Patents by Inventor Edward J. Farmer

Edward J. Farmer 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: 5458142
    Abstract: A diagnostic and therapeutic instrument for use in the treatment of living organisms is provided including a sensor for detecting magnetic fields emanating from the living organism. The sensor is located proximate to the organism and is formed from a ferromagnetic core surrounded by a multi-turn fine wire coil. The sensor is coupled to signal processing which amplifies a signal from the sensor and filters out portions of the signal which represent background magnetic fields emanating from other sources. The signal from the sensor is utilizable to detect abnormalities in the field emanating from the organism indicative of the organism's well-being. The signal can also be utilized to excite a magnetic field radiator which outputs a field complementary to the field emanating from the organism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 17, 1995
    Inventors: Edward J. Farmer, Diane J. Hovey
  • Patent number: 5315529
    Abstract: A method, system and apparatus for monitoring an environment for the occurrence of an unexpected event, such as monitoring a containment vessel's surroundings for the presence of the contained substance outside of the vessel due to a leak. The method detects the probability that a leak has occurred as opposed to mere natural fluctuations in substance concentration in the surrounding environment. A sensor near the vessel measures substance concentration. The concentrations sensed are transformed into a signal representing substance concentration outside the vessel as a function of time. A statistical analyzer then monitors the signal for specific patterns which indicate that a leak has occurred. Various algorithms are utilizable to determine the probability that a leak has occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 24, 1994
    Inventor: Edward J. Farmer
  • Patent number: 5272646
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining the location of a leak in a fluid containing pipeline. Plural monitoring stations sample fluid flow criteria which change in the presence of a leak. The change in the criteria as a function of a variable such as time will allow extrapolation to discern the location. At each location either pressure or flow rate or both are measured. The measurements occur at regular intervals and a record of fluid flow criteria is created for each monitoring station. The record of each monitoring station is continually transmitted to a central location where a data processor analyzes the records and establishes the leak's location. One of three algorithms, or any combination thereof, is used by the data processor to calculate the leak's location. Each algorithm is tuned to the specific pipeline to compensate for unique characteristics thereof. An output device communicates the location of the leak to an operator or automatically takes appropriate action in response to the leak.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 21, 1993
    Inventor: Edward J. Farmer
  • Patent number: 4498809
    Abstract: A flow compensated controller for use in automatically controlling the water level in an open channel is disclosed. An electrical signal received from a transducer at a measuring location and corresponding to the actual water level in the channel at that location is amplified and compared with an amplified signal corresponding to the desired water level. An error signal corresponding to the difference between the two signals is fed into a proportional amplifier and also into an automatic reset unit. The outputs of the proportional amplifier and the automatic reset unit are fed into a summing amplifier. The output of the summing amplifier is fed into a motor modulation driver whose output is connected to a pair of gate operator relays, one relay connected for sending a control signal to the gate operator to move the gate in one direction and the other relay connected for sending a control signal to the gate operator to move the gate in the other direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1983
    Date of Patent: February 12, 1985
    Inventor: Edward J. Farmer