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 |
| 6619341 | Pouring spout with automatic shut-off for portable fuel containers A pouring spout for hand-held portable fuel tank incorporates a float valve to automatically shut off fuel flow through the spout when the fuel level in a receiving reservoir reaches a given spatial relationship with the outlet end of the spout. An axiall... | 09/16/2003 |
| 6499518 | Nonoverflow, magnetic float valve assembly A safety valve assembly for use with a portable container, such as for dispensing fuel to a vehicular gas tank, where the valve assembly features a pair of fluid sealing members to be manually activated to effect dispensing of the fluid from the container... | 12/31/2002 |
| 5398735 | Filling regulator for liquid storage tank A filling regulator for a liquid storage tank of the type according to which a float is displaced vertically in the float chamber provided in the body of the regulator. The regulator includes a deflector slanted over the inner wall of the body and install... | 03/21/1995 |
| 5388622 | Automatic shutoff valve A two-stage float actuated shut-off valve for use in underground fuel storage tanks utilizes a drop tube coaxially mounted within the storage tank fill pipe. Fuel flowing into the tank is passed through the drop tube which projects downwardly into the int... | 02/14/1995 |
| 5381838 | Fuel inlet device for a fuel tank In a fuel inlet device for a fuel tank, a flap valve is provided at an end of a fuel filler tube opening into the fuel tank, and a float which rises with a rise in a surface level of the fuel in the tank closes this flap valve when the fuel surface level ... | 01/17/1995 |
| 5156197 | Float type liquid level meter A float type liquid level meter is provided having an enhanced resistance against vibration transmitted from outside of the float type liquid level meter. The inventor obtained a finding that an external vibration is amplified with a connecting lever whic... | 10/20/1992 |
| 5027870 | Overfill prevention mechanism for storage tanks A float chamber located in generally parallel, laterally spaced relationship to the main liquid flow passageway contains superimposed floats that move along a substantially linear path of travel. The floats cooperate with other control components to effec... | 07/02/1991 |
| 4405001 | Overflow preventing valve apparatus An overflow preventing valve apparatus comprises a valve main body provided at a terminal end of a fluid supplying system passage, a main valve fixed to a separating membrane stretched within the valve main body to separate an upper chamber and a lower ch... | 09/20/1983 |
| 4106536 | Self-acting device for stopping filling of tanks with fluid products A first secondary valve activated by a float controls through a differential pressure acting on a membrane a main valve in the tank filling duct. The first valve is automatically neutralized to ensure draining of the pipes placed upstream the main valve u... | 08/15/1978 |
