Did You Know...
...Chester Carlson was a patent agent who tired of having to make multiple copies of patent applications using the only duplication method available at the time: carbon paper. In 1959 he came up with a new copying system and took it to IBM for evaluation. The "experts" at IBM determined potential sales to be only 5,000 units because people wouldn't want to use a bulky machine when they had carbon paper. Carlson's invention was the xerography process, the company founded on the system is Xerox.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5007192 | Lapboard An improved navigation lapboard having two clear sheets clamping sheets of paper between them which allows viewing of the paper and writing on the acrylic sheets without writing directly on the paper. The lapboard is sized to hold an aviation chart and a ... | 04/16/1991 |
| 5006119 | Hollow core coaxial catheter A hollow core coaxial catheter supporting a heatable probe or balloon transmits electrical power, such as RF energy, to the ohmically resistive probe or balloon. The hollow core may accommodate passage of a guide wire, fiber optics for imaging or laser, f... | 04/09/1991 |
| 5004973 | Method and apparatus for maintaining electrically operating device temperatures A method and apparatus for maintaining an electrically operating device at a desired temperature includes immersing the device in a bath of an inert liquid having a boiling point less than the desired device temperature. The device generates heat during e... | 04/02/1991 |
| 5003269 | Unity gain amplifier with high slew rate and high bandwidth A unity gain amplifier of the Diamond follower type provides the combination of negligible input offset voltage, high slew rate, and high bandwidth by providing first and second opposite polarity current mirror circuits which respond to currents flowing t... | 03/26/1991 |
| 5002528 | Percutaneous irrigation and drainage system A closed system for percutaneous irrigation and drainage of cavities containing abscesses, sterile fluid collections or hematomas includes an irrigant reservoir; an irrigation tube connects the reservoir to a first port of a first three-ported connector a... | 03/26/1991 |
| 5002538 | Syringe adapter and method An adapter for connecting a cannula to a syringe barrel or a liposuction handle includes a tapered recess that precisely matches a tapered nose of a syringe barrel and a cylindrical recess that precisely matches the cylindrical outside end surface of the ... | 03/26/1991 |
| 5001587 | Protection circuit for railroad signaling high voltage surge protection circuit A surge suppressor suitable for protecting railroad switching systems from lightning directly striking a rail of a railroad track includes a pair of spark gap surge suppressors each coupled between a ground conductor and a corresponding rail. A spark gap ... | 03/19/1991 |
| 5000224 | Water shut-off valve assembly A hydraulically actuated shut-off valve is controlled by a solenoid actuated control valve. A flow detection unit having a substantially vertical inlet and a substantially vertical flow passage has a substantially horizontal outlet connected to the horizo... | 03/19/1991 |
| 4998343 | Electrical wiring method and apparatus An apparatus for aiding the routing of conductors into an electrical panel distribution box and connecting the conductors to corresponding circuit breaker terminals of an electrical distribution panel therein. The apparatus includes a terminal jig having ... | 03/12/1991 |
| 4998598 | Acoustical door A light-weight acoustical door is comprised of a wood frame separating and joining first and second panels and providing a space between the panels which filled with fibrous sound-absorbing material. Each panel is comprised of at least three layers, two o... | 03/12/1991 |
| 4999585 | Circuit technique for cancelling non-linear capacitor-induced harmonic distortion Circuitry for reducing harmonic distortion in an amplifier includes a first transistor having a first non-linear collector-to-substrate capacitance, a first load device coupled to a collector of the first transistor, a first current source coupled to an e... | 03/12/1991 |
| 4996942 | Rotatable substrate supporting susceptor with temperature sensors A rotatable substrate supporting mechanism for use in a chemical vapor deposition reaction chamber of the type used in producing semi-conductor devices is provided with a susceptor for supporting a single substrate, or wafer, for rotation about an axis no... | 03/05/1991 |
| 4993355 | Susceptor with temperature sensing device A rotatable substrate supporting mechanism for use in a chemical vapor deposition reaction chamber of the type used in producing semi-conductor devices is provided with a susceptor for supporting a single substrate, or wafer, for rotation about an axis no... | 02/19/1991 |
| 4993561 | Merchandising system A low cost modular merchandising system includes vacuum-formed feature racks with a rectangular array of front pocket recesses which can be used to support graphic inserts, products displayed for sale, and a wide variety of merchandising accessories inclu... | 02/19/1991 |
| 4991254 | Cleaning system A cleaning system utilizes heat from an internal combustion engine to heat cleaning liquid which is sprayed onto a surface to be cleaned. The internal combustion engine drives a vacuum pump which withdraws air and cleaning liquid through a vacuum nozzle f... | 02/12/1991 |
| 4989836 | Detachable wheelchair headrest A wheelchair headrest, attached to opposite vertical frame members of the wheelchair, includes at least two resilient head supports for preventing involuntary head movement in a person seated in the wheelchair. The wheelchair headrest is detachable from t... | 02/05/1991 |
| 4989884 | Automotive boot A protective accordion configured tubular boot has one end fixedly secured to and sealed about the cylinder of a shock absorber and the boot extends upwardly about a plunger protruding from the cylinder. The other end of the boot includes an inwardly exte... | 02/05/1991 |
| 4990025 | Soil stabilizing method and apparatus A tilling/stabilization apparatus for tilling and stabilizing a roadbed or other base layer of soil includes a large manifold for receiving metered amounts of pressurized fly ash or other powdery filler, binder, and/or sealer material and injecting it in ... | 02/05/1991 |
| 4989770 | Lockring removal device A device for removing a ring closed and locked by a fastener containing a protruding fastener lock, the device includes a fastener engagement member having a wall and a floor which define a recess adapted to receive the fastener therein. Attached to an ou... | 02/05/1991 |
