Did You Know...
...that when IBM conducted a market study of Chester Carlson's invention in 1959, the company concluded that it would take only 5000 units of his new product to saturate the market? IBM therefore declined to be part of the new product introduction. Too bad for IBM. Carlson's invention was the xerography process, and his new product was the beginning of the Xerox Corporation. It is estimated that every day, worldwide, 3,000,000,000 copies are made!!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7793652 | Solar operated water heater A free-floating, integrated, solar operated water heater appliance, for heating the body of water includes a flotation device for buoyantly supporting the appliance in the body of water. A water heater element, fueled by solar energy, heats water pumped through the ... | 09/14/2010 |
| 7093593 | Floating solar pool heater A soft, flexible, solar pool heater for floating on water generally comprises independently inflatable outer ring and central portion. When chamber and cavity are inflated, the cavity is with the top and bottom planes of the ring. The ring can be inflated with water... | 08/22/2006 |
| 6571789 | High efficiency swimming pool or commercial liquid tank insulation device Presented is an improved insulation device which, in multiple numbers, forms a swimming pool cover, or cover for other types of liquid containers. A complete cover is formed of multiple independent floatation insulation devices that collectively cover the... | 06/03/2003 |
| 6503241 | Pool heating apparatus A method and apparatus for heating an outdoor swimming pool. The apparatus includes a substantially buoyant web having a first end, a second end, a first exterior surface and a second exterior surface. A water distributor is attached to the first end of t... | 01/07/2003 |
| 6293278 | Solar energy collector and emitter for a swimming pool A solar energy collector and emitter for a swimming pool for utilizing the sun's rays to heat the water of a swimming pool. The solar energy collector and emitter for a swimming pool includes a flat structure assembly having a bottom side and top side and... | 09/25/2001 |
| 6220241 | Buoyant platform for radiant energy collecting apparatus Radiant energy collecting apparatus (11) which includes a platform assembly (13) floating on a body of liquid, the top side of which supports reflectors (16) of a solar concentrator and the underside of which is provided with a series of compartments (31)... | 04/24/2001 |
| 5860413 | Pool cover The pool cover is made of multi-layer light weight construction having a transparent top layer to permit sunlight to pass through and an opaque bottom layer for absorbing sunlight passing through the transparent layer. In addition, a plurality of pockets ... | 01/19/1999 |
| 5665174 | Platform for recovering solar energy In a device designed as a rotatably mounted platform (a) for recovering solar electricity, the focusing roof layer (3) further deflects the incident radiation so that the light beams (122, 123, 126) formed by the concentrating optical system are incident ... | 09/09/1997 |
| 5608926 | Swimming pool cover loop-loc fastener A snap hook fastener for swimming pool covers is provided to hold a pool cover edge rigidly close to the edge of the pool. The snap hook/eyebolt connection supports a pool edge sealing member in a proper orientation for optimal contact with the pool wall.... | 03/11/1997 |
| 5586548 | Floating solar heater for pool water A floating solar pool heater unit including a solar energy collector plate on the top, a float foam in the middle, and one directional or two directional heat conducting elements. The float foam maintains the flotation of the heater unit. The two directio... | 12/24/1996 |
| 5555877 | Cover for pond used to collect solar radiation A cover for withstanding stormy weather and increasing solar heating of a body of water is disposed over the surface of the water. The cover is more transparent to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation, and is anchored and sealed aroun... | 09/17/1996 |
| 5511536 | Solar-type pool cover The pool cover is made of multi-layer light weight construction having transparent top layers to permit sunlight to pass through, an opaque layer for absorbing sunlight passing through the transparent layers and a reflective layer to transfer heat from th... | 04/30/1996 |
| 5445177 | Platform for the utilization of solar power The invention relates to a platform of the utilization of solar power which makes use of linear concentrators to beam the solar radiation for use in thermal, chemical or photovoltaic solar power converters, in which the azimuthal movement of the sun is fo... | 08/29/1995 |
| 5431148 | Immersible solar heater for fluids An immersible solar heater comprising a light-absorbing panel attached to a frame for absorbing heat energy from the light and transferring the absorbed heat energy directly to the fluid in which the heater is immersed. The heater can be used to heat a sw... | 07/11/1995 |
| 5309893 | Solar energy collecting apparatus A radiant energy collecting apparatus including a fluid reservoir, a platform floating on said fluid reservoir, a drive structure for moving the platform on the reservoir, radiant energy collectors supported on the platform, reflectors for concentrating r... | 05/10/1994 |
| 5286305 | Photovoltaic power plant Solar power plant consisting of elongated modules whose longitudinal axes lie in a plane parallel to the direction of the sun rays to be converted. These modules are covered by lenses which refract sun rays impinging under an oblique angle downwards and w... | 02/15/1994 |
| 5143052 | Floating solar pool heater A floating solar pool heater consists of a plurality of PVC tubes open at their ends and connected in parallel alignment to the tops of several floats. The tubes are open on their ends so that pool water can flow through them, and the tops of the tubes ex... | 09/01/1992 |
| 4875466 | Solar heating disc A dome-shaped device usually four to five feet in diameter with a continuous channel section formed integrally around its perimeter. The device is of a unitary construction and is typically formed of a synthetic substance, such as polyethylene. The unique... | 10/24/1989 |
