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:
Feb. 01, 2011
Filed:
Jul. 29, 2008
Fiona A. M. Mckenzie, Tucson, AZ (US);
Charles S. Richardson, Tucson, AZ (US);
Fiona A. M. McKenzie, Tucson, AZ (US);
Charles S. Richardson, Tucson, AZ (US);
Other;
Abstract
The present invention provides a new technique for solving the problem of detecting and locating soft faults, such as frays, in electrical conductor wires. This new technique utilizes the nonlinear ferroelectric capacitive properties of piezoelectric ceramic elements, such as PZT, in conjunction with an antenna coil, to realize a tuned antenna receiver circuit with significantly increased reception sensitivity. The present invention consists of a battery powered, hand-held transmitter, with an output terminal for physical connectors, and a battery powered, hand-held receiver. Soft faults are detected and accurately located, to within a half inch distance of the actual soft fault, as the receiver is passed along the path of the electrical conductor wire, by the operator, who determines a reduction or cessation of the visible and audible indicators. The ultrasonic frequency piezoelectric transducer also enables the receiver to be used as an ultrasonic frequency detector for detecting electrical arcing from powered transmission lines.