Patents Examined by William Oen
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Patent number: 7165461Abstract: A pressure gauge comprising a stem having an inlet at which pressure is sensed. A Bourdon tube is coupled to the stem and is displaceable in response to pressure changes at the inlet. A movement comprising a movement plate conducts displacement of the Bourdon tube to a pointer shaft. A circuit board comprising an inductor is fixed relative to the stem. The movement plate comprises an integral flag connecting the movement to the Bourdon tube and an integral inductive target operatively positioned relative to the inductor.Type: GrantFiled: March 27, 2003Date of Patent: January 23, 2007Assignee: Ashcroft, Inc.Inventor: Walter James Ferguson
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Patent number: 7093496Abstract: A none intrusive pressure sensing device that clamps on to a pressure line and detects the internal pressure of the pressure line by detecting the resultant changes in the diameter of the pressure line. The clamp is held together by a fastener having a sensing element, such as a strain gage, that is able to detect the change in length of the fastener as the pressure line and the clamp expand and contract with the internal pressure of the pressure line.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2004Date of Patent: August 22, 2006Assignee: Deere & CompanyInventor: Jahmy Jomont Hindman
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Patent number: 7066031Abstract: Implantable pressure sensors and methods for making and using the same. A feature of at least some of the subject pressure sensors is that they are low-drift sensors. Additional features of representative pressure sensors include the presence of at least one strain transducer that is fabricated from a stable gauge material. The subject pressure sensors find use in a variety of applications.Type: GrantFiled: December 28, 2004Date of Patent: June 27, 2006Assignee: Proteus Biomedical, Inc.Inventors: Mark Zdeblick, Benedict James Costello
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Patent number: 7059178Abstract: The invention relates to a device for measuring a tire pressure of a tire arranged on a rim (10), having a tire valve (14) arranged in a bore (12) in the rim (10), and a tire pressure sensor unit (16) arranged inside the tire and fastened on the tire valve (14), it being possible to fasten the tire pressure sensor unit (16) in various angular positions with reference to the tire valve (14). It is provided according to the invention that an electric connection (18) exists between the tire pressure sensor unit (16) and the tire valve (14), and that the tire valve (14) is provided as an antenna for communicating with a receiver and/or transmitter arranged outside the tire.Type: GrantFiled: October 4, 2002Date of Patent: June 13, 2006Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventors: Martin Fischer, Dominique Luce, Franz Hillenmayer
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Patent number: 7051595Abstract: A monolithic multi-functional integrated sensor and method for making the monolithic multi-functional integrated sensor. The monolithic multi-functional integrated sensor includes: a pressure sensor including a plurality of piezoresistors having resistance values which vary with a change in external pressure, the piezoresistors being disposed in a direction so as to be subject to a piezoresistive effect produced by the external pressure at or beyond a predetermined first level; and a temperature sensor including a resistor having a resistance value which varies with a change in temperature, the resistor being disposed in a direction so as to be subject to a piezoresistive effect produced by the external pressure below a predetermined second level.Type: GrantFiled: June 13, 2005Date of Patent: May 30, 2006Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.Inventors: Sang-wook Kwon, Jong-hwa Won
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Patent number: 7047812Abstract: An object of the present invention is to almost completely prevent relative rotation between a pressure gauge and valve main bodies. A gear D is fixed to a pressure gauge guide connected to the pressure gauge. A gear A having the same axis as the gear D is fixed to the valve bodies. A support shaft is rotatably inserted into an insertion hole at a non-center position of a bottom portion of a pressure adjustment guide. Gears C, B fixed to both ends of the support shaft are engaged with the gears D, A. The pressure gauge does not rotate relative to the valve main bodies when a handle is rotated.Type: GrantFiled: June 1, 2004Date of Patent: May 23, 2006Assignee: SMC CorporationInventor: Ishinori Itou
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Patent number: 7047814Abstract: A force or pressure transducer is disclosed. In one embodiment, the transducer has a substrate, a dielectric material disposed on the substrate, a spacing member disposed on the dielectric material, and a resilient element disposed on the dielectric material and the spacing member. A portion of the resilient element is separated from the dielectric material, and a portion of the resilient element is in contact with the dielectric material. The contact area between the resilient element and the dielectric material varies in response to movement of the resilient element. Changes in the contact area alter the capacitance of the transducer, which can be measured by circuit means.Type: GrantFiled: July 17, 2002Date of Patent: May 23, 2006Assignee: Redwood Microsystems, Inc.Inventors: Art Zias, Phil Mauger, Sean Cahill, Norm Nystrom, Albert K. Henning
