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 |
| 8020883 | Logical third axle bicycle gear train A logical third axle gear train for a bicycle, comprising a power gear operatively connected to at least one sprocket and adapted to be rotatably mounted on a bicycle frame. A drive gear is operatively connected to a hub assembly on which a drive wheel is mounted. A... | 09/20/2011 |
| 7900946 | Bicycle shifting control apparatus A bicycle shifting control apparatus is provided with a gear selection signal receiving section, a gearshift determination section and a gearshift output section. The gear selection signal receiving section selectively receives a first gear selection signal and a fi... | 03/08/2011 |
| 7874567 | Bicycle shifting control apparatus A bicycle shifting control apparatus controls an electrical power supplied from a power supply to first and second gear shifting devices that are operated by first and second gear shift operating devices, respectively. The bicycle shifting control apparatus includes... | 01/25/2011 |
| 7708295 | Mounting system for an internal bicycle transmission A bicycle transmission assembly that is mountable to a bottom bracket shell of a bicycle frame. The bicycle transmission assembly includes an input crank assembly, an output chainring, a planetary gear mechanism, a control system and a mounting system. The planetary... | 05/04/2010 |
| 7703785 | Bicycle derailleur system A bicycle derailer assembly that is mounted concentrically with an axle of a rear wheel assembly. The derailer is constructed to be mounted to the bicycle such that the derailer is pivotable about a common axis with the rear wheel and such that the rear wheel can be... | 04/27/2010 |
| 7699329 | Mounting system for an internal bicycle transmission A bicycle transmission assembly that is mountable to a bottom bracket shell of a bicycle frame. The bicycle transmission generally includes an input crank assembly, an output chainring, a planetary gear mechanism, a control system and a mounting system. The output c... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7628416 | Bicycle wheel securing structure A bicycle wheel securing structure includes a shaft member, a head member, a lever member and a radial expansion structure. The shaft member has first and second end portions. The head member is coupled at the second end portion. The lever member is operatively moun... | 12/08/2009 |
| 7445223 | Bicycle drive unit capable of backward movement and naughtrotation and forward movement traveling when rectitude or reverse pedaling The present invention relates to a bicycle drive unit that moves forward and backward and idles upon clockwise and counterclockwise pedaling, comprising: a drive shaft having one end located in an inner bearings of an internal bearing housing integrally formed with ... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7434489 | Bicycle drive system A bicycle drive system includes a front gear face, a rear gear face, a front guide assembly, a rear guide assembly, and a drive shaft coupled to a rear-suspension frame via a rear hub and a crank spindle. The bicycle drive system operates independently of the frame.... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7383103 | Electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift and related method A method for electronically servo-assisting a bicycle gearshift, including the steps of: a) driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift to displace a chain of the gearshift in an axial direction with respect to a gearshift group comprising at least two sprockets; b) ... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7370873 | Bicycle drive unit of multi pedaling type The present invention relates to a bicycle drive unit of multiple pedaling modes, comprising a drive shaft on one side having a counterclockwise one-way clutch and a clockwise one-way clutch coupled thereto by means of sunk keys and the drive shaft is engaged with a... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7373232 | Method for carrying out a multiple gear-shifting in an electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift and related gearshift An electronically servo-assisted gearshift actuates a multiple gear-shifting that moves a chain from a current toothed wheel to a target toothed wheel not immediately adjacent to the current toothed wheel in a gearshift group having at least three toothed wheels. Ac... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7369929 | Electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift and related method An electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift and method for electronically shifting the gears of a bicycle involves the steps of: receiving a signal requesting a displacement of a chain of a bicycle gearshift from a first sprocket to a second adjacent sprocket... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7367576 | Foldable bicycle A foldable bicycle includes a head strut, a seat strut, and first and second bracing struts pivotally mounted to one another about four pivot axes such that lifting of a pivot joint of the first and second bracing struts towards the head strut results in turning of ... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7367575 | Arrangement structure of speed-change cable To improve the operability by a speed-change cable and to reduce the cable by selecting an adequate arrangement structure of the speed-change cable from a transmission case to an operating element of a handle on the front portion of a vehicle body. An arrangement st... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7361109 | Bicycle gear set A bicycle gear assembly has first and second sets of cog wheels, each having at least three cog wheels of various sizes including a largest cog wheel and a smallest cog wheel. These two sets are oriented so that the largest cog wheel of the first set is aligned with... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7350796 | Crank apparatus for bicycles and the like A crank apparatus includes a driven member rotatably mounted to a machine, and a crank arm attached at an inner end thereof to the driven member at a rotational axis of the driven member such that the driven member and crank arm rotate together. An axle is slidably ... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7338059 | Bicycle drive unit A bicycle drive unit is disclosed that includes a case frame, crank shaft, front sprocket, rear hub shaft and rear sprocket. The crank shaft includes first and second support portions that are spaced apart from one another and are supported on opposite lateral sides... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7338058 | Bicycle frame with an integrated gear housing, and a gear housing for a bicycle frame A bicycle frame with a seat tube (1), a headset tube (3), a pedal-bearing housing (5), and a gear housing (6) is characterized by the fact that the pedal-bearing housing (5) and the gear housing (6) are directly connected to... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7328766 | Two-wheel drive two-wheeled vehicle A two-wheel drive motorcycle having a drive train that supplies power to the front wheel and includes a series of rigid shafts or other internalized drive systems. The front wheel drive consists of components located on the axis of steering within the head tube and ... