Patents by Inventor Douglas Kile Thomson

Douglas Kile Thomson has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4096383
    Abstract: Apparatus for converting the revolutions of a shaft into pulses including a disc having devices such as slots or reflectors radially spaced around its periphery and light-transmitting and light-receiving fiber optic cables aligned for sensing the devices as the disc rotates. A light source, such as a light-emitting diode, is positioned at the outer end of a light-transmitting cable for providing light, and at least one phototransistor at the outer end of a light-receiving cable converts the light signals into electric pulses. Preferably, the light-transmitting and light-receiving cables are paired, giving successive signals as a slot or reflector is sensed for activating a counting circuit. A single light-transmitting cable is preferably split near the disc to provide two light sources from a single light-emitting diode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 1976
    Date of Patent: June 20, 1978
    Assignee: Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Ronald Alfred Mancini, Douglas Kile Thomson