...that the Eveready Battery began as an invention called the "electric flowerpot," which was a tube with a battery and light bulb inside? The idea was to fasten this gizmo to the side of a flowerpot so it would illuminate the flowers from the bottom. The idea died on the vine and the businessman who licensed the flower pot, Conrad Huber, was left with a pile of useless tubes -- until he found a way to market them as batteries to light the world!
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6233350 | Apparatus for viewing and inspecting a surface area of an object An apparatus for viewing and inspecting the surface area of an object, including a probe having a viewing window defining a field of view, and an image-forming lens within the probe. The probe also includes an image detector on an opposite side of the ima... | 05/15/2001 |
| 6122045 | Apparatus and method for viewing and inspecting a circumferential surface area of an object An apparatus (10) and method is provided for generating a 360° view of a surface area of a three-dimensional object, such as a wire or cable, and for inspecting the surface area for flaws or imperfections. A receiving lens (12) defines an optical axis (1... | 09/19/2000 |
| 5936725 | Apparatus and method for viewing and inspecting a circumferential surface area of a test object An apparatus and method is provided for generating a 360° view of a surface area of a three-dimensional object, such as a wire or cable, and for inspecting the surface area for flaws or imperfections. A receiving lens defines an optical axis extending th... | 08/10/1999 |
| 5311286 | Apparatus and method for optically measuring a surface An apparatus and method measures the roughness or some other surface dimension by transmitting a beam of light through a grating member at an angle of incidence relative to the grating member. The grating member has a plurality of parallel opaque bars and... | 05/10/1994 |