Did You Know...
...that Thomas Edison's patent application on his phonograph was approved by the Patent Office in just seven weeks? In contrast, it took Gordon Gould, the inventor of the laser, 30 years to obtain his patent -- finally awarded in 1988!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8127703 | Device closely contacting object surface and movable A device capable of adhering to and moving along the surface of an object, comprising: the main casing comprising an outer casing and an inner casing; an outer sealing member mounted at the opening of the outer casing, part of which is caus... | 03/06/2012 |
| 8037836 | Automated boat washing system A self-contained boat cleaning system that dispenses water, soap, wax and/or spot-free rinse chemicals. Cleaning fluids are distributed via conduits which can be concealed inside the rub rail, mounted near the rub rails or other surfaces of the boat, or alternativel... | 10/18/2011 |
| 8011311 | Apparatus and method for inhibiting fouling of an underwater surface An apparatus for inhibiting and removing marine deposits from a submerged portion of a boat or yacht include a submersible stainless steel frame having a plurality of sections extending longitudinally and transversely under the submerged portions of a watercraft and... | 09/06/2011 |
| 7971547 | Underwater surface cleaning vehicle for integrated cleaning and effluent treatment system A method and apparatus for the cleaning of an underwater surface, such as a hull. The method and apparatus enables cleaning to be conducted while mitigating the release of removed material into surrounding waters. The integrated apparatus includes a cleaning deck fo... | 07/05/2011 |
| 7905192 | Integrated underwater surface cleaning and effluent treatment system A method and apparatus for the cleaning of an underwater surface, such as a ship hull. The method and apparatus enables cleaning to be conducted while mitigating the release of removed material into surrounding waters. The integrated apparatus includes a cleaning ve... | 03/15/2011 |
| 7748337 | Automatic boat washing assembly An automatic boat washing system including several brush assemblies mounted on a vertically movable cage supported by a mainframe assembly and side ballast tanks is disclosed. The vertical position of the movable cage and brush assemblies may be adjusted in relation... | 07/06/2010 |
| 7739974 | Submersible object with antifouling paint configuration Antifouling materials are used to provide first and second layers or coatings on a submersible object. The first and second layers are visually distinct from each other, such as being made of two distinct colors, so that the ablation of an outer layer will be eviden... | 06/22/2010 |
| 7661381 | Self-righting pool cleaning robot A vehicle includes a submersible housing and a propulsion mechanism, which is coupled to drive the housing over an interior surface of a container in which the housing is submerged. A hollow tube is fixed to the housing and is configured to be filled with a fluid ha... | 02/16/2010 |
| 7650848 | Surface topographies for non-toxic bioadhesion control An article has a surface topography for resisting bioadhesion of organisms and includes a base article having a surface. A composition of the surface includes a polymer. The surface has a topography comprising a pattern defined by a plurality of spaced apart feature... | 01/26/2010 |
| 7500441 | Remote waterline cleaner An apparatus for cleaning dirty waterlines on yachts, being robotic and self powered, capable of floating on its own, employing a rotating soft scrub brush, able to propel itself to the dirty waterline and once in contact supply sufficient force for cleaning, able t... | 03/10/2009 |
| 7455024 | Apparatus for protecting the hull of a watercraft An apparatus for protecting the hull of a watercraft includes a support. A submersible barrier assembly is connected to the support and is displaceable with respect to the support between an inoperative, submerged position and an operative surface position. The barr... | 11/25/2008 |
| 7444952 | Boat hull rinsing device Fresh water rinsing of a boat hull of a boat occurs to remove contamination from the boat hull during each raising operation of the boat utilizing a boat lift. The contamination coming primarily from a body of water in which the boat operate. The contamination, if l... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7437959 | In-water hull cleaning sampling device An In-Water Hull Cleaning Sampling Device includes a sampling chamber, a drive shaft housing, a drive shaft sealing membrane, a drive shaft, a spring retainer, a pressure spring, a cleaning pad, a mechanical drive device and a chamber sealing means. The sampling cha... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7363871 | Apparatus for cleaning the hull of a floating vessel Improvements to a cleaning assembly include a support for a rotating object, a rotary brush, an apparatus for manoeuvring a floating vessel and an arm arrangement for cleaning a surface. Thus, an inventive cleaning assembly is provided, the cleaning assembly compris... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7357091 | Rapid self-repairing and unsinkable watercraft A self-repairing and unsinkable watercraft has the hull of the mid section of the craft covered by two moveable water impermeable sheaths. The sheaths rotate in opposite directions to temporarily seal a breach and to allow for better ease of permanent repair or repl... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7352074 | System for producing hydrogen making use of a stream of water A system for producing hydrogen from water, making use of a stream of water such as a gulf stream or tidal stream, includes a number of submerged modules, each having a turbine that can be driven by the stream of water. The turbine is coupled to a generator for gene... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7346954 | Arrangement for cleaning surfaces with cleaning equipment having a cleaning belt An arrangement (1) for cleaning surfaces (2), particularly curved or arched or wavy surfaces and/or surfaces (2) with varying direction of curvature, for example on vehicle chassis, metal strip or unflat plates. The arrangement has a cleaning de... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7335089 | Water jet stripping and recontouring of gas turbine buckets and blades A method for water jet stripping and recontouring of a coated article of manufacture is provided. The method includes dimensionally scanning the coated article and establishing a three-dimensional model for the coated article. The method further includes establishin... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7303360 | Underwater inspecting and repairing system Disclosed is a system that performs inspection and repair of an underwater structure, specifically core internals in a pressure vessel. An underwater vehicle is provided with a drive wheel, a contact force generating unit (e.g., thruster) that presses the drive whee... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7301851 | Underway hull survey system A method and survey system for inspecting hulls of ships has a base portion and side portions defining an inspection channel in water. Sonar is mounted on the side portions transmitting acoustic signals onto a hull as a ship passes through the inspection channel, re... