Bizarre Patents
A method of swing on a swing is disclosed, in which a user positioned on a standard swing suspended by two chains from a substantially horizontal tree branch induces side to side motion by pulling alternately on one chain and then the other.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6035280 | Electronic discount couponing method and apparatus for generating an electronic list of coupons A method and apparatus for distributing, generating, and redeeming discount Virtual Coupons™, rebate or gift certificates or the like which may be used on conjunction with a frequency card program or the like. Virtual Coupons™ may be distributed elect... | 03/07/2000 |
| 5960583 | Trap for catching and killing of small animals A trap for trapping and killing small animals such as rats and mice, is described. The trap comprises a stand, a pivoting clamp, journalled in the stand around a first axis. The clamp may be strained against the action of a spring which may be released by... | 10/05/1999 |
| 5933234 | Optical interferometer with multiple heads A multiple optical head interferometer comprises one Light Source-Detection-Computing unit and multiple optical heads. The diameters of all of the optical heads are of equal size, and oriented in the same direction. Shutters or adjustable mirrors are prov... | 08/03/1999 |
| 5924784 | Microprocessor based simulated electronic flame Electronic lighting devices that simulate a realistic flame are disclosed. The preferred embodiment has a plurality of lighting elements in a plurality of colors which are modulated in intensity by a control circuit with a stored program. The control prog... | 07/20/1999 |
| 5912574 | Dual loop PLL with secondary loop to achieve 50% duty cycle A phased lock loop (PLL) clock circuit generates a clock signal at 1x the desired clock frequency while maintaining substantially a 50% duty cycle. A first loop provides a feedback signal to maintain clock frequency, while a second loop provides a feedbac... | 06/15/1999 |
| 5899809 | Digital body interface apparatus A digital body interface apparatus for use in playing an amusement video game is disclosed. The apparatus provides a unique array of infrared beams and push buttons to achieve a full body interaction between a playing participant and a computer-controlled... | 05/04/1999 |
| 5887492 | Mechanics' limited-access nut starter instrument and improved aircraft tools A mechanics' limited-access nut starter instrument 1 may provide a precision hexagonal nut holding capability in limited-access mechanical areas commonly encountered by mechanics. Because a hexagonal recess is provided slightly undersized with respect to ... | 03/30/1999 |
| 5872535 | Removing buoy motion from wind profiler moment The present invention provides an apparatus and method for correcting buoy motion in Doppler moment estimates. In the present invention, it is assumed that the buoy is stationary over short periods of time, 0.5 seconds for example. The average pitch and r... | 02/16/1999 |
| 5872602 | Fluoroscopic imaging system with image enhancement apparatus and method The present invention comprises an apparatus and method for automatically controlling the degree of temporal integration in a real time video image processor. The degree of integration may be determined by a combination of image brightness detected over a... | 02/16/1999 |
| 5864572 | Oscillator runaway detect and reset circuit for PLL clock generator An oscillator runaway detection circuit is provided with a synchronous delay line such that energy saving or sleep modes of operation are not mischaracterized as oscillator runaway. A Schmitt trigger monitors oscillator control voltage at a filter capacit... | 01/26/1999 |
| 5864288 | Talking toothbrush holder A tooth brush holder adapted to contain at least one tooth brush is provided with a switch and circuitry such that when the tooth brush is removed from the holder a sound producing device is actuated which device can continue to produce sound for at least... | 01/26/1999 |
| 5806180 | Method and device for automatic completion of casing joint at high line voltage The apparatus of the present invention comprises two parts; an apparatus for automatically installing the supplemental (shunt) joint, and the shunt joint itself. The shunt joint provides both mechanical and electrical connection between two ends of an ele... | 09/15/1998 |
| 5788223 | Animal barrier An improved animal barrier material and an improved fastening system to simplify its knotting process are disclosed. The animal barrier material comprises a see-through cable netting characterized by strong and secure knots. An improved fastening system m... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5779239 | Chip-A-tak board and dice game A checkers type board game is provided where movement of playing pieces is determined by the role of the dice. The board is similar to a checkers board, but with 10 longitudinal rows and eight latitudinal rows, for a total of eighty squares. Each player i... | 07/14/1998 |
| 5758867 | Lifting device for the controlled vertical transfer of objects A lifting device for the controlled vertical movement of objects, especially such objects, to which is conveyed an electric current through a line, such as chandeliers, is described. It is especially characterized by the combination of a relatively longit... | 06/02/1998 |
| 5744406 | Method for easy removal of fats, oils and grease from mixtures with water and aqueous components A method for removing any single component or mixture of fats, oils and greases which have been added to or rendered out of an animal or vegetable product during cooking, thereby leaving the remaining commodity substantially fat-free without removing the ... | 04/28/1998 |
| 5732647 | Device and a method for tying and untying a tug line at a ship A device and a method for engaging and disengaging of a towing line from a tow boat to and from a ship. At the ship there is a hawse hole (5), a bollard head (1) and a working for inhauling of a messenger rope (4), attached to the lop of the towing line (... | 03/31/1998 |
| 5723790 | Monocrystalline accelerometer and angular rate sensor and methods for making and using same A semiconductor device for measuring force components, acceleration, and/or angular rate, formed from a single crystal (monocrystalline semiconductor substrate) comprises at least one cantilever beam inclined to the main surface of the monocrystalline mat... | 03/03/1998 |
