Did You Know...
...that power steering was invented by independent inventor Francis W. Davis? As chief engineer in the 1920s of the truck division of the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company, he saw how hard it was to steer heavy vehicles. So that he would be able to keep the profits from his future invention, Davis left his job, rented a small engineering shop in Waltham, Mass., and developed a hydraulic power steering system that led to power steering.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6758225 | Refuse bin cleaning apparatus and methods of using same Provided is an apparatus and methods for cleaning bins including a lance provided with a nozzle assembly for discharging cleaning fluid (and optionally drying air) towards the inner wall surfaces of a bin. The lance can be advanced into and retracted from the bin wh... | 07/06/2004 |
| RE38967 | Video monitor and housing assembly A portable video cassette camera or minicam, preferably a palmcorder, is placed within a vehicle so as to monitor the activity within the passenger compartment. The minicam is contained in a box fastened to a wall within the vehicle so as to prevent the theft of the... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6981144 | System console device authentication in a network environment A method for providing secure access to console functions of a computer system and authentication of a console device is disclosed. The method comprises first initiating a first EKE sequence to generate a unique shared secret per device utilizing a default device id... | 12/27/2005 |
| 6946953 | Apparatus and method for enhanced data communications and control between a vehicle and a remote data communications terminal An apparatus and methods for enhanced data communications and control between a vehicle and a remote data communications terminal are disclosed. The apparatus preferably includes a first protocol converter adapted to be positioned in communication with at least one ... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6925582 | Forwarding of diagnostic messages in a group A system and method in data processing networks with distributed processing or multiple nodes provide a capability to insure that the protocols implicated in a first or original protocol are identified so that diagnostic messages sent during execution of that protoc... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6902694 | Fastener retention foam sheet and associated methods A combination fastener and foam sheet having enhanced fastener retention and methods of forming a foam sheet are provided so that the fastener is not easily removed from the foam sheet when an outward force is applied thereto. The combination preferably includes a f... | 06/07/2005 |
| 6885856 | Telephone bridging method A method of reducing telephone usage charges billed by a telephone service provider for connecting a source telephone to a target telephone by communicating to a computer system the telephone number of the source telephone, and communicating to the computer system t... | 04/26/2005 |
| 6880838 | Material cart for use on curved surface roofs A cart for transport of material, such as tools, equipment, supplies and the like on curved surface roofs of a building or other structure which as a varying or changing slope. The cart has a base frame mounted on rear wheels and forward casters. The base frame atta... | 04/19/2005 |
| 6875917 | Utility line pole having alignment indicator and associated methods A portable utility power line pole and associated methods of assembly and use are provided. The portable utility power line pole includes a pole body adapted to be held in the hand of a user. The portable utility power line pole also can include a tool connector ada... | 04/05/2005 |
| 6871392 | Method of constructing an integrated lead suspension An integrated lead suspension includes a solder ball that is placed between a lead wiring pad provided on a flexure of the suspension, and a bonding pad provided on a slider of a head gimbal section. The lead wiring pad and bonding pad are soldered by melting the so... | 03/29/2005 |
| 6868387 | Automated notification of part revisions for outside suppliers Revision of a part specification document, such as a drawing, a part specification, or a bill of materials, prompts execution of an automated notification process. A unique part number associated with the revised part specification document is employed in searching ... | 03/15/2005 |
| 6865844 | Fire and barrier foam A sealant for sealing around electrical conductors and/or conduits extending through an opening in a pad into a transformer housing. The sealant includes an insecticide dispersed throughout the sealant to kill the ants or insects attempting to enter the transformer ... | 03/15/2005 |
| D501917 | Toilet | 02/15/2005 |