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Patent number: 7043973Abstract: A method of estimating the temperature of the air in the internal cavity of a tire in which: prior to normal operation, a series of running tests are carried out on the tire provided with a means of measuring the internal air temperature at given speeds V and external temperatures Tamb, the tire supporting a given load and the cavity being at a given internal relative pressure, and an adjustment is made to a function giving the temperature of the internal air Tai according to the parameters of speed and external temperature; and in normal operation, the tire equipping a vehicle under the above conditions of load and relative pressure, the internal air temperature is estimated according to the speed of the vehicle and the temperature external to the vehicle. The method ia applied to the detection of abnormal operating in particular of a running-flat system.Type: GrantFiled: April 16, 2004Date of Patent: May 16, 2006Assignee: Michelin Recherche et Technique S.A.Inventors: Russell Shepherd, Richard Abinal, Eric Berger
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Patent number: 7040173Abstract: A pressure sensor having a substrate, a counter-structure applied to the substrate, a dielectric on the counter-structure, a membrane on the dielectric, wherein the membrane or the counter-structure deflectable by a pressure applied, a protective structure, wherein the protective structure is isolated from the counter-structure or the membrane, wherein the protective structure is arranged with regard to the membrane or the counter-structure such that a capacity forms between the protective structure and the membrane or the protective structure and the counter-structure, and a provider for providing a potential at the protective structure differing from a potential at the counter-structure or the membrane.Type: GrantFiled: March 8, 2005Date of Patent: May 9, 2006Assignee: Infineon Technologies AGInventor: Alfons Dehe
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Patent number: 7040172Abstract: A micromechanical pressure sensor and a method for producing a micromechanical pressure sensor. This pressure sensor has at least one membrane and a measuring element situated on the membrane. A pressure applied at the membrane or a pressure differential applied at the different sides of the membrane results in deformation of the membrane. Simultaneous with the deformation of the membrane, the measuring element is subjected to elastic elongation and/or compression. In a piezo-sensitive component, such elastic elongation and/or compression generates a measured variable in the measuring element, which represents the applied pressure or the applied pressure differential at the membrane. It is provided in this context that the measuring element have at least partially a NiCr(Si) layer. Due to an at least partial crystallization in the production of the micromechanical pressure sensor, this NiCr(Si) layer has more advantageous piezoelectrical characteristics than an amorphous NiCr(Si) layer.Type: GrantFiled: February 16, 2005Date of Patent: May 9, 2006Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbHInventors: Thomas Moelkner, Ralf Henn, Werner Steiner, Hans-Peter Didra, Philip Cutuli, Frank Klopf
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Patent number: 7036385Abstract: A pressure sensor and related manufacturing method are disclosed wherein a connector case 10 is coupled to a housing 30 in a unitary structure. The connector case 10 includes a primary resin section 101 that enfolds and seals a terminal 12 while fixedly supporting a capacitor 16 on the terminal 12. The primary resin section 101 is encompassed by a secondary resin section 102 so as to enfold and seal the primary resin section 101 such that both ends of the terminal 12 are exposed to an outside. In one aspect, the primary resin section 101 enfolds and seals the capacitor and the terminal. In another aspect, the primary resin section 101 enfolds and seals the terminal and is formed with fixing portions 101a, 10ab, 101c by which the capacitor is fixedly supported on the terminal.Type: GrantFiled: March 11, 2005Date of Patent: May 2, 2006Assignee: Denso CorporationInventor: Tarou Murai
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Patent number: 7036384Abstract: A pressure sensor includes a semiconductor substrate having a diaphragm in which an electrical circuit including a gauge resistance is formed, an insulation film provided on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, an Al film provided on the insulation film and electrically connected to the electrical circuit through a conductor hole of the insulation film, an Au film provided on the Al film through a Ti film, a first protective film which covers the Al film and has an opening portion from which a portion of the Au film is exposed. In the pressure sensor, a second protective film made of polyimideamide or polyimide covers at least the surface of the Au film exposed from the first protective film, and a vicinity of the opening portion of the first protective film. Therefore, corrosion resistance of the Al film can be prevented while the pressure sensor has a reduced component number.Type: GrantFiled: July 14, 2005Date of Patent: May 2, 2006Assignee: Denso CorporationInventors: Hiroaki Tanaka, Manabu Tomisaka
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Patent number: 7036380Abstract: A sensor, in particular a pressure sensor, having a housing 1; a housing interior 12 that contains a sensor element 9; electrical connecting elements 7 that are routed from the outside, through a housing part 2, and into the housing interior 19 and have connecting segments 17, which protrude into the housing interior on an inside 14 of the housing part 2 at respective entry points 15 and are electrically connected to the sensor element; and having a protective covering 21 that covers the connecting segments and the sensor element. To prevent air bubbles from getting into the protective covering, a sealing material 20 is applied onto the connecting segments 17, at least in the region of the entry point 15 of the respective connecting segments 17 into the housing interior 19 and the part 13 of the inside 14 of the housing part 2 encompassing the entry point 15, and the covering 21 is applied onto the sealing material 20 and the connecting segments 17.Type: GrantFiled: June 18, 2004Date of Patent: May 2, 2006Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbHInventors: Thomas Fessele, Masoud Habibi, Christian Roesser, Markus Ledermann, Jan Gebauer
