Did You Know...
...that while attempting to develop a super strong glue, 3M employee Spencer Silver accidentally developed a glue that was so weak it would barely hold two pieces of paper together? However, his colleague Art Fry needed the glue. Fry sang with his church choir and marked the pages of his hymnal with small scraps of paper that often fell out. He used Silver's glue to hold the papers in place. Today we call this invention Post-it Notes.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7533691 | Adjustable damper assembly A damper assembly, comprising an adjustable locking means for releasable retention of an element pivotally in one of a plurality of predetermined lock positions for adjusting air flow through an opening. ... | 05/19/2009 |
| 7325569 | Butterfly valve with integral split flapper relief valve A valve is provided that includes a valve housing, a valve element, and a flapper. The valve housing has a passage. The valve element is rotationally mounted in the passage and moveable between an open position and a closed position. Additionally, the valve element ... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7322561 | Vacuum processing apparatus The invention provides a highly reliable plasma processing apparatus having stable sealing performance. The vacuum processing apparatus comprises a vacuum vessel 509 having its inside decompressed, an opening 1201 disposed on a wall of the vacuum vesse... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7320456 | Valve device A valve element for opening and closing a flow path can be reliably set to an opening position and a closing position. The valve element for opening and closing a communication opening portion communicating with an inflow hole and an outflow hole is provided in a va... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7290561 | Pulsation causing valve for a plural piston pump A valve for causing pulsatile flow in a multi-piston plunger pump includes a valve poppet, a valve seat, and a spring biasing the valve poppet against the valve seat; and a mechanism holding the valve poppet in an open position, thereby producing pulsatile flow from... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7278443 | Pulsation causing valve for a plural piston pump A valve for causing pulsatile flow in a multi-piston plunger pump includes a valve poppet, a valve seat, and a spring biasing the valve poppet against the valve seat; and a mechanism holding the valve poppet in an open position, thereby producing pulsatile flow from... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7273065 | Inflation/deflation valve for cargo dunnage A valve assembly for a dunnage bag wherein in the valve body a valve diaphragm is mounted on a shaft and is supported by a mounting bar such that the valve diaphragm may be reciprocally moved from the closed position to the open position by a simple axial push on th... | 09/25/2007 |
| 7195029 | Inflate and deflate valve An inflate/deflate valve of a heavy duty design for use during inflation of inflatable devices such as dunnage bags. Such dunnage bags are used in hostile or rough environments where when deflated the dunnage bags are stacked and compressed into storage drums where ... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7143763 | Device for washing nasal cavities and collecting catarrhal matter The invention relates to a device for washing the nasal cavities with a nebulized treatment liquid. It comprises a base body, a atomizer chamber containing a washing liquid, means for nebulizing the liquid in said chamber and dispensing the atomized liquid to the na... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7104333 | Dry pipe valve for fire protection sprinkler system A differential-type dry pipe valve for a fire protection sprinkler system has a ratio of effective air sealing area to service water sealing area that is smaller than a ratio of service water pressure to system air pressure at which the fire protection sprinkler sys... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7096883 | Combined check/pressure control valve The invention relates to a combined check and pressure control valve (10), comprising a check valve element (34) which is adjustable between an opened position and a closed position, and a pressure control valve element (42) which on exceeding a... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7040339 | Suction inlet valve for fire truck pumpers A suction inlet valve for fire truck pumpers has a male body portion and a female body portion, the portions defining a chamber therein. A cone-shaped valve element is connected to a valve stem which has a cam body thereon with a cam slot therein. The cam slot recei... | 05/09/2006 |
