Bizarre Patents
Pet Toilet-Like Water Disk and Food Storage
One pet-friendly inventor patented "a device for watering pets, e.g., a dog or cat." The device, he helpfully noted, "has the general shape of a toilet."
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 4104685 | Video recorder/reproducer transport having two movable tension guides for controlling tape tension A video recorder/reproducer tape transport including a supply reel, a take-up reel, a helical scanner head assembly for recording and reproducing signals on the tape in a helical scan format, a capstan, a first movable tension tape guide positioned within... | 08/01/1978 |
| 4097908 | Method for inspecting the skew of a magnetic head, for selectively locating a lead screw and an apparatus therefor A method of inspecting the skew angle of the transducing gap of a magnetic head in a disk drive having a rotatable spindle, a lead screw rotatably mounted to a motor and carrying a carriage with a magnetic head affixed thereto, the magnetic head having a ... | 06/27/1978 |
| 4097884 | Apparatus and method for automatically processing X-ray film A method and apparatus for processing X-ray film comprising a processing tank having a port in its lower portion, three solenoid valves each having an outlet coupled to the port and operative to allow a developer solution, a fixer solution and water to fl... | 06/27/1978 |
| 4095855 | Gas lubricated spindle bearing assembly A gas lubricated spindle bearing assembly comprising a stator assembly and a rotor assembly with a spindle engaged to the rotor and a twin parallel flexure engaged to one of said assemblies to establish and maintain an air spacing between the adjacent int... | 06/20/1978 |
| 4095892 | Photographic developing apparatus employing an easel selectively locatable on a support A photographic developing apparatus comprising a rectangular easel with upper and lower edges, opposed first and second side edges and opposed top and bottom surfaces, the easel including sidewalls that form the top surface into a paper support surface ca... | 06/20/1978 |
| 4096429 | Voltage and current regulator for generating systems A regulator for controlling the field exitation current of a generating device when the voltage developed exceeds a preset level and including a first resistor for establishing the level of a base current, a first transistor responsive to the base current... | 06/20/1978 |
| 4095391 | Apparatus for bunching broccoli An improved broccoli bunching apparatus for expediting the bunching, tying and trimming of broccoli and including a plurality of buckets, which are driven around a first endless loop, each bucket having a head supporting portion for supporting the heads o... | 06/20/1978 |
| 4095615 | Check valve and siphon tube assembly employing same A check valve for substantially preventing fluid flow in a first direction, but allowing a substantially unrestricted fluid flow in a second, opposite direction, the check valve including a tubular body and a flapper valve hingedly disposed within the tub... | 06/20/1978 |
| 4089551 | Quick-release gas cap latch retainer device A latch retainer device for preventing the accidental opening of a quick-release gas cap and including a clip for fitting over and engaging the gas cap hinge, a loop for fitting over and engaging the gas cap release handle, a stud attached to the loop and... | 05/16/1978 |
| 4090033 | Miniature portable public address system A portable public address system for use in motor buses which can also be used inside buildings or out-of-doors including a first case and a second case. Within the first case, which is approximately the size of a pack of cigarettes, is an amplifier circu... | 05/16/1978 |
| 4090088 | Power management system A power management system for controlling the power usage by a plurality of loads in a facility and including a system control unit for monitoring the power consumption of the loads and for generating a control signal when the consumption falls below a lo... | 05/16/1978 |
| 4088800 | Method for cleaning and re-inking printer ribbons An apparatus for cleaning and re-inking a fibrous printer ribbon carried on first and second reels and having foreign matter thereon comprising a frame, first and second pairs of rotatable spindles mounted in the frame so as to define parallel axes and ca... | 05/09/1978 |
| 4087630 | Continuous speech recognition apparatus An apparatus and method wherein speech or other signals are sampled during a time slice of approximately 1/30 second and spectrum analysis is performed on the samples, producing measures of amplitude in several frequency bands with each frequency band bei... | 05/02/1978 |