| 5713289 | Corrugated pallet and pallet foot A pallet and pallet foot is made of corrugated materials such that the entire pallet and pallet foot may be recycled with other corrugated materials (e.g., boxes or the like). The pallet foot is made from shredded corrugated waste which is then placed, al... | 02/03/1998 |
| 5710886 | Electric couponing method and apparatus A method and apparatus for distributing, generating, and redeeming discount coupons, rebate or gift certificates or the like tracks each coupon using a consumer ID number printed on the coupon. Coupons may be distributed electronically, for example, in th... | 01/20/1998 |
| 5703618 | Method and apparatus for upscaling video images when pixel data used for upscaling a source video image are unavailable A graphics controller circuit for upscaling source video image to generate an upscaled video image. The graphics controller circuit generates additional pixel data for the upscaled video image by interpolating source video pixel data of a one scan line an... | 12/30/1997 |
| 5673400 | Method and apparatus for identifying and controlling a target peripheral device in a multiple bus system An apparatus and method for controlling devices in a multiple bus system such as a system having two or more ISA type buses. Separate ISA bus controllers may be provided for each ISA bus, linked on a common bus system such as a PCI bus. One ISA controller... | 09/30/1997 |
| 5669315 | Corrugated pallet and pallet foot A pallet and pallet foot is made of corrugated materials such that the entire pallet and pallet foot may be recycled with other corrugated materials (e.g., boxes or the like). The pallet foot is made from shredded corrugated waste which is made into a slu... | 09/23/1997 |
| 5668941 | Optimum implementation of X-Y clipping on pixel boundary A method and apparatus for improving performance of bit block transfers in display controllers during clipping functions without significantly increasing gate count. In a clipping function, particularly when transferring a portion of a monochrome bit map ... | 09/16/1997 |
| 5663718 | Device for the automatic testing of joints in electrical high voltage lines A device for automatic testing of electrical high voltage lines is described, comprising a support (1), a driving wheel (2) for lying against the line (3) with a remotely controlled device (4) and a means for remotely controlled automatic measurement of p... | 09/02/1997 |
| 5657825 | Coupling device at a tractor A coupling device for a tractor provided with a three point hitch. The coupling device has a first coupling frame, and a second coupling frame, provided with at least an upper and two lower fastening links for hinged fastening of a tool, the first couplin... | 08/19/1997 |
| 5630043 | Animated texture map apparatus and method for 3-D image displays A method and apparatus for generating 3-D images utilizes an MPEG decoder to decode/decompress animated texture maps into a half-frame buffer. The MPEG decoder may act as a PCI bus master to assert control of the host system bus to the exclusion of all ot... | 05/13/1997 |
| 5620153 | Light aircraft with inflatable parachute wing propelled by a ducted propeller A para-plane (parachute or parafoil airplane), ultralight, or the like is provided with a ducted propeller or fan to increase efficiency of the powerplant, thus reducing the size of the powerplant required. In addition, the duct may reduce propeller and/o... | 04/15/1997 |
| 5610665 | Interactive television graphics interface Apparatus for use with standard television (TV) for superimposing images, captions, titles, or other information over the television scene. Synchronization of the superimposed images with the television scene is brought about by phase locking the images t... | 03/11/1997 |
| 5609259 | Modern toothbrush holder A toothbrush holder comprises a generally planar support plate having at least one L-shaped slot formed at the periphery thereof, the L-shaped slot has a necked portion for retaining the toothbrush. The L-shaped slot may have a major axis and a minor axis... | 03/11/1997 |
| 5611041 | Memory bandwidth optimization A memory controller, particularly for use in a video controller, is provided which reduces the effect of page misses during memory access. A video port FIFO is provided for buffering data from a video port to a display memory. A CRT FIFO is provided for b... | 03/11/1997 |
| 5598352 | Method and apparatus for audio and video synchronizing in MPEG playback systems A multimedia system including an audio/video decoder/decompresser for decoding/decompressing a compressed encoded audio/video data stream to generate video images for display and audio signals for audible reproduction. The multimedia system includes an in... | 01/28/1997 |
| 5596420 | Auto latency correction method and apparatus for MPEG playback system A multimedia system including an audio/video decoder/decompresser for decoding/decompressing a compressed encoded audio/video data stream to generate video images for display and audio signals for audible reproduction. The multimedia system includes an in... | 01/21/1997 |
| 5595914 | Gypsum determination in soils by conversion to water-soluble sodium sulfate Precise and accurate determination of gypsum in soils has been difficult, laborious and time consuming by currently available methods. The present invention solves such problems by: 1) Direct removal of nongypsic sulfate from 2-g soil sample with 25-mL po... | 01/21/1997 |
| 5568583 | Dispersion compensating optical fiber for wavelength multiplex transmission and method using same The present invention is intended to provide a dispersion compensating optical fiber for wavelength division multiplex optical communication. A refractive index distribution of the dispersion compensating optical fiber is set to be W-shaped, an outside of... | 10/22/1996 |
| 5546344 | Extended data output DRAM interface A DRAM interface, particularly for use in a video controller IC is provided with an improved technique for latching data from an extended data output (EDO) DRAM. An inactive column select CASn signal is fed back through the output of the DRAM interface, a... | 08/13/1996 |