| 6953026 | Pressure regulating valve for automotive fuel system A pressure regulated valve is provided for a mechanical returnless fuel system for an automotive vehicle that includes a fuel pump for supplying fuel from a fuel supply to an engine. The pressure regulating valve includes a conduit in fluid communication with the pu... | 10/11/2005 |
| 6941602 | Self adjusting, contouring cushioning system A cushion for seats, wheelchairs, mattresses, etc. is disclosed. The cushion includes fluid-filled cells. Each cell is in fluid communication with adjacent cells via conduits. Constrictures such as check-valves and duckbill valves may be located inside the conduits ... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6626204 | Cylinder valve assembly with check valve An accommodation portion (53) is formed at a position where it faces a check valve member (42) through a chamber inlet (41a) of a check valve chamber (41). An opening means (51) is attached in the accommodation portion (53). This opening means (51) switch... | 09/30/2003 |
| 6568424 | Method and valve for preventing unauthorized access A valve which prevents the filling of a fluid container through a port (6) by an unauthorized party, and, at the same time, allows the filling of the container through the same port (6) by an authorized party. The valve is operated by an actuator means (1... | 05/27/2003 |
| 6357465 | Shipping cap for evacuation valve A cap for use in a hydraulic control unit. The cap retains a poppet in a fill position within a sleeve. The cap has at least one body. The body has a retaining surface, for insertion into the sleeve for limiting movement of the poppet within the sleeve. T... | 03/19/2002 |
| 6341622 | Pressure relief valve and arrangement for fire suppression water sprinkler system A valve and an arrangement for a fire suppression water sprinkler system includes a valve which has an inlet and an outlet with a restricted orifice to limit the flow through the valve to correspond to the flow through a single sprinkler head. The valve h... | 01/29/2002 |
| 6164314 | Oversized air valve for use with inflatable devices and method An oversized air valve for use with inflatable devices typically in an above-the-ground swimming pool or an inflatable mattress is disclosed. In its most fundamental embodiment, the oversized air valve for use with inflatable devices includes a constructi... | 12/26/2000 |
| 6027315 | Inlet control valve for compressors A simplified control valve system is provided wherein a single multi-functional orifice provides the required bleed from the control cylinder chamber as well as the required venting of the system for blow down. Preferably, the control line will be an oil ... | 02/22/2000 |
| 5988245 | Vehicle wheel assemblies including protection against excessive tire pressure A vehicle wheel assembly includes a tire, a rim, an air valve and a relief valve. The relief valve can be installed in the rim, in the tire, or incorporated into the housing of the air valve to communicate directly with the interior of the tire; or as an ... | 11/23/1999 |
| 5918623 | Starting valve The invention relates to a starting valve for progressive build-up of pressure in an installation through which pressure medium flows, comprising a housing with a first opening for coupling to a first component of the installation and a second opening for... | 07/06/1999 |
| 5819791 | Check valve including means to permit selective back flow A preferred embodiment of FIGS. 1-3 includes a check valve (10) with a pair of semicircular check valve members (34, 36) normally permitting fluid flow in one direction and blocking fluid flow in an opposite direction. Semicircular valve member (36) is re... | 10/13/1998 |
| 5729991 | Pressure relief system for a refrigeration system A pressure relief system for a mechanical refrigeration system. In one embodiment the pressure relief system having a pair of pressure relief valves connected in series to a pressure vessel that contains refrigerant. The pressure relief system allowing th... | 03/24/1998 |
| 5662139 | Pressure relief valve with lockout position A lever actuated pressure relief valve useful at the base of a gridded sprinkler system to perform three functions. The first function is as a pressure relief valve for the sprinkler system, the second function is a closed position for permitting the pres... | 09/02/1997 |
| 5568910 | Anesthesia machine An anesthesia machine includes a breathing system for delivering a gas mixture, including an anesthetic gas, to a patient for inhalation and for collecting exhaled gas from the patient. A cannister flow communicates with the breathing system and removes c... | 10/29/1996 |
