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 |
| 8037598 | Method of repetitively accomplishing mechanical action of a tool member A method of repetitively accomplishing mechanical action of a tool member by drivingly engaging the tool member with one end of a compression spring, manually applying incrementally increasing force to the other end of the compression spring until the mechanical act... | 10/18/2011 |
| 7849840 | Electric motor assisted mechanical supercharging system This apparatus and method introduces to the internal combustion engine, with a centrifugal compressor or positive displacement air supercharger, a high speed electric motor/generator which is drivingly coupled to a drive shaft system for the purpose of acceleration ... | 12/14/2010 |
| 7832252 | Precise droplet injection for calibrating a gas chromatography instrument A method and apparatus for calibrating a gas chromatography instrument by forcefully shooting a measured droplet which securely passes through a confined passageway without direct intervention of human hands into the entry throat of the instrument so as to avoid con... | 11/16/2010 |
| 7811217 | Motorized apparatus and method for dynamic balancing exercise A method and apparatus for achieving dynamic balance exercise by using an elongated board that is tiltable in a longitudinal direction and energized by a set of motor-driven wheels which are connected to oppose the tilting action. A front to back (pitching) and side... | 10/12/2010 |
| 7788788 | Tool for insertion or removal of electrical connectors A drive tool that may be attached to a driven tool which has a drive head, a shank, a tool body, and a longitudinal slot in the drive head whose upper end portion is sloped to provide a ramp, the drive tool being adapted to be pushed downward into a hollow end of th... | 09/07/2010 |
| 7720776 | Knowledge organization and expansion method for conveying context using contextual maps A method of facilitating calculations of the changes in three mutually dependent variables, in which an initial condition of all the variables is represented by a triangle, calculated changes are then displayed by modifying the triangle, and the modified form of the... | 05/18/2010 |
| 7679497 | Recovering legal evidence of unfavorable events or conditions during vehicle operations A method for the driver of an automotive vehicle to avoid distraction from the task of driving, but yet to preserve and later recover legal evidence of events, objects, or conditions that may be encountered during the driving of the vehicle, by utilizing a perimeter... | 03/16/2010 |
| 7621040 | Optical selectable force impact tool An user-friendly impact tool for wire end termination in which the pre-set compression of a main drive spring is adjusted by hand with an adjustment screw having a knurled knob that is both visible and hand-accessible through an opening in the housing wall, and also... | 11/24/2009 |
| 7107662 | Method and a coupler for joining two steel pipes A method and apparatus for coupling together the ends of two steel pipe sections, each of which contains a permeable inner liner, in which not only are the pipe ends held in abutting engagement, but gas contained within the liner of one pipe section is effectively c... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7475475 | Low-impact insertion of insulated wires into insulation displacement type connectors Force is manually applied through a compression spring mechanism to a tool member, which in turn carries the end of an insulated wire that is to be seated between the knives of an insulation displacement type connector. A force transducer is used to measure the spri... | 01/13/2009 |
| 7397496 | Apparatus system for recovering evidence of extrinsic wrongful acts in vehicular incidents A total perimeter view auto security monitoring system which includes a pair of fixed viewing lenses at each corner of a vehicle, a central digital camera receiving optical data from all corners of the vehicle, a multiplexer to separate the data channels in real tim... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7266878 | IDC tool with extended reach A tool system for inserting an insulated wire between knife blades of an insulation displacement type electrical connector, in which the reach of the tool is expanded by use of a an extension member easily inserted between a punch down tool and a wire end insert too... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7121565 | Wheelbarrow easy dumping handle apparatus A wheelbarrow handle accessory has a tube member that slides over the end of a wheelbarrow handle, and a hand grip assembly including a partial sleeve that normally rests upon the tube member in aligned relationship, the hand grip assembly being rotatably supported ... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7104718 | Scissor-type connector with connector body for the roof support of a collapsible tent A scissor-type connection for the roof support of a collapsible tent, having two rails rotatable relative to each other around an axle, one of the rails having a spring body that lockably engages an opening in the other. ... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7096564 | Wire end insert tool with replaceable cutting blade A tool assembly includes an elongated metal tool body for forcibly inserting the end of an insulated wire into a telephone connector of the insulation displacing type, and having a separate and replaceable cutting blade removably attached to the tool body for cuttin... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7063096 | Side cover for a collapsible tent A side cover structure for a collapsible tent includes a fabric side cover that is vertically suspended between two post. Each post has inner and outer pole sections that are telescopically engaged. Each pole section has exterior longitudinal grooves. The fabric sid... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7057198 | Depth-of-field micron resolution velocimetry with pulsed images of injected solid particles Method and apparatus for measuring fluid motion with micron scale spatial resolution, in which fluorescent particles are injected into a fluid body in a test device, the test device is broadly illuminated with pulses of light at the excitation frequency of the fluor... | 06/06/2006 |
| 6956159 | Drum head securement device A securement device for securing a drum head upon a drum shell or body through a tension rod, including a lug assembly that not only allows a downward pull on and hence tightening of the associated tension rod, but also provides for three additional parameters of ad... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6870485 | Electronic method and apparatus for detecting and reporting dislocation of heavy mining equipment A method and apparatus for preventing the unexpected loss of heavy mining equipment by detecting the separation of heavy metal parts at an early stage in the separation process, and providing a warning signal in response to which the particular machine that is havin... | 03/22/2005 |
