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 |
| 6240983 | Anti-foam splash-proof venturi Foaming and lateral water leakage during the filling of a container with a foam-prone water/chemical mixture is minimized by using, at the inlet of the venturi nozzle which draws the chemical into the water, a water authority-approved resilient-sleeve air... | 06/05/2001 |
| 6110138 | Stance-correcting knee brace Pain associated with unicompartmental osteoarthritis is relieved, and external varus or valgus movement about the knee is counteracted, by a soft brace in which a single cable pulled downwardly around the front of the femoral area adjacent the knee in one... | 08/29/2000 |
| 6079433 | Automatic soil moisture sensing and watering system An automatic moisture sensing and watering system detects a moisture level within the soil. The automatic moisture sensing and watering system may be implemented in combination with a conventional automatic watering system to accurately control a moisture... | 06/27/2000 |
| 6066086 | Speed control system for implanted blood pumps An automatic speed control system continually adjusts the speed of an implanted cardiac assist blood pump to an optimum level for the varying physiological needs of the patient. It does this by periodically iteratively incrementing the speed setpoint of t... | 05/23/2000 |
| 6055524 | Model-free adaptive process control A model-free adaptive controller is disclosed, which uses a dynamic artificial neural network with a learning algorithm to control any single-variable or multivariable open-loop stable, controllable, and consistently direct-acting or reverse-acting indust... | 04/25/2000 |
| 6050968 | Two-chambered softshell reservoir A softshell blood reservoir for heart-lung machines is symmetrical about a central vertical axis and is divided into two chambers: a small main chamber accessed by the blood inlet and outlet connectors, and a larger storage chamber accessed from the main ... | 04/18/2000 |
| 6045752 | Blood oxygenator with waterless heat exchanger Waterless temperature control of blood in a blood oxygenator is achieved by providing a non-disposable heater/cooler with a temperature-controlled surface that can be intimately mated with a heat-conducting surface of a disposable blood heat exchanger ass... | 04/04/2000 |
| 6016671 | Safety circuit for commercial washing machines A safety circuit for washing machines prevents an accidental simultaneous feed of bleach and sour due to a malfunction of the machine's controller, by interposing a normally open contact and a normally closed contact of a relay, respectively, in the sour ... | 01/25/2000 |
| 6000117 | Method of manufacturing curved wear surfaces for skid shoes A wear surface for helicopter shoes is constructed by forming a railed enclosure on a curved base plate, placing a mosaic of smooth-surfaced tungsten carbide blocks on the base plate within the enclosure, brazing the blocks to the plate and rails, and gri... | 12/14/1999 |
| 5980465 | Method for detecting changes in a patient s blood volume Physiological changes in a patient's circulatory system can be detected in real time during open heart surgery by injecting a known amount of a marker substance into the patient's blood prior to surgery, and during surgery continuously concurrently monito... | 11/09/1999 |
| 5958167 | Method of making tubing coil assemblies for medical devices Coiled medical plastic tubing is set in the coil shape by exposing it to a radio-frequency field while it is subjected to slight radially inward pressure. The amount of pressure and the power of the RF field are so adjusted as to cause the rungs of the co... | 09/28/1999 |
| 5955672 | Ultrasonic blood volume measurement in soft-shell venous reservoir Blood volume in a soft-shell venous reservoir is measured for real-time display by ultrasonically measuring the distance between the walls of the reservoir bag at representative points and determining the volume of the bag by an interpolation based on the... | 09/21/1999 |
| 5951153 | Convertible safety torchiere A convertible safety torchiere uses a glass-enclosed vertical halogen bulb with a Type A screwthreaded base. The base is screwed into a socket positioned in a frustoconical cup which extends downwardly from the bowl, and a transparent protective dome is m... | 09/14/1999 |
