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 |
| 8096014 | Central vacuum cleaner control, unit and system with contaminant sensor A central vacuum cleaning system 3 has a central vacuum unit 17 with a motor 10, a motor compartment 19, and a vacuum chamber 25. The system 3 also has a control circuit 1 for controlling power to the motor 10,... | 01/17/2012 |
| 7958594 | Central vacuum cleaner cross-controls A vacuum cleaning system for use in a structure. System has receiver adapted to receive communication that an appliance has been activated, and a control circuit adapted to control the central vacuum cleaning system upon receipt of a communication at the receiver th... | 06/14/2011 |
| 7886402 | Waste management Waste material that is introduced into waste inlet units (10) is managed by connecting the inlet units to a temporary storage volume (3) for charging the storage volume with the waste and by controlled, intermittent opening of the storage volume for th... | 02/15/2011 |
| 7882591 | Prewash dish cleaning device A pre-wash device for dishes and/or utensils includes a vacuum chamber comprising a collection vessel open to the vacuum chamber, a food material collection pan exhausting into the vacuum chamber at a location where material from the collection pan falls into the co... | 02/08/2011 |
| 7823248 | Multi-function vacuum collector A vacuum collector includes an upright support supported on a base, a housing disposed on top of the upright support, a fan device attached to the housing, a dust collecting receptacle attached to the housing for collecting the dirt, a tubular member has one end cou... | 11/02/2010 |
| 7765634 | Surface-cleaning machine Machine for cleaning mainly vertical surfaces comprising a body attached to the cable of the crane, brushes with an actuator attached to the body with the possibility of rotation, three or more wheels attached to the body with the possibility of rotation, and the at... | 08/03/2010 |
| 7640620 | Retractable hose extension for a vacuum A retractable hose extension for a vacuum having an expandable hose within a containment structure, a first coupling at the first end of the hose and in the first end of the containment structure for connecting the hose to a vacuum, a valve at the second end of the ... | 01/05/2010 |
| 7624470 | Heat exchange coil cleaning apparatus A cleaning apparatus for cleaning a heat exchange coil includes a gas-dispensing member having a cavity for carrying a gas and at least one orifice in communication with the cavity. An actuating device which couples to the gas dispensing member and moves the gas dis... | 12/01/2009 |
| 7594295 | Auxiliary vacuum unit for a central vacuum cleaning system An auxiliary vacuum device for a central vacuum cleaning system is location specific and comprises a housing mountable externally on an inlet of a mounting plate of the system, a dedicated flexible concertina hose is provided on the device and a cleaning tool mounti... | 09/29/2009 |
| 7581281 | Ultra-compact recessed wall mounted vacuum cleaner An improved wall-mounted recessed vacuum cleaner system incorporates vibration dampening mounts between the motor and the outer housing, air channels within the housing to smooth air flow and reduced number of parts to significantly reduce the noise level during ope... | 09/01/2009 |
| 7406744 | Central vacuum system with secondary airflow path A central vacuum system includes a motor-cooling airflow path that provides sufficient cooling for the motor and its drive components even though the cooling air is partially restricted by a downstream filter that captures airborne carbon dust emitted from the motor... | 08/05/2008 |
| 7386911 | Apparatus for dislodging and removing contaminants from a surface of a machine tool An apparatus for dislodging and removing contaminants from a surface of a machine tool. The apparatus includes an arbor, a vacuum source, a tube, and a cleaning member disposed proximate a distal end of the tube. The cleaning member contacts a surface of the machine... | 06/17/2008 |
| 7370659 | Photolithographic stepper and/or scanner machines including cleaning devices and methods of cleaning photolithographic stepper and/or scanner machines Stepper and/or scanner machines including cleaning devices and methods for cleaning stepper and/or scanner machines are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a stepper and/or scanner machine includes a housing, an illuminator, a lens, a workpiece support, a cleaning ... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7361234 | Photolithographic stepper and/or scanner machines including cleaning devices and methods of cleaning photolithographic stepper and/or scanner machines Stepper and/or scanner machines including cleaning devices and methods for cleaning stepper and/or scanner machines are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a stepper and/or scanner machine includes a housing, an illuminator, a lens, a workpiece support, a cleaning ... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7328478 | Register inlet apparatus for a central vacuum cleaning system An inlet apparatus for central vacuum cleaning systems is described that can be integrated with registers commonly used with heating and air conditioning vents in residential or commercial buildings. In particular, the apparatus opens to provide a vacuum inlet that ... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7293320 | Vacuum attachment for converting a standard vacuum into a centralized dust collection system A vacuum attachment includes an aerodynamic bell housing, a distribution plate defining blast gate openings, blast gates, and means for biasing each gate toward a closed configuration. The plate attaches to the housing's first end. The gates attach to the plate for ... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7257857 | Apparatus and method for circuit board routing fixture An apparatus for retaining and cleaning a circuit board array, which comprise a fixture having a generally elongated connecting surface and one or more terminating open ends, which may optionally integrate a hollow element, creating an aperture in the fixture adjace... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7225819 | Apparatus process and method for mounting and treating a substrate The present invention is a method, apparatus and process for an improved substrate mounting and processing technique for various substrate treatments comprising cleaning, dicing, sawing, polishing, and planarization, among others. ... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7216396 | Debris blower apparatus A debris blower apparatus for entrances to garages and working and living spaces comprises a blower assembly connected to an elongated nozzle assembly. The nozzle assembly mounts to the floor or doorsill of the protected space and comprises a plurality of nozzles al... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7215407 | Transport method and transport apparatus for semiconductor wafer First brush bristles of an alignment stage cleaning mechanism are pressed on a wafer suction stage of the alignment stage before a semiconductor wafer is transported onto the alignment stage, in which state the wafer suction stage rotates to thereby remove dust atta... | 05/08/2007 |