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Patent number: 7032438Abstract: A pressure gauge glow plug for a diesel engine having a plug body, a heating element, and a pressure sensor, which is positioned under pretension between the heating element and the plug body in such a way that the pressure sensor experiences the pressure existing in the combustion chamber of the cylinder in which it is inserted. The heating element is positioned so that it may be slid in an axial direction in the plug body and transmits the pressure in the combustion chamber of the cylinder to the pressure sensor. The pressure sensor is positioned on a heating element support that is permanently bonded to the heating element in a cap that permanently bonded to the plug body. The heating element support and pressure sensor form a unit that has axial play in the interior of the cap.Type: GrantFiled: May 13, 2005Date of Patent: April 25, 2006Assignee: Beru AGInventors: Stefan Heinzelmann, Frank Pechhold, Arno Marto
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Patent number: 7032443Abstract: A tire pressure monitoring system (10) including a magnetic actuator (11) having an air pressure transducer therein for generating a signal proportional to the interior tire air pressure. The actuator (11) operates parallel to the axle to alleviate speed sensitivity. Magnetic actuator (11) communicates with a stationary field sensor (12) permanently mounted on the vehicle at a close proximity to the magnetic actuator (11). The magnetic actuator (11) rotates about the access with the wheel (15), and for every revolution of the wheel (15), comes in to close proximity to the sensor (12) at least once, and communicates information about the internal tire pressure to the driver.Type: GrantFiled: February 17, 2004Date of Patent: April 25, 2006Assignee: Advanced Digital Components, Inc.Inventor: George G. Moser
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Patent number: 7032455Abstract: A capacitive sensor device for measuring properties of a medium to be measured when this medium surrounds and flows past the sensor. The sensor has a housing of metal, an opening in the housing transverse to the flow of said medium to be measured which is adapted to house at least one capacitive electrode, and where the electrode(s) of the sensor is/are electrically insulated from said medium to be measured by means of a glass ceramic material that is arranged to be flush with the outer surface of the sensor.Type: GrantFiled: July 9, 2002Date of Patent: April 25, 2006Inventor: Harald Benestad
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Patent number: 7028549Abstract: A high-pressure sensor includes a deformation member and connection piece that is joined to the deformation member by a welded seal. The deformation member has a truncated-cone-shaped circumferential segment, via which a welding current can be supplied, in order to weld the two pieces to each other in response to a simultaneous pressing together of deformation member and pressure connection piece. A welding electrode that is configured in a cup shape having a spring-loaded nonconductive insert that can be axially displaced in the interior of the cup.Type: GrantFiled: July 13, 2001Date of Patent: April 18, 2006Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbHInventor: Volker Wingsch
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Patent number: 7028542Abstract: A reduced drag cable for use in vertical wind tunnels and other applications with a change in the spacing and/or size of the strands of a standard twisted wire cable is disclosed. The perimeter strands of one embodiment all have a standard diameter, with the exception of one or more wires with different diameter from the other perimeter strands. The different sized strand forms a helical feature around the cable, creating a non-circular profile to reduce drag in air.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 2005Date of Patent: April 18, 2006Inventor: N. Alan Metni
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Patent number: 7028540Abstract: Two axle-side linking portions and two wheel-side linking portions are included in a rotation body. They are alternately arranged in four positions that are disposed, with equal intervals, along a circumference of a coaxial circle within the rotation body. Four regions located between the axle-side linking portions and the wheel-side linking portions are formed by an elastically deformable member. Further, four ceramic load sensors are arranged respectively in middle positions of the four regions along the coaxial circle. Force acting on a tire is thereby detected only from detection values by a load sensor group of the four load sensors.Type: GrantFiled: February 25, 2005Date of Patent: April 18, 2006Assignee: DENSO CorporationInventor: Kenji Morikawa
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Patent number: RE39863Abstract: The invention relates to a device for measuring pressure, temperature and/or flow velocity. It includes a sensor (6) with a sensor support body (13) provided with a diaphragm (15) covering a cavity (14) formed in the support body (13). A pressure sensitive element (41) is mounted on the diaphragm, for recording pressure. Furthermore, a temperature sensitive resistor (42) is mounted in the vicinity of the pressure sensitive resistor and has a known temperature dependence, for recording temperature. It also includes an electrical circuit (43, 44, 45, 46) selectively outputting signals from either of the pressure sensitive element and the temperature sensitive resistor.Type: GrantFiled: January 30, 1997Date of Patent: October 2, 2007Assignee: Radi Medical Systems ABInventor: Leif Smith