Patents by Inventor Jacob Viljoen

Jacob Viljoen 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).

  • Determining the dielectric properties of wood
    Patent number: 6989678
    Abstract: A wood drying installation for a wood drying kiln including a pair of electrodes adapted to be inserted into a wood stack contained in the kiln, a resistance connected in a series circuit with the electrodes, an AC voltage source connected to apply an AC voltage across the series circuit, a phase detecting circuit connected to the series circuit operable to generate a signal representing the phase angle between AC voltages applied to different parts of the series circuit, and a processor to receive the signal. The system is operable to determine a moisture value corresponding to a capacitive component of the reactive impedance between the electrodes in accordance with a predetermined arithmetic algorithm relating the value to the phase angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2006
    Inventors: Liebrecht Venter, Jacob Viljoen
  • Determining the dielectric properties of wood
    Publication number: 20040124856
    Abstract: A wood drying installation for a wood drying kiln including a pair of electrodes adapted to be inserted into a wood stack contained in the kiln, a resistance connected in a series circuit with the electrodes, an AC voltage source connected to apply an AC voltage across the series circuit, a phase detecting circuit connected to the series circuit operable to generate a signal representing the phase angle between AC voltages applied to different parts of the series circuit, and a processor to receive the signal. The system is operable to determine a moisture value corresponding to a capacitive component of the reactive impedance between the electrodes in accordance with a predetermined arithmetic algorithm relating the value to the phase angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2003
    Publication date: July 1, 2004
    Inventors: Liebrecht Venter, Jacob Viljoen
  • Determining the dielectric properties of wood
    Patent number: 6703847
    Abstract: A wood drying installation for a wood drying kiln including a pair of electrodes adapted to be inserted into a wood stack contained in the kiln, a resistance connected in a series circuit with the electrodes, an AC voltage source connected to apply an AC voltage across the series circuit, a phase detecting circuit connected to the series circuit operable to generate a signal representing the phase angle between AC voltages applied to different parts of the series circuit, and a processor to receive the signal. The system is operable to determine a moisture value corresponding to a capacitive component of the reactive impedance between the electrodes in accordance with a predetermined arithmetic algorithm relating the value to the phase angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Inventors: Liebrecht Venter, Jacob Viljoen