Famous Patents
3M employee and church chorister Art Fry needed something to temporarily mark pages in his hymnal. He was in luck because his colleague, Spencer Silver, accidentally developed a glue that was too weak for other purposes. After initially discouraging consumer response, Post-it Notes became a hit in 1979.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5622204 | Flow control valve having flow adjustable by variable ring A constant flow rate controller valve includes a piston spring biased towards the top of the valve. Fluid or gas flowing into the valve increases the forces in the chamber above the piston, forcing the piston toward a valve seat. The piston is thus seated... | 04/22/1997 |
| 5598895 | Cutter assembly having a plurality of independently rotatable cutting units thereon A rock cutting tool with a plurality of independently rotatable cutter units and with a shaft, a sleeve located around the shaft, and at least two rotatable hubs located around the sleeve. At least one cutter unit is located on each of the two rotatable h... | 02/04/1997 |
| 5591931 | Musical signal multiplexing circuit and demultiplexing system A circuit for multiplexing three or more audio band electrical signals into two audio band electrical signals which can be provided to a stereo input and a circuit and computer method for demultiplexing the signals. In particular, six signals from the six... | 01/07/1997 |
| 5579781 | Wireless transmitter for needle electrodes as used in electromyography A self-contained, battery powered, hand-held transmitter usable with mono or bipolar needle electrodes to sense electrochemical nerve impulses as transmitted through the nervous system and muscles of humans and animals. The hand-held transmitter is of min... | 12/03/1996 |
| 5571273 | Manually tiltable seat A tilt adjusting arrangement in connection with the seat of an exercise apparatus or the like, comprising a mounting bracket which is fixedly positioned at the upper end of a support tube and a seat portion which is pivotally positioned on the mounting br... | 11/05/1996 |
| 5570857 | Hinged aircraft ski for improving egress and ingress from an aircraft cabin A flotation apparatus, specifically a ski (27), is provided for use on an aircraft (21) for improving the egress and ingress from the aircraft cabin (20). The ski (27) is particularly applicable to helicopters (21) having fixed wheeled landing gear (23) w... | 11/05/1996 |
| 5570712 | Rotating nozzle In a first embodiment, a high pressure fluid blaster includes a rotating nozzle which has a plurality of separate fluid jet orifices. The fluid jet orifices are geometrically configured such that rotation of the nozzle in a single direction, i.e. clockwis... | 11/05/1996 |
| 5568540 | Method and apparatus for selecting and playing a voice mail message A graphical user interface for the display of voice mail message information and playing voice mail messages through a computer speaker. Using a mouse, the messages can be manipulated individually or in groups. Using the mouse or the keyboard, the sender ... | 10/22/1996 |
| 5566519 | Prefabricated panel for buildings and constructions and system for its coupling and assembly A prefabricated panel for buildings and constructions adapted to be interconnected by mortise-and-tenon coupling with other panels, comprising on at least one of its faces a series of projections (2, 7) followed by tenon couplings (3, 8) and/or mortise co... | 10/22/1996 |
| 5559320 | Mounting and balancing system for rotating polygon mirror in a bar code scanner Apparatus and method for detachably mounting and balancing a polygon mirror body onto a rotating motor hub to reflect a scanning beam of light used in reading bar codes. A bowed retaining ring engages a grooved stub structure that protrudes through a cent... | 09/24/1996 |
| 5556179 | Retractable suspension shelf A retractable suspension shelf adapted to be mounted under a supporting surface such as the undersurface of a kitchen cabinet or the like. At least one of the leg assemblies at the corners of the shelf panel includes tensioned spring exerting movement res... | 09/17/1996 |
| 5543594 | Electrical push button switch with built-in lamp A miniature electrical push-button switch with built-in lamp comprises a push-button (13) having a translucent cover and a housing (10) in which the push-button (13) is seated. A tubular part (10a) of housing (10) is externally threaded for fastening nut ... | 08/06/1996 |
