Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7122117 | Self-cleaning composite deck drain A self-cleaning composite deck drain apparatus which includes a removable top part having a top grating surface for receiving waste liquid and a trap for catching particulate matter from the liquid at a lower end. The drain apparatus further includes a bottom part h... | 10/17/2006 |
| 6959723 | Oil sealant-preserving drain odor trap Improvements in retention of the oily liquid sealant (20) in a oil-sealed odor trap (10B-10M), for drain applications such as a waterless urinal or anti-evaporation floor drain, are accomplished by minimizing turbulence in the oil sealant, such ... | 11/01/2005 |
| 6859956 | P-trap for plumbing drainage systems A P-trap device for plumbing drainage systems is shown. The device has a first tubing element having a pipe attachment bell at one end and a first coupler portion at the other end and a second tubing element having a pipe attachment bell at one end and a second coup... | 03/01/2005 |
| 6779553 | Emergency backflow system An emergency backflow system includes a drain bowl and a holding tank fluidically connected to a utility sewer line. The holding tank is connected to the sewer line via a drain line, and the drain line can be fluidically separated from the drain bowl by a conduit ha... | 08/24/2004 |
| 6341618 | Plumbing stop valve and method of use A method for installing plumbing fixtures in a multi-story building having a waste stack includes a stop valve between the waste output of each fixture and the waste stack, the valve allowing the waste water to flow from the fixture toward the waste stack... | 01/29/2002 |
| 6314988 | Flood control valve assembly A flood control valve assembly designed to be removably connected to the outer or exposed end of a drain pipe and structured to allow water to enter the drain pipe in the conventional fashion but prevent water from issuing from the open, outer end of the ... | 11/13/2001 |
| 6095179 | Flood control valve assembly A flood control valve assembly designed to be removably mounted within the outer or exposed end of a vertically or horizontally oriented drain pipe and structured to allow water to enter the drain pipe in the conventional fashion but prevent water from is... | 08/01/2000 |
| 4928727 | Flash flood control units for housing construction A drainage system for housing constructions, comprising at least one fixture drain connected to a main drain, a building sewer evacuating waste waters from the main drain to the city drain, and a sump pump located in a water collecting reservoir in the ba... | 05/29/1990 |
| 4046161 | Non-return valve for preventing back flow of waste waters A non-return valve comprising: a pipe for waste waters having a passageway for draining the waters in a downstream direction, a circular seat having a given diameter transversely disposed in said pipe and a housing opening into the passageway directly dow... | 09/06/1977 |