| 4084196 | Electronic half-tone generating means for facsimile reproduction system An electronic half-tone generating circuit for enabling a black and white facsimile transmission system to accurately and efficiently transmit and reproduce images including shades of grey as well as black and white and including an integrator responsive ... | 04/11/1978 |
| 4081716 | Fluorescent display elements A switching element is mounted on a substrate covered by an envelope, and a fluorescent film is formed on the switching element. A cathode electrode is provided to face the fluorescent film, and a grid electrode is disposed therebetween.... | 03/28/1978 |
| 4081715 | Luminescent display tube with plural cathodes and electron flux dispersing means In an electronic device such as a fluorescent display tube which comprises an evacuated envelope, a plurality of cathode electrodes and an anode electrode, auxiliary electrodes are arranged between the cathode electrodes and the anode electrode. Each auxi... | 03/28/1978 |
| 4080642 | Power system safety monitor An electrical power system safety monitor for monitoring the continuity of an electrical power distribution system and including signal generators for generating a monitoring signal and a simulated fault signal; an impedance bridge; a three-phase coupler ... | 03/21/1978 |
| 4078227 | Threshold detector for optical character recognition system A threshold detector for use with a video signal including a first level representative of a white surface, a second level representative of a true black mark on the white surface, and a third level intermediate the first and second levels representative ... | 03/07/1978 |
| 4077236 | Apparatus having inwardly biased fingers hingedly attached to a hub for clamping and driving a flexible disc An apparatus for clamping and driving a flexible disc for use with a rotatable spindle having a generally conical portion forming a camming surface, and a general cylindrical portion forming a first disc clamping surface and a disc registration surface, t... | 03/07/1978 |
| 4074898 | Metal beam guard rail assembling clamp A tool for clamping the ends of two guard rail sections including a fixed jaw rigidly attached to a first handle, a second handle pivotally attached to the first handle and a pivoting jaw pivotally attached to the first handle and pivotally connected to t... | 02/21/1978 |
| 4073506 | Vehicle towing apparatus A vehicle towing apparatus comprised of a rigid metal plate having an elongated midportion, a leading end portion which is bent upwardly relative to the midportion and a trailing end portion which is bent downwardly relative to the midportion, and stiffen... | 02/14/1978 |
| 4070090 | Optical instrument employing a truncated prism having its distal end disposed proximate a planar end of an opaque tubular housing An optical instrument for use in examining the internal wall of an aperture in a work material comprising a generally tubular housing formed from a material that is opaque to light and having a central axis and first and second ends, the first end having ... | 01/24/1978 |
| 4070710 | Raster scan display apparatus for dynamically viewing image elements stored in a random access memory array A computer graphics display system including random access raster memory for storing data to be displayed, a raster memory control unit for writing data into the raster memory, a video control unit for causing such information to be displayed on a CRT dis... | 01/24/1978 |
| 4062564 | Collapsible golf cart A collapsible golf cart apparatus for carrying a golf bag and including a base, a pair of removable wheels mounted on axles that are retractable into the base, a compartment in the base for storing the wheels, a cover for the storage compartment, a bracke... | 12/13/1977 |
| 4062102 | Process for manufacturing a solar cell from a reject semiconductor wafer A process for manufacturing a solar cell from a reject semiconductor wafer comprising stripping all external layers from the wafer, etching the surfaces of the wafer so as to effectively remove all P/N junctions without pitting the wafer surface, introduc... | 12/13/1977 |
| 4055805 | Multi-point test probe A multi-point probe head assembly for providing electro-mechanical interface contact with miniature electronic devices and including a rigid support member, a plurality of probe tips each attached to a probe arm, and adjustment means for adjusting the rel... | 10/25/1977 |
| 4048645 | Diazo emulsion processor Apparatus for use in developing diazo emulsion media (e.g. plates, films, etc.) for use as integrated circuit masks wherein a developing gas is utilized; the apparatus including a developing chamber for housing the media and containing the gas during deve... | 09/13/1977 |
