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 |
| 7172991 | Integrated CD/DVD recording and labeling An integrated system for individually labeling a recording medium at the time that digital information is recorded thereon, by recording write data with a digital recorder on the read/write surface of the CD/DVD and recording image data by inducing visible color cha... | 02/06/2007 |
| 7124906 | Apparatus and method for protecting floating roof tanks from the effects of lightning strikes An apparatus and method for protecting a floating roof tank from the effects of a lightning strike are disclosed. In one aspect, the apparatus comprises an electrically conductive bonding strap in electrical communication with an inner tank wall and the floating roo... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7078621 | Grounding system for floating roofs in flammable storage tanks Lightning at or near the site of an oil storage tank can cause a charge build up in the tank. This charge must be discharged to ground at rapid speeds to prevent arcing, sparks and fire. The tank has a metal floating roof which can be used to discharge the charge to... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7073530 | Storage tank de-inventorying A method for emptying a liquid storage tank that has a floating roof which becomes stationery a finite distance above the tank bottom, wherein, after the roof becomes stationery, liquid is continued to be withdrawn from inside the tank while vapor is removed from wi... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7066360 | Push-pull container closure A push-pull closure including a shell and a tip. The shell includes a body with a fluid opening, a stem extending axially through the opening, and a first lip on the body outer surface and a second lip on the body inner surface, with the lips facing the shell one en... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7044322 | Spring-loaded secondary seal for floating-roof storage tank A low-profile secondary seal for floating-roof storage tanks has a tip seal that includes a series of segmental adapter plates connected to the shoe plates. A tip seal element is mounted on the adapter plates. A fabric extends between the tip seal and the floating r... | 05/16/2006 |
| 7015492 | Method and apparatus for mapping of wafers located inside a closed wafer cassette Wafers in a cassette are mapped without having to open the cassette. The cassette is at least partially transparent to a particular type of radiation. A source of the radiation is directed into the cassette, through a transparent or translucent part of the cassette,... | 03/21/2006 |
| 6957909 | Blister pack Blister packaging unit (10) for at least two components packed in separate individual packages, at least one of which has a pulverulent or granular consistency, which are to be prepared before use with the further packaged component(s) in a mixer or applicato... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6929142 | Removable hatch cover for an internal floating roof manway A hatch cover for deployment over a hatchway formed in a floating roof liquid storage tank permits rapid loading and unloading of inspection or maintenance equipment and minimizes vapor emissions from the tank. The portable hatch cover has two base plates movably co... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6922956 | Floating cover A floating cover or roof having a plurality of floating panels or panels is provided. The floating cover disposed in a storage tank includes a frame having a plurality of openings, the floating panels mounted into the respective openings, an inspection port formed o... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6761275 | Domed liner disc for closure A liner disc for a bottle cap for sealingly closing a bottle includes an annular rim portion and a downwardly domed portion depending from the annular rim portion. The domed portion is convex toward the contents of the bottle. A seal layer is provided on the domed p... | 07/13/2004 |
| 6494338 | Hatch cover gasket A hatch cover (10) is engageable with a hatch (11) on a railroad car (13). The hatch cover comprises a first rib (30) and a second rib (32) running annularly about the under side of the hatch cover and has an associated first coefficient of expansion. A g... | 12/17/2002 |
| 6364519 | Bone cement system A relatively rigid container for packaging bone cement powder. The container is filled with the powder and then sealed with a lid. To access the powder, the nurse simply peels back the lid. Because no tearing or cutting open is required as with the curren... | 04/02/2002 |
| 6354488 | Secondary seal for floating roof storage tank A low profile secondary seal has a tube positioned above a primary seal that utilizes a shoe plate. The tube is connected to the floating roof. A tip seal adjacent the shell of the tank is connected to the shoe plate by a spacer. In use, the tube bears on... | 03/12/2002 |
| 6247607 | Low profile secondary seal A low profile secondary seal for sealing the space between the inner wall of a tank and a roof floating on a liquid product within the tank is of relatively simple, lightweight construction and of low profile so as to maximize the possible height of the f... | 06/19/2001 |
| 6066237 | Safe and semi-automatic removal of heavy drum closures In a coke drum an outlet arrangement is provided which allows removal of the coke from the drum without endangering the health or safety of workers heading or unheading the coke drum. Instead of using a manually removable bottom flange for the drum, a sem... | 05/23/2000 |
| 5576937 | Connector including a connector body, an annular air-tight material and a closure plate to seal an IC A connector for protecting an IC comprising a connector body, a closed plate, and an annular air-tight sealing material. An air-tight chamber is formed centrally of the annular air-tight sealing material by compressing the annular air-tight sealing materi... | 11/19/1996 |
| 5509563 | Apparatus for coupling a pontoon to a floating roof in a storage tank for liquid products A floating roof for use in a storage tank for oil or other liquid petrochemical products includes pontoons, each of which is coupled to the girders by mounting arrangements including a one-piece saddle having an intermediate arc shaped cradle portion for ... | 04/23/1996 |
| 5423446 | Vapor seal for floating roof of liquid storage tank A tapered, tubular, flexible sheet material is provided as a vapor seal between a gauge well pipe and a gauge well sleeve of a floating roof in a liquid storage tank, the larger end of the seal being rigidly affixed to the sleeve and the smaller end of th... | 06/13/1995 |
