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 |
| 4654441 | Biuret production by controlled pyrolysis of urea Process for the production of technical grade biuret, readily in a form suitable for use as animal feed, by the controlled pyrolysis of urea in two stages, the first stage involving the partial pyrolysis of urea at a temperature above the melting point of... | 03/31/1987 |
| 4646853 | Shaft boring machine and method A shaft boring machine including a rotatable cutterwheel assembly with a horizontal axis mounted on a carriage having vertical travel. The carriage is mounted on a slewing base frame and rotates about the vertical axis of the machine. An excavating unit f... | 03/03/1987 |
| 4609132 | Gravity actuated locking garment hanger A lockable, hinged garment hanger wherein the locking mechanism is gravity actuated and substantially enclosed between spring biased hanger arms, the locking mechanism including a lock actuator arranged between first and second wedging surfaces, each carr... | 09/02/1986 |
| 4607885 | Head restraint for child's seat A head restraining device for preventing possibly injurious forward and lateral motion of the head of a child seated in a child's seat, such device comprising a rigid U-shaped restraining member which surrounds the forward and lateral portions of the chil... | 08/26/1986 |
| 4606123 | Cutlery apparatus with interchangeable cutting tool Cutlery apparatus with readily interchangeable cutting tools such as knives, the cutting tools being either double ended or a plurality of single ended tools pivotally mounted in a handle, either directly between the handle sides or on a generally U-shape... | 08/19/1986 |
| 4599073 | Man overboard rescue system A method of rescuing a person who has fallen overboard from a boat, including the following steps. As a first step, promptly after the person has fallen overboard, stopping the boat and deploying into the water a flotation sling on a floating tether line ... | 07/08/1986 |
| 4594036 | Quick change tool chuck system A quick change tool chuck system including: (a) a chuck having: a cylindrical housing member having a lateral aperture for receiving two diametrically opposed jaw members; two jaw members for gripping the shank of a tool, each of the jaw members having an oute... | 06/10/1986 |
| 4577027 | Production of polychlorinated pyridine mixtures by direct liquid phase chlorination of alpha-picoline Preparation of high yields of mixtures rich in polychlorinated pyridines by maintaining a chlorine to alpha-picoline weight ratio of greater than about 5:1 when feeding chlorine and alpha-picoline to reactor means at a temperature in the range of from abo... | 03/18/1986 |
| 4569026 | TV Movies that talk back A video entertainment system by which human viewers conduct simulated voice conversations with screen actors or cartoon characters in a branching story game shown on a television screen. The actors and cartoon characters reply responsively with lip-sync s... | 02/04/1986 |
| 4568642 | Quiet dental drill A dental handpiece having a low noise level consisting of: an elongated main housing having a head portion at the forward end thereof; a drive shaft located within the main housing and supported by fore and aft bearings mounted within the main housing; a ... | 02/04/1986 |
| 4564681 | Production of mixtures rich in 3-chloro-2-trichloromethyl pyridine Preparation of high yields of mixtures rich in 3-chloro-2-trichloromethyl pyridine by maintaining a chlorine to alpha-picoline weight ratio of at least about 8:1 when feeding alpha-picoline hydrochloride and excess chlorine to reactor means at a temperatu... | 01/14/1986 |
| 4563531 | Process for producing 2,3,5-trichloropyridine Production of polychloropyridine reaction product rich in 2,3,5-trichloropyridine by non-catalytic liquid phase chlorination of 3,5-dichloro-2-trichloromethyl pyridine at a temperature in the range from about 170° to about 220° C. 2,3,5-Trichloropyridin... | 01/07/1986 |
| 4553758 | Skipping stones and method of use thereof Skipping stones having characteristics enhancing their ability to skip a large number of times on the surface of a body of water and enhancing the distance they will travel across the water before sinking. The stones are formed of somewhat porous, cementi... | 11/19/1985 |
| 4552362 | Game table with multiple playing surfaces Furniture quality game table with multiple plane surfaces on at least three sides of a cubical game board assembly, with end panels journaled for rotation on end standards spanning the board assembly, and with endwise removable locking pins and a handle f... | 11/12/1985 |