| 4042872 | Static converter having partially gapped transformer A static converter utilizing a transformer core having a gapped auxiliary flux path with a reluctance differing from that of another flux path, and a main flux path about which the primary and secondary converter windings are wrapped and through which the... | 08/16/1977 |
| 4041672 | Apparatus for bunching broccoli and a method therefor Apparatus for bunching vegetables having a stalk comprising a frame, a chain formed into an endless band, a motor mounted to the frame for recirculatingly driving the chain in a generally elongated loop, a plurality of members affixed to the chain, each m... | 08/16/1977 |
| 4038795 | Concrete storage tank and method of making same A concrete storage tank for storing large quantities of fluids, grains or other materials and including a circular tank sidewall formed of a plurality of vertically elongated wall elements having a generally Y-shaped transverse cross-section, a slab floor... | 08/02/1977 |
| 4040106 | Flexible magnetic disc drive apparatus A flexible magnetic disc drive apparatus comprising a housing including a front plate, a drive spindle rotatably mounted to the housing for rotatably driving a magnetic disc, an elongated frame including opposed rails, opposed first and second ends, and a... | 08/02/1977 |
| 4035736 | FM discriminator having low noise characteristics A low noise discriminator circuit having particular utility for use in determining the spectral purity characteristics of an rf signal source and comprising, in addition to standard discriminator components, a down-locked reference signal source including... | 07/12/1977 |
| 4023686 | Dolly for maneuvering modules of a modular wall system A dolly for maneuvering, lifting and transporting removable wall modules in the erection and disassembly of a modular wall system comprises an upwardly extending A-frame pivotally secured to a triangularly shaped wheeled base frame and having a vertically... | 05/17/1977 |
| 4019458 | Resist application for selective plating of etched sheets of precision chemical machined components A photoresist spraying apparatus for coating both sides of metal sheets with photoresist and including a spray gun for spraying photoresist upon a workpiece, a spray chamber having a filter and exhaust vent for containing any overspray; a rack rotatably m... | 04/26/1977 |
| 4016504 | Optical beam expander for dye laser A multiple prism beam expander for use in dye lasers and the like comprising two or more prisms positioned relative to each other and between a dye cell and diffraction grating such that laser light from the dye cell is passed through first one of the pri... | 04/05/1977 |
| 4016483 | Microminiature integrated circuit impedance device including weighted elements and contactless switching means for fixing the impedance at a preselected value A microminiature terminal-adjustable integrated circuit impedance device comprising a substrate, a plurality of impedance elements formed on the substrate with each impedance element having an impedance, a first input terminal, an output terminal, a plura... | 04/05/1977 |
| 4014050 | Apparatus employing a timer for controlling the quantity of water flushed by a toilet An apparatus for controlling the quantity of water flowing through a water outlet in the tank of a toilet comprising a timer including a rotatable output shaft, the timer being responsive to the angular rotation of the shaft from an initial position and o... | 03/29/1977 |
| 4012785 | Magnetic recording playback circuit A playback circuit for use with a magnetic recording transducer, in a magnetic recording apparatus, the transducer developing an alternating current readback signal having alternating positive and negative peaks, the playback circuit comprising a differen... | 03/15/1977 |
| 4011940 | Hinged storage container for tape cartridge with self-aligning walls A storage container for storing an article comprising a first wall having opposed front and back edges, opposed side edges, and a first inner surface, a second wall having opposed front and back edges, opposed side edges, and a second inner surface, a sid... | 03/15/1977 |
| 4011939 | Closed loop cleated belt/grooved pulley conveyor system A closed loop conveyor system for transporting loads from one point to another and including a drive pulley and a return pulley, either or both pulleys having a plurality of cleat receiving annular grooves, and a conveyor belt having an exterior load carr... | 03/15/1977 |
