Patents Examined by Leon K. Fuller
  • Patent number: 4818945
    Abstract: A non contact voltmeter includes a multilayered structure adapted to configure a plurality of coupled capacitors in a manner to permit high speed operation. A high frequency input signal is applied to a plate capacitivity coupled to both the test object and a sensor. The structure is also configured to capacitivity couple the sensor directly to the test object. The structure allows for circuit configurations with low time constants permitting outputs at the input frequency as well as a small and inexpensive solid state configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1986
    Date of Patent: April 4, 1989
    Assignee: Voyager Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Peter R. Bossard
  • Patent number: 4818856
    Abstract: Apparatus for reading optical information such as a bar code capable of reflecting ambient light and including a hand-held reader containing an image sensor. The hand-held reader is constructed so that ambient light illuminates the optical information, whereby an image of the optical information is imaged by ambient light reflected from the optical information on the image sensor so that the image is converted into an electric signal. The hand-held reader further includes a light detector for detecting intensity of the ambient light and the image sensor is controlled so that the exposure time thereof is changed in accordance with intensity of the ambient light detected by the light detector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 1986
    Date of Patent: April 4, 1989
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Matsushima, Atsutoshi Okamoto, Hiromitsu Takai, Tadao Ohshima, Mutsushi Yamashita, Hiroshi Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 4818831
    Abstract: Disclosed are improved ceramic compositions which are useful in the formulation of microwave susceptors and to the susceptor articles fabricated therefrom for disposable packages for the microwave heating of food items. The compositions include a novel microwave absorbing material and a binder. The novel microwave absorbing materials comprise selected ceramics in both their native and amphoteric forms. Such ceramics are those with residual lattice charges or an unbalance of charge in the fundamental framework or layers such as vermiculite, bentonite, hectorite, selected micas including Glauconite, Phlogopite and Biotite and mixtures thereof. These ceramics are activated to their amphoteric form by treatment with either acids or bases. The compositions provide good heat generation and a predeterminable upper temperature limit which is higher in the amphoteric form than in their native form. The ceramic materials are common and inexpensive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 1987
    Date of Patent: April 4, 1989
    Assignee: General Mills, Inc.
    Inventor: Jonathan Seaborne
  • Patent number: 4814594
    Abstract: A strip of optical contrast laser recording material is disposed on the wallet-size card, and has laser written characters recorded thereon. The characters are formed by a plurality of pixels, similar in nature to the dots forming dot matrix characters, except that the pixels themselves are formed of spots. The spots are disposed in a geometric regular array and are usually written one column at a time until a complete pixel is formed. Machine readable and visually readable characters may be combined on a single data strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 21, 1989
    Assignee: Drexler Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Jerome Drexler
  • Patent number: 4812740
    Abstract: A detector for sensing the electrical conductivity of planar surfaces, such as glass panels having an electrical conductive, low emissivity coating on one side thereon, includes a housing carrying a battery and an LED, and a pair of spaced apart contact elements electrically coupled to the battery and LED. Structure is provided for rigidly connecting the pair of contact elements to a outer wall of the housing and for supporting an outer portion of the contact elements a fixed distance away from the housing for enabling the outer portions of both of the contact elements to directly and simultaneously engage the planar glass coating as soon as the housing is shifted to a position adjacent the glass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1986
    Date of Patent: March 14, 1989
    Inventor: Christopher J. Shutts
  • Patent number: 4810865
    Abstract: An electronic card which can be reused a large number of times incorporates a semiconductor circuit provided with an area which is erasable by means of electromagnetic radiation within the ultraviolet range of wavelengths. The externally-emitted ultraviolet radiation applied to the semiconductor circuit via a card recess passes through a quartz window and impinges on the erasable area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1986
    Date of Patent: March 7, 1989
    Assignee: Eurotechnique
    Inventors: Jean P. Gloton, Philippe Peres
  • Patent number: 4810844
    Abstract: This invention relates to a package for popcorn to be cooked in a microwave oven. The package serves as a package for the unpopped corn, as a container for the corn while it is being popped, and also as a serving container for the popped corn. The package utilizes a bag comprising two opposing side panels and an inwardly pleated bottom panel between said opposing side panels, the outside edges of said side panels being joined to one another and to the outside edges of said inwardly pleated bottom panel, portions of said opposing side panels further being joined to portions of said bottom panel so that the inside surface area of said bottom panel is substantially less than the outside surface area of said bottom panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 7, 1989
    Inventor: Alan R. Anderson
  • Patent number: 4810845
    Abstract: Disclosed are ceramic compositions which are useful in the formulation and fabrication of microwave susceptors for disposable packages for the microwave heating of food items. The compositions include a novel microwave absorbing material and a binder. The novel microwave absorbing materials comprise ceramics with neutral lattice charges such as clays, kaolin, talc, silicates, alumina, aluminosilicates and mixtures thereof. The compositions provide good heat generation and a predeterminable upper temperature limit. The materials are common and inexpensive. Preferred compositions additionally include a temperature profile moderator which can be common salt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 7, 1989
    Assignee: General Mills, Inc.
