Patents by Inventor Franz J. Giessibl

Franz J. Giessibl 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).

  • Device for noncontact intermittent contact scanning of a surface and a process therefore
    Patent number: 6240771
    Abstract: A device for noncontact scanning of a surface (17), with a sensor (10) having an elongated spring element (11) and a sensing tip (15). The spring element is oriented essentially parallel to the surface to be scanned. The tip is located on a side (19) of the spring element which faces the surface to be scanned. The spring element has a quality of at least roughly 1000 in air for a vibration perpendicular to its longitudinal axis and perpendicular to the surface to be scanned. A process for noncontact scanning of a surface by means of a device with a sensor having an elongated spring element and a tip attached thereto, the sensor being set into resonant vibration. The spring element, by its vibration, produces a signal which, in a positive feedback loop, acts directly on the spring element in order to set the sensor into vibration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2001
    Inventor: Franz J. Giessibl