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7289038 | Underwater sound radiation apparatus A plurality of actuators are provided at predetermined intervals on the reverse surface of a predetermined side wall of a swimming pool. When an electric signal corresponding to a sound to be propagated in the water is given to the actuators, the electric signal is ... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7279051 | Method for treating a surface bounding a space within a cargo hold in a floating vessel A method for treating an exposed surface. A treating apparatus is provided having an elongate support and at least one flexible surface contacting element at a distal region of the support. The elongate support is manipulated from a proximal region of the support so... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7247069 | Floating electronic platform for swimming pools and spas A stable, portable floating electronic platform is provided to enable wireless communications with at least one remote cellular phone while the platform is floating in a recreational water environment, such as a swimming pool or spa. The floating electronic platform... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7234407 | Active anti-fouling systems and processes for marine vessels Systems and processes for controlling and/or preventing fouling of marine vessel hulls and fixed structures are disclosed. The systems and processes deliver an anti-fouling composition through a dispersing means, such as dispersion tubing, to the surface of a vessel... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7222578 | Apparatus for removing attachments deposited on underwater structure An apparatus for removing attachments deposited on a surface of an underwater structure and preventing that such attachments be deposited thereafter. The apparatus is floated on the water surface or underwater and with the aid of a natural force repeatedly impinges ... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7220165 | Blasting materials and method of blasting It is an object of the present invention to provide a blasting method and a shot material, which are very practical both in the cost and the treatment performance. (a) A shot material containing a styrene ion-exchange resin or a waste material caused therefro... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7211173 | System for inhibiting fouling of an underwater surface A marine fouling inhibiting system comprises first and second conductors which are made of a polymer matrix, such as vinyl ester, and a suspended conductor, such as graphite powder or particles. This type of conductive material is formed to provide two sections of a... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7198001 | Underwater inspection measurement survey A platform assembly of circular plates are yieldably held positioned by a support mounted on an underwater vehicle propelled under remote control within seawater to a location below an underwater surface such as the bottom of a ship hull, for surface measurement sur... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7162763 | Turbine drive apparatus and method suited for suction powered swimming pool cleaner A method and apparatus for enabling a pool cleaner (60) to travel through a water pool to collect dirt and other debris from the water and/or pool containment wall (88). The cleaner (60) defines a suction passageway having an inlet (74) o... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7156032 | Method and apparatus for controlling friction between a fluid and a body A method and apparatus is disclosed wherein nanostructures or microstructures are disposed on a surface of a body (such as a submersible vehicle) that is adapted to move through a fluid, such as water. The nanostructures or microstructures are disposed on the surfac... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7156711 | Outboard motor enclosure and security arrangement therefor A multi-purpose mariner safety and motor housing arrangement for the secure enclosure of the lower drive unit of an inboard/outboard or outboard motor for a boat. The multi-purpose housing preferably comprises a left half housing and a right half housing hingedly co... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7143709 | Surface topography for non-toxic bioadhesion control A coated surface for resisting or enhancing bioadhesion includes at least one patterned polymer including coating layer having a plurality of features attached to or projected into a base surface. The features each have at least one microscale ( | 12/05/2006 |
| 7131345 | Device for inspecting plant parts located under water A device for inspecting submersed plant parts is particularly suited for ultrasonic inspection of screws in the core baffle of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel. The device includes a remote-controlled underwater vehicle that is provided at its end face with a carri... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7131877 | Method for protecting a marine propulsion system An electrically conductive coating is provided on a housing structure of a marine propulsion system. By impressing a current on the electrically conductive coating, which can be a polymer material, the housing structure is used as an anode in a cathodic protection s... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7120962 | Cleaning implement head with dual cleaning members A cleaning tool implement has a cleaning head having dual parallel aligned supports. The supports can take the form of interconnected parallel plates which are configured and sized to receive and removeably secure cleaning elements, for example, bonnets with strande... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7117807 | Dynamically modifiable polymer coatings and devices A dynamic coating includes at least one polymeric layer for attachment to a surface. The polymeric layer includes at least one electrically conducting polymer including layer, wherein under influence of a dynamic signal applied to the polymeric layer, a contact angl... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7111428 | Apparatus for harming or killing fouling flora or fauna and an item carrying the same Apparatus for harming or killing fouling flora or fauna, for example on boat hulls, comprises two conductors and an AC power source. The first conductor is a conductive coating while the second conductor is a spaced sheet in one embodiment and a grid on a dielectric... | 09/26/2006 |
| 7097387 | Engineered material buoyancy system and device There is provided a buoyancy system for a structure having at least one component being substantially stationary with respect to the bottom of a water covered area. The system comprises a set of buoyancy modules of engineered materials to apply an identified amount ... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7096809 | Watercraft dry storage and storage method The watercraft dry storage assembly includes a cylindrical port bladder and a cylindrical starboard bladder. Both bladders are made from sheet material with a substantially non-stretchable polyester or nylon scrim encased in a poly vinyl chloride plastic, a urethane... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7089876 | Floating electronic platform for swimming pools and spas A stable, manually portable floating electronic platform for use in pools and spas is equipped with recesses for receiving beverage containers and is equipped with any of a variety of electronic audio/visual entertainment devices that are powered by an on-board batt... | 08/15/2006 |