| 6853508 | In-situ detection of contaminant accumulation on a slider in a disk drive The present invention provides a method and apparatus for detecting the presence of contaminants on the slider of a disk drive. By detecting the rate of change of the resistance of a thin film coil of a disk drive write element during drive operation, it can be dete... | 02/08/2005 |
| 6846222 | Multi-chambered, compliant apparatus for restraining workpiece and applying variable pressure thereto during lapping to improve flatness characteristics of workpiece An apparatus and method of lapping of rows of magnetic recording heads uses multiple fluid-filled ports with variable pressure against a flexible adhesive tape to secure to and support the row. The tape provides the necessary tangential restraining force to drag the... | 01/25/2005 |
| 6843878 | Method of automatically debonding, processing, and handling fragile slider rows An automatic thermal debonding process removes slider rows from a stainless steel processing fixture. The method uses a bimodal pitch adjustment and a mechanical row detainment mechanism to remove the rows from the fixture. The process allows full control of all cri... | 01/18/2005 |
| 6843298 | Apparatus for automatically debonding, processing, and handling fragile slider rows An automatic thermal debonding tool removes slider rows from a stainless steel processing fixture. The tool uses a bimodal pitch adjustment and a mechanical row detainment mechanism to remove the rows from the fixture. The tool allow full control of all critical pro... | 01/18/2005 |
| 6840488 | Furniture support and carpet protection combination, apparatus, kit and methods of using same A furniture support and carpet protection combination includes a piece of furniture having a furniture structural member supported by a flooring that may have irregularities and a carpet positioned between the furniture structural member and the flooring. The combin... | 01/11/2005 |
| 6840323 | Tubing annulus valve A subsea wellhead assembly has a tubing hanger with a tubing annulus passage and a production passage. A metal-sealing shuttle valve is mounted in the tubing hanger for blocking upward flow through the tubing annulus passage. The shuttle valve has a retention mechan... | 01/11/2005 |
| 6830607 | Slurry tray and slurry tray assembly for use in fractionation towers A slurry tray and a method for removing residual vinyl chloride monomer from a polyvinylchloride resin slurry with reduced discoloration of the polyvinylchloride resin is provided. The slurry tray preferably includes partitioned channels that cause the slurry to flo... | 12/14/2004 |
| 6802761 | Pattern-electroplated lapping plates for reduced loads during single slider lapping and process for their fabrication A lapping plate has photolithographically defined patterns that are electroplated to produce lands with well-defined channels. By choosing a particular geometry, the retention force is significantly reduced over prior art options, while still retaining a high land a... | 10/12/2004 |
| 6765490 | System and methods for detecting harmful agents within contents of mail A system and methods of the present invention advantageously provide efficient mail processing and handling that, as compared to existing procedures, enhances detection within the mail being processed or handled of biological, germ, chemical, or other harmful agents... | 07/20/2004 |
| 6763104 | Call center IVR and ACD scripting method and graphical user interface A call center system and method of routing calls to individual agents within a call center is disclosed. Skills data, including a listing of skills and proficiency levels for each skill, are input via an automatic call distributor (ACD) manager having graphical user... | 07/13/2004 |
| 6744352 | SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR DATA COMMUNICATION BETWEEN VEHICLE AND REMOTE DATA COMMUNICATION TERMINAL, BETWEEN PORTIONS OF VEHICLE AND OTHER PORTIONS OF VEHICLE, BETWEEN TWO OR MORE VEHICLES, AND BETWEEN VEHICLE AND COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK A system, an apparatus, and methods are provided for data communications associated with a vehicle. The apparatus preferably includes at least one electronic subsystem associated with the vehicle and a plurality of electrical conductors connected to the at least one... | 06/01/2004 |
| 6742027 | Data processing system and method for permitting a server to remotely disable a client computer system's input device A data processing system and method are described for permitting a server computer system to remotely disable an input device included within a client computer system coupled to the server utilizing a network. The server computer system transmits a message to the cl... | 05/25/2004 |
| 6736005 | High accuracy measuring and control of low fluid flow rates The flow of a fluid at low flow rates is measured and controlled without introducing measuring devices into the fluid flow path. As the fluid is flowing through tubing, the tubing is heated to impart heat to the fluid. Heat sensors are attached at spaced positions f... | 05/18/2004 |
