Invalidity dossier
US 5444262
Thermoelectric device for vehicle identification
Current assignee: United States Department of the Army
Added 9/21/2026, 1:06:57 PM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview: US5444262A — Thermoelectric Device for Vehicle Identification
Title: Thermoelectric device for vehicle identification
Patent number / application: US5444262A; application US08/170,961
Assignee: United States Department of the Army (original and current assignee per the source)
Inventors: Carl J. Campagnuolo, Phil Emmerman, Stephen Kreider
Key dates: Priority/filing date 1993-12-21; reassignment to the U.S. Army recorded 1995-04-24; granted/published 1995-08-22; anticipated expiration 2013-12-21; status listed as "Expired - Fee Related."
Purpose: To provide identification ("IFF"-type beaconing) for a vehicle in a combat or field-training environment, so an attacker equipped with an infra-red viewer or laser range finder can recognize the vehicle as friendly, reducing fratricide, and to signal a simulated "hit" during training.
Plain-language scope: The device uses thermoelectric modules — solid-state heat pumps that create a temperature differential between two faces when current is applied. The modules are integrated into one or more temperature-conductive panels. In the inverted-V ("roof") embodiment, two panels form a roof-like structure on a support post mounted to a vehicle; one panel has hot faces outward with heat-sink fins, the other has hot faces inward, yielding a hot/cold "signature" visible to an infra-red viewer. A motor spins the structure; a spring assembly lets it bend if struck. Activation may be manual via a control box, or automatic when a laser detector senses a laser beam. The specification also notes the panel configuration, size, shape, color, and post length can vary, and that a single-panel structure is contemplated. It references thermoelectric modules manufactured by Tellurex Corporation and mentions integration with a "Whoopee light" and MILES hit scoring.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US5444262](/patent/US5444262)/en
What the excerpt does not establish: It provides no claim text, so the exact legal scope of coverage cannot be determined; it does not establish validity, enforceability, litigation history, or prior art beyond what is mentioned. Details of figures, control electronics, power supply, and specific materials are incomplete in the excerpt.
Generated 10/1/2026, 10:00:54 PM
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Litigation summary
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PTAB challenges
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Assignment history
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Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
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