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!
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5468924 | Joy stick support structure for multi-directional switch A multi-directional switch (1) comprises a joy stick (6) which is inclined for selective operation of a plurality of switch portions. The joy stick (6) includes a support portion (6a) supported pivotally about the bottom end thereof; a slidable contact sp... | 11/21/1995 |
| 5459292 | Joystick operated, selectively actuated, plural switch array The control switch according to the present invention provides different electric conduction states and may be used for setting a point indicated by a cursor on a monitor in a navigation system. The control switch comprises (i) two terminal members each h... | 10/17/1995 |
| 5430262 | Multiple switch arrangement including membrane dome contacts and multi-directional tilt actuator A multiple switch device comprises a base having at least two switch units and supports with pawls placed on the tips of the pawls, a push button having at least two push members and supports with pawls placed on the tips of the pawls, and a spring for re... | 07/04/1995 |
| 5421694 | Non-contacting joystick A non-contacting joystick includes a control shaft being universally movable about a Z-axis. A spherical conducting body is attached to an end of the control shaft. A plurality of conducting plates are disposed circumjacent to the spherical body. A chargi... | 06/06/1995 |
| 5407285 | Pointing stick in a computer keyboard for cursor control Apparatus for use in a computer keyboard for cursor control is disclosed. The apparatus includes a compound key which serves for both typing a character and for pointing operations, i.e. for cursor control like a mouse. For pointing operations, a pointing... | 04/18/1995 |
| 5406040 | Joystick with improved actuator A joystick includes a shaft having a handle at one end and an actuator at the other end and pivotally mounted on a base for universal pivotal movement to actuate a plurality of switches. A bearing sleeve having a very low coefficient of friction is telesc... | 04/11/1995 |
| 5398028 | Joystick controller An x- and y-axis translating apparatus independently translates the motion of a primary shaft in the x- and y-axis directions simultaneously to transducers which generate electrical signals representative of the motion of the primary shaft in the x- and y... | 03/14/1995 |
| 5396030 | Selective multiple position switch with common pivoted operator A tilting member has a force bearing portion to which operating force is applied, and a supported surface. A supporting member has a supporting projection with which the supported surface of the tilting member may come in contact. When the operating force... | 03/07/1995 |
| 5378862 | Universal pivot switch with a hemispheric pivotal support member A switch which provides different switching inputs by pushing different operating portions of a single operating button is disclosed. The switch comprises an operating button the periphery of which has a plurality of operating portions, a support provided... | 01/03/1995 |
| 5361083 | Data input device and method A data input device and method for producing signals corresponding to symbols, comprises: at least one manually actuatable switch having a home state and manually actuatable from the home state to one of a set of first states and manually actuatable from ... | 11/01/1994 |
| 5349881 | Multi-axial centering spring mechanism A mechanism suitable for a control lever such as a joy stick has two mutually perpendicular axes of rotation which provide movement in two planes. At least two close wound coil springs form a set and a set of springs is provided for each plane. The spring... | 09/27/1994 |
| 5350075 | Arrangement for controlling the direction of movement of a load hoist trolley The present invention relates to an arrangement for a load hoist comprising a load device supported by a lifting cable and a driver for driving the load device in a horizontal direction. The driver is arranged to be actuated by the movement of the lifting... | 09/27/1994 |
| 5350891 | Servomotor remote control switch A wobble stick control switch assembly for operating remotely adjusted vehicle outside rear-view mirrors. The stick is guided through orthogonally intersecting slots to move a cylindrical holder having insert molded wiper contacts over the surface of a ci... | 09/27/1994 |
| 5343219 | Cursor key actuating assembly A mounting structure including a clip portion embraces the nose of a computer keyboard housing with tabs that snap into the space between housing and keys for securing a toggle assembly over the cursor keys in an inverted "T" array cursor pad. A toggle as... | 08/30/1994 |
| 5283401 | Multiple switch assembly including lockable and/or vertically movable switch actuator A manual control device for selectively actuating one or more switches in a multiswitch system. The device is utilized in cooperation with a video entertainment system, multimedia game device or other type system requiring a hand-actuated control apparatu... | 02/01/1994 |
| 5252821 | Toy stick mechanism with an optical system The present invention provides a joy stick mechanism having a simplified structure in which a size reduction of the apparatus can be attained, there is little possibility of breaking of electric wires, and switching can be surely realized. To this end, th... | 10/12/1993 |
| 5252971 | Data acquisition in a multi-function keyboard system which corrects for preloading of force sensors Data acquisition in a multi-function keyboard system includes both acquiring typing data by conventional keyboard scanning techniques and, simultaneously, acquiring pointing data by sampling force sensors coupled to the multi-function pointing key. The ke... | 10/12/1993 |
| 5233228 | Control device for the manual adjustment of reversible electrical adjusting devices A control device for adjustment of reversible electrical adjusting devices, in particular of motor vehicle rear-view mirrors, having a selector switch which can be switched by means of a knob between a multiplicity of stable switching positions for select... | 08/03/1993 |
| 5228356 | Variable effort joystick A variable resistance joystick (20) configured for computer control is provided. A stepper motor (34) turns threaded screws (30) to move a system of springs (26) up and down on the joystick thus varying the lever arm on which the springs impart force. Thu... | 07/20/1993 |
