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 |
| 8088325 | Articles and methods of making articles having a concavity or convexity Articles and methods of making an articles having at least one convexity or at least one concavity are described. A first article having at least one concavity is prepared using a molding surface that includes at least one gas bubble. A second article having at leas... | 01/03/2012 |
| 8062077 | Push-type connector Provided is a push-type connector having a structure for preventing an operational error of a lever member of the connector by an operator. A first operating part 35a of a first lever member 3a at a first position is positioned anterior t... | 11/22/2011 |
| 8038459 | Connector protective cover A connector protective cover is provided which has a pair of cover members (2 and 3) to be joined together and which, using the pair of cover members (2 and 3), protects a latch lever that is operated to retain a pair of connectors (10... | 10/18/2011 |
| 7950838 | Light directing film A light directing film and an optical system incorporating same are disclosed. The light directing film includes a first major surface and a microstructured second major surface. The microstructured second major surface has at least two periodic microstructured patt... | 05/31/2011 |
| 7923675 | Projection system having avirtual mask A projection system includes a projection screen defining a shape and a projector configured to project an image onto the projection screen. The projector may project a static or dynamic image that has substantially the same shape as the projection screen or otherwi... | 04/12/2011 |
| 7909646 | Electrical carrier assembly and system of electrical carrier assemblies A male coaxial connector includes at least one termination device having a tubular shield surrounding and isolated from a pin that is configured to electrically connect with a socket of a female termination device, and a plate extending from one of a leading end of ... | 03/22/2011 |
| 7905650 | Backlight suitable for display devices A backlight suitable for use in a display device includes an illumination device having at least one light source and a back reflector stack including a reflective layer and a transparent layer having substantially uniform refractive index and having a plurality of ... | 03/15/2011 |
| 7902542 | Adapted LED device with re-emitting semiconductor construction An article includes an LED that has an emitting surface. A reemitting semiconductor structure has an emitting surface and converts light emitted by the LED to light of a different wavelength. At least one of the emitting surfaces frustrates total internal reflection... | 03/08/2011 |
| 7873256 | Backlight with structured surfaces A backlight includes a lightguide, a light source disposed with respect to the lightguide to introduce light into the lightguide and a turning film. Optical structures are formed in one of an output surface and a back surface of the lightguide. The optical structure... | 01/18/2011 |
| 7857657 | Multicore cable connector having an alignment plate with a cable receiving portion on one side and a substrate receiving portion on the other side To provide a multicore cable connector in which alignment of signal lines of a cable and soldering of the signal lines to a wiring pattern of a substrate are facilitated, and impedance mismatch on the substrate is minimized. A multicore cable connector 1 incl... | 12/28/2010 |
| 7841726 | Illumination system and projection system incorporating the same An illumination system and a projection system incorporating same are disclosed. The illumination system includes a two-dimensional array of independently operable light sources. Each light source illuminates substantially the entire active area of a pixelated optic... | 11/30/2010 |
| 7745814 | Polychromatic LED's and related semiconductor devices A semiconductor device is provided comprising a first potential well located within a pn junction and a second potential well not located within a pn junction. The potential wells may be quantum wells. The semiconductor device is typically an LED, and may be a white... | 06/29/2010 |
| 7737430 | Adapting short-wavelength LED's for polychromatic, broadband, or “white” emission An adapted LED is provided comprising a short-wavelength LED and a re-emitting semiconductor construction, wherein the re-emitting semiconductor construction comprises at least one potential well not located within a pn junction. The potential well(s) are typically ... | 06/15/2010 |
| 7719015 | Type II broadband or polychromatic LED's An LED is provided comprising two or more light-emitting Type II interfaces wherein at least two of the Type II interfaces differ in transition energy by at least 5%, or more typically by at least 10%, and wherein at least one of the Type II interfaces is within a p... | 05/18/2010 |
| 7702202 | Optical microresonator An optical device and a sensor system incorporating same are disclosed. The optical device includes a microresonator that has a core with input and output ports. The output port is different than the input port. The optical device further includes first and second o... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7700939 | Adapting short-wavelength LED's for polychromatic, broadband, or “white” emission An adapted LED is provided comprising a short-wavelength LED and a re-emitting semiconductor construction, wherein the re-emitting semiconductor construction comprises at least one potential well not located within a pn junction. The potential well(s) are typically ... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7700938 | Adapting short-wavelength LED's for polychromatic, broadband, or “white” emission An adapted LED is provided comprising a short-wavelength LED and a re-emitting semiconductor construction, wherein the re-emitting semiconductor construction comprises at least one potential well not located within a pn junction. The potential well(s) are typically ... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7655127 | Method of fabricating thin film transistor Method of fabricating electronic devices is disclosed. The method includes the steps of forming an anodized layer that has a thickness greater than a desired thickness, and forming an electrically conductive layer on the anodized layer. The method further includes t... | 02/02/2010 |
