Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080212074 | Hand-Held, Self-Contained Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) Analyzer - A hand-held, self-contained, battery-powered test instrument for analyzing composition of a sample includes an exciter for exciting at least a portion of the sample, a compact cross-dispersed spectrometer for receiving an optical signal from the excited portion of the sample and a processor for processing spectral data about the optical signal from the spectrometer. The exciter may include a spark generator and a counter electrode, a laser or other device for generating the optical signal from the sample portion. The spectrometer has a wavelength range broad enough to enable the test instrument to detect and determine relative quantities of carbon, phosphorous, sulfur, manganese, silicon, iron and other elements necessary to identify common alloys. The spectrometer includes a structural member made of a light-weight material having a small coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). The spectrometer is dimensionally stable over a range of expected ambient temperatures, without controlling the temperature of the spectrometer. | 09-04-2008 |
20090050786 | Fast and Precise Time-Resolved Spectroscopy with Linear Sensor Array - Time-resolved analysis of a spectrum is performed by illuminating a one-dimensional array of charge-transfer device light-sensitive pixel cells and periodically non-destructively copying charges in the light-sensitive cells to respective storage cells (“row storage registers”) co-located with the light-sensitive cells in an integrated circuit. Information about the charges stored in at least some of the storage cells is provided to a component external to the integrated circuit. | 02-26-2009 |
20090057422 | Contactless Memory Information Storage for Sample Analysis and Hand-Holdable Analyzer for Use Therewith - An analytical instrument stores and/or reads information related to a sample in a contactless memory, such as a passive or active radio-frequency identification (RF-ID) tag. The information may include information about: composition of the sample, one or more analytical instruments that were used to analyze the sample, operator(s) who used the instrument(s) to analyze the sample, user-entered data about the sample (such as an origin of the sample) or a combination thereof or the like. The memory may be attached to the sample or to a container, in which the sample is stored or transported. One or more copies of such a memory may be loosely stored with the sample, such as with soil in a plastic bag or a rail car. When the memory is attached to, or stored with, the sample, the sample becomes essentially self-documenting. Information about the sample, such as its composition or origin, may be read by a contactless memory reader, such as an RF-ID reader. | 03-05-2009 |
20090057582 | DOCKING STAND FOR ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENT - An analytical instrument may be docked in a stand. The stand provides electrical power, cooling, gas to purge air from an analytical gap within the instrument and/or other supplies or services to the instrument. The stand contains a contactless memory, such as an RF-ID tag, which stores information about the supplies and/or services the stand is capable of providing to the instrument. The instrument reads the stand's contactless memory and automatically sets operational parameters of the instrument in accordance with the supplies and/or services the stand is capable of providing. Thus, the instrument may automatically operate in an enhanced mode, such as at a higher x-ray beam power, as a result of being mounted in the stand. | 03-05-2009 |
20090064276 | Analytical Instrument with Automatic Lockout against Unauthorized Use - An analytical instrument includes a contactless memory reader, such as an RF-ID reader. Each person authorized to use the instrument carries a contactless memory, such as an RF-ID tag in an identification (ID) badge. The instrument scans for a contactless memory containing information identifying an authorized user prior to performing an analysis or prior to operating in a predetermined mode, thus preventing unauthorized persons from operating the instrument or from operating the instrument in an unauthorized mode. | 03-05-2009 |
20090079980 | Compact Cross-Dispersed Spectrometer for Extended Spectral Range - A spectrometer includes a structural member made of a light-weight material having a small coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). The spectrometer is dimensionally stable over a range of expected ambient temperatures, without controlling the temperature of the spectrometer. | 03-26-2009 |
20090251007 | Hot-Swappable Battery Retrofit Module - A retrofit module electrically connects to a device's battery terminals, where an original main battery would otherwise connect to the device, and a hot-swappable battery electrically connects to the retrofit module, thereby retrofitting the device for operation with hot-swappable batteries, without shutting down the device to swap the batteries. When a charged hot-swappable battery is connected to the retrofit module, the retrofit module powers the device from the hot-swappable battery. The retrofit module includes a bridge battery and a circuit that charges the bridge battery from the hot-swappable battery and that provides power to the device from the bridge battery while the hot-swappable battery is replaced. The retrofit module may include a releasable structure that maintains the module in contact with the device's battery terminals, even after the hot-swappable battery has been removed. The retrofit module may have a form factor and power supplying terminals similar to those of the main battery that the device is configured to accept. | 10-08-2009 |
20110142200 | Small Spot X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analyzer - A hand-held, self-contained x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer produces a small x-ray spot on a sample to interrogate the elemental composition of a sample region of millimeter-size characteristic dimension. The analyzer includes a collimator for aiming an x-ray beam toward a desired location on the sample and for determining the size of the spot produced on the sample. The analyzer may include a digital camera oriented toward the portion of the sample that is, or would be, interrogated by the x-ray spot to facilitate aiming the analyzer. The analyzer may generate a reticule in a displayed image to indicate the portion of the sample that is, or would be, illuminated by the x-ray beam. The analyzer may automatically annotate the image of the sample with text or graphics that contain information about the analyzed sample. The image may be stored in the hand-held analyzer or provided for external storage or display. | 06-16-2011 |