    Inventor: Jonathan Seaborne
  • Patent number: 4810868
    Abstract: A data card having an optical recording medium formed by an erasable layer atop a polymer layer with prerecorded indicia, all atop a card base. The polymer layer has surface contours which constitute prerecorded indicia. The erasable layer disposed over the polymer layer displays the prerecorded indicia for reading, together with information on the erasable strip. The erasable material may be magnetooptical material, amorphous-crystalline material or liquid crystal material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 7, 1989
    Assignee: Drexler Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Jerome Drexler
  • Patent number: 4808780
    Abstract: Disclosed are improved ceramic compositions which are useful in the formulation of microwave susceptors and to the susceptors fabricated therefrom for disposable packages for the microwave heating of food items. The compositions include certain metal salts as time/temperature profile moderators in addition to a novel microwave absorbing material and a binder. Certain metal salts can be used to dampen or lower the final temperatures reached upon microwave heating the ceramic compositions. Other metal salts can be used to increase or accelerate the final temperature reached upon microwave heating. The microwave absorbing materials comprise selected ceramics in both their native and amphoteric forms. Such useful ceramics are those with residual lattice charges or an unbalance of charge in the fundamental framework or layers such as vermiculite, bentonite, hectorite, zeolites, selected micas including Glauconite, phlogopite and Biotite and mixtures thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1987
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1989
    Assignee: General Mills, Inc.
    Inventor: Jonathan Seaborne
  • Patent number: 4806845
    Abstract: In measuring and reproducing electric noise applied to an electronic component, the electric noise is envelope-detected and the envelope-detected noise is analog-digitally converted at high speed and stored. With this arrangement, electric noise, complicated and low in reproducibility, is accurately measured and stored. Further, a result obtained by performing a predetermined calculation on the stored value is digital-analog converted at high speed, reproducing the envelope-detected waveform as an analog signal, and a carrier signal having a center frequency of the electric noise is amplitude-modulated by the analog signal. As a consequence, imitation noise determined quantitatively can be accurately and repeatedly generated. Furthermore, when a repeated frequency of the electric noise is counted and stored, the basic frequency components of the electric noise can be measured without use of additional measuring instruments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 1986
    Date of Patent: February 21, 1989
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Jiro Nakano, Takashi Ogawa
  • Patent number: 4806718
    Abstract: Disclosed are ceramic oxide gels (sometimes also referred to as hydrated oxides), and especially xerogels, compositions which are useful in the formulation and fabrication of microwave susceptors for disposable packages for the microwave heating of food items. The compositions include novel microwave absorbing ceramic gel material doped with common salt and a binder. The gel forming materials include alumina, silica, mullite and mixtures thereof. The compositions essentially comprise about 17% to 35% bound water. Preferred materials are xerogels, i.e., ceramic gels dried so as to have a free moisture content of about 0.1% to 10%. The compositions provide good heat generation and a predeterminable upper temperature limit. The materials are common and inexpensive. The compositions can additionally include common salt as a temperature profile moderator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 21, 1989
    Assignee: General Mills, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan Seaborne, James R. Borek
  • Patent number: 4804827
    Abstract: An identity card, on which a printing area is to be electrostatically printed, consists of a two-layer paper laminate in which the adhesive layer joining the two layers is colored. The paper laminate is calendered and has a thickness of approximately 0.3 mm and a weight per unit area of approximately 300 g/m.sup.2. Both surfaces are provided with a pigment layer and a varnish made of a recticulated acrylate varnish, which each leave a printing area open.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 1986
    Date of Patent: February 14, 1989
    Assignee: Jung GmbH
    Inventor: Folker Jung
  • Patent number: 4803349
    Abstract: A card read/write device of the type comprising an inlet sensor disposed at a card insertion inlet, a shutter which opens in response to the detection signal from the inlet sensor, a transportation mechanism driving sensor disposed backwardly of the shutter, a card transportation mechanism disposed backwardly of the second-mentioned sensor for transporting the inserted card backwardly and a card information read/write means disposed within the card transportation mechanism, characterized in that when the trailing end of the card passes past the transportation mechanism sensor in the case of returning the card, the card transporting mechanism is deactivated and when the transportation mechanism driving sensor is turned on again under these conditions, the card transportation mechanism is activated again to transport the card backwardly so that the read/write operation of the card is accomplished.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1986