| 5951508 | Bilaterally connectable softshell reservoir A softshell reservoir has threaded fittings, one on each side of a central axis. Venous and cardiotomy blood are mixed in a mixer which screwthreadedly engages either of these fittings so the reservoir can be positioned on the right or the left of the per... | 09/14/1999 |
| 5935093 | Softshell reservoir with integrated cardiotomy reservoir A softshell blood reservoir incorporates an integral flexible cardiotomy section in which a filter/defoamer unit is supported in a semirigid cage. The reservoir also incorporates a storage section and a mixing section. The three sections can selectively c... | 08/10/1999 |
| 5928179 | Method and apparatus for creating pulsatile flow in a cardiopulmonary bypass circuit Pulsatile cardiopulmonary flow closely approximating a natural heartbeat is generated in a heart-lung machine by using a proportioning valve to partly convey blood in the machine's cardiopulmonary circuit to the arterial supply line, and to partly recycle... | 07/27/1999 |
| 5927099 | Recirculating water purification system Energy and water consumption of a commercial icemaker are greatly reduced by capturing the excess water running off the freezer plates and mixing it with new water to provide a pre-chilled water supply to the freezer plates. The resulting decrease in wate... | 07/27/1999 |
| 5921579 | Double-sided stand-up book A spiral-bound stand-up book has pages printed with one set of textual materials on one side, and a second independent set of textual materials on the other so as to allow two persons looking at the book from opposite sides to simultaneously read two inde... | 07/13/1999 |
| 5919153 | Hardshell venous reservoir with rotatable cardiotomy section The cardiotomy inlet connectors of a hardshell venous reservoir are mounted on a turret which is rotatable about the vertical axis of the cover and is in communication with the cardiotomy filter defoamer chamber. The venous inlet connector in turn is moun... | 07/06/1999 |
| 5916191 | Pulsatile flow generation in heart-lung machines Pulsatile blood flow in a heart-lung machine is accomplished by pumping blood into a bladder at a constant rate, and cyclically emptying the bladder into aortic line of the heart-lung machine either by means of the bladder's own elasticity or by a mechani... | 06/29/1999 |
| 5908450 | Physiologic mitral valve implantation holding system A temporary holder for a physiologic mitral valve includes a structure which releasably clamps the annulus of the valve between the rim of a plate and a snap ring. The structure also includes a pair of papillary head holders which hold the papillary heads... | 06/01/1999 |
| 5908048 | Dust cap for barbed connectors A reusable dust cap for tubing connectors on medical devices has an internal shoulder or ridge which engages a barb or groove on the connector to hold the cap during shipment. A grasping nub is provided on the cap to allow the cap to be forcibly disengage... | 06/01/1999 |
| 5904676 | Gasketless seal for rotatable blood reservoir connector A gasketless seal is formed between a flow tube in a venous reservoir and a rotatable connector telescoped into it, by forming on the connector one or more annular ribs of slightly larger diameter than the inner diameter. When the connector is inserted in... | 05/18/1999 |
| 5893532 | Curved wear surface for helicopter skid shoes A wear surface for helicopter shoes is constructed by forming a railed enclosure on a curved base plate, placing a mosaic of smooth-surfaced tungsten carbide blocks on the base plate within the enclosure, brazing the blocks to the plate and rails, and gri... | 04/13/1999 |
| 5888242 | Speed control system for implanted blood pumps An automatic speed control system continually adjusts the speed of an implanted cardiac assist blood pump to an optimum level for the varying physiological needs of the patient. It does this by periodically iteratively incrementing the speed setpoint of t... | 03/30/1999 |
| 5882325 | Electrostatic blood defoamer for heart-lung machine In a heart-lung machine, blood is defoamed without the use of defoaming chemicals by passing blood between parallel insulated electrodes whose electric field orients the blood protein molecules to break up the foam bubbles. The blood then passes into the ... | 03/16/1999 |
