Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 4706761 | Tilling machine with pivotal bi-directional operative tines A tine assembly for use with a rotary tiller comprising a selectively rotatable tine shaft and a plurality of pivotally mounted tines. The tines each include stop surfaces associated with an innermost end of the tine whereby the tine pivots to one positio... | 11/17/1987 |
| 4699553 | Cotter ring locking device A releasable locking device for mounting in the bore of a shaft or the like for retaining an element thereon. The releasable locking device is in the form of a cotter ring comprising a one piece rod formed of flexible material and having a leading portion... | 10/13/1987 |
| 4667459 | Two action control for power mowers A handle mounted control for the blade brake clutch mechanism and/or the ground wheel drive of a walk-behind rotary power mower. The control requires two distinct actions for actuation. The first action is movement of a deadman lever in the form of a bail... | 05/26/1987 |
| 4630397 | Drum and cable mechanisms for opening/closing greenhouse vent A control mechanism for opening and closing a window sash or like element pivotally mounted in a frame. The mechanism has a drive member mounted for rotation with an elongated drive shaft and a housing mounted on the drive member for rotation relative to ... | 12/23/1986 |
| 4567949 | Soil tilling machine with transmission having three drive trains A walk-behind garden tiller having a pair of ground wheels and a row of soil penetrating and pulverizing tines both powered from a single engine through a power transmission. The transmission includes a tilling drive mode in which the tines and drive whee... | 02/04/1986 |
| 4562827 | Downdraft countertop cooking range A downdraft countertop cooking range having an improved ventilation system for removing smoke and cooking odors from the entire cooking panel area. The range has a modular cooking panel recessed substantially below the countertop for enhanced accessibilit... | 01/07/1986 |
| 4562125 | Battery hold-down strap and terminal protector A hold-down strap and electrical terminal protector for a storage battery including an elongated body having a length substantially equal to the length of the battery and a width substantially less than the width of the battery, a connecting portion at ea... | 12/31/1985 |
| 4525989 | Floating foot shield for walk-behind mower with sulky A walk-behind lawn mower having a deck with adjustably mounted ground-engaging wheels. A side shield is provided in the form of a metal rod extending longitudinally along one side of the deck approximately following the curvature of the deck and lying bet... | 07/02/1985 |
| 4515194 | Log splitter having serviceable wedge assembly A log splitting apparatus having an elongated frame, a selectively actuatable log moving ram mounted at one end of the frame, and a log splitting wedge assembly mounted at the opposite end of the frame. The wedge assembly includes a plurality of wedge tip... | 05/07/1985 |
| 4514967 | Bridge support for securing sulky to walk-behind mower An articulated riding mower comprised of a sulky unit pivotally connected to a walk-behind mower. To attach the sulky to the walk-behind mower, the mower deck includes a bridge support overlying the mower deck between the rear corner positions thereof. Th... | 05/07/1985 |
| 4494593 | Venetian blind assembly with improved ladder supporting tilt drums A venetian blind assembly having rotatably mounted tilt drums which are adapted to permit properly aligned and indexed mounting of respective slat ladders without the necessity for time consuming measurements and without the need for auxiliary fasteners. ... | 01/22/1985 |
| 4454501 | Prompting control A control arrangement for a multi-function cooking appliance which has a plurality of cooking stations. The control arrangement includes a control panel having a group of keys for entering control information for the stations and functions of the cooking ... | 06/12/1984 |
| 4429205 | Induction heating apparatus An induction heating apparatus which includes an induction coil with an associated load and a resonant inverter circuit coupled to a DC power supply for energizing the heating coil. The inverter circuit includes a gate controlled thyristor which is cyclic... | 01/31/1984 |
| 4422283 | Lawnmower with longitudinal support frame A rotary lawnmower of the type having an inverted pan-shaped housing generally surrounding a horizontal rotary blade affixed to a vertical shaft extending downwardly from a rotary power source mounted on the top of the housing. A pair of tubular longitudi... | 12/27/1983 |
| 4402366 | Soil tilling machine A walk from behind soil tilling machine including ground wheels upon which the machine may be moved and two rows of ground penetrating and pulverizing tines located to the rear of the ground wheels transversely to the line of machine movement. The tines o... | 09/06/1983 |
| 4402365 | Garden tiller with vegetation sloughing means A walk-behind garden tiller having power driven ground wheels and a single shaft of tines which are driven at relatively high speed in a direction counter to that of the drive wheels such that during tilling the tines cut upwardly through the untilled soi... | 09/06/1983 |
| 4398606 | Garden tiller with extended drag shield A walk-behind garden tiller having power driven ground wheels and a single row of tines which are driven at relatively high speed in a direction counter to that of the drive wheels, whereby the tines cut upwardly through the untilled soil at the working f... | 08/16/1983 |
| 4392538 | Adjustable handle assembly for walk-behind garden implement A walk-behind garden implement including a wheel-supported frame carrying a horizontal base member. A handle extends upwardly and rearwardly from the base member for manual guidance. A yoke of U-shaped cross section is interposed between the handle and ba... | 07/12/1983 |
| 4380698 | Multiprocessor control bus A control arrangement for a multifunction appliance such as a cooking appliance wherein the control activity is distributed among a plurality of microprocessor based control circuits. In the exemplary embodiment each control circuit is associated with a d... | 04/19/1983 |
| 4372397 | Garden tiller with extended tine shield A walk-behind garden tiller having power driven ground wheels and a single row of tines which are driven at relatively high speed in a direction counter to that of the drive wheels such that during tilling the tines cut upwardly through the untilled soil ... | 02/08/1983 |
