| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 5684253 |
Differential pressure sensor with stress reducing pressure balancing means |
November 4, 1997 |
| The present invention relates generally to a pressure sensor and, more specifically, to a pressure equalization structure that balances the forces on the pressure sensitive component in order to reduce the stress that could otherwise be imposed on its piezoresistors. The pressure sensor |
| 5683594 |
Method for making diaphragm-based sensors and apparatus constructed therewith |
November 4, 1997 |
| This patent relates to the fabrication of diaphragm-based microstructures used primarily for sensing physical phenomena by detecting a change in deflection, resonance, or curvature of the diaphragm. The methods of fabrication described and claimed herein relate primarily to diaphragm |
| 5679137 |
Optical dirty cell sensor for an electronic air cleaner |
October 21, 1997 |
| An electrostatic air cleaner has at least one hole in one of the plates over which air with charged dirt particles is passed. A light source is mounted adjacent to the hole so as to direct its light through the hole. A light sensor detects the level of light passing through the hole. As |
| 5677554 |
FET having a dielectrically isolated gate connect |
October 14, 1997 |
| A HIGFET having a gate with a pad which is isolated from the FET heterostructure wafer by a dielectric layer to minimize leakage current between the gate and the wafer. The method of production of this device involves application of the gate metal only over the active area of the FET |
| 5675979 |
Enthalpy based thermal comfort controller |
October 14, 1997 |
| A controller for a climate control system has a relative humidity sensor as well as a dry-bulb temperature sensor within the enclosure. The humidity value is used in conjunction with the dry-bulb temperature to generate an enthalpy error signal which is a function of both the dry-bulb te |
| 5675149 |
Compact thermal camera |
October 7, 1997 |
| A low-cost portable handheld still-frame thermal camera for capture of calibrated digital thermographic infrared images having a lens assembly, a slideable linear array of uncooled 8-12 um thermal IR sensors, a slider actuation mechanism, and associated digital processing capability for |
| 5673182 |
Support frame assembly for a printed circuit card having a tie bar bridging across the frame |
September 30, 1997 |
| The assembly comprises a U-shaped frame to which the card may be secured. The frame is defined by spaced parallel side elements and a connecting end element. Intermediate the ends of the frame a tie bar bridges flatly across the top of the frame and is adapted to hold down the card and t |
| 5672857 |
Switch actuating mechanism for two sequentially activated switches |
September 30, 1997 |
| A switch actuation mechanism is provided with a support structure that is shaped to hold two switches. Each switch is associated with a pivotable member that is rotatably attached to the support structure. The pivotable member can be moved into either a rest position or an actuating posi |
| 5672856 |
Tilt switch with increased angular range of conduction and enhanced differential characteristics |
September 30, 1997 |
| A tilt switch is made by attaching two electrically conductive members to a nonconducting tube and disposing a conductive sphere within the switch. The first and second electrically conductive members are provided with inner cylindrical surfaces of different diameters in order to create |
| 5671161 |
Switch with diagnostic capability |
September 23, 1997 |
| A switch is provided with the ability to diagnose its own operation and provide signals that represent the actuation of the switch and various diagnostic outputs that indicate fault conditions or potential fault conditions with regard to either the switch or related machinery. A magn |
| 5670875 |
Angular position sensor with adjustable gain and offset signal capability |
September 23, 1997 |
| An angular position sensor is provided with a rotatable magnet and first and second ferromagnetic pole pieces. The first ends of the ferromagnetic pole pieces are disposed on opposite sides of the rotatable permanent magnet and the second ends of the ferromagnetic pole pieces are arrange |
| 5667879 |
TaN/NiFe/TaN anisotropic magnetic sensor element |
September 16, 1997 |
| A stack of two refractory nitride layers and a magnetoresistive layer are used to facilitate electrical connection between components of a sensor. The stack of tantalum nitride and nickel iron layers are disposed over a silicide layer that is, in turn, disposed on a diffusion of conducti |
| 5666483 |
Redundant processing system architecture |
September 9, 1997 |