| 4548443 | Tunnel boring machine A tunnel boring machine including the following elements: (a) a full face rotary cutterhead; (b) a cutterhead support on which the cutterhead is mounted; (c) a gripper system carried by a gripper support frame for reacting thrust, steering, roll correctio... | 10/22/1985 |
| 4548442 | Mobile mining machine and method A first mobile mining machine for cutting mining tunnels in hard rock, which includes a horizontally swinging wheel-like cutterhead assembly mounted on a crawler and base frame assembly. The cutterhead assembly consists of a transverse horizontal axis whe... | 10/22/1985 |
| 4546435 | Graphic computer system and keyboard A novel graphic system and associated computer keyboard for easily and effectively programming a computer is disclosed. Specifically, a linear and structured flow chart using easy to understand graphic symbols allows transfer of the program represented by... | 10/08/1985 |
| 4545567 | Winch power transmission A winch is powered by a motor mounted at one end of a drum through a three-stage planetary drive train disposed adjacent the opposite end of the drum. The motor includes a first drive shaft which extends axially into the interior of the drum. The drive tr... | 10/08/1985 |
| 4542770 | Command device for dobby A command device for a dobby machine, which device includes a pattern card having a plurality of perforations bored in a pattern corresponding to a desired fabric and driven in one direction and a feeler needle suspended from a horizontal needle and displ... | 09/24/1985 |
| 4540820 | Production of animal feed grade biuret Preparation of a composition particularly suitable for use as feedstock in the production of animal feed grade biuret by solid state pyrolyzation thereof in a recirculating oven, which composition comprises from about 37% to about 25% urea, from about 45%... | 09/10/1985 |
| 4538807 | Torso building exercise machine One embodiment of the present invention is a torso building exercise machine including the following elements: (a) a stationary base; (b) a horizontally disposed rotatable turntable mounted on the base, the turntable having a single degree of freedom abou... | 09/03/1985 |
| 4538215 | Halide and like light reflector and socket assembly A lighting assembly especially adapted for promoting growth of plants in a greenhouse environment and the like, having a reflector cone with a light reflecting surface at a single cone angle of from about 76° to about 64° and preferably at an angle of a... | 08/27/1985 |
| 4522491 | Method for reproducing one or more target colors on photographic paper or the like The reproduction of one or more target colors on photographic media directly by use of a light source and a selected group of color filters, such as for preparation of a multi-color pre-press color proof, each of the target colors being reproduced by: (a)... | 06/11/1985 |
| 4517369 | Preparation of mixtures rich in 3,4,5,6-tetrachloro-2-trichloromethyl pyridine Preparation of mixtures rich in 3,4,5,6-tetrachloro-2-trichloromethyl pyridine by chlorinating 3,4,5-trichloro-2-trichloromethyl pyridine, 3,5-dichloro-2-trichloromethyl pyridine or 5-chloro-2-trichloromethyl pyridine, or mixtures thereof, in the presence... | 05/14/1985 |
| 4515953 | Production of polychlorinated pyridine mixtures by liquid phase chlorination of pyridine or pyridine hydrochloride Preparation of high yields of mixtures rich in polychlorinated pyridines by maintaining a chlorine to pyridine weight ratio of greater than about 4:1 when reacting chlorine and pyridine or pyridine hydrochloride non-catalytically in the liquid phase at te... | 05/07/1985 |
| 4507486 | Production of polychlorinated pyridine mixtures by liquid phase chlorination of 3,5-lutidine or 3,5-lutidine hydrochloride Preparation of high yields of mixtures rich in polychlorinated pyridines by maintaining a chlorine to 3,5-lutidine weight ratio of greater than about 7:1 when reacting chlorine and 3,5-lutidine or 3,5-lutidine hydrochloride non-catalytically in the liquid... | 03/26/1985 |
| 4505465 | Wood splitter's aid tool A wood splitter's aid tool comprising an elongated, elastically stretchable, flexible member comprising a length of metal chain in series with a length of elastic cord, with the cord and a portion of the length of chain protectively surrounded by a prefer... | 03/19/1985 |
