Patents by Inventor Thomas C. Kaspar

Thomas C. Kaspar 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: 5913368
    Abstract: A tool bar for placement of a band of fertilizer in soil has a vertical knife with a horizontal blade thereon to create an inverted T-shaped slot in the soil. A band of fertilizer is placed in the bottom of the slot through a tube on the knife. A first coulter fills the slot with soil and compacts the soil above the band. A second coulter forms a mound of soil over the compacted soil and creates an elongated furrow in the soil above and laterally removed from the band. The method of placement of a band of fertilizer in soil sequentially moves the soil and creates the band as accomplished by the foregoing structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 22, 1999
    Assignee: Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Horton, Daniel E. Ressler, Thomas C. Kaspar, James L. Baker
  • Patent number: 5797459
    Abstract: A tool bar for placement of a band of fertilizer in soil has a vertical knife with a horizontal blade thereon to create an inverted T-shaped slot in the soil. A band of fertilizer is placed in the bottom of the slot through a tube on the knife. A first coulter fills the slot with soil and compacts the soil above the band. A second coulter forms a mound of soil over the compacted soil and creates an elongated furrow in the soil above and laterally removed from the band. The method of placement of a band of fertilizer in soil sequentially moves the soil and creates the band as accomplished by the foregoing structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 25, 1998
    Assignee: Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Horton, Daniel E. Ressler, Thomas C. Kaspar, James L. Baker
  • Patent number: 4884436
    Abstract: An automated tension infiltrometer including a soil contacting base to which is mounted a porous plate for interfacing the infiltrometer with the soil to be analyzed. A Marriotte column is positioned in the base so that its open bottom end abuts the porous plate. A bubble tower is also positioned in the base and has a bubbling tube operatively connected between its interior and interior of the Marriotte column. The bubble tower is adjustable to provide variable tension to the Marriotte column. First and second transducers are positioned at the upper and lower parts of the Marriotte column and continuously measure pressure changes at those positions while water from the column infiltrates into the soil. By correlating these measurements, improved precision in measuring water level is achieved, which in turn allows improved results regarding deriving soil characteristic information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 5, 1989
    Assignee: Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark D. Ankeny, Thomas C. Kaspar, Robert Horton, Jr.