| 4341197 | Prompting control A control arrangement for a multi-function cooking appliance which has a plurality of cooking stations. The control arrangement includes a control panel having a group of keys for entering control information for the stations and functions of the cooking ... | 07/27/1982 |
| 4314432 | Splice for beam in suspended ceiling system For use in a suspended ceiling system a pair of beams joinable end to end in aligned relation, each of the beams having a vertical web and lower flange at right angles thereto. The beams have identically formed end portions each terminating in a horizonta... | 02/09/1982 |
| 4306405 | Drive assembly for rotary mower or the like A rotary mower having a drive assembly which provides automatic de-clutching and prompt braking of the mower blade to a stop when the device is left unattended, while the engine keeps running. A blade carrier is mounted on an anti-friction bearing at the ... | 12/22/1981 |
| 4293835 | Solenoid for an electric starting motor for garden tractor or the like A solenoid for an electric starting motor housed in a generally cylindrical plastic cup. A pair of diametrically arranged fixed contacts penetrate the end wall, forming binding posts for a load circuit. A magnetic sub-assembly is provided consisting of an... | 10/06/1981 |
| 4288132 | Metal cabinet for assembly by the user from knocked-down condition A rectangular metal cabinet of the panel type intended for sale and transport in a knocked-down condition for assembly with self-tapping screws penetrating the mated edges of the panels. The rear panel has flanges along its lateral edges and the side pane... | 09/08/1981 |
| 4286682 | Motorized ski bob A compact power driven ski bob is attained by locating the driving tracks of a rear power ski beneath the seat and pivotally mounting the front end of the power ski longitudinally forward of the seat. The rear end of the power ski is biased into engagemen... | 09/01/1981 |
| 4280319 | Deck construction for rotary mower A deck construction for a rotary mower which includes a shallow cylindrical blade housing with horizontal aprons extending fore and aft therefrom. Integral wheel supporting plates extend vertically along the respective lateral edges of the aprons and at r... | 07/28/1981 |
| 4266515 | Engine power pack assembly having anti-vibration features A chain saw having a housing in the form of a plastic shell of structural foam fully open on one of its lateral sides to expose a central chamber. The chain saw includes an integral motion assembly formed of an engine, a blade mounting bracket, forwardly ... | 05/12/1981 |
| 4264231 | Joint between main beam and cross beams in suspended ceiling system A suspended ceiling system including a main beam formed with a vertically extending rectangular window and a pair of cross beams intended to abut the main beam in alignment with one another at the window. The cross beams, which are identical, have at each... | 04/28/1981 |
| 4244436 | Vehicle with power driven ski A power driven ski vehicle of the ski bob kind is driven by a power ski having a pair of running surfaces on the undersides of the power ski for sliding engagement with the snow and for supporting a substantial portion of th weight of the vehicle and ride... | 01/13/1981 |
| 4234050 | Snow bob with detachable fuel tank A power driven snow bob is provided with a detachable fuel tank which can be readily attached and reattached in a rapid and expedient manner in a cold outdoor environment. To assist in retaining the fuel tank, it is formed with a groove on its under surfa... | 11/18/1980 |
| 4214424 | Catcher securement for rear bagger A rotary mower having an inverted housing with a discharge opening formed in the rear surface thereof, the opening having a cover plate which is hinged at the rear edge of the housing and biased into a normally closing position. The plate has a pair of in... | 07/29/1980 |
| 4212363 | Twist-type control handle for lawn mowers A power lawn mower having a transversely arranged tubular grip for manual control rockable forwardly from a reference position to adjust a power control member. The grip is of oval cross section dimensioned to fit the grasp of the operator's hands. When t... | 07/15/1980 |
| 4198752 | Chain saw having anti-vibration features A chain saw having a housing in the form of a plastic shell of structural foam fully open on one of its lateral sides to expose a central chamber. The chain saw includes an integral motion assembly formed of an engine, a blade mounting bracket, forwardly ... | 04/22/1980 |
| 4199045 | Luggage identification system embodied in valance A luggage construction in which opposed shells are fitted with mated valances, one of the valances having a flat seating surface with an adjacent first wall and the other valance presenting a second wall parallel to the first so that the valances, in mati... | 04/22/1980 |
| 4183190 | Space frame construction system A tube and ball truss system for making a structural lattice which includes a plurality of hollow metal balls spaced in a three-dimensional array, each ball having a set of radial through-openings as well as an access opening on one side, adjacent ones of... | 01/15/1980 |
| 4172351 | Safety shield construction for rotary mower A rotary lawn mower of the type having a circular housing with adjustably mounted ground engaging wheels. A side shield is provided in the form of a vertical plate of metal arranged fore-and-aft between the wheels and closely alongside the housing. The sh... | 10/30/1979 |
| 4165597 | Cutter pin for rotary mower As an article of manufacture, a tapered cutter pin for a rotary mower formed of durable resilient plastic having a shank and terminating at its outer end in a relatively thin but stiffly resilient tip portion, the shank having a head at its inner end for ... | 08/28/1979 |
| 4147912 | Shaped antenna for energy distribution in a microwave cooking cavity A static antenna system using a monopole shaped to deliver and evenly distribute microwave energy in a desired pattern. The monopole is symmetrical with respect to its axis, and the cross sectional area taken in planes perpendicular to the axis is varied ... | 04/03/1979 |
| 4147502 | System for control of thermal potential A system is disclosed for controlling the thermal potential of an airstream containing combustible vapors such as is exhausted from a metal sheet treating oven. The system includes a sensing chamber into which the airstream is directed, a burner in the ch... | 04/03/1979 |