| 4497955 | Preparation of 2-chloro-5-trichloromethyl pyridine from lower chlorinated beta-picolines A non-catalytic liquid phase chlorination of lower chlorinated beta-picolines comprising 3-trichloromethyl pyridine, 2-chloro-5-dichloromethyl pyridine, or mixtures thereof, to improve the yield of 2-chloro-5-trichloromethyl pyridine, an intermediate usef... | 02/05/1985 |
| 4495451 | Inertial energy interchange system with energy makeup by combustion engine on demand Vehicle propulsion system or the like characterized by energy interchange between a plurality of flywheel assemblies each including a driving/driven induction motor/generator, and a plurality of vehicle drive wheel assemblies including drive wheels each d... | 01/22/1985 |
| 4487935 | Production of mixtures rich in 6-chloro-2-trichloromethyl pyridine Preparation of high yields of mixtures rich in 6-chloro-2-trichloromethyl pyridine by maintaining a chlorine to alpha-picoline weight ratio of greater than about 8:1 when feeding alpha-picoline hydrochloride and excess chlorine to reactor means at a tempe... | 12/11/1984 |
| 4486046 | Undercarriage airstream deflector assembly for truck trailers and the like Airstream deflector assembly (D) on the underside (16) of a large vehicle such as a semi-trailer (T) or the like, to reduce drag, improve fuel economy, and reduce turbulence of rain or snow on a roadway (R) traveled by the vehicle, such assembly comprisin... | 12/04/1984 |
| 4483993 | Production of polychlorinated pyridine mixtures by liquid phase chlorination of beta-picoline or beta-picoline hydrochloride Preparation of high yields of mixtures rich in polychlorinated pyridines by maintaining a chlorine to beta-picoline weight ratio of greater than about 5:1 when reacting chlorine and beta-picoline or beta-picolie hydrochloride non-catalytically in the liqu... | 11/20/1984 |
| 4480837 | Maritime game Maritime board game involving competing ship/marker playing pieces, each carrying removable cargo units and moved from respective home ports about a closed circuit cruise route comprising various event positions variously labeled "card", "mine", collision... | 11/06/1984 |
| 4468650 | Low tire pressure alarm system A tire pressure alarm system primarily adapted for the monitoring of tire pressure in the pneumatic tires of coaxial dual wheels on a vehicle including a pneumatic cylinder mounted diametrically on the hub of the outboard wheel and having its end portions... | 08/28/1984 |
| 4468649 | Switchable permanent magnetic chuck A switchable permanent magnetic chuck including a housing which has one open end and a face plate which covers the open end of the housing. The face plate comprises a plurality of elongated magnetic pole members and a plurality of elongated non-magnetic m... | 08/28/1984 |
| 4464834 | Methods of use of distribution modules for multi-wire group interconnection in telephone or like multi-wire distribution systems Multi-wire group splicing in multi-wire telephone or like distribution systems, utilizing an at least three-sided distribution module (DM), the distribution module (DM) comprising an array of bridging slots (128, 130, 132, 134) in each of its sides (120, ... | 08/14/1984 |
| 4461460 | Winch A winch (10) is powdered by a motor (20) mounted at one end of a drum (12) through a three-stage planetary drive train (26) disposed adjacent the opposite end of the drum (12 ). The drive train (26) includes elongate drive shaft (25) which extends longitu... | 07/24/1984 |
| 4451330 | Process for the recovery of alkali metal salts from aqueous solutions thereof In an integrated process for the recovery of alkakli metal phenates and carboxylates from aqueous solutions thereof, the aqueous solution is spray dried and the drying gas stream is contacted with an aqueous alkali metal salt solution which dissolves the ... | 05/29/1984 |
| 4445187 | Video games with voice dialog A video game system by which human viewers conduct simulated voice conversations with game characters or cartoon characters in a branching story game shown on a television screen. The characters and cartoons reply responsively with lip-sync sound to words... | 04/24/1984 |
| 4438603 | Stadium seating Modular seating units (100) made from rotationally molded plastic which mount to a gradine (G) and join laterally, forming bench seating. Each seating unit (100) comprises two plastic pedestals, either of end configuration (12) or intermediate configurati... | 03/27/1984 |
