Did You Know...
...that one person who claimed to be the inventor of the television is Russian emigre Vladimir Zworykin? In 1929 David Sarnoff, founder of RCA, asked Zworykin what it would take to develop TV for commercial use. He said: a year and a half and $100,000. In reality, it took 20 years and $50 million! Before his death in 1982 at the age of 92, Zworykin said of his invention: "The technique is wonderful. It is beyond my expectations. But the programs! I would never let my children even come close to this thing."
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5404597 | Vacuum assist toilet trap A vacuum assisted toilet wherein a vacuum is applied between upper and lower traps (40,44 in FIG. 2) of a toilet bowl outlet during a flushing, wherein the lower trap is constructed to more reliably assure that an air passage (64) above a pool of water (5... | 04/11/1995 |
| 5386596 | Water saver toilet A water saver toilet is provided, of the type that applies a vacuum to the toilet bowl outlet to assist flushing, which effectively uses the vacuum. The toilet bowl outlet includes upper and lower trap devices (44, 50 in FIG. 2) connected by a trapway (46... | 02/07/1995 |
| 5381750 | Vessel turret mooring system A vessel with a rotatable turret thereon is moored in a manner that minimizes turret tilt while avoiding the need to maintain precisely concentric upper and lower turret bearings. A mooring structure (152, FIG. 7) is formed by a group of mooring lines (16... | 01/17/1995 |
| 5378362 | Apparatus for magnetically treating water A system is provided for treating water to reduce calcium carbonate deposits. At least three or four pairs of magnets (30a-30d and 32a-32d in FIG. 2) form a group of magnets that are mounted around a water-carrying pipe (12), with the magnets spaced apart... | 01/03/1995 |
| 5372278 | Earplug dispenser box A container is described which can hold multiple small articles such as earplugs, and which can be inserted into a dispenser where the contents can be readily released. The container includes a box (30, FIG. 3) whose bottom wall includes a pair of flaps (... | 12/13/1994 |
| 5372510 | Shoelace tying aid A combination shoelace and joining device is provided for use by young children or the handicapped, to aid in tying a bow in a shoelace that is mounted on a shoe. The joining device (16, FIG. 2 ) has a pair of permanently connected shoelace holding portio... | 12/13/1994 |
| 5352172 | Rope exerciser A rope friction exercise device is described which is in the form of a member 12 (FIG. 2) having multiple bars (51-62) about which a rope (30) can extend in multiple wrappings to provide frictional resistance against pulling of the rope. The member has an... | 10/04/1994 |
| 5343572 | Pressured toilet tank flush valve A flush valve device is described for use in a toilet that includes a pressured water source, which can drain away water in the event of excess pressure with minimal modification to the toilet and which facilitates initial operation of the flush valve dev... | 09/06/1994 |
| 5329303 | Compact chart recorder A chart recorder is described, of the type which includes a strip of pressure-markable chart paper (12, FIG. 1) that is slowly moved downpath past a marking station (30) where at least one stylus (32) presses against the chart strip to mark it, which is c... | 07/12/1994 |
| 5322185 | Earplug dispenser system An apparatus is described which can receive a large number of earplugs from a box and dispense one or two of them at a time to a worker. The apparatus includes a wheel (22, FIG. 1) which is rotatable on a frame (12) and which has holes (24) that move in a... | 06/21/1994 |
| 5312140 | Fluid swivel structure A fluid swivel is described, of the type which includes a ring-shaped outer structure (12, FIG. 2 ) that rotates about a ring-shaped inner structure (14), and which form an annular chamber (18) between them and a pair of gap passages (24, 26) between them... | 05/17/1994 |
| 5310072 | Beverage and snack holder A snack food container (12, FIG. 2) is described, which can be coupled to an ordinary beverage container (14) such as a standard soda can, to enable both containers to be held with one hand when drinking the beverage, without spilling the solid snack food... | 05/10/1994 |