| Disclosed is a fault-tolerant and/or fail-safe information processing system architecture for handling information from a plurality of independent subsystems which provide information related to selected input quantities, and which includes a plurality of redundant information proces |
| 5665947 |
Cable actuated switching mechanism with mechanical snap action capibility and broken cable monit |
September 9, 1997 |
| A cable switch actuating mechanism is provided with a shaft and a cam structure that slides on the shaft. When the associated cable is pulled to exert an axial force on the shaft, the cam actuator is pushed by the shaft into a deactuating position that moves a switch operator plunger aga |
| 5663732 |
Integrity monitoring method and apparatus for GPS and DGPS receivers |
September 2, 1997 |
| A fail safe GPS system for an aircraft moving along a desired trajectory within vertical and horizontal limits using first and second redundant GPS receivers a first of which is connected to the avionics equipment of the aircraft and to an alarm and the second of which is connected only |
| 5661578 |
Color liquid crystal display backlight system for night vision imaging system compatibility |
August 26, 1997 |
| The disclosure is directed to a color liquid crystal display backlight system for daytime and nighttime use. Night vision imaging system retirements are met so that light emissions from the 630 nm to 930 nm range are substantially reduced or eliminated. Separate daytime and nighttime |
| 5661275 |
Self adjusting switch mechanism |
August 26, 1997 |
| A self adjusting switch mechanism is provided which permits the specific location of a switch to be determined during an initial operation that moves a mounting plate relative to a bracket portion of the mechanism. This initial movement sets the switch in its proper position and prevents |
| 5659192 |
SOI substrate fabrication |
August 19, 1997 |
| A back-etch silicon-on-insulator SOI process that has a silicon handle wafer with an oxide layer bonded at room temperature to a silicon device wafer with an etch stop and silicon device layer. The surfaces that are bonded at room temperature are first conditioned to be hydrophilic. Afte |
| 5657411 |
Negative trimming of fiber optic winding |
August 12, 1997 |
| In a fiber optic coil arrangement for use in rotation sensors, for example, axial or radial errors can be reduced or substantially eliminated by negatively trimming the fiber optic coil. As a result of the negative trimming, a sufficient amount of the predictable turns of the optical |
| 5657105 |
Multi-domain liquid crystal displays |
August 12, 1997 |
| A method for fabricating a multi-domain liquid crystal display wherein adjacent areas of the display are oriented in different direction by coating the substrate with a polymer and exposing a first set of areas to ultraviolet/light from a source polarized in a first direction and then |
| 5654672 |
Precision bias circuit for a class AB amplifier |
August 5, 1997 |
| A novel bias circuit provides precise base emitter voltage(V.sub.BE) which tracks the temperature coefficient of an RF transistor using low cost devices. The bias circuit includes a precision current source which injects current through a P-N junction device to derive a temperature c |
| 5651498 |
Heating system with humidity control for avoiding water condensation on interior window surfaces |
July 29, 1997 |
| A space heating system with a controllable air humidification capability calculates a theoretical value for the temperature of the interior surface of the space's windows. The system controls humidity in the space to a level just below that at which water will condense on the window surf |
| 5648719 |
Magnetic sensor with characteristics that are changeable by an external magnetic device |
July 15, 1997 |
| A sensor is provided for changing an operational characteristic of a circuit within a housing structure of the sensor to a preselected stimulus. The circuit within the housing structure is provided with magnetically sensitive components to change an operational parameter thereof. An |
| 5647561 |
Containment assembly for spin table |
July 15, 1997 |
| A system for releasably restraining a first element and a second element is disclosed. The containment system uses a tensioner to urge a clamp into contact with the first element and with the second element, and a release selectively operates the tensioner to remove the clamp from contac |
| 5646854 |
Lateral guidance transition control apparatus for aircraft area navigation systems |
July 8, 1997 |
| An apparatus for providing lateral guidance through a plurality of waypoints utilizing curved path transitions. When the curved path transitions overlap due to a short leg there is a discontinuity in the desired path of the aircraft, causing the aircraft to experience excessive and o |