    Date of Patent: February 7, 1989
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Nippon Coinco
    Inventors: Osamu Sugimoto, Masayuki Watabe
  • Patent number: 4798945
    Abstract: A grabber mechanism for use in a badge rader having a pivoted lever bar with a solenoid attached to one end and a grabber foot assembly attached to the other. When the solenoid is energized, the lever bar is pivoted such that the grabber foot assembly is moved away from a fixed partition which defines a throat in the badge reader, allowing a card to be inserted into the throat. When the solenoid is de-energized, the grabber foot assembly is urged by a spring into contact with the card, trapping the card between a rubber foot of the grabber assembly and the fixed partition sot that the card may be read by the badge reader.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1987
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1989
    Assignee: NCR Corporation
    Inventors: Ronald L. Bruckner, James W. Driscoll
  • Patent number: 4798936
    Abstract: A heater adapted for placement under the mattress of a waterbed consists of a flexible laminated pad having an upper layer of resistive elements embedded in electrical insulating material, and several subjacent layers of heat-reflective and thermal insulating materials. All of the layers are encased in a protective waterproof sheath. The pad may be connected in parallel with one or more similar pads and a heat sensor may be associated with each pad. In one embodiment, a control circuit is provided for supplying power to all of the pads simultaneously when all of the heat sensors detect that the temperature of the mattress has dropped below a predetermined value. In another embodiment, power may be supplied to each pad independently of the other pads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 1986
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1989
    Inventor: Arthur K. Johnson, Sr.
  • Patent number: 4797523
    Abstract: A cellulose hydrate film, having ventilation holes, for use in covering otherwise open topped containers of various sizes and shapes, in which the contents are to be heated in a microwave oven.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1986
    Date of Patent: January 10, 1989
    Inventor: Friederun Kohnen
  • Patent number: 4795963
    Abstract: In the A/D converter test method, the square wave pulse as the test signal is supplied to the A/D converter under test; said pulse is converted into the digital signal by said A/D converter; the waveform of said square wave pulse is reconstructed by converting the digital signal outputted from said A/D converter into the analog signal; the rise time of said A/D converter under test is measured from the reconstructed waveform of said square wave pulse; and the dynamic characteristics of said A/D converter is calculated from the measured rise time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1986
    Date of Patent: January 3, 1989
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiaki Ueno, Fumio Ikeuchi, Fumihito Inoue
  • Patent number: 4794237
    Abstract: A holographic scanning system for scanning a bar coded label is disclosed in which the light beams of a laser are directed at a set of holograms located on a rotating disk in which each hologram will generate an individual scan beam having a slightly different focal length and direction angle from that of the other holograms. Each of the scanning beams is directed at a plurality of mirrors which reflect the beams in the form of a scanning pattern on a scanning area through which a coded label on an article will pass. Each of the scanning beams is projected in an overlapping relationship on the scanning area, thereby providing an enhanced depth of focus enabling a more effective reading operation. The light reflected from the bar coded label is collected by the holograms for collimating the reflected light beams. The collimated light beams are directed at a lens member which focuses the received light beams on a photodetector for use in reading the bar coded label.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1986
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1988
    Assignee: NCR Corporation
    Inventor: Ronald A. Ferrante
  • Patent number: 4794323
    Abstract: There is provided a multifunctional ceramic sensor and technology which is capable of detecting temperature, humidity and gas with a single sensing element made of p-type metal-oxide porous ceramic semiconductor Ba(Ti.sub.1-x Sn.sub.x)O.sub.3 (x=0.05-0.5). The sensing element is prepared by special ceramic technique which is formed on porosity and sintered on green pack that form a kind of network of capillary pipe with tree-like structure in three dimensions. The present invention posses advantages are as follows: high sensitivity, fast response time, small hysteresis, good separability, high reproducibility and long durability. The multifunctional ceramic sensor not only use for air conditioners, driers, cookers and microwave ovens but also use to detect or control the temperature-humidity-gases for food stuff, tobacco, leather, textile, print, dye and petrochemical industry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 1986
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1988
    Assignee: Tsinghua University
    Inventors: Zhi-Gang Zhou, Zhong-Tai Zhang, Gang Zhao