| 5541888 | Optical random access memory An optical memory is disclosed in which data is stored in an optical data layer capable of selectively altering light such as by changeable transmissivity, reflectivity, polarization, and/or phase. The data is illuminated by controllable light sources and... | 07/30/1996 |
| 5540490 | Document display stand A document display stand with a document supporting tray having a spring-loaded hold-down and line marking rod which spans substantially the full length of the tray and is positionable in any location across the width of the tray and which by interaction ... | 07/30/1996 |
| 5538307 | Pivoting tailgate ramp A tailgate ramp for a vehicle includes a frame having an internal space and apparatus for pivotally mounting the frame on the vehicle. Ramp pivot apparatus mounted to the frame and adapted for pivotal movement within the internal space of the frame betwee... | 07/23/1996 |
| 5536058 | Telescoping tailgate ramp The present invention relates to tailgate ramp for mounting on a truck, comprising a frame defining an internal space, the frame having a top, bottom, left side and right side; a hinge assembly for pivotally mounting the frame to the vehicle, the frame mo... | 07/16/1996 |
| 5533102 | Telephone auto attendant system for delivering chosen greetings to callers while on the phone A method and apparatus for providing a telephone user with information concerning a caller. The call by the caller causes information concerning the caller to be transferred over a communication channel, separate from the one used by the telephone user, c... | 07/02/1996 |
| 5531669 | Cervical brace with interlock assembly A cervical brace including occipital and chin supports rigidly interconnected by rigid support bar means and interlocking assemblies in a manner maintaining such in fixed though adjustable position for fitting thereof to a patient. As the preferred form, ... | 07/02/1996 |
| 5527403 | Method for producing crack-resistant high strength superalloy articles A method of heat treating articles cast of a superalloy, comprising a nickel-base alloy capable of forming a chromium carbide precipitate, such as INCONEL 939™. The method includes selective heating of the article to cause chromium and carbon nuclei in ... | 06/18/1996 |
| 5521807 | DC-To-DC converter with secondary flyback core reset A secondary flyback core reset (SFCR) scheme for single-ended forward DC-to-DC converters is disclosed. The transformer secondary magnetizing inductor and a parasitic reset capacitance of the output forward rectifier diode form a secondary flyback reset c... | 05/28/1996 |
| 5519908 | Cutting/rasping combination tool The present invention provides a combination tool (21) having a knife blade (39), a rasping blade (33) and a knife blade sharpener (47) combined into a single handle member (23). Preferably, the knife blade (39) is extendable and retractable from and into... | 05/28/1996 |
| 5518471 | Exercise treadmill with rearwardly placed incline mechanism Exercise treadmills with stationary, forwardly placed supporting surface engaging foot means of fixed form and with rearwardly placed supporting surface engaging support means which are movable relative to the frame of the treadmill to change the angular ... | 05/21/1996 |
| 5517555 | Real time information system for cellular telephones Method and apparatus for collecting call detail, monitoring customer account balance for excessive charges, and controlling the capabilities of cellular subscriber stations on the cellular telephone switch in substantially real time is disclosed. A commun... | 05/14/1996 |
| 5515889 | Fluid fill nozzle having spillage control An opening in a vent pipe, or another secondary opening, of a liquid tank that is connected by a line to an opening in a liquid fill nozzle. Liquid in the liquid tank of a predetermined amount passes from the vent pipe through the line and into the liquid... | 05/14/1996 |
| 5513652 | Male erection facilitation sheaths and methods of using same Prophylactic devices, including devices for assisting and establishing and maintaining male erectile function, are disclosed. Devices and methods for facilitating male erectile function include open ended elastic sheaths having a plurality of woven strand... | 05/07/1996 |
| 5511035 | Optical random access memory having diffractive simplex imaging lens An optical memory stores data in an optical data layer capable of selecting altering light such as by changeable transmissivity. Data is organized into a plurality of regions or patches (called pages) in which each page contains a field of data spots stor... | 04/23/1996 |