| 5646780 |
Overcoat method and apparatus for ZRO.sub.2 mirror stacks |
July 8, 1997 |
| A mirror for a ring laser gyro includes alternating optical quarterwave regions of SiO.sub.2 and ZrO.sub.2, and of admixtures of these. The alternating regions have thicknesses suitable for reflecting a laser beam in a ring laser gyro. A final coating of ZrO.sub.2 and SiO.sub.2, and of |
| 5646702 |
Field emitter liquid crystal display |
July 8, 1997 |
| A liquid crystal display having pixels illuminated by field emitter arrays. The field emitter arrays may be utilized to illuminate each pixel individually or to be a backlight lamp to illuminate the whole display, whether monochrome or color. A field emitter array back-lighted liquid |
| 5644285 |
Pressure transducer with media isolation |
July 1, 1997 |
| A pressure sensor die is provided with a flexible membrane and a plunger which combine to amplify a low pressure signal while also providing media isolation between a fluid being measured and the internal components of a pressure sensor. One embodiment of the pressure sensor disposes an |
| 5644230 |
Miniature magnetometer and flexible circuit |
July 1, 1997 |
| Miniature magnetometer apparatus for use with external equipment in determining a position and orientation of a device located within a magnetic field includes an elongated flexible circuit for connection to external equipment, a substrate at the device with a portion of the flexible |
| 5644225 |
Method for calibrating an angular position sensor |
July 1, 1997 |
| A method is provided to calibrate an angular position sensor by using an electrical coil to provide a magnetic field that simulates the presence of a permanent magnet. By successively selecting currents to flow through the electrical coil and by moving the electrical coil through at leas |
| 5638137 |
Configurable video output channel architecture |
June 10, 1997 |
| A configurable video output channel architecture includes a plurality of parallel video pipelines arranged to drive a video display; a device for selecting an output of one of the video pipelines and generating a readback signal representative thereof; and a device for adjusting a di |
| 5635896 |
Locally powered control system having a remote sensing unit with a two wire connection |
June 3, 1997 |
| A communication system comprises a remote switching module having two signal terminals connected by just two conductors to the signal terminals of a local decoding module. Power is directly provided only to the local decoding module, which applies DC voltage of a first level across the |
| 5634252 |
Apparatus for attaching protective tubing to a component |
June 3, 1997 |
| A tubing attachment apparatus is provided which automatically severs a preselected tubing segment from a continuously fed length of tubing, moves the tubing segment toward an operative position, slits the tubing to form an axial slit along its length, spreads the opposing edges of the ax |
| 5633183 |
FET having minimized parasitic gate capacitance |
May 27, 1997 |
| A HIGFET having a gate pad situated over a non conducting portion of the channel layer of the heterostructure wafer. The method of producing this device involves application of a very thin layer of gate metal on the wafer to protect the wafer surface during further processing. A phot |
| 5631863 |
Random access memory cell resistant to radiation induced upsets |
May 20, 1997 |
| A radiation resistant random access memory cell which has a coupling circuit between a storage node of a first CMOS pair and a gate node of a second CMOS pair. The coupling circuit is controlled by a word line and provides a first resistive element between the storage node and the body |
| 5631656 |
Fail safe system with common mode avoidance |
May 20, 1997 |
| A fail operational system including two sets of first and second sensors responsive to different stimuli to produce signals indicative of a condition, and a comparator for comparing the outputs of the first and second sensors to produce a "valid" signal when the outputs are substanti |
| 5631640 |
Threat avoidance system and method for aircraft |
May 20, 1997 |
| A computer-based process for rapidly responding to previously unknown threats to airborne aircraft. The process makes quick, automatic decisions when required for close-range threats, yet provides the aircraft operator an opportunity to choose the appropriate response when time permits. |
| 5631557 |
Magnetic sensor with encapsulated magnetically sensitive component and magnet |
May 20, 1997 |
| A magnetic sensor is provided in which a flexible substrate is used to support a magnetically sensitive component and other electronic components relative to the position of a permanent magnet. A thermoset material is used as an encapsulant to form a solid magnetic sensor in which the |