| 6735719 | Method and system for performing load testings on software applications A method for performing load testings on software applications is disclosed. A test script is initially recorded. A location at which dynamic data are first generated within the recorded test script is then identified. Proper data correlation statements are subseque... | 05/11/2004 |
| 6734872 | System, method, and program for optimally caching overlay instances in a memory system A system, method, and program for optimally caching in a memory system an overlay instance. The system includes a local memory and a rasterizing processor coupled to the local memory. Responsive to receipt of a presentation requirement specifying an overlay stored i... | 05/11/2004 |
| 6734772 | Method and apparatus for providing selectable output voltages A transformer is provided along with a combination of bridging tap-changers to provide a wide range of selectable output voltages in discrete, relatively small voltage steps where the highest voltage is more than double the lowest output voltage. Relatively inexpens... | 05/11/2004 |
| 6732196 | Allowing slots belonging to a second slot category to receive I/O access requests belonging to a first and a second access request categories in a round robin fashion A method for dispatching input/output access requests to a direct access storage device (DASD) is disclosed. Each of a group of I/O access requests to DASD is assigned into one of at least two I/O access request categories, namely, high priority I/O access requests ... | 05/04/2004 |
| 6731396 | Method and system for media selection in a printer A registry is established in document presentation architecture that provides a unique numeric identifier for the most commonly used media types. Logic checks a print job and the accompanying form definition for a numeric identifier, a media name and a bin number in... | 05/04/2004 |
| 6727921 | Mixed mode input for a graphical user interface (GUI) of a data processing system The present invention provides an improved graphical user interface (GUI) component for presenting mixed mode inputs. A GUI component disclosed as a mixed mode input box according to the present invention permits easier selection within the GUI component of an input... | 04/27/2004 |
| 6725348 | Data storage device and method for reducing write misses by completing transfer to a dual-port cache before initiating a disk write of the data from the cache A data storage device and method for improving the performance of data storage devices examines a command queue and performs data transfers to memory within the device before prior commands have completed. A process running in the idle loop of the controller in the ... | 04/20/2004 |
| 6721885 | Reducing start-up time and avoiding customer-induced system failures for personal computers Disclosed is a method for reducing power-up time and avoiding customer-induced failures of computer systems during power-up. An intrusion switch, which is connected to the inside frame of the computer system is utilized. The intrusion switch signals the BIOS of the ... | 04/13/2004 |
| 6718567 | Swimming pool water level controller A water level controller for a pool has a water level sensor immersed in the pool. A processor detects if the sensor senses low water. A transmitter sends a radio frequency signal to a receiver if the processor detects the low water. The receiver turns on a valve to... | 04/13/2004 |
| 6718464 | Method and system for customizing a client computer system configuration for a current user using BIOS settings downloaded from a server A method and system are disclosed for dynamically loading selected BIOS modules and settings from a server computer system to a client computer system according to an identity of a user who is currently utilizing the client computer system. The client computer syste... | 04/06/2004 |
| 6717291 | Capacitor-based powering system and associated methods A system, capacitor having auxiliary cells, and associated methods for starting an engine is provided. The capacitor is an enhanced-power capacitor that provides enhanced cranking power. The capacitor is isolated from the battery and the rest of the engine's electri... | 04/06/2004 |
| 6713978 | Method and system for determining induction motor speed A non-linear, semi-parametric neural network-based adaptive filter is utilized to determine the dynamic speed of a rotating rotor within an induction motor, without the explicit use of a speed sensor, such as a tachometer, is disclosed. The neural network-based filt... | 03/30/2004 |
| 6707904 | Method and system for collecting reports for call center monitoring by supervisor A method and call center system are disclosed for collecting and reporting information by the call center for use by a supervisor. A supervisor computer is connected to an automatic call distributor (ACD) server and a structured query language (SQL) server having an... | 03/16/2004 |
