Did You Know...
...that several people are credited with the invention of the flush toilet? Most people have heard of Thomas Crapper (1837-1910), the sanitary engineer who invented the valve-and-siphon arrangement that made the modern toilet possible. Another claimant to "the throne" was British inventor Alexander Cumming who patented a toilet in 1775. Then there's a nameless Minoan (a native of ancient Crete) who lived 4,000 years ago who supposedly was ahead of his time and created the first flush toilet!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 4691130 | Process for the generation plasma and an MHD generator The invention relates to a process for the generation of a plasma by heating up a flowing gas and an MHD generator for performing the said process in order to achieve the generation of electrical power in an economical manner. For this purpose there are g... | 09/01/1987 |
| 4688709 | Wire solder feeder device A hand-held device for advancing a strip of solder or like material includes a body having a receiving end, a nose-like advancing end, and an intermediate pair of upstanding brackets. A swing arm pivotally mounted to the brackets pivotally mounts a spring... | 08/25/1987 |
| 4687389 | Key duplication machine A machine for coding or duplicating a pattern of bits onto a key blank employs a locator block which forms reference slots for receiving a key to be duplicated. A template having a matrix of openings which correspond to possible pre-established bit locati... | 08/18/1987 |
| 4685554 | Ejection method and apparatus Partially completed cigarette packages are ejected from cells mounted on a turret of a wrapping machine by a pusher device which is caused to both reciprocate axially with respect to the cells and also to move with the cells over a limited arcuate range. ... | 08/11/1987 |
| 4685865 | Liquid ring compressor having openings in housing for emptying liquid during stoppage The invention relates to a liquid ring compressor in which only one central emptying opening is provided to the outside per compressor stage. It is ensured by means of appropriate connections of the chambers pertaining to each compressor stage that the en... | 08/11/1987 |
| 4684083 | Parachute quick release coupling A parachute quick release coupling having overlying and underlying coupling members and a latching mechanism pivotally mounted on a lower upstanding lug of the underlying coupling member to be withdrawn outwardly and downwardly from a normal latching posi... | 08/04/1987 |
| 4684464 | Apparatus for washing material A liquid treatment system, for example a water purification system, includes a treatment vessel which contains a bed of ion-exchange or adsorption material. The system also includes a washing vessel to which batches of the material comprising the bed in t... | 08/04/1987 |
| 4681563 | Flow control system A dual controller for an IV infusion system comprises a microprocessor to concurrently control the rate of infusion through two IV units. The control of the rate of infusion is provided by a stepper motor driven regulator which is selectively positionable... | 07/21/1987 |
| 4681500 | Delivery unit for bookbinding machines In a delivery unit for bookbinding machines, book blocks released by the transport grippers of an adhesive-binding apparatus are transported by a conveyor along a downward-inclined linear path segment which is followed immediately by a horizontal path seg... | 07/21/1987 |
| 4680163 | Process and apparatus for sterilizing containers Open-topped containers are sterilized by employing an electrostatic field to insure complete coating of the interior surface of such containers with a sterilizing agent. The sterilizing agent is supplied in liquid form, ultrasonically atomized, the thus f... | 07/14/1987 |
| 4678209 | Casing hanger An improved casing hanger for suspending a pipe string from a casing head at a well head employs a plurality of slip members having a series of teeth which are adapted for frictionally engaging the wedging surface of a slip bowl. The teeth have a profile ... | 07/07/1987 |
| 4677005 | Adhesive application process A film of adhesive is deposited onto a linearly moving book block back through use of an applying roller which rotates at a preselected nominal speed relative to the velocity of the book block. The rotational speed of the applying roller relative to its n... | 06/30/1987 |
| 4672828 | Key-in-knob cylinder replacement system A key-in-knob type cylinder replacement system comprises a replacement cylinder having a generally cylindrical shell and a plug having a keyway and housing pin means to prevent the rotation of the plug. A false bible dimensioned to be generally commensura... | 06/16/1987 |