| 4582048 | Floating blanket barrier utilizing coverites A barrier for retarding transfer of certain energy and/or substances between adjacent fluids having different densities. The barrier includes a floating blanket consisting of a multitude of individual and distinct coverites that float on a high density fl... | 04/15/1986 |
| 4537179 | Polymer-gel covered solar energy collector and storage unit An aqueous gel comprising water and a cross-linked polyacrylamide provides a transparent, thermally insulating cover for a solar pond. Heat losses from the top of the pond to the atmosphere due to convection currents are minimized as well as losses due to... | 08/27/1985 |
| 4459970 | Solar steam generating and distribution system Applicant's invention comprises a system for the generation and distribution of steam by solar energy comprising apparatus for the solar energy generation of steam. The system is comprised of an enclosed structure to be erected over the surface of a body ... | 07/17/1984 |
| 4458668 | Package to form panel structure for use on water body A package is adapted for assembly to form a panel unit to be deployed on a body of water to alter heat transfer to or from the water or to block evaporation. The package includes: (a) multiple frame sections adapted to be coupled together in end-to-end re... | 07/10/1984 |
| 4366806 | Solar pool heater A stackable solar pool heater is formed of a semi-rigid self-cleaning centrally raised aerodynamically response membrane which membrane includes a depending integral perimeter. Flotation elements, providing a flotation ratio of approximately two to one, a... | 01/04/1983 |
| 4360004 | Floating solar collector Utilization of solar energy by the production of steam within a cavity created between the surface of a sheet of water and a floating pontoon, the heat collected by a solar energy collector, placed on top of the pontoon, being transferred to the water its... | 11/23/1982 |
| 4291672 | Floatable solar heat modules A floating solar heat module for swimming pools comprises a solid surface for conducting heat from the sun's rays to the water and further includes a solid heat storage member for continual heating even during the night. A float is included to maintain th... | 09/29/1981 |
| 4284060 | Floating solar pool heater A floating solar heater for swimming pools is disclosed which includes a top cover, a vertical outer side wall with inclined inner side wall segments connected thereto, an outside rim and a bottom wall. The inner side wall segments are octagonal, coated w... | 08/18/1981 |
| 4256087 | Swimming pool solar heater A flexible plastic solar heating panel, such as may be floated on the surface of a body of water and used to heat a swimming pool, comprised of a water supply manifold which communicates with one end of a plurality of water carrying tubes each of which co... | 03/17/1981 |
| 4222366 | Solar pool heater A solar pool heater is defined by a submersible tubular ring attached to the perimeter of a transparent or translucent sheet. Floatation of the heater is obtained through an air bubble captured by the sheet and maintained by the ring. The ring is perforat... | 09/16/1980 |
| 4146015 | Solar pool heater A solar pool heater is defined by a submersible tubular ring attached to the perimeter of a floating sheet. The ring is perforated to permit the entry of water within the ring to induce at least partial submersion. The submersed ring prevents overlapping ... | 03/27/1979 |
| 4137612 | Buoyant pellet covering for swimming pools A solar heating apparatus is disclosed herein useful as a swimming pool cover whereby the sun's rays can penetrate the apparatus and heat the water therebeneath. The apparatus includes a multiplicity of floatable individual and separate balls, pellets or ... | 02/06/1979 |
| 4082081 | Portable light-weight solar heater A unique and extremely practical solar heater has been described which is particularly suited to the heating of swimming pools. The novelty of the system lies in the use of an extremely light-weight flexible unit of essentially all plastics construction w... | 04/04/1978 |
| 4033326 | Inflatable solar collector for swimming pool An inflatable solar collector for heating a swimming pool comprising: A plurality of individual solar heating sections; Each of the sections having an upper portion which is transparent or translucent and a lower portion having an internal surface which absorbs ... | 07/05/1977 |
| 4022187 | Floating solar heater for swimming pools A solar heating apparatus is disclosed herein useful as a swimming pool cover whereby the sun's rays can penetrate the apparatus and heat the water therebeneath. The apparatus includes a plurality of individual and separate units of a predetermined geomet... | 05/10/1977 |
| 3998204 | Floatable ball A floatable ball, a plurality of which floatable balls are for providing a gapless floating ball blanket, wherein the floatable ball includes a modified spheroid constructed of a floatable material and which modified spheroid is provided with a plurality ... | 12/21/1976 |
| 3984881 | Solar panel Conservation of energy of a swimming pool is provided by an attractively colored polyethylene panel secured to a circular frame which panel cover and frame are stable, and will not disintegrate due to direct rays of the sun. The panel passes and traps the... | 10/12/1976 |
| 3984882 | Panel structure for use on water bodies A solar panel unit comprises: A. a loop-shaped plastic frame, bounding an open zone, the frame having a channel section, B. a plastic sheet extending across the open zone, and C. insert means retained in the channel section and holding the sheet to the frame, ... | 10/12/1976 |
| 3949095 | Solar energy pool heating apparatus A solar heating device for swimming pools comprising an inflatable raft having a thermally reflective bottom surface and a thermally transparent top surface, and means for elevating at least a fraction of said reflective surface above the swimming pool su... | 04/06/1976 |
