The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 13, 2005
Filed:
Aug. 01, 2002
Robert Figueria, San Jose, CA (US);
Thomas Pinto, San Jose, CA (US);
Robert Figueria, San Jose, CA (US);
Thomas Pinto, San Jose, CA (US);
Vishay Infrared Components, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus and method of making the same for sensing inclination. The apparatus includes a member moveably positioned in a body, the member moves in response to gravity between two positions if the body is rotated relative to an axis exceeding a certain amount. A detector can be used to detect when the member moves and can automatically report rotation. A method of making an inclinometer includes creating the body by laminating layers, where a layer is prefabricated to include an appropriate cut-out to guide the member between the two positions. Another layer or layers can include the detector. An aspect of the invention comprises having each layer include prefabricated features for multiple inclinometers, and then superposing the prefabricated layers, activating adhesive between them to form a lamination defining a plurality of inclinometers, and then separating the lamination into individual inclinometers.