Bizarre Patents
Pet Toilet-Like Water Disk and Food Storage
One pet-friendly inventor patented "a device for watering pets, e.g., a dog or cat." The device, he helpfully noted, "has the general shape of a toilet."
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5340523 | Improved method of incrementally drawing fibers A fiber drawing process and apparatus in which the fibers are drawn in small increments by passing the fibers in multiple wraps over on rotatably mounted spaced apart spindles having discrete circumferential microterraced surfaces which support the fiber.... | 08/23/1994 |
| 5313283 | System and method for controlling exposure format for an apparatus for exposing photographic film with image data The present invention provides a control system for and method of controlling an apparatus of the type for exposing photographic film with image data which control system and method are adapted to compensate for variations in the exposure intensity, while... | 05/17/1994 |
| 5286942 | Induction steam humidifier Apparatus and method for producing steam for humidification of residential and commercial buildings by electrical induction heating of water are disclosed. The apparatus comprises a readily-removable non-magnetic water tank containing a magnetic target in... | 02/15/1994 |
| 5285719 | Rapid frozen food thawing system A two-compartment, automated apparatus and a semi-batch process for achieving rapid and complete thawing of a frozen food product, such as french fry potatoes, prior to cooking are disclosed. This invention results in a rapid, economical thawing of frozen... | 02/15/1994 |
| 5283514 | Fast response current regulator for DC power supply A current regulating, transconductance amplifier is connected to the load capacitor of a backplane system. The load capacitor is connected close to the load inside the feedback loop of the regulating amplifier. The frequency response shaping networks of t... | 02/01/1994 |
| 5278954 | System for and method of storing image data processed in multiple stages An automatic organization of images in computer memory is provided as a doubly-linked (or multiply-linked) list data structure which reflects in its interconnections to relationships between various stages in complex image processing tasks. Data structure... | 01/11/1994 |
| 5264260 | Dilatation balloon fabricated from low molecular weight polymers A low molecular weight, flexible, biaxially oriented, dilatation catheter balloon comprising oriented polyethylene terephthalate, and having a calculated radial tensile strength of greater than about 25,000 psi.... | 11/23/1993 |
| 5262432 | Derivatives of 4-(hetero)arylmethyloxy phenyl diazole, a method of preparing them and use thereof in therapy Derivatives having the formula: ##STR1## in which R1 =C1 -C4 alkyl and Ar is an aryl or heteroaryl group chosen from among the following: (i) ##STR2## where R2 represents a hydrogen atom one or two ha... | 11/16/1993 |
| 5256337 | Photochromic polymer membrane A photochromic material adapted for coating light transmissive materials. The photochromic material contains photosensitive silver halide crystals having dimensions in the range of approximately 50 Angstroms to 800 Angstroms. The silver halide crystals ar... | 10/26/1993 |
| 5251213 | Multiport source routing token ring bridge apparatus A multiport source routing token ring bridge is provided which permits a single local area network bridge to interconnect to multiple remote bridges without limitations on the number of rings and bridges interspersed between a data packet's source and its... | 10/05/1993 |
| 5246421 | Method of treating obstructed regions of bodily passages An adjustable-length balloon dilatation catheter apparatus and a method for using the same are disclosed wherein an adjustable sheath is externally manipulated to partially surround and contain the dilatation balloon segment of the catheter while the cath... | 09/21/1993 |
| 5243537 | Method and apparatus for rapid measurement of AC waveform parameters Errors introduced into ac waveform measurements based on discrete amplitude samples because the waveform period is not an integral number of sampling intervals are substantially averaged out by computing the aggregate average of the set averages of sets o... | 09/07/1993 |
| 5241619 | Word dependent N-best search method As a step in finding the one most likely word sequence in a spoken language system, an N-best search is conducted to find the N most likely sentence hypotheses. During the search, word theories are distinguished based only on the one previous word. At eac... | 08/31/1993 |
| 5241565 | Method and apparatus for effecting efficient transmission of data A telecommunications system intermittently checks and, if necessary, adjusts the power level of the transmitted data as a function of the transmission characteristics of the transmission line so as to optimize transmission performance.... | 08/31/1993 |
| 5235964 | Flexible probe apparatus A flexible, manipulatable, an reuseable probe apparatus is disclosed wherein a double sleeve probe housing comprises a relatively thin, slippery outer sleeve and a thicker, more resilient inner sleeve having a plurality of apertures in at least a portion ... | 08/17/1993 |
| 5224415 | Frozen food storage and dispensing system A system for and method of storing and automatically dispensing predetermined amounts of one or more food products from closed containers is described. The system preferably includes multi-compartment containers carried by a carrousel assembly and moved b... | 07/06/1993 |
| 5211993 | Method of making novel separation media Method of chromatographically separating a mixture by contacting said mixture under chromatographic separation conditions with a chromatographic separation stationary phase comprising a polymer formed by coating substantially all of the surfaces of a micr... | 05/18/1993 |
| 5209725 | Prostatic urethra dilatation catheter system and method An improved instrument for and method of performing a transurethral balloon dilatation procedure of the prostate is disclosed. The instrument includes a hollow catheter comprising a shaft having at least its distal end portion made of an optically transpa... | 05/11/1993 |
| 5208161 | Filter units An assay filter unit where the filter of the unit is sealed into the body of the unit to prevent any passage of material to be assayed round the edge of the filter but is removable by breaking out a filter support grid along a predetermined line of weakne... | 05/04/1993 |
| 5207672 | Instrument and method for intraluminally relieving stenosis An instrument for and method of effectively treating the prostatic urethra so as to relieve the symptoms associated with an enlarged urethra is disclosed. The tissue of at least selected portions of the prostate are compressed (preferably with a balloon i... | 05/04/1993 |
