Did You Know...
...that while attempting to develop a super strong glue, 3M employee Spencer Silver accidentally developed a glue that was so weak it would barely hold two pieces of paper together? However, his colleague Art Fry needed the glue. Fry sang with his church choir and marked the pages of his hymnal with small scraps of paper that often fell out. He used Silver's glue to hold the papers in place. Today we call this invention Post-it Notes.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5066838 | Automobile brake switch assembly An automobile brake switch assembly including a mounting clip and two brake switches, each brake switch including a threaded, cylindrical plunger housing. The mounting clip includes two hollow, cylindrical sleeves, each having an inner diameter slightly l... | 11/19/1991 |
| 5006677 | Automobile brake vacuum switch A housing includes a switch chamber and a plunger chamber communicating with the switch chamber. A plunger is slidable within the plunger chamber. Cam surfaces on the plunger operate electrical switches in the switch chamber. There is an axial channel in ... | 04/09/1991 |
| 4927193 | Mounting cassette for push-bar exit devices A mounting cassette for an exit device includes a latch bolt assembly. Latch bolt assembly includes a rotatable member for causing retraction of the latch of said assembly. The cassette is used to mount the exit device on a first side of a door having on ... | 05/22/1990 |
| 4913609 | Profiled bolt mounting unit Profiled bolt mounting unit for mounting on a structural member, comprising a blind rivet body having a sleeve and a flange for abutting against the structural member provided for mounting purposes with a mandrel having a setting head and a pull stem whic... | 04/03/1990 |
| 4902882 | Code reader A reliable electronic lock comprises means for reading a key card upon insertion and withdrawal. Sets of data read from the key card are compared to CRC data read from the key card to determine which set contains actual data and no false data erroneously ... | 02/20/1990 |
| 4897934 | Vapor phase processing system The level of vapor generated by heaters located in boiling electronic liquid contained in a vessel is maintained at a first level below the path of travel of work product and is elevated to a second level above the work product to process the work product... | 02/06/1990 |
| 4889549 | Plunger operating mechanism for a glass forming machine An individual section of a glass forming machine has a cylinder for controlling the displacement of the plunger. The piston is tandem in nature so that pressure can be selectively reduced for the final portion of plunger advance and the inner diameter of ... | 12/26/1989 |
| 4888974 | Control valve for a mandrel collection system A control valve for the mandrel collection system of a rivet setting tool is described. The control valve features two shut-off modes; the first effected by a manual quarter-turn operation, and the second effected by an actuator stem located on the base o... | 12/26/1989 |
| 4888824 | Glass container wall thickness inspecting machine The capacitance of the wall of a glass bottle is sensed and converted to a periodic voltage by a measuring oscillator. A periodic voltage is generated by a phase locked loop which includes a voltage controlled reference oscillator which is forced to opera... | 12/19/1989 |
| 4878609 | Apparatus for manual wire bonding An apparatus for manual wire bonding, comprising an ultrasonically energizable and/or thermocompression wedge (11) for pressing the wire (34) against a bonding pad, wherein the wedge (11) is part of a bonding head (10) adapted to be moved towards and away... | 11/07/1989 |
| 4878935 | Supporting mechanism for mould side portions in a glassware forming machine The mechanism supports mould side portions (10;110) on an upper support (50;150) and a lower support (52;152) both mounted on an arm (14) for limited movement in a horizontal plane. A force apportioning member (62;162) is mounted on the arm and pivotally ... | 11/07/1989 |
| 4876652 | Apparatus and method for controlling the shear mechanism of a glassware forming machine An improved system for controlling the operation of a cyclically moving shear mechanism, including a circuit for automatically synchronizing the cyclical actuation of a fluidic drive assembly to the timing of a related mechanism such as a glass gob feeder... | 10/24/1989 |
