Did You Know...
...that it was melting ice cream that inspired the invention of the outboard motor? It was a lovely August day and Ole Evinrude was rowing his boat to his favorite island picnic spot. As he rowed, he watched his ice cream melt and wished he had a faster way to get to the island. At that moment the idea for the outboard motor was born!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5016536 | Non-lethal practice round for automatic and semiautomatic firearms A practice round and firearm system wherein the round [10] includes a casing [11] forming a cavity [16] to receive a movable insert [20]. The insert forms a recess holding a projectile [30] and by detonation of a primer cap [36], the resulting expanding g... | 05/21/1991 |
| 4968254 | System for synchronizing the output signals from multiple media The method of presenting events such as audio and video instructions to a computer user including the recording instructions in the form of an audio soudtrack 15 on a recording tape 10, assigning coded indicia 16 to the various instructional events of a c... | 11/06/1990 |
| 4899660 | Training round for firearm A practice round [10] for use in firearms including a casing [11] holding a projectile [16]. A standard primer cap [20] is detonated to propel the projectile forward. A vent hole [40] in the casing limits the pressure buildup in the casing cavity [17].... | 02/13/1990 |
| 4801131 | Work holding device A work holding device for holding a work fixture [11] so that it can be removably attached to a workbench [12] including a base member [30] attached to the work bench, a pivotable ball [48] fixed to the work fixture, a second member for receiving the base... | 01/31/1989 |
| 4799728 | Vehicle cover A cover [20] for a vehicle body [11] including a hood [21] fixed to a bag [29] by a strap [28], which bag can be placed inside a vehicle door [18] and the door closed to prevent unauthorized removal. The bag is also sized to contain the cover for storage.... | 01/24/1989 |
| 4787519 | Adjustable sliver remover A shuffle feed apparatus for removing slivers and comprising first and second shuffle feed members (26, 27) supported respectively between frame members (31, 32) for oscillatory motion to advance articles in rows. To adjust the size of slivers that are re... | 11/29/1988 |
| 4773617 | Lighter-than-air craft A lighter-than-air craft [10] having an outer envelope [11] divided into an inner envelope [25] and a plurality of compartments [40,41,42]. The compartments are filled with lifting gases such as helium and hydrogen and the overall lifting force of the cra... | 09/27/1988 |
| 4767094 | Book holder A book holder including a backing strip (24) formed to extend along the covers of an open book (12) with ends (19, 20) bent back toward each other to overlap and clamp open the book pages. A non-skid surface (35) on the backing strip assists in maintainin... | 08/30/1988 |
| 4765491 | Device for supporting firewood stack A device [9] for supporting the end of a firewood stack and the like including a first pair of elongated members [14,15] fixed together by a first cross piece [16] and fixed to a base [19] by a hinge [17] with a third elongated member [27] extending betwe... | 08/23/1988 |
| 4757402 | Slider assembly for supporting a magnetic head A magnetic head assembly including a slider (15) for supporting a magnetic transducer (12) adjacent the surface of a recording media (14) on an air film, said slider including an air bearing member (26) having a peripheral wall (38) extending toward said ... | 07/12/1988 |
| 4738121 | Ice generating machine An ice generating system including an ice generating assembly (160) including a plurality of plates (28) having internal coolant passages (28A) with the plates clamped together by tension bolts (51) with spacers (54) between adjacent plates to space the p... | 04/19/1988 |
| 4738024 | Method of making a heat dissipating assembly A heat dissipating assembly for solid state component and control circuitry therefor including a first printed circuit board [45] having a printed circuit thereon for making connections with electronic components [47], fixing the components to the first c... | 04/19/1988 |
| 4712771 | Wallboard jack A jack for raising and holding articles such as wallboard, comprising a base [15] with a pivotally attached lever assembly [16] mounted on the base in a manner that downward pressure on one end will raise the other end. Releasable ratchet means [35] is co... | 12/15/1987 |
| 4712843 | Storage box for personal computer interior The method and apparatus for providing a storage enclosure in a personal computer housing (9) comprising a box structure (25) having at least one side wall (28) with threaded openings (32) for receiving screws (35) passed through a side panel (36) to hold... | 12/15/1987 |
| 4707138 | Color measuring and control device A color detecting device comprising a head (14) supported on an arm (30) for oscillatory motion over the product (11) being color measured to render a signal responsive to the average color of the product. A height detector (44) provides a signal indicati... | 11/17/1987 |
| 4695026 | Holder for eye glasses An eye glass holder comprising a base member (18) having attached thereto a support member (19) and a clamping member (24). The support member is formed to receive the eye glass nose piece (15) and the clamping member is biased towards the support member ... | 09/22/1987 |
| 4691611 | Electronic percussion instrument A percussion instrument comprising a base (10) supporting a plurality of percussion heads (11, 12, 13 and 14) on standards (25). The standards are each adjustable lengthwise and fixed to the base by mounts (26) and to the percussion heads by mounts (54) s... | 09/08/1987 |
| 4685553 | Container inverter Container transporting apparatus comprising a plurality of pulleys (16) each supported by a support (30,28) in spaced pairs to maintain one or more belts (15) forming a path along which the containers are transported. Each pulley includes guides (24) for ... | 08/11/1987 |
| 4677613 | Network system for connecting multiple I/O devices to computers A method of allocating transmission time for a plurality of I/O devices (14) connected to a transmission line (12) comprising the steps of causing each device to listen constantly to determine if the line is being used and to only initiate a transmission ... | 06/30/1987 |
| 4660732 | Tamper evident seal A tamper evident container (10) having an opening (15) to allow access to the container contents. Undulations (16) are formed in the rim (14), and a seal (18) is glued across the opening to cause destruction of the seal in gaining access to the container ... | 04/28/1987 |
