Did You Know...
...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8166709 | Support of a solar tracker The invention relates to improvements in the support of a solar tracker, of the type comprising a structure (1) on which a solar panel (4) is arranged by means of horizontal articulations (3), a linear actuator (5) being included between ... | 05/01/2012 |
| 8127502 | Building structure configured to exhibit a prescribed load-deflection relationship when a force is applied thereto A structure, including: at least two structural members; a joining element connected to the at least two structural members; and at least one active element within the joining element, or between the joining element and at least one of the structural members, wherei... | 03/06/2012 |
| 7921604 | Storm proof aluma-foam housing unit An aluminum-foam structural housing unit that is storm-proof, self-contained, and built to withstand natural disaster conditions resulting from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and fire, and then assist its inhabitants immediately thereafter when interruptions in... | 04/12/2011 |
| 7784221 | Fire collar A fire collar (10) including a housing defining an opening (18) and a passage (20) adapted to receive a conduit therethrough. A layer of intumescent material (43) surrounds the conduit and is supported by the housing adjacent the opening.... | 08/31/2010 |
| 7770331 | Potential energy storage system The present invention relates to a stand alone system for generating electrical power using hydraulic supports on which a weighted object is mounted. A pump injects fluid into the supports to raise the weighted object and thereby store energy in the elevated object.... | 08/10/2010 |
| 7676991 | Fire collar A fire collar, for location in a concrete slab around a deformable conduit, has a housing with a passageway through which the conduit passes. The collar has the housing in which are located two compression springs with arms which are held against the force of the sp... | 03/16/2010 |
| 7441376 | Base isolation device for structure A base isolation device for a structure capable of efficiently and effectively suppressing the vibration of a structural body in surface outside direction, wherein a tension member having on overall length longer than an interval between support points provided on t... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7383666 | Blast-resistant window A blast-resistant window assembly is provided. The assembly has a window, and first and second brackets. The window is fitted within an opening having at least one wall. The first bracket has a brace located adjacent the window, and a stop located adjacent the wall.... | 06/10/2008 |
| 7373945 | Device for closing a conduit A device for closing a conduit (30) in case of fire includes a housing (11) having a receptacle (17) for receiving the conduit (30), a cutting and blocking member (20) arranged in the housing (11) and displaceable, in case o... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7331143 | Seismic base isolation by electro-osmosis A structure is isolated from a seismic event by inducing soil liquefaction in an isolation layer beneath the structure and soil foundation zone, such as by activating an electro-osmosis gradient toward the isolation layer, during the seismic event, based on detectio... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7331144 | System and method for operating a barrier with a timer A pause profile is stored in a memory. An ambient condition is determined. The pause profile is accessed in the memory and a pause time is determined based upon the measured ambient condition. A moveable barrier is caused to remain in an open position for the pause ... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7317260 | Wind flow estimation and tracking using tower dynamics A turbine control system for a variable speed electrical generator in a wind turbine mounted atop a support tower. The wind turbine converts wind energy into a driving torque applied to the generator. The control system includes a turbine support tower position sens... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7305799 | Bearing brace apparatus A brace apparatus having a core member adapted to absorb energy by undergoing plastic deformation and a buckling restraining assembly that maintains the structural integrity of the brace apparatus once the core member has undergone plastic deformation. A core member... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7302853 | Sliding vibration-resisting building model A sliding vibration-resisting building model includes a vibration machine having a vibration table provided thereon with a model base. Two vibration-resisting devices are fixed on the model base, and a model chassis is secured on the two vibration-resisting devices ... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7290556 | Fire collar A fire collar or fire damper for location within a concrete slab of a building. The device incorporates a damper arrangement (12) and a heat detector (18, 19) comprising a metal alloy or lead which melts when a present temperature is reached, causing t... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7281686 | Window assembly for aircraft fuselage A window assembly for an aircraft fuselage comprises an exterior transparent panel and an interior transparent panel positioned in an opening of the fuselage. At least one of the transparent panels may be relatively lightweight and the exterior transparent panel may... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7275352 | Fire retardant panel door and door frame having intumescent materials therein with a 90 minute fire rating A fire retardant panel door, including a panel door having at least one door panel and stiles and rails. The door panel includes an interior composite section formed by a first plurality of layers of intumescent materials and a first plurality of layers of fire resi... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7275604 | Multi-zone firewall detection system A sprinkler system includes a control panel including a processor, a power supply source, and a memory including software instructions for automatically toggling the system between operating and non-operating modes. The control panel includes controls mated to the p... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7270498 | Flood vent The flood vent has an elongated box-shaped frame having a top end, a bottom end including a floor, and opposing sidewalls that define a fluid passageway. The frame has an open front and a track formed in the rear of the frame. A door is slidably mounted in the track... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7257928 | Floor construction The invention concerns a floor construction comprising a plurality of surface portions (12) which each comprise at least one respective material with possibly different properties, in particular properties in regard to human perception when standing on the su... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7251920 | Lateral force resisting system A lateral force resisting system includes a rigid structural panel and holdowns. A foundation bolt placement template may be used to locate and support the foundation bolts during fabrication of the foundation and to further secure the frame foundation interface. Th... | 08/07/2007 |