| 4875722 | Exit device actuator and dogger An electrically operated exit device comprises a low powered dogging assembly for a pushbar and an electrical actuator for a latch bolt. A latching bracket is attached to the pushbar for movement inwardly and outwardly along a path. A dogging plate of the... | 10/24/1989 |
| 4869746 | Straight line shear mechanism A straight line shear mechanism has rack driven shears which are operated by a pneumatic cylinder. Opposite ends of the operating rod of the pneumatic cylinder are connected via nail head couplings which permit rotation of the rod about its axis and which... | 09/26/1989 |
| 4867778 | Individual section glass forming machine The displacement of one or more of the plungers in an individual section glass forming machine is monitored so that the location of the plungers, when each mold cavity has completely filled (parison formation point), can be determined. When a plunger is l... | 09/19/1989 |
| 4867400 | Plastics retaining clip A plastics retaining clip for clamping e.g. brake lines to a stay bolt of a motor vehicle of the kind disclosed in German DE-OS 32 38 345 characterized by projections which protrude into the bore for housing the stay bolt, the number of the projections co... | 09/19/1989 |
| 4868471 | Control of pusher mechanisms associated with a glassware forming machine The pusher mechanism (14) associated with an I.S. glassware forming machine (10) are controlled by a controller (30) which provides control signals which cause the mechanisms (14) to operate. The controller senses the passage past a particular location of... | 09/19/1989 |
| 4861365 | Supporting mechanism for three moulds in a glassware forming machine Mould side portions (10; 110; 210) of three moulds are supported by a mechanism arranged to equalize mould closure force between the three moulds. Three mould side portions are supported by a triple support (50, 52; 150, 152; 250; 350) centrally pivotally... | 08/29/1989 |
| 4862510 | Lead sense system for component insertion machine Method and apparatus are disclosed for analyzing an image produced by a camera focused on the leads of a component that have been inserted into a printed circuit board by a component insertion machine. The method and apparatus include the construction of ... | 08/29/1989 |
| 4859227 | Straight line shear mechanism A straight line shear mechanism has rack driven shears which are operated by a pneumatic cylinder. The shear slides provide a barrier to infrared energy directed at the pneumatic cylinder. To cool the cylinder, a perforated cooling tube is connected to am... | 08/22/1989 |
| 4852247 | Suction pick-up apparatus for electrical or electronic components A pick-up head (10) of the apparatus has three alternative pick-up surfaces (24,34,64) formed respectively on a body (16), a first piston member (30), and a second piston member (60). The first piston member (30) is slidable in a cylinder (22a) formed in ... | 08/01/1989 |
| 4848073 | Lawn rake A lawn rake includes a tine receiving rake head molded of a plastic material as an integral unit structure and includes a handle receiving portion and at least one tine mounting portion. The handle receiving portion includes a generally centrally located ... | 07/18/1989 |
| 4846919 | Attaching soles to shoes Method of bonding a sole to a shoe by applying moisture-curable melt adhesive to the shoe upper, subjecting the adhesive coating to a hot-cure step with airborne moisture, and pressing the sole and shoe upper together with the adhesive between them immedi... | 07/11/1989 |
| 4843851 | Locking mechanism for multifunctional electronic lock An electronic door locking apparatus which can perform a number of functions is provided. The apparatus features a locking plate which is operated by solenoid action in such a manner that battery drain is minimized. The apparatus may remain in an unlocked... | 07/04/1989 |
| 4839508 | Card reader A magnetic card reader for reading data for electronic locks or the like is provided. The reader "reads" data both when the card is inserted and upon withdrawal, thereby decreasing the chances of misreading the data.... | 06/13/1989 |
| 4838921 | Plunger assembly for a glassware forming machine A plunger assembly is provided wherein the precise centering of the perforated section of the cooling tube within a plunger of an I.S. type glass forming machine is achieved by securing the cooling tube to the plunger. The base of the plunger has a recess... | 06/13/1989 |
