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 |
| 8157380 | Vertically mounted kaleidoscope A kaleidoscopic device is provided. In accordance with one embodiment, the kaleidoscopic device may have a housing mounted within a wall and a collection drum that has a plurality of display elements. The collection drum may be intermittently rotated and/or rotated ... | 04/17/2012 |
| 7581835 | Light show device and method of entertaining A light show device includes a light source configured to generate a light beam having a substantially constant diameter, a container having a substantially transparent portion, a plurality of mirrors, each mirror connectable or connected to the container rotatably ... | 09/01/2009 |
| 7481537 | Method for creating kaleidoscopic interfaces for use in biofeedback A method for creating a biofeedback controlled Kaleidoscope is disclosed, where the Kaleidoscope is controlled by two or more streams of input derived from physiological measurements and provides positive and negative reinforcement for each of the streams of input, ... | 01/27/2009 |
| 7399083 | Kaliedoscope for attaching with a video monitor Described is a kaleidoscope for attaching with a video monitor. The kaleidoscope includes a housing and a monitor holder. The housing includes an interior, a first end, and a second end. The first end has an image receiving hole for receiving light from a video moni... | 07/15/2008 |
| 7370971 | Wall mounted kaleidoscope A wall mounted kaleidoscope is suitable for mounting within an opening passing through a wall, ceiling or other building structure to provide a visually attractive kaleidoscope display to a viewer within the building interior. A kaleidoscope housing extends through ... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7364305 | Projector A projector which is small in size and excellent in light utilization efficiency while keeping the advantage of a spatially-pixel-arrangement type is provided. The luminous flux emitted from a light source is separated by a color separation system into a plurality o... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7362930 | Reduction of MEMS mirror edge diffraction in a wavelength selective switch using servo-based rotation about multiple non-orthogonal axes Effects of diffraction of a spectral beam from an edge of the micromirrors are reduced in order to optimize the passband in a wavelength selective switch. The effects of diffraction on the pass band may be reduced by using rotation of the micromirror about both the ... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7352927 | Optical add-drop multiplexer architecture with reduced effect of mirror edge diffraction Effects of diffraction of a spectral beam from an edge of the micromirrors are reduced in order to optimize the passband in a wavelength selective switch. The effects of diffraction on the pass band may be reduced by appropriate modification of the edges of the micr... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7329611 | Method for forming finely-structured parts, finely-structured parts formed thereby, and product using such finely-structured part In a formation method for forming a fine structure in a workpiece containing an etching control component, using an isotropic etching process, a mask having an opening is applied to the workpiece, and the workpiece is etched with an etching solution to thereby form ... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7318644 | Compact projection system including a light guide array An optical projection system comprises a light source, a substantially planar optical element array for receiving light emitted from the light source, and a display panel for selectively outputting light from the optical element array. The optical element array incl... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7207677 | Image display device and projector A display device using a tilt-mirror device and a projector. The image display device may include a first color-ray light-source for supplying a G-ray, a second color-ray light-source for supplying a R-ray or B-ray, and a tilt-mirror device having a plurality of mov... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7182469 | High contrast projection A method and system for improving the contrast ratio of a projected image. An asymmetric aperture stop improves the contrast ratio of a projected image. Using slightly offset projection, the majority of the on-state projection light from the modulator array passes t... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7101046 | Kaleidoscope and image material assembly for kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope includes a kaleidoscope body assembled in the shape of a sleeve so as to locate surfaces of mirrors therein and a support body, having two concave parts, attached to an end portion of the kaleidoscope body and supporting an image material assembly at ... | 09/05/2006 |
| 6953275 | System and method for providing a uniform source of light A system for providing a uniform source of light. The system includes a light pipe having an input surface for receiving light from a light source and an output surface for transmitting the light. The system also includes an optical element having an entrance surfac... | 10/11/2005 |
| 6769780 | Kaleidoscope The invention is a kaleidoscope that folds to a substantially flat condition. The kaleidoscope has at least two mirrored surfaces joined one to another, each pair of mirrored surfaces defining a mirrored interior angle of less than 180 degrees. The kaleidoscope may ... | 08/03/2004 |
| 6508571 | Illuminating apparatus for a projection display In an illuminating apparatus for a projection display, light from a plurality of light sources converge at a respective focal point that coincides with an input side of a corresponding light pipe integrator. The light pipe integrators convert the light in... | 01/21/2003 |
