Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7850381 | Mechanical pencil A chuck (4) for grasping a writing lead and a rotor (6) arranged to be movable together in a direction of rotation and an axial direction within a body cylinder (1). A rotational drive mechanism for the writing lead is formed such that first and... | 12/14/2010 |
| 7850380 | Mechanical pencil A chuck (4) for grasping a writing lead and a rotor (6) arranged to be movable in a direction of rotation and an axial direction within a body cylinder (1). By axial movement of the rotor in conjunction with writing operation, the rotor rotates ... | 12/14/2010 |
| 7815385 | Mechanical pencil A chuck unit (4) for grasping a writing lead (10) and a rotor (6) arranged to be movable in a direction of rotation and an axial direction within a body cylinder (1) are provided. First and second cam faces (6a) and (6 | 10/19/2010 |
| 7806615 | Mechanical pencil A chuck (4) for grasping a writing lead and a rotor (6) arranged to be movable in a direction of rotation and an axial direction within a body cylinder (1). A rotational drive mechanism for the writing lead is formed such that first and second c... | 10/05/2010 |
| 7802936 | Mechanical pencil A chuck (4) for grasping a writing lead and a rotor (6) arranged to be movable in a direction of rotation and an axial direction within a body cylinder (1). A rotational drive mechanism for the writing lead is formed such that first and second c... | 09/28/2010 |
| 7658567 | Automatic pencil Au automatic pencil comprising an outer pencil tube, a pencil head, a clipping device, a guiding tube and a pencil lead cylinder, characterized in that a resilient element is mounted between the guiding tube and the clipping device allowing the guiding tube to recip... | 02/09/2010 |
| 7654763 | Mechanical pencil A chuck unit (4) for grasping a writing lead (10) and a rotor (6) arranged to be movable in a direction of rotation and an axial direction within a body cylinder (1) are provided. First and second cam faces (6a) and (6 | 02/02/2010 |
| 7645083 | Mechanical pencil The instant invention is a mechanical pencil. The pencil includes a body having a cavity and a lead holding mechanism located in the cavity. The lead holding mechanism includes a pair of arms joined together by a bridge. Each arm terminates with a pair of fingers. T... | 01/12/2010 |
| 7588383 | Mechanical pencil A mechanical pencil includes an advancing mechanism and a slider both incorporated in a main body. The advancing mechanism has a chuck and a chuck ring (collar for fastening the chuck) for holding a lead, so as to advance the lead. The slider is slidable relative to... | 09/15/2009 |
| 7452148 | Lead holding structure of mechanical pencil A lead holding structure of a mechanical pencil where a predetermined lead holding force is maintained so that a lead does not move even if a writing pressure is repeatedly applied to the lead and where a so-called biting-off of a lead (break) is prevented without d... | 11/18/2008 |
| 7448815 | Mechanical pencil The mechanical pencil contains a tubular body having a bottom cap and a top cap. Inside the mechanical pencil, a tip element is positioned inside and protrudes from the bottom cap, a clamping mechanism is above the tip element with a spring therebetween, and a slidi... | 11/11/2008 |
| 7316506 | Dual temperature indicator stick holder An apparatus to combine temperature indicator sticks used in the welding, metal fabrication, and heat treatment industries and capable of identifying at least two given temperatures is disclosed. The apparatus includes a first temperature indicator stick aligned alo... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7284927 | Writing instrument including stick-shaped material propelling mechanism A writing instrument including a stick-shaped material propelling mechanism which is capable of propelling a stick-shaped material without relatively rotating the stick-shaped material with a small number of components is provided. The writing instrument incl... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7232270 | Device for holding writing instruments A device for holding writing instruments for efficiently holding a writing instrument. The device for holding writing instruments includes an outer sleeve, an inner sleeve movably positioned within an inner lumen of the outer sleeve, a plurality of fingers extending... | 06/19/2007 |
| 7207738 | Writing instrument A writing instrument is capable of functioning both as an automatic mechanical pencil and as a shaking-type mechanical pencil. The writing instrument has a barrel cylinder constituted by a front cylinder detachably connected to a rear cylinder. A slider is disposed ... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7097375 | Mechanical pencil having a rotatable wheel for advancing lead A mechanical pencil is described. The mechanical pencil includes a grip barrel with a slide member to hold a piece of lead. A wheel is rotatably mounted in the grip barrel around a wheel axis, such that a portion of the wheel extends through and beyond an opening in... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7028408 | Artist shading tool, guide, and drawing surface in a metalpoint drawing system A metalpoint drawing system is provided. The system may include a drawing surface having a sheet of translucent paper with a coating substance applied thereto. The coating substance may be a correction fluid. The system may also include a tool for use by an artist f... | 04/18/2006 |
| 6942410 | Mechanical pencil A mechanical carpenter's pencil having an integral sharpening guide providing a reference surface to which the lead may be trimmed for sharpening. The pencil user may use a knife to trim the lead flush with the sharpening guide surface or may abrade the lead on a co... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6854909 | Lead propelling device The lead propelling device of the invention is a lead propelling device having a structure for gripping and releasing the lead by a lead gripping mechanism by knocking operation, not transmitting the knocking force to the lead gripping mechanism in knock forward ope... | 02/15/2005 |
| 6817800 | Writing tool A writing tool provided with enhanced and having a plurality of buttons arranged on lateral sides of the writing tool, whereby choice of raw materials for the tool are not limited and the writing tool has an improved endurance and productivity as they can be made of... | 11/16/2004 |