| 5372270 | Shoe seal for floating roof A shoe seal for effecting a vapor barrier between a lightweight internal floating roof and a tank wall of a tank includes a plurality of shoe sections; a plurality of hanger brackets connected to perimeter sections of the lightweight internal floating roo... | 12/13/1994 |
| 5351848 | Peripheral seal device for floating tank cover A device for sealing the rim space between a floating cover, movably disposed within a storage tank, and the inner wall of the storage tank. The device includes a peripheral sealing ring formed of a plurality of overlapped shoe segments, each segment havi... | 10/04/1994 |
| 5301828 | Secondary shoe seal The space between the inner wall of a petroleum or hydrocarbon tank or similar storage tank and a floating roof therein is sealed by both a primary seal and a secondary seal. The secondary seal, which has no elastomeric parts subject to rapid deterioratio... | 04/12/1994 |
| 5284269 | Space saving double seal The space saving double seal uses a lower shoe, an upper shoe and a pair of vapor barriers joining them to a conventional outer rim plate on a floating roof. The secondary vapor barrier extends from the outer rim plate to the top of the upper shoe. A pair... | 02/08/1994 |
| 5150805 | Fluid seal apparatus The apparatus of the invention is applicable to gasholders and comprises a mercury seal, e.g. for a gas holder, which seal provides fluid-tight sealing in an annular space formed between a cylinder and a piston. The mercury is deposited in a reservoir whi... | 09/29/1992 |
| 5103992 | Shoe seal for floating roof of storage tank, and method of installing same A shoe seal for sealing the space between a floating roof and the inner wall of an oil storage tank includes a plurality of scissors hanger assemblies for movably mounting a shoe on the floating roof. Each scissors hanger assembly includes an elongated pl... | 04/14/1992 |
| 5078293 | Shoe seal for lightweight floating roof A shoe seal for sealing the space between a pontoon supported lightweight floating roof and the inner wall of an oil storage tank includes a plurality of hanger assemblies for movably mounting a shoe on the floating roof. The hanger assemblies are mounted... | 01/07/1992 |
| 5001312 | High current repetitive switch having no significant arcing A high current direct current switch which has no significant arcing and which is capable of high rate repetitive operation. A collector member has a plurality of electrically conductive leaves which are arranged in a stack. All of the leaves in the stack... | 03/19/1991 |
| 4732290 | Load isolating gas well A floating as well for a covered gas storage tank is provided which rests on the tank cover until enough gas is introduced into the tank to inflate a gas collection membrane. The stress loads created by an increasing volume of stored gas on the gas collec... | 03/22/1988 |
| 4714175 | Tank liquid interface separation deck with leveling lines A storage tank for liquids is provided with a vertically movable horizontal deck which separates a liquid above the deck from a liquid below the deck. The deck and tank have line and pulley mechanisms to prevent the deck from skewing or tilting during ver... | 12/22/1987 |
| 4706718 | Containment manhole having spillage sealing means A containment manhole is disclosed which includes a hollow body having a closed bottom and an open top. A concentric opening is provided in the bottom to receive an underground tank fill therethrough and a circular, resilient seal is provided to seal the ... | 11/17/1987 |
| 4512485 | Tamper resistant and tamper evident closures Safety closures resistant to tampering comprising a cap, a rotary safety ring, and a locking member, usually located below the rotary safety ring, said closure requiring that the locking member be removed before the safety ring can be lowered; the safety ... | 04/23/1985 |
| 4506785 | Universal circuit pack container A circuit board container assembly includes a box (10) with internal side wall slots (16 and 17) for receiving dividers (21 and 22) in which are formed vertical slots (28, 29, 31 and 32) and into which are placed printed circuit boards (11). Thee dividers... | 03/26/1985 |
| 4406377 | Low friction seal for a floating roof An elastomeric composite strip, impermeable to petroleum vapor and useful as a seal in a floating roof tank, having thereon a layer of woven or nonwoven fabric or cloth of a polymeric material with a substantially lower coefficient of friction than the ma... | 09/27/1983 |
| 4308968 | Secondary seal for tank having floating roof An arrangement for sealing the space between the outer rim of a floating roof and the inner wall of a tank includes a primary seal coupled to and extending between the inner wall of the tank and the rim and a secondary seal mounted on the rim of the roof ... | 01/05/1982 |
| 4260068 | Storage tank and floating roof with a gauge well having a floating seal therein A floating vapor seal is suspended in a slotted gauge well that extends through a floating roof of a petroleum product storage tank. It has a flexible, product resistant layer that contacts the inside walls of the gauge well near the level of product in t... | 04/07/1981 |
| 4243151 | Floating roof penetrations with reduced vapor space seal An improvement in a storage tank for a liquid having a floating roof and at least one stationary vertical member penetrating the floating roof through a well defined by an opening therein surrounded by a well wall partially in and partially above the leve... | 01/06/1981 |
| 4199074 | Enclosed seal for open top volatile liquid storage tanks An open top tank for storing volatile liquids has a circular floating roof buoyantly supported on the surface of the stored liquid within a confining cylindrical shell of the tank. Adjustable sealing means extends between the roof and the top of the shell... | 04/22/1980 |
| 4139117 | Floating cover assembly A floating cover assembly encompassing in a first condition a method and apparatus for tensioning a floating cover for a liquid storage reservoir wherein the surface level of the stored liquid varies and in a second condition, a method and apparatus for m... | 02/13/1979 |
| 3942674 | Electrical grounding for tank floating cover A floating cover that is spaced inwardly from the side of an upright tank is electrically grounded to the tank by a plurality of cable loops disposed in substantially vertical planes around the cover and spanning the space between it and the tank side wal... | 03/09/1976 |