| 5308197 | Machining apparatus A machining apparatus is described, of the type that includes a metal cutting insert which is held by an insert holder apparatus, wherein the insert can be installed in a plurality of different positions to use different ones of the cutting edges, which f... | 05/03/1994 |
| 5305888 | Fruit/vegetable floatation grading A floatation separation method is described for separating pieces of fruit or vegetable of the same type, but wherein desirable pieces have a slightly different specific gravity from the undesirable ones, and all have a specific gravity about the same as ... | 04/26/1994 |
| 5298691 | Soiling resistant banded earplug A band earplug apparatus is described, of the type which includes a pair of earplug devices (20, 22) lying on the ends of a band (12) that fits halfway about a person's head, which avoids soiling of the earplug devices when the band is laid on a dirty sur... | 03/29/1994 |
| 5293650 | Replacement flush valve An assembly is provided for replacing part or all of a toilet flush valve, which facilitates mounting in a variety of toilets and which enables saving of water. The assembly includes an adapter (30, FIG. 6) for mounting on older types of overflow tubes, w... | 03/15/1994 |
| 5291216 | Multi-trace chart recorder A simple chart recorder is described of the type which includes a strip of pressure-markable chart paper, which includes two pressure marking styluses that create traces that can be readily distinguished from one another. Each stylus has a horizontal inne... | 03/01/1994 |
| 5285925 | Rapid release box A container is described which can hold multiple small articles such as earplugs, and which can be inserted into a dispenser where the contents can be readily released. The container includes a box (30, FIG. 3 ) whose bottom wall includes a pair of flaps ... | 02/15/1994 |
| 5285056 | Bar code reflectance measurement apparatus Apparatus is described for use with a bar code scanner, to enable consistent bar code reflectance quality measurements. The apparatus includes a holder (60, FIG. 1 ) which holds a hand-held bar code scanner (20) at a predetermined distance (B) and angle (... | 02/08/1994 |
| 5280845 | Earplug dispenser An apparatus is described which can receive a large number of earplugs from a box and dispense one or two of them at a time to a worker, which avoids touching of the earplugs by any other person. The apparatus includes a wheel (22, FIG. 1 ) which is rotat... | 01/25/1994 |
| 5277827 | Oil water separator system Apparatus is described for use in an industrial plant that contain machines (14) having oil reservoirs (12), which facilitates cleaning of the oil. The apparatus includes a stand (20) and equipment mounted on the stand, including input and output hoses (3... | 01/11/1994 |
| 5274998 | Rocket pollution reduction system A system is provided for reducing the emissions of hydrochloric acid (HCl) from solid fuel rockets, especially during ground disposal. An aqueous solution (40, FIG. 2 ) of an alkali metal hydroxide is injected as a mist (50) into the rocket chamber (32) a... | 01/04/1994 |
| 5273654 | Solvent removal system Systems are described for removing organic solvents such as kerosene-based solvents, from aqueous solutions, in leaching processes for recovering metal such as copper from ore. A unit for recovering small amounts of kerosene-based solvent from raffinate (... | 12/28/1993 |
| 5265388 | Simplified window assembly A window frame assembly is described which mounts a window pane (12, FIG. 2) in an opening (14) of a building wall, which minimizes the number of parts and their complexity. The assembly includes an outside frame (30) which surrounds an axis (34) of the w... | 11/30/1993 |
| 5244148 | Adaptable heater control A new control is described for controlling the temperature of hot water or other fluids supplied to rooms of an apartment building or the like, which replaces a prior control. The new control acclimates tenants to the change in temperature resulting from ... | 09/14/1993 |
| 5242600 | Wastewater separation system A wastewater flotation separation system is provided, which operates effectively with a minimum of maintenance. The apparatus includes a container (12) for holding wastewater, an inlet (14) located at a lower portion of the container, and an aerator (24) ... | 09/07/1993 |