| 5200370 | Monocrystalline ceramic fibers and method of preparing same Monocrystalline ceramic fibers are disclosed together with a process for preparing such fibers. Polycrystalline ceramic fibers in a tow are coated with a coating that is chemically substantially non-reactive with the ceramic (e.g. alumina fibers coated wi... | 04/06/1993 |
| 5198233 | Apparatus for producing granules or pastils from flowable material An apparatus is disclosed for producing granules or pastils from a flowable material of varying viscosity wherein material is supplied to a pressing nip between a rotating hollow roll (1) having internal teeth and an externally toothed ejection roll (2) i... | 03/30/1993 |
| 5191583 | Method and apparatus for effecting efficient transmission of data Method and apparatus are disclosed for a data communications system in which data packets are transmitted between two data terminal units wherein idle packets are transmitted whenever there is no data packet to send and such idle packets are utilized for ... | 03/02/1993 |
| 5179555 | High speed data compression and transmission for wide area network connections in LAN/bridging applications A bridge/router for use in bridging and routing data among one or more local area networks and a wide area network is disclosed. The bridge/router utilizes a data compressor adapted to compress data in frames adding an end of compression marker after each... | 01/12/1993 |
| 5174163 | Gas sampling apparatus A gas sampling apparatus including a flexible, substantially gas-impervious, closed bag and a valve assembly mounted in a wall of the bag for providing control of gas flow between the interior and exterior of the bag. The valve assembly includes a valve b... | 12/29/1992 |
| 5170566 | Means for reducing interference among magnetometer array elements An improved fluxgate instrument for measuring heading as well and pitch and roll angles is disclosed. A plurality of fluxgate sensors are continuously energized with a DC feedback signal derived from the reading of each sensor so as to minimize magnetic c... | 12/15/1992 |
| 5169449 | Apparatus for applying joint compound to corner beads A device for applying a thin layer of joint compound to the inner and outer surfaces of a corner bead. The device includes a hopper for supporting a quantity of joint compound. The hopper has two openings which are aligned with one another and have a cros... | 12/08/1992 |
| 5169291 | Water heater with shut-off valve A water heater (10) has a pressure-transfer module (20) interposed between an external pressurized-water circuit and the water inside the water-heater vessel (12) so that the water is at atmospheric pressure and can thus have a free upper surface. A shut-... | 12/08/1992 |
| 5162798 | Resolver to digital converter An apparatus, preferably in the form of a resolver to digital converter for converting the amplitude modulated, encoded signals into digital signals representative of the velocity and position is described. The apparatus is of the type that includes an el... | 11/10/1992 |
| 5160763 | Glue applicator apparatus and method This invention involves a system for minimizing the formation of glue drops on picks used to separate a sheet from the surface of a glue applicator drum from which a coating of adhesive is applied to the sheet. Spreader means are provided to wipe from the... | 11/03/1992 |
| 5159039 | Separation media containing acyl diazepines Method of chromatographically separating a mixture by contacting said mixture under chromatographic separation conditions with a chromatographic separation stationary phase comprising an N-acyl diazepine polymer. In a preferred from, the polymer has been ... | 10/27/1992 |
| 5158682 | Separation media containing acyl diazepines Method of chromatographically separating a mixture by contacting said mixture under chromatographic separation conditions with a chromatographic separation stationary phase comprising an N-acyl diazepine polymer. In a preferred form, the polymer has been ... | 10/27/1992 |
| 5152962 | Immunoassay apparatus An assay apparatus employing total internal reflection of excitation radiation at the interface between a replaceable optically conductive assay device and a surrounding liquid phase containing the substance being assayed. The assay device is formed of a ... | 10/06/1992 |
| 5142907 | Constant temperature gradient fluid mass flow transducer A constant temperature gradient fluid mass flow transducer is described. The upstream and downstream ends of a measuring section of a capillary tube of the transducer are held at respective constant temperatures by separate temperature regulated heat sink... | 09/01/1992 |
| 5141633 | Replacement roof drain insert coupling A drain insert having an insert pipe of smaller diameter than the standing drainpipe into which the insert fits, and an elastomeric, tubular sleeve surrounding and seal-bonded to the outside of one end of the insert pipe so that a portion of the sleeve ex... | 08/25/1992 |
| 5136580 | Apparatus and method for learning and filtering destination and source addresses in a local area network system An apparatus and method for learning and filtering destination and source addresses in a local area network (LAN) system is provided to facilitate the transfer of information packets from one local area network to another. The apparatus provides a link be... | 08/04/1992 |
| 5132926 | Token ring equalizer An improved local area network ring node of the type described in ANSI/IEEE Standard 802.5, including a receiver having an input connectable to the ring, a phase-locked loop circuit for extracting a clock frequency from the receiver output and including a... | 07/21/1992 |
| 5111133 | Converter circuit for current mode control A converter circuit operable in a current control mode is disclosed. The circuit is of the type including an (1) inductor, (2) a clock for providing a clocking signal so that the circuit operates as a synchronous converter and (3) switching means, respons... | 05/05/1992 |
| 5109397 | X-ray tomography apparatus with lateral movement compensation An improved X-ray tomography system includes means for providing error information at each incremental angular position of the 360° rotation of each scan, indicative of any mechanical lateral movements of the various tomography components during a scan, ... | 04/28/1992 |
| 5100100 | Fluid control and shut off valve An improved control and shut off valve assembly is disclosed. The preferred valve assembly provides sufficient forces to overcome biasing forces so as to provide adequate shut off at a leakage rate of less than 10-9 std cc/sec of He with an atm... | 03/31/1992 |