| 7246468 | Shade assembly for storage tank and method of use thereof A shade panel assembly that covers the top and sides of a storage tank. Such assemblies might also include a water dispensation system to dispense water mist substantially in the area of the shade assembly in the region between the assembly and the tank or substanti... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7247090 | System and method for inhibiting moisture and mold in an outer wall of a structure A structure comprises at least one outer wall having an internal wall section and an outer wall section with an air flow passage therebetween. A circulation system circulates air through the flow passage to inhibit moisture accumulation and mold growth. A sensing sy... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7241509 | Wall covering assembly with thermo-regulating properties A wall covering assembly comprising a front layer of a vinyl coated fabric or paper, a rear ceramic layer, and an intermediate layer made of an acrylic compound containing finely divided phase change material such as crystalline acryl hydrocarbons or salt hydrates. ... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7239035 | System and method for integrating wind and hydroelectric generation and pumped hydro energy storage systems An integrated, wind-pumped hydro power generation system includes at least one wind turbine generator device configured to generate output power for a common bus, and at least one hydro generator device configured to generate output power for the common bus. The hyd... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7234278 | Unitary overpressure vent panel structure Unitary one-piece frameless overpressure vent panel assembly (10) includes a rigid, generally planar primary support member having a central relief opening (26), a rigid, generally planar secondary support member (44) provided with a central rel... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7222461 | Light transmission system and method for buildings A light transmission system and method for a building according to which shading surfaces are provided on the roof of the building for preventing direct sunlight from passing through a roof light, while permitting the maximum amount of indirect sunlight to pass thro... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7210564 | Fire control system for elevator In a fire control system for an elevator, the time for the fire and smoke to reach the elevator hall of each floor of a building during fire is pre-calculated as the evacuation time of the floor. When the evacuation time of a floor is longer than the time for making... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7195556 | Moveable soffit cover system and associated methods A moveable soffit cover system includes a guide track for connecting to a structure adjacent a soffit panel having a plurality of vents formed therein, and a soffit vent cover slidably connected to the guide track to overlie the soffit panel. The vent cover is movea... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7195129 | Inner container for household devices Inner containers for household devices in the form of a drum composed of an inner and an outer wall with a shear-resistant connection between the two walls, where both the inner and outer walls have been built up from a thermoplastic. The design of the novel inner c... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7192221 | System for preventing seismic liquefaction of ground in urbanized area A system for preventing seismic liquefaction of the ground in an urban area built on reclaimed land consisting of a loose fine grained layer vulnerable to liquefaction underlain with a soft cohesive layer liable to uneven settlement. The system includes a plurality ... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7193152 | Fire resistant barrier A fire resistant assembly, which may include a first layer having a lumen therein, a second layer adjacent the first layer, a first structural member disposed between the first and second layers, and a box having a cavity defined by a wall, a first opening in the wa... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7188452 | Sleeved bracing useful in the construction of earthquake resistant structures A buckling restrained brace includes an elongate, hollow sleeve, an elongate yielding core extending substantially through the length of the sleeve, and a buckling constraining element between the yielding core and the inner surface of the hollow sleeve and spaced a... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7174692 | Blast resistant window A blast resistant window structure capable of withstanding typical car bomb blast pressures of 100 psi or more and of resisting leakage of chemical or biological agents is described, the window structure including a frame hermetically enclosing two glass panels in c... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7174679 | A-frame shear assembly for walls Lateral motion devices are used in conjunction with shear assemblies to further dissipate shear forces on buildings. In one embodiment, the lateral motion device is interposed between the shear assembly and the upper portion of the wall to permit relative motion the... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7174676 | Self-cleaning gutter guard A device mountable to a gutter for removing debris therefrom includes an elongated shaft with proximal and distal end portions positionable within the gutter, a plurality of debris-removing members mounted about the shaft and between the proximal and distal end port... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7174244 | Suspension of a vehicle and method for controlling the same A vehicle suspension system is designed such that its equation of motion can be decoupled. Such a suspension system is provided with actuators, and the actuators are optimally controlled to reduce vibration of the suspension system. ... | 02/06/2007 |
| 7168475 | Shutter-type covering for architectural openings A Venetian-style window blind (10) that resembles plantation style shutters is described. In a preferred embodiment, the headrail is shaped like the plurality of slats depending from it, is pivotally connected to the sides of a window frame by mounting bracke... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7143558 | Drying system for structural waterproofing A drying system for structural waterproofing of an enclosure includes a drainage conduit for draining water from the enclosure. The drainage conduit has a periphery defining an interior and an air inlet and air outlet. An air circulator circulates air between the ai... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7139115 | Athermalization of an optical parametric oscillator A method for thermally stabilizing an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) 10 to maintain constant optical path length for stable high power output places a beam dump 32 outside an OPO cavity 18. The OPO 10 has a nonlinear crystal 22 | 11/21/2006 |