| 4655346 | Self-standing golf bag A golf bag comprised of three longitudinal sections (11, 12, and 14) that form club compartments and are fixed together by a hinge connection (25) such that the center section (12) can be pivoted out of alignment with the side segments (11 and 14) to form... | 04/07/1987 |
| 4638577 | Shoe with angular slotted midsole An athletic shoe having an upper portion (15) fixed to a lower portion (16) comprising a midsole (21) and an attached wear surface (22). To provide both cushioning and stability to the foot the midsole includes slots or channels (25, 27) extending at an a... | 01/27/1987 |
| 4636894 | Recording head slider assembly A slider for flying along a recording surface and carrying a recording head (19,20) for recording data, comprising an air bearing region (12,14) to create a positive pressure region tending to support the slider, and a negative pressure region (21) tendin... | 01/13/1987 |
| 4627854 | Self-contained log fire starting kit A fire building kit comprising a carton (12) in which a spacer (30) rests on the bottom wall (14) to support paper wads (31), kindling strips (32, 35) and logs (34) all conveniently arranged to start a fire.... | 12/09/1986 |
| 4601156 | Apparatus for bunching, trimming, and banding vegetables Apparatus for bunching, trimming and banding vegetables and the like comprising a plurality of arms (20) each having fixed thereto an upstanding finger (32) means (22) supporting the arms for movement in a common plane toward and away from a common area, ... | 07/22/1986 |
| 4600177 | Method of hoisting an automobile hard top A hoist for lifting a hard top (10) from an automobile and storing it at the garage ceiling comprising a winch (25) for winding a cable (38) that passes through pulleys (39,41) fixed to the ceiling. The cable is fixed to a web strap (50) having end hooks ... | 07/15/1986 |
| 4595913 | Capacitor touch activated switching system A touch sensitive system comprising a clock (30) for generating a clocking signal supplied to a plurality of circuits each including one of the touch plates (12, 14, 15, 16, 17) for generating a varying capacitance value depending upon whether or not the ... | 06/17/1986 |
| 4580041 | Electronic proximity identification system with simplified low power identifier An identification system comprising a reader (10) including a first signal generator (12) for generating a first signal (F1) which is radiated by an antenna (17). An identifier (11) includes an antenna (20) receiving the first signal for transmission to a... | 04/01/1986 |
| 4576014 | Produce vacuum cooler with improved venting A vacuum cooler for produce and the like comprising a vacuum tube (9) forming a vacuum chamber (10) in which the produce is placed. A vacuum pump (13) lowers the atmospheric pressure while cold water is circulated over the produce by a pump (24) forcing t... | 03/18/1986 |
| 4576552 | Air and water volume control apparatus for hydropneumatic tanks A hydropneumatic tank control for a water supply system having a closed water tank (10), an air compressor (17) and a water pump (21, 22). A plurality of pressure switches (PS18, PS23, PS25, PS26) at the air compressor detect air pressure threshholds in t... | 03/18/1986 |
| 4571971 | Rod cutting and threading machine A machine for cutting and threading bicycle spokes (11) comprising a cradle (15) for receiving a spoke, a cutter mechanism (17) positioned to intersect and cut off the spoke at a predetermined point, and a thread rolling apparatus (56) positioned adjacent... | 02/25/1986 |
| 4570986 | Combined pickup bumper and tool box A bumper assembly for a vehicle comprising a front wall member (18) and an attached bottom wall member (21) supporting two vertical pins (23). Two tool boxes (25) each include a well (33) to receive a pin for support on the bottom wall member in a manner ... | 02/18/1986 |
| 4570415 | Vegetable banding apparatus An apparatus for placing an elastic band (22A) around a vegetable bunch (19) comprising a band stretcher assembly (26) for receiving the band, a plurality of fingers (46) for stretching the band, and means (37) for moving the band stretcher towards a top ... | 02/18/1986 |
| 4557368 | Field crop harvesting and packing machine A harvester comprising a vehicle (11) supported on wheels (12) and forming a loading platform (51) on which packers can stand to pack the produce in cartons. Wings (17, 18) extend from opposite sides of the vehicle and include hinged assemblies (22, 24) t... | 12/10/1985 |
| 4546241 | Electronic proximity identification system An electronic identification and recognition system including a portable card having a circuit therein for generating and transmitting and identifying signal comprising predetermined frequency pulses. The card functions in cooperation with a reader which ... | 10/08/1985 |
| 4538491 | Centering device for a food slicer A centering device for positioning articles (33) for segmenting by passage through a cutter mechanism (18). The device comprises a plurality of spring members (31) positioned edge-to-edge around the feed line (26) with each spring member having a dependin... | 09/03/1985 |
| 4526389 | Roller skate brake A brake for a roller skate that prevents rolling backward comprising a pair of rollers (37) eccentrically mounted on an axle (36) and positioned immediately adjacent the front wheels (17) so as to allow forward rotation but to bind against and brake the w... | 07/02/1985 |
| 4520979 | Hanger and method for suspending a television A macrame suspender for a television (10) wherein a cradle (26) is supported by a plurality of support ropes (28) extending primarily to the two sides of the television and attached at the extending ends to the ceiling. Additional ropes (34) extend along ... | 06/04/1985 |
| 4519178 | Method and apparatus for placing tags on produce and the like Apparatus for bunching vegetables and like articles and for placing a closure or tag thereon comprising a plurality of arms (27) for holding and stretching an elastic band and a channel (34) along which is fed a strip (15) of tags. As the elastic band is ... | 05/28/1985 |
| 4513333 | Diagnostic recording A diagnostic recording, readable by a computer system for enabling a user without special knowledge, software, or equipment to check, isolate and identify hardware malfunctions within the system, has a track with magnetic signals recorded thereon that is ... | 04/23/1985 |