| 4836839 | Plunger assembly for a glassware forming machine The casing for a cylinder in an I.S. glassware forming machine is displaced with the kick-up basket and strikes the neck ring assembly in the event there is any misalignment therebetween. The plunger holder and a float cover move laterally as one due to f... | 06/06/1989 |
| 4836730 | Fastener A drilling and thread forming fastener is provided having a threaded shank and a pilot end. The fastener pilot end in cross section has a major and minor axis intersecting at the fastener center of rotation. A pair of arcuate flutes are disposed in oppose... | 06/06/1989 |
| 4836728 | Blind-riveting assembly A blind rivet assembly with a tubular rivet body having a flange at one end and a mandrel which projects from the rivet flange and can be pulled to set the rivet at its tail end. The mandrel has heads at both ends, one to set the rivet and the other to en... | 06/06/1989 |
| 4836008 | Solenoid powered riveting tool A solenoid actuated blind rivet tool having pulling impulse intensifying apparatus co-acting with the mandrel pulling mechanism. One type of impulse intensifying mechanism is a slidable connection of the tool's nose housing, housing the assembly for engag... | 06/06/1989 |
| 4836003 | System for providing a liquid to a blind rivet setting mechanism An automatic system for providing a liquid to a rivet setting mechanism is described. The liquid lubricates, cleans, and cools the rivet setting mechanism. The system includes a reservoir for the liquid, a metering device, and controls.... | 06/06/1989 |
| 4836842 | Plunger assembly for a glassware forming machine A plunger assembly includes a plunger which has a base portion secured within an opening in the closed top of a cylindrical plunger holder. The bottom of the plunger holder is open and two opposed locking flanges projected inwardly into the opening. An ad... | 06/06/1989 |
| 4829661 | Electronic component insertion machine A machine for inserting DIP components. A DIP component slides down a chute and onto a mandrel. A thruster advances to thrust the component against a stop which is secured to the mandrel. The precisely located component is gripped and the mandrel is retra... | 05/16/1989 |
| 4826524 | Apparatus for holding mould side portions in a glassware forming machine The apparatus is arranged to hold side portions of three equally-spaced moulds. The apparatus comprises two holders (2 and 4) for opposite side portions of the moulds. One holder (2) comprises a support (12) on which moving means for moving the holders to... | 05/02/1989 |
| 4826523 | Gob distributor with gob deflector A gob distributor is disclosed having a deflector which will be operated whenever gobs should be prevented from entering the gob distributor. The deflector is operated by an interceptor valve which is controlled by an air operated four-way pilot valve. A ... | 05/02/1989 |
| 4824460 | Manufacture of parisons of molten glass Parisons of molten glass for subsequent moulding are molded in a mould cavity formed from one-piece lower portion (10), a dividable neck ring (14), and a dividable central mould portion (24). A gob of molten glass is introduced into a gov uide (58) so tha... | 04/25/1989 |
| 4822111 | Wheel assembly and method of forming such assembly A wheel assembly includes first and second wheel halves each having an outer annular rim with a valley portion and an integral wall with external and internal surfaces. Each wheel half is shaped at its center to form an opening extending through said wall... | 04/18/1989 |
| 4820972 | Wall thickness detector A capacitive probe for a wall thickness detector comprises a plurality of flexible capacitive elements and an elastomeric body supporting the flexible capacitive elements and biasing them against a dielectric body at an inspection site. A first metallic s... | 04/11/1989 |
| 4816668 | Mold number reader with field optics photodetector A mold number reader for detecting code marks at the heel of a transparent bottle or the like, such code marks desirable being in the form of dots or balls protruding from the bottle's heel. During rotation of the bottle, its heel portion is illuminated w... | 03/28/1989 |
| 4816057 | Glass press forming machine The individual needles of a glass feeder mechanism which control the volume of the streams of molten glass sheared into discrete gobs are displaceable to adjust the size of the sheared gobs. The controller for the motor, which raises or lowers a stream, r... | 03/28/1989 |
