Did You Know...
...that while attempting to develop a super strong glue, 3M employee Spencer Silver accidentally developed a glue that was so weak it would barely hold two pieces of paper together? However, his colleague Art Fry needed the glue. Fry sang with his church choir and marked the pages of his hymnal with small scraps of paper that often fell out. He used Silver's glue to hold the papers in place. Today we call this invention Post-it Notes.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 4796839 | Space launch vehicle A rocket launch vehicle comprising a rocket body having a forward section and an aft section, a first rocket engine fixedly mounted to the aft section of the rocket body and axially aligned with the rocket body, a second rocket engine detachably mounted t... | 01/10/1989 |
| 4795301 | Low-center-of-gravity self-unloading train for bulk commodities A unit train consists of a plurality of hopper cars and a multi-purpose trailer car. The hopper cars have one or more hoppers each having a bottom discharge opening and a controller gate. The hopper cars are constructed with load bearing side sills to pro... | 01/03/1989 |
| 4778985 | Imaging plate structure An imaging plate structure having a first conductive layer, a first insulative layer, a photoconductive layer, a second insulative layer, and a second conductive layer. The first insulative layer is integrally affixed to the side of the first conductive l... | 10/18/1988 |
| 4759404 | Heterodensity heat transfer apparatus and method An apparatus for use in a microgravity environment for radiating waste heat using a multiphase mixture of gas and solid particles or dust as a heterodensity heat transfer medium. A conventional heat exchanger is in thermal contact with the heterodensity h... | 07/26/1988 |
| 4722147 | Display panel A display panel comprising a substantially planar structural layer of rigid material, a plurality of slats fastened to the structural layer, and a fastener for attaching the structural layer to a wall. The slats have a first surface that fastens flush aga... | 02/02/1988 |
| 4720329 | Apparatus and method for the electrolytic plating of layers onto computer memory hard discs An apparatus for electrolytic plating of computer memory discs comprising a plating container, a spindle, a prime mover, an anode, and an electrical transmission system. The plating container contains a liquid plating bath having a nickel compound include... | 01/19/1988 |
| 4718126 | Flashlight holding apparatus An apparatus for holding a flashlight comprising a first strap, a second strap affixed to one end of the first strap, and a section of elastic material affixed to the second strap and arranged so as to define a hole between the second strap and the sectio... | 01/12/1988 |
| 4703188 | Power source for starter motors A power source for a starter motor comprising a frame, a hand crank rotatably connected to the frame, a flywheel generator connected to the hand crank, and power transmission electrically connected to the flywheel generator so as to transmit energy to a s... | 10/27/1987 |
| 4699614 | Non-reusable syringe A non-reusable syringe comprising a barrel having an open end and a restricted end, a piston slidably positioned within the barrel and forming a liquid-tight seal with the interior of the barrel, a shaft freely slidable within the barrel and extending bey... | 10/13/1987 |
| 4689523 | Optical cleaning system for removing matter from underwater surfaces An optical cleaning system for removing matter from underwater surfaces comprising the high energy strobe lamp, a capacitor electrically connected to the strobe lamp, a power supply electrically connected to the capacitor, and a trigger circuit electrical... | 08/25/1987 |
| 4686375 | Uninterruptible power supply cogeneration system A power system for providing an uninterrupitible power supply comprising a first generator connected to a primary external load, a second generator connected to a secondary external load, and a prime mover connected to said first and second generators by ... | 08/11/1987 |
| 4678093 | Musical baby bottle A musical baby bottle comprising a nipple, a liquid container connected to the nipple, a base section fastened to an opening at the bottom of the liquid container, a microchip having musical information fastened to the interior of the base section, a spea... | 07/07/1987 |
| 4674708 | Amphibious discoidal aircraft An aircraft comprising a discoidal fuselage having a planar upper surface and containing at least one vertical duct extending longitudinally therethrough, an impeller located within the duct for producing an upward flow of gas, and a gas flow director mov... | 06/23/1987 |
| 4672199 | Fiberoptic temperature/pressure sensor system A fiberoptic sensing system comprising a light source, a sensor responsive to external stimulus, an optical fiber connected to the light source and the sensor, a detector arranged to receive light from the optical fiber, and output electronics electricall... | 06/09/1987 |
| 4653796 | Spring mount for vehicle bodies A front end mount for a service body to a cab chassis of a truck comprising a first crossmember fixedly fastened to the forward portion of the floor of the service body and extending along the width of the floor and a second crossmember fixedly fastened t... | 03/31/1987 |
| 4642611 | Sound engine A sound engine comprising a firing chamber, an output horn, an igniter, a valve system, an electromagnetic control device, and a source of electrical signal impulses. The igniter is mounted about the firing chamber. The valve system is arranged generally ... | 02/10/1987 |
| 4642783 | Life raft testing device A life raft testing device comprising an arrangement of transducer sensors; connectors between the transducers and the life raft desired to be tested; processors electrically connected to the transducer sensors; a controller electrically connected to and ... | 02/10/1987 |
| 4614319 | Solar sail A solar sail propulsion system comprising a solar sail for intercepting light pressure; a tension truss having two ends attached to one end of the solar sail; and a payload attached to the other end of the tension truss. The solar sail is a thin metal fil... | 09/30/1986 |
