Did You Know...
...that one person who claimed to be the inventor of the television is Russian emigre Vladimir Zworykin? In 1929 David Sarnoff, founder of RCA, asked Zworykin what it would take to develop TV for commercial use. He said: a year and a half and $100,000. In reality, it took 20 years and $50 million! Before his death in 1982 at the age of 92, Zworykin said of his invention: "The technique is wonderful. It is beyond my expectations. But the programs! I would never let my children even come close to this thing."
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6474588 | Motorized retractable ski tow rope A water ski tow rope retrieval and payout system is disclosed. The system includes a reel having a quantity of tow rope wound therearound. The reel is powered by an electric motor through a drive shaft which is also coupled to an electrically controlled b... | 11/05/2002 |
| 5755394 | Ski rope keel A ski rope holder which allows a user to wind up a ski rope without tangling it and to store it in a small space. The ski rope holder has a spool mounted inside of a housing. The spool, which is operated by a crank located on the outside of the housing, m... | 05/26/1998 |
| 5732648 | Line-Handling device A line-handling device mountable to an object such as a boat is disclosed. The device comprises a driven spool (3) on which a line may be stored coupling structure for coupling the line and the spool, and quick-connect structure disposed on the coupling s... | 03/31/1998 |
| 5694337 | Water ski performance analysis method and apparatus Disclosed is a method of measuring the performance of a maneuvering water skier. A series of angular measurements are made on the ski rope relative to a predetermined direction. This information, together with timing information is provided to a computer ... | 12/02/1997 |
| 5020737 | Tow-line winding device A device for winding and unwinding a waterski tow-line comprises a substantially enclosed housing having a spool mounted for rotation in the housing. A driven gear is mounted on the spool for rotational driving thereof. A drive shaft is journaled in the h... | 06/04/1991 |
| 4969610 | Rope rewinding device for a ski boat An automatic ski rope rewinding device is presented used to rewind a ski rope when the rope is not pulling a skier. The invention utilizes a standard rope or cord rewinding mechanism which is mounted by L-shaped brackets to the body of the boat. The rewin... | 11/13/1990 |
| 4960065 | Water ski tow rope apparatus A tow apparatus for holding and deploying tow ropes from a boat which employs an axial deploying system, allows the two ropes to be in proper attitude for pulling the skier, clearing any obstructing structures, and provides means for allowing rapid rewind... | 10/02/1990 |
| 4624141 | Towrope-handling system monitor for waterskiing A water-skier towrope-handling system is provided that provides an alarm to the driver of a ski towboat when the skier falls. The alarm is triggered by the release of the towrope handle by the skier, independent of the tension on the ski rope. Preferably,... | 11/25/1986 |
| 4431144 | Water ski rope storage accessory A wind-up accessory for playing out, retrieving and storing a water ski rope and handle bar assembly is disclosed. The storage accessory includes a box enclosure having a reel and spool around which the water ski rope is wound, a crank handle coupled to t... | 02/14/1984 |
| 4407460 | Automatic tow rope rewinder A spring-biased reel on which a tow rope is wound, the reel being contained in a housing having means for being attached either to a boat towing a water skier, or a snowmobile towing a snow skier, and a spring-loaded clutch for disengaging the device from... | 10/04/1983 |
| 4393803 | Boat rope controller A boat rope controller includes a framework comprising two substantially parallel support arms which are bolted to a mounting bracket secured to the rear transom of a power boat. A reel assembly including a gear is rotatably mounted near the center and be... | 07/19/1983 |
| 4304372 | Water-ski towline winch assembly A water-ski towline winch assembly comprises a support member adapted to be mounted on a boat and an annular drum rotatably mounted on the support member. A handle is rotatably mounted on the support member to rotate the drum to selectively reel-in or ree... | 12/08/1981 |
| 4278212 | Water skiing tow apparatus A water skiing tow apparatus for storing and controlling the release of a towline comprising a reel, adapted to be held by a water skier, in combination with a towline and means for connecting one end of the towline to the reel and the opposite end of the... | 07/14/1981 |
| 4163529 | Non-rotating axially-paying-out ski-rope bobbin A non-rotating axially-paying-out ski-rope bobbin comprises a molded-plastic body shaped to define a vertical-axis circumferentially-open annular space for receiving a ski-rope manually wound therein. A plurality of suction cups are fixed to the under fac... | 08/07/1979 |
| 4098213 | Dual-role ski-rope retriever The disclosure is a dual-role ski-rope retriever. In its vertical-axis position the reel is rotatable by a geared-down electric motor reversible for paying-out or winding-in the ski rope. The mounting structure also permits the spool to be swung into a ho... | 07/04/1978 |
| 4077583 | Non-rotating ski-rope retriever The disclosure is a non-rotating ski-rope retriever having a reel-like drum molded of a tough and preferably smooth flexible plastic material. The drum is easily removable from a support adapted for semi-permanent attachment to the transom and/or the rear... | 03/07/1978 |
| 3964425 | Water ski line retractor A water ski line retractor which comprises a reverse polarity motor which functions a drive pulley through a worm gear drive. The drive pulley is connected by a belt to a spool pulley which is loosely mounted upon a shaft. A line winding spool fixedly mou... | 06/22/1976 |
| 3934838 | Floatable tow-line holder The invention relates to improvements and innovations in a compact embodiment and device, which is a Floatable Tow-Line Holder Storer and suitably coacts in a reel-like performance, when adapted for use in line-storing or for line-towing, as in skiing for... | 01/27/1976 |