| 5508596 | Motion control with precomputation A system for controlling motion in machine tools and industrial robots. From the specification of a part to be cut or a path to be followed by a machine tool or a robot, the system calculates, for each axis, for each incremental step along the path, a pos... | 04/16/1996 |
| 5501130 | Just intonation tuning Apparatus for adjusting the tuning of a musical instrument to cause the instrument to sound in just intonation while the instrument is being played comprises a data base in memory for storing an array of just intonation tone identifiers. The tone identifi... | 03/26/1996 |
| 5498242 | Medical needle sheath and stand for one-handed use A sheath and stand for one-handed use by a health care user of a medical needle such as a hypodermic needle or a medical electrode, wherein the stand is configured with an aperture or socket for receiving the distal end or tip of the sheath and with hook ... | 03/12/1996 |
| 5497968 | Emergency response equipment securing system and accessories A method and apparatus are provided for securing medical equipment within an interior of an emergency vehicle, the apparatus including an elongated suspension bar (23) positioned within the emergency vehicle relative to a substantially planar surface (27)... | 03/12/1996 |
| 5493994 | Non-invasive forced oxygen enrichment of fertilized avian eggs A method and products are disclosed in which a fertilized egg is non-invasively infused with oxygen such that the structural integrity of the shell of the egg is not compromised. The method comprises the step of subjecting the external surface of the eggs... | 02/27/1996 |
| 5492738 | Artificial-flower-forming ribbon A ribbon comprises a pair of facing strips and at least one string disposed between both the strips. Both the strips and the string are joined together at their one ends, and both the strips are joined to each other at a plurality of points on each of a p... | 02/20/1996 |
| 5490703 | Patient transport system A system for transferring patients to and from emergency medical vehicles and for securing the patients within the vehicles during transport is particularly adapted for helicopters, with at least two stations within the helicopter for securing two patient... | 02/13/1996 |
| 5488650 | Configurable telephone interface for electronic devices A system for easily creating a menu structure for the control of an electronic device via a telephone is disclosed. The system contains an editor for easily creating a menu structure design, a memory table for containing the parameters of the menu structu... | 01/30/1996 |
| 5487405 | Flow control valve having flow adjustable by variable ring A constant flow rate controller valve includes a piston spring biased towards the top of the valve. Fluid or gas flowing into the valve increases the forces in the chamber above the piston, forcing the piston toward a valve seat. The piston is thus seated... | 01/30/1996 |
| 5486675 | Plasma production of ultra-fine ceramic carbides An apparatus and method for the synthesis of ultra-free (submicron) ceramic carbides in a thermal plasma torch reactor using primarily silica, boron oxide, titanium dioxide or other oxides as metal sources and methane as a reductant. A plasma torch operat... | 01/23/1996 |
| 5476430 | Exercise treadmill with variable response to foot impact induced speed variation Exercise treadmill with motor driven tread belt and means for varying the tread belt speed by a speed control system which makes available to the treadmill user a plurality of nominal speeds and also a plurality of rates of restoration of the tread belt s... | 12/19/1995 |
| 5476363 | Method and apparatus for reducing stress on the tips of turbine or compressor blades A method and apparatus for increasing blade fatigue strength in a turbine engine. The blades in the turbine engine are configured so as to reduce stress at the tip of the blades during operation of the turbine engine, thus increasing blade fatigue strengt... | 12/19/1995 |
| 5472367 | Machine tool apparatus and linear motion track therefor A machine tool apparatus, and a linear motion track therefore, are disclosed where the linear motion track is comprised of a tube having a circular cross-section with at least two bearings longitudinally disposed on opposite exterior sides of the tube suc... | 12/05/1995 |
| 5465238 | Optical random access memory having multiple state data spots for extended storage capacity An optical memory is disclosed in which data is stored in an optical data layer capable of selectively altering light such as by changeable transmissivity or polarization. The data is illuminated by controllable light sources and an array of multi-surface... | 11/07/1995 |
