...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!
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7737933 | Display unit and drive system thereof and an information display unit In a display panel, a dummy pulse of a predetermined voltage signal is superimposed on a data signal and the dummy pulse has an amplitude much larger than the amplitude of the data signal, and thus a signal waveform applied to a light modulation layer such as LC lay... | 06/15/2010 |
| 7701306 | Error correction signal generating device and orthogonal modulator equipped with the error correction signal generating device An offset errors of a quadrature modulator is corrected. A device including a first correction signal output unit (50) for outputting a first correction signal based upon a local signal (phase: 0°) from a 180°-phase amplifier (27) or a phase shift lo... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7701195 | Actual-ray and image-ray distinction in frequency converters for spectrum analysers The process distinguishes image rays and actual rays generated in a frequency converting device from frequency rays of an input signal. The frequency converting device comprises at least a mixer mixing the input signal and a signal provided by a local oscillator and... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7700231 | Battery and battery assembly A battery, suitable for forming a battery pack, includes an electrode assembly having a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate, and a separator wound or laminated together, core materials of the negative and positive electrode plates being bared res... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7697046 | Image signal processing device and method of image signal processing including pixel array pattern determination A device, for processing each pixel signal output from a solid-state imaging device, has a determination processor and an interpolation processor. Each pixel is defined as a center pixel of a k×k matrix. The interpolation processor presumes which pixels have the sa... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7696808 | Slew rate control in output driver A slew rate control circuit in output driver of switching circuit to prevent power ground undershoot is introduced. The gate capacitance of lower power transistor is first fast discharged to ensure the operation of the output signal. The gate capacitance of lower po... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7695431 | Objective lens unit for endoscope An objective optical system is configured to be suitable to be implemented at a tip of an endoscope. The objective optical system is provided with a first lens unit having a first lens barrel and a first optical system including plurality of lens elements assembled ... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7691698 | Pseudomorphic Si/SiGe/Si body device with embedded SiGe source/drain The invention relates to a semiconductor structure and method of manufacturing and more particularly to a CMOS device with at least one embedded SiGe layer in the source/drain region of the PFET, and at least one embedded SiGe layer in the channel region of the NFET... | 04/06/2010 |
| 7688092 | Measuring board for electronic device test apparatus A performance board able to secure low loss, low reflection, stable transmission characteristics even when using a high frequency signal to test an electronic device and able to suppress signal leakage to the outside and entry of noise, provided with a base board ha... | 03/30/2010 |
| 7684113 | Imaging device including an optical member having a water-repellent or water/oil-repellent coating, an antireflection coating, an infrared-cutting glass, and a lowpass filter in this order from the side of the lens An imaging apparatus comprising an optical member in an optical path from a lens to an imaging device, said optical member comprising a water-repellent or water/oil-repellent coating, a first antireflection coating, an infrared-cutting glass, a lowpass filter, and a... | 03/23/2010 |
| 7683817 | Solid-state imaging device, AD converter, and AD converting method The present invention provides a solid-state imaging device which can output a digital signal at a high speed without using a high-speed clock. The solid-state imaging device includes light receiving elements provided in an array and generating signal voltages based... | 03/23/2010 |
| 7679400 | System and method for local generation of programming data in a programmable device An apparatus for and method of programming a programmable logic device, the programmable logic device comprising a plurality of serially connected programmable logic regions. The method comprises the steps of receiving initial programming data for programming the pl... | 03/16/2010 |
| 7677976 | Video game processing apparatus, a method and a computer program product for processing a video game When a player character applies a damage to an attack target character on the basis of an attack action of the player character, it is determined whether the attack is a direct attack or a specific kind of attack different from the direct attack and defined in advan... | 03/16/2010 |
| 7666079 | Video game processing apparatus, a method and a computer readable medium that stores a program for processing a video game Specification of an attack for a player character is received by means of an attack specifying operation of the player. A direct attack reaction is determined in the case where it is determined that the attack hits an enemy character A. The direct attack reaction in... | 02/23/2010 |
| 7661286 | Method for producing a cup-shaped object A method for the production of a cup-shaped article, in particular a blank of a screw cap for glass bottles or the like, from an enameled metal sheet, using two tools in a stepwise manner: 1) the blank is stamped from the metal sheet in a first tool by the relative ... | 02/16/2010 |