| 5511575 | Apparatus for permitting uninterrupted relief of cargo tank compartment internal pressure and preventing leakage of lading from the cargo tank during dynamic pressure surges The invention disclosed relates to an apparatus for permitting uninterrupted relief of cargo tank compartment internal pressures while also preventing the leakage of lading from the cargo tank to the surrounding atmosphere during sudden increases in the c... | 04/30/1996 |
| 5479978 | Pressure-vacuum relief valve assembly A combination pressure-vacuum relief valve assembly is provided for mounting in a port of a container. A two-part, generally hollow valve housing defines a valve chamber and includes a housing body part adapted for mounting in the port and which has an in... | 01/02/1996 |
| 5398744 | Tire pressure regulating apparatus Apparatus for use in co-operation with a conventional tire inflation valve which enables the pressure in a tire to be reduced to a pre-determined value in a one step process. A movable pressure regulator member, comprising a pin and slot arrangement, co-o... | 03/21/1995 |
| 5396925 | Anti-free flow valve, enabling fluid flow as a function of pressure and selectively opened to enable free flow A bi-directional cracking valve that can be selectively opened. Bi-directional cracking valve (10, 70) is formed using an elastomeric membrane (34). Centered within the elastomeric membrane is a slit (36) that remains closed, blocking fluid flow through t... | 03/14/1995 |
| 5343889 | Nozzle for inflatable objects A nozzle for inflatable objects being made of a plastic material, including a nozzle body and a sealing element composed of a vertical sleeve body and an one-way membrane, in which the nozzle body is incorporated with an annular nozzle seat, a conical wal... | 09/06/1994 |
| 5338160 | Individual controllable cylinder-plunger assemblies of a radial piston pump A radial piston pump includes a plurality of radially arranged cylinder-pger assemblies having suction valves and pressure-regulating valves, with the plungers being controlled by an eccentric disk which eccentrically circulates relative to a housing acc... | 08/16/1994 |
| 5331998 | Radial valve with unloader assembly for gas compressor A suction valve for a gas compressor includes a cylindrical valve guide cage with plurality of rows of valve guides, each with a corresponding poppet valve slidably movable therein. Each valve guide communicates with a compressor cylinder. A concentric cy... | 07/26/1994 |
| 5254092 | Fluid flow check valve A valve for controlling the flow of fluid through a flow path, which valve comprises a housing defining a flow path and having two indented portions about the flow path, a poppet mounted within each indented portion such that the internal end of each inde... | 10/19/1993 |
| 5215119 | Safety closure for steam pressure coffee machine water reservoirs A safety closure for a water reservoir of a coffee maker includes a disc-shaped stopper fitted to a wide hole formed in a mouth of the water reservoir. A rod projecting upwards from the hole and extending through a guide bush with a play is connected to t... | 06/01/1993 |
| 5178240 | Adjustable double-acting damper A dasphpot damper for acting between two objects subject to move toward and away from one another including a housing including an elongated cavity, a piston mounted within the housing cavity for reciprocating movement therealong and dividing the cavity i... | 01/12/1993 |
| 5163741 | Device for hydraulic brake lock valve with a closing piston An apparatus for actuating a hydraulic brake has a housing with a cavity communicating with an input and an output for hydraulic fluid. The housing is adapted to be positioned between a master cylinder and a wheel cylinder in a vehicle hydraulic brake sys... | 11/17/1992 |
| 5119842 | Nozzle for inflatable objects An improved nozzle for inflatable objects including a nozzle seat, a first annular wall extending from which, a relatively thin ring portion on the first annular wall to serve as a bending position, a conical body defining an air inlet located on the ring... | 06/09/1992 |
| 5105848 | Automatic relief valve A swimming pool cleaner relief valve comprising a body; a flow passage through the body having an inlet and an outlet for connection to a pipe having an induced flow therethrough; a bypass passage through the body connected to the flow passage and open to... | 04/21/1992 |
| 4948092 | Combined check valve and fluid pressure relief valve A combined check valve and relief valve assembly for permitting the free of a fluid in a first direction and for selectively preventing backflow. Backflow occurs only upon depression of a compression spring-loaded cylindrical valve actuator housed within ... | 08/14/1990 |