| 4669218 | Traffic responsive control system An automatic door installation with two traffic sensors mounted on each side of the door adjacent the opposite side edges thereof, each having a reflected energy receiver and a plurality of radiant energy emitters with angularly spaced beam axes to provid... | 06/02/1987 |
| 4668953 | Electrical power dividers A Beam-forming Network includes a plurality of directional couplers and phase shifters and which can interconnect both a transmitter and a receiver to the same group of radiating elements of an antenna even though the transmitter frequency band is differe... | 05/26/1987 |
| 4668938 | Switching amplifier and electronic siren employing the same A signal having a rectangular waveform, typically in the audio frequency range, is capacitively coupled to a pair of Darlington circuits which are connected in a push-pull arrangement across the primary winding of a power transformer. A clamping circuit i... | 05/26/1987 |
| 4667641 | Injection pump with radially mounted spill control valve A rotary fuel injection pump (10) having a rotating spill control valve (37) mounted transversely in the rotor (16), adjacent the charge pump (39). The valve is centered on the longitudinal axis of the rotor and connected to the center of the pumping cham... | 05/26/1987 |
| 4667708 | Method and apparatus for filling tanks with liquified gas An automated system for charging container with a liquefied refrigerant gas or like fluid employs a fill head assembly which is adapted to be controllably lowered onto the container. The fill head has a vacuum source assembly which connects with a low pre... | 05/26/1987 |
| 4666390 | Apparatus for making a patterned non-woven fabric A non-woven fabric having a pattern defined by an array of discrete areas having a reduced fibre density but which are substantially free of peforations is produced by supporting a freshly wet laid web of the non-woven fabric on a porous surface and direc... | 05/19/1987 |
| 4664258 | Diskette holder A holder for use in the filling, in a manner which permits easy retrieval, of flat recording media such as floppy disks for use in computers. The holder comprises a sandwich which includes a recess defining intermediate sheet positioned between cover and ... | 05/12/1987 |
| 4663845 | Utility knife A knife holder for a utility knife is disclosed comprising an elongated case forming a blade opening at the forward end and an interior guide for guiding a blade carrier and a blade carrier adapted for mounting a blade and being slidably mounted to the gu... | 05/12/1987 |
| 4662825 | Hydraulic pump A supply pump for continuously supplying pressurized fuel to an accumulator-type injector system employs an electrically controlled metering valve for regulating the supply of fuel to the pump chamber. The output pressure of the pressurized fuel from the ... | 05/05/1987 |
| 4658649 | Ultrasonic method and device for detecting and measuring defects in metal media An non-destructive testing method employs an ultrasound generator which provides a beam having an axis which intersects the outer surface of an object to be tested at an angle relative to a line normal to the surface which is in the range of 23° to 28°.... | 04/21/1987 |
| 4658955 | Mailer for recording media A container for use in the mailing of flat recording media, discettes having computer programs or the like recorded thereon for example, comprises a pair of cover members which cooperate to define a pocket therebetween, at least two parts of these cover m... | 04/21/1987 |
| 4656967 | Dog walking device A dog walking device employs an endless belt which is suspended between two pulleys and is connected to a slider element for driving a tether assembly. The slider element slides along a cable which is positioned generally parallel to the endless belt and ... | 04/14/1987 |
| 4655344 | Apparatus for storing recording media Easily operable apparatus for storing and retrieving recording media, magnetic tape cassettes and compact discs for example, is characterized by a housing and at least first recording media carrier slidably supported therein for movement between a stored ... | 04/07/1987 |
| 4651743 | Diaphanoscopy method A non-destructive testing technique, particularly suitable for the non-invasive examination of human body tissue, wherein the object of interest is sequentially transilluminated with light having different wavelengths. Apparatus for practicing the techniq... | 03/24/1987 |
| 4651744 | Soft tissue examination method and apparatus An ultrasound adapter is provided for a medical diagnostic device which implements a transillumination modality. The ultrasound adapter enables the sharing of data processing circuitry between the transillumination and ultrasound modalities. When in use, ... | 03/24/1987 |