| 6860091 | Apparatus for dividing pastries and inserting dividers An apparatus for cutting separate portions of a food product and inserting dividers between adjacent portions, in which a cutting blade is ultrasonically energized during a first cutting movement, the blade is withdrawn while a divider sheet is inserted between the ... | 03/01/2005 |
| 6757997 | Centerline-based adjustable stitchery frame A stitchery frame which is progressively expanded while in use to keep the fabric taut. Centerline markers are provided on side and end pieces of the frame to aid the process. ... | 07/06/2004 |
| 6662529 | Ultrasonic method for dividing pastries and inserting dividers An apparatus and method for cutting separate portions of a food product and inserting dividers between adjacent portions, in which a cutting blade is ultrasonically energized during a first cutting movement, the blade is withdrawn while a divider sheet is... | 12/16/2003 |
| 6653651 | Micron resolution particle image velocimeter A method and apparatus for measuring fluid motion with micron scale spatial resolution has been developed. Here, micron or submicron solid fluorescent particles are injected into the fluid body. The particles are chosen to closely follow the motion of the... | 11/25/2003 |
| 6646454 | Electronic apparatus and method for measuring length of a communication cable The length of an electrical cable is measured from only one of its ends, even though much of the cable may not be visible and its remote end may not be accessible. The ends of a conductor pair are selected to serve as contacts for a test capacitor. A refe... | 11/11/2003 |
| 6604306 | Stitchery frame and method A stitchery frame having manually operated tension devices located outside the work area for increasing spacing at both side bars and end bars in order to tighten fabric when work is in progress.... | 08/12/2003 |
| 6598919 | Wheel assembly for a roller coaster A tire assembly for a wheeled vehicle has a ring-shaped integrally formed outer tire member made of relatively hard and relatively rigid material, and a ring-shaped integrally formed inner tire member. The inner tire member is made of a resilient material... | 07/29/2003 |
| 6543190 | Portable weight strip for adjustably holding a member in position on an uneven surface; and method A weight strip constructed from a plurality of stacked sheets of elastomeric material slackly assembled for resting upon an uneven surface.... | 04/08/2003 |
| 6530235 | Self-chilling portable beverage container assembly, and method A portable beverage container assembly includes a capsule containing a refrigerant which is inserted into and securely held inside the beverage container, together with a mechanism to discharge the refrigerant so that the latent heat of evaporation and ex... | 03/11/2003 |
| 6520707 | Can clip device with toy construction set engagement elements A drink can holder is made as an integrally formed body of resilient plastic material with a central body portion and a number of radially extending finger assemblies circumferentially spaced around it. Each finger assembly has integrally formed protrusio... | 02/18/2003 |
| 6375243 | Wheel assembly for a roller coaster A tire assembly for a wheeled vehicle has a ring-shaped integrally formed outer tire member made of relatively hard and relatively rigid material, and a ring-shaped integrally formed inner tire member. The inner tire member is made of a resilient material... | 04/23/2002 |
| 6202345 | Support structure for attachment to automotive cigarette lighter receptacle A holding device which can be attached to a standard cigarette lighter receptacle which is located in the dashboard of an automobile. The holding device comprises: 1) a support member which is inserted into the cigarette lighter receptacle; and 2) an elongated... | 03/20/2001 |
| 6193336 | Holder with retaining device for compact disc and other media cases A holder (42) with retaining device for organizing compact disc cases and other such substantially rectangular media cases. The retaining device allows deposited items to be placed solitarily or adjacently in any available location, to be relocated simply... | 02/27/2001 |
| 6121753 | Apparatus and method for testing and indicating battery charge and functionality A device for rapidly testing a battery includes a conditioning resistor and a depressible momentary type switch interposed in series between the conditioning resistor and the battery terminals, such that the closing of the switch allows current flow throu... | 09/19/2000 |
| 5921732 | Wing member for aircraft baggage handling apparatus A wing member for a pallet restraint mechanism is described which is formed of an integrally formed metal casting. The member includes a plate-like main body with a tapered portion extending from a generally rectangular portion. A plurality of spaced supp... | 07/13/1999 |
| 5845685 | Method and apparatus for filling sandbags A bag filler consisting of a single tubular member has a peripheral portion removed from one end thereof to form a hand grip while an opposing peripheral portion at the same end then forms a scoop, has its other end inserted into the open end of a bag to ... | 12/08/1998 |
| 5782443 | Stand for supporting a golf club in a highly visible position when not in use A stand which supports a golf club in a highly visible and easily retrievable position above a grassy surface. The stand has a top plate with two spaced spikes extending downward from an under side of the top plate and adapted to be driven into the grassy... | 07/21/1998 |
| 5754624 | Telephone line test kit An electrical test kit for testing a telephone line from the terminals at the customer's end of the line includes a circuit for testing line continuity without falsely indicating to the voltage source that a telephone call has been answered, a push-button... | 05/19/1998 |
| 5740909 | Lockable and leak-proof sharps disposal container A sharps container has a receptacle, cover and tray and provides an improved locking mechanism to resist unauthorized tampering, as well as hermetically sealed construction to prevent any leakage of fluids from the container. The rotating tray provides an... | 04/21/1998 |
| 5725422 | Auto body buffing machine with handle angularly adjustable to different fixed positions An auto body buffing and grinding machine has a fixed handle with a trigger mechanism, a surface with threaded opening for attachment of an adjustable handle, and an adjustable handle that is quickly and easily attached, adjusted, or detached. The adjusta... | 03/10/1998 |