| 5227594 | Electrical multi-directional switch An electrical, multi-directional manual switch. The switch includes a central, pivoting arm and a plurality of sub-miniature switches positioned about the arm. The compact configuration of the sub-miniature switches allows one or more of the switches to b... | 07/13/1993 |
| 5225831 | Joystick and control circuit therefor A joystick and associated circuit including a joystick handle and angularly oriented opposed pairs of first and second switches positioned apart from each other on respective axes, the switches being selectively actuatable by movements of the handle, and ... | 07/06/1993 |
| 5224589 | Operating lever device An operating lever device constructed such that the members thereof having a comparatively high rigidity can be used in such a way as to minimize the wear-down thereof and enable the angle of inclination of the lever to be detected precisely over a long p... | 07/06/1993 |
| 5170884 | Control lever assembly for signaling devices A lever assembly for the control of various electrical functions of a motor vehicle includes a hand operated control lever which is tiltable and rotatable with respect to and is supported by a base. A tension spring extends along a rotation axis of the co... | 12/15/1992 |
| 5164554 | Pivotable pushbutton operated multiple switch assembly A plurality of switches are arranged in a polygon on a printed circuit board and each of the switches is beneath or under a switch activating portion formed at the center of a pushbutton operation receiver portion. The pushbutton operation receiver portio... | 11/17/1992 |
| 5157229 | Video game joystick switch control mechanism with position adjustors A convenient and easily reassembleable control mechanism for a video game is provided. The control mechanism includes a control rod, a mechanism body, a switch control plate, a plurality of micro switches and an actuator wherein the switch control plate h... | 10/20/1992 |
| 5151563 | Remote control switch for posture adjustment of automotive mirrors In a remote control switch for posture adjustment of the automotive mirrors, there are disposed on a substrate that is fixed within a casing, a first group of fixed contacts for posture control of the lefthand mirror and a second group of fixed contacts f... | 09/29/1992 |
| 5140313 | Joy stick assembly A joy stick includes a base, and a post having a lower portion extending through a retainer which is rotatable about the base. A spring is biased between the post and the retainer, and another spring is biased between the base and the post so that the pos... | 08/18/1992 |
| 5132671 | Integrating graphics input device A graphics input device for use with a graphics processing system includes a stylus which can be manually manipulated by a user to generate graphics input signals representative of a graphics object to be drawn in a circumscribed area on a display device ... | 07/21/1992 |
| 5113179 | Switch joystick A switch joystick including a lever, a switch coupled to the lever and operative in response to deflection of the lever by a selectable amount from a neutral position along a predetermined coordinate axis, and means for adjusting the amount of deflection ... | 05/12/1992 |
| 5107080 | Multiple degree of freedom damped hand controls Hand control devices are disclosed which provide for damping of vibrations and other unintended motion with three or more degrees of freedom. In one embodiment, a four degree of freedom damped hand control is illustrated, including a chamber filled with a... | 04/21/1992 |
| 5068498 | Joystick for mounting on dual-width panels The joystick can be mounted on a thin panel or a thick panel. The joystick comprises a frame and a shaft extending through the frame. The shaft has a large-diameter portion and a small-diameter portion. A handle is mounted on the free end of the large dia... | 11/26/1991 |
| 5068499 | Control lever type input device A control lever type input device is disclosed, which is provided with a plurality of input sections disposed on a casing; a control lever supported pivotably for driving the plurality of input sections; and a switch driven by driving the control lever so... | 11/26/1991 |
| 5059882 | Electromechanical control device usable for piloting a vehicle An electromechanical control device is disclosed usable for piloting a vehicle, comprising a piloting control stick articulated on a support via an articulation with two degrees of freedom and so with two output axes, a detection assembly comprising posit... | 10/22/1991 |
| 5047596 | Multi-way change-over rotary and slide switch A multi-way change-over switch which is compact with a reduced number of parts and is improved in operability. The multi-way change-over switch comprises a manually operable lever, a rotary slider supporting the manually operable lever for rocking motion ... | 09/10/1991 |
| 5043709 | Joystick for use with video games and the like A joystick device to be used in video games or the like having an improved construction to prolong the life of the switches used in the joystick device. The improved construction includes a conical spring located between a diaphragm and an actuator which ... | 08/27/1991 |
| 5034572 | Switch device In a switch device in which four switches are operated by depression of four depressing surfaces which are defined by diagonal lines on a rectangular operating knob, the four switches comprise: four principal contact assemblies which are each arranged in ... | 07/23/1991 |
| 5034574 | Joystick for computer keyboards An integrally formed joystick for a computer keyboard having a central hollow housing loosely fitted over a center key and capping the same, the stick having two or more spaced arms extending externally from the central housing and adapted to make contact... | 07/23/1991 |
| 4992631 | Multi-directional switch assembly A multi-directional switch assembly, such as a joypad or joystick for an electronic game apparatus, including a printed circuit board, a resiliently deformable member having contact elements thereon and an input member mounted to deform the deformable mem... | 02/12/1991 |
| 4990842 | Operation control method and device for construction machine An operation control device for a construction machine is constructed of a remote control valve having a member moveable in proportion to an operating lever stroke and having a plurality of devices engaged with the member and operable in association there... | 02/05/1991 |
| 4962448 | Virtual pivot handcontroller A movable handcontroller that permits control while requiring low force-displacement gradient. The handcontroller may be used in a side-arm configuration in that it allows the operator's arm to remain essentially motionless in an armrest while control inp... | 10/09/1990 |