| 6793429 | Chalk holding device A safety chalk holder consisting of a chalk holding member received within the bore of a housing, a closed end of the chalk holding member projecting from one end of the housing, a collet end of the holder projectable into and out of the other end of the housing, a ... | 09/21/2004 |
| 6783292 | Double-chuck mechanical pencil A double-chuck mechanical pencil comprises a barrel, a barrel cap detachably attached to a front end of the barrel, a lead tank inserted in the barrel, a feed chuck for feeding leads, combined with the lead tank, a sleeve bolster disposed on the front side of the fe... | 08/31/2004 |
| 6767150 | Automatic pencil assembly An automatic pencil assembly includes a barrel, a point, an urging member, two clamping members, a slide, a guide pipe, a lead, a cap, and a push member. Thus, the lead is pressed downward by the first plug or second plug of the push member to overcome the holding f... | 07/27/2004 |
| 6705789 | Mechanical pencil A mechanical pencil has a tubular member having a front end and a rear end. A slide member is disposed at the front end of the tubular member for axial sliding movement therein. The slide member has a lead passageway for receiving a pencil lead. A lead advancement m... | 03/16/2004 |
| 6481908 | Orbital marking pencil and scratch-off card remover An orbital marking pencil includes a marking retention body, marking convoluted body, and a marking collet. The marking collet retains a piece of lead on one end. The marking collet is retained in the marking convoluted body. The marking convoluted body i... | 11/19/2002 |
| 6454479 | Orbital marking pencil and scratch-off card remover An orbital marking pencil includes a marking retention body, marking convoluted body, and a marking collet. The marking collet retains a piece of lead on one end. The marking collet is retained in the marking convoluted body. The marking convoluted body i... | 09/24/2002 |
| 6234697 | Mechanical pencil A mechanical pencil comprises a main body, a lead-feeding mechanism disposed in the main body for gripping a lead at a lead-gripping position and for feeding the lead to an advanced position, and a mouthpiece connected to the main body. A slider is slidab... | 05/22/2001 |
| 6203226 | Side-knock type mechanical pencil A side-knock type mechanical pencil comprising a barrel having an opening in a side wall, a chuck mechanism housed in the forepart of the barrel, a slider moved back and forth within the barrel to open and close the chuck mechanism, a knock lever which is... | 03/20/2001 |
| 5931592 | Chalk holding device A new chalk holding device for marking a tire of a vehicle. The inventive device includes an elongate shaft having an upper straight portion and a lower arcuate portion which curves away from the longitudinal axis of the straight portion such that the low... | 08/03/1999 |
| 5860754 | Mouth-held manipulating and writing apparatus for paralytics A telescopic, mouth-held manipulating and writing apparatus for paralytics consists of a replaceable mouthpiece, a fixed arm and an elongated extendable arm that interchangeably receives either a manipulating instrument or a writing instrument. An adjustm... | 01/19/1999 |
| 5598604 | Pencil-shaped eraser A pencil-shaped eraser comprising an elongate tube for placing a bar eraser therein, a sleeve to fit around a lower portion of the tube movably, the lower portion of the tube having a plurality of claws divided by slots and movable inward, the claws respe... | 02/04/1997 |
| 5417503 | Pool black algae spot treatment tool A black algae spot treatment tool for attaching to a swimming pool pole for directly treating and eliminating black algae spots which typically build up on the plaster surfaces of a swimming pool. The tool includes a chlorine stick, a collet vise for clam... | 05/23/1995 |
| 5362166 | Flat stick-shaped material propelling container A stick-shaped material propelling container comprised of a flat-shaped outer sleeve, a chuck in the form of tweezers having a pair of opposing flat arms inserted into the outer sleeve and having a base in the rear portion thereof, and a chuck ring connec... | 11/08/1994 |
| 5098212 | Propelling pencil Propelling pencil for pins, whether colored or not, which consists mainly of the combination of an elongated casing with an axial bore for housing a pencil pin which is provided at the top with a screw thread part, a screw head with an axial bore for pass... | 03/24/1992 |
| 5044805 | Mechanical pencil A mechanical pencil made of a molded plastics material has a flat rectangular cross-section and a slot at one end thereof for passing a flat lead piece. The housing has a front wall provided with a recess and a slot extending longitudinally of the housing... | 09/03/1991 |
| 5002182 | Crayon holder and container Resilient fingers extend from one end of the crayon holder whereby a crayon may be pushed forward by a push rod to project beyond the fingers. A sleeve is slidable on the fingers to clamp the crayon in adjusted position, the sleeve being movable between o... | 03/26/1991 |
| 4872776 | Lead chuck of mechanical pencil A lead chuck of a mechanical pencil to be assembled into a lead feeding mechanism of a rear end knock type, an automatic lead feeding type and an extremity end knock type mechanical pencil in which it is arranged within the sleeve through a resilient memb... | 10/10/1989 |
| 4627420 | Needle inserting instrument for interstitial radiotherapy An instrument for inserting one or more hollow needles into the body for interstitial radiotherapy of malignant tumors, which permits the incremental advancement of a needle by means of a reciprocating tubular element having a collapsible end portion whic... | 12/09/1986 |
| 4522522 | Pencil holder A pencil holder includes first and second holder members having coaxial longitudinal through bores which are sized for receiving a pencil. A converging neck is located at a lower portion of the first holder and a chuck arrangement positioned at the junctu... | 06/11/1985 |
| 4461589 | Marker apparatus with sharpener Marker apparatus including a body portion, a marking portion, a retainer portion and a sharpening portion; the body portion including an elongated tubular member, the tubular member including a substantially straight passage therethrough; the marking port... | 07/24/1984 |
