Famous Patents
3M employee and church chorister Art Fry needed something to temporarily mark pages in his hymnal. He was in luck because his colleague, Spencer Silver, accidentally developed a glue that was too weak for other purposes. After initially discouraging consumer response, Post-it Notes became a hit in 1979.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7350534 | Hollow ball valve assembly Apparatus and methods for constructing a valve comprising a sealing member and a hollow ball operable to sealingly engage the sealing member. A guide housing disposed about said hollow ball and does not constrain rotation of said hollow ball. A spring is disposed be... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7069124 | Robotic modeling of voids Robotic systems for modeling, mapping and exploring subterranean void spaces such as mines, caves, tunnels, bunkers, and conduits. Robotic modeling of subterranean voids is generally enabled by a procedural system consisting of preprocessing, ingress, void modeling,... | 06/27/2006 |
| 6928947 | Submersible vehicle A remotely controlled submersible vehicle comprises a fore section and an aft section. In use, they are held apart from each other, such as by telescopic arms, in order to define a gap within which a payload is received. This keeps the payload near the center of the... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6789587 | Method and apparatus for underwater tree cutting and retrieval The invention relates to an apparatus and method for cutting submerged trees at an underwater logging site and for retrieving the cut trees. Once cut, each tree is retrieved to the water surface by an inflatable bag deployed from and inflated by the apparatus. The a... | 09/14/2004 |
| 6575105 | Device for transporting loads under water and usable as a lifting pontoon A device for the transport of loads under water which may be used also as a loading bridge, allows to reach great depths under water and comprises a tank (S), two tanks (Sg) and a float (G) in which the pressure automatically remains equal to the external... | 06/10/2003 |
| 6460476 | Buoyancy device A buoyancy device is described as comprising one or more buoyancy members, such as inflatable bags, diaphragms, bladders or chambers, for attachment to a structure to be floated or sunk such as a drilling rig. In one embodiment, the buoyancy member compri... | 10/08/2002 |
| 6152065 | Apparatus for launching and recovery of boats A dock, for launching and recovery of a lifeboat, rescue boat or like small boat on a vessel, a floating platform or a fixed installation. The boat (14) is normally stored on the dock. The dock is provided with buoyant elements (1) fixed to a frame (3). T... | 11/28/2000 |
| 5860765 | In-water dry dock system with removable centerline insert The present invention provides a simple system for in-water dry docking pleasure boats using existing boat slips. The system includes a dry-dock basin having one or more ballast tanks mounted below the bottom surface of the basin. The basin is submerged a... | 01/19/1999 |
| 5755172 | Underwater lifting apparatus An underwater lifting apparatus includes a lift bag having an inflatable bladder which is capable of receiving gas therein for inflating the lift bag, the bladder having a sleeve mounted on its outer surface. A pressurized canister is received within the ... | 05/26/1998 |
| 5549070 | In-water dry dock system The present invention provides a simple system for in-water dry docking pleasure boats using existing boat slips. The system includes a dry-dock basin having a pair of ballast tanks mounted below the bottom surface of the basin. The basin is submerged usi... | 08/27/1996 |
| 5516235 | Method and apparatus of raising objects from the sea bed A flexible envelope, of fabric, plastic sheet or similar material, is made buoyant by being filled with water of lower salinity than the surrounding medium, and used to lift loads underwater. The lift can be generated in situ by pumping water into the env... | 05/14/1996 |
| 5251558 | Underwater salvage apparatus An underwater salvage apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus (includes a harness adapted to be oriented on) a substantially cylindrical drum having an air inlet and a water vent. The harness comprises a plurality of spaced longitudinally extending straps, ... | 10/12/1993 |
| 5031555 | Neutral buoyancy device A neutral buoyancy device, (NBD), includes a lift volume container, load suspension straps, control mechanism, handle, self-closing intake and exhaust valves and valve actuators. A high pressure air source is provided by attaching a pressure cylinder to t... | 07/16/1991 |
| 5007364 | Gas control valves and apparatus for controlling buoyancy in water A gas control valve (802) has an inlet needle jet (812) and an outlet (816), the communication between which is controlled by a valve member (808) carried by a rod (807) connected to a diaphragm (804) which divides a chamber (806), open to ambient pressur... | 04/16/1991 |
| 4782778 | Inflation valve device An inflation valve device which comprises a tee, a screwed bushing, a valve, and a hose having a hose adaptor. The inflation valve device is inserted in the hose of a pontoon type boat lift. The inflation valve device is used to release air stored in the ... | 11/08/1988 |
| 4586850 | Underwater trenching system An underwater trenching apparatus for burying pipeline and the like including a frame for positioning about the pipeline to be buried, a drive roller system operatively connected to the frame for driving the frame along the pipeline and including at least... | 05/06/1986 |
| 4498408 | Lifting body for diving Lifting body for transporting or lifting objects under water, of the type in which the lifting gas has essentially the same pressure as the surrounding mass of water. The lifting body comprises a pressure measuring instrument which provides a depth positi... | 02/12/1985 |
| 4276846 | Recovery apparatus An apparatus for use in recovering an article at least partially submerged in water comprises at least two floatable members each having an arm mounted thereon and whose buoyancy can be varied, each arm carrying a recovery member having gripping or scoopi... | 07/07/1981 |
| 4069923 | Buoyancy elevator for moving a load in an industrial facility such as a nuclear power plant An elevator for transporting a load between upper and lower elevations includes a shaft containing liquid therein between the elevations. A buoy accommodates the load to be moved and transports the same within the shaft. A buoyancy control controls the bu... | 01/24/1978 |