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7314109 | Electric bicycle An electrically powered bicycle includes a hub motor, which is mounted to the bicycle frame by its axle. A drive sprocket mounted to the outer case of motor is engaged by a chain to the sprocket on a multi-speed hub on the rear wheel, so that when the motor turns, i... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7311321 | Wheel mounting and drive arrangement for a cycle, especially for a recumbent bicycle A cycle that has two fixed frame arms extending down on each side of the head tube axis, and a steering arm rotatably mounted in the head tube extends down between the frame arms and has a laterally off-set lower portion. A mounting member is fixed to the lower end ... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7311322 | Bicycle control apparatus that sets a bicycle transmission to a predetermined gear ratio A control apparatus for an electrically operated bicycle transmission comprises a power supply sensor and a control unit operatively coupled to the power supply sensor. The power supply sensor senses a power characteristic of a power supply, and the control unit pro... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7291787 | Bicycle electrical wire cover apparatus A bicycle frame member (102c) includes a wire support (13) fixed thereto and formed as a bracket or coupler to receive and retain an electrical wire unit (EW2, 11a). An apparatus (15) is used to at least partially cover the ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7292923 | Electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift and related method An electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift and method for electronically shifting the gears of a bicycle involves the steps of: receiving a signal requesting a displacement of a chain of a bicycle gearshift from a first sprocket to a second adjacent sprocket... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7290779 | Bicycle shift control apparatus that cancels a tentative shift A bicycle shift control apparatus comprises a threshold value setting unit that sets a threshold value of a running condition for shifting a bicycle transmission, a decision unit that decides if a current running condition value passes the threshold value, and a ten... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7285064 | Bicycle gear shifting control apparatus A bicycle gear shifting control apparatus has a manually operated shift device, a first gear shifting operation executing component, and a second gear shifting operation executing component. The manually operated shift device operates a front derailleur to shift gea... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7267351 | Frame assembly for a bicycle A bicycle including a frame having a main frame portion and an articulating frame portion pivotally mounted to the main frame portion and carrying a rear wheel of the bicycle. A shock absorber preferably is operably connected between the main frame portion and the a... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7261663 | Continuously variable planetary gear set A continuously variable planetary gear set is described having a generally tubular idler, a plurality of balls distributed radially about the idler, each ball having a tiltable axis about which it rotates, a rotatable input disc positioned adjacent to the balls and ... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7246809 | Recumbent bicycle A bicycle having a frame with a single steering arm rotatably mounted in the frame and extending downwardly away from the frame. A wheel support is provided at the end of the arm and a front wheel is rotatably mounted on the wheel support with a single bearing. The ... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7247108 | Method and apparatus for controlling an automatic bicycle transmission An apparatus for determining when to shift a bicycle chain from a first sprocket having a first number of teeth to a second sprocket having a second number of teeth comprises a memory for storing a reference value, and a processor that determines a shift value corre... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7243937 | Bicycle control apparatus A bicycle control apparatus comprises a mounting member structured to be attached to a bicycle, a control unit structured to be mounted to the mounting member and a battery unit structured to be detachably mounted to the control unit above the control unit. ... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7226393 | Exercise bicycle A unique structure for an indoor exercise bike that provides strength in its design, as well as the flexibility to create an aesthetically appealing frame structure. The monocoque frame design, including two symmetrical halves joined together, forms a very strong, l... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7223189 | Electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift and related method A method for electronically servo-assisting a bicycle gearshift, including the steps of: a) driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift to displace a chain of the gearshift in an axial direction with respect to a gearshift group comprising at least two sprockets; b) ... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7207912 | Bicycle shift control apparatus that prevents undesirable chain angles A shift control apparatus is provided for a bicycle having a plurality of front sprockets and a plurality of rear sprockets, wherein a front derailleur shifts a chain among the plurality of front sprockets and a rear derailleur shifts the chain among the plurality o... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7201389 | Vehicle transmission A vehicle transmission includes a plurality of driven gears comprising a series of concentrically spaced ring gears. Each ring gear of the plurality of driven ring gears has an inner diametrical surface and an outer diametrical surface. Each outer diametrical surfac... | 04/10/2007 |
| 7201390 | Scooter operated manually or automatically A scooter includes a main body, a rear wheel mounted on a rear end of the main body, and an operation mechanism mounted on the main body and connected to the rear wheel to move the rear wheel. When in use, the rider steps on the two pedals to move the scooter forwar... | 04/10/2007 |
| 7184872 | Electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift and related method An electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift and method for electronically shifting the gears of a bicycle involves the steps of: receiving a signal requesting a displacement of a chain of a bicycle gearshift from a first sprocket to a second adjacent sprocket... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7175570 | Exercise bicycle frame An exercise bicycle including a frame, an adjustable seat structure, and an adjustable handlebar structure. One example of the frame includes a front fork, a down tube connected with the front fork, a seat tube, and a bottom frame member. The down tube has a first s... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7166052 | Continuously variable planetary gear set A continuously variable planetary gear set is described having a generally tubular idler, a plurality of balls distributed radially about the idler, each ball having a tiltable axis about which it rotates, a rotatable input disc positioned adjacent to the balls and ... | 01/23/2007 |