| 5630902 |
Apparatus for use in high fidelty replication of diffractive optical elements |
May 20, 1997 |
| An apparatus for replicating diffractive optical elements by embossing a master optical element into a photopolymer material disposed on a substrate, including a fixture for retaining, aligning, and conveying radiation to the embossing sample so that the photopolymer cures under pres |
| 5629692 |
Method and apparatus for alerting pilot to transponder antenna failure in a traffic alert and co |
May 13, 1997 |
| A system for use with aircraft having a collision avoidance system which employs i) two transponder systems each including two antennas and a selected one of two transponders and ii) a failure warning when a transponder system failure occurs, to permit the aircraft to take off when t |
| 5628639 |
Electrical connector with different lead arrangements at its opposite ends |
May 13, 1997 |
| A connector is made by cutting a continuous strip of conductive material to provide individual fingers that extend in a direction perpendicular to the length of the strip. The fingers are individually bent to offset their distal ends from their connective ends. The process defines bend l |
| 5627465 |
Rotational position sensor with mechanical adjustment of offset and gain signals |
May 6, 1997 |
| An angular position sensor is provided with a rotatable magnetic structure that comprises a primary magnet and a secondary magnet. The primary and secondary magnets are adjusted in position relative to each other in order to achieve an adjustability of the gain and offset characteristic |
| 5627315 |
Accelerometer with a cantilever beam formed as part of the housing structure |
May 6, 1997 |
| An accelerometer is provided in which a magnet structure is encapsulated within a distal end of a cantilever beam that is formed as an integral part of a housing structure. The cantilever beam, the distal end and the housing structure are formed of a nonmagnetic material, such as plastic |
| 5625819 |
Methods and apparatus for performing heap management and protecting data structure integrity in |
April 29, 1997 |
| Methods and apparatus for performing heap management in programmable recording instruments used to record process data; and protecting the integrity of data structures stored in non-volatile memory included such instruments should a power failure or power shut down occur while heap m |
| 5625373 |
Flat panel convergence circuit |
April 29, 1997 |
| A method and apparatus for providing error voltage compensation in a flat panel display. Voltage errors in a column driver for a flat panel display are compensated for by first measuring the voltage level at each column during a known signal level period and comparing it against a known |
| 5625182 |
Light sensor with position compensation accomplished by area distribution |
April 29, 1997 |
| A light sensor comprises two light sensitive areas that are shaped to physically compensate for the decrease in light intensity resulting from movement of a movable object in which an aperture is formed. Movement of the aperture causes the light passing through the aperture to have a |
| 5624611 |
Replication of optically flat surfaces |
April 29, 1997 |
| A method of replicating an optically flat surface includes providing a plastic optical element having a machined flat surface. The machined flat surface includes a plurality of ridges thereon. A coating material is applied to an optically perfect flat and the optical element is rolled an |
| 5623098 |
Dual mode single cavity compensation for microwave resonators |
April 22, 1997 |
| A microwave resonator, useable for acceleration detection, having a cavity in which a resonant frequency F.sub.1 which changes with changes in length of the cavity and with change in crossectional dimensions of the cavity is compensated for changes in crossectional dimensions by forming |
| 5619188 |
Proximity sensor which is sensitive to a pulsating magnetic field |
April 8, 1997 |
| A proximity sensor is provided with a means for sensing an attempt to tamper with the normal operation of a proximity sensor. An Eddy current killed oscillator is used to sense the presence of an undulating magnetic field provided by a coil and a monolithic timing circuit that periodical |
| 5618188 |
Connector for a self contained laser gyro |
April 8, 1997 |
| A multi piece electrical connector for use in a compact laser gyro. A connector unit, along with connectors 34A-C and paddle board 32, make a connection between the power supply and the dither motor 22 through wires 28 in the connector unit. The connector unit 30 includes a pair of c |