| 5242198 | Fluid swivel seal arrangement A fluid swivel, of the type that carries oil, natural gas, or other fluid between an undersea well or pipeline and a weathervaning ship, wherein the seal arrangement that prevents leakage of fluid is constructed to increase the seal lifetime and reduce th... | 09/07/1993 |
| 5233655 | Data access verification system A system is provided for enabling use of a password or PIN (personal identification number) to prove authority for access to a data base, where the PIN cannot be safely transmitted to a verifying authority. The PIN is entered into a calculating circuit wh... | 08/03/1993 |
| 5224346 | Engine NOx reduction system A method and apparatus are provided for reducing pollutants and especially nitrogen oxides, or NOx, in the exhaust gases of an engine. The apparatus includes a device for injecting ammonia into a conduit that extends between cylinder exhaust valves and a ... | 07/06/1993 |
| 5216418 | Emergency service rescue marker A marker is provided for use by emergency service personnel entering a room of a building, to keep the door from latching closed while he/she searches the room, and later help him find the door to exit the room, and to indicate to other rescuers that a se... | 06/01/1993 |
| 5215663 | Easily replaceable rotor membrane pack A rotary filtration apparatus is provided, of the type which includes a multiplicity of membrane packs arranged in a stack on a rotor frame, which facilitates replacement of membrane packs. A membrane pack assembly (16, FIG. 1) includes a multiplicity of ... | 06/01/1993 |
| 5209667 | Teaching shoelace A shoelace is described for use by young children or the handicapped, which facilitates tying of a bow by providing a moderately stiff end portion; the stiff end portion can retain a loop shape when a pair of spaced locations on the stiff end portion are ... | 05/11/1993 |
| 5207109 | Internal-external sample injector A sample injector is provided, which enables changing of the volume of the sample chamber between a very small volume and larger volumes. The injector includes a housing, a stator (16, FIG. 3) mounted in the housing, and a rotor(26) pivotally mounted in t... | 05/04/1993 |
| 5207318 | Plunger switch A switch is described that includes a plunger (20, FIG. 1 ) moveable between up and down position and having upper contacts (22, 24) and lower contacts (26, 28). When the plunger is moved to a down position, opposite ends of the upper contact (22) move do... | 05/04/1993 |
| 5205768 | Multiple fluid swivel arrangement A multiple fluid swivel arrangement is described, for connecting stationary undersea pipes to rotatable pipes on a weathervaning ship, which provides ready access to each of the fluid swivels and which minimizes the diameters of the fluid swivels and thei... | 04/27/1993 |
| 5200076 | Easily disassembled rotor system A rotary separator is described, of the type which includes membrane packs lying in a rapidly rotating chamber, which provides ready access to the chamber to change or inspect membrane packs, as well as ready access to at least one dynamic seal. The rotar... | 04/06/1993 |
| 5195942 | Cardiac arrest treatment A method and apparatus are described for resuscitating a person who has suffered cardiac arrest. The method includes threading a balloon through the aorta until it lies along the ascending aorta, and then inflating the balloon (40, FIG. 1) to block the as... | 03/23/1993 |
| 5185532 | Dental instrument sterilizer A sterilizer is described that applies ultraviolet light to dental instruments such as slow and fast handpieces, picks, etc., which applies the light largely uniformly to the forward portions of the instruments which are used in patients' mouths. The appa... | 02/09/1993 |
| 5173971 | Replacement flush valve An assembly is provided for replacing part or all of a toilet flush valve, which facilitates mounting in a variety of toilets and which enables saving of water. The assembly includes an adapter (30, FIG. 6) for mounting on older types of overflow tubes, w... | 12/29/1992 |
| 5142712 | Vacuum assisted toilet A vacuum assisted toilet is described wherein a vacuum is applied to a toilet bowl outlet during flushing, which avoids malfunctions that could allow sewer gas to escape, and which uses flushing water effectively. The toilet bowl outlet includes upper and... | 09/01/1992 |