| 5879317 | Electrostatic blood defoamer for heart-lung machines In a heart-lung machine, blood is defoamed without the use of defoaming chemicals by passing blood between parallel insulated electrodes whose electric field orients the blood protein molecules to break up the foam bubbles. The blood then passes into the ... | 03/09/1999 |
| 5857988 | Laterally adjustable knee brace In a cable-based external knee ligament system, tensioned cables are disposed in a zig-zag pattern on each side of the femoral, patellar and tibial areas, and the load on selected ligaments can be varied by laterally moving cable guides above and below th... | 01/12/1999 |
| 5859366 | Strain gage measurement of blood volume in soft-shell venous reservoirs The blood volume contained in a soft-shell venous reservoir is measured by using strain gauges to detect variations in the expansion stress imposed upon the reservoir material or a film overlying the reservoir as the reservoir fills.... | 01/12/1999 |
| 5853024 | Top-mountable widespread valve body A one-piece, leakproof, top-mountable valve body for lavatories which has a uniform, screwthreaded outer diameter and parallel inlet and outlet ports in its bottom surface.... | 12/29/1998 |
| 5851486 | Spray spun filter cartridges for cardiotomy filter/defoamer A simple, self-supporting cardiotomy filter/defoamer is formed by a 20 μm cylindrical spray spun hollow plastic filter cartridge impregnated with an anti-foaming agent.... | 12/22/1998 |
| 5845670 | Diverter valve with vacuum breaker A diverter valve for Roman tubs also serves as a vacuum breaker. The valve disc which diverts the water flow to the shower head is spring-loaded to close the shower head line if the pressure at the water inlet drops below a predetermined minimum.... | 12/08/1998 |
| 5823045 | Measuring blood volume in soft-shell venous resevoirs by displacement The blood volume in a soft-shell venous reservoir is measured by immersing the reservoir in a fluid and measuring the displacement of that fluid, either by measuring a liquid level in an overflow tube or by measuring the temperature-compensated gas pressu... | 10/20/1998 |
| 5820579 | Method and apparatus for creating pulsatile flow in a cardiopulmonary bypass circuit Pulsatile cardiopulmonary flow closely approximating a natural heartbeat is generated in a heart-lung machine by using a proportioning valve to partly convey blood in the machine's cardiopulmonary circuit to the arterial supply line, and to partly recycle... | 10/13/1998 |
| 5811658 | Ultrasonic diversion of microair in blood Microair bubbles in a bloodstream are diverted from the bloodstream in a diversion chamber by ultrasonic energy, and are collected in a blood-filled stasis column where they can be accurately measured by a bubble detector and then vented to atmosphere. Bu... | 09/22/1998 |
| 5809718 | Modular moulding system A modular moulding system uses slotted blocks which are first individually mounted on a support surface. A length of moulding runner is inserted deeply into the slot of one of the blocks, and then partially withdrawn while being inserted into the slot of ... | 09/22/1998 |
| 5792160 | Epithelial remover tool A scrubber pad for a rotating epithelial removal tool is made of a single piece of substantially rigid plastic which has formed thereon a scrubbing surface equipped with a radial channel or channels to retain cell debris and lubricating fluid. An eccentri... | 08/11/1998 |
| 5770139 | Method and apparatus for connecting tubing to barbed connectors A tight, sterile connection between flexible tubing and a connector on a medical device is produced by pre-assembling the tubing and the connector, heat-shrinking the tubing onto the connector, and then sterilizing the connection while maintaining compres... | 06/23/1998 |
| 5762875 | Core structure for blood oxygenators The obstruction of a curved blood manifold window in a blood oxygenator by oxygenation fibers which lie along a chord of a curved window when wound upon the oxygenator core is avoided by recessing the manifold wall portions most closely adjacent the windo... | 06/09/1998 |
| 5759396 | Cardiotomy filter/defoamer structure with three-stage filter/defoamer A three-stage cardiotomy filter/defoamer dispenses with the conventional tricot sock covering by forming the secondary defoamer as a small-pore foam impregnated with a much heavier concentration of defoaming agent than the primary large-pore defoamer.... | 06/02/1998 |