| 6422705 | Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope or teleidoscope is provided in which the viewed object is an image focused onto a back-projection screen positioned at the objective end of the mirror system. Focusing may be by a pair of achromatic lenses which may be displaceable toward a... | 07/23/2002 |
| 6343862 | Projecting image display device A projecting image display device is disclosed which includes a display and a micro lens array, where the pixels of the display and the micro lens elements each have non symmetric properties in length and width directions. The micro lens concentrates colo... | 02/05/2002 |
| 5426474 | Light projection system using randomized fiber optic bundle A projection system using a randomized fiber optic bundle for generating a wide variety of fluid visual images. A light source focusses light through a multiple color filter onto the input end of a fiber optic bundle having a plurality of optical fibers a... | 06/20/1995 |
| 5220457 | Visual compute design permutation apparatus The apparatus is a visual design system for reliably reproducing kaleidoscope-type images. A design element is fixed rotationally, vertically and horizontally with various gradients in a projection system and illuminated. The resulting image is projected ... | 06/15/1993 |
| 5094525 | System for projecting kaleidoscopic images for group viewing using a dynamically operating kaleidoscope as an integral element The present invention relates to a projecting kaleidoscopic system for viewing kaleidoscopic images on a screen external of a conventional kaleidoscope. In one form, the system includes: (i) a high intensity lamp; (ii) a conventional kaleidoscope position... | 03/10/1992 |
| 4742439 | Desktop kinetic display device The housing of this device contains an electric lamp and an electric motor, the drive shaft of which rotates a circular, light transmissive, polarized cell, which is removably mounted in the housing over a light transmissive plate, which is mounted in an ... | 05/03/1988 |
| 4733960 | Lens adapter for creating photographically reproduced designs with turnable mirror tube This invention is a combination lens and teleidoscope/kaleidoscope device for use in creating special photographic effects by enabling the user to take close-up photographs of Kaleidoscopically and Teleidoscopically produced designs. The device is adapted... | 03/29/1988 |
| 4731666 | Kaleidoscope recording apparatus A kaleidoscope recording apparatus having a backlighted screen which emits a plurality of light rays in the form of moving imageable material into a kaleidoscope mirror set. The backlighted screen is positioned adjacent to the light-entry end of the mirro... | 03/15/1988 |
| 4725135 | Optical entertainment of amusement structure and device An entertainment or amusement device or structure (10), having an elongate chamber (18) bounded along it length by at least three elongate, substantially planar walls (22, 24) with at least two adjacent ones of those walls (22, 24) having reflective surfa... | 02/16/1988 |
| 4527186 | Multicolor light pattern image forming system A light pattern image forming system has an intermittent light source for generating pulses of light over an optical path. The system includes a variety of elements constructed and arranged for independent degrees of freedom of motion and for relative mot... | 07/02/1985 |
| 4327975 | Light-beam-projecting apparatus A light-beam projecting apparatus usable in connection with sound-producing equipment for creating, on a remote surface, infinitely varying light-impingement patterns which are directly related to the instantaneous sound. The device includes a light beam ... | 05/04/1982 |
| 4247181 | Kaleidoscopic projector A kaleidoscopic projector which is capable of projecting kaleidoscopic images having widely variable image characteristics. Means are included permitting continuous cycling variations in projected image content, kaleidoscopic effect, focus and light inten... | 01/27/1981 |
| 4172629 | Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope includes three or four highly polished plain, front-surface mirrors assembled in the form of a prism with a cross section that is an equilateral triangle, a square or a rhombus with the angles between sides of 60° and 120°, having a lengt... | 10/30/1979 |
| 4171882 | Light reflective projection system A light reflective projection system is disclosed. The system includes a combination of a light source, at least one reflective or transparent disc having means for rotation thereof and a lens. In one embodiment, disc rotation is provided by the rotatable... | 10/23/1979 |
| 4153354 | Animated visual effect adaptor for projectors An animated visual effect adaptor unit for a still picture projector which has a projection gate for receiving a slide holder between a light source and a projection lens system, comprising an elongate support having a first portion to be received in the ... | 05/08/1979 |
| 4095882 | Projected image display system A display system, of the type used by exhibitors to attract attention or to create a desired background, is characterized by new and striking visual effects. The system receives projected images upon a mobile formed of a plurality of suspended panels free... | 06/20/1978 |
| 4077706 | Projecting kaleidoscope A projecting kaleidoscope comprises two V-shaped mirror troughs arranged downstream of a transparent or translucent design through which light is projected. The projected light travels by means of lenses along an optical path through the design and thence... | 03/07/1978 |
| 4061414 | Kaleidoscopic apparatus A Kaleidoscopic apparatus comprising an elongated substantially tubular housing having different shaped geometric openings at the ends thereof and provided with a plurality of longitudinal planar members fabricated of non-breakable material disposed withi... | 12/06/1977 |
| 4010361 | Light deflection apparatus Light deflection apparatus is disclosed which uses a mirror to deflect a beam of light in response to an electromechanical transducer receiving an audio signal.... | 03/01/1977 |