| 4607466 | Method and apparatus for controlling reverberation of sound in enclosed environments The present invention is an acoustic panel having a porous layer and a generally rigid layer affixed to each other. The generally rigid layer includes at least one passageway opening on one side of the rigid layer and extending through the rigid layer to ... | 08/26/1986 |
| 4607161 | Fiberoptic switch system A fiberoptic limit switch system comprising a light source, an optical beamsplitting arrangement, a switch, an optical fiber, a detector, and output circuitry. The light source is a light-emitting diode. The switch is responsive to external stimulus. The ... | 08/19/1986 |
| 4597017 | Scanner system for X-ray plate readout An X-ray plate readout device comprising a generally light-tight housing, a holder for the X-ray plate within the housing, a light source located within the housing, scanning electronics for creating a generally raster pattern of light to the X-ray plate,... | 06/24/1986 |
| 4555307 | Sea water distillation system A system for the distillation of sea water comprising a sea water input conduit, an evaporator, a work extractor, a float, a condenser, a distilled water output conduit, and a brine solution output conduit. The evaporator is connected to the input conduit... | 11/26/1985 |
| 4552514 | Wave driven work extracting device A work extracting device driven by the wave motion of a fluid comprising a first float, a cylinder, a piston slidably engaging the interior of the cylinder, a piston rod extending from the piston and pivotally coupled to the first float, and a second floa... | 11/12/1985 |
| 4552419 | Mini-desk A portable mini-desk comprising a body having a generally flat surface thereabout, a first surface connected to the body and capable of canting with respect to that body, and controls arranged about the body so as to maintain the first surface in at least... | 11/12/1985 |
| 4539591 | Method of impressing and reading out a surface charge on a multi-layered detector structure A method of recording and reading out a latent image which comprises placing a uniform surface charge on the photoconductive layer of a multilayered detector apparatus, biasing said photoconductive layer with an electric field whose polarity opposes said ... | 09/03/1985 |
| 4521808 | Electrostatic imaging apparatus An image scanning apparatus for obtaining radiographic information from a detector system. The apparatus produces a video signal by optical readout of a latent image found in a detector system. The video signal is processed and displayed to provide radiog... | 06/04/1985 |
| 4504867 | Radiation containment apparatus and method A radiation containment apparatus comprising a source of radiation having an area from which radiation is emitted, and a vinyl polymer sheet generally arranged about the area from which radiation is emitted in a manner so as to receive the radiation. The ... | 03/12/1985 |
| 4498015 | Flywheel device for a moving vehicle An energy storage device comprising three flywheels mounted mutually perpendicular on said shafts in three dimensions within a rigid enclosure. The shafts are interconnected within the enclosure through a bevel gear arrangement in which the motion of one ... | 02/05/1985 |
| 4493121 | Blanket lifting device A device for keeping a blanket or sheet off feet in a bed comprising a frame, a support structure, and a line extending from the frame and engaging the blanket. The support structure is a plate interposed between a mattress and a box spring set. The frame... | 01/15/1985 |
| 4480677 | Method for processing and fabricating metals in space The present invention relates to method and apparatus for fabricating materials and objects, and processing and refining metals in space by means of available sunlight energy.... | 11/06/1984 |
| 4480986 | Liquid fuel vaporizing burner A liquid fuel vaporizing burner comprising a combustion chamber, a fuel inlet, a primary air inlet, a secondary air inlet, and a microprocessor controller. The fuel inlet communicates with the combustion chamber. The primary air inlet communicates with th... | 11/06/1984 |
| 4469294 | V/STOL Aircraft A V/STOL aircraft comprising a fuselage, having three sets of wings that are offset lengthwise and vertically. The center set of relatively small relatively thick wings 34 between the canard 14 and the rear relatively thin relatively large aerodynamic lif... | 09/04/1984 |
| 4464565 | Extensible tape heater An elongated flexible resistance heating element includes a heat transmitting cover that is generally coextensive with the element. A resilient element is provided adjacent one end of the heating element to accommodate extension of the cover for use of th... | 08/07/1984 |
| 4460834 | Uninterruptible power system The present device is power system for providing an uninterruptible power supply to an external load comprising a flywheel generator, a first motor, a standby generator, and a transfer controller. The flywheel generator is adapted to supply energy to the ... | 07/17/1984 |
| 4446365 | Electrostatic imaging method A method of operating a photodetector system. The method impresses a surface charge on a photon detector by establishing an electric potential across the detector, storing the detector in the dark, disconnecting the source of electric potential, and elect... | 05/01/1984 |
| 4430251 | High energy emulsifier An apparatus and method for the emulsification of fluids. Mixing of the fluids may occur before the fluids enter the apparatus, or in the apparatus. Extremely low pressure is created and maintained in an apparatus chamber by accelerating the flow velocity... | 02/07/1984 |
| 4421198 | Variable frequency vacuum actuated seismic energy source A variable frequency seismic pulse is produced by releasing a weighted piston within a partially evacuated cylinder. The piston compresses residual air in the cylinder before striking a base plate held firmly in contact with the ground. Controlling the pr... | 12/20/1983 |
| 4419692 | High speed infrared imaging system The present invention is a method of referencing and operating an infrared imaging system that may be used with virtually any system. A preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed using a mechanical scanning mirror that minimizes spatial scan disto... | 12/06/1983 |
