one above the other along the length of a tube that extends upwardly from a transducer and is filled with liquid to the same height as outside the tube. Liquid height is calculated from the difference between the arrival times of the pulses reflected from the two uppermost submerged reflectors and the difference between the arrival times of pulses reflected from the surface of the liquid and the uppermost submerged reflector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 10, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: David Sinclair
  • Monitoring
    Patent number: 5309379
    Abstract: The operation of an engine or other assembly is monitored by detecting the sound it makes and deriving from this, in conjunction with its speed, temperature and control settings, a multi-dimension condition vector. The vector changes during operation of the engine and is supplied to a processor which continuously builds a model of the engine at different stages of operation such as by a sequence-learning neural net or by hidden markov model when an atypical condition vector is received, the processor generates an alert signal to a display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 3, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventors: Keith C. Rawlings, Roger C. Witcomb
  • Medico-surgical collection bags
    Patent number: 5304157
    Abstract: An ostomy bag has a non-adhesive filter formed by a carbon fabric disc with impermeable layers on the front and back surfaces. The front layer has a central aperture whereas the rear layer is imperforate. The filter is releasably secured to an adhesive area around a vent opening of the bag with the aperture aligned with the opening so that gas can flow into the filter and radially outwards. The filter be peeled off and reversed to block escape of gas from the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 19, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventors: Kenneth J. Brooks, David Cross
  • Liquid-level gauging
    Patent number: 5301549
    Abstract: An ultrasonic liquid level sensor has a transducer mounted at the lower end of an aluminum tube that projects upwardly in a liquid tank so that the tube is filled with liquid to the same height as that outside the tube. Internally, the tube has a layer of an acoustically-absorbing plastics to damp the transmission of ultrasonic vibration from the wall of the tube into liquid within the tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 12, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: David Sinclair
  • Multicolor display apparatus employing superposed planar discharge lamps
    Patent number: 5296951
    Abstract: A multicolor display has an LCD display unit with a matrix array of energizable regions. Below the unit are three planar discharge lamps mounted one above the other which emit respectively blue, red and green light. Each lamp has an array of transparent pillars which support opposite plates of the lamps and which are aligned with one another and with the energizable regions of the display unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 22, 1994
    Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Neil A. Fox