| 7595890 | Porous microsphere resonators There are several different applications where it is desirable to increase the amount of material that can be introduced to the surface of a microresonator that has whispering gallery modes. The use of a porous surface on the microresonator permits greater amounts o... | 09/29/2009 |
| 7551359 | Beam splitter apparatus and system A beam splitter apparatus comprises a beam splitter and a plurality of prisms disposed about the beam splitter. The beam splitter apparatus is configured to split an incident laser beam into a plurality of beamlets exhibiting substantially equal energy and traversin... | 06/23/2009 |
| 7541610 | LED device with re-emitting semiconductor construction and converging optical element A light source is provided including an LED component having an emitting surface, which may include: i) an LED capable of emitting light at a first wavelength; and ii) a re-emitting semiconductor construction which includes a second potential well not located within... | 06/02/2009 |
| 7532790 | Method of coupling light into microresonators A method of making a microresonator device includes the steps of providing at least a first substrate and providing a waveguide integrated on the substrate. The waveguide includes a core and a metal cladding layer on at least part of one boundary of the core. Anothe... | 05/12/2009 |
| 7498802 | Flexible inductive sensor An inductive sensor includes an inductor comprising conductive loops and at least one hinge mechanically coupling the loops. Operation of the hinge changes the position of the loops and causes a change in the inductance of the sensor. A sensor material may be orient... | 03/03/2009 |
| 7486855 | Optical microresonator An optical microresonator system and a sensor system incorporating same are disclosed. The optical microresonator system includes an optical waveguide and an optical microcavity that is optically coupled to the optical waveguide. The microcavity is capable of suppor... | 02/03/2009 |
| 7477242 | Capacitive touch screen with conductive polymer A capacitive touch screen is described with a touch area including a substantially transparent conductive polymer. The capacitive touch screen also includes circuitry connecting the conductive polymer of the touch area to a power source, where the circuitry is confi... | 01/13/2009 |
| 7456744 | Systems and methods for remote sensing using inductively coupled transducers A remote sensing device includes a sensor and reference circuit. A resonant circuit of the sensor has a resonant characteristic modifiable by exposure to an external condition. The sensor is configured to produce a sensor signal associated with the modifiable resona... | 11/25/2008 |
| 7444045 | Hybrid sphere-waveguide resonators Microresonators, such as a microsphere resonators and planar microresonators, are optically coupled to waveguides for input and output of light. It is important that the relative positions of the microresonator and the waveguide are maintained stable, while still ma... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7438423 | Illumination system and projection system incorporating same An illumination system and a projection system incorporating same are disclosed. The illumination system includes a two-dimensional array of independently operable light sources. Each light source illuminates substantially the entire active area of a pixelated optic... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7424197 | Luminaire device An optical device for collecting light and selectively outputting or concentrating the light. A layer has an optical index of referaction n1, and top, bottom and side surfaces defining an angel of inclination φ. A back surface spans the top, bottom and s... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7418188 | Luminaire device An optical device for collecting light and selectively outputting or concentrating the light. A layer has an optical index of referaction n1, and top, bottom and side surfaces defining an angle of inclination φ. A back surface spans the top, bottom and s... | 08/26/2008 |
| 7402831 | Adapting short-wavelength LED's for polychromatic, broadband, or “white” emission An adapted LED is provided comprising a short-wavelength LED and a re-emitting semiconductor construction, wherein the re-emitting semiconductor construction comprises at least one potential well not located within a pn junction. The potential well(s) are typically ... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7350925 | Total internal reflection Fresnel lens and optical system using the same Described is an optical lens having a light-receiving surface facing a light source and a first structured surface opposite a first portion of the light-receiving surface. The first structured surface includes a plurality of first reflecting surfaces and first refra... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7330240 | Imaging system for thermal transfer An optical imaging system is disclosed for selective thermal transfer of a material from a donor film to a substrate. The imaging system includes a light source assembly that is configured to emit a patterned light beam. The patterned light beam includes a plurality... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7327352 | Linearized conductive surface Electrode pattern disposed on a conductive surface is disclosed. The electrode pattern includes a plurality of conductive segments. The conductive segments are located along the edges of two or more concentric parallel polygons. Each edge of each polygon has one or ... | 02/05/2008 |