| 7210193 | Portable cleaning assembly The subject invention provides a vacuum unit, a waste container, and a transport mechanism. The vacuum unit applies a vacuum to clean an area to collect debris and the waste container collects waste by a user separate from debris collected by the vacuum unit. The tr... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7197788 | Range hood cleaning assembly A range hood cleaning assembly utilizes compressed air to drive accumulated grease on range hood surfaces towards drainage holes. A plurality of air dispensers, preferably air hoses and directional nozzles, through which compressed air from at least one source of co... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7191488 | Device for setting up central vacuum cleaning installations A device for simple setting up of stationary central vacuum cleaning installations in dwellings or the like. The device is in the form of a housing (6) with the purpose of accommodating a conventional vacuum cleaner (7) of the type that comprises an in... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7185389 | Universal wet/dry vacuum cart A universal cart is provided that receives a wet/dry vacuum and converts the vacuum into an upright walk behind cleaning device. The cart provides a handle attached to a mobile base. A switch is provided on the handle that can receive the electrical plug from the we... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7174602 | Vacuum trash insertion receptacle A vacuum trash insertion receptacle includes an aesthetically shaped housing providing a trash tube for the insertion and transportation of garbage to a trash receptacle assembly. A control assembly in communication with a gate monitoring assembly, an interactive mo... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7168126 | Central vacuum cleaner having an energy recovery ventilator system A central vacuum assembly including a vacuum cleaning apparatus, a ventilation apparatus, a heat exchanger for transferring heat energy between air in the vacuum cleaning apparatus and air in the ventilation apparatus. Optionally, a fan for circulating air within th... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7152271 | Apparatus for adjusting a vacuum selector A vacuum selector is provided. The vacuum selector includes a housing having first and second faces, the first face including first and second openings, the second face including a primary opening that communicates with the first and second openings along a flow pat... | 12/26/2006 |
| 7146677 | Energy saving vacuum system for particle, mist, and fume collection An improved energy-efficient vacuum system for machine shop dust, particulate matter, and the like. Blast gates, including large-diameter blast gates, control the flow of vacuum generated by a dust collector to individual machines that may or may not accommodate vac... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7107646 | Industrial oil/dust collector An industrial oil/dust collector is provided with a base, a motor and an air blower are installed on the exterior of the base, an air-inlet pipe and an air-outlet pipe are provided at the front of the motor to carry out quick suction and drainage functions, and insi... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7097714 | Particulate removal from an electrostatic chuck The cleaning of particles from an electrostatic chuck. In one embodiment, a method of cleaning an electrostatic chuck in a processing chamber is disclosed. The method comprises directing a flow of gas across the electrostatic chuck to dislodge particles from the ele... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7096532 | Vacuum dustpan A vacuum dustpan having a housing with an inlet to the level of the floor surface into which dust and debris can be directed. A vacuum motor induces a vacuum to transfer the debris to a collection chamber within the housing. The vacuum dustpan is usable in locations... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7093318 | Device for carrying out work on a surface and method for operating the device To treat a surface by a device attracted to the surface by vacuum, it is necessary in most cases to guide a working device with a certain contact pressure over the surface. To be able to set the contact pressure of the working device with little effort, the device a... | 08/22/2006 |
| 7090179 | Mounting assembly for a waste line of a medical treatment apparatus A mounting assembly for a discharge conduit of a medical treatment device, such as a dialysis machine. The mounting assembly has a connector member detachably engageable with a discharge nozzle of a discharge conduit and a suction cup that can be mounted on a rim of... | 08/15/2006 |
| 7055212 | Clean gas injector system for reactor chamber An improvement to a Novellus HDP SPEED reactor chamber is described. An evacuation port of the Novellus SPEED Chamber is at one location in the chamber to remove injected cleaning gas from the chamber and there is a single input for cleaning gas connection into the ... | 06/06/2006 |
| 7051398 | Vacuum canister with auxiliary intake valve A vacuum canister for use with a central vacuum system is disclosed. The vacuum canister includes a hollow, tubular housing that has openings at either end. A cover covers the upper opening and a dust collection bin is disposed beneath the lower opening. The housing... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7013884 | Dust collection system for a masonry saw Dust and debris resulting from the sawing or cutting of concrete masonry units, blocks, bricks, tiles and other masonry products is collected via a three point dust and debris collection system. A movable work supporting table for cooperation with a masonry saw has ... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7010829 | Retractable hose central vacuum cleaning system apparatus and method A retractable hose central vacuum cleaning system comprising a retractable vacuum hose configured to retract through a valve assembly, into a system vacuum pipe responsive to the vacuum communicated from a vacuum source. The valve assembly comprising a static valve ... | 03/14/2006 |
| 7008468 | HEPA vacuum recovery system A vacuum system is enclosed in a housing having two vertically spaced chambers, the lower one enclosing the vacuum generating motor means and the upper chamber defining the vacuum chamber and having therein prefilter and filter means as well as at least two vacuum p... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6996874 | Air jet for machine tool to clean cutting dust An air jet for a machine tool to clean cutting dust has a housing with a hole and an outlet. An eccentric member has a cam and is provided in the housing which the eccentric member is driven by a power resource of the machine tool for rotation. An annular transmissi... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6997991 | Device for cleaning a powder coating booth and powder coating booth with cleaning device Device for cleaning a powder coating booth and powder coating booth with cleaning device. The device for cleaning a powder coating booth is provided with a first air distribution batten arranged on the floor of the powder coating booth. Also provided is a second air... | 02/14/2006 |