| 4989359 | Shotgun having interchangeable barrels A shotgun having interchangeable barrels includes a barrel support member attached to a standard shotgun action. A plurality of barrels having substantially equal weights are sized and constructed to fit within and attach to the support member in operatio... | 02/05/1991 |
| 4988832 | Recessed electrical outlet with cover A wall mounted recessed electrical outlet, installable in new or old construction, includes a housing having recessed female outlets mounted therein for receiving and containing male plugs plugged therein. A pivotally or removably attached lockable cover,... | 01/29/1991 |
| 4987856 | High throughput multi station processor for multiple single wafers Each of a plurality of individually heated circularly located susceptors supports and heats one of a plurality of wafers within a processing chamber. An overhead gas dispersion head, vertically aligned with each susceptor, directs, in combination with dow... | 01/29/1991 |
| 4989257 | Method and apparatus for generating size and orientation invariant shape features A system extracts a set of size invariant, rotation invariant features from pixel data of a character and sends the set of features to a statistical decision tree to effectuate automatic recognition of a character. The set of extracted features includes a... | 01/29/1991 |
| 4989219 | Midlevel carrier modulation and demodulation techniques Several techniques are disclosed for producing modulation of a carrier signal wherein each transition of the modulated carrier signal includes a midrange level and/or two midrange characteristics, the level and/or ratio of the two midrange characteristics... | 01/29/1991 |
| 4984893 | Phase shifting device and method A phase shifting projector includes an incandescent lamp, a heat-absorbing filter filtering infrared light from the incandescent lamp, a condensing lens receiving light from the filter, a transparent slide having a sinusoidal grating thereon, a projecting... | 01/15/1991 |
| 4982585 | Timer for bank vaults A low current drain timer for bank vaults is easily settable to limit opening of the vault to a predetermined time, irrespective of the time of closing the vault. Three thumb wheels having corresponding indicia are set to designate the elapsed time necess... | 01/08/1991 |
| 4979461 | Self righting traffic cone A normally upstanding road marker includes a cone extending from a special base formed of an elastomeric material to induce a self righting movement to return the road marker to an upstanding position subsequent to it having been tipped over. The base inc... | 12/25/1990 |
| 4979878 | Relieved piston valve for fluid motor and fluid pump An asymmetrical or relieved piston is provided in a fluid motor or a pump. The piston is rigidly connected to one end of the connecting rod, the opposite end of which is pivotally connected to a rotating crankshaft. The piston has a relieved upper and low... | 12/25/1990 |
| 4978535 | Method for cleaning contact lenses The use of stabilized chlorine dioxide or chlorine dioxide in aqueous solution as a composition to reduce or prevent plaque formation and treatment of oral diseases ecologically plaque dependent, such as gingivitis and periodontitis, is disclosed. Preferr... | 12/18/1990 |
| 4979130 | Method of creating hollow multistroke characters A method of generating hollow multistroke characters. First and second bit maps are created using border and interior data from a polygon fill drawing a first stroke. Data from the polygon fill drawing a second stroke is processed in a RMW LOGIC utilizing... | 12/18/1990 |
| 4976710 | Working well balloon method A transparent plastic collapsible balloon is attached to the distal end of a flexible bronchoscope or angioscope. The inflatable balloon has a cavity or "working well" at its distal end which communicates by means of a tube with the central channel of the... | 12/11/1990 |
| 4974610 | Photographic imprinting of artificial fingernails A method for making sets of artificial fingernails wherein a single scene spans a set of 10 artificial fingernails. An image is photographically imprinted on a semi-rigid layer of photographic film. A layer of transparent plastic film is laminated over th... | 12/04/1990 |
| 4974992 | Excavation closure A closure for excavations is provided, which comprises a plate which rests on and is supported by the edges of an excavation site. The upper surface of the plate is substantially flush with the surrounding street surface, and the plate has at least one li... | 12/04/1990 |
| 4975561 | Heating system for substrates A heating system for use in chemical vapor deposition equipment of the type wherein a reactant gas is directed in horizontal flow for depositing materials on a substrate which is supported in a reaction chamber on a susceptor which is rotatably driven for... | 12/04/1990 |
| 4975285 | Method for cleaning dental prosthetic devices The use of stabilized chlorine dioxide or chlorine dioxide in aqueous solution as a composition to reduce or prevent plaque formation and treatment of oral diseases ecologically plaque dependent, such as gingivitis and periodontitis, is disclosed. Preferr... | 12/04/1990 |
| 4970819 | Firearm safety system and method Actuation of the firing mechanism of a firearm is prevented until grip pattern sensing means on the handgrip of the firearm supply to a microprocessor signals corresponding to a grip pattern stored in a programmed simulated neural network memory. All of t... | 11/20/1990 |
| 4968901 | Integrated circuit high frequency input attenuator circuit An attenuator for use in an integrated circuit window comparator circuit provides voltage division across an input voltage divider including a large number of identical thin film resistor segments combined in various series and parallel arrangements so th... | 11/06/1990 |
| 4966190 | Check valve for a leak detector A check valve for a leak detector used in conjuction with a gasoline dispenser maintains the delivery line under pressure to accelerate translation of the leak detector from the relaxed position through the leak position and to the non leak position unles... | 10/30/1990 |
| 4966451 | Eyeglass flotation apparatus A temple mounted flotation device for eyeglasses is detachably attached for use during water related activities to prevent sinking and loss of the eyeglasses. The location of mounting in combination with the shape of the flotation device(s) affords latera... | 10/30/1990 |
| 4965864 | Linear motor An electromechanical linear motor incorporating a number of electrically conductive drive coils arranged axially and embedded in a composite matrix so as to form a hollow cylinder within which a piston or pistons are placed. Permanent magnets or conductiv... | 10/23/1990 |