| 7653796 | Information recording medium and region management method for a plurality of recording regions each managed by independent file system A region management method for an information recording medium capable of maintaining data interchangeability among devices and preventing malfunction when one information recording medium shared among devices different in type or number of file systems that can be ... | 01/26/2010 |
| 7647607 | Viewing limit apparatus, viewing limit system, and viewing limit program First rating information, together with a television broadcasting signal, is transmitted, and second rating information, together with electronic program guide information, is transmitted. A controller extracts the first rating information from video data decoded by... | 01/12/2010 |
| 7636932 | Multicast program reception at home gateway apparatus A home gateway apparatus receives a request for desired contents from a program selection terminal storing a program guide at a home. When an IP packet addressed to a home network from the Internet is retrieved, it is checked whether the retrieved IP packet includes... | 12/22/2009 |
| 7630618 | Imaging device having an optical image stabilizer An imaging device includes an image stabilizer which detects vibration applied to a photographing optical system and moves at least one optical element of the photographing optical system in a plane orthogonal to a common optical axis of the photographing optical sy... | 12/08/2009 |
| 7629552 | Collapsible and expandable holder and system for using the same An expandable and collapsible holder which has a top surface and a bottom, releasable surface. Opposing side walls are hinge mounted between the top surface and the bottom surface. A latch mechanism and actuator such as a solenoid control the opening of the bottom, ... | 12/08/2009 |
| 7624222 | South bridge system and method A system including a south bridge, a first processor connected to the south bridge, and a second processor connected to the south bridge. The system further includes at least one device connected to the south bridge, and a resource manager coupled to the south bridg... | 11/24/2009 |
| 7623150 | Electronic endoscope Analog pixel signals, which are read out from an image sensor, are subjected to predetermined signal processes, and are converted to digital pixel signals by an A/D converter. The digital pixel signals are separated to RGB signals. The RGB signals are multiplied by ... | 11/24/2009 |
| 7622965 | Dual-edge shaping latch/synchronizer for re-aligning edges Integrated circuit and process for aligning a first signal with a second signal. The integrated circuit includes a single latch, a switch control circuit coupled to an input of the single latch to align an edge of the first signal with an edge of the second signal, ... | 11/24/2009 |
| 7621092 | Device and method for locking two building boards A device for locking two building boards comprises a tongue element inserted into a groove a first building board. The tongue element comprises a spring having a plurality of wave arches. A groove is provided in a core of a second building board and corresponds to t... | 11/24/2009 |
| 7619195 | Imaging device driver, imaging device driving method, and image signal processor An imaging device driver that drives an imaging device, comprising a controller, is provided. The imaging device has the light receiving surface divided into a plurality of pixel blocks. Each pixel block has a plurality of pixels. The pixel generates a pixel signal ... | 11/17/2009 |
| 7613097 | Optical pickup apparatus with bilaterally divided light beams An optical pickup apparatus which carries out recording/reproduction or deletion of information on an optical disc, including a semiconductor laser device in which at least two light sources are integrated, and a hologram optical element which has a plurality of out... | 11/03/2009 |
| 7610630 | Method of transferring information specifying a tool utilized for processing a content protected by IPMP A method of transferring information specifying an IPMP tool utilized for processing a content protected by IPMP to an IPMP terminal specifies and uses XML schema for terminal platform specification, parametric description, and parametric aggregation which is to be ... | 10/27/2009 |
| 7607568 | Flexible board for forming package A flexible board, for forming a package, comprises a body portion, a big bottom piece, a small bottom piece, a left-side bottom piece, and a right-side bottom piece. The body portion has a rear body piece, a left-side body piece, a front body piece, and a right-side... | 10/27/2009 |
| 7589764 | Focus detection device including reduction of fluctuations due to flickering light A focus detection device includes an AF sensor which converts received object light into electrical charges, integrates the electrical charges, and outputs the integrated electrical charges as a video signal in pixel units; a photometering sensor which converts rece... | 09/15/2009 |
| 7099632 | Wireless phone having improved SAR A wireless phone having an improved SAR includes: a lower plate having a main board; an upper plate having an LCD panel; a hinge provided to open and close the lower plate and the upper plate, the main board and the LCD panel being connected to each other by a flexi... | 08/29/2006 |
| 6931356 | System for dynamically adjusting performance measurements according to provided service level Methods, systems and programs in an information processing system comprising one or a plurality of devices managed by a manager device, for decreasing the cost of monitoring measurements, while using conventional techniques for managing problems. The cost saving is ... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6928394 | Method for dynamically adjusting performance measurements according to provided service level Methods, systems and programs in an information processing system comprising one or a plurality of devices managed by a manager device, for decreasing the cost of monitoring measurements, while using conventional techniques for managing problems. The cost saving is ... | 08/09/2005 |